November 19, 2010
“Ouch.” The pain expressed by Sheila Moulton, a Clark County School Board member, followed the surprise revelation of a projected $180 million deficit in the coming school year. That’s 9 percent of the district’s $2 billion budget. The deficit could lead to 2,000 or more layoffs because the district doesn’t have the leeway under union […]
November 19, 2010
Houston school district officials are debating whether to make it easier for students to be promoted to the next grade level, reversing a decade-old policy touted as one of the toughest in Texas. A draft proposal from Superintendent Terry Grier’s administration, delivered to the school board Thursday, suggests that students should no longer be automatically […]
November 19, 2010
The state House’s top budget writer said Thursday that cutting 10 days out of South Carolina’s school year could save $210 million and help ease an $800 million deficit. Whittling down the 180-day school calendar is just one of the ideas House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper offered after his panel’s first meeting, […]
November 18, 2010
As state leaders grapple with a looming $1.6 billion deficit, thousands of teachers know they have a target on their backs. With K-12 education one of the state’s largest expenses, any funding cuts could put pressure on teacher compensation. Michigan educators, who get some of the nation’s best teacher wages and benefits, know their pay […]
November 18, 2010
Instead of sending special education students to costly private schools, Montclair’s school board is considering a proposal to educate them in-house while attracting pupils from neighbo ring towns with competitive tuition rates. The “in-sourcing” plan could eventually save the school district $2 million, said Harvey Susswein, a Montclair resident who presented the idea at the […]
November 18, 2010
Kansas school districts might have to consider cutting budgets for the current year as state revenues slowly recover, education officials said Wednesday.& lt;br /> Officials estimate as much as $75 million is needed in the current budget to supplement increasing numbers of students, and more of those students need assistance because of the economy. Kathy […]
November 18, 2010
A recently released report has North Carolina near the bottom of the barrel in terms of K-12 education spending, and is sharply critical of the formula it uses to determine who gets the money. State educators are bracing for the impact of an estimated $3.5 billion to $4 billion budget shortfall next year, but this […]
November 18, 2010
Three years after a landmark agreement to cut class sizes in New York City’s public schools, classrooms are swelling across the city, a result of budget cuts and spending decisions that have reduced the teaching force. According to the city’s Department of Education, elementary schools this year had the largest increases, with average class sizes […]
November 18, 2010
Baltimore’s teaching corps just ratified, by a 1,902-1,045 vote, a new contract that does away with many of the features of its traditional "step-and-lane" salary schedule in favor of one that puts a heavier emphasis on teacher performance. It looks like second time’s a charm in Baltimore: A nearly identical proposal was put to the […]
November 18, 2010
As many as 10,000 Connecticut children could be affected by a proposal to adjust the age they can enter kindergarten. Instead of children becoming eligible to enter kindergarten if they celebrate their fifth birthday by Dec. 31, they would have to turn 5 by Sept. 1. State education Commissioner Mark McQuillan has proposed the change […]