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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

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Fensterwald: State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate




Education Headlines

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Lowder gets 3-year contract extension by 4-3 vote

By the same narrow margin that won him the job seven months ago, Superintendent Steve Lowder received a contract extension, a raise and more job security at Tuesday night's Stockton Unified school board meeting.

Tustin Unified and city settle legal battle

After 35 months of wrangling, and at least $1.5 million paid to lawyers, the legal dispute between Tustin Unified and the city of Tustin ended as the trial was set to start. Officials have officially agreed to settle the disagreement.

San Ysidro legal bill tops $100K

The San Ysidro School District has spent more than $105,000 defending a lawsuit filed in April by a contractor who claims a solar-power deal was wrongly cancelled by public officials.

South County bond guy's deals: $349M

The financier at the center of the South County corruption scandal spent two decades in the municipal finance industry before he was accused of plying public officials with dinners, sporting events and cigars to win approval of bond contracts.

Proposed cancellation of Marin high school program causes uproar

A proposal to end an alternative education program for 11th-graders in the Tamalpais Union High School District has caused an uproar among students, alumni, parents and teachers, who have organized online opposition that has drawn more than several thousand backers.

LAUSD allowed sex abuse at Miramonte, alleges student lawsuit naming superintendents, board members

The attorney for a dozen students who claim they were molested at Miramonte Elementary filed suit Tuesday against a slate of LAUSD administrators, including Superintendent John Deasy and four of his predecessors, saying they knowingly allowed teachers suspected of sex abuse to continue harming students.

Schrag: Uncertainty and unknowns beneath the gloss of Common Core

For state Department of Education officials, from Superintendent Tom Torlakson down, optimism is part of the job description. But California, one of some forty states that have signed up for Common Core, faces an enormous task not only because of the apparent magnitude of the change, but because its education system, and the state Department of Education itself, are so badly strapped in so many ways.

Brentwood school district officials apologize for handling of teacher abuse case

School district administrators and board members Tuesday delivered what at times became an emotional apology to parents for the controversial handling of a special-education teacher's discipline.

Fensterwald: State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate

A state commission has ruled that the state must reimburse school districts about $1 billion in mandated special education costs dating back 20 years. But like many protracted mandate cases, the victory is largely one of principle. Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to include a small payback in next year’s budget, and the dollars will come from funding within Proposition 98, so it will essentially involve shifting education dollars around.

Bill would allow secret armed school ‘marshals’

With Assembly Democrats having proposed a slew of new gun control legislation in the wake of last month’s horrific school massacre in Connecticut, Assembly Republicans are about to roll out a gun-violence plan of their own: Arming teachers or other school employees in secret.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Lowder asks for contract extension

even months into his tenure at Stockton Unified, Superintendent Steve Lowder is asking the school board for a contract extension. The 61-year-old Lowder could be offered a longer, higher-paying contract as soon as tonight's school board meeting.

School bosses get raises amid troubles

With California’s public school system facing economic uncertainties – even with the passage of a tax increase under Proposition 30 – some of the most financially troubled K-12 districts have been elevating the payroll for top administrators, including those in San Ysidro and Ramona.

Sports are a civil right for disabled, government says

Breaking new ground, the U.S. Education Department is telling schools they must include students with disabilities in sports programs or provide equal alternative options. The directive, reminiscent of the Title IX expansion of athletic opportunities for women, could bring sweeping changes to school budgets and locker rooms for years to come.