Connecticut’s Holiday “Budget Deficit Roadmap” uses state credit card for (again)
by jonpelto
On December 19, 2012, the 2011-2012 Connecticut General Assembly will meet one more time, this time for a special session to deal with Connecticut’s growing budget deficit.
Call it the Holiday Special Session, or perhaps more aptly, it should be called the, “let’s cut vital human services the week before Christmas” Special Session.
In addition to the $123 million the Governor already cut from this year’s budget using his rescission authority, Malloy has now proposed an additional $220 million in cuts. These cuts, however, would require legislative approval.
The hardest hit agencies are the social services provided by the Department of Social
Achievement First – Hartford: A disturbing history of losing students along the way
Achievement First – Hartford: A disturbing history of losing students along the way
by jonpelto
What is really going on at Achievement First – Hartford?
One of the most serious criticisms of the charter school industry is that they “cherry-pick” their students. In a world in which poverty, language barriers and the need for special education services are the three greatest factors limiting educational outcomes, charter schools have a lower percentage of poor students, fail to accept and keep their fair share of students who aren’t fluent in English and take far fewer students who need special education services.
Charter schools brag that their students get higher scores on standardized tests, but of course they do, when they fail to take the students who are most likely to need extra help.
The fact is simple and stark; despite a so-called “open enrollment process,” charter