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Item(s) found: 875
Joint Guidance on the Application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) To Student Health Records (ID: CSD5578)
Date CapturedThursday December 04 2008, 4:36 PM
The HIPAA Privacy Rule specifically excludes from its coverage those records that are protected by FERPA. At the elementary or secondary school level, students’ immunization and other health records that are maintained by a school district or individual school, including a school-operated health clinic, that receives funds under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education are “education records” subject to FERPA, including health and medical records maintained by a school nurse who is employed by or under contract with a school or school district. Some schools may receive a grant from a foundation or government agency to hire a nurse. Notwithstanding the source of the funding, if the nurse is hired as a school official (or contractor), the records maintained by the nurse or clinic are “education records” subject to FERPA.
Hug the kids, turn the page
Date CapturedSunday September 02 2007, 10:00 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "For parents worrying about how they are going to fit in soccer practice and choir rehearsal, how about adding another stop to the itinerary — a weekly trip to the library, a few hours reading and talking about what was in the books. Let's face it, the kid is not going to make it in the MSL or the WNBA or the New York City Ballet. Reading, writing and communicating are the keys to the future. Think about 'no child left behind' not as a law or a line item in a budget but as a philosophy. Lobby the government to provide funding, show up at school events to show support. It's the start of a new school year. Time to read with the kids."
The Return on Investment for Improving California's High School Graduation Rate
Date CapturedFriday August 24 2007, 4:44 PM
Belfield, C. and Levin, H., "We review a large range of educational investments that might ensure more students graduate from high school in California. We identify educational interventions for which there is reasonably solid evidence of their efficacy to raise the rate of high school graduation, those for which there is promise, and those for which we have no relevant information. For each of these interventions we calculate the costs to the taxpayer of delivering the intervention. We calculate the delivery costs and the cost of producing one extra graduate. We then compare these costs to the economic benefits to the taxpayer and to the overall citizenry of California from each additional high school graduate. Under most scenarios, the economic benefits are substantially greater than the costs. However, this conclusion is sensitive to the funding source: federal governments gain significantly more from education than state and local governments, even as the latter are primarily responsible for funding."
Money alone won't help schools
Date CapturedSaturday August 18 2007, 9:55 AM
Times Herald-Record op-ed contributor Dan Walters opines, "The education establishment has argued vociferously, with some success, that spending more on teacher salaries, smaller classes and better facilities would produce better outcomes. In the main, political leaders have endorsed that contention, although they've been unable to supply all the money that educators say they need. Critics have countered that there is no direct correlation between spending and academic success, noting that private schools and whole states with lower per-pupil spending levels often surpass California in national academic tests, high-school-dropout rates and other measures of performance. They contend that public education needs a structural overhaul, not merely more money."
Get Congress on board funding school buses best suited to kids
Date CapturedWednesday August 15 2007, 7:28 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Robin L. Leeds, industry specialist, National School Transportation Association opines, "Instead of advocating that Congress loosen the rules further so that school districts can turn student transportation over to federally funded public transportation systems and receive inferior service, why not advocate that Congress provide federal funding for school transportation as it does for public transportation? If school bus systems were federally subsidized, the cost to school districts would be lower, and parents would be assured that their children were receiving the safest, most appropriate transportation possible. Isn't that a better solution?"
The Confidence Men
Date CapturedTuesday August 14 2007, 10:09 AM
By Eric Hanushek . Hanushek writes, "Clients want a bottom-line statement about how much spending would provide an adequate education, and they want this cost estimate attached to their specific state. Few people care about the 'studies' on which consultants base their reports, or even their validity, because nobody really expects schools to implement these specific programs if given extra funding. Clients simply want a requisite amount of scientific aura around the number that will become the rallying flag for political and legal actions. Summing the added cost of the separate programs suggested by Picus and Odden, I estimate that the overall plan, if fully applied, would increase average spending in Washington by $1,760 to $2,760 per student, or 23 to 35 percent. This estimate of the increased spending necessary to achieve “adequacy” is very similar to the percentage increases they have recommended to other states, and numbers like these will presumably become part of the headlines surrounding the new court case. But pity the poor states that actually implement the Picus and Odden plan. They are sure to be disappointed by the results, and most taxpayers (those who do not work for the schools) will be noticeably poorer."
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2004–05
Date CapturedWednesday July 25 2007, 9:25 AM
This NCES brief publication contains data on revenues and expenditures per pupil made by school districts for school year 2004-05. Median per pupil revenue and expenditure data are reported by state, as well as values at the 5th and 95th percentiles. Data for charter schools are reported separately. There are also discussions on the different types of school districts, and other resources that may be helpful in analyzing school district level data. Revenues and expenditures for the 100 largest school districts are included, as well as federal revenues by program. Zhou, L., and Gaviola, N. (2007). Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2004–05 (Fiscal Year 2005) (NCES 2007-355). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 25, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=200735
Getting Down to Facts: A Research Project Examining California’s School Governance and Finance
Date CapturedMonday July 23 2007, 9:03 AM
The researchers aimed to make the best possible use of existing research findings, identifying important holes in existing research and determining whether there were empirical studies that could be performed in the given timeframe to fill some of these holes. The new empirical work stems from this approach. As a result, the studies each provide a strong review of the literature with targeted new empirical additions.
Blind Brook school officials say Rye town reaps benefit of district's money
Date CapturedSunday July 22 2007, 8:23 AM
Journal News reports, "The town currently distributes the taxes to its three school districts - Blind Brook, Rye Neck and Port Chester - in 10 monthly installments. The new distribution method would allow the Blind Brook district to collect some $175,000 in interest on the taxes during the upcoming 2007-08 school year instead of the town, according to district estimates."
EYE$ ON SIZE
Date CapturedWednesday July 18 2007, 7:44 AM
NY Post Chuck Bennett reports, "Parents and advocates will be able to look at how the money is used in every targeted school — a move they had been loudly demanding for some time. Still, leaders of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the coalition of school and parent groups that initiated the suit against the state, were cautious in giving their thumbs up to the latest proposal, noting they still want to comb through the fine print. In all, the New York City school system will receive $1 billion extra in city and state funding for the 2007-08 school year. "
'PS' I LOVE YOU: $80M IN GIFTS GO TO SCHOOLS
Date CapturedSunday July 15 2007, 7:10 AM
NY Post reports, "Public schools are cashing in. The New York City school system netted about $80 million in private donations in Fiscal Year 2007. About $34.2 million came in through the Fund for Public Schools, a non-profit organization and the biggest provider of private money to the $15 billion school system."
Keep reform simple
Date CapturedSaturday July 14 2007, 9:43 AM
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise opines, "In New York, we vote on our school district budgets, but in Massachusetts, they vote on any local government budget that would increase its property tax levy by more than 2.5 percent. We have yet to see a downside to that. Schools are special, so maybe it's time the state takes over all basic K-12 education costs, letting individual school districts use property taxes to pay for extras."
Concerns on NYC's Contract for Excellence
Date CapturedFriday July 13 2007, 9:59 AM
Patrick Sullivan, member of the Panel for Educational Policy opines, "The absence of a coherent plan demonstrates a lack of willingness to be held accountable for overcrowding. No one wants the mayor and chancellor to fail in their efforts to improve our schools. However, if they continue their refusal to plan for and spend new state funding as intended, the state must hold them accountable."
Why state aid hike won't fill the gap for Rochester city schools
Date CapturedFriday July 13 2007, 8:41 AM
The Post-Standard op-ed contributor Daniel G. Lowengard, superintendent of the Syracuse City School District opines, "The district has been completely transparent with respect to the development of its 2007-08 budget. The entire budget, with all its detail, was posted months ago (and remains there) on the district's Web site. We know how valuable our resources are; we want the public to fully understand our budget."
Long Island Schools Consider Pooling Resources and Investments
Date CapturedThursday July 12 2007, 8:35 AM
NY Times reports, "School and government officials on Long Island want to pool their resources and financial investments to operate more efficiently and tap into higher interest rates in what they say could become a model for the rest of New York State."
Education, building and money: a look at the Wicks Law
Date CapturedMonday July 09 2007, 9:28 AM
The Journal News reports, "Unless you're in the building trades or a public entity doing some construction, proposed changes to the Wicks Law probably didn't register particularly loudly on your interest meter. But like any other change that affects education, the issue is really about money: an estimated $13 million more in school construction costs per year in Rockland taxpayer dollars charged for Wicks Law compliance, according to research by members of the Rockland School Boards Association."
Reform needed for school funding
Date CapturedMonday July 09 2007, 8:53 AM
Ithaca Journal op-ed contributor Ron Mac Lean, on behalf of Citizens Advisory Committee, Political Action Concerning Education and the Trumansburg Central School District opines, "For many years, numerous organized attempts have been made to convince our legislators that the School Aid Formula is not fair and equitable to all students throughout New York. Under the present method of school aid distribution, the “wealthier” school districts continue to prosper with curriculum, costs per student and tax levy disproportionate to 'poorer' districts. A recent New York Times article noted that in 2005, of the 100 highest-spending districts in the nation, 25 are in Westchester County and 38 are on Long Island. This year Albany did take a step in the right direction by revising portions of the funding formula."
CITY EYES 1,300 NEW TEACHERS
Date CapturedFriday July 06 2007, 10:27 AM
NY Post reports, "The city wants to hire 1,300 new teachers to reduce class sizes, using some of the millions of dollars in extra school funding it wrangled from the state, the Department of Education said yesterday."
Middle Class STAR
Date CapturedThursday July 05 2007, 12:30 PM
Monthly Column by EFAP Director John Yinger. Yinger writes, "This spring New York State passed a new property tax relief program called Middle Class STAR, which is an extension of the original STAR (School Tax Relief) program with some modifications. This column takes a look at Middle Class Star (MC STAR) and, in particular, asks whether it has the same shortcomings as the original, which have been explored in several of my previous columns."
Money, Not Race, Fuels New Push to Buoy Schools
Date CapturedSaturday June 30 2007, 11:13 AM
NY Times TAMAR LEWIN and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN report, "For several years, two lawyers intent on helping black children do as well in school as white children had a kind of roadshow: Michael A. Rebell would describe the recent successes of state-court litigation, forcing more financing for poor children’s schools, as a matter of basic equity. But James Ryan would argue that integration was the best approach. "
Regents: Schools must have contracts of accountability
Date CapturedTuesday June 26 2007, 8:48 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "With the new school year only a few months away, the state Education Department and school officials are racing to get effective accountability contracts in place for 56 school districts receiving large state-aid hikes. The school systems have to develop 'Contracts for Excellence' because they have a minimum of one underperforming school and are getting funding increases of at least $15 million or 10 percent more than last year. Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed the measure, which was included in the Legislature's budget as part of a $7 billion boost in state school aid over four years."
Schools call roll at a border crossing
Date CapturedMonday June 25 2007, 8:42 AM
LA Times reports, "Children who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants but live in Mexico cross every morning to get a better education for free in Arizona, breaking the law that requires them to live within the boundaries of the district. To many of their parents, who have ties in both countries, not living in the district is the educational equivalent of jaywalking."
Production Functions and Cost Functions for Public Education
Date CapturedWednesday June 20 2007, 9:31 AM
A monthly column by EFAP director, John Yinger -- "Economists study the production of a good or service using two closely related tools: production functions and cost functions. A production function shows the outputs that can be produced with various combinations of inputs. A cost function show how much it costs to produce various output levels given input prices. These two tools are widely used in studying public education. Dozens of scholars have used education production functions to estimate the impact of a policy, such as smaller class sizes, on student performance (the output). Many other scholars have studied the cost of reaching various levels of student performance, given the wages that must be paid to attract teachers of a given quality (often called the opportunity wage)."
Most Rockland districts opt for universal pre-k next year
Date CapturedMonday June 18 2007, 9:14 AM
The Journal News reports, "Like Pataki, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has promised increased funds over the next four years until all of New York's 4-year-olds can be part of the program. There are some changes from the original version, however. For the first time, school districts can send a child to a program outside their district, giving parents and districts a wider range of options. Two other pre-kindergarten programs, including the decades-old Experimental (now Targeted) preschool program, have been rolled into Universal pre-K and will share in the same money pool. And instead of a set amount for each participating district, regardless of economic need or location, the state created a sliding scale. School districts can receive anywhere from $2,000 to $5,700 per child. So what's the downside that has some schools refusing the money? It doesn't begin to cover the real costs of child care, which Brown said ran to about $11,000 a year for an infant and $10,500 a year for a pre-schooler in Rockland."
Three Districts Urge Voters to Accept Reduced Budgets
Date CapturedSunday June 17 2007, 10:52 AM
NY Times reports, "ANXIOUS to retain local control, schools leaders in three Westchester districts are urging voters to approve pared-down budget proposals on Tuesday rather than face cuts imposed by the state. District officials in Greenburgh, Mamaroneck and Pleasantville are offering 2007-8 budget proposals that are leaner than those rejected last month. Revamping the original budgets in response to community concerns required eliminating a range of services and items, officials said. For example, Mamaroneck restructured administrative costs by trimming five proposed content directors, Greenburgh cut back hours at the high school fitness center, and Pleasantville dropped plans to buy computer software and eliminated an existing third-grade violin program."
Connecting With the Voters on Bond Issues
Date CapturedSunday June 17 2007, 10:48 AM
NY Times reports, "Voting on school bonds or budgets is often the only time the public gets to give thumbs up or thumbs down to taxes, and in recent years it has been saying no more often."
GOP tax plan awaits response
Date CapturedSunday June 17 2007, 9:32 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "Will the state have the $9.5 billion it will need? Why, after the state came up with an extra $1.9 billion in school aid this year, did property taxes not go down this year? Will the Republican estimate of $33 billion in increased revenues over the next five years hold up? And how much of that money will be available for school aid, how much is already earmarked for other programs, how much will be necessary for increases in transportation, health care and other spending? The impact on each community, the potential savings and the likelihood of participation will vary according to the level of taxation. That should make the proposal more palatable to those who worry about giving up control to the state. No other proposed piece of legislation awaiting action in the waning days of the legislative session can compare with this one for impact now and in the future."
School tax elimination proposal widely booed but ignites debate
Date CapturedFriday June 15 2007, 8:21 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "McMahon [director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy] said the proposal was unrealistic because it could essentially force the state to raise income taxes by 25 percent, a move that would further hurt the state's business competitiveness and hammer people who rent rather than own homes. Also, the proposal doesn't include businesses that pay property taxes."
Most School Districts Have Developed Emergency Management Plans, but Would Benefit from Additional Federal Guidance
Date CapturedThursday June 14 2007, 2:07 PM
GAO Report: While most school districts have procedures in their plans for staff roles and responsibilities, for example, school districts have not widely employed such procedures as, academic instruction via local radio or television, for continuing student education in the event of an extended school closure, such as might occur during a pandemic. Likewise, while many districts have procedures for special needs students, GAO found during site visits that some of these procedures may not fully ensure the safety of these students in an emergency. Finally, while most school districts practice their emergency management plans annually within the school community, GAO estimates that over one-quarter of school districts have never trained with any first responders and over two-thirds of school districts do not regularly train with community partners on how to implement their school district emergency management plans. Many school districts experience challenges in planning for emergencies, and some school districts face difficulties in communicating and coordinating with first responders and parents, but most do not have such challenges with students. Based on GAO’s survey of school districts, in many school districts officials struggle to balance priorities related to educating students and other administrative responsibilities with activities for emergency management and consider a lack of equipment, training for staff, and personnel with expertise in the area of emergency planning as challenges. In an estimated 39 percent of school districts with emergency management plans, officials experienced a lack of partnerships, limited time or funding to plan, or lack of interoperability between equipment used by school districts and first responders.
GOP: Eliminate Property Tax
Date CapturedThursday June 14 2007, 10:19 AM
WAMC: Senate Republicans have unveiled major property tax reform legislation that would replace the property tax on primary homes as a funding source for public schools with a state subsidy over a five-year period. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
Senate approves measure to end property taxes for homeowners
Date CapturedThursday June 14 2007, 9:07 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The head of the state's largest teacher union said he is concerned districts won't receive adequate funding. 'While we understand property tax is something everyone is struggling with ... we don't want to wind up eliminating the property tax and the ability to properly fund schools,' said Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers. Senate Education Committee Chairman Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, said a state takeover of funding would not reduce traditional state aid to schools, though it could limit how much districts spend."
School tax plan passes state Senate -- Bill offers elimination of burden on homeowners
Date CapturedThursday June 14 2007, 8:43 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The measure would allow school districts to call for a public vote on whether to opt into the program, which would phase out property taxes on primary residences over five years. Businesses and apartments would not get the break. If every district entered the program, the state would dole out $9.5 billion annually after five years to districts instead of placing the burden directly on homeowners."
My View: Ignore the Albany circus and report on the tax tragedy
Date CapturedWednesday June 13 2007, 8:29 AM
Times Herald-Record op-ed contributor Antonio J. Gajate opines, "The lack of a meaningful nonpartisan response from the Albany Legislature to the demands for property tax reform in this state seems to be running neck and neck with the lack of reporting by the Times Herald-Record about all the work being done by grass-roots groups throughout the region and the state regarding property tax reform, particularly how it relates to school funding."
Truants dent Texas wallet
Date CapturedTuesday June 12 2007, 9:11 AM
Galveston Daily News reports, "Truant students will cost Galveston public school district thousands of dollars in state money this year, a Region IV consultant told trustees last week. School districts receive funding based on average daily attendance. Records show that Galveston Independent School District’s absenteeism rate was so high in 2006-07 that, on average, each student missed 9.9 days during the year, said Jim Vinson, who conducted an audit on the district’s public education information management system (PEIMS) reports."
New York Suburban School Districts Among Top Spenders
Date CapturedSunday June 10 2007, 10:43 AM
NY Times reports, "New York’s high teacher costs are partly attributable to smaller class sizes: The state’s suburban districts, for instance, employ far more teachers than the rest of the country — 76 per 1,000 students, compared with the national average of 60 — but only slightly more than the New Jersey suburbs, at 74, and Fairfield, at 70. New York’s suburban districts, though, pay more for each teacher, even compared with New Jersey and Connecticut — about $133,000 in salary and benefits for each full-time teacher, compared with $94,000 in northern New Jersey and $100,000 in Fairfield, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Mr. Ernst said teacher salaries reflect higher costs in the state, and a more favorable legal and political atmosphere for labor in New York that makes it difficult to get concessions in years when money is tight. But Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers, said teacher salaries were simply a further demonstration of the state’s commitment to education."
Buffalo Public Schools see dire straits if city wage freeze is lifted
Date CapturedSunday June 10 2007, 10:12 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Lifting the wage freeze will eat up the Buffalo Public Schools’ $16.4 million rainy day fund in the next four years, shut down the recently established junior varsity sports program and force the layoff of 90 staff members and the closing of five schools, system officials say. Those projections get far worse if the Buffalo Teachers Federation wins an impending court battle and the school system is forced to pay workers for four steps on the salary ladder rather than just one, said Gary M. Crosby, chief operations and financial officer."
Send charter law to reform school
Date CapturedSunday June 10 2007, 9:44 AM
Times Union op-ed contributor Thomas Rogers, executive director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents opines, "Until the state pays the bulk of the costs, local districts -- whose taxpayers finance charter schools -- must have more say regarding charter school approval and renewal. The current system makes charter schools and district schools into enemies, instead of collaborators. Other statutory reforms must include: Robust oversight and consequences for academic failure. A state-financed safety net to accommodate enrollment fluctuations. Penalties for charter schools that plan poorly or send students back to the district schools. Downward recalculations in funding if charters do not enroll disabled students in proportions similar to district schools. Timelines for major decisions, scheduled to permit adequate planning by school districts and informed voting by the public. Prohibitions on management companies taking profits from academically failing schools."
My faith is in cash; City's public education stinks, so I gave Catholic schools $22.5M
Date CapturedSunday June 03 2007, 9:19 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "Wilson, who was married but has no children, is himself the product of public schools. But that was back before teachers were unionized, he said. Wilson angered city teachers union President Randi Weingarten when he used the announcement of his big gift last month to blame unions for the problems with schools. And, during his 90-minute sitdown with The News, he continued his assault, repeatedly knocking unions for 'feather-bedding' and creating a 'rigidity' that hurts kids. He said he wants to help Catholic schools both because he thinks they're better and because they're 'under siege' from unions determined to 'deprive them of a shred of government money.'"
Capping property tax is way to escape 'tax hell'
Date CapturedThursday May 31 2007, 9:37 AM
Press & Sun-Bulletin op-ed contributor Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco opines, "A property tax-cap on its own would have merit, but our plan goes much further in assisting local school districts and municipalities with costs. It: * requires that the state pay for any mandate it imposes on a school district or municipality that costs more than $10,000 a year or $1 million statewide. * provides 100 percent reimbursement to schools for costs incurred in administering fourth- and eighth-grade math and English tests. * creates an Office of State Inspector General for Education to investigate financial abuse, corruption and misconduct in schools. * consolidates school district paperwork requirements. * lets neighboring school districts and municipalities join to pool their risks and so lower their health-insurance costs."
New Jersey charter schools deserve larger share of state aid package
Date CapturedWednesday May 30 2007, 10:16 AM
Asbury Park Press reports, "A couple of real-life scenarios illustrate the impact of the state's policies toward charter schools: Two siblings in Newark attend different public schools: One attends North Star Academy Charter School and has an almost certain prospect of attending a four-year college. The other child attends East Side High School and has only a 15 percent chance of attending a four-year college. The child who attends East Side High School receives $17,974 in education funding, and the child who attends North Star is funded at $10,582, or 59 percent of his sister's funding level. Two young brothers share a room and live with their single mother in an apartment in Red Bank. One attends Red Bank Middle School, the other Red Bank Charter School. The boy at Red Bank Middle School will receive Targeted At-Risk Aid (TARA) funding next year, while his brother at Red Bank Charter will not. Each pair of siblings comes from the same home and therefore shares the same socioeconomic backgrounds, challenges and needs, yet they are not treated equally by the state."
New York Is Top State in Dollars Per Student
Date CapturedWednesday May 30 2007, 9:23 AM
NY Times reports, "Nationwide, public school districts spent an average of $8,701 per student on elementary and secondary education in the 2005 fiscal year, 5 percent more than in the previous year. New York, which also came in highest last year, spent $14,119 per student, followed by New Jersey at $13,800, Vermont at $11,838 and Connecticut at $11,572."
A property tax outcry, but little else
Date CapturedMonday May 28 2007, 8:40 AM
Times Union reports, ""We are bombarding Farrell, saying get that bill out of Ways and Means,' said tax activist Gioia Shebar. Farrell, a former state Democratic chairman, heads the Ways and Means Committee, which controls tax policy bills in the Assembly. A top aide to the Assemblyman says Farrell hasn't ruled out action on the bill. But Farrell's constituents live in Manhattan, and property taxes probably aren't a top priority among them. New York City schools rely far less on property taxes, so tax rates in the city are lower than in the rest of the state. Of the 107 Democrats who control the 150-seat Assembly, 65 represent districts in New York City. Assembly Democrats also are closely aligned with the state's major teachers union, New York State United Teachers, which is cautious about moving away from property taxes to finance schools. One factor behind policymakers' preference for the property tax is its stability. Revenue from income taxes tends to fluctuate with the economy, while property taxes, which people will pay before they pay other bills, are reliable. 'One of the things we've always been concerned about is a stable funding source for schools,' said NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn."
Greece schools seek alternate plan for buses
Date CapturedSunday May 27 2007, 4:07 PM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "On May 15, voters rejected a proposition that called for $1.6 million in financing to purchase 27 new buses to replace old buses the district planned to retire. Voters also rejected the school budget; $21.4 million in state aid-funded repairs and renovations; and setting up a savings account to pay for future bus replacements. The board of education adopted an austerity budget on May 22."
New Yorkers' per-pupil school spending moves from third highest to highest, Census Bureau data show
Date CapturedFriday May 25 2007, 1:38 PM
By Matthew Maguire and Claire Hazzard
GOLD-PLATED SCHOOLS
Date CapturedFriday May 25 2007, 10:11 AM
NY Post opines, "To be sure, Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have made some gains in New York's schools. But the tax burden - in the suburbs and upstate in particular - has long since passed acceptable levels. The state's economy, outside Manhattan, is suffering dearly for it. Bottom line? Potential investors in New York - the kind who create jobs - got a heads-up from the Census Bureau yesterday: Look elsewhere."
Where's my school tax rebate?
Date CapturedFriday May 25 2007, 9:20 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The confusion stems from the Legislature's insistence on doling out the relief as post-school-tax rebates. That's instead of taking it off the top of school tax bills, like Gov. Eliot Spitzer wanted. It's a complex proposition because Spitzer preferred to distribute the relief based on income levels. So, unlike the rebates that were automatically mailed out last year, the state's 3.3 million homeowners will have to apply for their checks."
N.Y. SCHOOLKIDS AT HEAD OF THE CLA$$
Date CapturedFriday May 25 2007, 8:59 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "According to the data, which considered the 2004-05 school year, New York state spent $14,119 per student, outpacing its neighbors and leaving the national average of $8,701 in the dust."
Tax relief package unveiled
Date CapturedMonday May 21 2007, 7:29 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "The proposal, called the Property Taxpayer Protection Act, is aimed at cutting the cost of education and Medicaid and providing incentives to municipalities working to consolidate services ¯ all in the name of lowering property taxes. One major piece of the proposal would cut the amount schools can spend. Specifically the act would limit the amount school districts could increase tax levies to 4 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower."
Poor grade for timing?
Date CapturedSunday May 20 2007, 3:25 PM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Officials representing the state's school superintendents are relieved by the timing. A group representative, Robert Lowry, was outspoken earlier this month, declaring that it would be wrong to publish report cards immediately before elections - especially since this wouldn't allow schools time to correct any mistakes."
Error clouds vote on school budget
Date CapturedFriday May 18 2007, 8:40 AM
Times Union reports, "A state Education Department error left voters thinking they could save $1.37 million by rejecting Albany's school budget this week.."
Property Taxpayer Protection Act proposed
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 9:32 AM
News 10 Now reports, "The bill would limit school tax raises to four percent or the current inflation rate, depending on which one is lower. It will also eliminate funded state mandates to school districts. Supporters say it will save taxpayers $16 billion over five years."
School leaders blame charter schools for Albany's budget failure
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 9:22 AM
Capital News 9 reports, "According to the State Charter School Association, there are seven charters currently up and running with two more on the way. They said the superintendent is making charter schools scapegoats for the district's shortcomings. 'What they really need to do is adjust to the reality that for the last 7 years parents have been taking their children out to new opportunities. She can't continue to run a district that assumes 10,000 kids when in fact it's 1,500, 1,600 children fewer,' said New York Charter School Association Policy Director Peter Murphy. He said 16 percent of the district's kids are in charter schools while they only get 10 percent of the budget, and the district gets transitional aid to boot."
New York Statewide Annual School District Budget Voting Results
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 8:33 AM
(Listed by BOCES Region)
GIVING UP ON SCHOOL REFORM?
