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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

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Education Headlines

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Soulsbyville, Twain Harte could share Winfield

Twain Harte-Long Barn Union School District will decide this week on whether to share a superintendent with Soulsbyville School District.

San Luis Coastal's budget deficit puts 43 jobs at risk

San Luis Coastal Unified School District could cut more than 43 jobs, eliminate bus transportation for high school students and postpone installing Wi-Fi capabilities at its high schools.

Coachella Valley High School assistant principal will avoid awards ceremony

A Coachella Valley High School assistant principal, who may be removed from his post during a school board meeting Tuesday, has declined to be honored at a local education awards ceremony later this week.

Salinas district teacher contract stalled on class sizes

Putting the final touches on a new contract between teachers and the Salinas Union High School District comes down to one longstanding issue - class sizes.

California Assembly passes bill limiting schools' use of risky bonds

The Assembly voted Monday to limit the use of facilities-improvement bonds that allow school districts to delay repayment for decades while interest obligations accumulate.

Commission says union donation to Twin Rivers board president was legal

Twin Rivers Unified board President Cortez Quinn legally accepted money from the teachers union to help pay a previous fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission, the watchdog agency determined Monday.

Needy students may get bus service

Some of San Diego’s neediest students who face long and sometimes dangerous walks to and from school would be eligible for free city bus passes under a proposal set to go before the board of education Tuesday.

Ramona school district takes strike precautions

The Ramona school board was working Monday to take steps to prepare for a potential teachers strike. An “emergency resolution” would give district administrators the authority to take action in the event of a strike, such as hiring substitute teachers, Superintendent Robert Graeff said.

Butte County schools begin active-shooter training to sharpen response plans

In the wake of the mass killings last December at an elementary school in Connecticut, local school officials are taking steps to improve on the plans they have in place, should it happen in Butte County.

Modesto City Schools to proceed with Enochs pool

Enochs High sophomores may be splashing in their own pool as seniors after the Modesto City Schools board decided to go ahead with the project. Board members voted 6-1, with Rubén Villalobos dissenting, to dive into building a basic aquatics facility at the school, using development fees being collected from north Modesto subdivisions to pay for it.

Granada Hills Charter High buys Pinecrest Northridge campus for $5.6M

Granada Hills Charter High School has purchased the Northridge campus of the private Pinecrest Schools for $5.6 million, with an eye toward expanding its presence in the north San Fernando Valley, officials said Monday.

LAUSD college-prep plan faces uphill struggle, Harvard study says

A Harvard study released Monday found that just 16 percent of LAUSD's Class of 2011 passed the classes needed to attend California's public universities, an indicator of the challenges facing the district as it makes rigorous college-prep courses a requirement for graduation.

UCLA report: Public school suspension policies do more harm than good

A report released Monday by UCLA's Civil Rights Project finds that suspensions affected as many as one-in-nine students beyond the elementary level. The report, titled "Out of School & Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools" looked at U.S. Department of Education data for 26,000 schools across the country.
Monday, April 8, 2013

Coast Unified employees thinking about the unthinkable

Cambria schools, students and teachers could be safer now, thanks to a daylong in-service day Monday, April 1, at which Coast Unified School District teachers, administrators, coaches, bus drivers and other staff members were taught how to prepare for, act and react during an attack or an "active shooter" incident.

Fate of New Millennium charter school rests with Fresno Unified

The future of a southwest Fresno charter school that the county grand jury says has "failed miserably" to educate students now rests with Fresno Unified officials who have been criticized for inadequate oversight of the school.

The Public Eye: FPPC reviews teachers union's donation to Twin Rivers trustee Quinn

Twin Rivers Unified School District board President Cortez Quinn was fined once by the state's political watchdog agency. Now he faces additional scrutiny for paying at least part of his initial fine with a donation from the teachers union.

Oakland Unified superintendent Tony Smith resigns to be with family in Chicago

In a move that stunned colleagues and parents, Oakland Unified school Superintendent Tony Smith announced his resignation Friday after nearly four years marked by a fractious school board and precarious finances.