LAO proposes even shorter year, fewer special-purpose funds, changes to teacher layoff deadline - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

LAO proposes even shorter year, fewer special-purpose funds, changes to teacher layoff deadline - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

LAO proposes even shorter year, fewer special-purpose funds, changes to teacher layoff deadline

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 10:28 pm in No Comments

Given the financial stresses facing California school districts and the uncertain outcome of Gov. Jerry Brown’sNovember tax initiative, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office thinks state lawmakers should:

1. reduce the minimum school year from 175 to 170 days
2. remove the strings attached to even more special-purpose funding streams, such as Partnership Academies and K-3 class-size reduction funding. (To see what might happen to such programs when districts can use the money for any legal purpose, look no further than to adult education, which lost its protections in 2009.)
3. lift restrictions on outside contracts for services not related to teaching (food services, clerical, maintenance)
4. make major changes to the teacher layoff timeline, including a rolling emergency layoff window in the