FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 31, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

MCGRATH FAMILY FARM

Camarillo, CA

Education Headlines

Friday, August 31, 2012

Long Beach USD budget cuts eliminate security officers from middle school campuses

With the start of the new school year on Wednesday, middle school students will no longer have campus security officers (CSOs) like Big Mike on school grounds. As part of a round of budget cuts in July, the LBUSD eliminated CSOs at all of its middle schools, cutting about 20 positions.

More Lodi schools behind locked fences

More and more elementary schools in Lodi Unified School District are locked up behind tall fences and gates to prevent theft, said Art Hand, assistant superintendent of facilities and planning.

Eureka homeowners to get tax savings thanks to refinanced school district bond

Eureka City Schools will be saving taxpayers about $2.7 million over the next 13 years after successfully refinancing general obligation bonds to take advantage of a lower interest rate, officials said.

Fensterwald: Fuentes withdraws teacher eval bill; says he ran out of time

AB 5 is dead. Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes withdrew the controversial rewrite of the teacher evaluation law Thursday evening, one day before the end of the legislative session, saying there wasn’t enough time for him and others to review a final set of amendments.

Desert Sands Unified hires superintendent search firm

Desert Sands Unified School District hired an executive search firm Tuesday to help find the district’s next superintendent.

Underwriter bought meals for Poway board

The underwriter of Poway Unified’s controversial $105 million bond deal hosted $2,200 in dinners for the school district’s officials in recent years — most of which they accepted and initially failed to report on state-mandated disclosure forms.

State test results due

Results of the 2012 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program exams are set to be released after 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 31. Inland public schools’ results from the California Standards Tests that students took last spring will be available on www.pe.com once they are released by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

Assemblyman's teacher rating bill shelved

Hotly contested legislation to create a new statewide teacher evaluation system was shelved Thursday night, one day before the Legislature adjourns for the year.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Police cite Simi bus driver for leaving young girl unattended

A Simi Valley Unified School District bus driver has been cited by police for leaving a 5-year-old special education student alone on a parked bus for more than three hours on the first day of school last week, police said Wednesday.

Stockton USD hires new special-ed chief

Stockton Unified's school board hired a new special-education chief Tuesday night to replace Kelly Dextraze, who is leaving the district for a job in Lincoln Unified.

Judge declines to toss wrongful termination lawsuit against West Covina Unified

Although seemingly prepared to throw out a wrongful-termination lawsuit against West Covina Unified by its former superintendent, a judge Wednesday delayed ruling on the merits of the case.