March 15, 2010
Virginia lawmakers went into overtime this weekend to pass a two-year, $70 billion budget that includes millions in cuts to health and human services programs in the state. Set to adjourn for the 2010 session March 13, legislators reconvened in Richmond the next day to approve a compromise budget. The measure passed the House of […]
March 15, 2010
The Virginia General Assembly adjourned its annual legislative session Sunday evening after adopting a two-year, $82 billion budget that cuts millions from education, health care and public safety — curtailing state spending more aggressively than any in generations while fulfilling the new Republican governor’s promise not to raise taxes. The trade-off for holding firm against […]
March 15, 2010
Two years ago, with great fanfare, then-Gov. Jon Corzine and the Legislature came up with a new way to fund our public schools. The new formula is simple: Fund schools based on the cost of educating each student to meet core standards; add money to provide extra help to students with disabilities, those in poverty, […]
March 15, 2010
Parents came out to the Board of Finance budg et public hearing imploring that the already-trim Board of Education budget not be reduced any more — with one Darienite even suggesting raising taxes to help offset the budgetary woes. While Tuesday night’s Board of Finance public hearing covered the entire town 2010-11 budget, the focus […]
March 12, 2010
The Kansas City school board is closing half their district schools. The Kansas City school board voted on the closing Wednesday night, announcing that they will be shutting down 29 of the 61 schools they have in the district by the end of this school year. The nearly budget shortfall of nearly $50 million for […]
March 12, 2010
NEW ALBANY — Hundreds of people sat on the edge of their seats Thursday night anxiously awaiting the few little words that meant so much. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. With only Lee Ann Wiseheart and Rebecca Gardenour voting against, the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. board voted in favor of all […]
March 12, 2010
The Kokomo School Board Wednesday unanimously approved moving forward with implementing elementary and middle school reorganization for the 2010 to 2011 school year. Superintendent Chris Himsel said the move is necessary as the corporation deals with $3.7 million in funding cuts, because of reduction in state funding and decreased enrollment. He said Kokomo-Center has lost […]
March 12, 2010
The Dallastown Area School District plans to reclaim many of its special-education students who had been taught in intermediate unit programs. That could be a long-term cost savings for the district, but more importantly, it will let Dallastown have more oversight of its students, said Susan Brousseau, the director of special education. About 13 percent, […]
March 12, 2010
With the clock ticking toward the midnight Thursday end of this session, lawmakers still have at least one major education funding issue to resolve: charter schools. Legislative leaders and the governor agree on the vast majority of the education budget the Senate passed late Wednesday, but at least one major provision will be new to […]
March 12, 2010
Charter schools didn’t get the money makeover they hoped for this legislative session, but they managed to secure a bump in funding and a seat on the State School Board, among other things. Lawmakers argued over a last-minute move to force charter funding onto school districts. In the end, the two houses agreed to study […]