March 30, 2011
Districts are continuing to face many challenges in filing for reimbursement for the Medicaid services they provide to students, according to the 2009 Biennial Survey: Trends and Data released Jan. 25 by the National Alliance for Medicaid in Education (NAME), a nonprofit organization representing state Medicaid and education agencies. The report examines Medicaid reimbursements, primarily […]
March 30, 2011
BOISE, IDAHO–The Idaho House voted 56-14 to cut $34 million from state funding for Medicaid in 2012, with all but one Republican supporting the measure and Democratic lawmakers calling it "tunnel-vision budgeting at its worst." Thursday’s bill cuts a total of $108 million from the program, due to lost federal matching funds. It now goes […]
March 30, 2011
For teachers in Illinois, spring can be a nail-biter. By state law, that’s when thousands of them are informed they may not be hired back until budgets are set in stone. That’s typically been little more than a procedural step, with most being brought back by August. But this year isn’t typical. With Illinois facing […]
March 30, 2011
Abilene ISD Superintendent Heath Burns is pleased to hear a little bit of good news coming out of Austin. Burns said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced that spending on public education can be maintained, and even increased, in the next two-year budget, despite a huge budget shortfall. The Republican lieutenant governor’s vision is a far […]
March 30, 2011
Throughout the country, protesting students carry signs for academic programs that are being eliminated due to budget shortfalls. Federal and State budgets have been reduced, causing School Districts to cut programs to stay afloat. Many School Districts fund food service programs with money that could go toward academic programs. "A lot of these money problems […]
March 30, 2011
The state fiscal monitor who has veto power over school board decisions is pushing the district to create new positions as he works to fix pervasive management problems in the special education department. Monitor Mark Cowell, who the district was required to hire after an audit uncovered a deficit in special education spending, told the […]
March 30, 2011
The conference committee on the 2011 budget rescission is again stuck on maintenance of effort (MOE) in special education funding. Committee Chairman Marc Rhodes said today’s committee meeting lasted just five minutes because an apparent agreement reached Tuesday collapsed. “I basically said, when you’re ready to be serious, because they know our position, then let […]
March 30, 2011
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, quickly becoming a darling of Republicans across the country for his plan to take away most collective bargaining rights from public workers, will get another chance to bolster his national conservative credentials when he unveils the rest of his plan for dealing with the state’s budget woes. Walker’s plan — set […]
March 30, 2011
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday amended his proposed budget to incorporate Medicaid funding cuts and policy changes recommended by a task force that reviewed the program and to reflect some future economic optimism. His revisions include a projection that school aid will increase a year from now, which would be the first […]
March 30, 2011
MIAMI — The Florida Legislature, convening its 60-day session on Tuesday, quickly set its sights on measures that would link the pay of new teachers to student performance and allow school boards to fire teachers more easily for mediocre results. The final bill is expected to clear the Legislature next week. Unlike last year, when […]