Date CapturedTuesday May 15 2007, 8:03 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood, co-chair of East Brooklyn Congregations and of the Metro NY Industrial Areas Foundation opines, "The impact on the teaching corps in poor-performing schools is obvious. Newer and younger teachers have a very high attrition rate. Assigned to schools no other teacher chooses to go to, surrounded by teachers as new and inexperienced as themselves, younger teachers tend to have less support, less mentoring and less success. A large percentage leaves within three years. The effect on the students is also great. They don't benefit from the wisdom and professionalism that years of trial and error can bring a teacher. Instead, they see the newest and least equipped teachers year after year. Turnover in their schools is much higher than in other schools. Their morale and performance suffer. The financial impact is also serious. Because the better schools have higher numbers of veteran teachers, they have bigger budgets than poorly performing schools. Funding formulas announced by Chancellor Klein last week begin to correct this unequal funding. But the success of the city's most challenged schools depends not just on more funds but also on the gradual redistribution of more experienced teachers into every city school. Without a corps of veteran teachers, no amount of money can make students and schools succeed."
SCHOOL BUDGETS: VOTE NO
Date CapturedTuesday May 15 2007, 7:58 AM
NY Post opines, "Yes, Albany agreed to ship more cash to both homeowners and local districts. Lawmakers expanded rebates and exemptions to ease local taxes and goosed state aid to schools to $19.7 billion - a record $1.7 billion jump, on top of last year's record spike of $1.1 billion. But none of this has actually slowed spending growth. On the contrary: All it's done is bloat school budgets - as we repeatedly said it would. Only spending caps can hold down levies. But the pols in Albany won't impose them, lest they anger the education cartel, which funds them generously. So taxpayers are left holding the bag."
Vote on schools
Date CapturedTuesday May 15 2007, 7:46 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Turnout in local school elections traditionally is low. That has never made much sense, given that school payments are the largest piece of the annual local property tax bill. Today should be different. Because of the influx of state aid and the general failure of local districts to keep their proposed tax increases under the inflation rate, this is one of the most important school election days in recent times. It is important, too, to elect board members who understand the balance between school quality and fiscal discipline."
Districts, voters put to test again
Date CapturedSunday May 13 2007, 10:49 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal opines, "Certainly, everyone can agree educating our children is one of the most important functions any community faces. Indeed, vibrant schools are essential for strong communities and tend to increase property values for homeowners. But there is a line at which people living on Hudson Valley incomes simply can't afford to keep up with the increases that go well beyond the rate of inflation. School officials and taxpayers undoubtedly will continue to grapple with these issues in the years ahead."
Higher school costs create a taxing issue: Districts have far outpaced inflation for years
Date CapturedSunday May 13 2007, 8:10 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Over the past 10 years, the amount of tax collected by the 58 school districts outside of Rochester in the six-county region — Monroe, Orleans, Wayne, Livingston, Genesee and Ontario counties — has risen at rates often double, and sometimes triple, that of inflation. School officials say they have little leeway to control many mandated costs. That's little comfort to those paying the taxes, who have an opportunity to vote in school elections Tuesday."
Where have all the dollars gone?
Date CapturedSunday May 13 2007, 8:01 AM
Newsday opines, "Where have all those dollars gone? Why can't more of them end up in taxpayers' pockets? Why can't schools keep up the high academic standards that help make Long Island one of the nation's most desirable places to raise children, but do it for even a little less - so we don't drive away homeowners with the nation's highest taxes? And what will happen when, inevitably, the state no longer doles out record school-aid increases, as it did this year? What are districts doing to prepare for the leaner years? As voters throughout the state go to the polls Tuesday to pass judgment on their school districts' annual spending, those are all legitimate questions and concerns. And there are answers - even if many taxpayers and lawmakers really don't want to hear them. Want to curtail costs? Try merging districts or scrapping laws that hamstring school boards from bargaining harder with powerful unions."
STATE FORMULA AIDS AND ENTITLEMENTS FOR SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK STATE (AS AMENDED BY CHAPTERS OF THE LAWS OF 2006)
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 3:40 PM
The University of the State of New York -- THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT -- State Aid Unit -- October, 2006. Some definitions -- A. Total Aidable Pupil Units (TAPU): The total aidable pupil unit is the sum of several pupil counts, each count being assigned a distinct weighting. Weightings are used as a means of reflecting the assumed average cost of educating a particular pupil category. These categories and weightings are further explained by the following: 1. Full Day K-12 Adjusted Average Daily Attendance (Adjusted ADA) (Weighting = 1.00): The Adjusted ADA includes the average number of pupils present on each regular school day, the full-time-equivalent enrollment of resident pupils attending a charter school, the enrollment of pupils with disabilities in full time BOCES programs, and the equivalent attendance of students under the age of 21 not on a regular day school register in programs leading to a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma. This average is determined by dividing the total number of attendance days of all pupils by the number of days school was in session and attendance was recorded. 2. 1/2-Day K Adjusted Average Daily Attendance (Weighting = 0.50): A 0.50 weighting adjustment to the average daily attendance for half-day kindergarten attendance. 3. Pupils in Dual Enrollment with a Nonpublic School (Weighting = 1.00 * Fraction of Day in Public School Programs): The attendance of nonpublic school pupils in career education, gifted and talented, or special education programs of the public school district as authorized by Section 3602-c of the Education Law. Attendance is weighted by the fraction of the school day that the student is enrolled in the public school programs. 4. Pupils with Special Educational Needs (PSEN)(Additional Weighting = 0.25): The number of pupils with special educational needs attending the public schools of the district is determined by the percentage of pupils below minimum competence as measured by the third and sixth grade pupil evaluation program (PEP) tests in reading and mathematics. The average of the percentage of pupils in a district who scored below the State reference point on these third and sixth grade PEP Tests in 1984 85 and 1985 86 continues to be used to determine the number of pupils with special educational needs. This percentage is multiplied by the district's adjusted ADA to produce the number of pupils for weighting. The PSEN pupil count is equal to the number of eligible pupils multiplied by the 0.25 additional weighting. Since this is an additional weighting, these pupils also would have been counted under average daily attendance. 5. Secondary School Pupils (Additional Weighting = 0.25): Eligible pupils in grades seven through twelve receive an additional weighting of 0.25. Eligible pupils for this weighting are defined as the number of students in average daily attendance in grades seven through twelve excluding any such students whose enrollment generates Public Excess Cost Aid. The eligible pupils are multiplied by 0.25 to produce the additional secondary school weighting. 6. Summer Session Pupils (Weighting = 0.12): Summer session pupils are those pupils who attend Approved programs of instruction operated by the district during the months of July and August, other than pupils with disabilities in twelve month programs. The full weighting of 0.12 is applicable if the student attends a total of 90 hours of class sessions during the summer. B. Adjustment in Computing Total Aidable Pupil Units Based on Enrollment Growth: For TAPU aids payable during 2006-07, attendance in the year prior to the base year is multiplied by the ratio of base year enrollment to year prior to the base year enrollment. Base year is the school year prior to the current year. (Example: For the 2006-07 aid year, 2005-06 is the base year and 2004-05 is the year prior to the base year.) C. Selected TAPU: For the purposes of computing Formula Operating Aid, districts may use the total aidable pupil units as described above or the average of such number and the total aidable pupil units calculated for aid payable in the base year. The higher of these two figures is usually referred to as Selected TAPU.
More schools on LI making the grade
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 9:26 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Private analysts are skeptical. They note that the state Education Department for the first time this year has decided not to release "school report cards" until budget votes are completed. Voters need those report cards to judge schools' performance, analysts say, because the reports cover test results for a full range of subjects, not just the highlights. And some voice concern that the state would release the names of the highest-scoring schools so close to election time. "So we're having a cheerleader session before the budget vote," said B. Jason Brooks, a senior research associate at the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, an Albany-area think tank. 'Yet parents and residents don't have straightforward data.'"
HS doesn't like money? I'll check it out - Randi
Date CapturedThursday May 10 2007, 8:57 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Though the school's students come from poor families, most are academically successful and therefore unable to benefit from Title I unless parents and teachers vote for a 'schoolwide option' to free up the cash. Parents voted unanimously to do so, but most teachers are opposed. The school could lose as much $70,000 again next year."
Citywide Budget Data
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 10:30 AM
As part of the Fair Student Funding initiative, the Department of Education [New York City] is committed to providing more information about school funding levels. This data set shows details pertaining to preliminary school budgets for the 2007-2008 school year. Using this data set, you can see information for 1,391 of New York City’s schools regarding: 07-08 preliminary budget allocations 07-08 adjusted per capita data for comparison to previously released 05-06 data 07-08 Average Teacher Salary (ATS) This data set allows some comparison between different schools’ funding levels. However, the set is neither comprehensive nor perfect. It covers only funds that are recorded on the school budgets that principals monitor and control. Therefore, large amounts of money spent in schools on students do not appear here at all, including centrally funded administrative services such as food, transportation, maintenance, utilities; instructional supports, such as related services in special education’ and fringe benefits for school employees.
CASHING IN ON KIDS
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 9:55 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "According to the plan, a school could receive as little as $3,788 for a first-grader who lives above the poverty line, did not transfer from a failing school and is proficient in English. But a first-grader who lives in poverty, transferred from a failing school and cannot speak English could funnel $8,212 to the same school's coffers. Depending on a child's special needs, a school could expect to receive an additional $2,121 and $8,637. While schools already receive additional city money to address student needs - including learning and English-language difficulties - budgets have never been so specifically weighted to student traits."
SCHOOL DISTRICTS PROPOSE PLANS TO RAISE SPENDING AT TWICE THE INFLATION RATE, STUDY FINDS
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 11:01 AM
Statewide, proposed school budgets in the "School Tax Watch" sample would increase per-pupil spending to an average $18,035. That figure represents a 6 percent increase – twice the estimated 3 percent rate of inflation. The proposed increase includes the record $1.7 billion increase in state aid provided in this year’s budget. Total school property taxes in these districts would increase by nearly $700 million, to $16.5 billion. Overall spending would increase to $28 billion, a $1.6 billion increase from the previous year. At the same time, enrollment is expected to remain flat. The per-pupil property tax levy is expected to increase by 4 percent, down from the previous year's increase of 6 percent.
NYSUT says more funding needed for violence prevention
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 10:51 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "The resolution approved by delegates urges amendments to SAVE that would increase funding for violence prevention programs and school-based mental health services, provide whistle-blower protections to those who report school districts not doing enough to maintain a safe environment, fund alternate settings for students who have been removed from the classroom and provide training to help teachers understand their rights in removing disruptive students."
School budgets too fat
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 10:39 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "In most districts, voters will make the final call. They've generally been kind over the years when schools propose bumps, even large ones, in spending and taxes. But this is the year to be especially scrupulous in examining the rationale for school increases, attending public hearings, asking informed questions and showing up to vote on May 15. School boards and superintendents, for their part, should schedule more hearings than usual and give the electorate answers to the unavoidable question: Why, if you're getting more money from the state, are you raising property taxes to the extent you are? The answers may satisfy you, and, in some cases, the higher local spending may be justified. But demand details — and reject spin."
In the school-aid shell game, you pay
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 9:17 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council opines, "Indeed, state legislators and school board members don't like to mention that state aid and STAR dollars come from us. It's a shell game. As public school spending marches higher, more money is found under the local property tax shell, the state tax shell, or both. And little of this is about educating children. We passed adequate spending levels for a proper education long ago. It's about taking more from the taxpayers to hand over to public school teachers and administrators, who already rank among the highest compensated in the nation. When it comes to dollars for public schools, state legislators and school boards are not lost in a desert. Instead, they are awash in money. Think about that when you vote May 15, and when state legislators come up for re-election next year. It's not manna from heaven. It's your money."
School-tax surpluses could strain residents
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 8:55 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Here is the law for taxpayers: You have three years to pay your school taxes or the county sells your property. Here is the law for school districts: Any undesignated money over 2 percent of the upcoming school budget goes to lower that tax levy that year. No three-year wait. Period. That's the law on what is euphemistically called a 'fund balance.' 'Surplus' is simpler. But 10 of 37 school districts in the mid-Hudson carried more than the legal 2 percent surplus into the current school year."
THE SCHOOL SCAM
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 8:33 AM
NY Post opines, "The annual cash bath, of course, thrills school staffs, union brass and others who make a living off education. And they show their appreciation with generous campaign contributions and other forms of consideration at the appropriate moments in the two-year election cycle. But does it improve learning? If only."
California k-12 school funding reform
Date CapturedFriday May 04 2007, 8:14 AM
Contra Costa Times opines, "At the top of any K-12 funding reform should be greater local control, meaning fewer state mandates and less categorical spending. Let school districts decide how they can best spend the money. The state also should put an end to ADA funding and use enrollment figures instead, updating them once or twice a year. The time and money spent compiling the daily attendance of every student in California is wasteful and unnecessary. Fluctuations in ADA have no relationship to the costs of running a school. Total enrollment does. School districts also need to take a closer look at just how much of the revenue they get goes directly into the classroom -- the higher the percentage the better."
Study: Local taxes up despite historic state school aid
Date CapturedThursday May 03 2007, 10:11 PM
AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "The state Business Council's annual School Tax Watch reported Thursday that despite the state aid increase of $1.8 billion approved April 1, the per pupil property tax levy will increase 4 percent on average statewide. That would be down from a 6 percent increase a year ago, according to the business group. State aid is now about $19 billion a year. Between state and local sources, per-pupil spending will increase 6 percent to $18,035, on average, according to the Business Council. That's about twice the inflation rate."
Effort helps connect donors and schools
Date CapturedThursday May 03 2007, 8:05 AM
Times Union reports, "Students are getting everything from musical instruments to tap shoes from a Web site that matches private sector donors with public schools' needs for specific resources. It's called DonorsChoose."
Rochester school funding accord reached
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 8:10 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "City aid to Rochester public schools will remain about $119 million for another year under a deal Mayor Robert Duffy and outgoing city school Superintendent Manuel Rivera announced Monday. As part of the deal, the City School District will reimburse the city $1.1 million for the cost of school resource officers and the city will seek a third-party ruling on whether the city must pay $119 million next year. Resource officers are city police officers who serve in the schools."
Houston school district says charter school falsified records
Date CapturedSaturday April 28 2007, 3:41 PM
AP reports, "A charter school for at-risk teens inflated attendance by more than 200 students last year and must repay $358,000 in state funding it received for the students, school district officials say."
Districts want strings detached from aid
Date CapturedFriday April 27 2007, 8:24 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Under the new spending rules, the district must use the aid to implement full-day kindergarten, restructure middle and high schools, reduce class size, extend the school day or improve teacher and principal quality. The districts could spend up to 15 percent implementing a research-based program of their own as well."
Educating Children in Foster Care: The McKinney-Vento and No Child Left Behind Acts
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 9:44 AM
Casey Family Programs write, "The recommendations, included as part of a comprehensive report released at a congressional briefing, deal with the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The recommendations are: Improve school stability by ensuring that the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act applies to all children in out-of-home care, and increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to a level that covers all eligible children. Ensure that children and youth in foster care have access to education-related support services by making them automatically eligible for Title I, Part A services and including them in the set-aside that exists for homeless children. Increase funding for school counselors and mental health services."
Here's a bright idea: Turn off the lights!
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 9:21 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Lights at the historic Tweed Courthouse, which houses the Education Department headquarters, were still blazing at 3:50 a.m. Education Department spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said Tweed is regularly cleaned during off-hours. The department's building at 65 Court St. in Brooklyn also was lit well into the wee hours. Feinberg said those lights had to be on because of an unspecified number of information technology and payroll employees who work overnight. She refused to provide an exact number of late-night workers and referred further questions to the city. The Education Department paid $172,000 in the most recent fiscal year for lighting, elevators, air conditioning and heating for the Court St. building. If the department stopped running its lights at night, it would potentially save a third of that cost, or about $57,000 a year. The city could hire one new teacher at the average starting salary of $42,512 or two new cops at $25,000 each."
Rush to slash class size will hurt our schools
Date CapturedMonday April 23 2007, 9:00 AM
NY Daily News Op-ed contributor Michael Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity, at Teachers College, Columbia University opines, "A mandated average class-size reduction plan is likely to be applied across the board to virtually all schools in the system, while it is clear that we should, at least at first, target the students with the greatest education deficits. Let's not forget that it was for them that the CFE case was waged and won, and that the Court of Appeals invalidated the old funding system to ensure that funding follows need. When they meet tomorrow, the Board of Regents should approve regulations that allow class-size reductions to be limited to low-performing schools and to follow improvements in teacher quality and the availability of adequate space."
Audits show some schools spending without getting voter approval
Date CapturedSunday April 22 2007, 9:38 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "A Times Herald-Record review of school districts' 2005-2006 audits reveals some minor infractions and one more major trend: spending without taxpayer approval."
For Some Schools and Taxpayers, a Big Relief
Date CapturedSaturday April 21 2007, 10:14 AM
NY Times reports, "'There are two factors that really drove aid downstate,” said Paul Francis, the governor’s budget director. “One is that by sending more money to high-needs districts, that’s going to drive more money downstate because of New York City and certain suburban districts. The other is that a disproportionate amount of aid that was directed in the final negotiations went to New York City and Long Island.'”
State comptroller questions Roosevelt finances anew
Date CapturedSaturday April 21 2007, 9:25 AM
Newsday reports, "'Serious concerns were identified that what was being proposed was not sufficient to meet the challenges of the deficit ... ' said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. 'They didn't follow their own spending plans in previous years.' In addition, some of the methods the district proposed for closing the budget gap were found to be financially unsound or illegal, the comptroller's office said. For example, the district said it was considering using the tax levy to pay down the deficit when state law says that such revenue can only be used for operating expenses."
Duffy, Rivera meet to mend fences
Date CapturedFriday April 20 2007, 9:13 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy, outgoing city school Superintendent Manuel Rivera and city and school district officials met Thursday to clear the air over requests for information concerning the academic achievement of students and the funding and operation of city schools. The meeting is the first since City Hall filed an open records request for and obtained a list of items from the district, including graduation and suspension rates, central office salaries and bonuses, and various district policies."
$IGNS OF PEACE IN TEACHER TALKS
Date CapturedFriday April 20 2007, 8:53 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Labor, immigrant and political activists who had complained about an ongoing overhaul of the school system softened their stance at a hastily called City Hall press conference upon winning concessions on how schools will be funded. Under the deal, a city plan to funnel more money to historically low-performing and underfunded schools would not factor in teachers' salaries and would allocate more cash for students not proficient in English."
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2004-05 (Fiscal Year 2005)
Date CapturedThursday April 19 2007, 9:45 AM
This brief publication contains basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2004-05. It contains state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function, including expenditures per pupil. Zhou, L., Honegger, S., and Gaviola, N. (2007). Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2004–05 (Fiscal Year 2005) (NCES 2007-356). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 19, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007356.
Parents, UFT and city in talkathon
Date CapturedThursday April 19 2007, 9:01 AM
NY Daily News CARRIE MELAGO reports, "The city officials offered to modify the proposed new school funding plan, possibly leaving teachers' salaries out of the formula, sources said. They also suggested the creation of a task force to study parent involvement, sources said. 'There were crumbs for everybody,' said a person who attended the meeting."
Record state education budget aligns with NYSSBA Principles of Funding Reform
Date CapturedTuesday April 17 2007, 11:44 AM
On Board Online • Volume 8 • No. 7 • April 16, 2007. David A. Little, Director of Governmental Relations writes, "While interpretations about this year’s state budget abound, one thing is clear: With a record investment of state funding, this year’s budget made public education the state’s top spending priority. With nearly $1.7 billion in direct aid to school districts and nearly as much again to offset local property tax increases, the 2007-08 state budget far outstripped its predecessors in support of public education."
Doubts Grow About 'No Child Left Behind'
Date CapturedMonday April 16 2007, 6:00 PM
Oxford Analytica reports, "One recent empirical study found several enduring political fissures in response to the law, which will influence the NCLB reauthorization debate: 1. Regional divisions. A South-North divide has emerged in response to the law. Southern states have had a more positive reaction than Northern states. States in the South typically have more room for educational improvement and get a larger relative financial boost from federal dollars. 2. Urban-rural divide. Voters in rural districts are positive about NCLB, because they generally witness more funds going to their schools. Yet parents in urban areas are increasingly unsettled by the influence of the law. Urban schools find meeting NCLB targets more difficult. 3. Union politics. Many state-level initiatives that predated NCLB focused on the failings of teachers and entrenchment of teachers' unions. NCLB addressed many of these concerns, but it continues to attract opposition from many educators. 4. Partisan cleavages. Although NCLB originated as a bipartisan initiative, traditional divisions have become increasingly apparent. Democrats are increasingly concerned about the enhanced federal role in school testing and teacher assessment, while Republicans generally favor this approach. However, Republican resistance to providing additional funding is hardening."
Break Rochester city-school ice
Date CapturedMonday April 16 2007, 8:46 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Now that the City School District has provided the information requested by Mayor Duffy about the district, the two should come together for a meaningful dialogue. It's unfortunate that it took the city filing a Freedom of Information Law request to obtain the information — graduation and suspension rates, district policies and salary and bonus information — but now's the time for officials to work toward a consensus on finances and school performance."
Charter schools are given a break
Date CapturedFriday April 13 2007, 8:47 AM
Buffalo News reports, "'The victory here is that you’ll have more charter schools and that the law remains largely intact,' said Peter Murphy, policy director for the New York Charter Schools Association. 'The message will get out that we’re now back in business.' At the same time, districts with large concentrations of charter schools — including Buffalo — got some fiscal relief after arguing for years that they suffer under the existing funding formula. A newly created pool of 'transition aid' will provide Buffalo $12 million next school year to cushion the $60 million the district makes in transfer payments to 15 charter schools."
End city district tug of war over school finances, record
Date CapturedWednesday April 11 2007, 7:52 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed contributors, Rochester Board of Education president and additional board members opine, "City Hall has taken a public stand that funding should be tied to academic achievement. Certainly, this board expects and promotes improved academic standards. Yet reducing aid will not produce better outcomes. No one would suggest that the police force cut its budget because the crime rate is rising. Money does not equal results; however, no reasonable person could expect better results from fewer resources. The district has been focusing on fundamentals, and we have been getting results by virtually every measure. Even our seniors are graduating to a higher standard. Our graduation rate has hovered around 50 percent for many years, but in 2003, only 21 percent of our students earned a Regents diploma. Now, 52 percent of our graduates earn Regents diplomas in four years and an additional 6 percent get theirs in five years."
Fund the Child: A Better Way to Help Disadvantaged Students
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 10:55 AM
HumanEvents.com contributor Dan Lips writes, "In January, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed that Gotham adopt three new policies: 'backpack funding,' school-based management, and widespread school choice. This bundle of reforms -- known as the 'weighted student formula' -- embodies a new approach to education finance."
Not all schools benefit from state budget's boost to pre-k
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 9:47 AM
THE JOURNAL NEWS reports, "In districts that already offer pre-K, some educators say they are pleasantly surprised and want to use the money to enroll as many children as possible come September. Others worry that if they expand, they'll be left paying for expensive programs themselves if the aid dries up. And in districts that do not offer pre-K - and will not be offering it soon -- educators are wondering where their share of the money will end up going, because the funds cannot be used for anything else. 'I thought, "OK, we're not using the money. What's going to happen to it?" ' said Haldane Schools Superintendent John Di Natale. It turns out the money that has been allocated to districts without pre-K programs will go into the state's general fund."
Contact Your Senators Today-- Support Federal Funding For Libraries!
Date CapturedMonday April 09 2007, 2:22 PM
Please contact your Senators immediately and ask them to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter (PDF) being circulated by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.
Inside Education: Universal pre-school's new funding a tease?
Date CapturedMonday April 09 2007, 9:27 AM
Journal News reports, "Like the 1997 proposal, the money could be here this year and, once programs are established, disappear, leaving the district the unhappy task of either eliminating a popular program or asking taxpayers to pick up the slack."
Long Island Aid Comes at Westchester’s Expense
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 11:04 AM
NY Times reports, "Westchester has high taxes, but it also has the highest incomes in the state by far — about $300,000 per student in the schools, compared with about $160,000 on Long Island and it fell below that cutoff because of its high average income. In spite of its many affluent enclaves, Nassau and Suffolk Counties are more diverse than Westchester, and their ratios are above the cutoff. The result is that all Long Island districts will get the higher aid amount, a total of more than $70 million of the $100 million in high-tax aid. Only some Westchester districts get aid, and it amounts to a total of $1.2 million."
Syracuse budget shares little with district, Mayor intends to keep money from PILOT, STAR programs schools sought.
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 10:36 AM
Post-Standard reports, "The Syracuse school district will not receive a chunk of the money the city receives from payment-in-lieu of-taxes agreements, nor will it get a bigger cut of the money the city gets from the STAR state aid program. The district had asked for a revenue boost from both those sources in its effort to close a nearly $20 million budget gap that could force the district to cut 276 positions."
Fixing the School Aid Formula
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 10:24 AM
NY Times opines, "Mr. Spitzer and the Legislature have clearly not removed all the fiddling from the budget process. You can be sure that Westchester lawmakers will fight fiercely to adjust things to their benefit, as they have every right to do. But the bottom line for this year: Westchester made out O.K. Long Island did better than O.K. The New York City schools did well, and will do better in coming years, and so the rigged process that unfairly brought wheelbarrows of cash to Long Island over the years will not be sustainable. The process of adjusting an unjust system is far from over. But at least it has begun."
Cost of charter schools puts Albany in spiraling tax trap
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 10:17 AM
Times Union Fred LeBrun opines, "What the superintendent [Eva Joseph] says the district desperately needs -- deserves -- is a tailor-made charter school compensation package from the state Legislature that recognizes the realities of Albany's nearly unique situation. Buffalo deserves one too, she says. As proof she points this out: The new onerous benchmark for any school district in terms of possibly putting a brake on charter schools is when enrollment reaches 5 percent of the district's student population. Next year, Albany taxpayers will be funding four times that. At the moment, the district is cranking up the numbers for the upcoming."
Charter schools are here to stay
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 9:50 AM
Times Union Op-Ed contributor THOMAS W. CARROLL opines, "Among the measures rejected during negotiations on the charter-school bill were: a cap on additional charters in Albany and Buffalo, limits on enrollment growth, a 20 percent funding cut for elementary and middle-school charters, automatic unionization, elimination of the ability of charters to contract for management assistance, and subjecting charter school facilities (which receive no state building aid) to prevailing-wage mandates and the state Education Department's onerous building code and approval process. At the same time, charter advocates were able to get language approved making clear that new charters could be granted over district opposition, even in high density districts like Albany and Buffalo, when a significant educational benefit can be shown for students likely to attend a proposed charter school. This was a major child-centered victory. To give Albany, Buffalo and other districts time to adjust to the decisions of thousands of parents to move their children to public charter schools, the Legislature approved state-financed transition aid. This was a reasonable accommodation that the Brighter Choice Foundation and others backed."
Montanta GOP vows school-funding fight
Date CapturedSaturday April 07 2007, 9:26 AM
AP reports, "Education groups are mixed on the bill. While they support the idea of state funding for all-day kindergarten, they also believe many schools - particularly smaller ones - need more money for basic needs first. They also want the state's share of school funding increased."
LATEST INFORMATION ON THE NEW YORK 2007-2008 STATE BUDGET
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 10:28 AM
New & Notes
Westchester lawmakers to push for more school aid
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:30 AM
Journal News reports, "They [Brodsky and five Assembly colleagues] sent a letter yesterday to Paul Francis, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget director, laying out their case. The $100 million was to be used to aid "high-tax" districts, the lawmakers noted, and Westchester certainly qualifies. 'Once a decision was taken to provide High Tax Aid, the decision to exclude Westchester's students and taxpayers was discriminatory, unfair and destructive,' the lawmakers wrote. 'That decision must be reversed and we ask for your help and the active support of the Governor to reach that goal.' But in an interview, Francis rejected the idea, noting that Westchester schools overall got a 9.4 percent increase in state aid and that the new tax-rebate plan is generous to the county as well. 'Our view at this point is the overall set of efforts to Westchester (represents) ... a fair way to end this year,' he said. 'Next year is the right time to address these issues.'"
