Access News from March 22- March 26, 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)
March
26, 2010
School Funding/Litigation
WA---The state of Washington filed notice Thursday that
it plans to appeal the recent decision in a basic-education-funding
lawsuit to the state Supreme Court.
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more…
Education Finance – General
IL---As schools statewide get pinched financially, the
idea of merging small districts — once so poisonous
it touched off battles across the state — is cropping
up again.
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more…
Federal Stimulus Issues
DE---The U.S. Department of Education has released an
additional $36 million in federal stimulus money to
support public education in Delaware.
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more…
March 25 2010
Education Finance – General
AL---An Alabama House committee approved a recession-year
education budget Wednesday that will allow most teachers
to keep their jobs.
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more…
IL---Future government employees throughout Illinois
would have to work longer to get full retirement benefits,
and the size of those pensions would be limited under
a measure that zoomed through the General Assembly on
Wednesday after years of calls for reform.
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more…
MI---The Republican-led Michigan Senate passed a bill
Wednesday that would cut school funding by $118 per
student starting Oct. 1.
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more…
NH---The New Hampshire Senate voted yesterday to extend
the current education funding formula for an extra year,
saving the state $70 million.
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more…
VT---Vermont officials have reached agreement on a teacher
pension plan that could become a model for financially-strapped
states seeking ways to reduce the rising cost of employee
retirement benefits.
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more…
March 24, 2010
School Funding/Litigation
IL---Two Illinois homeowners said they will sue the
state Wednesday, claiming Illinois' education funding
system discriminates against taxpayers based on where
they live.
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more…
IL---Editorial: It's hard to find an elected
official in Springfield who will forcefully defend the
way we pay for public education in Illinois. They
might like how the system works for their communities,
but most agree it creates massive inequities in per-pupil
spending based on where a student lives.
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more...
Education Finance – General
TX---A special legislative committee on school finance,
concerned about the bleak revenue outlook for public
education, indicated Tuesday that it will be open to
a wide range of funding ideas as it drafts recommendations
for the 2011 Legislature.
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more…
Other News
The nation’s school children made little or no
progress in reading proficiency in recent years, according
to results released Wednesday from the largest nationwide
reading test. The trend of sluggish achievement contrasts
with dramatic gains made in mathematics during the same
period.
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more…
March 23, 2010
School Funding/Litigation
CT---A divided state Supreme Court on Monday opened
the door to significant changes in the way the state
funds public education, ruling that the Connecticut
Constitution guarantees students not just a public education,
but one that can prepare them for employment, higher
education and civic responsibilities like voting and
jury duty.
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more…
IL---Long blamed for fostering inequities in the quality
of public education, Illinois' school funding system
will be challenged Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by property
taxpayers who say it discriminates against them financially
based on where they live.
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more…
Education Finance – General
CA---Schools districts around the state are taking a
stand on an initiative that would amend the state constitution
to make it much easier to pass new taxes for education.
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more…
ID---The Senate approved on Monday a budget for public
schools that cuts funding by 7.5 percent and leaves
the door open for all school districts to renegotiate
teacher contracts.
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more…
MD---Local government and education advocates expressed
surprise that the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee
approved a gradual shift of half the cost of pensions
for teachers and some other employees to the local governments
and then delayed it by a year.
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more...
March 22, 2010
School Funding/Litigation
CT---A divided Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday opened
the door to a fundamental change in the way the state
funds public education, keeping alive a lawsuit brought
by advocates who argued that the state fails to provide
students with a suitable and equal education system.
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more…
Education Finance – General
AR, ME and VT---As states become determined to keep
more school money inside the classroom, rather than
in an administrative office, they are beginning to turn
to the thorny issue of consolidation as a way to save
on administrative costs.
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more…
KS---The House Appropriations Committee passed a $5.1
billion budget proposal Thursday that includes no tax
increases and would cause public schools to lose $172
million.
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more…
LA---As the state tries to figure how to trim at least
$1 billion from its own budget for the fiscal year that
begins July 1, it has seized upon the $1.1 billion in
financial reserves that public-school districts are
collectively carrying on their books.
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more…
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