March 31, 2010
State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, predicted Tuesday that a bill that "restrains" Medicaid costs will most likely be presented to the Legislature this session. "Medicaid is the Pac-Man in the state budget," Proctor said, echoing a well-used comparison. "It is taking an increasing amount of the state budget, Our two biggest budget items are […]
March 31, 2010
More than $2 billion in state aid payments to public school districts across the state are being delayed , possibly until June, because of the state’s worsening financial crisis, Gov. David A. Paterson said Tuesday. The governor’s order, coming the day before the aid was to go out, left school districts scrambling, with talk of […]
March 31, 2010
New York will get a $1.3 billion boost in federal Medicaid funding beginning in 2014, thanks to the health-care reform legislation. The money will fund a Medicaid expansion to insure more low-income peo ple, but there is uncertainty over the long-term financial impact of that expansion. Under the legislation, the state will see annual increases […]
March 31, 2010
As U.S. health insurers begin adapting to the newly passed health reform overhaul, the 2014 expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor presents one clear growth area for the industry. But that growth comes with some risks and remains several years away. Before the Medicaid expansion takes hold, even greater challenges may lie ahead […]
March 31, 2010
Critics describe the Chicago Public Schools special education system as so complex and litigious that parents of children with disabilities must hire a cadre of medical and legal experts to have any hope of getting their child proper educational services. Disputes with the district can drain parents’ resources and patience, and leave the physicians who […]
March 31, 2010
New York City public schools are on spring recess until April 7, but that doesn’t mean a clean break from anxiety for either the city’s Department of Education officials or many public school parents. A budget decision from Albany looms, with hundreds of millions in education cuts expected. The state failed to win a grant, which […]
March 30, 2010
For the second time in about four months, a special education watchdog group picketed the Mansfield public schools’ administrative office Monday, braving pouring rain and heavy winds to protest the school system’s treatment of special education students. About 18 members of SPEDWatch, a Pepperell-based watchdog group, spent two hours marching around the South Common in […]
March 30, 2010
Leyden High School District 212, like other districts throughout Illinois, faces funding cuts proposed in Gov. Pat Quinn’s fiscal 2011 budget. "Next year, the governor’s proposed cuts could reduce our general state aid by $250,000 or more," Thomas Janeteas, Leyden’s chief financial officer and school board treasurer said. Quinn’s proposed budget slashes more than $2 […]
March 30, 2010
Over $300 million, or 42%, of Governor Christopher Christie’s massive $1.06 billion cut in K-12 school funding for FY11 falls on categorical aid designated for special education programs for students with disabilities in NJ’s public schools. The aid category — Special Education Categorical Aid — is a component of the State’s new school funding formula, […]
March 30, 2010
Heartache was heavy Monday, as South Bend school board members voted to cut more than $7 million from the corporation’s budget over the next two years, including more than 75 total jobs. But, school board members say they also felt an air of something else: compromise. The cuts will be felt across the board, from […]