Charter schools come out winners as statewide cap is doubled to 200
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:11 AM
Buffalo News reports, "A newly created pool of 'transition aid' will provide Buffalo $12 million next school year to cushion the $60 million the district makes in transfer payments to 15 charter schools. Even so, Buffalo school officials said they would need to recover an additional $28 million to equalize transfer payments with savings the district realizes from the loss of students to charter schools. In addition, the transition aid is scheduled to be phased out over the next three years, said Gary M. Crosby, chief operations and financial officer for the Buffalo schools."
If school funding is locked up, other services will be shut out
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:05 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed contributor Lois Giess, president, Rochester City Council opines, "At the last moment during the New York state budget process, a little-noticed bill titled 'Maintenance of Effort' was approved by the state Legislature and apparently will be signed by Gov. Spitzer. This bill has been reintroduced in one form or another virtually every year for more than a decade, and, until Sunday, had successfully been fought by the affected cities. It requires that the city governments in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers continue the current level of funding for public schools, regardless of circumstances. It has been and will be presented as a law intended "for the children," but it is not and never has been. Rather, it is another example of the powerful lobbying influence of New York State United Teachers, which has always placed the salary and job retention demands of its members above all other legitimate governmental responsibilities. It further enshrines in law the failed efforts to "fix" the educational problems in New York by throwing limitless amounts of money at higher staff salaries."
Schools say no to Rochester Mayor Duffy request
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 9:24 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy's request for information from the school district is a moot point and will not receive a response, district officials said Tuesday. But an incensed City Hall is not backing down and intends to take the unprecedented step of filing a Freedom of Information Law, or open records, request to get the data. City spokesman Gary Walker said he plans to hand-deliver a copy of the request today. Duffy wrote Superintendent Manual Rivera on March 1 requesting a bevy of information, including graduation and suspension rates, various district policies as well as salaries and bonuses paid to central office employees. The mayor wrote that he needed the information to help decide on the appropriate funding level for the district. The city has provided the district $119.1 million each of the past three years. But Duffy has been hammering on the district's poor graduation rates, currently worst in the state. For its part, the district has argued that improvements at the elementary school level are signs of progress."
LATEST INFORMATION ON THE 2007-2008 NY STATE EDUCATION BUDGET
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 9:16 AM
2007-08 State Aid Projections; Preliminary Estimates of 2006-07 and 2007-08 State Aids; Payable Under Section 3609 and Other Aids.
Proposed school funding plan divisive, damaging
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 9:34 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Mark Lewis, Superintendent of the Lansing Central School District opines, "I urge all Lansing taxpayers to visit the School Statewide Finance Consortium Web site [ www.statewideonline.org ] to learn more about what is being proposed in the name of support for all Upstate districts. See firsthand how it will affect your property taxes, then let our representatives in Albany know that the SSFC proposal is divisive, damaging, and worst of all, unfair to Lansing taxpayers."
Schools budget, gov win cheers for fund formula
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 9:25 AM
NY Daily News reports, ""What has school reformers excited is a four-year plan to better distribute school dollars using a formula based exclusively on need - not on political clout. That formula will mean that city schools, given New York's poverty rate and the high number of city kids struggling to learn English, could get close to $6 billion more by 2010 - numbers consistent with the ruling of the state's highest court in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, which ordered a more equitable distribution of school funds."
Mad finish for budget
Date CapturedMonday April 02 2007, 10:29 AM
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF JOE MAHONEY reports, "As part of the school aid budget, Spitzer succeeded in driving through a class-size reduction initiative for low-performing and overcrowded schools that delighted teachers' union President Randi Weingarten. The budget requires school districts to come up with ways to reduce the ratio of students to teachers in low-performing and overcrowded schools by a variety of methods, including building more classrooms and placing more than one teacher in a classroom."
Fears on school funding
Date CapturedMonday April 02 2007, 10:14 AM
NY Daily News CARRIE MELAGO reports, "The promise behind the plan is that it will end inequity among schools and replace unfair, decades-old formulas that have led to drastic variations in funding, even among similar schools. Under the plan, certain city funds will be directed to schools on a per-pupil basis. Extra cash then will be added to a school's budget based on its students' special needs, ability to speak English, family income and other factors. But the Education Department has not yet decided on the exact formula, causing anxiety among some parents who fear better-performing schools will lose out."
Turn to private and corporate donations
Date CapturedSunday April 01 2007, 10:24 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Timothy P. Mulhearn, president of United New Yorkers for Choice in Education opines, "Private donations could help public schools maintain or expand academic and athletic programs without asking for increased tax revenue or charging players to play on sports teams. The funds could be used to hold tax rates steady. Wealthier individuals or businesses would be encouraged to become engaged with local schools, which can only strengthen the community. As New York State becomes an increasingly expensive place to live and more businesses contemplate relocating, this legislation is a sound attempt to make it a more attractive environment in which people can live, work and raise their families. The sponsors of the Educational Tax Incentives Act have 38 co-sponsors from urban and suburban regional areas of the state. It is in all New Yorkers' interest that the legislature pass it. "
Outside-the-box funding
Date CapturedSunday April 01 2007, 10:19 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Martin R. Cantor, director of the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College in Oakdale and a former Suffolk County economic development commissioner opines, "Let's think of teachers as state, rather than local, employees. Teachers and their benefits account for 68 percent of all education spending in the state, or $18.5 billion. If Albany paid teachers, local school budgets would drop by 68 percent. Remaining education expenses could be covered by modest local commercial property taxes."
Late budget deal would boost LI school aid by $205M
Date CapturedSunday April 01 2007, 10:10 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "As part of the budget deal hammered out in Albany Saturday night, the Island's public schools will get a total $2.19 billion in state assistance next year, up 10.3 percent from this year's figure. The latest increase is even higher than the record 7.1 percent hike adopted by lawmakers at this time last year -- also just in time to meet the state's April 1 deadline."
Schools big winner in budget deal
Date CapturedSunday April 01 2007, 9:43 AM
NY Daily News Albany Bureau Chief Joe Mahoney reports, "Missing from the budget is Spitzer's proposal to create a $1,000 tuition tax deduction for low- and middle-income parents who send their children to private and parochial schools. 'We compromised no more than we thought it was right or appropriate to accomplish the twin objectives of both timeliness and the policy pursuits we sought,' Spitzer said."
Budget dance speeds to close
Date CapturedSaturday March 31 2007, 8:48 AM
Times Union reports, "On education, the legislative leaders said about $1.7 billion in aid will be added to funds for schools, including $1.1 billion under Spitzer's new foundation formula that drives funds to the neediest districts. But the language on how to make schools more accountable and shrink class sizes was unwritten late Friday. The school aid formulas also were still unclear. As a result, district-by-district funding estimates were unavailable as of late Friday, a clear signal of the unsettled nature of that financing. Further, the Legislature did not have a clear answer on how $22 million in aid to districts hosting charter schools -- called transition aid -- was going to be cut up. Albany is expected to get a big share of the money."
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch: Plan would allow flexible, sensible school funding
Date CapturedFriday March 30 2007, 9:08 AM
Union Leader Op-Ed by New Hampshire Gov. Lynch opines, "This amendment sets a floor -- requiring the state to provide at least 50 percent of the statewide cost of an adequate education -- and ensures that the state will not abandon its responsibility for education. It requires that some state education aid be provided to every school district. And with this amendment, we will be finally able to effectively target education aid -- lifting up the communities that need help the most and finally ensuring that all children in all our communities have the opportunity they deserve for a good education and better lives."
On LI, new numbers bring a sigh of relief
Date CapturedThursday March 29 2007, 8:57 AM
Newsday reports, "More than $500 million in extra education aid could ameliorate the blow Long Island school districts had feared under Spitzer's new funding formula, which funnels more money to high-needs districts. The Island's Republican senators succeeded in doubling the amount of school aid the governor had earmarked for the region, adding up to $115 million, said state Sen. John J. Flanagan of East Northport. Others from the delegation predicted that the region's share of school operating aid would be restored to its traditional 13 percent, although state money for school building projects had not been negotiated."
Mike's school funding fix worked out West
Date CapturedThursday March 29 2007, 8:11 AM
NY Daily News Guest Contributor Arlene Ackerman, Christian A. Johnson professor of Outstanding Educational Practice at Teachers College, Columbia University opines, "Many have complained that the reform push here has shut out community voices. But to their credit, Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein are now doing extensive outreach. People shouldn't hesitate to speak out - not only about what they think the precise sums of money ought to be but also, in the end, about how individual schools should spend their budgets given newfound autonomy. In San Francisco, site-based decision-making provided new opportunities for community members to participate in the decisions that matter most to children. The same can happen here. The mayor and chancellor have aroused anxiety in part because they have tackled one issue that we in San Francisco didn't address. We essentially said that schools with many senior teachers would be held harmless for those teachers' higher costs. Bloomberg has said he will do that for existing teachers, but not for future teachers. Because high-poverty schools chronically have lower-salary teachers, that's a big step. The mayor deserves applause for tackling this challenge."
Why We Must Continue Funding Rural Schools
Date CapturedWednesday March 28 2007, 6:48 PM
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo writes, "Ideally, management of our forested land would generate the revenue necessary to assist with services in cash-strapped communities with large amounts of federally owned land. Unfortunately, that just hasn’t been the case for some time. We must continue to work to remove impediments to forest health and productivity. However, in the meantime, Congress must commit the resources necessary to ensure that rural communities across this country do not have to forgo road maintenance, close libraries, and make cuts to children’s education. Anything less is unacceptable."
True accountability
Date CapturedWednesday March 28 2007, 9:26 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "In his State of the City address Monday night, Mayor Duffy did the expected — he highlighted his accomplishments during his first 15 months in office. But he was also honest about the challenges. Most interesting, however, was his focus on Rochester city schools. He pointed to the $119 million in funding the city provides the school district, more than Buffalo provides its schools, even while graduation rates are alarmingly lower here. That's a problem, Duffy said, and he plans to sit down with school officials to see where the disconnect is occurring between dollars and results. Does that mean less funding to the school district? Duffy didn't go that far. But for true accountability to take place, the school system must face consequences if results aren't realized."
Budget adds $1 billion
Date CapturedWednesday March 28 2007, 8:34 AM
Times Union reports, "The proposal provides about $500 million more in school aid to address complaints from some districts, particularly in wealthier areas of the state, that Spitzer's initial plan didn't increase their funding enough. The deal further alters Spitzer's plan to expand the STAR school property tax program, which provides tax relief through assessment abatements. Spitzer wanted to aim the new cuts at the middle class. The agreement calls instead for rebate checks, which Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno favored, and while Spitzer said it still targets the middle class, it will reach higher-income people as well."
Compromises floated as budget deadline approaches
Date CapturedTuesday March 27 2007, 12:42 PM
AP Michael Gormley reports, "One of the Spitzer proposals was pushed Tuesday by a coalition of Catholic bishops, Protestant, Jewish and other Christian leaders. They supported Spitzer's plan for a $1,000 tax deduction to offset the cost of private and parochial school tuition as a break for parents who also pay taxes toward _ but don't use _ public schools. New York Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan said the measure only means $50 to $80 in savings for most parents paying tuition for the 500,000 students statewide attending private or parochial schools, but it's a start to greater state support of taxpayers sending their children to private schools. The measure is strongly opposed by the New York State United Teachers union that stated in lobbying ads that public money shouldn't go to private interests when there is still a need to better fund high-needs, mostly urban schools."
Middletown schools chief fears that Gov. Spitzer's 'contract for excellence' will punish proactive districts
Date CapturedTuesday March 27 2007, 9:18 AM
The 'contract for excellence' requires districts to spend most of the extra state money on programs that improve student learning — smaller class sizes, more instructional time, full-day kindergarten and the like. Here is the Catch-22 in Spitzer's plan: Districts can only spend the additional money on new programs, not current ones. But Middletown already has many of these programs, which are paid for by local taxpayers, Eastwood said. The restrictions mean the school district can't use the new money without duplicating what it already has. 'Since we have been proactive, we get punished,' Eastwood said. Middletown has nearly $5.8 million in state aid at stake. Other districts may be in a similar situation and not yet know it, Eastwood said. 'It will be kind of like a kick in the teeth when they find out,' he said. Spitzer's proposals create other problems as well, according to Bob Lowry, deputy director of the state Council of School Superintendents. Say voters force their district into a contingency budget. Then the district can neither spend the state aid as Spitzer mandates nor use it to lower taxes, Lowry said. Spitzer's excellence contract also forces superintendents into three-year contracts tied to student performance. If test scores don't improve enough, they can be fired."
School aid clash in Albany
Date CapturedTuesday March 27 2007, 8:59 AM
Post-Standard reports, "The purpose of a school aid formula, says Syracuse University professor William Duncombe, who studies and develops them, generally is to equalize resources to give struggling districts a better shot at meeting achievement standards."
No Retreat on School Reform
Date CapturedMonday March 26 2007, 9:28 AM
Washington Post Op-Ed contributor Sen. Edward Kennedy, a lead author of the Leave No Child Behind Act opines, "Part of the act's promise was that greater accountability would be accompanied by greater support. We knew that federal resources would be critical to achieving the goals. When the law was adopted in 2002, Congress delivered $22 billion to support public education -- an increase of 20 percent over the previous year. This was an unprecedented federal investment. The law promised increased funding levels over the life of its provisions, in step with the increase in targets for student performance. Yet year after year, the federal government has failed to provide the resources that states and school districts need to improve struggling schools. Assessment and accountability without the funding needed to implement change is a recipe for failure.":
Bitter fight over school aid splits lawmakers
Date CapturedMonday March 26 2007, 9:09 AM
Buffalo News reports, "The governor’s allies say his plan recognizes that needs are greater in struggling schools in Buffalo and other communities that have seen the ability to hike property taxes eroded by stalled economies. Detractors say it is a Robin Hood approach that fails to recognize suburban schools still have rising costs, in part due to state mandates, and that the resulting increase in property taxes to cover Albany’s smaller shares to the suburbs will only convince more people to flee the state."
Spitzer's new math
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 10:45 AM
Newsday opines, "Spitzer's proposed aid package for 2007-08 is part of a bigger, four-year plan. But this year, many Long Island districts receiving the minimum increase will see only 20 percent of their four-year total. Giving these districts more money up front would help boost their aid this coming year - and thus give them time to prepare for smaller increases in the future. That's fine, but only if the schools are serious about reining in annual spending hikes now running at twice the rate of inflation. Spitzer's plan is stellar in theory, but it needs fixing before it can work fairly in practice. That should be the goal of everyone in Albany."
Divvying up the aid
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 10:29 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Leanna Stiefel, professor of economics at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and an associate director at NYU's Institute for Education and Social Policy writes, "New York has been out front in the amount of political bargaining that determines funding, but is way behind in making the system fairer and more transparent. More than 40 states use some version of a 'foundation' aid formula that bases state aid on student need and district fiscal capacity. Many allow the richer, often suburban districts to supplement the amount with local revenues, but usually an add-on limit is arrived at by a political compromise that keeps the richer suburban districts supporting the entire state system. Few states, though, have no real formula and start as New York does from a determination of shares. New York's citizens and lawmakers have a number of decisions to make. Among them is an answer to the question: Are we a state community? In a time and world that are divided and divisive, do we in this state want to move toward a public school system that provides adequate funds to students who are at particular risk of not making it? Do we want to try to provide equal opportunity for all? Or not?"
Education rally touts Spitzer plan
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 9:41 AM
Times Union reports, "Speakers lauded Spitzer's $19.2 billion education proposal while blasting the Senate majority for lopping state aid to so-called high-need districts like Schenectady and siphoning it to wealthier downstate suburbs. Kris Thompson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, disagreed with that assessment. 'The suburban school district would suffer the most under the governor's proposal, it is not equitable nor is it fair to the districts,' Thompson said during a phone interview afterward. 'The Senate wants this record increase to be distributed fairly throughout the state.'"
New York City Schools Chancellor KLEIN EDGES TOWARD SCHOOL REVOLUTION
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 9:06 AM
NY Post reports, "Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said during a teaching symposium yesterday that the city should 'take a serious look at some of the recommendations' in a December report by the bipartisan New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce and consider making 'bold, systemic challenges to the status quo.' The report entitled 'Tough Choices or Tough Times' - the subject of yesterday's panel discussion - made several recommendations, including a 'state board qualifying exam' that would be taken by all children after 10th grade to determine the future of their education. Depending on their scores, students would be sent for two years in high-level secondary school or two to three years in regional vocational schools or community or technical colleges. The commission - which counts Klein as a member - also advocated the elimination of school districts and local school funding, a system of 'contract schools; run by independent entities, high-quality universal pre-K, free adult education and an option for teachers to take higher salaries in exchange for fewer pension benefits."
Ohio legislators, educators look to solve school funding
Date CapturedSaturday March 24 2007, 9:16 AM
Coshocton Tribune reports, "Ten years ago today the Supreme Court ruled that Ohio's method of funding education was unconstitutional. A decade and three more unconstitutional rulings later, organizations, legislators and educators say they are trying to come up with a fair and equal method of funding Ohio's 613 districts. Educators hoped the unconstitutional ruling passed on March 24, 1997, would bring change, not years of more struggling to provide equal, quality education throughout the state."
Rochester City School District expects more aid
Date CapturedFriday March 23 2007, 9:00 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "When the smoke clears, the City School District could use the additional funds for initiatives that: Extend the school year from 180 to 200 days for students in first through eighth grades who are not meeting state language arts and math standards. Provide funding for a pilot program in some currently unnamed city schools to lengthen the school day. Provide intervention programs for three high schools — Jefferson, Monroe and the International Finance & Economic Development Career school at Franklin — recently cited by the state for registration review. Establish an African-American studies program. Convert Frederick Douglass from a middle school — which the state has recently threatened to close — to a high school with grades 7 through 12. The district has a pending partnership agreement with the State University College at Brockport that will make Douglass an early college high school, [City School Superintendent ]Rivera said."
No agreements on school funding
Date CapturedThursday March 22 2007, 8:36 AM
Newsday reports, "With Long Island's share of school funding now seen as the highest hurdle in talks on a new budget, Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos met privately yesterday to air opposing views but reached no agreements. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and other Long Island legislators are resisting Spitzer's proposed elimination of a tax rebate check program and other changes that they say would mean lost dollars to Nassau and Suffolk residents. A key stumbling block is the system of "shares" that has long distributed state school aid on a pre-set geographic basis. According to Skelos spokesman Tom Dunham, Skelos told the governor yesterday that 'the shares are sacred.'"
Charter school cost aid sought
Date CapturedThursday March 22 2007, 8:28 AM
Times Union reports, "Spitzer, a charter supporter who has proposed increasing the number of such schools allowed in New York, is the first governor to provide transitional aid. Alliance for Quality Education Executive Director Billy Easton called the $15 million a "good first step," but not nearly enough. 'The problem with the mathematics is that it's not enough money,' Easton said. Easton said his group would like to see Spitzer's figure triple. He said the Senate majority proposed adding $7 million worth of transition aid in its one-house budget, but didn't direct it to high-need districts."
Rallying for more funding
Date CapturedTuesday March 20 2007, 10:44 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "A regional struggle over state school aid is heating up on Long Island, as opponents and supporters of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget stake rival claims for more money. Yesterday, representatives of 19 school districts, mostly in Brookhaven and Islip Towns, joined in contending that the governor's plan shortchanges the Island. Organizers billed the news conference as the largest number of districts ever to speak with a single voice on the subject of aid, but acknowledged the difficulty of forging coalitions in a region so diverse."
Bruno attacks Spitzer on school aid formula
Date CapturedTuesday March 20 2007, 8:31 AM
Newsday DAN JANISON reports, "Bruno stood at a news conference with David Little, government relations director for the New York State School Boards Association, who praised the Senate's proposed changes in the Spitzer funding formula, particularly relating to special-education aid. Spitzer's proposal would make special-education funding part of the state's basic school-aid distribution formula for the first time. Little praised the Senate for looking to keep it a separate funding stream because this "recognizes the needs of high-needs districts, but doesn't pit high-needs districts against high-tax districts" such as those in Nassau and Suffolk."
Spitzer: They Can’t Handle the Truth
Date CapturedSunday March 18 2007, 10:58 AM
Room Eight blogger Larry Littlefield writes, "I’d like us to be 'one state,' but not if doing so means the city is made to sacrifice to help the rest of the state while the rest of the state is outraged because they are told, falsely, that they are being cheated by the city. This is an outrage, and what is said and not said, because politicians want to pander to those outside the city, has consequences. Someone should go to the libraries Upstate and collect some juicy quotes from the days when NYC was flat on its back economically, and the rest of the state resented bailing us out. Even though, net of all state revenues and expenditures, NYC was always a net contribuor the state budget, even in the early 1990s when 1 million were on welfare and the city lost 300,000 jobs. What an attitude! Please Governor Spitzer, stop feeding it!"
Albany Divided on Calculation of School Aid
Date CapturedSunday March 18 2007, 8:49 AM
NY Times reports, "The Senate’s proposal put education advocates in an awkward position: Should they accept a proposal that calls for more spending but uses the old shares system, or hold out for a new shares system? Several said that the Senate proposal was like getting a bonus instead of a raise — a nice influx of money in the short term, but one that is not built into salaries as a starting point for future years. Geri Palast, the executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which brought the court case, said: 'This is a historic moment where we can finally realize the promise of C.F.E. The good news is that there will be a major investment in education — both the governor and the Senate have talked about major investments — but the critical element still is to make sure that the formula goes to the neediest districts.'”
The Center May Not Hold for NCLB
Date CapturedSaturday March 17 2007, 6:22 PM
US News & World Report writes, "Republican leaders no longer stand strongly behind the Bush administration on education. But the mutiny is against more than Bush. It is also against the law itself. In just five years, the law has transformed public education, giving the federal government more say over what and how children learn than perhaps ever before. To maintain federal funding, all levels have had to change practice: States have had to develop detailed math and reading standards for third through eighth grade, teachers have had to devote weeks of their school year to testing those standards, and schools have had to live by the tests' consequences, facing sticks like forced restructuring or mandatory after-school tutoring if their students don't perform."
Reynolds spotlights school safety programs
Date CapturedSaturday March 17 2007, 10:02 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Flanked by County Executive Maggie Brooks, Greece Supervisor John Auberger, Greece Central School District Superintendent Steve Achramovitch and other officials, Reynolds, R-Clarence, Erie County, outlined three federal initiatives in which schools may take part: The Safe School/Healthy Students initiative, a U.S. Department of Education program that provides school funding for violence and substance abuse prevention. The U.S. Justice Department's Weed and Seed program, which promotes collaboration with law enforcement, community service groups and schools to reduce community crime, weed out' criminals and 'seed' positive, proactive community groups throughout communities. The Department of Education's Emergency Response and Crisis Management Grant program, which provides money so schools can improve their emergency response plans. Reynolds also outlined the Gang Elimination Act of 2007, legislation he sponsored that is pending in the House and would require the U.S. attorney general to develop a national strategy to eliminate the illegal operations of international drug gangs in the United States."
Spitzer plan sacrifices LI schools
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 10:21 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), New York State Senate deputy majority leader writes, "The Senate Republican plan helps every homeowner and offers significantly greater relief than the governor's proposal. Under Spitzer's scheme, homeowners with household incomes below $80,000 would receive an additional tax exemption equaling 50 percent of their current STAR savings this year, with the savings declining as household income rises. This year, our plan provides every homeowner with a check for approximately 90 percent of the STAR benefit, regardless of household income. The Senate Republican plan also promotes school budget accountability. The governor's proposal would distribute these property-tax relief funds to the school districts, which, in turn, are expected to pass these savings to taxpayers. By providing this benefit directly to homeowners, the Senate Republican plan enables property-tax payers to distinguish between actual school district spending and property-tax relief."
But State Senate must not lose sight of Albany's looming future deficits
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 10:09 AM
Newsday opines, "Based on a study by the Long Island Association and the Long Island Education Coalition, the senators criticize Spitzer's plan to maintain the region's share of new school money by substituting greater tax relief for smaller education-aid increases. Even if the total of tax relief and school aid should equal the Island's traditional share overall, they point out, the tax relief goes directly to homeowners. It doesn't help school districts pay their bills. The Senate is also right to worry that, while some poor districts here will get the double-digit increases they need, most districts will see only 3 percent - well below the state average and local cost increases. Clearly, Long Island needs more than Spitzer proposed, even if this generally wealthy region can't expect as much extra as others."
GOP Bills Would Relax Test Requirements of 'No Child' Law
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 8:51 AM
Washington Post reports, "White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said that Bush supports giving states and school systems more flexibility but that the bills introduced yesterday would go too far. 'We can't return to the time where there were no consequences for failing to educate children and accountability for federal education funding,' Stanzel said."
School finance reform plan gains support
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 8:41 AM
Post-Standard reports, "[Assemblyman] Magnarelli also said the [Statewide School Finance] consortium's formula is fair and would drive more money into poor urban and rural districts. The consortium developed the formula a decade ago and has been advocating for it ever since. The organization, based in East Syracuse, has almost 300 members, including school districts throughout Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison and Oswego counties, Timbs said. Its formula would establish a per-pupil foundation aid, adjust it for regional cost differences, provide extra aid for high-need students who cost more to educate and include a "save harmless" provision so that no district would lose basic aid. Statewide, about 200 of the 700 or so districts would see no increase and the rest would see their aid go up, said Larry Cummings, executive director of the Central New York School Boards Association, which founded and coordinates the consortium. Most Central New York districts would see increases."
State Implementation of Supplemental Educational Services under the No Child Left Behind Act
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 8:48 AM
This CEP report was written by Angela Minnici, CEP senior research associate, and Alice P. Bartley, CEP research intern."Key Findings: Limited capacity to monitor -- Many states (38) are unable to monitor 'to a great extent' the quality and effectiveness of SES providers; only 10 states reported being able to do so. The greatest capacity challenges for states in meeting this federal SES monitoring requirement are insufficient numbers of staff and inadequate federal funding. Use of criteria in law -- Almost all (between 47 and 49) of the state education agencies we surveyed reported using the criteria required by NCLB law and federal guidance to review and approve applications from potential supplemental service providers. These criteria are intended to ensure that providers are financially sound, have a record of effectiveness, use research-based strategies, provide services consistent with district instruction, and adhere to health, safety, and civil rights laws. w Frequent updating. NCLB requires states to promote maximum participation of SES providers so that parents have as many choices as possible. Therefore, it is important for states to provide parents and school districts with a current and accurate list of SES providers that they can choose from. On our survey, 20 states said they review new SES provider applications more often than once a year (the minimum required by the NCLB law), and 22 states reported updating their SES provider lists more than once a year. Different reapplication policies -- The reapplication process varies widely by state. In 13 states, SES providers never have to formally reapply, and in 12 states, SES providers have to reapply every year." Nancy Kober, a CEP consultant, edited the report. Jack Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO, and Diane Stark Rentner, CEP’s director of national programs, provided advice and assistance.
