https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/lexi-churchill/The latest news by Lexi Churchill.enTue, 30 Sep 2025 17:25:41 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/30/texas-comptroller-school-voucher-program-rules-public-testimony/For the first time since Texas authorized the program, the state heard public testimony from people concerned about pre-K funding, special education provisions and data reporting.By Jaden Edison, The Texas Tribune, and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 30 Sep 2025 17:25:41 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/30/texas-comptroller-school-voucher-program-rules-public-testimony/Members of the public give comments during a hearing regarding SB2, the school voucher program, on Sept. 30, 2025 in Austin.Members of the public give comments during a hearing regarding SB2, the school voucher program, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Austin.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/10/texas-charter-superintendent-pay-performance/Three Texas charter school districts underreported compensation paid to top leaders. They also recently had failing or near-failing performance ratings.By Ellis Simani, ProPublica, and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 10 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/10/texas-charter-superintendent-pay-performance/A stack of schoolwork rubber-stamped with “D” and “F” grades, mixed together with $100 bills.Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/05/texas-uvalde-school-shooting-pete-arredondo-new-records/The details were revealed in more than 25,000 pages of records released after a yearslong legal fight by news outlets including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Colleen DeGuzman and Alex Nguyen, The Texas TribuneFri, 05 Sep 2025 13:10:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/05/texas-uvalde-school-shooting-pete-arredondo-new-records/Hundreds of flowers, toys and candles surround crosses memorializing the 21 victims of the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, on June 9, 2022.Evan L’Roy for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-vouchers-private-schools-conflicts/An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Ellis Simani, ProPublicaWed, 13 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-vouchers-private-schools-conflicts/An illustration showing children as money outlines, wearing backpacks and walking toward a school building.Marta Monteiro for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/21/texas-hill-country-flooding-inaction-state-legislature/Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.By Lexi Churchill and Lomi Kriel, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Research by Misty Harris, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 21 Jul 2025 13:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/21/texas-hill-country-flooding-inaction-state-legislature/Community members add flowers to a memorial on July 9 honoring victims of the flood in Kerrville.Photos and flowers hang on a fence as a memorial to flood victims.Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/06/texas-child-id-kits-funding-pulled/For the second time, lawmakers cut funding for kits meant to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune documented the lack of evidence that the kits work.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 06 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/06/texas-child-id-kits-funding-pulled/The Texas House of Representatives’ initial budget proposal included funding for kits that are meant to help find missing children. The money was not included in the final budget.The House chamber at the Texas Capitol during a session.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/16/texas-lawmakers-campaign-finance-posting-rules/ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 16 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/16/texas-lawmakers-campaign-finance-posting-rules/Republican state Rep. Carl Tepper has issued a new bill to strengthen a law that requires local governments to post campaign finance reports online, citing ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s reporting.Republican state Rep. Carl Tepper has issued a new bill to strengthen a law that requires local governments to post campaign finance reports online, citing ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s reporting.Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/09/texas-lawmakers-child-id-kits-funding-millions/Texas legislators slipped millions for child ID kits into a 1,000-page budget proposal. The move comes two years after they quietly cut funding for such kits following a ProPublica and Texas Tribune report that showed there’s no evidence they work.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 09 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/09/texas-lawmakers-child-id-kits-funding-millions/Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/14/texas-charter-superintendent-valere-salary-salvador-cavazos/The rebuke from lawmakers and charter school leaders came after an investigation from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Salvador Cavazos, who oversees fewer than 1,000 students, is among the most well-paid superintendents in the country.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Ellis Simani, ProPublicaFri, 14 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/14/texas-charter-superintendent-valere-salary-salvador-cavazos/Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/06/valere-public-schools-superintendent-salary-texas/On paper, Salvador Cavazos earns less than $300,000 to run Valere Public Schools, a small Texas charter network. But taxpayers likely aren’t aware that his total pay makes him one of the country’s highest-earning superintendents.By Ellis Simani, ProPublica, and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/06/valere-public-schools-superintendent-salary-texas/Superintendent Salvador Cavazos runs Valere Public Schools’ three charter campuses.Superintendent Salvador Cavazos runs Valere Public Schools’ three charter campuses.Lauren Crow for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/texas-noncitizen-voter-roll-removal-mary-howard-elley/Mary Howard-Elley is the 10th U.S. citizen identified by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat whose registration was canceled after her citizenship was questioned. Her saga shows how tough it can be for eligible voters to get reinstated.