Access News from January 4- January 8, 2010
Daily news stories about education funding
litigation, education funding policy, cost studies,
advocacy and No Child Left Behind.
(Some links go to pages that require free subscriptions)
January
8, 2010
Education Finance – General
ID---If Idaho public schools are asked to immediately
cut spending this year, several local districts say
they have the cash reserve to get through it.
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more…
OH---With a budget cloud hanging overhead, a new state
council sat down for the first time yesterday to consider
ongoing changes to Ohio's school-funding system.
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more…
Federal Stimulus Issues
CA---Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited a Los Angeles
middle school Thursday to celebrate legislation that
sets the course for future school reforms and improves
the state's chances at qualifying for federal money
to carry them out.
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more…
CT---The state Department of Education will seek $175
million over the next four years in competitive federal
grants, part of a $4.35 billion federal investment in
education reform included in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
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more…
Other News
KY---Kentucky expects to become the first state in the
nation to officially adopt new common core-content standards
for math and English in grades K-12.
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more…
January 7, 2010
Education Finance – General
CO---Colorado faces a $1.5 billion gap in next fiscal
year's budget. The state has lost 5 percent of the jobs
it had before the downturn hit. While Colorado gained
2,800 jobs in October and November, [Governor] Ritter
has said it will take years to recover…He's also
insisted that all parts of the budget share the pain,
including cutting funding for kindergarten through 12th
grade education by $260 million.
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more…
FL---The Florida Department of Education sent districts
a memo over the holiday break lowering the amount of
money it doles out per student by $14 -- from $6,876.99
to $6,863.09 -- because the state now has to divide
its education dollars among more students.
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more…
NV---Gov. Jim Gibbons issued an eight-point plan Wednesday
to cut state spending by implementing reforms to the
public education system that include eliminating collective
bargaining and the class-size reduction program.
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more...
Federal Stimulus Issues
MA---The Massachusetts House of Representatives has
passed an education overhaul bill that legislators say
will address the achievement gap between schools in
richer and poorer communities. The bill passed early
Thursday morning strengthens the state’s application
for $250 million in federal funding, makes it easier
for the state to step in and help underperforming districts
and lifts the cap on charter schools in the lowest performing
districts.
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more…
Other News
AZ---The Arizona Education Association is starting over
in challenging budget legislation affecting public school
employees.
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more…
GA---The South has become the first region in the country
where more than half of public school students are poor
and more than half are members of minorities, according
to a new report.
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more…
January 6, 2010
School Funding/Litigation
KS---The Wichita school district's decision to sue the
state over budget cuts means a coalition of Kansas schools
will proceed with legal action, the group's lead attorney
said Tuesday.
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more…
NY---Despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars
to reduce class sizes, the city’s Department of
Education has ignored state law and allowed classrooms
to grow in the last couple of years, the city teachers’
union and other groups said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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more…
Education Finance – General
IN---Indiana’s K-12 public school funding will
be cut by about $300 million in the current year because
of the financial shortfall
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more…
KS---Kansas is delaying $200 million in aid payments
to public schools this month so it can meet state government's
payroll and pay other bills on time, its top budget
official confirmed Tuesday.
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more…
MI---School districts are getting a break in funding
cuts after the governor canceled a $127-per-student
decrease, but local districts are already worried about
problems looming for next year.
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more…
WA---The gap between the haves and have-nots would grow
if state levy equalization funds are suspended during
the upcoming legislative session, according to a group
of local school district superintendents.
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more…
Federal Stimulus Issues
Florida's Broward County Public Schools saved as many
as 900 jobs this school year. Nevada's Clark County
School District just added more math and tutoring programs.
And in Connecticut's Bloomfield Public Schools, eight
elementary- and middle-school teachers were spared from
layoffs. These cash-strapped districts covered the costs
using a boost in funding intended for special education,
drawing an outcry from parents and advocates of special-needs
children.
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more…
Other News
AZ---The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday tossed out
a complaint by the Arizona Education Association over
legislation which undermines the tenure system for teachers.
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more…
January 5, 2010
Education Finance – General
IA---Normally, even in difficult financial times, education
is shielded from the brunt of state budget cuts. But
with about 60 percent of state spending going to K-12
schools and higher education, officials say next year’s
budget could be an exception to that rule.
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more…
KY---Gov. Steve Beshear plugged a $108 million budget
shortfall Monday with a combination of 3 percent spending
cuts in most state agencies, transfers from other funds
and the use of one-time federal stimulus money. He also
said he plans to return $30 million to $40 million in
excess education funds to the state's school districts
to cover previous cuts.
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more…
MI---The temporary reprieve school districts got last
month from a $127-per-student cut looks like it's here
to stay.
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more…
Federal Stimulus Issues
CA---The California Legislature is poised to pass an
education plan today that makes far-reaching changes
to how public schools are governed, giving parents the
power to transfer their kids out of failing schools
and to force districts to overhaul bad schools.
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more…
January 4, 2010
Education Finance – General
KS and MO---Call 2010 the year of the tough decisions.
Shriveling state revenues threaten to shipwreck government
programs in Kansas and Missouri. The easy budget cuts
are done, the low-hanging fruit plucked. So as lawmakers
return to Topeka and Jefferson City for their 2010 legislative
sessions, many are casting a weary eye on their most
expensive program: public education, which eats up billions
of dollars from each state’s budget.
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more…
MN---A perfect storm of bad financial news could be
brewing for Minnesota schools.
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more…
NV---As the year draws to a close, K-12 and higher education
officials are looking ahead to see how they might guard
against the deep cuts, layoffs and fiscal uncertainty
that defined 2009 for Nevada’s public schools.
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more…
WA---The state superintendent of public instruction
said lawmakers know they have very little choice; they
have to find new money to pay for essential programs
like K-12 education. But he sees a partial silver lining
in the state’s economic crisis: Dorn thinks 2010
will be an excellent time to lay the groundwork for
the future of education spending in the state.
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more…
Federal Stimulus Issues
MI---Gov. Jennifer Granholm today signed legislation
aimed at improving public schools by more strictly measuring
students’ academic progress and to qualify Michigan
for up to $400 million in federal education grants.
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more…
MO---Area schools have used some federal stimulus money
on new buses, class materials and programs. But districts
are also preparing for the day when the stimulus money
is gone.
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more…
WI---As Gov. Jim Doyle's office prepares to put the
final touches on Wisconsin's application for a slice
of $4 billion in federal school grants, state legislators
will hold a public hearing in Milwaukee Tuesday on two
bills that could make or break Wisconsin's chances of
winning the nationwide competition.
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more…
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