States Lax in Overseeing NCLB Tutoring
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 8:37 AM
U.S.News & World Report Elizabeth Weiss Green reports, "Each SES provider uses the money differently, setting the hours it will serve each student according to the fees it will charge the district. So while one company might charge under $20 per student and provide 80 hours of service, another will charge nearly $80 and provide 21 hours. The Chicago study found that expensive and inexpensive tutoring companies generated about the same gains. Private companies draw different conclusions, boasting widespread satisfaction and report cards lifted whole letter grades higher. Education Station, a major private provider, says its pre- and post-tests show that just 30 hours of instruction during the 2003–2004 school year produced gains of 28 percent improvement in math and 13 percent in reading. But the law calls on states, not school districts and companies, to monitor the programs' effectiveness, and the state administrators charged with that task say they are ill-equipped to fulfill it. Few, if any, have conducted studies on the programs' performance effects, and few are likely to be able to do so in the future, the CEP study found. Reasons cited by school districts include insufficient staff and inadequate federal funding."
New Jersey Gov. Corzine visit draws protest over school-funding formula
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 8:31 AM
Asbury Park Press reports, "The parents held signs urging the state to reform its education funding policies, including eliminating the Abbott school district designation, which provides extra state aid to poor districts. Freehold is not an Abbott district and has been getting flat funding for years as have other districts throughout the state. Parents at the demonstration said the inequitable funding must stop and that their district desperately needs money."
State owes $138M in refunds to schools
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 8:04 AM
Times Union reports, "After waiting in some cases as long as seven years, a chorus of school superintendents and BOCES officials on Wednesday demanded the state fork over more than $138 million it owes school districts throughout New York. Districts in the Capital Region are owed $11.7 million. The Education Department and state Division of the Budget appeared to point the blame at each other."
California Education Reform Under Spotlight
Date CapturedWednesday March 14 2007, 3:46 PM
AP reports, "Overhauling California's schools will require tougher teacher standards and lots of money -- as much as a mind-boggling $1.5 trillion per year, according to studies being released Wednesday. The reports are intended to kick start a discussion of major reforms to the nation's largest public education system, but make no concrete recommendations."
CALIFORNIA -- Study calls for more targeted school funding
Date CapturedWednesday March 14 2007, 11:25 AM
San Francisco Chronicle reports, "A soon-to-be-released study of California's public education system says the state will have to stop pouring money blindly into schools -- and spend far more money specifically on kids with the highest needs -- if it wants every student to succeed."
After-school programs seen at risk; Education Department only has $3 million for such activities, which proponents say cost $30 million
Date CapturedWednesday March 14 2007, 7:32 AM
Times Union reports, "Proponents like Scharff [executive director of Citizen Action and chairwoman of the Coalition for After School Funding] say they were notified earlier this year that the latest round of multiyear grants that pay for the programs wouldn't be renewed. The Education Department in January announced it wouldn't be taking bids for program funding until 2008, essentially meaning there is no money during the next school year."
Cardinal Egan calls Spitzer tuition aid just `a beginning'
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 7:03 PM
AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "[Cardinal Egan] He said families that send children to private schools save taxpayers $7.5 billion a year because they reduce enrollment at public schools. He also said that while the state's four-year graduation rate for public high schools is 64 percent (44 percent in New York City), Catholic high schools in New York City have a "virtually 100 percent" graduation rate. He also said 98 percent of graduates in high-poverty, inner city Catholic high schools go to college. Egan singled out the public school teacher unions as the most powerful opponent of the measure."
SENATE BUDGET INCREASES SCHOOL AID BY $514 Million
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 6:55 PM
PRESS RELEASE: Senate Plan Ensures Fair School Aid Distribution; Greater Property Tax Relief; Increased Higher Education Assistance.
Budget dance gets dirty as Spitzer, Senate face off
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 6:35 PM
AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "_The Senate's Republican majority would add more than $1 billion to Spitzer's budget. It would include restoring most of Spitzer's funding cuts to hospitals and nursing homes for a total addition of $544 million in health spending. They would also add $338 million to school spending. The proposal also would provide greater property tax relief than Spitzer's plan and include more than $1 billion for the rebate checks to taxpayers. The GOP senators don't include the rebate checks in their budget total, accounting for the difference between their total and the one Spitzer cites. "
$7B education increase must come with tough standards
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 7:34 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Before the budget passes, the Legislature needs to review the plan to ensure that with this significant increase in funding comes meaningful measures to guarantee money is being used in the best way possible. Otherwise, all it will be is an expensive Band-Aid."
Funding school reforms may tax California governor
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2007, 6:56 AM
LA Times reports, "There'll be suggestions that more funds be spent on poor-performing and low-wealth schools. That financial incentives be available to recruit teachers for hard-to-fill positions, such as science instructor. That principals be given more free rein to fire bad teachers and pay the best ones better. That the maze of categorical programs be blown up and restructured. That the whole school system be more open to scrutiny — more transparent — and thus more accountable to the public. 'It will encourage all of us to think about education reform in a holistic way,' says Ted Mitchell, former president of Occidental College and currently chairman of the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence, one of the project's requesters."
LI eyes more school aid
Date CapturedSunday March 11 2007, 10:35 PM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Nearly three-quarters of Long Island homeowners would get tax breaks under Gov. Eliot Spitzer's school-finance proposals, while wealthier residents and businesses would see rates go up, according to a new report from regional business and education groups. To further ease the Island's tax burden, report sponsors urge the governor to bring Long Island's share of state school aid, currently 12.5 percent, closer to its share of enrollment, now 16.8 percent."
Schools rely on lottery money
Date CapturedSunday March 11 2007, 7:54 AM
Post-Standard reports, "While lottery aid to schools increased from $1.3 billion in 1999 to $2.2 billion in 2005, the percentage of aid compared to lottery revenues has decreased from 38 percent in 1999 to 32 percent in 2005, according to lottery figures."
Inside Public Education 2007
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 10:56 AM
Inside Public Education reports the results of a survey conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion and funded by the Dyson Foundation. Residents of Dutchess and Ulster Counties in New York were interviewed about the public schools in their communities. They shared their opinions, experiences, and insights about what they consider to be the best and the worst of public education in the school district where they live.
School voters want accountability, poll finds
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 8:10 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "School district voters in Ulster and Dutchess counties want more accountability from public school officials, and a majority of voters believe public schools should be funded by income taxes, not property taxes."
Marist poll finds little support for school property taxes
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 7:18 AM
Times Herald reports, "Other highlights of the findings, which were released today: 59 percent of Ulster residents rate local education as good or excellent, compared with 72 percent in Dutchess. 20 percent overall found the best thing about their district is the teachers. 12 percent find the size of schools the worst thing about their local system. One in 10 mentioned taxes. Only 41 percent think school districts negotiate contracts well. 55 percent believe their district is controlled by a small group of people with their own agenda. Many of those polled want more money for science labs, computers, the arts and libraries. Voters supported a school budget because they thought it was fiscally sound. Voters opposed a school budget because they thought it was wasteful and irresponsible. 54 percent of voters do not think increased funding means better schools; 46 percent think it does. 61 percent think any funding alternatives should not include vouchers for private or parochial schools."
Congressman to Introduce No Child Left Behind Alternative
Date CapturedThursday March 08 2007, 2:39 PM
CNSNews.com news reports, "Under [Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)] his proposal to be introduced next week, the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007, states would no longer be required to follow regulations tied to federal funding, and it would allow them to 'assume full responsibility for the educational needs of its students.' But Andrew Rotherham, co-director of the education think tank Education Sector and a member of the Virginia State Board of Education, said, 'The reason we're in the jam we're in is in no small part because of the states.' Rotherham said the federal government has had to intervene to improve equity in America's school systems as well as the quality of education."
NCLB School Reform Deserves Renewal, and It's Not Enough
Date CapturedThursday March 08 2007, 11:23 AM
Mort Kondracke, Executive Editor of Roll Call writes, "The state with the best academic achievement records of all -- Massachusetts -- could boast only that about half of its students scored proficiently on the National Assessment of Education Progress. At the bottom was Washington, D.C., with proficiency ratings barely above 10 percent. The chamber hopes to equip its state affiliates and member businesses to confront state legislatures, local school boards and teachers unions to demand reform. It's a worthy purpose. And it could use some help from a presidential candidate who'll call for a grand trade -- professional level pay for teachers in return for professional accountability, pay-for-performance and an end to rigid union work rules. Also, equalization of funding between rich and poor school districts, a longer school day and a longer school year and more investment in early childhood education. Republicans resist spending more. Democrats chronically do the bidding of the teachers unions. America's kids and the country's future need a president who'll break that rancid mold."
Crowd fumes as chancellor bolts from forum; A PTA president calls the meeting 'a disgrace,' with only 90 minutes for audience remarks
Date CapturedThursday March 08 2007, 9:44 AM
Staten Island Advance reports, "[New York City Schools Chancellor] Klein's appearance was part of a five-borough series addressing the next phase of Children First, a four-part agenda for school reform that will eliminate regional offices and institute a new student-based school funding formula, a more rigorous teacher tenure review, and greater school accountability measures."
Our View — Special ed needs more state funds
Date CapturedWednesday March 07 2007, 10:29 AM
Minnesota Mankato Free Press opines, "When the topic of special education funding surfaces, the fact the federal government severely underfunds special ed is a given. Although the federal government mandated special ed 30 years ago, it has never paid more than 17 percent of those costs even though it promised to pay 40 percent. School districts across the nation have decried that lack of funding for years on deaf ears. What fewer people probably know is that Minnesota mandated special ed services 20 years before the federal government did. And like the federal government, the state hasn’t fully supported its mandate."
Rural Schools Affected By Battle over Bush Plan
Date CapturedWednesday March 07 2007, 8:53 AM
NPR reports, "All Things Considered, March 6, 2007 · Rural schools in California are facing a crisis because of a fight over President Bush's plan to sell $800 million worth of national forest. Many rural schools get a huge portion of their budget from the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, which expired last year."
Illinois Gov. Blagojevich to seek $1.5 billion increase in school funding
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 7:18 PM
AP reports, "The money would be boost basic spending for each student, funding for special-education teachers and the amount available for transportation and other special categories."
Teacher union ads flunk
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 7:00 AM
NY Daily News Bill Hammond writes, "Here's the truth. Spitzer wants to boost annual state aid to public schools by $7 billion, or 40%, over the next four years. That's far more than the Court of Appeals required in its ruling on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. It's enough cash to finance things teachers have been talking about for decades, such as smaller class sizes. Most interest groups, if confronted by a windfall that huge, would break out the champagne. Not NYSUT. After praising the governor for providing 'increased funding,' they turn around and attack him for wanting to open more charter schools and offer a minuscule tax break to private-school parents."
NYSSBA ready to deal with legislators
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 9:23 AM
The Record reports, "Funding, testing and teacher qualifications are issues that are taking center stage this week at the annual State Legislative Issues Conference of the New York State School Boards Association."
Long Island school officials decry state aid program
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 8:45 AM
Newsday Rick Brand reports, "The complaints center on Spitzer's new aid formula, which guarantees many local school districts a minimum 3 percent increase, but disqualifies them from other special aid categories that would help districts with high taxes, large enrollment growth, excessive special education costs and adjustments for the region's higher cost of living. The formulas, they added, will hurt more as time goes on."
Advocates say lack of funding for after-school programs could lead to ‘crisis’
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 8:41 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "Currently, after-school programs in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Port Chester, Poughkeepsie, Elmira, Niagara Falls, Gowanda, Syracuse, Oswego, Utica, Jamestown, Rome, Yonkers and all five boroughs of New York City are funded through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Program. However, since the purse strings are held by the state Education Department, those programs are at the mercy of the state. Since the beginning of the month, state officials have begun informing the after-school programs that they would not be receiving the federal funding this year at all. The funding is expected to be cycled through other types of programs that qualify for the federal allocation."
Mike's leap of faith
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 8:31 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Last week, more than 1,000 parents and activists rallied against the Education Department's reorganization plans and complained their opinions are being ignored. Bloomberg told the congregations he plans to make the teacher tenure process "more accountable and more rigorous." He also said a new program will start in September to base school funding on the number of students enrolled. 'Some schools get more money than others - that's just wrong,' Bloomberg said."
Officials say schools hindered in rural, poor areas of Arizona
Date CapturedSaturday March 03 2007, 1:17 PM
East Valley Tribune reports, "Arizona continues to spend a smaller share of its education dollars on direct classroom instruction than the national average. New figures released Thursday by the state Auditor General’s Office show that in 2006 school districts spent an average of 58.3 cents of every dollar provided for education in the classroom. That includes teacher salaries, instructional supplies, textbooks, software and field trips. By comparison, the most recent national average is 61.5 cents."
Concerns over funding formula dominate New York education hearing
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 8:09 PM
Legislative Gazette reports, "Concerns over funding for some districts under Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposed foundation aid formula dominated discussion at a joint budget public hearing on elementary and secondary education last week. Debate over foundation aid centered on the premise of the formula, which is designed to drive more funding into New York’s high need schools — should New York design a system that tries to address all students or fully fund a system that targets the state’s neediest students? Cases of similar districts receiving different increases in aid are popping up across the state and are raising questions over how the formula will affect those districts that are moderately wealthy."
Chancellor Klein's Testimony Before the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 12:53 PM
EXCERPT: There is a lot in the budget proposal that we in New York City are happy about. Highlights include: significant increases in overall educational funding that take a major step toward fulfilling the promise of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity; a foundation formula that factors in student need and provides more transparency and stability to school funding; enhanced accountability that ties new education dollars to student performance; the lifting of the charter school cap; and an expansion funding for pre-kindergarten programs. (READ FULL TEXT)
Split over state aid to schools
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 9:03 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Under Spitzer's plan, New York City would get a 9.49 percent increase next year, or $637 million. In contrast, Long Island schools would get an average 5.2 percent increase, or $113 million - $29.4 million less than the increase they received this year. That would reduce the Island's share of statewide aid slightly, from 12.5 percent this year to 12.18 percent next year, according to the governor's budget office. Senate Republicans say the Island's share this year is actually slightly larger than that, and that any shrinkage would set a bad precedent."
2007 is 'a banner year for education'
Date CapturedThursday March 01 2007, 12:33 PM
Deseret Morning News reports, "[Utah]Public education received record funding this year with lawmakers aiming at increasing teacher compensation to help recruit and retain quality educators."
State education officials question funding distribution
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 7:08 AM
The Journal News reports, "Some lawmakers and educators said at a budget hearing on education that they worried the new distribution formula would shortchange the 303 districts that receive only 3 percent increases. Education budgets may rise by 7 percent a year, so four years at 3 percent annually would place a heavier burden on local taxpayers to fund education, said Senate Education Committee Chairman Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, who noted that most school systems in his district would get 3 percent increases. 'If we're talking about fairness, I think there has to be changes (in the formula),' he said."
Changes urged for school aid plan: Spitzer's proposed funding boost welcomed, but many advocates say more money will be needed
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 7:00 AM
Times Union reports, "There are other differences in how Spitzer is approaching education spending, most notably through his proposals that place strings on how the additional money is spent. A recent amendment to the governor's budget, for instance, helps ensure that struggling school systems won't simply use the extra money to lower taxes. Instead, districts that get significant increases must spend the money on measures like smaller class sizes and full day pre-K programs. Spitzer also has proposed that school superintendents could be fired if their district turns in four years of poor performance. School board members could be removed after six years."
KIDS' 'AFTER'MATH
Date CapturedTuesday February 27 2007, 9:09 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "After-school programs that let roughly 34,000 children across the state - including 20,000 in the city - get tutored, play sports and participate in a host of other activities could be lost to a federal-funding shortfall, state education officials and youth advocates warn. Directors of programs at 207 schools were stunned to learn this month in a letter from the state Education Department that they would have to find new funding for the next school year because the federal government didn't pony up $11 million to keep the programs running past June."
EdTrust Releases Funding Gaps 2006: How the Federal Government Makes Rich
Date CapturedMonday February 26 2007, 9:34 AM
"University of Washington Research Assistant Professor Marguerite Roza shows that, despite district bookkeeping practices that make funding across schools within the same district appear relatively comparable, substantially less money is spent in high-poverty and high-minority schools. Teacher salaries are the clearest example. Roza looks at salary expenditures in a variety of districts and finds troubling inequities in the allocation of this key resource among schools in the same district. For example in Austin, a city with one of the largest salary gaps, the gap in average teacher salaries between the highest and lowest poverty schools within the district amounted to $3,837. In a school of 25 teachers that gap amounts to $95,925 less per year for a low-income school; in a school with 100 teachers, the gap increases to $383,700 per year."
School bond projects pose a moral and financial choice
Date CapturedMonday February 26 2007, 8:04 AM
Times Herald contributor Roger Ramjug, Newburgh resident and director of facilities for the Marlboro School District opines, "First and foremost, however, is the responsibility to provide a safe environment for children to learn. Both teachers and principals alike will attest to the most disruptive element as being inadequate facilities. It is extremely difficult to keep children focused on academics amidst leaking roofs and pipes, crumbling walls, insufficient heating and ventilation, not to mention inadequate lighting."
Property tax exemption deadline Thursday across Central New York
Date CapturedMonday February 26 2007, 7:50 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Basic STAR exemption: A school tax-related exemption on a primary residence. Apply once. Enhanced STAR exemption: A school tax-related exemption for senior citizens. Apply yearly."
This Is Not Your 1983 Governor’s School Aid Plan
Date CapturedSunday February 25 2007, 10:02 AM
NY Times reports, "Under the governor’s plan, there would be a $1.4 billion increase in state aid, to $19.2 billion this year. An additional $1.5 billion would go to expanding the STAR tax rebate program next year, with the projection that it would grow to $6 billion in three years. The State Court of Appeals, ruling in a 13-year-old education financing case last year, said more had to be spent in New York City and other needier districts. Every district would get at least a 3 percent increase in the basic aid program this year, and some would get much larger jumps. Depending on some smaller, targeted aid programs, a handful of districts would lose money compared with 2006-7. Over all, Long Island’s state aid would increase by 5.2 percent. In comparison, aid for New York City would increase by 9.5 percent, for Brentwood by 12.3 percent and for Hempstead by 9.6 percent."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school district gets new feedback on privatization
Date CapturedSaturday February 24 2007, 9:00 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The Accountability Review Council, an independent body monitoring school improvement in Philadelphia, yesterday agreed there was 'little evidence' that the academic gains made by the six companies running 41 city schools warranted the continuation of additional funding being paid to the managers. The companies, including the for-profit Edison Schools Inc., have gotten $90 million over the last five years."
Kentucky court sides with legislature in school funding case
Date CapturedSaturday February 24 2007, 8:40 AM
Lebanan Enterprise reports, "Judge Thomas Wingate wrote in his Feb. 13 decision that more funding for education is a good idea and that funding education should be the legislature's first priority. However, he did not feel it was the court's role to weigh in on how the legislature determines that funding."
Some districts to lose aid under Spitzer’s education formula, superintendents say
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:59 PM
Legislative Gazette reports, "The New York State Council of School Superintendents said Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s new “foundation aid formula,” which is targeted at putting more funding in high-need schools, has the potential to give different aid increases to similar school districts."
Majority of Linn County, Missouri superintendents believe state education funding inadequate -- hinders academic performance
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:48 PM
Linn County Leader reports, "When the litigation was initiated on the premise Missouri's new school funding formula is 'inadequate,' the plaintiffs painted with a broad brush, citing the lack of educational programs, facilities, and qualified educators as resources that needed to be propped up with additional state dollars. But Stanford University Economist Eric Hanushek testified on behalf of the state this week that 'any measure that looks only at inputs-i.e., where the dollars go-without also tracking outputs-how students perform-is fundamentally flawed.'"
Feds will withhold funds if Virginia English learners aren't tested
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:33 AM
AP reports, "A top U.S. Department of Education official said Thursday that Virginia school divisions will lose federal funding if they do not comply with a federal law that requires children struggling to learn English take the same reading tests as their native-speaking peers.'
School Finance Reform: Back to Where We Started
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:18 AM
New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies studies finds, "The objectives intended by the court were to equalize opportunity to obtain adequate education (“pupil equity”) and to equalize the tax burden associated with providing it (“tax equity”). However, it now appears that the laws and programs to reform school finance, enacted beginning in 1999 to comply with the Claremont II decision, have had no effect on pupil equity, as measured by per pupil spending. Among the highest spending districts, spending is now actually a little higher relative to the median than it was in 1999. Also, while the new laws enacted in 1999 initially did affect taxpayer equity and resulted in somewhat more equal tax rates for schools among towns, much of that change has been eroded away in the past six years. If current trends continue, the variation in tax rates will be just as great in two years as it was in 1998. In essence, measured against the two goals of the Claremont II decision, the state’s school finance reform has had little impact, and we are back to where we started in 1999."
Math Lessons: How to Make New Funds Count for New York City Public Schools
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 5:40 PM
2/28/2007 8:30 am; The Century Foundation, 41 East 70th Street, Manhattan.
Missouri budget official says school funding meets requirement
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 10:24 AM
AP reports, "A key defense of the state is that the only specific constitutional requirement regarding an adequate funding level is that the state spend one-fourth of its revenue on education."
Arkansas Gov. Beebe Proposes Higher Per-Student Funding
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 9:17 AM
AP reports, "The governor says he wants to go beyond court-ordered adequacy and strive for excellence in the public schools."
The virtue of school choice
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 8:44 AM
The Daily Texan reports, "On the national level, we spend twice as much per student as we did 30 years ago, adjusted for inflation, and schools have only gotten worse. At the same time, private and charter schools spend less per student and squeeze out better student performance than public schools. But there is one reform that is slowly gaining momentum: school choice. School choice advocates argue it isn't money or broken homes that explain the decline. Schools have turned into government monopolies that are unresponsive to parents' needs and have little motivation to improve educational quality. More money and government regulations only create larger bureaucracies, and choke the life out of learning."
Killing 68M art plan paints bleak picture for schools - critics
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 7:37 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The funding change follows recent school reforms intended to give principals more flexibility in how they spend money while also holding them to higher standards."
US Sen. Ted Kennedy visit focuses on 'No Child' program
Date CapturedWednesday February 21 2007, 8:38 PM
Cape Cod Times reports, "In addition to addressing the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, he spoke with Times editors about the proposed Head Start for School Readiness Act. According to Kennedy, fewer than 50 percent of children eligible for Head Start participate because their families do not have access to Head Start programs. The legislation would raise Head Start funding from $6.9 billion to $7.3 billion in the next fiscal year, to $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2009 and $7.9 billion in 2010."
Success at fighting truancy to cost local Illinois county
Date CapturedSunday February 04 2007, 1:11 PM
Daily Chronicle reports, "Every three years the regional superintendent's office applies for a grant to the Illinois State Board of Education to fund its DeKalb County Truancy Intervention Program. This year's budget was $119,000, which provides funding for three outreach workers. Beckwith said she expects the grant next year will be 10 percent less. A child is considered a chronic truant if he has missed 18 days in 180 school days."
Photos chronicle decrepit schools
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 9:29 AM
The Post and Courier reports, "If a picture says a thousand words, then a photography exhibit on display this week should enlighten Charlestonians to the plight facing students and teachers in rural schools across the state. 'But What About Us?' features 60 photographs taken by students in seven of South Carolina's most rural school districts. The pictures depict unsafe and unsanitary school conditions, from broken playground equipment to leaky roofs to clogged sinks to rotting floors. The exhibit will be on display all week at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, and the documentary film 'Corridor of Shame: The Neglect of South Carolina's Rural Schools' will be screened on Wednesday night."
Foundation money may aid Pittsburgh city high school makeover
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 8:54 AM
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, "Around the country, however, high-school improvements have emerged as communitywide responsibilities. Philanthropies might provide the bulk of funding, but districts still have to find local partners to provide additional cash or other kinds of assistance."
A promising education
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 9:03 AM
Times Union contributor Frederick J. Frelow, director of the Early College Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, N.J. writes, "The next chapter on civil rights in New York will begin in the state's public schools. Indeed, the future of an entire generation of Americans is in the hands of our state leaders right now. They can create national models for education finance, leading the way for 49 other states to meet King's challenges and make good on the Founders' promise. This investment will not only yield a better prepared work force, but make New York's young people ready for true citizenship."
State aid fuels school construction projects
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 8:28 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Each district was allocated a share of EXCEL aid in the state budget, based on enrollment and its financial need.However, districts must submit project applications that meet state criteria in order to collect. The project must involve school expansion or renovation, health and safety, accessibility, energy conservation and education technology. More than a dozen districts in Central New York have passed or are putting expansion and renovation projects before voters in coming months. And other districts are beginning to explore their needs to take advantage of the state's largesse. "
Put brakes on charter schools
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 7:59 AM
Times Union Fred LeBrun writes, "The tension is between just raising the cap, and raising the cap with extra aid to affected districts and a measure of local control. For those of us leery of charters, the path is obvious: Let's put the brakes on charters and give the taxpayer a break in the process. "
A test for public schools: As Tech Valley High recruits students for the fall, some districts may opt not to participate
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 7:46 AM
Times Union opines, "As for district administrators and schools boards, they will have a harder time complaining about charter schools if they view Tech Valley High through a narrow dollars-and-cents lens. Public schools lose a student's per pupil state aid every time a student enrolls in a charter school, and there is no chance for reimbursement. By contrast, Tech Valley High represents a chance for public schools to prove they can be innovative and successful on their own. By any measure, that's an investment worth making."
District to ask voters for fix-up funding
Date CapturedSaturday January 13 2007, 7:07 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Courts have ruled that the state must increase spending in New York City schools to ensure that all pupils receive a 'sound and basic education.' The state Legislature plans to increase funding to all New York schools and has set up the EXCEL fund to provide $1.8 billion to New York City districts for capital renovation projects and $800 million to schools in the rest of the state. Under the formula, which considers enrollment and student needs, East Irondequoit is eligible for $1.1 million. The state already reimburses the East Irondequoit School District 73.4 percent of the cost of renovation projects. The district says EXCEL funding, plus interest earned by investing project money until needed, could eliminate the local share for the $5.1 million worth of improvements. No tax increase is on the table. The district plans to use the money for projects including roof repair at four schools, safety upgrades at Eastridge High School and electrical work. "
Bush-Democrat alliance on education law feared
Date CapturedFriday January 12 2007, 3:43 AM
Washington Times reports, "Mr. Bush is urging Congress this year to renew one of his biggest domestic accomplishments, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law of 2002, which aims to increase student achievement through more testing and by tracking results of schools and holding them accountable. Democrats, who now control the House and Senate, are demanding some changes to the law, most notably a significant boost in funding levels. The option of adding high school reform to this year's 'to-do' list hasn't been publicly discussed lately, but Mr. Bush included the makings of such a plan in his budget proposal last year. The NCLB law focuses on grade school and requires testing just once in reading and math from grades 10 to 12. His plan from last year would have expanded high school testing to all three years."
Reforming New York’s Property Tax System: A Report on the January 10 Conference sponsored by the Center for Governmental Research, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the Empire Center of NYS Policy
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 8:58 AM
Empirepage editor Peter G. Pollak suggests as a step in the right direction, "Reform the Star Program to impose a cap on school district spending increases with provisions for enrollment increases and capital spent on new buildings."
Property taxes linked to job growth
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 8:52 AM
Times Union reports, "New York's governments and school districts have been hiring people at a rapid clip in recent years, far outpacing population and school enrollment, according to a speaker [Robert Ward, research director at the Public Policy Institute, which is affiliated with the state Business Council] Wednesday at a symposium on property taxes."
