The Texas Tribune: Dan Keemahillhttps://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/dan-keemahill/The latest news by Dan Keemahill.enWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500Help ProPublica and The Texas Tribune report on your community’s school board and bond electionshttps://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 TribuneFormer far-right hard-liner says pro-voucher billionaires are using school board races to sow distrust in public educationhttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-tim-dunn-wilks-brothers-vouchers-courtney-gore/The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics. Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury, says it’s part of their strategy to build support for vouchers.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Data reporting by Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-tim-dunn-wilks-brothers-vouchers-courtney-gore/Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneHow shifting U.S. policies led to one of the deadliest incidents involving immigrants in Mexico’s historyhttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/01/us-immigration-asylum-policy-juarez-fire/A year ago, 40 men died in a detention center fire in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. An examination by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows that it was the foreseeable result of landmark shifts in U.S. border policies.By Perla Trevizo and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 01 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/01/us-immigration-asylum-policy-juarez-fire/Bodies of those who died during the fire inside a Mexican detention facility were laid in a parking lot outside the offices of the National Migration Institute near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juárez on March 27, 2023. The fire killed 40 immigrants and injured more than two dozen.Bodies of those who died during the fire inside a Mexican detention facility were laid in a parking lot outside the offices of the National Migration Institute near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juárez on March 27, 2023. The fire killed 40 immigrants and injured more than two dozen.Paul RatjeTexas school districts violated a law intended to add transparency to local electionshttps://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.Dark money nonprofit with ties to Texas billionaire works to defeat Midland school bondhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/tim-dunn-move-midland-school-bond/Tim Dunn’s public policy groups have helped ensure that tax hike language is attached to every school bond ballot measure in the state. Now he is using that language to cast doubt on a bond in his hometown of Midland.By Jeremy Schwartz and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 02 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/tim-dunn-move-midland-school-bond/Billionaire Tim Dunn has ties to the leaders of a group working to defeat a historic school bond in his hometown of Midland, Texas. The group has sent out political mailers, including some marked “official notice” like the one pictured.Photo illustration by ProPublica. Source photographs: Brett Buchanan for The Texas Tribune, bond mailer obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.Texas schools chief took over Houston district, but has let underperforming charter networks expandhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-mike-morath-underperforming-charter-schools-expand/Commissioner of Education Mike Morath has repeatedly waived expansion requirements for charter school networks, allowing them to serve thousands more students, even when they don’t meet academic performance standards.By Kiah Collier and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 10 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-mike-morath-underperforming-charter-schools-expand/Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath testifying at the state Capitol in Austin last year. Lawmakers returned to Austin on Monday for a special session of the Legislature to consider helping Texas parents cover private school tuition with state dollars.Evan L’Roy/The Texas TribuneNews App: Government Salaries Explorerhttp://salaries.texastribune.org/Our new Government Salaries Explorer reimagines our flagship salary database app. Use the explorer to review the compensation of hundreds of thousands of state and municipal employees in Texas. We will update and expand this database periodically.By Dan Keemahill, Ryan Murphy, Alex Duner, Travis Swicegood and Daniel CraigmileThu, 21 Aug 2014 06:00:00 -0500http://salaries.texastribune.org/Illustration by Anneke Paterson / Todd WisemanRunoff Maps Show Extent of Low Voter Turnouthttps://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/29/runoff-draws-lower-turnout-march-primary/Dan Patrick won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor with 65 percent of the votes in Tuesday's runoff election, but he earned votes from only 3.5 percent of registered Texas voters.By Dan Keemahill and Ross RamseyThu, 29 May 2014 06:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/29/runoff-draws-lower-turnout-march-primary/In Cellphone Contraband Cases, Few Face Chargeshttps://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/04/cellphone-contraband-cases-few-face-charges/While confiscations of illicit cellphones in prisons have dropped, a Tribune investigation found that few inmates or correctional officers face legal consequences for smuggling the devices.By Edgar Walters and Dan KeemahillSun, 04 May 2014 06:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/04/cellphone-contraband-cases-few-face-charges/Correctional officer Mike Warren walks with his contraband detector dog, Gus, during a demonstration of how the dog seeks out cellphones around the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville on Wednesday, April 23, 2014.Correctional officer Mike Warren walks with his contraband detector dog, Gus, during a demonstration of how the dog seeks out cellphones around the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville on