The Mumford Model: Better School Districts Through Efficiency

May 5, 2014

The Honorable Jess Fields

Mumford ISD, a small school district in Robertson County, saves money in innovative ways and maintains no long-term debt. Its minimal administration and cost-conscious policies are worth the consideration of school districts throughout Texas.

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Noisy Illiteracy

Kids can’t read. I’m not kidding, the latest viral story from The New York Times proves this. The possible cause of the national literacy decline: Is it No Child Left Behind? How about increased classroom screen time? Maybe pandemic-era school closures? Ultimately, the article declined to say that there is a “single reason for the...

May 19, 2026

K-12 Education

STAAR Performance Labels: Is ‘Approaches’ On or Below Grade Level?

Introduction: STAAR performance labels offer helpful information to parents and policymakers because they indicate students’ success and are also an early-warning sign that students need more support. The STAAR performance labels are: Masters, Meets, Approaches, Does Not Meet. Each label offers an indication of how a child is performing in three categories: a child’s likelihood...

August 29, 2023

Higher Education

Student-Athletes Are Not Employees

College athletics is approaching a crossroads. After years of rapid, sweeping change in student-athlete compensation practices that have left a patchwork of state regulation in its wake, some in Congress now propose to reclassify collegiate student‑athletes across the country as employees of their universities. While we sympathize with the desire to provide certainty and uniformity to student-athletes and universities, and although we see the need for some revenue-sharing framework, workplace regulation...

May 19, 2026

The Honorable Jess Fields

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