THE STATE BUDGET: CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL K-12 EDUCATION
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 8:23 AM
San Francisco Chronicle reports, "The governor wants to spend $36.8 billion from the general fund for K-12 education, up from $36.6 billion. For classroom spending, that translates to $8,569 per pupil, up from $8,293. The state would save $283.6 million under the proposal because enrollment in the 5.9 million-pupil system is expected to drop slightly, by about 23,000 students. The total includes $1.9 billion (a 4 percent increase) that districts can use to cover the higher costs of running schools."
In Education Debate, Congress Must Talk Money
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 7:16 AM
NPR: One of the issues the new Congress will deal with is the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act. Commentator Andrew Rotherham says that any reconsideration of education legislation will need to consider changes in the way it is funded. Rotherham is co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. He serves on the Virginia Board of Education and writes the blog Eduwonk.com.
Leaving Schools Behind
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 5:25 AM
Post-Standard opines, "[Immigrant] Children struggling to fit in to a strange new environment will have their spirits badly shaken, and their failure on the tests will keep the school on the state's list of deficient schools. A better way to help H.W. Smith [Syracuse elementary school] and other schools that are doing remarkable things with newly arrived immigrant children would be to provide them with realistic goals and the expert outside help and funding to achieve them."
Panel says property taxes key
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 5:19 AM
Newsday reports, "Most residents who testified at three commission hearings last year declared support for introducing an income tax, as a more equitable way to fund schools and relieve the burden on homeowners. One concern: East End towns now depend on summer resort properties for tax revenue, yet many Hamptons homeowners have primary residences in New York City, excusing them from a Suffolk income tax. 'The loss of real-estate tax revenue from second homes without a corresponding income would devastate many of our school districts that are located in resort areas,' the 17-member panel says in its report. Another concern, the commission said, is that the local economy might suffer if wealthy residents move out of Suffolk, taking with them their 'purchasing power' and lowering sales tax revenue. It may also discourage people from moving to Suffolk."
New Jersey Education board 'plain language' bill is sent to gov
Date CapturedWednesday January 10 2007, 9:23 PM
The Jersey Journal reports, "Under the bill, each local school board would be required to fill out a form provided by the state that spells out budget and salary information in plain language." Additionally, "The law would mandate the details of administrators' pay packages be spelled out in plain language, and would require school boards to hold public hearings before amending the contract of an administrator."
Complaining all the way to education successes in the nation's schools
Date CapturedWednesday January 10 2007, 8:44 AM
Journal News opines, "A critical review of NCLB is overdue. Nationwide and locally, some schools and districts are still making sense of the accountability game (see staff writer Leah Rae's Sunday article about "erasure analysis" - a necessary tool for uncovering teachers and schools that, unfortunately, look for the easy way out on standardized tests; to whit, they cheat). And we'll have more to say later on about what specifically is right and wrong about NCLB. But we think there is more than anecdotal evidence to suggest that Congress should get behind NCLB, preferably one that is improved, better funded and up to the very hard challenges that remain."
Frozen Assets: Rethinking Teacher Contracts Could Free Billions for School Reform
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:57 AM
Education Sector report written by Marguerite Rosa . Many common provisions of teacher contracts require school districts to spend substantial sums to implement policies which research has shown have a weak or inconsistent relationship with student learning. This report examines eight such provisions: Increases in teacher salaries based on years of experience; Increases in teacher salaries based on educational credentials and experiences; Professional development days; Number of paid sick and personal days; Class-size limitations; Use of teachers’ aides; Generous health and insurance benefits; and Generous retirement benefits.
Go beyond the New York charter school cap
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:31 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "The answer is to create a separate funding stream so charters are supported adequately but not as offshoots of the district. That mingling has created problems that need not persist. And if the funding tension goes away, so might district antipathy to charters. [Gov] Spitzer should also endorse tougher state oversight of charters."
Mississippi education issues lost in funding battles
Date CapturedSunday January 07 2007, 7:25 AM
Clarion-Ledger reports, "The biggest untouchable issue is school consolidation. Mississippi clearly doesn't need 151 school districts. But consolidation steps on school administrators' turf. It makes communities confront issues of community and racial groupings. It could even, oh horror, affect a basketball or football team. Lawmakers won't touch it."
Missouri school funding trial focuses on property assessments
Date CapturedSaturday January 06 2007, 3:36 PM
AP reports, "A trial on how the state funds public schools focused Thursday on suburban districts' concerns that some areas are undervaluing property, a key factor in the state method of doling out education dollars. Early witnesses and evidence narrowed in on property assessment practices around the state, a particular concern to 26 largely suburban plaintiff school districts in the Coalition to Fund Excellent Schools."
Charter school idea gains traction in New York
Date CapturedSaturday January 06 2007, 2:19 PM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Gov. Eliot Spitzer may have cleared the way for approval of more charter schools by proposing to compensate school districts for potential financial losses, lawmakers said Friday. The Democrat said he wants to increase the number of publicly financed but privately run charter schools. But he said the state should cover school districts that lose students to charters so they don't lose the state aid that goes with them."
Lottery: More than $300 million raised for New Mexico education
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 11:41 PM
AP reports, "The New Mexico Lottery has raised more than 300 (M) million dollars for public education since tickets went on sale in April 1996. Most of that money went into the Lottery Success Scholarship."
NY Gov. Spitzer backs off $8.5B school aid
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 2:53 PM
Newday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "Gov. Eliot Spitzer has backed off supporting the addition of up to $8.5 billion in statewide school aid that he had endorsed during his campaign, a key aide said yesterday."
Washington state groups call for changes in school financing
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 1:50 PM
AP reports, "Officials with the education groups said yesterday the state [Washington] is not living up to its constitutional obligation to fully finance basic public education. The state's expected $1.9 billion surplus and prosperous economy present a 'historic opportunity' to ease the current crisis and develop a long-term plan based on student needs, said Charles Hasse, president of the Washington Education Association. Washington is currently near the bottom in the nation in contributions made by the state government per student, Hasse said."
Chicago Mayor Daley issues challenge on school funding
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 10:16 AM
"Mayor Richard Daley challenged state lawmakers Thursday to reform Illinois' education funding system to take the burden off property taxpayers and reduce inequities between rich and poor districts."
Community input can help schools
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 5:26 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal opines, "Gov. Eliot Spitzer has pledged to provide greater state funding for education and deliver property tax relief. But any changes will take time to be implemented. Meanwhile, the Rhinebeck citizens group could play an important role in helping to inform the public about them, Phelan noted. But forcing residents to absorb tax increases year after year cannot continue."
News from The School Administrators Association of New York State: State of State Offers Educational Opportunities
Date CapturedThursday January 04 2007, 7:36 AM
The School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) applauds Governor Elliot Spitzer's commitment to increase funding and opportunities for all of New York's schools as outlined in today's State of the State message. SAANYS supports the governor's efforts to provide universal pre-kindergarten, smaller class sizes, after school programs, and increases in school funding. SAANYS also supports Spitzer's recognition for strong school accountability measures. SAANYS does not support raising the charter school cap, as the charter school experiment has yet to produce the positive results necessary to validate such an expansion. SAANYS is encouraged by the recognition of the need for transitional aid for districts of existing charter schools.
Gov: Spitzer: Our Kids Deserve More
Date CapturedThursday January 04 2007, 4:30 AM
NY Post FREDRIC U. DICKER writes, "City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said Spitzer's suggestions about a longer school day and year shouldn't be applied across-the-board. 'This has got to be targeted based on need,' Klein said. "Some kids need extended day, extended year. Other kids obviously are achieving well. I think you need to have differentiation," he added. City teachers union President Randi Weingarten said she wouldn't comment until she sees further details. In the city, the school year is currently 185 days and the length of the day ranges from 6 hours and 20 minutes to 6 hours and 57 minutes. The governor and state lawmakers have authority over the number of days in the school year, as well as the length of the day, the city Department of Education said."
Spitzer promises no taxes, more ‘investment’
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 2:55 PM
AP reports, "Most of Spitzer's address underscored his campaign promises, including a $6 billion property tax cut over three years and billions of dollars more for schools. Wednesday's proposals include: --Longer school days and school years, after-school programs and better teachers as well as greater accountability for school spending. 'There will be no more excuses for failure,' Spitzer said. 'The debate will no longer be about money, but about performance; the goal will no longer be adequacy, but excellence; the timetable will no longer be tomorrow, but today.'"
Spitzer promises aid boost to upstate
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 9:14 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Distressed upstate cities, towns and school districts will receive additional 'significant' aid increases in Gov. Eliot Spitzer's first state budget in an effort to help turn around the moribund upstate economy."
AG says Arkansas measures address school funding adequacy
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 7:27 AM
Arkansas News reports, "Conducting a comprehensive school finance study and adding nearly $200 million in academic and facilities aid this year fulfilled the state's commitment to adequately funding public schools, the attorney general's office said in state Supreme Court filings Tuesday. Attorney General Mike Beebe's office responded to a Nov. 30 high court order giving the state 30 days to provide information regarding state compliance with the court's December 2005 decision that declared Arkansas' school funding system unconstitutional."
Missouri school districts going to court for more state money
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 9:35 AM
POST-DISPATCH reports, "But defenders of Missouri's school funding system believe the state has done everything right in the past few years to fend off an expensive court ruling. They point to the adoption in 2005 of a new school spending plan that attempts to mimic the philosophy favored by many courts nationwide. The plan calls for the state to spend upwards of $800 million more on schools over a seven-year span. More than $120 million has already gone to the new formula."
The 65% solution -- a closer look in Vermont
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 9:03 AM
Burlington Free Press opined, "The 65 percent solution would require that schools spend a minimum of '65 percent of their funds directly on classroom instruction.' The National Center for Educational Statistics' (NCES) definition of 'classroom instruction' would serve as the basis for determining what constitutes 'in the classroom' activities. Briefly, it would includes teacher and para-educator salaries, instructional materials, extracurricular activities including athletics, arts and music, and tuition paid to out-of-district and private educational providers. The remaining 35 percent of school spending would be divided between all other expenditures, including transportation, professional development for educators, administrative costs, guidance counseling, libraries, heat, lights and food services."
Test scores for Pennsylvania special education students on rise
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 8:18 AM
Herald-Standard reports, "Test scores for special education students in the state's 501 school districts are reportedly on the rise with local educators lauding the efforts of inclusion implemented in January under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The law was revised to include a special emphasis on the achievement gap for all states that accept Title 1 federal grants that provide funding for remedial education programs for poor and disadvantaged children in public schools and in some private programs. A class action lawsuit filed against the Pennsylvania Department of Education also determined that starting last January special education students be integrated into the regular education classroom for instruction where the special education teacher and regular education teacher co-teach."
Few solutions, plenty of ideas in Suffolk County
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 5:27 AM
Newsday reports, "The Commission to Evaluate School District Expenses and Efficiency has held four public hearings since September - and 50 speakers offered their recipes for reducing the cost of public education. Now comes the sifting. The alternatives will be considered by the 12-member panel and evaluated in a report due in March. The suggestions include: consolidating school districts so there's only one per town; increasing class sizes beyond the third grade; funding sports programs through user fees, and pooling among the districts the costs for school-bus transportation, security and building maintenance."
Discord at Suffolk County, New York funding hearing
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 5:21 AM
Newsday reports, "The grand jury, she [McCormick, Suffolk district attorney's office] said, called for contracts to be posted on school district Web sites in advance of board votes 'to make the information more easily accessible to the public - not to force them to go through a FOI request when to just get through your day, you might not have the time. '"
Money myth in education
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 3:23 AM
Washington Times contributor Matt Warner, education task director for the American Legislative Exchange Council writes, "This month, the American Legislative Exchange Council -- the largest U.S. nonpartisan group of state legislators -- released the 2006 Report Card on American Education concluding that 'despite substantial increases in resources being spent on primary and secondary education over the past two decades -- per pupil expenditures have increased by 77.4 percent (after adjusting for inflation) -- student performance has improved only slightly.' CFE argues that Americans need to shell out billions more -- on top of the nearly $500 billion they spend now -- to reduce class sizes, spend more per pupil and raise teacher salaries. If these "reforms" were the answer, no doubt most Americans would pay the price. But in fact America's classrooms have already been shrinking over the last two decades. Today's class sizes are nearly 11 percent smaller than in 1983 -- the year the Reagan administration issued its education report titled 'A Nation at Risk,' a clarion call for serious reform in education."
Florida Palm Beach County teacher’s union, FEA oppose pay for performance plan
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 9:04 AM
Boca Raton News reports, "School districts will be granted funding to award the top 25 percent of teachers in the district a minimum reward of 5 percent of the annual salary. School districts are not required by law to participate in STAR, although they are required to have performance pay plans in place, so the $147.5 million allocation will be divided among those districts that have approved plans. If a school district opts not to participate with STAR, the district must fund the plan."
New York schools wait for aid
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 8:20 AM
Newsday reports, "During his campaign, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer held out the promise of as much as $8.5 billion annually in new school assistance statewide, to be phased in during four or five years. It would include about $4.7 billion for New York City, along with substantial increases for other needy school systems. Details of his plan are scheduled for release Feb. 1, as part of his first budget message. In the interim, school advocates from Long Island and New York City are putting forth potentially rival claims for large shares of the money."
Data could help both sides in Missouri school funding case
Date CapturedSaturday December 30 2006, 8:35 AM
AP reports, "The lawsuit challenging Missouri's school funding method as inadequate and unfair was filed Jan. 6, 2004, in Cole County Circuit Court. With the litigation pending, lawmakers in 2005 revamped the way the state distributes money to public schools. The old system depended largely on the property tax base, and as property values rose, the state was unable to keep up with the higher payments districts were due. The new formula instead sets a target of what it takes to provide a sound education to each student, derived from spending levels by districts that score highest on a state report. Extra funds are provided for disproportionate numbers of 'at-risk' students. The formula determines what each district should get and provides state money for what is not raised locally."
Kentucky Braces for Potential Bill for School Finance Lawsuit
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 11:21 PM
AP reports, "Attorneys for a group of Kansas school districts that successfully sued the state over education funding are still looking to get paid."
Private aid for New Jersey public schools stirs controversy
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 11:11 PM
NorthJersey.com reports, "With state aid remaining level at best, school districts around New Jersey are finding corporations that are willing to pitch in. In North Jersey, the practice hasn't taken hold, but some school districts are looking at the possibilities. The practice is not without controversy. While some businesses ask for nothing in return, others display their brand names for all the students to see. Here is a look at the arguments for and against private funding in education."
School tax relief is good, but rest of record is sketchy
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 4:56 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal contributor Edward McCormick, member of the Arlington school board, chairman of the New York State Educational Conference Board and a member of the Dutchess County BOCES board writes, "The enactment of the School Tax Relief (STAR) program was the governor’s most creative and largest statewide accomplishment that affects public schools. STAR now exceeds $3 billion in school tax relief. While not intended to increase school funding, STAR contributed to a period (1998-2001) of unprecedented success for school budget passage at the polls. Three years of record school aid increases, a booming economy, plummeting pension costs and initiation of the statewide voting day helped also. While advantageous to the passage of schools budgets, STAR missed an opportunity for education policy reform."
Sticking taxpayers with the check: School officials need to curb their appetites when billing the public for their meals
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 4:49 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "Because when it comes to eating off the taxpayers' dollar, a little belt-tightening shouldn't hurt anyone."
Face the music
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 4:20 AM
Daily News columnist Errol Louis writes, "Right now, there's no guarantee that a nickel of the new billions from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity will go to putting arts back in New York City schools. Whatever else they do, Bloomberg and Spitzer must not blow this historic opportunity to revive art in the souls of our city's children."
Strides And Setbacks In School Funding Effort
Date CapturedThursday December 28 2006, 10:25 PM
Queens Chronicle reports, "Said Geri Palast, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, in a statement, 'Spitzer’s commitment to educational excellence, not mere competence and sufficiency, is critical to the future of New York’s schoolchildren, our most valuable human resource.'”
Citizen group to aid budget process
Date CapturedThursday December 28 2006, 4:55 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The Rhinebeck town board is crafting and approving a charter for the citizens group. One of the group's roles will be to observe school officials as they craft the budget each year and provide input."
New York Senate Republicans want to boost property tax rebate program
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 7:26 PM
AP reports, "This year, the state sent about $875 million in property tax relief checks to homeowners. Another $200 million went to income tax credits for New York City residents. Another part of the plan would allow voters to petition for ballot propositions limiting tax hikes for both local property taxes and school property taxes. If approved, those limits would last for three years. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said he also wants to create a panel to study ways local governments and school districts could cut costs and help reduce property taxes."
MAEP: Law dictates divvying of funds
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 10:58 AM
Daily Journal reports, "When people refer to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula, words like complex or complicated are almost always used to describe it. But at the heart of MAEP is a simple concept: Determine the amount of money needed to provide each student an adequate education and the state's share of those funds."
Education: For rich towns, breaking up's the thing to do
Date CapturedTuesday December 26 2006, 11:07 AM
AP reports, "This month Barnstead asked the state Board of Education for permission to withdraw from its shared school administrative unit with Pittsfield, citing money as the reason. Because multi-town SAUs pay for education with a formula that counts the number of pupils in each town and the town's assessed property valuation, Barnstead -- with fewer students and more property wealth -- is paying a larger share of the SAU's $419,613 annual operating costs. 'There's a perceived inequity,' said Keith Couch, chairman of the Barnstead School Board. 'The perception is we've got less kids, so how could we be paying more?'"
Colleges may have something to prove
Date CapturedTuesday December 26 2006, 8:51 AM
Express-News reports, "Gov. Rick Perry [Texas] has said he wants more scrutiny of university budgets and has floated the idea of an exit test for college students, and possibly tying funding incentives to the test and other performance measures. That kind of talk has some educators fearing that a kind of No Child Left Behind, President Bush's sweeping public school overhaul that stresses standardized testing, will be imposed on colleges. It's an approach critics say could end up rewarding universities for pushing out students, many of them low-income, who don't perform as well on standardized tests as more affluent students do."
North Carolina Education Lottery sales fall short of predictions
Date CapturedMonday December 25 2006, 7:19 PM
Herald Sun reports, "The lottery's executive director says the lottery will generate at least $75 million less for education than projected in the current state budget because sales of scratch-and-win tickets have fallen since July."
Stage set for Tennessee school funding feud
Date CapturedMonday December 25 2006, 5:38 PM
The Tennessean reports, "One of the biggest battles during the upcoming legislative session — slated to begin Jan. 9 — is shaping up to be a tussle between urban and rural school districts over funding. The Basic Education Program funding formula for K-12 schools is being challenged by urban school systems, who say that their portion of state tax dollars is falling while their costs are growing."
County's 450G tax lesson
Date CapturedMonday December 25 2006, 4:34 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The Bethpage school district stands to reap a $450,000 windfall as the result of a recent legal ruling that could drain Nassau County's coffers of millions of dollars. The decision by the state Appellate Division upheld a lower court's ruling that settled a dispute over who should foot the bill for tax credits owed to companies - the county or local school districts?"
Bill defines 'cherishing' New Hampshire education
Date CapturedSunday December 24 2006, 6:23 PM
Portsmouth Herald reports, "The amendment would state, in part, that the state would 'cherish public schools by targeting education funding aid in support of an opportunity for a quality public education.'"
Report Says Poor Students Shortchanged
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 3:45 AM
AP reports, "'We cannot close the education achievement gap in this country without addressing the funding gap which keeps our low-income and minority children at a disadvantage,'' Kennedy [Sen. Ted Kennedy] said in a statement Wednesday. 'States must take responsibility for ensuring access to resources for all our children, but the federal government has to do its part as well.'' Like the government, states also are failing to allocate their own school dollars in a way that targets the neediest students, the report says."
EdTrust Releases Funding Gaps 2006
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 5:47 PM
On average, states and localities spend $908 less per student in districts educating the most students of color, and $825 less per student in districts educating the most low-income students as compared to what is spent in the wealthiest and whitest districts. After a 40 percent adjustment – the same adjustment used in the Title I formula to analyze state funding policies to low-income students – six states have funding gaps between the lowest and highest poverty districts that exceed $1,000 per child: Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Washington state Gov. Gregoire's $30 billion budget invests heavily in education
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 4:48 PM
AP reports, "The $29.94 billion two-year spending plan dips liberally into the state's $1.9 billion budget reserve to spend on public schools and colleges, health care, Puget Sound cleanup, economic development, prisons, parks, pensions, salary increases and other programs. Free full-day kindergarten is proposed for 10 percent of the schools and early learning proposals would be expanded, at a cost of $42 million. A dropout academy is created. "
School chief's raise is tied to budget approval
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 10:06 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Thomas' new contract, signed by the board president earlier this month, is believed to be the first in the region to offer a school superintendent [Orchard Park] a financial reward if residents approve the district's budget."
New Jersey school funding formula stirs criticism before it's even public
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 8:54 AM
The Star-Ledger reports, "The biggest money would be to districts bordering the Abbott cities, many of which face the same is sues of poverty as their urban neighbors but have not seen any additional aid for the last several years."
Audit: Long Island residents not told of total tax hike
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 5:19 AM
Newsday reports, "Auditors found that the district had all the information to calculate an estimated tax increase but chose not to. It found that the district provided this information in all previous years examined by auditors - 2001-2002 through 2004-2005 - even though it had faced similar uncertainties. The district [Center Moriches], in a prepared statement, said that while it disputed the report's contention that it deliberately misled voters, it accepted its conclusions."
Report on the Cost of Education
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 10:05 AM
The primary purpose of this report is to calculate the costs New Jersey school districts face in meeting state performance and accountability standards. Costs addressed include: 1. A per-student “base” cost (which reflects only the cost of serving students with no special needs); and 2. Adjustments to the base cost that reflect the added cost of serving special need students (including special education students, at-risk students and English language learners). To identify these costs, the report used two nationally recognized study approaches. The Department weighed the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and then selected one – the Professional Judgment Panel (PJP) approach – whose results form the basis of the report’s findings.
Vermont group says too much money spent on unnecessary school jobs
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 9:01 AM
Burlington Free Press reports, "In Vermont, the percentage of education funding that goes directly to classroom instruction is declining and hit about 61 percent in 2005, according to Wendy Wilton, a Republican state senator from Rutland County and co-chairwoman of First Class Education for Vermont. Vermont spends more than $1 billion a year on public schools, and school property taxes are increasing well above the rate of inflation, according to the Vermont Tax Department. More of the money should go straight to the classroom and to teachers, Wilton said. 'We want the best and brightest people teaching our children. That's why the focus should be there.'"
California schools add third week to winter break
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 8:09 AM
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER reports, "Simultaneously, the district hopes to curb high absentee rates – and the subsequent loss of state funding – that occur around the holiday season when parents pull their children out of school to go on long trips. The break runs from today through Jan. 8. Santa Ana, where 92 percent of students are Latino, is the only district in Orange County giving students and teachers three weeks for winter break. Only a handful of districts across the state offer the extended vacation."
More higher ed 'accountability' could mean more Perry vetoes
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 7:32 AM
San Antonio Express reports, "Perry [Texas Gov.] spokesman Robert Black said the governor will offer a number of other higher education initiatives, maybe even 'incentive funding' for universities or an 'exit test' for some university graduates as a means of measuring the quality of their educations. Details will come later, he said. Black said Perry also will support efforts to repeal or restrict the top 10 percent law, which guarantees the highest-ranked high school graduates admission to the state university of their choice but is excluding thousands of other qualified students from the University of Texas at Austin."
Education quality as well as costs should guide Hawaii school mergers
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 7:28 AM
Honolulu Star-Bulletin writes, "The board is likely contemplating how a new formula to divvy up funding based on students' educational needs will work if there are fewer schools in competition. When the Weighted Student Formula was first worked out, smaller schools were faced with devastating cuts. A revised formula resulted in larger schools losing what they felt was an unfair share. The conflict finally sent the board and the Department of Education back to the drawing board. Consolidation might be playing a role in a final resolution."
Discussion of New Jersey education cost report set tomorrow
Date CapturedSunday December 17 2006, 8:50 AM
The hearings will be webcast throughout the day and can be viewed online at www.njedge.net/ doelive.
New Jersey legislative tax reform effort fizzles
Date CapturedFriday December 15 2006, 9:37 AM
Star-Ledger reports, "Falling far short of their promise to deliver comprehensive property tax reform by year's end, state lawmakers yesterday shied away from voting on controversial bills to spur mergers of towns and school districts and trim public officials' pensions."
Time to ante up for schools
Date CapturedFriday December 15 2006, 7:53 AM
Daily Herald reports, "[Utah] Gov. Huntsman's $10.7 billion budget proposal offers public education a generous -- and much needed -- Christmas present. The governor wants to put $3.4 billion -- nearly a third of the state budget -- into public education. He would increase the weighted pupil unit (the formula for school funding) by a record 7 percent. He would allocate $28.7 million for additional teachers to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. And he would throw in another $22 million to attract and retain qualified teachers."
Lesson Plan for Education Reform
Date CapturedThursday December 14 2006, 12:49 PM
Business Week reports, "If implemented, the commission's recommendations—signed by 26 members from all corners of the corporate, nonprofit, education, and political worlds—would revolutionize the way children are educated in this country. Among the ideas: a set of Board Examinations allowing all 10th graders to place into college; improved compensation and incentives to attract better quality teachers; an overhaul of the American testing industry; contract-run schools instead of schools run by school boards; improved education for all three- and four-year-olds; standards for state-run funding instead of local funding; legislation for continued education for adults; a new GI Bill; and regionally focused job training."
Spitzer’s school plan will benefit all
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 10:15 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal contributor Billy Easton, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education writes, "Throughout his campaign, Spitzer consistently articulated an education plan based on proven strategies. The elements of his plan will get many more children prepared to succeed as adults. He starts with pre-kindergarten, which increases graduation rates and employment success and reduces crime. He supports smaller classes, which show long-term increases in test scores, graduation rates and college preparedness. Training and recruiting skilled teachers is another Spitzer education priority that is backed by extensive research. He supports producing strong principals to lead our schools. And he advocates helping kids who are falling through the cracks by partnering with community-based organizations (such as after-school programs), expanding literacy programs and improving vocational education. This is a refreshing vision designed to actually address the needs of every child. It is not difficult to imagine it cannot all be done on the cheap. What is the price tag Spitzer has identified to pay for all of this? $8.5 billion. This is for a multiyear statewide solution, not a New York City focused plan."
Everyone happy with their STAR rebate? No
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:56 AM
Times Union reports, "But perhaps the biggest problem with the much-ballyhooed election-year rebate program, some lawmakers admit, was that many taxpayers derided it as a cynical ploy by politicians to make it look like they were doing something for residents of the nation's highest-taxed state."
Massachusetts education group fields concerns
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:43 AM
The Republican reports, "Calls for a statewide prekindergarten program, to eliminate spending caps for charter schools, increase support of private-public education collaboratives and reinstate education budget cuts were among suggestions raised at a [Massachusetts] gubernatorial transition team meeting yesterday."
Ohio State Education Board wants say in school-funding reform
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:25 AM
Plain Dealer reports, "The report calls for school-based budgeting to ensure that money gets to the buildings that need it most. It also says the state should align financial decisions with 'best practices' - educational initiatives that have proved effective. The report also calls for the state to more aggressively 'weight' funding so the children who are hardest to educate get the most money."
