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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

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Education Headlines

Wednesday, May 9, 2012


Lodi Unified says plans 'stable' for 2012-13 school year

The Lodi Unified School District remains in position to fully implement an estimated $215 million spending plan for 2012-13.

Bret Harte kids bring their own computers

Bret Harte Union High School District will continue its “Bring Your Own Device” program next year, after a successful spring trial run that allowed students to use their own laptops and other electronic devices for academic work on campus.

Schools benefit changes could take until 2014

San Diego schools have put together a timeline to determine whether they’re getting a good deal on $167 million of annual health benefits for employees, and the process could take 19 months.

Twin Rivers Unified's legal tab nearly $1 million for 4 months; union seeks audit

Outside legal counsel for Twin Rivers Unified billed the north area school district nearly $1 million in the past four months, prompting renewed calls by its teachers union for an audit.

Teachers, school district at impasse

Teachers in the Jurupa Unified School District, who are at an impasse in contract negotiations with district officials, took their message to the streets on Monday, May 7.

Modesto teachers, district reach an impasse

The Modesto Teachers Association has come to an impasse with Modesto City Schools after negotiations between the two sides broke down over cuts to the Child Development Program and proposed salary restorations.

Palm Springs USD to cut 40 jobs

About 40 teachers and support staff will be laid off from Palm Springs Unified School District this year, the Board of Education decided Tuesday.

LAUSD approves $2M for New Media and Technology Center at Granada Hills Charter High School

Granada Hills Charter High got the OK Tuesday for a $2 million New Media and Technology Center that will add 200 seats to the nation's largest charter campus.

Moraga's Measure A short of passing

With 5,324 ballots tallied Tuesday evening, Measure A, an annual $225-per-parcel tax, was 334 votes short of passing. While 64.58 percent of voters approve of the measure, that number is short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.

Potrero Hill elementary school is a success story

Six years ago, they were idealistic new moms living on Potrero Hill and embarking on an unlikely quest: saving their neighborhood school, Daniel Webster Elementary, from closure by the San Francisco school board.

School districts on edge of insolvency hit record high

The number of California school districts at risk of failing to meet their near-term financial obligations has reached an all-time high and is likely to increase between now and June, the state’s watchdog on school finance reported Tuesday.

Details emerging about Brown’s revised school financing plan

Gov. Jerry Brown will unveil his revised May budget on Monday amid growing signs the administration’s plan for restructuring school financing will differ significantly from the current proposal.

Weighted formula in waiting

With the cancellation of today’s joint hearing with the Senate and Assembly Education Committees, the Brown administration has dodged – for now – tough questioning on the governor’s plan for a weighted student formula.

Education leaders call for overhaul of state’s school accountability system

As state education leaders consider whether to seek a waiver from the most onerous provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind, they are also proposing a “comprehensive review” of the state’s accountability system put in place in 1999.

Arts high school students walk out to protest proposed budget cuts

More than 1,000 students from the Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts walked from their downtown campus to school district headquarters Tuesday afternoon to protest budget cuts that have the potential to devastate the school’s arts program.

All L.A. Unified students must pass college-prep courses

The Los Angeles Unified School District will require all students to pass a college-preparatory curriculum beginning next fall. The Class of 2016, next year's ninth-graders, will be the first in the nation's second-largest school system who must take those courses needed to apply to a four-year state university.

Columnist: L.A. Unified's annual dance of death

They're doing the dance again — the soul-sapping, time-wasting annual ritual of figuring out how many of society's most important public servants to push off a cliff. RIF season, some call it, for Reduction in Force.

Report: California's public schools face crushing stress levels

California's public schools may be facing unprecedented levels of pressure as they try to teach an increasing number of children in poverty with fewer employees and a continual threat of cutbacks, a report by the Mountain View-based research group EdSource found.