The Early Word: Today’s Education News
Education news from around the country for July 21, 2009.
LA Times: Budget Accord Reached
Education would also lose billions of dollars, although the deal skirts suspension of voter-approved funding formulas. Schools are expected to have to increase the number of students in classes, lay off teachers and scale back their offerings. Education lobbyists won a provision that requires the state to ultimately pay back money it is cutting, but districts are struggling now.
Wall Street Journal: Detroit Schools on the Brink
DETROIT — Detroit’s public-school system, beset by massive deficits and widespread corruption, is on the brink of following local icons GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy court.
Even after millions of dollars in budget cuts in the spring, including 29 school closings and thousands of layoffs, the district started the fiscal year this month with a $259 million deficit…
Denver Business Journal: Colorado Considers Higher-Ed Cuts
Colorado will seek a waiver that would let it reduce state higher-education funding below a floor level set by the federal government without losing $760 million in stabilization money, Gov. Bill Ritter said Monday.
“We’re going to attempt to get that waiver only so we can have the flexibility that we get from the waiver,” Ritter said in a conference call with reporters. “We are looking for that flexibility.”
Washington Post: Latest Fenty Budget Cuts Funds for Schools Evaluation
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has eliminated funding for an independent evaluator assigned to assess the progress of public school reform under Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, according to the revised 2010 budget he submitted to the D.C. Council late Friday.
Financial Times: Virginia’s Schools Forced to Learn Some Difficult Lessons
Chesterfield County school district in Virginia began the year in dire straits… The budget for 2009-2010was $50m (€35m, £30m) short…
Some 278 teachers, aides, secretaries, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and caretakers were about to lose their jobs. Advanced science courses, departments for art and music and reading coaches for special-needs students were in danger of being cut.
Thanks to $37m in stimulus funding, 133 teachers and 145 support staff jobs were saved. Books for the youngest children were put back in the budget, and maths and literacy coaches were reinstated.
Today’s Education News
Today’s education news from around the country:
- NPR: Bleak Economy Squeezes Community Colleges
Across the country, educators at community colleges say they’ve often seen enrollments surge in times of economic slowdown. The size of this spike, however, is unprecedented, and it comes at a time when budgets are severely limited. - OC Register: CSU Fullerton anticipates $30 million in cuts
Some $30 million-plus in potential cuts will force Cal State Fullerton to limit enrollment, raise fees, provide fewer class sections, lay off faculty and staff, furlough those who remain and leave vacant positions empty, according to President Milton A. Gordon. - Oregonian: Oregon governor plans to veto higher ed cuts
In the waning hours of the Legislature, lawmakers cut higher education $11.5 million more than previously agreed. The action surprised university officials and pushed them to say they might not comply with the Legislature’s proposed caps on tuition increases. With the governor’s line-item veto expected, university officials now plan to limit increases to 9 percent at the three large universities and 6.5 percent at most small universities, following the Legislature’s limits. - LA Times: California Teachers Hit Gov. Hard
The California Teachers Association (an affiliate of CEF member National Educators Association) has released a hard-hitting TV advertisement aimed at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his decision to alter state Prop. 98 and lower the guaranteed funding for schools by over $3 billion. Watch the ad below, and read more about the situation here. [pro-player width='360' height='270' type='video']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfQVF3eMwFw[/pro-player]
Roll Call: Omnibus Haunts Appropriators
Reported in today’s edition of Roll Call, Senator Reid is in a ‘wait-and-see’ mode on spending bills. The article goes on to report with 3 months left before the fiscal year ends, the House and Senate are maintaining different timetables for approving all of the spending bills. While the article does not specifically mention Labor-HHS-Ed, it does discuss securing appropriated floor time for all appropriation bills. A former Democratic staffer reportedly stated it’s highly likely one or more short-term Continuing Resolutions will be necessary this fall.
The House has managed to stay on its tight schedule of passing all 12 bills before August, but the Senate has struggled to pass even a single appropriations bill. Aides and lawmakers say keeping spending bills moving through the Senate is key to returning appropriations to regular order — and avoiding an omnibus or continuing resolution.
To read the full article, please click here.
NYTimes: Facing Deficits, Some States Cut Summer School
The New York Times discusses cuts to summer school programs in states across the country as state governments face difficult budget decisions, and in spite of Secretary Duncan’s urgings that stimulus money is used to protect such programs. To read the full article, please click here.
Facing Deficits, Some States Cut Summer School
By SAM DILLON
The New York Times
Published: July 1, 2009…The federal stimulus law is channeling $100 billion to public education, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan has repeatedly urged states and districts to spend part of the money to keep schools open this summer. But thousands of districts have ignored Mr. Duncan’s urgings.
To continue reading, please click here.
AP: California, other states face tough budget choices
The Associated Press reports on the grim financial situations currently facing state governments, and what that might mean for education funding. To read the full article, please click here.
California, other states face tough budget choices
By JUDY LIN,
Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 1, 12:41 pm ETSACRAMENTO, Calif. – Legislators in more than a half-dozen states, their revenues evaporating in the recession, frantically worked to stave off government shutdowns and devastating service cuts. California failed to meet a midnight deadline and now may need to issue IOUs instead of paying bills.
Washington Post: Community Colleges See Demand Spike, Funding Slip
The Washington Post reports on drop in Community College funding at the very time when more students are looking for education options. To read the full article, click here.
Community Colleges See Demand Spike, Funding Slip
By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 1, 2009Hundreds of thousands of students are likely to be turned away from low-cost community colleges across the country over the next year because of funding cuts at the very time that record numbers of students are flocking to the open-admission schools, according to education officials.