New Jersey state report lays foundation for new school funding formula
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:17 AM
NewJersey.com reports, "Using data from 2004-05, the report set a total base per-pupil amount of $7,367 for K-8 districts and $8,496 in K-12 districts. It then added thousands more for children with disabilities, from impoverished homes, and with limited English skills. For instance, a child with severe disabilities would cost up to seven times above the base, or nearly $60,000 in a K-12 district. Children of poverty cost about 50 percent more, or almost $13,000."
Pennsylvania school-cost study will help improve funding, group says
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:03 AM
AP reports, "The legislation ordering the study calls for an examination of school districts that achieve high standardized test scores with low spending, the effect of enrollment fluctuations on education costs, and whether factors such as poverty levels, population density, and the number of disabled students should warrant more money for a school district. The state's public schools are funded largely through a combination of local property-tax revenue and state subsidies, with poorer school districts receiving a larger share of state aid. But critics have long complained that poorer schools still do not receive enough to compensate for local revenue shortfalls, and that the state lacks a consistent funding formula."
Baltimore school board approves creation of 6 charter schools
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 8:28 AM
Baltimore Sun reports, "The new charters will be preparing to open amid an environment of uncertainty about how they will be funded. The city school board is appealing a ruling by the state Court of Appeals that school systems must give their charter schools the same funding as other schools. The city spends the equivalent of about $11,000 per child in its regular public schools. Charter schools receive $5,859 per child in cash and the rest in services that the school system provides, such as special education and food. Many of the schools want the $11,000 in cash."
Newburgh shuns $99.5M school bond
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 5:37 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The big daddy of them all was the Newburgh School District's proposed $99.5 million bond, which it put to the mercy of voters yesterday. The turnout was good: 2,731 voters. But 1,411 voted no. 'We lost by 91 votes,' said District Spokesman Tom Fitzgerald. 'I can't believe it. We had everything going for us.' To Orange County's largest district, 'everything' included an 86 percent reimbursement rate from the state on all aidable building projects, a strong public-relations campaign and a winning record."
Deficit is closed in Philadelphia school budget
Date CapturedSaturday December 09 2006, 6:38 PM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The Philadelphia School Reform Commission yesterday closed the $73.3 million deficit in the school district's $2.04 billion budget, accepting some of chief executive Paul Vallas' recommendations for cuts and setting others aside." Imput from four separate public meetings had an impact on the commission's decision according to commission chairman, Nevels.
Connecticut Parochial Schools Asking For Textbooks
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 8:38 AM
Hartford Courant reports, "In Connecticut, tax dollars are not used to provide tuition assistance for parochial schools, but local boards of education are required by state law to supply nurses and provide bus services to select nonpublic schools. The textbook loan program is discretionary, but John L. Cattelan, the director of the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents, is among those who believe that communities would be wise to take advantage of it."
Albany schools find aid online
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 5:04 AM
Times Union reports, "DonorsChoose screens teacher applications to ensure none are discriminatory or overtly political. The program buys supplies sought by each project, so no teacher receives cash, he said. Because of the reach of the project, school districts can attract donations from far-off benefactors. A donor in Virginia has donated toward one Albany proposal."
Statement by Secretary Spellings on the Release of Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 7:57 AM
The federal government supports local efforts to improve school safety by providing assistance and lending expertise, along with $535 million this year to fund programs directly related to school safety. Other funding measures include: More than $1 billion through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant program since the grant was first awarded in 1999. $115 million over the past four years through the Department of Education's Emergency Response & Crisis Management grant program to improve and expand upon school crisis response plans, including $26 million this year for the School Emergency Preparedness Initiative to help elementary and secondary schools plan and prepare for threats, including shootings and gang-related activity. Through a partnership with the Secret Service, funding to train 74,000 local education and law enforcement personnel in threat assessment. Under Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence), $24 million since 2001 for schools impacted by violence to restore their learning environment.
Connecticut Report: Add new preschool seats, bolster teaching skills
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 4:42 PM
AP reports, "The report advises better outreach to poor families without access to good early childhood education programs, and to others that might not understand the value of preschool. It also calls for more equitable funding for programs that currently receive state reimbursement, more support for school readiness councils in local communities, and better tracking of how children perform during and after preschool to ensure that programs are effective."
Bad apples and public schools
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 4:12 AM
Washington Times Terence P. Jeffrey writes, "Increasing per pupil spending by another 111 percent -- whether it is done by compassionate conservatives in Washington, D.C., or plain old liberals in your home state -- will not fix public schools. It's time to give all American parents vouchers equal to the per-pupil spending in local government schools. Then parents can decide whether the government schools deserve their children -- or whether they will try the apples elsewhere, thank you."
How the No Child Left Behind Act Punishes Schools with Disadvantaged Students
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 11:14 AM
This column asks whether NCLB accomplishes its objective, based on a recent study of Kansas and Missouri by William Duncombe, Anna Lukemeyer, and John Yinger, "As discussed in my previous column, a state can lower the share of its schools that are subject to federal sanctions by lowering its student performance targets. This strategy will not, however, save schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students, which are, for reasons outside their control, the schools most likely to be sanctioned. However, a state could help to resolve the unfair treatment of schools with concentrated disadvantage by altering its own aid formulas. Existing state aid formulas do not adequately recognize the higher cost of education in these schools, but they could easily be adjusted to do so. The federal government could also encourage this type of response by revising NCLB to reward the states that do the best job of focusing their aid on the neediest school districts. Another possible reform to NCLB would be to increase both the amount of federal funds and the extent to which these funds are focused on the schools with the highest concentration of disadvantaged students."
Windfall fades
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 4:29 AM
NY Daily News ERIN EINHORN writes, "City schools are in line for an extra $1.9 billion a year, thanks to a long-fought lawsuit - but nearly a third of the windfall could end up paying for a pricey new teachers contract. The contract, which will push top teacher salaries into the six-figure range for the first time, will cost the city an extra $89 million next year and creep up to an additional $684 million a year by 2010. That's about a third of the additional aid that the state's highest court has ruled Albany will owe the city annually by then."
Rural schools reach out for students and survival
Date CapturedSunday December 03 2006, 8:50 AM
Times Union reports, "At Keene, the per-student cost runs about $20,000 per year, even more if one counts the debt service, Johnston said. The state average is $13,826 per student as of the 2003-04 year, the latest for which full statewide figures were available."
Idaho Supreme Court is giving Legislature time to come up with funding structure
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 9:14 AM
Idaho Statesman reports, "Idaho is the only state in the nation that requires a two-thirds supermajority to borrow money to build or improve a school and doesn't offer state cash to help pay for the bricks and mortar."
Middletown School District set for vote on $33M plan
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 7:20 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The first proposition focuses on roof replacement, building upgrades and improving athletic facilities throughout schools in the district. The bulk of the cost will be covered by state aid. The district's federal reserve fund balance will cover the rest of the cost of proposition one. Repairs made under proposition one will not cost local taxpayers, Superintendent Kenneth Eastwood said. 'We are worried that down the road something may happen to the state aid,' Eastwood said. 'We are very concerned that if we don't take the opportunity that sits in front of us, we may lose it.'"
Arkansas Supreme Court reappoints masters to review public schools
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 9:12 AM
AP reports, "Arkansas' long-lived school-funding case got another lease on life Thursday, for at least six months, with officials now under an order to prove they have complied with the state Supreme Court's requirement to deal with shortcomings that justices criticized a year ago. The high court reappointed two special masters who had previously served in the case, to conduct another review of the adequacy and fairness of the state's public school system. In a 5-2 ruling, the court said it was not sure that reforms passed by legislators in April were enough to meet the court's standards."
California poll finds support for posting public schools' data on the Web
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 8:26 AM
LA Times reports, "[Gov.]Schwarzenegger wants large amounts of data — from enrollment numbers and school test scores to reports on the quality of textbooks and individual school budgets — to be posted online in a user-friendly way."
Tennessee Gov. Bredesen focuses on education for legacy
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 8:02 AM
The City Paper reports, "While additional funding for urban school systems has been discussed for years, Bredesen is backing two new education initiatives to help high school students graduate. The governor wants to add truancy officers in all of the state’s 400 public high schools to improve attendance and, hopefully, result in more high school students graduating." Gov. Bredesen may devote about $25 million more to continue to expand pre-K in the state’s next budget.
Wyoming School District Raises Facilities, Test Scores
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 8:57 PM
NPR reports, "Thanks to swollen state coffers, Wyoming is now spending more on its schools than most other states. One rural district, Pinedale, is especially benefiting. That district is in a building frenzy. And it has some of the highest scores on the state's assessment test."
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 7:59 AM
Columbia Teachers College Bruce Baker, associate professor in educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Kansas and Michael A. Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity and a professor of law and educational practice at Teachers College, Columbia University write, "Having both worked diligently for years to rectify inequities in education finance systems, we are concerned that the particular silver bullet emphasized in the Fordham report- 'an approach known as "weighted student funding"- 'would, if enacted as proposed, be more harmful than helpful to children's interests."
The Weighted Student Formula Determines School Funding in Hawaii
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 7:47 AM
KHNL reports, "Each student enrolled is allocated a certain amount of money. If a student has special needs such as a disability or speaks English as a second language, they are assigned more money. In theory, the formula is designed make sure each school receives enough money to provide for every student's needs. In practice, it has run into some challenges."
Saugerties school voters OK added funding
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 9:39 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "EXCEL aid, which stands for Expanding Our Children's Education and Learning, will fund $1,081,000 of the proposed project; the remaining $1,674,000 will come from regular state building aid, according to district Business Administrator Joseph Dziadik."
Catholic schools fight for survival under rising costs
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 8:00 AM
The Corning Leader reports, "It's no secret the cost of primary and secondary education is rising. Unlike public school districts, however, Catholic schools can't rely on state aid or property taxes to cover the increases."
Bond vote will determine Newburgh schools' future
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 7:41 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "The current configuration clearly does not benefit all students. Freshmen are forced to go to school with much younger children at the district's junior highs, and, if they fail a class, there's no option but to repeat an entire year at their school instead of moving on to NFA. Under the new plan, NFA wouldn't be expanded, but North Junior High would be transformed into a fourth 'house' (the school currently has three, much in the way universities have different colleges within their systems), thereby spreading students out over two buildings. Middle school-age students would have options, too: to either go to one of the district's junior highs or the building currently under renovation on West Street. Or students could attend one of the newly expanded K-8 schools."
Group challenges No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 7:33 AM
The Journal News reports, "No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization in the coming year. The collaborative's report devotes more than six pages to recommendations on how to improve the law. Chief among them is funding changes: the group is calling on the federal government to fully fund NCLB mandates, to earmark funds for after-school programs for low-performing schools, and to reimburse school districts for the costs of scoring exams. The collaborative also advocates changes to the testing regimen, recommending that tests be conducted on alternate years instead of each year, and for additional measures - such as portfolio assessments and classroom participation - to be used in measuring whether a student has met state and national standards. The report said, on the local level, government officials and residents can also play a role in improving student performance. Affordable housing, early childhood education programs, adult literacy programs and child-health programs could all contribute to the success of children in public schools, the report said."
Court Rejects Maine School Vouchers Case
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 2:13 PM
AP reports, "In Maine, school districts in 145 small towns with no high schools offer tuition for 17,000 students to attend high schools of their choice, public or private, in-state or out-of-state. But religious schools are no longer on the list. Asking the court to take the case, a conservative group, the Institute for Justice, is representing eight Maine families who would receive public tuition funds but for the fact that their children attend religious schools. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and President Bush's homestate of Texas weighed in, saying in filings to the Supreme Court that the state of Maine is unconstitutionally discriminating against religion."
Gov. cheers, CFE jeers court ruling
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 5:44 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "After 13 years and three appeals, what might be the final ruling in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case was issued last week with New York’s highest court ordering the state to budget at least $1.93 billion more for New York City’s public schools."
School aid may ease taxpayer burden
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 4:33 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "EXCEL, which stands for Expanding our Children's Education and Learning, is a one-time state allocation to help districts fund building projects. Some $400 million is being allocated to 209 so-called high-need districts, including Binghamton and Johnson City."
Schools need choice, not vouchers
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 6:30 PM
News-Leader.com reports, "Those who believe the public schools aren't doing their job suggest vouchers will be the ultimate accountability tool. Parents who are dissatisfied can take their money and go elsewhere. The problem is, vouchers provide no accountability at all."
School aid vows fail arithmetic
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 6:24 PM
Columnist Jay Gallagher writes on CFE and school funding, "Shazam! Add money to New York City schools, but don't subtract any from anywhere else. What could be better? That sounds like a good math problem for the next Regents' math exam, which some New York students have so much trouble mastering. The problem goes something like this: take a pot of money. Divide it up into sections. Then take the same pot of money, and make some of the sections bigger, but don't reduce any of the others."
Taxes key to state schools' decline
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 1:56 PM
Contra Costa Times reports, "California spent $7,860 on each student in its public education system while states across the nation spent an average $8,807 per pupil in the 2003-2004 academic year, according to Ed-Data, published by the state Department of Education. By comparison, New York spent $12,408 per pupil that year. The consequences of this spending shortfall are crowded classrooms with high student-to-teacher ratios, older textbooks and facilities. California's student-to-teacher ratio is 20.6-to-1, while the U.S. average is 15.8-to-1, according to Ed-Data."
New Jersey school funding reform panel to discuss proposals
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 1:18 PM
AP TOM HESTER Jr. reports, "While the school funding formula hasn't been announced, education department officials presented a plan under which experts determine how much it costs to educate New Jersey children. That cost - about $8,500 for K-12 schools - would be used as the basis for state aid allocations to schools. Funding for special education, children with language problems and transportation would be added as needed. - The number of senior citizens in a community would be considered when state aid for schools is decided."
Day one, item one
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:08 AM
Newsday opined, "First, Spitzer must propose a dollar amount for helping not just the city but also poor suburban and upstate districts - without cutting existing funds for any community. Then he has to craft a new formula, based on need and not political clout, for distributing all school aid. Then there's the issue of accountability. Although the court said the state doesn't need a new system of oversight, Spitzer must make sure both the education department and school districts have the resources to ensure that aid money is well spent. How much more should be spent? Based on authoritative studies, public and private, it's clear the court's $1.9-billion minimum for the city is too little. A more reasonable sum is $6 billion - with most going to the city - on top of the $15 billion-plus the state now spends annually. Who should come up with the money? Primarily the state, which has failed to give the city a fair share. But it would be fair if city taxpayers - who also have a history of shortchanging schools - ponied up as much as one-third of the new funds. How should aid be distributed? Most should go to the districts with the neediest students, who tend to be the most expensive to teach."
List for Schools Seems to Grow More Wishful
Date CapturedSaturday November 25 2006, 7:44 AM
NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "The sum at issue is substantial: $2 billion a year translates to roughly $1,887 per student, or about $943,500 annually in a school with 500 students. While the amount ordered by the court is still huge, a leading critic of school financing lawsuits that have been filed across the country said the focus on the money had distracted from the work of actually fixing the city schools. 'For five years, people have looked to the courts and argued about the money without thinking seriously about what to do,' said the critic, Eric A. Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution."
Arizona charter school's big gift puts focus on teacher quality
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 10:54 AM
The Arizona Republic reports, "A charter school in Scottsdale will soon benefit from a nearly half-million dollar windfall, one that aims to boost the schools' teacher salaries to $100,000 to help retain highly skilled teachers. The private donation for the BASIS Scottsdale school is raising eyebrows among educators in the Valley, where starting teacher salaries hover at about $31,000 and administrators bemoan the ongoing struggle of attracting and holding on to top-notch teachers to bolster student achievement. Such donations are especially critical in a state that consistently ranks near the bottom in education funding when compared to other states, education advocates say."
Landmark NYC school aid ruling comes up about $3 billion short of lower courts' recommendations
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 8:47 AM
Inside Albany reports, "Surprisingly, the decision’s author was Eugene Pigott, Pataki’s final appointee to the court. Pigott was sworn in a couple of hours before the CFE arguments. Pigott wrote that the trial court had erred in having the panel of retired judges conduct a new review of how much a sound basic education cost. His opinion focused on the separation of the branches of government. 'The role of the courts is not, as Supreme Court assumed, to determine the best way to calculate the cost of a sound basic education in New York City schools, but to determine whether the state’s proposed calculation of that cost is rational.'”
Inside Albany (IA)
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 8:44 AM
This week on Inside Albany: Less than expected-Landmark NYC school aid ruling comes up about $3 billion short of lower courts' recommendations. CHECK SCHEDULE
State high court finally discovers its limitations
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 7:28 AM
NY Daily News Bill Hammond writes, "He [Eliot Spitzer] campaigned on promises to spend as much as $8.5 billion settling the CFE case and to support legalization of gay marriage. He won with 70% of the vote. Now he has the right to be wrong, and this Court of Appeals won't stand in his way."
In their court
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 10:00 AM
Times Union opined, "An epic court battle is over, then, but with a workable solution for neglect of school children, of all people, not yet in sight. Mr. Spitzer and the Legislature must provide them with the resources they've long been denied. While they're at it, they might fix the formulas for education funding statewide. Otherwise, they might find themselves right back in court, bracing for a ruling that's even more damning."
A big lesson in unfair lawsuit
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 4:40 AM
NY Daily News Michael Goodwin writes, "The lawsuit demanded Free Money. It argued that the court should ignore years of budgets negotiated by the Legislature and the governor and substitute a funding scheme that liberal advocates and one judge favored. Never mind that those budgets reflected not only the needs of schools, but also of hospitals, police, highways, parks and thousands of other things that government does. Breaking schools out and funding them in a vacuum is not fair nor does it make any sense. And government must do everything with a fixed amount of money. The pie is divided - maybe not always equally or fairly, but we elect our representatives to make those decisions. We can unelect them if we don't like their choices. The school funding lawsuit was an end-run around those democratic processes."
A Minimum for City Schools
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 3:36 AM
NY Times opined, "Mr. Spitzer wants the city to contribute more, perhaps as much as $1 billion extra, but he might have a hard time getting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to go along."
Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures: School Year 2004-05 and Fiscal Year 2004
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 2:21 PM
This NCES report contains information from the 5 Common Core of Data (CCD) surveys: the 2004-05 state, local education agency, and school nonfiscal surveys for 2004-05 and the state and local education agency school finance surveys for fiscal year 2004. The report presents data about the students enrolled in public education, including the number of students by grade and the number receiving special education, migrant, or English language learner services. Some tables disaggregate the student data by racial/ethnic group or community characteristics such as rural - urban. The numbers and types of teachers, other education staff, schools, and local education agencies are also reported. Finance data include revenues by source (local, state, and federal) and total and per-pupil expenditures by function. Sable, J., and Hill, J. (2006). Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures: School Year 2004–05 and Fiscal Year 2004 (NCES 2007-309). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Brentwood's budgetary woes linger
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 10:28 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "In Brentwood, as in New York City, four students out of every five are poor enough to qualify for discount school lunches. But unlike New York City, Brentwood was awarded no extra money for its schools more than a decade ago, when it sued the state. The court defeat left bitter feelings in this blue-collar district -- Long Island's largest, with 16,600 students -- where per-pupil spending is little more than half what is spent in Gold Coast communities."
Court ends battle for school funds
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 9:27 AM
Buffalo News writes, "While about 150 school districts have been defined as having 'high needs,' it is widely assumed that the Big Five city school districts will benefit the most by the court case and its spin-offs. For example, the Cheektowaga-Sloan School District, while deemed a high-needs school system, expects little financial benefit."
SCHOOL SANITY: COURT OPTS FOR RESTRAINT
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 6:44 AM
NY Post contributor E.J. McMahon, director of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy writes, "It will take a determined governor to prevent legislators and the usual special-interest groups from using CFE as an excuse to promote Albany's traditional education 'solution' - lots more money, no reform. But thanks to the Court of Appeals, these issues at least will be contested in the right forum. In one of his more beneficial legacies, Pataki stocked New York's highest court with judges who were unwilling to micromanage policy. They've now kicked the ball back to the Legislature, once and for all. CFE and its allies must turn their attention to direct lobbying of the people's elected representatives - which is just the way it should be."
NYSUT blasts court decision on CFE; looks to Spitzer to do the 'right thing'
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 6:13 AM
NYSUT PRESS RELEASE: "For more than a decade, the court has repeatedly supported the premise of the CFE case: Every child must receive a sound basic education," Iannuzzi [New York State United Teachers President ]said. "Now, in addition to stripping away accountability measures, the court has basically said to every student in New York, 'Let them eat cake.'"
TOP NEW YORK COURT SUBTRACTS $3.7B FROM SCHOOLS
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:57 AM
NY Post Kenneth Lovett and David Andreatta report, "The school-funding ruling yesterday by the state Court of Appeals: * Requires state to increase operating aid to city schools by a minimum $1.93 billion annually. * Leaves final decision on spending above $1.93 billion with governor and Legislature, not courts. * Rejected state argument for a new office to monitor spending. * Tossed a lower court's order requiring $9.2 billion in additional school capital spending."
COURT BITES JUDGE
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:52 AM
NY Post opined on New York school funding lawsuit, "Gov. Pataki deserves two measures of credit for yesterday's ruling: * For having fought this case for so long - his entire 12-year tenure - in a state practically run by school unions and other special interests. Practically everyone agreed (wrongly) that the city needs billions more for schools. Even though it already spends far more per student than most other cities. And even though there is no credible evidence that extra money can guarantee students learn more. * And for assembling a high court - he appointed five of its members - that doesn't confuse itself with the Legislature."
State ruling could boost school aid
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:32 AM
Times Herald-Record reports on CFE court decision, "Middletown, Newburgh and Kingston school officials will be watching with interest. The three are among 19 small- city school districts that filed suit against the state in March 2005. They used the CFE case as a model, alleging their students, too are disadvantaged for lack of state aid. The small cities' lawsuit continues, said Robert Biggerstaff, executive director of the Association of Small City School Districts."
Extra school money is cut in CFE school funding court case
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:10 AM
Times Union Rick Karlin reports, "The court's majority also found that Pataki's method of calculating education costs -- which led to the $1.93 billion figure -- was valid. CFE had used a different method that resulted in a higher price tag. The governor's method included a "filter" that excluded some of the highest-spending districts for comparison purposes."
Breathing Room for Spitzer in Decision on New York City Schools
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 3:19 AM
NY Times reports, "Certainly, the political tug of war over the issue will provide early tests of Mr. Spitzer’s relationships with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the leaders of the State Legislature. Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Bloomberg have already publicly skirmished over how to divide up the bill for new financing of city schools between the state and city governments. In Albany, the Democratic Assembly will probably want to go well above the court’s $1.9 billion floor, while the Republican Senate, led by upstaters, will most likely rebuff such spending."
Courtroom Alchemy: Adequacy advocates turn guesstimates into gold
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 8:07 PM
James W. Guthrie, professor of public policy and education, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and Matthew G. Springer, research assistant professor of public policy and education, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University write In Education Next, "The principled cause of adequacy is legitimate. America’s public schools surely would be enhanced if assured the optimal mix of resources, incentives, practices, and structures. Consequently, we set forth three recommendations by which adequacy-driven reform and cost modeling strategies can become more effective." Authors recommendations include investing in research, raising the standards and changing the venue from the courthouse to the statehouse.
The No Child Left Behind Act: Have Federal Funds Been Left Behind?
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 1:57 PM
"The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) imposes new requirements on state education systems and provides additional education funding. This paper estimates education cost functions, predicts the spending required to support NCLB standards, and compares this spending with the funding available through NCLB. This analysis is conducted for Kansas and Missouri, which have similar education environments but very different standards. We find that new federal funding is sufficient to support very low standards for student performance, but cannot come close to funding high standards without implausibly large increases in schooldistrict efficiency. Because of the limited federal funding and the severe penalties in NCLB when a school does not meet its state’s standards, states have a strong incentive to keep their standards low. NCLB needs to be reformed so that it will encourage high standards." *The authors are Professor of Public Administration, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University; Associate Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada at Los Vegas; and Professor of Public Administration and Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, respectively. We are grateful to David Sjoquist for helpful comments. 1 1. Introduction The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) both imposes mandates on states and gives them more federal education funding. The authors are William Duncombe, Anna Lukemeyer and John Yinger, Professor of Public Administration, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University; Associate Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada at Los Vegas; and Professor of Public Administration and Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, respectively.
New York Must Pay Schools $1.93B More a Year
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 10:39 AM
AP reports, "The state Court of Appeals, in a 4-2 decision, set the minimum to be spent, but said the Legislature should be allowed to determine the final total. The Pataki administration had argued that decisions on how to spend public money are the responsibility of the executive and legislative branches, not the courts. 'In fashioning specific remedies for constitutional violations, we must avoid intrusion on the primary domain of another branch of government,' Justice Eugene Pigott wrote for the majority."
Rethinking Newburgh schools
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 5:01 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Ideas on how to relocate the freshmen have been batted around for decades, but studies now indicate that cutting out the middleman — junior highs and middle schools — and returning to K-8 and 9-12 grade structures, could be better for all students. That's the route the Newburgh School District would like to pursue, and officials say they have a master plan that would work, but only if voters pass next month's $99.5 million bond. Rearranging students in the county's largest district is like tearing apart a 13,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, then putting it back together again, but with 14,000 pieces. That's how many students a live-birth analysis shows Newburgh schools enrolling by the year 2014."
New York schools' building bonanza
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 5:00 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "A one-time dose of state money injected into local school districts has fueled a frenzy of expansion and construction proposals. Eight districts have either gone to voters recently or plan to do so next month. The state Department of Education expects to see an increase in proposals as well. The state sweetened the pot this year with aid dubbed "Excel," or Expand Our Childrens' Education and Learning aid. Every district in the state can get the money if they have a project that fits: expansion or renovations, technology, health and safety, or access for the disabled. The money is a one-time shot. Districts can wait, but no one knows how much money future Legislatures and governors will set aside for the program."
An Education Gov?
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 4:45 AM
NY Post contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and chairman of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys, the top elementary public schools in Albany writes, "To start with, we need to get over the artificial distinction between public and private schools. As Rev. Floyd Flake is fond of saying, we should focus on educating the public, not public education. With literally hundreds of thousands of students now attending schools that the state Education Department designates as failing, the territorial and exclusive focus of some on public district schools is misguided. Our focus should be creating more good schools and fewer bad schools, regardless of whether these happen to be organized as private, religious, public charter or standard district schools."
Tax credits for private school tuition? Yes
Date CapturedSunday November 19 2006, 7:04 PM
NY Daily News contributor CATHERINE HICKEY, superintendent of Catholic schools of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York writes, "For hundreds of thousands of poor and working-class parents, public school is the only economic option. A real tax credit is a reasonable way to ensure that each and every child can obtain a good education in the school of his or her parents' choice."
Funding is key to education reform
Date CapturedSunday November 19 2006, 3:35 AM
The Seattle Times reports, "Here is what lies in the future for our schools and our children if we enact even a portion of the panel's ideas: • State funding for all-day kindergarten, thus eliminating tuition-based classes and the piecemeal offerings that vary from school to school. • Expanded professional development and a pay scale based on merit. • More-rigorous high-school course requirements targeting the gaping weaknesses in math and science curricula. • A 10-year plan for expected increases in enrollment at colleges and universities. And those very things are what our schools and children won't receive if a long-term, stable source of funding isn't developed."
Vouchers supporter expects to prevail
Date CapturedFriday November 17 2006, 3:59 PM
Arizona Daily Star reports, "Tim Keller, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the Institute for Justice, acknowledged that the state constitution bars the use of public funds 'in aid of … any private or sectarian school.' And a separate section specifically says 'no public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise, or instruction.' But Keller said these vouchers — called grants and scholarships by the Legislature — don't run afoul of the provisions."
