February 18, 2011
A crowd of more than 200 people chanted, “Senate stand firm!” as the last speaker stepped off the podium and into the swarm of Virginia Education Association members and supporters at a Capitol Square rally this week. The rally, which took place Monday at the Bell Tower on the Capitol grounds, focused on funding for […]
February 18, 2011
State leaders forced into making cuts for the 2011-12 budget can slash about $225 million by revising the funding formula for charter schools, state Auditor General Jack Wagner told Norwin-area business owners and community leaders Thursday. Wagner, the first speaker for Norwin School District’s quarterly business-education roundtable, said the formula costs taxpayers about $3,100 more […]
February 18, 2011
With Gov. John Lynch’s proposed budget poking a $5 million hole in the school department’s spending plan, Board of Education members are in a quandary over how to proceed with putting together their own budget. At a budget meeting Wednesday, board members received a bleak assessment from Superintendent Mark Conrad on how Lynch’s proposed budget […]
February 18, 2011
Proposed cuts in education spending have many Metro East school officials fuming and searching for a ‘plan B.’ Nearly half of the 7,000 students in the Granite City School District ride buses to and from school. Some parents are concerned about plans to reduce transportation because of the state’s budget woes. Governor Pat Quinn’s proposal […]
February 18, 2011
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, escalating his battle with Albany over cuts to city programs, will announce plans to lay off nearly 4,700 teachers as part of a bleak budget to be released on Thursday. &#x 0A;Mr. Bloomberg will portray the reductions as necessary to make up for a loss of $2.1 billion in state aid. […]
February 17, 2011
Two years ago today, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and life as we know it changed forever. Okay, so maybe the result hasn’t bee n that dramatic… But some $100 billion later, the effect of stimulus-era education reforms—from an emphasis on teacher merit pay to turning around low-performing schools—hangs in the balance. […]
February 17, 2011
South Carolina charter school advocates have won a partial victory with legislators giving initial approval to a one-time cash infusion. A House budget-writing panel voted Wednesday to send more money in 2011-12 to charter schools organized under the statewide charter district. Online schools would get an extra $2,500 per student, while "brick and mortar" schools […]
February 17, 2011
A Senate committee has approved a key piece of Gov. Susana Martinez’s proposed educational reforms. The measure will assign the grades of A to F for public schools based on student achievement. The Senate Education Committee endorsed the bill on Wednesday on a 7-1 vote, sending it to another committee for consideration. Supporters say the […]
February 17, 2011
Legislative Democrats know they don’t like Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed 2011-12 budget, but they don’t yet know quite how to soften the blow to K-12 education. “The budget we pass won’t be the same as the governor’s proposal,” Senate President Brandon Shaffer told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t know how it will be different.” Hickenlooper’s budget […]
February 17, 2011
President Obama often professes his desire to shake up public education while also working with teachers unions. But a question hangs over this week’s gathering of hundreds of labor leaders and school officials: Can he do both at the same time? More than any of his predecessors, Republican or Democratic, Obama has pushed a reform […]