April 15, 2010
Public higher education would see a $132 million cut under the House Ways and Means Committee’s budget proposal for next fiscal year, the largest reduction in a list of $750 million in spending cuts contained in the document, filed Monday and up for floor debate later this month. The state’s trial court system would also […]
April 15, 2010
Many suburban school districts already were wading in budget deficits before news of state-aid cutbacks threatened to plunge them knee-deep or waist-high into troubled waters. Battered by adversities this year — from a flat property tax cap to late state payments — many school administrators were hoping to ride out the recession and weather the […]
April 15, 2010
Gov. Jay Nixon signed a supplemental appropriations bill yesterday, but he’s directing the state’s education leaders to spread funding cuts among all districts rather than follow the language of the bill, which he says is unconstitutional. House Bill 2014 provides $86 million in June supplemental funding for the state’s 523 school districts, meaning a cut […]
April 15, 2010
Trimming $57 million from a school district’s $298 million general operating budget is about as heartbreaking as it gets. But this year it’s a reality facing the St. Louis Public School District, along with many other school districts, who are feeling the effects of shriveling State funding and local property taxes. SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams […]
April 14, 2010
Facing a multi-year budget crisis, Tuesday the Missouri Senate gave first round approval to Senate Bill 943 that would adjust the phase-in of full funding for Missouri school districts. The bill creates two scenarios based on the state’s ability to fund schools at certain levels as well as takes summer school programs back to core […]
April 14, 2010
Principal Rhonda Richetta can vividly recall days when students have come to her office door at City Springs School gasping for air. The school has a large population of asthmatic elementary- and middle-school-age students who receive critical services — including daily breathing treatments — from a nurse practitioner in its health center. Richetta fears that […]
April 14, 2010
Thirty-five years ago, the federal government mandated that public school districts provide free, equal education for disabled children. However, federal or state monies have never come close to funding 40 percent of a school’s excess educational costs, as required by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. That lack of funding has left school districts […]
April 14, 2010
When Gov. Pat Quinn introduced his state budget last month for the upcoming fiscal year, education bore the brunt of potential cuts totaling more than $1 billion. Now, school districts statewide are faced with laying off more than 15,000 teachers or potentially closing school doors. Local education advocates converged Tuesday on the State Capitol […]
April 14, 2010
In an effort to provide a solution for special education educators pressured to yield results despite a financial crisis for education funding nationwide, the University of California, Irvine Extension announces a new "Special Education: K-12 Practices Webinar Series ." The series is designed to arm teachers and administrators with the most up-to-date knowledge about the […]
April 14, 2010
Last week’s meeting for parents of special education students in the Parma district drew quite a crowd, despite being scheduled on St. Patrick’s Day. The Ohio Department of Education, which held the meeting as part of its review of the district’s special education program, recorded 64 parents in attendance. That’s the largest turnout so far […]