January 8, 2010
Gov. Jim Douglas devoted nearly half of his final State of the State address Thursday to reforming and spending less on Vermont’s public schools, saying the cost had doubled in the past decade and, without changes, would grow by another 26 percent within three years. "Containing costs is the only way to halt the climb […]
January 8, 2010
The Fairfax County school system, the Washington area’s largest, on Thursday became the latest to propose dramatic spending reductions, including scaling back programs that have made it a national model fo r academic excellence. The 173,500-student system is facing historic revenue shortfalls. Superintendent Jack D. Dale has proposed a $2.3 billion budget that would increase […]
January 8, 2010
Gov. Paterson on Thursday urged lawmakers to lift the state’s cap on charter schools and let student test results be used in teacher tenure decisions. Eliminating the statewide cap of 200 charter schools would greatly improve New York’s chances of competing for $700million in much-needed federal funding, the governor said. "It is incumbent upon us […]
January 8, 2010
Special education costs have soared in local school districts during the past five years, driven by higher program costs, continued demand for those programs by parents, and cutbacks in state and federal aid. The costs have grown at double the rate of regular school budgets in about half of the area’s school districts, even as […]
January 7, 2010
Every morning and afternoon, students like Ashley Clay help to lift open the heavy wooden shutters that cover the counter at A&D Dizzle’s, the small school store at International Finance Career High School in the Franklin High School building. Soon after, her classmates line up to spend a few dollars on chips or drinks or, […]
January 7, 2010
A battle between Los Angeles Unified and charter groups could be decided today when the State Board of Education is expected to rule whether charters statewide can take complete control of educating their special needs students. Publicly funded and independently run charters have argued that they should control special education funding, as they do for […]
January 7, 2010
Ledyard’s constrained public schools budget got a bit of breathing room recently, with additional relief possibly coming today. Unionized administrators have voted unanimously to accept a wage freeze, Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner said Wednesday. Unionized teachers are to vote on a possible freeze today. The vote of the administrators, including Graner, saves $74,456, he […]
January 7, 2010
Falling interest rates and decreasing state aid will likely reduce the Lake Shore Central School District’s revenue in the upcoming budget year. Daniel Pacos, business administrator, presented preliminary 2010-11 budget numbers to the Board of Education during a work s ession Tuesday (Jan. 5) night. Pacos projected a drop from $350,000 to $150,000 in the […]
January 7, 2010
Terri Patton referred to it as the most challenging budget of her 25-year career. That was six months ago. During Wednesday’s school board meeting, the South Kitsap School District’s assistant superintendent for business and support said the budget for the 2010-11 school year might be even more difficult than this year’s. Patton and her staff […]
January 7, 2010
Administrators and central office employees in the Ledyard school district have agreed to forgo raises next year and teachers in town are set to vote on the same measure today, part of an ongoing effort to cut costs in the school budget. The news came from Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner, who briefed the town’s […]