March 31, 2010
State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, predicted Tuesday that a bill that "restrains" Medicaid costs will most likely be presented to the Legislature this session. "Medicaid is the Pac-Man in the state budget," Proctor said, echoing a well-used comparison. "It is taking an increasing amount of the state budget, Our two biggest budget items are […]
March 31, 2010
More than $2 billion in state aid payments to public school districts across the state are being delayed , possibly until June, because of the state’s worsening financial crisis, Gov. David A. Paterson said Tuesday. The governor’s order, coming the day before the aid was to go out, left school districts scrambling, with talk of […]
March 31, 2010
New York will get a $1.3 billion boost in federal Medicaid funding beginning in 2014, thanks to the health-care reform legislation. The money will fund a Medicaid expansion to insure more low-income peo ple, but there is uncertainty over the long-term financial impact of that expansion. Under the legislation, the state will see annual increases […]
March 31, 2010
As U.S. health insurers begin adapting to the newly passed health reform overhaul, the 2014 expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor presents one clear growth area for the industry. But that growth comes with some risks and remains several years away. Before the Medicaid expansion takes hold, even greater challenges may lie ahead […]
March 31, 2010
Critics describe the Chicago Public Schools special education system as so complex and litigious that parents of children with disabilities must hire a cadre of medical and legal experts to have any hope of getting their child proper educational services. Disputes with the district can drain parents’ resources and patience, and leave the physicians who […]
March 31, 2010
New York City public schools are on spring recess until April 7, but that doesn’t mean a clean break from anxiety for either the city’s Department of Education officials or many public school parents. A budget decision from Albany looms, with hundreds of millions in education cuts expected. The state failed to win a grant, which […]
March 30, 2010
For much of the last two decades, Illinois schools have lurched from financial crisis to financial crisis, with no shortage of potential solutions floated through blue-ribbon panels, reform legislation, lawsuits and even a constitutional referendum. To date, the only clear winner has been inertia. Now with the state budget awash in red ink and Gov. Pat […]
March 30, 2010
Earlier this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $1.2 billion in "school district central administration" to help balance the 2010-201 1 budget. But his definition of central administration is broad. According to Department of Finance officials, the governor wants total spending on the following areas reduced, on average, by 10 percent statewide: General administration: Central office expenses, […]
March 30, 2010
Simcoe County’s elementary teachers have a message for pa rents: Pay attention. In a series of radio ads, the Simcoe County Elementary Teachers’ Federation warns parents of cutbacks, including the likely elimination of the Reading Recovery program – which helps at-risk Grade 1 students to read. Other reductions could include special education teachers, English as a second […]
March 30, 2010
For the second time in about four months, a special education watchdog group picketed the Mansfield public schools’ administrative office Monday, braving pouring rain and heavy winds to protest the school system’s treatment of special education students. About 18 members of SPEDWatch, a Pepperell-based watchdog group, spent two hours marching around the South Common in […]