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, James Barragán, The Texas Tribune, Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Natalia Contreras, VotebeatTue, 29 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/texas-noncitizen-voter-roll-removal-mary-howard-elley/Mary Howard-Elley, 52, a Splendora resident, was removed from the state’s voter rolls after being inaccurately labeled as a noncitizen.Mary Howard-Elley, 52, a Splendora resident, was removed from the state’s voter rolls after being inaccurately labeled as a noncitizen.Danielle Villasana for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/exas-noncitizen-voting-proof-of-citizenship/Gov. Greg Abbott gave an inflated number of noncitizens removed from the state’s voter rolls, officials acknowledged, confirming findings by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and Votebeat.By James Barragán, The Texas Tribune, Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas Tribune, Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Jen Fifield, VotebeatWed, 16 Oct 2024 20:19:45 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/exas-noncitizen-voting-proof-of-citizenship/Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and former acting deputy secretary of DHS, speaks at a state Senate hearing at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 16, 2024.Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and former acting deputy secretary of DHS, speaks at a state Senate hearing at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 16, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/texas-legislature-voter-rolls-noncitizens/Here’s what you need to know after a ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat investigation found that Gov. Greg Abbott likely inflated the number of noncitizens on voter rolls.By Vianna Davila and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, James Barragán, The Texas Tribune, and Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas TribuneWed, 16 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/16/texas-legislature-voter-rolls-noncitizens/Voting signs direct voters outside of the Rolling Fork Castle Club during Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 in Houston. The castle was built in the late 1970s and has served as a voting location for almost forty years.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/15/texas-noncitizen-voter-roll-removal-included-americans/An investigation by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat found that U.S. citizens were incorrectly labeled as noncitizens or removed from the rolls because they did not respond to letters about their citizenship.By Lexi Churchill and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, James Barragán, The Texas Tribune, and Natalia Contreras, VotebeatTue, 15 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/15/texas-noncitizen-voter-roll-removal-included-americans/Gov. Gregg Abbott speaks at a podium in a photo collage that also includes a sign for a polling location.Photo illustration by Tiffany Herring/ProPublica. Source images: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune, Montinique Monroe/The Texas Tribune.https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/uvalde-school-shooting-videos-released-lawsuit/The new videos largely affirm prior reporting and investigations that detailed law enforcement’s failures to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.By Lomi Kriel and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Zach Despart, Terri Langford and Pooja Salhotra, The Texas TribuneTue, 08 Oct 2024 11:36:54 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/uvalde-school-shooting-videos-released-lawsuit/Previously released video shows officers gathered in the hallway of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. A gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in May 2022.Previously released video shows officers gathered in the hallway of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.Obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/10/uvalde-school-shooting-records-release-lawsuit/The city’s release ends a legal battle with news outlets, but other government agencies are withholding materials.By Lomi Kriel and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Zach Despart, Terri Langford and Kayla Guo, The Texas TribuneSat, 10 Aug 2024 12:37:21 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/10/uvalde-school-shooting-records-release-lawsuit/Authorities gather outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after a gunman entered and killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24, 2022.Authorities gather outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after a gunman entered and killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24, 2022.Courtesy of Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-Newshttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/05/texas-hurricane-beryl-carbon-monoxide-poisonings/Little has changed since the 2021 Texas winter storm. Power outages following Beryl’s July landfall led to two deaths and roughly 400 Texans hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning.By Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 05 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/05/texas-hurricane-beryl-carbon-monoxide-poisonings/Van Turman, 76, and his wife, Debbie Wells, 72, were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning. Their daughter, Jenny Hare, 49, was also sickened and hospitalized.Danielle Villasana for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-school-board-bond-elections/We want to hear about how heated elections affect the people learning, teaching and living in districts across Texas.By Jessica Priest, Jeremy Schwartz, Lexi Churchill and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-school-board-bond-elections/A group that calls itself “pro public education” offers ballot suggestions outside a voting center in Granbury.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-school-districts-violated-election-transparency-law/The Texas Tribune and ProPublica analyzed 35 Texas school districts that held trustee elections last fall and found none that posted all of the required campaign finance records.By Jessica Priest and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Research by Dan Keemahill and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 25 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-school-districts-violated-election-transparency-law/A photo illustration shows a web search box with “BOARD ELECTION Campaign Finance Report” and “Page Not Found” over a photo of a Texas school building.Photo illustration by ProPublica. Photo by Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune.https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/us-army-soldiers-violent-crimes/The change comes after reporting from ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Military Times revealed that hundreds of soldiers charged with offenses like sexual assault and domestic violence left the Army without facing courts-martial.By Vianna Davila and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Davis Winkie, Military TimesFri, 19 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/us-army-soldiers-violent-crimes/Joan Wong for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune