March 1, 2010
The debate leading to a school-tax referendum in Sarasota County has generated a lot of questions, including many focused on the broader topic of education funding in Florida. Writing about this topic has its risks. It’s complicated, numbers change from year to year and county to county. And, unless the writer is prepared to produce […]
March 1, 2010
Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but they should be taken only after careful thought and planning. Collaboration between Pueblo County’s two school districts may have seemed unthinkable a few years ago, but combining some functions could improve services and each district’s bottom line. That was the consensus Friday during a congenial […]
March 1, 2010
President Obama plans Monday to outline a get-tough str ategy for turning around persistently struggling schools, offering increased federal funding to local school systems that shake up their lowest-achieving campuses. Obama was expected to promote his initiative in a 10 a.m. appearance Monday before an organization called America’s Promise Alliance, founded by former secretary of […]
March 1, 2010
Once again, facts are getting in the way of those who would question the success of charter schools. Critics often claim that charter schools are more effective than district-run public schools only because they are better funded. In fact, according to a new report, New York City’s chart er schools are thriving despite receiving fewer […]
February 25, 2010
Charter schools receive less public funding per student than their district school peers, according to a report released today by the city’s Independent Budget Office. But the size of that disparity varies widely according to whether the charter school is housed in a city-owned building, the report said. Charter schools that are housed in public […]
February 25, 2010
The Lawrence School Board faces the daunting task of cutting $5 million in funding before next school year. Deciding where those cuts will come from remains a difficult decision and one that deserves careful deliberation. Although the Board needs to consider a wide range of viable options, closing neighborhood schools falls far outside that range. […]
February 25, 2010
COLUMBIA — Columbia Public Schools could use some good financial news. But as the saying goes, there’s good news and bad news. The Good News Despite three consecutive years of budget cuts by the district, things could have been worse: Federal st imulus money for Missouri supported key public school programs, including Title I preschool […]
February 25, 2010
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ? Officials feared the closure of a Natomas elementary school would be inevitable, but a new array of creative ideas may provide alternatives. D uring a Wednesday night board workshop packed with parents, a parent’s group proposed to cut back on custodians and secretaries throughout the Natomas Unified School District as a way […]
February 25, 2010
DeKalb County schools’ superintendent is calling for 148 central office employees to be laid off to help meet an anticipated $88 million deficit. Those cuts are just the beginning of an across-the-board slashing of programs, personnel and school closings to meet the growing deficit in next year’s budget, Superintendent Crawford Lewis said. Hundreds more school […]
February 25, 2010
Arts groups are fighting back against a proposal by the House Appropriations Committee to eliminate state funding for the Virginia Commission for the Arts. At stake is a state appropriation of about $4.4 million in each of the next two fiscal years to fund the arts agency, which distributes grants to hundreds of arts groups […]