March 30, 2011
A House Republican budget plan unveiled Thursday makes major changes to school funding — shifting millions of dollars from districts with declining enrollment, such as Indianapolis Public Schools, to growing districts, such as Hamilton Southeastern. The proposal freezes overall education funding at current levels for the next two years. That means K-12 education would receive […]
March 30, 2011
For the first time in two decades, Arizona is facing two, possibly three, consecutive years of declines in basic per-student funding for K-12 schools. The Great Recession battered the state’s take from sales, property and income taxes and public-land sales, causing Arizona to chop its per-student funding, hike the sales tax and patch in with […]
March 30, 2011
WASHINGTON – White House officials said Wednesday they have major concerns about turning Medicaid into a block grant program, a proposal promoted by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and other Republican governors. "What we can’t do is kick the most vulnerable out of these programs,” said Stephanie Cutter, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama. Under […]
March 30, 2011
About 80 people rallied in front of the Jefferson County Board of Education during rush hour this afternoon to protest state budget cuts in education, which they say is increasing class sizes, drying up school supply money and killing teacher morale in just about every school district. The American Federation of Teachers led the rally, […]
March 30, 2011
Across the country, a divisive education reform movement has widely called for schools to hold teachers accountable for their students’ performance. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have been vocal in their support for merit pay, the practice of financially rewarding teachers for students’ improvement on standardized tests. Now, Idaho is on the brink […]
March 30, 2011
Most of us can probably remember hearing reports about a 6-year-old boy suspended from school for carrying a camping fork-spoon-knife combination tool. Or about a teenager suspended from school for having a dinner knife inside a car in a school parking lot. Time magazine’s Nancy Gibbs asks the question that has certainly been on my […]
March 30, 2011
A Northwest Washington private school that has collected more than $16 million in tuition from the District over the past two years to serve special education students is under investigation for lax security, high rates of truancy and inadequate academic programs. Officials of Rock Creek Academy said they have done their best to serve a […]
March 30, 2011
YORK — Officials from 22 area school districts have a dire vision of what will happen if Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget is enacted. Intensive layoffs and program eliminat ions are in the offing as the districts from Genesee, Wyoming and Livingston counties try to offset a steep decrease in state aid. Adding to their […]
March 30, 2011
As Congress faces an April 8 deadline to come up with a spending bill for the rest of the federal fiscal year, education advocates, states, and school districts remain anxious about what—and how much—may end up being cut from K-12 aid in any final deal. Congressional GOP leaders and the Obama administration have shown sharply […]
March 11, 2011
The uncertainty in state funding is prompting some school districts to search for ways to find more reliable sources of money from local sources. Some believe property taxes would be better than a sales tax. The state didn’t make as much money as projected so education funding was reduced. Madison City Schools lost more than […]