Reform
School Funding Explained: Where the Money Comes From
Property taxes set the base, state formulas adjust it, and courts police the result. Here is how the three layers fit together.
James Wellington · October 15, 2026
Reform
Accounts of attempts to remake public bodies: mergers, devolution, staffing overhauls and shared service centers. Each piece records the case made for the change, the money spent, and the measurable result several years later. Written for officials planning reorganizations and for the auditors who eventually assess them.
Reform
Healthcare Reform Explained — Healthcare Cost Reform: The Terms That Matter
Surprise billing, price transparency, and drug pricing each run on a different mechanism. Knowing which term does what tells you which reform can actually move a bill.
Valentina Sokolov · October 2, 2026
Reform
The Automatic Stay: How a Bid Protest Freezes a Contract
A losing bidder's protest to the Government Accountability Office can stop a federal contract cold. The mechanism runs on two statutes, a 100-day clock, and a narrow set of overrides.
Valentina Sokolov · August 21, 2026
Reform
Redistricting Commissions: How They're Built, and Why States Are Bypassing Them
Nine states hand congressional map-drawing to citizens instead of legislators. California and Texas just showed how a legislature gets around one anyway.
Valentina Sokolov · August 15, 2026
Reform
From Spoils to Merit: Civil Service Reform's Long Arc
The 1883 Pendleton Act ended the spoils system by building an exam-based service — and every modern reform fight is still about the same seam: competence versus responsiveness.
Valentina Sokolov · July 23, 2026