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Monday, June 3, 2013

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, June 3, 2013

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Watts teachers urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns




Education Headlines

Monday, June 3, 2013

Palm Springs Unified School District must borrow to build, but risks maxing out

The Palm Springs Unified School District will pursue a bond of up to $107 million to finish construction projects at local campuses, but the school board must still decide to prioritize savings or flexibility.

Advocates fear Gov. Jerry Brown's school funding plan could hurt small programs

Advocates warn that the California School Age Families Education program, or CalSAFE, and others like it could become casualties of Gov. Jerry Brown's push to streamline California's school funding machinery.

Charters are jackpot for district

The 37,000-student Stockton Unified, for instance, received about $5,200 per student this year, according to the San Joaquin County Office of Education. New Jerusalem's 16 kindergarten students? A bit more than $550,000. Each.

Report: Up to $326 million needed for high school repairs

Orange Unified would have to spend $200 million to $326 million to fix and modernize the district's four aging high schools, according to a consultant's analysis.

Luau launched Sweetwater coziness

According to grand jury testimony released this week by the San Diego Superior Court, construction contractor Jaime Ortiz bought many meals and tickets for officials from the Sweetwater Union High School District. There were sporting events, foundation fund-raisers, campaign donation requests and, always, the dinners.

Teacher saluted for thwarting attempted abduction

For thwarting an attempted kidnapping May 15, Chuck Doolittle was honored by Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz, Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey, Alvord Unified School District board members and Superintendent Nick Ferguson.

From followers to leaders: Transitional kindergarten program gives Humboldt's youngest pupils an extra year

Although some of Humboldt County's 32 school districts planned to gradually phase in the program over the next two years, Pacific Union chose to fully implement the TK program back in August.

Education is missing key for some young immigrants

A high school diploma is a requirement for the federal "deferred action" program. But for many farmworkers, earning wages trumped getting an education. Now they must make some tough decisions.

Berkeley teachers get pay raise after hard fought battle

The school district's 800 teachers have a tentative agreement for a retroactive 2.5 percent raise and a 2.5 percent bonus after going a year without a contract.

LAUSD insurance carrier challenges liability in Miramonte sex-abuse settlements

An insurance carrier for Los Angeles Unified has filed suit against the school district, seeking to avoid paying millions of dollars to settle sex-abuse claims filed by Miramonte Elementary students.

LAUSD board offers conflicting options for spending new revenue

With millions in Proposition 30 dollars trickling in and more revenue promised under Gov. Jerry Brown's school-funding plan, Los Angeles Unified board members are jump-starting the debate over the best way to rebuild a school district devastated by five years of budget cuts.

Watts teachers urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns

Teachers at an embattled Watts campus where the principal was recently ousted under the state parent trigger law are pledging to join forces with other schools to defend themselves from privately led overhaul efforts.

Schools' effort to shift to Common Core faces a difficult test

The move toward standards that teach students to be analytical encounters a bipartisan backlash.

Fensterwald: Q&A - Lessons for California from New Jersey’s ‘Improbable Scholars’

Students in Union City, N.J., get twice the funding of students in California. They attend two years of full-day kindergarten. Recent immigrants to this country are taught initially in their native language. For all their differences, though, there are also some core similarities with California districts like Sanger, Garden Grove and Long Beach, which author David Kirp identifies in his latest book, among the beat-the-odds districts.

School bond campaign reform sought

Critics see underwriters' role in supporting ballot measures as unfair to opponents and say their deals with school districts can leave out competitive bidding.

Skelton: Gov. Jerry Brown is poised for a big victory

California is close to making the most sweeping change in how it spends money on schools since Ronald Reagan was governor four decades ago. And Gov. Jerry Brown is on the verge of a monumental personal triumph — a legacy builder, for better or worse. Nobody really knows.
Friday, May 31, 2013

Retired Ripon superintendent going to Linden Unified

Linden Unified School District trustees have targeted a retired Ripon educator and newly elected city councilman to become interim superintendent roughly one week after the district placed Superintendent Michael Gonzales on paid administrative leave.

Ramona district, teachers settle their differences

The Ramona Unified School District and teachers union have reached a tentative agreement that could put an end to nearly two years of labor strife.

Brand: Sweetwater ways 'didn't seem right'

Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Ed Brand told a criminal grand jury that the way the district operated in 2011, when he returned after a six-year hiatus, "just didn't seem right."