Check out The Hub Friday, Jan. 16 to watch fourth- and fifth-grade students deliver their inspirational essays live at the 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. The event will be streamed on The Hub beginning at 11 a.m. Eight finalists will present essays to a host of judges on what they believe Dr. King would say in his acceptance speech if he were alive today and won the Nobel Prize. The finalists are: Kywin Brown, fourth grade, Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary Serenity Dugan, fourth grade, Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary Jalien Hedgeman, fifth grade, Clara Oliver Elementary Walker Homan, fifth grade,…

Homeowners will often refinance their mortgages to obtain a lower interest rate. The Dallas Independent School District took the concept to a new level, netting $29 million in savings by refinancing two sets of bonds. On Jan. 8, the district refinanced bonds issued in 2006 and 2008 worth more than $234 million that were issued at a higher interest rate. Due to Dallas ISD’s district’s strong credit rating and increasing financial strength, the refinancing resulted in a lower interest cost that resulted in gross savings of $41 million and net present value savings of $29 million, or 12.1 percent in…

Plans to open schools of choice next August appear to have the support of trustees who received a briefing on the effort Thursday. The report recapped the results of a school choice survey, revealed that 46 school teams have applied to offer choice programs, and identified five schools that are on track to launch personalized learning curriculums next school year. Overall, trustees reacted favorably to the progress report that indicated broad public interest in expanding choice options. An ongoing interest survey has drawn nearly 4,000 responses reflecting a desire for a variety of choice programs. Trustees expressed personal preferences for…