Bear Stearns is Bulli$h on New York City Schools
Date CapturedFriday November 17 2006, 5:18 AM
NY Post reports, "Bear Stearns is underwriting $650 million worth of bonds that will help pay for new city schools, officials announced yesterday."
Hyde Park school district vows state will pay
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 6:55 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Hyde Park schools have qualified for $1,479,243 in state funding for building improvements through the Expanding our Children's Education and Learning program. These funds can also be used to secure another $1.79 million in state aid. This will provide the district with $3,265,000 for its various building upgrades and repairs. The district, however, must receive voter approval to receive any of the funds because the money is initially borrowed by the district and later reimbursed by the state. The district plans to borrow the money over a 16-year period. Board members say the state takes into account the interest costs for borrowing."
Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) school funds case Mike's No. 1 goal
Date CapturedWednesday November 15 2006, 4:52 AM
NY Daily News Joe Mahoney reports, "But Sanders [former Assembly Education Chairman, now a lobbyist] and Senate Education Committee Chairman Steve Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) said the key to making progress will be whether the city becomes more generous with its own classrooms. 'The city has been folding its arms and maintained consistently they don't want to provide a dime,' Saland said."
NCLB Achieves Its Top Goal—Accountability
Date CapturedWednesday November 15 2006, 4:52 AM
This op-ed excerpt by Secretary Spellings appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal on November 14, 2006, "Accountability is NCLB's first pillar of reform. The law represents the latest renewal of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was intended to ensure a quality education for all in exchange for increased federal funding. For 40 years, however, few paid much attention. There was no accountability for student achievement and virtually no consequences for not following the law. Today, thanks to NCLB, Wisconsin and 49 other states have accountability plans in place, holding schools responsible for improved student achievement. Every state measures student performance annually in grades 3-8 and once more in high school. And every state separates student information by student group so parents and teachers can learn who is falling behind and needs extra help. This is especially critical when it comes to reading. Reading is the key that unlocks every other subject."
New Jersey tax relief: Who gets what? When?
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 4:04 PM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Paying for public education now accounts for about one third of the total state [New Jersey] budget and two-thirds of every property tax bill. Legislators have promised a new method for distributing those tax dollars to public schools. The current formula centers on factors such as enrollment and socioeconomic makeup of the community; legislators promise a new method that tailors the aid to students' needs and other factors."
Spitzer gears up for changes in office
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 9:09 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Governor-elect [New York] Eliot Spitzer pledges to cut property taxes by expanding the 1997 STAR program, which exempts part of a home's assessed value from school taxes. He suggested a three-tier system that cuts more for homes with lower incomes. (The current program - a 'basic' exemption and an 'enhanced' one for seniors - doesn't consider income.)"
Vote next month on Newburgh school bond
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 6:31 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "But the bulk of the bond [$99.5 million], about 50 percent, would go toward turning some elementary schools into K-eight facilities. The district wants to build a 600-student complex on its 8-acre Chestnut Street site and add seventh and eighth grades to the Meadow Hill and Temple Hill schools."
State's top officials talk tax reform as deadline looms
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 6:50 AM
AP Tom Hester Jr. reports, "The pleas came during a Statehouse news conference about a week after advocates for suburban schools beseeched lawmakers to implement a new funding plan that would likely take money from city schools and redistribute it. The state is required under Supreme Court order to provide heavy financial help to 31 city schools. Those districts get 55 percent of all state school aid, while most of the other 585 districts haven't seen any increase in financial aid in five years, forcing them to rely more on property taxes that are twice the national average in New Jersey. Lesley Hirsch, of the Education Law Center, which has advocated for poor children, said the state funding for poor schools has improved education for young children. 'Any new school funding law must strengthen, not diminish, this effort while giving disadvantaged students across the state the same educational opportunities,' Hirsch said."
SCHENECTADY schools look for repairs
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 5:27 AM
Times Union reports, "Funding for the project would come partially from the 'EXpanding our Children's Education and Learning,' or EXCEL, program, which addresses school facility needs in New York. School officials say they have been earmarked for $7.6 million in EXCEL money. Additionally, the district also enjoys a generous reimbursement rate from the state for facility upgrades, Janiszewski said."
MICHIGAN PROPOSAL 5: School aid plan snubbed
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 12:50 PM
Detroit Free Press reports, "Proposal 5, a guaranteed annual funding increase for Michigan public schools and colleges, lost resoundingly Tuesday, after opponents hammered home the message that guaranteed school money also would guarantee cuts in other key services."
Alabama voters approve property tax proposal for school funding
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 12:46 PM
AP reports, "Alabama voters approved a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday that requires 30 city and county school systems to have at least 10 mills of property taxes dedicated to public schools, a level of support already provided by the other 101 systems. The 10-mill minimum would start with the tax year beginning Oct. 1, 2007, and would raise about $23 million annually, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office. Each mill raises the property tax by $10 a year on a house valued at $100,000."
$142 million in school fixes weighed
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 7:13 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The increase does not include operating costs or the costs of hiring more teachers and staff for the buildings."
LIU opens high-tech model classroom in Rockland
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 6:30 AM
The Journal News reports, "But Melody Hockley, an English as a second language teacher at Eldorado Elementary School in Chestnut Ridge, was more skeptical. She predicted a continuing disparity between what was available to teachers in their classrooms and what was available at LIU. The amenities and equipment in the room, she said, 'is more for the manufacturers to show off what they can do.' 'It looks nice and pretty," she said, 'but if there are budget problems, it's not getting into the classroom.'"
A lesson in austerity
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 5:15 AM
Times Union reports on austerity budget, "But the failed budgets also fostered community. Several separate sports booster clubs united, forming the Mechanicville Red Raider Booster Club, which generated $84,000 to fund the district's fall athletic programs. Last week the club announced it raised an additional $80,000 to support winter sports programs, including boys and girls basketball, wrestling, indoor track and bowling. It gave a check to the school board at its Thursday meeting."
Teacher deal's Bloomy win-win
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 4:46 AM
NY Daily News reports, "In return, Bloomberg hopes to count on union President Randi Weingarten to stand by his side when he takes on Albany in two big battles: wrestling billions in aid from the state in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit and retaining mayoral control over the schools when it comes up for renewal in the Legislature in 2009."
Philadelphia district hires auditor to review finances
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 8:23 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "In the wake of the Philadelphia School District's surprise $73.3 million deficit announced last month, the School Reform Commission announced yesterday it had appointed an internal auditor to serve in part as a financial watchdog. The commission has hired James P. Doosey, a former vice president and interim chief financial officer of the district, to the new $110,000-a-year post. He starts Nov. 20. 'We must bring our financial house in order so that we can focus our attention and efforts to the main business of the school district - to educate our children,' commission chairman James Nevels said in a prepared statement. 'Hiring an internal auditor is a necessary step to ensure that the SRC has the capacity to act as well-informed stewards of the district's budget.'"
Upper Arlington schools add charters, choices
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 8:33 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports, "If the Upper Arlington school district hadn’t set up charter schools, there might not be an International Baccalaureate program at Upper Arlington High School or a quirky program for a small group of students who desire a different high-school experience. Wickliffe, the district’s elementary school long known as an innovative, creative place to learn, wouldn’t have been able to work with Harvard University to try a different way of honing teachers’ skills. The money, about $580,000 in all from state and federal government grants, rolled in when Upper Arlington made its three charter schools."
New Jersey struggles to define an adequate education
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 7:08 AM
Press of Atlantic City reports, "The state Department of Education last month estimated the base cost of educating a child at about $8,000 for K-8 students and $8,500 for those in high school. Keep in mind the base cost is like buying the base model of car. It will run, but it won't be as powerful or enjoyable as the higher-priced model. Advocates on all sides were appalled, saying districts already spend more than that and are struggling to maintain programs. The Education Law Center, which represents children in poor districts, came out with its own report last week showing that district base spending in 2004-05 was between $9,300 and $10,900."
Feds say New York misdirected $118 million in reading grants
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 8:05 AM
AP Michael Gormley reports, "The state Education Department was wrong to direct $118 million in federal grants to New York's neediest schools because the money for reading programs was supposed to be broadly applied, according a federal audit issued Friday. The state Education Department 'inappropriately awarded approximately $118 million in Reading First subgrants, of which the nine (school districts) had drawn down approximately $70 million,' according to the audit by the federal Inspector General's Office. Those nine school districts received money intended for other school districts, according to the audit."
Educators React to Shift in Leadership at Gates Fund
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 7:35 AM
NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports, "The results have been mixed. Some Gates schools have showed gains. Others have not. The foundation and Mr. Vander Ark have been applauded for focus and willingness to innovate, but criticized for moving too quickly and not paying enough attention to results, especially at first. Jay P. Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a professor at the University of Arkansas who has received Gates money, praised Mr. Vander Ark’s focus but said the foundation 'was slow to commission rigorous evaluations of their efforts.'”
School Administrators Fight Spending Initiatives
Date CapturedWednesday November 01 2006, 3:10 PM
NPR Larry Abramson reports, "Supporters of a voter initiative on the ballot in several states say they know how to boost education funding without borrowing money or raising taxes. They say the answer is to mandate that at least 65 percent of all education funding goes to the classroom."
Port Chester's Edison School plans workshops for educators
Date CapturedWednesday November 01 2006, 7:14 AM
Journal News reports, "Principal Eileen Santiago began the first of many community programs with an after-school program 10 years ago, run by the organization SER. The school has since added other services, including adult job training, parenting programs, health services and English classes. As time went on, the improvised effort became an example of what came to be known around the country as "community schools" and received federal funding."
Washington state special-ed financing goes before court
Date CapturedTuesday October 31 2006, 7:25 AM
Seattle Times reports, "The lawsuit was filed two years ago and is just now coming to trial. Twelve districts formed the School Districts' Alliance and headed to the courthouse after talks with the Legislature failed to produce adequate progress, said Spokane School District Superintendent Brian Benzel. The challenge has been supported by 72 other districts, collectively serving 62 percent of the state's children in special education."
Michigan Proposal 5: School aid
Date CapturedMonday October 30 2006, 5:35 PM
Monroenews.com reports, "The school funding initiative would require the state to provide annual funding increases equal to the rate of inflation for K-12 schools, state universities and community colleges. If passed, the state would have to ante up an estimated initial cost ranging from $560 million to $708 million just in the first year. That money has to come from somewhere, opponents say, and it most likely will be taken from state services if voters approve the initiative."
Idaho education initiative causes confusion, debate in Idaho (KTVB Boise)
Date CapturedMonday October 30 2006, 5:12 PM
KTVC.com reports, "Organizers of the Invest in our Kids' Education campaign say they're leaving the decision of where to find the additional $219 million annually for the Idaho Legislature to decide."
In New Jersey, System to Help Poorest Schools Faces Criticism
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 11:59 PM
NY Times WINNIE HU writes, "Garfield is a so-called Abbott school district, one of 31 poor districts that have received a total of $35 billion in state aid since 1997 as part of an ambitious court-ordered social experiment to narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor students, whites and minorities. In a decision that set a precedent for school equality cases nationwide, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the poorest urban school districts should be given the resources to spend as much on their students as the wealthiest suburban districts do. Now a growing number of New Jersey elected officials, educators and parents are calling for sweeping changes to this school financing system, saying that it has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in the Abbott districts. For every success story like Garfield, where fourth-grade test scores have risen to the state average, there are chronic problems, like those in Newark, Camden and Asbury Park."
Income tax is Ohio local schools' new funding solution
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 9:30 PM
Dayton Daily News reports, "Districts are trading in one tax base for a better one," said Howard Fleeter, a former Ohio State University professor who has studied the state's funding of education for nearly 20 years. Four times, the state Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional the state's reliance on property taxes to fund public education. The legislature has given districts some funding options."
Parental involvement key to a child's school success
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 8:49 PM
Bay News 9 reports, "School district [Polk County, Florida] officials said classroom teaching is not enough. Parents are an integral part of the education process. So, the school board just approved nearly $250,000 in funding to hire outreach facilitators. Their job will be to talk to parents about homework, testing and truancy."
Proposal 5: Investing in future, or bankrupting Michigan?
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:31 AM
AP reports, "Supporters of a ballot measure that would establish mandatory school funding levels say it would force the state to adequately fund education, which would create a better-educated work force and provide a boost to Michigan's ailing economy. Opponents of Proposal 5 say it would mostly benefit retiring teachers by shoring up pensions while softening incentives to improve pupil performance and siphoning off funding for other state services."
Funding Arts In Education Workshop: November 15th, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 6:06 AM
Westchester.com reports, "On November 15th, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., classroom teachers, school representatives and administrators will have the opportunity to come together to brainstorm creative ways to keep the funds flowing for enhanced arts education in their schools. The Funding Initiative will feature pointers on how to secure funding for arts in education programs, and offer participants a chance to meet representatives from key funding sources such as the New York State Council on the Arts and the Empire State Partnership. This funding info-fest, hosted by the Westchester Arts Council, takes place at the Arts Exchange, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in downtown White Plains. For more information, please contact Katie Guilbeau at (914) 428-4220 x333."
Regents Propose State Aid Hike
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 5:55 AM
Post-Journal reports, "Historically, four aids in particular have experienced significant increases as schools report their expenditures: building, transportation, public excess cost for special education and BOCES aids. As a result, the Regents eventual recommendation may vary by as much as $200 million. An update will be available in December. 'Student achievement has been improving, but we have far to go,’' said Robert M. Bennett, regents chancellor. 'To accelerate this progress, we must invest the funds our neediest children deserve so they can all get a good education. The Regents are urging full access to pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Our total state aid proposal offers a fair and sustainable solution to one of New York’s most critical issues.'’’
Rhinebeck school trustee wants accounting of field trips
Date CapturedFriday October 27 2006, 9:03 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "Trustees are concerned that under new state Education Department requirements, there is no way to account for use of the funds. New controls over fiscal paper trails and use of equipment have been developed in response to the state Comptroller's Office's 2004 audit of the Roslyn Union Free School District in Nassau County, which found $11.2 million in district funds were used by school employees, their friends and families for personal benefit. 'I think the primary problem ... is transparency,' Burns [trustee] said. 'It's not how much is raised, but where it goes, precisely, hasn't been made quite clear.'"
Ohio Supreme Court again does disservice to public education
Date CapturedThursday October 26 2006, 10:32 AM
The Morning Journal opined, "The Supreme Court's first disservice came when the court failed to enforce its DeRolph ruling that ordered state officials to replace Ohio's system of funding public education. The current system, the court ruled, was unconstitutional because its over-reliance on local property taxes put less-wealthy school districts at a disadvantage. Now, the charter school ruling preserves a fast-growing drain of taxpayer dollars away from public school systems."
BOARD OF REGENTS PROPOSES MAJOR REFORM IN STATE AID TO NEW YORK STATE SCHOOLS
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 5:47 PM
The Board of Regents today recommended a $1.48 billion increase in State Aid to schools for 2007-2008. Most of this funding would go to school districts educating the State’s neediest children. The Regents propose an increase in State Aid to schools that is designed to link funding to the cost of a successful education. Like last year’s proposal, the proposal this year features a simple Foundation Formula that would replace 31 separate aid categories: District's State Aid = [Foundation Cost X Pupil Need X Regional Cost Index] – Expected Local Share
Voters may opt to replace 616 school districts with 21
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 8:59 AM
AP Tom Hester reports, "Plan would put question on November 2007 ballot asking voters in all 21 counties to create countywide districts to try to control property taxes. New Jersey now has 616 school districts. • If approved, new districts would begin operating July 1, 2009. • County school boards would be created. • The governor would appoint a chief school administrator to oversee each district. • The school chief would serve a term of three to five years. • Taxes still would be assessed and collected by municipalities. • No student would be required to change schools."
The Children Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 7:44 AM
The Cornell Daily Sun contributor Laura Taylor, a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University writes, "The achievement gap between whites and Latinos and blacks is staggering. At the end of high school, black and Latino students have reading and mathematics skills that are roughly the same as white students in eighth grade. Beyond that, black students are half as likely as white students to have a college degree by age 29, and Latinos are only one third as likely."
Sullivan West, where the buck stops nowhere
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 8:07 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "A new high school for your district. Renovations to make your old schools seem new. Better education for your kids. At virtually no cost to you, since the state picks up 95 percent of the tab. That's what folks in western Sullivan County were promised when they voted to merge three school districts. Back then, in 1999, the future seemed as bright as the summer sun glistening on the Delaware."
Mid-level districts short on funding, New Jersey school study finds
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 8:57 AM
The Star-Ledger reports, "Hundreds of New Jersey school districts, too well-off to receive large amounts of state aid but not wealthy enough to count on local taxpayers for more support, don't have enough funding to provide their students an "adequate" education, a state report indicates."
Utah Last in Nation in Per Student Spending
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 9:45 PM
BYU reports, "Income tax revenue is reserved for educational funding. Income tax makes up 47.8 percent of the entire state revenue, and yet the state spends 57.3 percent of its total revenue on education, Spendlove said. The extra 10 percent of funding comes from the general state revenue fund, such as sales tax that is not technically specifically designated to education."
Education-study data released after suit by advocates for poor
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 8:53 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "The New Jersey Education Department released documents Thursday, including some cost projections for public education, after advocates for poor chil- dren sued to gain access to the data."
Taxpayers, teachers call for school funding reform
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 6:04 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Trudi Renwick, senior economist from the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute, a research and education organization, said a proper balance needs to be found in funding schools with both state and local money. Rising taxes are not due to district overspending or increasing teacher salaries, but insufficient state aid and the increasing costs of maintaining services, she said."
New York City Mayor Bloomberg Says City Won’t Pay in School Financing Case
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 3:20 AM
NY Times reports, "According to The News, Mr. Spitzer also suggested that the linchpin of the mayor’s education agenda — the Legislature’s decision in 2002 to give the mayor control over the school system — could be a tool used to pressure the city. 'In the background, you have the issue of mayoral control and other factors that will weigh in the balance in terms of how the negotiation plays out,' he said."
NEW JERSEY OPINIONS ON SCHOOL FUNDING
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 8:52 AM
Conducted for: Association for Children of New Jersey by Monmouth University Polling Institute. Data Collection: September/October 2006.
State education officials looking for more leeway in 'No Child Left Behind' law
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 8:36 AM
WCF Courier reports, "Focused strictly on education policy, the task force [Under the auspices of the Council of Chief State School Officers],did not address what many critics see as the most urgent problem facing No Child Left Behind: the lack of federal funding for it. In 2006, Iowa received only 59 percent of the $171 million it was authorized to obtain under the act, according to the National Education Association."
Let the New Jersey school merger fight begin
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 8:30 AM
Star-Ledger reports, "[New Jersey] State lawmakers will begin discussing a series of proposals today to establish 21 countywide school offices that would oversee virtually every function of public education, a change proponents say will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The offices, each controlled by a single superintendent and four- member county board, would replace hundreds of local superintendents and central office staff."
Binghamton schools get $4.85 million windfall
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 6:03 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The state money is coming from EXCEL -- Expanding our Children's Education and Learning -- an allocation that the state Legislature approved in April to help school districts with building projects. The amount is substantial -- $2.6 billion statewide, with $400 million going to high-need districts outside New York City, including Binghamton."
Oklahoma Lottery Transfers $17.4 Million For Education
Date CapturedTuesday October 17 2006, 9:20 AM
AP reports, "A total of 45 percent of lottery revenue goes to common education, including teacher pay and benefits. Another 45 percent goes to scholarships and loans to help Oklahoma residents attend state colleges and universities."
School-funding reform is focus of meeting
Date CapturedTuesday October 17 2006, 6:20 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Eleven Dutchess County school districts are sponsoring an informational meeting, 'Fixing School Taxes,' on Wednesday at Arlington High School. It's an effort to answer taxpayers' questions and encourage grassroots involvement in school-tax reform. The event has been organized by Help Arlington Lower Taxes, a committee of Arlington board members, employees and local residents."
New York City on hook for $1B in school aid
Date CapturedTuesday October 17 2006, 4:46 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city [New York City] has long argued that it should not have to pay one penny to make up for the state's historic shortchanging of city schools, and so far the courts have not ordered the city to shell out any of the $5.6 billion they have set as the tab."
New York school aid fix beyond courts
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 9:26 PM
Poughkeepsie Journal opined, "Any realistic, statewide and permanent solution to how schools are funded will have to come from state lawmakers — and, indirectly at least, from the taxpayers who elect them. The courts have a role, but it will be impossible, and wrong, for them to try to micromanage from the bench."
$5B Headache
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 7:14 AM
NY Post contributor Sol Stern writes on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) lawsuit, "The high court heard arguments on the case Tuesday; its past rulings suggest it will hold that New York City is entitled to almost $5 billion a year in extra state funding for its schools - close to the amount that the trial court ordered last year. That means a huge political migraine for Spitzer. On the one hand, the forces that backed the lawsuit - the teachers' union, the education-industry interests, New York City Democrats - represent the heart of Spitzer's liberal political base, and eagerly anticipate a big payoff. On the other hand, the billions in higher taxes needed to pay for the increased funding for the city's schools will make it impossible for Spitzer to fulfill his campaign promise to rescue the state from its looming fiscal crisis."
Inside Albany
Date CapturedFriday October 13 2006, 3:33 PM
This week on IA: Billions at stake-Top court hears New York City school funding case that has sweeping implications statewide. Check schedule.
Court should not determine school funding
Date CapturedFriday October 13 2006, 5:04 AM
UticaOD.com writes, "Whatever the court decides in this case [Campaign for Fiscal Equity], our children's education is really in our hands. It's up to us to pressure the legislature to take the appropriate steps to reform the school aid formula."
Scores on State Math Tests Dip With Districts’ Income
Date CapturedThursday October 12 2006, 3:40 AM
NY Times reports, "It was the wide gap between poor cities and wealthy districts that Mr. Mills identified as a cause for alarm when he announced the scores in Albany yesterday. While 86.3 percent of students in rich, or so-called low-need districts scored proficiently, only 28.6 percent did so in Buffalo, 30.1 percent in Syracuse, and 33.1 percent in Rochester. 'I am talking about state aid, and it’s a reminder that resources have something to do with this as well,” Mr. Mills said. He added: 'The low-needs school districts, that is, the ones that have the resources, are higher performing — much higher performing.'”
Lawmakers seek less education spending:State looks to lower education spending
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 8:16 AM
The Journal News Yancey Roy reports, "Instead of a range of $4.7 billion to $5.6 billion in additional aid, as ordered by a mid-level court, state lawyers want the minimum set at $1.93 billion. State lawyers also want the court to issue its decision in a legally softer way - a "declaratory judgment," rather than a "directive." A directive would provide less wiggle room. But that was met with skepticism by a judge who has seen the case bounce around the legal system for 13 years."
Schools bridge culture gap
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 6:15 AM
The Journal News reports, "The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to work on parental involvement and to devote 1 percent of Title I funding toward such efforts. For immigrants and other parent groups, the efforts go beyond the traditional PTA structure into new kinds of organizations. All the efforts have grown out of research that ties parental involvement to academic performance."
School dollars back on court docket
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 5:15 AM
Times Union reports, "The Court of Appeals in 2003 ruled on CFE's behalf, agreeing the approximately 1.1 million-student New York City system had been shortchanged over the years and should get more funding. Since then, however, Gov. George Pataki and the state Legislature missed a court-ordered deadline to solve the funding problem and litigants have been back to both local and state courts several times in what could best be described as a classic legal saga of briefs, arguments, court rulings and appeals."
School Financing Case Argued Before New York State’s Highest Court
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 11:29 PM
NY Times reports, "Lawyers on opposing sides of a lawsuit that challenges the fairness of the state’s education financing system argued before the Court of Appeals on Tuesday over how much more money it would cost to give New York City’s schoolchildren a decent education — at least $4.7 billion or only $1.93 billion."
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 9:20 AM
Read "Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children" by Eric Hanushek. This link allows the reader to read the book by chapters.
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children (CHAPTER 1)
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 9:13 AM
By Eric Hanushek. Read chapter 1, by Sol Stern. Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. New York: The March of Folly.
Bus carries school spending drive
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 6:21 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Some critics contend the existing court ruling would not help other low-income districts and would only apply to funding for the city. 'They couldn't be wronger,' Ulster County legislator Susan Zimit said. She cited several Mid-Hudson Valley schools that would receive increased funding if the court supports the AQE/CFE formula."
CFE Supporters Rally for Aid Formula
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 6:16 AM
WXXI reports, "People demanding a new state school aid formula cheered as members of two pro-education groups pulled into Rochester Monday on board a school bus. Members of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and the Alliance for Quality Education are touring the state on their way to Albany."
FACTS ON POLICY: School Funding Shift
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 11:18 PM
Hoover Institute: "U.S. public school funding was once primarily financed locally but over time it has shifted toward state and federal funding."
Courting Failure: Education Experts Expose the Politics behind the Nation's School Finance Lawsuits
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 10:08 AM
The Hoover Institute writes, "One of the most devastating elements in these [school funding equity] trials is the high-profile 'costing out' studies used to calculate the price tag of an adequate education. None of the studies effectively deals with any of the inefficiencies that currently exist in public schools, presuming that what is needed to get the desired student outcomes is simply more of the same -- and more money to support it. Indeed, some of the studies explicitly choose the most expensive way of running an educational program rather than the least expensive, inflating the costs and completely ignoring any possible change in the incentives or operations of public schools. Unfortunately, the courts have frequently sided with these recommendations."
Advocates call for solution to fiscal equity lawsuit
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 8:23 AM
AP reports, "Tomorrow, the latest appeal will be heard, but a negotiated solution may extend beyond the end of Pataki's third term."
Fighting for dollars and sense
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 5:45 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "Lower courts already have ruled that the city shortchanges its students in that amount - for example, by employing thousands of uncertified teachers. Supporters hope a ruling in favor of city schools would also reap more money for needy districts elsewhere in the state, including Long Island. They base their hope on a political calculation: They assume that if the court orders the governor and legislature to distribute the money, that individual lawmakers then would demand that other needy districts also benefit from the windfall."
Up to court to end sellout of New York City schools
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 8:46 AM
NY Daily News op-ed contributor Robert Jackson, plaintiff in CFE vs. State of New York and chairman of the Education Committee of the New York City Council writes, "It is to the enduring shame of this nation that millions of schoolchildren still struggle to learn in overcrowded classrooms with uncertified teachers, using outdated textbooks, and emerge bereft of a chance in life. These are conditions that demoralize, insult and crush young spirits, that breed despair, ignorance and civic alienation. The enduring social cost is enormous."
Federal appeals court rules Arizona's charter schools ineligible to receive federal aid
Date CapturedSaturday October 07 2006, 6:38 PM
Douglas Dispatch reports, "He [Judge Michael Hawkins] said the federal statute that defines which schools are eligible for federal aid spells out that only non-profit schools are eligible for the aid."
Denver Schools grading system explored
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 10:00 AM
Rocky Mountain News reports, "Also Thursday, board members gave informal approval to beginning a new method of funding schools. Called 'weighted student funding,' the idea is to allow dollars to follow individual students to schools rather than doling out dollars based on set classrooms of 26.5 kids."
8 mid-Hudson schools on notice
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:19 AM
The Times Herald-Record reports, "The state [New York] has promised to provide special-education experts to help local districts. School districts stand to lose federal funds if they fail to make progress."
