July 19, 2010
Parents and teachers again spilled into the hallway and outside the Coachella Valley Unified School District’s cramped boardroom, this time protesting the possible elimination of preschool. After hearing an hour of testimony Thursday night from parents and teachers supporting the educational and social opportunities of state preschool and child care, the board voted voted 4-2 […]
July 19, 2010
The school finance crisis in Kansas continues with no end in sight, and attempts to fix it have been temporary at best. State Board of Education members last week recommended a $471 million increase to public schools. That would amount to a 15 percent increase over current spending, and would “fund the law” that Kansas […]
July 19, 2010
For the first time in more than 15 years, Rhode Island has a statewide school funding formula that supporters say will more equitably dole out money to its public schools, though the new system has hardly settled the debate over how best to divvy up state aid for public education. The formula, approved by Rhode […]
July 19, 2010
Richard Thomas has eliminated his land-line phone and cut his cable television and uses his air conditioning sparingly. When he shops he searches for sale items, and despite 142,000 miles on the odometer, he’s sticking with his 2003 Dodge Dakota. Thomas, a single father of two, teaches science at Gray Station Middle School in Jones […]
July 19, 2010
Over the past two years, funding for public education in California has tanked with the rest of the state’s economy, receiving nearly $17 billion less than anticipated in the last two years, according to state education officials. Today, the Bay Area Education Coalition publicly denounced Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest May budget revision for exacerbating that […]
July 19, 2010
Polk County school districts have invested millions of dollars from sales tax revenues in the past 10 years to build new schools and renovate and expand dozens of others. Air conditioning has become standard. More buildings are now equipped with wireless Internet and other technology upgrades. Districts have improved safety features, constructing student drop-off and […]
July 19, 2010
A top Missouri education official is promoting federal legislation that offers additional money for teachers and could save the jobs of about 3,200 educators in the state. Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said she supports legislation being considered by Congress that would offer $10 billion in grants to school districts to avoid teacher layoffs. The bill […]
July 16, 2010
Attention state education agencies: Don’t send those Gates-financed consultants home just yet. It’s still early in the congressional budget process, but it looks like the Obama administration’s signature K-12 initiative—the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program—has a better chance of being extended into fiscal year 2011, which begins Oct. 1. The bill financing the […]
July 16, 2010
As school districts prepare their budgets for the upcoming year, which may be plagued with more cuts from the state, some administrators are looking at alternatives to making more cuts — finding ways to make money. This year, school districts around the state were cut about 4.5 percent in their general funds, which pays mostly […]
July 16, 2010
The State Board of Education this week recommended that the Kansas Legislature increase funding for public education by $471 million in order to "fund the law". Prior to the past year’s significant budget cuts, the legislature had enacted state statutes that provide $471 million more for school funding than what is in the current state […]