Feinstein objects to cuts in K-12 jobs bill The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Feinstein objects to cuts in K-12 jobs bill

Posted in Race to the Top, State Budget

California stands to get $1.2 billion for K-12 schools, enabling 13,300 teachers to keep their jobs, according to calculations by the Education Commission of the States, if the U.S. Senate approves – and President Obama signs – a $10 billion education jobs bill that the House a week ago.
But the president is threatening to veto it, even though it once backed a jobs bill three times as large, because the “Keep Our Educators Working Act” also contains $800 million in cuts to his reform initiatives, including a whack out of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund.
Last week, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined a dozen other senators in aletter objecting to the bill as well , which she and the others criticized for creating “a false choice between supporting teachers and supporting these critical reform efforts.” Senators must now come up with alternative cuts in federal spending for the K-12 jobs bill to have any chance of passage before school starts.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on July 9th, 2010

Schools pursuing SIG money identified

Posted in Turning around failing schools

The Dept. of Education has now posted a list of all schools that are applying for School Improvement Grant money. These include 113 of the 188 schools identified as the persistently lowest performing schools in the state, which must commit to substantial reforms for the money, and 51 other schools seeking federal money for school improvements.
Among districts applying for up to $6 million per school are Los Angeles Unified, with 13 schools, San Bernadino Unified with 11 schools, and San Francisco Unified, with nine. Nine charter schools also are seeking grants. The State Board of Education will decide on Aug. 2 which schools get how much money.

By John Fensterwald on July 9th, 2010

Most on ‘worst’ schools list pursue fed grants

Posted in Turning around failing schools

Sixty percent of the state’s 188 “worst” schools ended up applying for federal money to turn their schools around this fall.
The 113 schools – among the persistently lowest performing 5 percent of schools statewide – are more than some predicted would apply, given districts’ anger and frustration over the selection and application process, the tight deadlines, and restrictions on using the money. Many schools could get far less than the amount they’re requesting. Nonetheless, the possibility of getting as much as $2 million per year for the next three years ultimately was enough to lure many cash-strapped districts to apply by last Friday’s deadline.
(Read more and comment on this post)