Call For School Spending Oversight
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 6:52 PM
AP reports, "It is not unusual for homeowners in suburban New York school districts to pay $500 to $800 a month in school taxes alone."
New Jersey county districts could diversify schools
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 10:37 AM
Star-Ledger reports, "Corzine [New Jersey governor] said he is not supporting local government or school district consolidation as a way to confront segregation in New Jersey schools, but he sees it as a side benefit of consolidation in the interest of property tax relief."
New Jersey property tax committee plans to tackle special ed
Date CapturedWednesday October 04 2006, 8:13 AM
The Daily Journal reports, "Proposals from the state panel on school-funding reform will focus on reducing the number of special-education students sent to expensive private schools, said committee co-chairman Sen. John Adler. But containing special-education costs is so complex that Pennsylvania and several other states have decided there is no suitable way to figure it out, noted Thomas Parrish of the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research. They instead rely on other factors such as a district's size and poverty."
Anti-Violence Funds for Schools Drops
Date CapturedSunday October 01 2006, 10:19 PM
AP reports, "Since 2001, federal funding for a grant program that helps U.S. schools pay for programs to prevent substance abuse and violence has declined significantly. Funding was $439.2 million in 2001 but has fallen to $346.5 million this year, with $310 million recommended for 2007."
Attendance and school funding in California school district
Date CapturedSunday October 01 2006, 2:00 PM
Desert Dispatch reports, "Parents get the calls — an electronic voice notifying them their child was absent from school. What follows can go any number of ways, but it usually involves kids trying to convince their parents they were in school and not ditching. It turns out they might be telling the truth."
Money helps; curriculum, too
Date CapturedSunday October 01 2006, 11:25 AM
Record Eagle Op-Ed contributor Jack Lessenberry writes, "They call it 'count day,' the day when students are bribed with pizza, ice cream and the chance to win Game Boys, iPods or even a laptop, if they do just one thing in school. Not pass their tests, not win scholarships, not win a spelling bee, if their school has such a thing anymore. They don't even have to read, write or learn anything, and some didn't do that, either. No. What the state's school systems, especially Detroit's, wanted students to do Wednesday was this: Show up."
How state figures out who gets what when allocating funds for education
Date CapturedSunday October 01 2006, 8:23 AM
Anchorage Daily News reports, "A lawsuit set for trial Monday charges that the state's school-funding method doesn't provide enough money to fulfill the Alaska Constitution's promise of an education for all children. How exactly does the current system work? The formula, adopted in 1998, first considers a school's average daily enrollment during a 20-day period in October. This is called the ADM."
No favorable statistic left behind in federal law
Date CapturedSunday October 01 2006, 7:33 AM
Columnist George Will writes, "No Child Left Behind supposedly promotes education accountability by mandating reliable data to measure progress. But Washington looks like an untrustworthy manipulator of data when it uses the phrase 'instruction-related activity' to draw a bull's-eye around the status quo."
Educators criticize potential federal cuts to education
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 9:47 AM
Mid-Hudson News reports, "Dutchess and Orange County educators Thursday called on area members of Congress to resist funding cuts to education."
Dayton schools hope for perfect attendance
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 7:58 AM
Dayton Daily News reports, "Taking no chances, Dayton Public Schools is airing television commercials featuring its teacher of the year, Julie Berro, surrounded by her kindergarten class, telling viewers, 'an empty chair means a loss of thousands of dollars in state aid for your child's education. Please don't let that happen.'"
Tackle Utah education disparity
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 1:12 AM
Deseret Morning News editorial writes, "The report ["Closing Educational Achievement Gaps for Latina/o Students in Utah,"] points out the inadequacy of Utah's school funding in terms of per pupil expenditures, Utah's large school and class sizes as well as data that show that Utah funds districts with the highest percentage of minorities at lower rates. The researchers contend that while the methodology of the latter point could be disputed, 'the fact remains that districts with higher percentages of students of color, in fact, need more funding than (other) districts in order to move from 'equality' to 'equity.'"
The Invisible Face of CFE: New York’s Small City School Districts in Crisis
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 7:47 AM
Prepared by Robert Biggerstaff, New York State Association of Small City School Districts' and written by Charles A. Winters, former Newburgh administrator, study concludes students in small New York state urban settings suffer as much or more than children in New York City from chronic underfunding. Small-city districts have comparable poverty levels, draw from a less wealthy tax base and students fail just as much, if not more, than New York City children.
Report stresses woes of schools in smaller New York state cities
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 5:54 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Released yesterday by the New York State Association of Small City School Districts, the study says students in urban settings like Newburgh, Middletown and Kingston are suffering as much — or more — as kids in New York City from chronic underfunding."
State orders commercial school in NYC closed, citing poor quality
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 4:08 AM
Newsday reports, "Their [group of educators] report stated that 'the institute operates more as a high school equivalency preparation enterprise than as a college.' The report also questioned whether the public investment in the school is worth it."
Small cities sue New York state over school funding
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 3:57 PM
WNYT reports, "A total of 19 small city districts are challenging the way state aid for education is handed out. Those districts include Albany, Schenectady, Glens Falls and Cohoes." (news video)
Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003-04
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 12:53 AM
NCES: The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Several findings were: These 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students, and employed 22 percent of all public school teachers, in 2003-04. The 100 largest districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2002-03. Across these districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 68.8 percent. In 19 of the 100 largest districts the rate was 80 percent or higher. The rate was less than 50 percent in 8 of the 100 largest districts. Three states – California, Florida, and Texas – accounted for 41 of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $4,413 in Alpine School District, Utah to a high of $17,652 in Newark City, New Jersey. Dalton, B., Sable, J., and Hoffman, L. (2006). Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003–04 (NCES 2006-329). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
When the teacher brings the apple
Date CapturedTuesday September 26 2006, 7:12 AM
The Christian Science Monitor opined, "The danger of using private money for such a public purpose [school funding] is that it further erodes taxpayer support for government-run schools. Teachers or donors who pay for supplies are to be commended. But is this any way to run a railroad? States and local governments need to meet basic standards for education, and fund them. Public education should not be a charity, but an obligation - a social contract between generations."
Maine-Endwell Central School District Board of Education decision reflects the district's needs
Date CapturedSunday September 24 2006, 9:56 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin contributor Waneta Griffin, president of the Maine-Endwell Board of Education writes, "The board developed the proposed capital improvement plan after receiving input from a volunteer group of residents called the Capital Project Facilities Committee. The project contains work identified by that group. The district also held two public meetings where comments were encouraged and recorded. Further, district administrators, board members and project professionals requested and received community feedback through surveys and other communications. The project team worked diligently to create a plan that addresses the district's education and infrastructure needs, and maintains fiscal responsibility."
At halfway point, New Jersey property tax reform elusive
Date CapturedSaturday September 23 2006, 1:48 PM
AP TOM HESTER Jr. reports, "The average New Jerseyan pays about $6,000 in annual property taxes, twice the national average."
Secretary Spellings encourages free tutoring program
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 9:45 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports, "Spellings said some school districts haven’t been forthcoming enough about parents’ options, perhaps because the districts pay for the tutoring with the federal funding it receives."
North Dakota $116 million property tax relief plan announced
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 11:57 AM
Iowa Farmer Today reports, "The plan would provide tax relief for residential property in the amount of 10 percent, for agricultural property in the amount of 5 percent, and for commercial property in the amount of 5 percent."
Niagara Falls school district, hospital receive share of casino revenue
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 8:38 AM
Buffalo News reports, "The mayor handed the school's check Monday to Niagara Falls City School Board President Robert Kazeangin Jr., who said the money will be spent on undetermined capital projects."
Community needs to analyze bond requests
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 7:50 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Allen Lambert, former member of the Ithaca City School District Board of Education writes, "Of what use is a public hearing when citizens do not have details to comment on, or when it is too late to influence a decision? No information was available to the public until the evening of Sept. 7. And little detail has been published in newspapers so citizens can begin to examine particulars. Yet, the board of education is expected to make a huge decision without adequate time for itself or the community."
Ithaca Central School District bond project: Focus on discussion, not false deadlines
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 7:48 AM
Ithaca Journal opined, "With no pressing crisis to resolve, district officials, board members and ICSD residents must spend the time needed to thoroughly analyze options and build community consensus on how to proceed — and let the timeline assemble itself as it may."
School tax changes needed
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 6:57 AM
The Poughkeepsie Journal opined, "The courts have mandated the state improve spending for New York City schools. But the state can't answer that by simply diverting funding away from other districts around the state. Inequities in state funding for schools all across the state need to be addressed."
Local Dutchess County schools get state aid for tech upgrades
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 6:56 AM
The Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Dutchess County schools will receive almost three-quarters of a million dollars for their technology programs, officials announced Tuesday. The money — $712,676 total — will be divided among nine school districts. The amount each school district receives was partly based on enrollment figures."
Wyoming Schools Are Flush With Money
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 11:47 PM
AP reports, "Rising production and soaring prices for natural gas have helped Wyoming produce huge budget surpluses over the past few years - $1.8 billion in 2006 alone and $900 million the year before that. And much of it has been pumped back into education."
Backers Pleased that Michigan Communities Are Talking About School Development and Land Use
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 8:42 AM
Smart Growth reports, "Since 1994 Proposal A cut property taxes in half, spurring district requests for new taxes 'to build trophy schools,' Michigan public school construction debt has 'ballooned from $4 billion to more than $12 billion,' with 278 older schools closed and more than 500 new ones opened. The related outflow from cities, backed by the ''school choice'' policy, is shifting the urban tax base to suburban districts, with '$7,200 in state funds attached to each youngster.'''
School-tax reform battle being waged on local fronts
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 7:05 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Anybody fed up with rising school taxes can get involved in local campaigns to reform the current property-based system."
Drive urges reworking school aid
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 5:32 AM
Times Union reports, "Stratton [Schenectady mayor] said the resolution of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit could add $60 million in state aid to Schenectady City Schools over the next four years. That is the figure included in a proposed settlement of the lawsuit, according to the Alliance for Quality Education, a statewide group that advocates for more school funding."
Sen. Schumer presses for more school aid
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 12:10 PM
Buffalo News reports, "'I think the plan is to have public schools fail so we can start shifting more and more money to charter schools and voucher programs,' Sloan Superintendent James P. Mazgajewski said. 'I think what they're trying to do is break down the system.'"
Rural schools officials lobby for timber payments
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 11:44 AM
AP reports, "'Rural children need to have equal opportunity to learn,' said Douglas, superintendent of Tehama County schools in Northern California. 'If this bill is not reauthorized, the promise of No Child Left Behind will be a hollow campaign promise in the forest counties of America and not a promise of opportunity.'"
Group seeks Wisconsin school funding solutions
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 11:14 AM
Appleton Post-Crescent reports, "He [committee chairman] said the most pressing issues, such as how to help schools with declining enrollments, will be addressed in time to implement during the upcoming state budget process."
It's still rich school, poor school
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 8:48 AM
The Oregonian reports, "The Portland Schools Foundation was created in a time of waning support for public schools to harness the energy and means of wealthy parents and keep them from fleeing to private schools. The equity fund grew out of a desire to ensure that holding onto those parents didn't just serve to widen the gap between rich and poor schools."
School-tax rebates on the way soon
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 6:55 AM
The Daily Star reports on property taxes, "Homeowners who receive a basic or enhanced School Tax Relief (STAR) exemption on their 2006-2007 school-tax bill are eligible to receive the rebate. The amount of the rebate will be determined based on the school district of the eligible homeowner."
Paying in pieces
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 5:21 AM
The Journal News reports, "If a district can collect all of its taxes on time, it can invest the money at a better rate, providing it more income. East Ramapo, for instance, this year had enough investment profit to help keep its tax rate increase below 1 percent, when that was added to some grant money, additional state aid and cost-cutting. The investments saved all the taxpayers in the district money, since it offset some of the budget increases. In fact, all eight of Rockland's school districts do this."
Massachusetts, Pittsfield District has high hopes for grant
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 11:38 AM
Berkshire Eagle reports, "Schools officials believe that a rare federal grant recently awarded to the Pittsfield Public School District will help increase school attendance, decrease disruptive behavior and improve graduation rates. The $2.8 million Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant is part of a joint effort by the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human services. Only 19 districts across the nation were awarded the three-year grant, and Pittsfield secured the second-largest sum."
Oregon wins first round in school funding lawsuit
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 11:12 AM
AP reports, "Generally, news coverage of the amendment before the November, 2000 election did not imply to voters that a 'yes' vote on the measure would result in a new - and expensive - fiscal mandate, Fletcher said, an argument that found favor with Judge Marshall."
Funding error may be costing Texas schools
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 11:08 AM
Daily Light reports, "Numbers put together by JR3, a consulting firm, indicate WISD received only $1,056 per new student during the 2004-2005 school year. The district should have received about $6,585 for each of the new students, according to JR3’s calculations. The formula glitch is believed to have affected those districts experiencing high student growth and high increases in property values in the same year."
New Hampshire given final chance to step up to education plate
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 10:52 AM
Portsmouth Herald opined, "What the courts, school officials, parents and students really want and need is a specific list of what courses and levels of proficiency constitute an adequate education in today's world. The plans put forth by legislatures and governors since the first Claremont education funding suit in 1993 define adequacy based on how much the state can afford to pay toward the education of its children, not what the children actually need to be educated adequately."
Johnson City schools seek input on funds
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 9:42 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports on EXCEL, a one-time allocation to help school districts fund new building projects, "The Johnson City Central School District received an unexpected gift in April when state lawmakers approved $2 million more in building aid for the district. Now, school board members are asking the public to help determine how to spend the money. They are asking district residents to participate in focus group sessions in October to get feedback on the best use of the $2,030,375 coming to Johnson City under EXCEL, or Expanding our Children's Education and Learning."
Wide Variety of Factors Involved in Achievement Gap
Date CapturedSaturday September 16 2006, 10:32 AM
Norwalk Citizen News reports, "The panelists [at a forum last week at Norwalk Community College] offered a wide range of observations dealing with the prospect of success in closing the achievement gap, including the following: *Educators have to think beyond the community. *Communities can't put blind faith in a charismatic leader. *Communities need to have courageous conversations about class and race and not be afraid to bring up the issues. *Communities have to be open to data that may fly in the face of beliefs. *Educators must look at the best practices that achieve success in other countries. *Thinking that low achievement in a school system is acceptable is offensive. *Investment in professional development should relate to what teachers are doing in the classrooms. *Opportunities for teachers to get together should be built within the school day. *Principals need to realize that their primary purpose is to know what's going on in the classrooms. *The way education is funded is a huge barrier to closing the gap. Therefore schools systems can't wait for more money to change a system. *The focus needs to be on the teachers and the students in the classrooms. *Four-to-six-week teacher-generated pupil assessment is important to determine if teaching goals are being met."
Texas School Finance Talks Begin
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 9:29 PM
KXAN reports, "School finance reform may turn out to have little to do with schools when lawmakers come back to Austin next month. It will be finance first and then schools second."
Rural schools lobby for cash to ease logging losses
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 8:33 AM
The Oregonian reports, "More than 200 rural educators and officials from 22 states converged on Capitol Hill this week in a last-ditch effort to pressure Congress to continue payments to rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging."
CFE Gears Up for Court Date
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 7:57 AM
WXXI Karen DeWitt reports, "CFE wants the State's [New York] highest court to affirm the lower court's finding that around $5 billion additional dollars per year will be required. And Wayland [CFE attorney] says he wants the state's highest court to make clear that the legislature and governor must comply with the court's order."
Charter limbo: First fix the state charter school law, and then lift the cap
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 6:43 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, "What's needed in New York is a better law that creates a state funding stream for charters apart from normal school aid. What's needed is a method of charter review and oversight that maximizes potential and minimizes mediocrity. And what's needed, too, is a lift of the 100-school cap so that the experiment may continue, but not at a rate that frustrates assessment and control."
Onteora limits in-school recruitment
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 1:17 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "'The No Child Left Behind Law states that you must allow military recruiters on your school grounds on the same basis that you allow any other recruiters on school grounds, and if you don't allow them, you're going to lose your (federal) Title I funding,' he [board President Marino D'Orazio] said."
Pennsylvania tax study commissions to examine local reform
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 1:44 PM
The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports, "By today, school boards across the state [Pennsylvania] must appoint a tax study commission to look into reducing property taxes for their landowners. Required as part of state law when Gov. Ed Rendell signed the state’s Taxpayer Relief Act, also known as Act 1, on June 27, each commission’s purpose is to study the existing tax structure of its school district and municipality."
Education Policy Should Not Be Based on Programs that Cannot be Replicated
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 12:06 PM
Education Finance and Accountability Program at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University (EFAP) Director John Yinger writes, "The use of additional funds does not, of course, guarantee success. Many schools undoubtedly use policies and practices that cost more than equally effective alternatives. But one cannot identify these alternatives simply by looking at a few successful schools. Instead, we need to continue evaluating a wide range of programs to determine which ones can raise student performance under what circumstances and at what cost."
Onteora joins towns' fight to defend property assessments
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 7:48 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "The Onteora school board has agreed to participate with three towns fighting lawsuits that seek an 82 percent assessment reduction on more than $757 million in property owned by New York City and New York state."
It's way past time for school funding reform
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 5:56 AM
Times Herald-Record contributor Sue Books, professor in the Department of Secondary Education at SUNY New Paltz opined, "In 2003, the funding gap between the 25 percent of school districts in New York with the most and the least poverty was $2,280 per pupil. Between two high schools with 1,500 students each, this amounts to $3.4 million a year. Funding gaps on this scale mean children in some schools receive much more than others of almost everything money can buy for schools: buildings in good repair; well-qualified and adequately compensated teachers; challenging programs; opportunities to participate in art, music and sports; and enough guidance counselors to help students through the increasingly complex college-application maze."
Rochester area schools shorted $44M by fed
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 5:16 PM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The Rochester area is being shorted $44 million in federal school aid promised under the No Child Left Behind Act, Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said today while announcing a report detailing statewide school funding shortfalls."
Binghamton leaders support new funding plan for education
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 3:30 PM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The officials who spoke at a press conference at Binghamton City Hall said lawmakers should come up with a statewide solution that would funnel more state school aid money to less affluent school districts statewide, including those in the Southern Tier."
Nine local Mid-Hudson school still get failing marks
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 7:00 AM
Times-Herald Record reports, "The list is more than name-calling. Districts have to pour resources into the problem areas — resources that local taxpayers often have to pay for. In the long run, teachers and principals might be fired if the failures continue. The federal No Child Left Behind Law sets the rules. It covers not only scores but the performance of various racial, ethnic, and other special groups."
The Not-So-Public Part of the Public Schools: Lack of Accountability
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 3:22 AM
NY Times reports, "Their [Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein] reinvented school system has many more private components than ever before, which come under very little outside scrutiny. This not-so-public part of the public school system has received more than $330 million in grants and donations from private sources over the past three years, according to Education Department statistics."
States Direct New State Money into Education
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 10:36 AM
NPR reports, "After years of lean budgets, money is flowing into many state treasuries."
Angry taxpayers speak out at Haverstraw Town Board meeting
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 6:19 AM
The Journal News reports, "The higher taxes reflect a combination of a reassessment of property — Haverstraw's first in four decades — and tax repayments to the Mirant Corp., the company that owns the Bowline and Lovett power plants. The plants had been overtaxed for decades. 'If you knew this is going to happen, how come tax increases weren't phased in slightly over the 10-year period?' resident Joel Dietch asked the board last night."
White Plains to discuss school bond proposal and property taxes
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 6:05 AM
THE JOURNAL NEWS reports, "'I understand things need to be fixed, but I don't believe that it's a hazardous building, and I don't believe that what they're adding is what the school system needs,' said Charles Lederman, a resident who served on a district budget committee when the plan was under consideration last year. Lederman said the Post Road School plan merely 'spends close to $40 million to make a beautiful, modern schoolhouse that will look very nice in real estate brochures.'"
New Jersey Residents: No Kids, Why Pay School Funds?
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 6:01 PM
AP reports, "Rogozin [NJ taxpayer] is part of a growing chorus of New Jerseyans wondering why they have to pay property taxes to fund schools if they don't have children using schools."
Proposed federal cuts hurt Illinois special education
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 3:13 AM
The Southern Illinois reports, "'Without these funds, school districts will not be able to financially provide the mandated services such as nursing services, social work and speech therapy to low-income students in special education,' said Glenn [coordinates federally funded administrative outreach program]. 'The loss of these funds will cause special education students as well as regular education students to suffer.'"
Michigan’s Big Property Tax Cut, and the Lessons It Has for New Jersey
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 2:01 AM
NY Times RICHARD G. JONES writes, "Some elements resembling parts of Michigan’s solution have already been suggested in Trenton. For instance, at the start of the special legislative session, Gov. Jon S. Corzine proposed a cap of 4 percent on the annual increase in property tax rates. In many towns, the rate has climbed nearly twice that in one year. And while legislators have also discussed reducing the state’s reliance on property taxes to pay for public schools — last year, $10.8 billion, or 55 percent, of the state’s $19.6 billion property tax levy was used for education — no legislator has at this point suggested a change as drastic as the one in Michigan."
Where Should Utah State Spend Education Money?
Date CapturedSaturday September 09 2006, 9:46 AM
Red Orbit reports, "Utah spends the least per student in the country, and has the nation's biggest classes. While past studies showed the state's multitude of children -- Utah has the nation's highest birthrate -- made boosting school funding tough. Utah in 1995 was fifth in the country in terms of funding effort, according to the foundation's 'Paradox Lost' report."
Upstate schools want aid if N.Y.C. gets more funds: September is "Act For Education Month."
Date CapturedSaturday September 09 2006, 8:24 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "In anticipation of next month's hearing in the state Court of Appeals, the groups rallied education and political leaders in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and other cities to push for the passage of legislation to increase school funding if the Court of Appeals upholds a ruling to send more school aid to New York City."
Changes in New York state school funding urged
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 11:51 PM
Mid-Hudson News reports, "Sottile (Kingston mayor) said he feels that richer counties are being favored in the current school funding system, funded by property taxes, and that the poorer, and more in need counties are being left in the dust."
New Hampshire State Supreme Court invalidates school funding system
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 11:03 PM
AP reports, "In a strongly worded ruling, the state Supreme Court agreed Friday that legislators have failed to define a constitutionally adequate education, as about two dozen school districts claim."
Watch Inside Albany
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 7:00 PM
This week on Inside Albany: Patience thin on CFE-Advocates in NYC school aid case say it's time for the state to pay up. Make children a priority-New coalition wants policymakers to pay more attention to kids. (check schedule)
New York school funding reform efforts
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 9:21 AM
Millbrook Round Table reports, "The current public school funding mechanisms are failing. Meeting participants felt that state-wide long-term funding reform is needed. Achievement of long-term reform will require a monumental effort and must be supported by the majority of residents in the state."
Idaho high court closes school funding suit, but questions linger
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 8:44 AM
Idaho Stateman reports, "University of Idaho law professor Elizabeth Brandt thinks closing the case did not end the controversy, but instead signals that the court will let the Legislature decide how to fix the problem — not mandate a funding formula from the bench. 'When they say the case is closed, all they mean is that there's a final judgment,' Brandt said. 'That doesn't mean the court isn't going to enforce its order.'"
Time to reform the New York state school aid formula
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 8:17 AM
Ithaca Journal Op-Ed contributor Ronald Mac Lean writes, "During our [citizens advisory group] initial year, an initiative was created to educate taxpayers of the political aspects of education. This initiative emerged as Political Action Concerning Education or PACE. This fall, PACE will concentrate on promoting school aid reform with our New York state political representatives. Beginning Sept. 9, copies of petitions calling for New York state school aid formula reform will be circulating through out the Trumansburg Central School District by PACE volunteers."
Albany Common Council backs call for education funding reform
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 12:34 AM
Capital News 9 reports, "The Campaign for Fiscal Equity wants New York State to close the gap in education funding. And the Albany Common Council is backing the cause in declaring September 'Act for Education Month.'"
State called on to comply with court ruling on New York City school funding
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 9:05 AM
The Business Review (Albany) reports, "Elected officials in Albany, N.Y., and Schenectady will hold events Thursday designed to pressure the state into complying with the court ruling in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case."
Beacon bears brunt of district's tax increase
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 6:59 AM
The Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Ann Marie Quartironi, the school district's business manager, said new construction in Fishkill is one factor in the new school tax rates, but much of the imbalance this year between the three communities is related to new state data. The state data, known as equalization rates, are updated annually but aren't available until after school budgets are approved in the spring."
School officials tell New Jersey state panel funding has led to efficiency
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 9:36 PM
Press of Atlantic City DIANE D'AMICO writes, "Special education costs are such a large concern the committee plans a special hearing just on that topic."
Maryland, Toronto government mergers to be scrutinized
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 9:48 AM
AP reports on New Jersey tax reform, "New Jersey has about 1,400 local governments, and many believe taxpayers can save money if they're consolidated or enticed to share services. Still, three professors last week told the special committee that mergers wouldn't produce major savings and may cost more money."
Education system needs reform, not a billion dollars
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 3:56 PM
Las Vegas Business Press contributor Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. writes, "A BILLION (!) dollars more for education? That's a lot of dough. But if it comes with spending offsets and serious education reforms that break the government-school monopoly on education, it might be worth considering. The only thing apparently standing in the way is: the teachers unions."
Web site draws pleas to revamp New Jersey school funding
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 10:55 AM
Courier News reports, "Lawmakers [New Jersey] created a Web site to solicit suggestions on how the state can ease the property tax burden. The site has received more than 1,000 suggestions since it was created Aug. 14. A common theme from the suggestion box: New Jersey residents are tired of paying high property taxes to fund public schools."
Northeastern Clinton Central School estimates costs for facilities improvements
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 10:24 AM
Press Republican reports, "Early estimates show Northeastern Clinton Central School taxpayers' pockets would be harder hit by construction of a completely new consolidated elementary facility than if the existing buildings were expanded and renovated. That's because state aid for the former would come in at about 82 percent versus an estimated 58 percent for a stand-alone building."
County school systems, property taxation equality to be examined
Date CapturedSunday September 03 2006, 10:23 PM
AP reports, "A national school finance expert recently told a special committee studying New Jersey school funding that it should look to Maryland as an example of a state that has balanced fiscal and educational concerns. Smith's committee will also hear from Toronto officials on their government consolidation efforts."
Baltimore charter school funding decided
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 11:12 PM
Baltimoresun.com reports, "Public school systems must provide as much money per pupil to charter school operators as they spend on regular public schools, the state Court of Special Appeals ruled Friday, siding with the state in a dispute with Baltimore. The court -- the second-highest in the state -- said the funding must be in cash rather than in-kind services."
Plan to end Medicaid reimbursements for special education services criticized
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 11:17 AM
Healthcare News reports, "According to Durbin [Sen.] and Davis [Rep.], the plan, part of the fiscal year 2007 budget proposals announced earlier this year by President Bush, would reduce Medicaid reimbursements to schools nationwide by a combined $650 million. In addition, the plan would require school districts to obtain permission from parents to receive Medicaid reimbursements each time they provide medical services to disabled students."
Funding formula for Arkansas school transportation to be developed
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 10:59 AM
Arkansas News Bureau reports on transportation and the influx of military family students, "In a letter to the committee, Brig. Gen. Kip Self, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at the base, said he expects as many as 500 more military personnel to move onto the base in the next few years because of base closings around the country. The school will not be able to hold an influx of new students, he said."
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills to settle flap over charter school funding
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 10:54 AM
Buffalo N