Wednesday, April 23, 2014.Brandon ThibodeauxInteractive: Gender Wage Gaps in State Agencieshttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/21/gender-wage-gap-state-agencies/At dozens of Texas state agencies, male workers are better compensated than female workers, on average. Use our interactive to compare compensation by gender at state agencies with at least 100 employees, excluding universities. By Dan Keemahill and Aman BathejaFri, 21 Mar 2014 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/21/gender-wage-gap-state-agencies/Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Dan HIllInteractive: Where the Candidates Won Voteshttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/07/where-the-votes-landed/We pulled the county-by-county vote totals for each statewide candidate headed to a runoff in their primary and analyzed what parts of the state got them there. Use our interactive to compare each candidate's performance.By Dan Keemahill, Ross Ramsey and Ryan MurphyFri, 07 Mar 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/07/where-the-votes-landed/Interactive: Where Texas Primary Election Candidates Bought Adshttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/05/where-texas-candidates-are-buying-airtime/As statewide candidates recover from primary elections and, in some cases, prepare for runoffs, use our interactive to see which campaigns purchased network airtime in Texas' four biggest media markets. By Aman Batheja and Dan KeemahillThu, 06 Mar 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/05/where-texas-candidates-are-buying-airtime/Graphic by Marjorie Cotera / Bob Daemmrich / Todd Wiseman2013 County Jail Costs for Detained Immigrants Fellhttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/26/texas-jails-house-fewer-undocumented-immigrants/The cost of housing undocumented immigrants in Texas county jails fell about 8 percent in 2013 from the previous year. Use this interactive to explore trends in detentions of undocumented immigrants in county jails.By Dan Keemahill and Edgar WaltersTue, 04 Mar 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/26/texas-jails-house-fewer-undocumented-immigrants/Todd Wiseman / Dan HillInteractive: County Jail Spending on Detained Immigrantshttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/26/cost-of-jailing-undocumented-immigrants/A state law passed in 2011 requires Texas jails to report monthly estimates of the cost of housing undocumented immigrants. Use this interactive to see how many immigrants jails across Texas housed and how much the jails spent. By Dan KeemahillTue, 04 Mar 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/26/cost-of-jailing-undocumented-immigrants/Todd Wiseman / Dan HillInteractive: Where Texas Candidates Are Buying Network Airtimehttp://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/13/where-texas-candidates-are-buying-airtime/With less than a week before the start of early voting in the March 4 primaries, use our interactive to see how statewide candidates are spending campaign funds to purchase network airtime in Texas' four biggest media markets. By Aman Batheja and Dan KeemahillThu, 13 Feb 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/13/where-texas-candidates-are-buying-airtime/Graphic by Marjorie Cotera / Bob Daemmrich / Todd WisemanNews App: Higher Ed Outcomes Explorerhttp://www.texastribune.org/education/public-education/8th-grade-cohorts/Each year, some 300,000 students begin eighth grade in a Texas public school. Use this app to track the educational milestones of every student who started eighth grade in a Texas public school between 1996 and 2001, broken down by region and county. By Dan Keemahill and Travis SwicegoodTue, 11 Feb 2014 06:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/education/public-education/8th-grade-cohorts/Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Dan HillInteractive: Child Poverty by Texas Countyhttp://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/02/child-poverty-increases-by-county/Use this interactive to see which Texas counties have the highest rates of child poverty and unemployment, and to see which counties have the highest raw numbers of children in poverty or people who are unemployed. By Ryan Murphy and Dan KeemahillTue, 03 Dec 2013 08:00:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/02/child-poverty-increases-by-county/Nacho Benvenuty / Todd WisemanInteractive Map: Results of the Constitutional Amendment Electionhttp://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/05/constitutional-amendment-election-results/Texans approved nine amendments to the state Constitution on Tuesday. Use our map to see how they voted. The results and the map will be constantly updated with election returns.By Ryan Murphy, Travis Swicegood and Dan KeemahillTue, 05 Nov 2013 19:30:00 -0600http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/05/constitutional-amendment-election-results/Graphic by Todd WisemanInteractive: The Cost of Jailing Undocumented Immigrants in Texashttp://www.texastribune.org/2013/10/15/texas-jails-spend-millions-undocumented-immigrants/visualization/A state law passed in 2011 requires Texas jails to report monthly estimates of the cost to house undocumented immigrants. This interactive table shows the total number of immigrants housed and the cost to each county from October 2011 to September 2013.By Dan KeemahillTue, 15 Oct 2013 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2013/10/15/texas-jails-spend-millions-undocumented-immigrants/visualization/Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Dan HillInteractive: Psychiatric Prisons See More Violencehttp://www.texastribune.org/2013/09/22/violence-behind-bars-tie-mental-illness/visualization/Data from the Texas criminal justice system shows that psychiatric prison units experience the most violence per capita. Use this interactive to examine the violent incidents reported at more than 90 Texas prisons between 2006 and 2012. By Brandi Grissom and Dan KeemahillSun, 22 Sep 2013 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2013/09/22/violence-behind-bars-tie-mental-illness/visualization/Graphic by Todd Wiseman