Funds misuse, nepotism feared at Texas charter schools

The fear is that the freedoms granted to charter schools allow hefty salaries, nepotism and potential abuse of the public's money.

Holly Hacker files the last in a series of stories: http://dallasne.ws/eKedEo

Class size limits, charter school caps may change as Texas looks to trim costs

AUSTIN – The Senate Education Committee wants the Legislature to consider easing class size limits in elementary schools to save money and eliminating the cap on independent charter schools in Texas. Several of the panel's recommendations for lawmakers' 2011 session would have far-reaching effects on public schools, such as a change in the strict class size limit of 22 pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/ezddVB

State board votes to tap Texas' public education fund to help build charter schools

Stutz reports:

AUSTIN – A sharply divided State Board of Education opened the door today to tapping the state's education trust fund for charter school facilities, despite warnings that the action could harm the fund. Pushed by the board's social conservative bloc, the decision could allow up to $100 million of the Permanent School Fund to be used to construct or purchase buildings that would be leased to some of the state's 460 independent charter schools.
http://dallasne.ws/b1giNx