Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, August 22, 2013

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, August 22, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:


Hoping for a visit from the money fairy Southern California charter school leader running for state superintendent | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC



Education Headlines

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Survey suggests Conejo Valley voters would support school bond

A survey of Conejo Valley voters has found modest support for a $229 million school bond measure to raise money for science and technology upgrades, infrastructure repairs and campus safety.

Chico district being cautious in face of enrollment dip

A report that was going to highlight some of the rosy fiscal news in the Chico Unified School District was shelved Wednesday night when an entirely unexpected dip in enrollment hit during the first days of the new school year.

Supervisors reject school bonds due to district’s financial woes

As Garden Grove school officials stare down a major structural budget deficit, the Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday rejected their request to issue $120 million in bonds for infrastructure repairs.

Private police for public schools?

They huddled in coffee shops, diners, and conference rooms – former cops itching, on some level, to get back in the game. One guy knew another who knew another. Soon, a loose affiliation of ex-law enforcement types congealed into about a dozen. What brought them together? The horror of Dec. 14, 2012, when a madman armed for slaughter fatally shot 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Response to abuse report called 'pathetic'

The San Diego Unified School District has formed a focus group to address lingering questions about how it deals with adult-to-student bullying, according to a recently released report.

State Supreme Court to decide charter school access to LAUSD campuses

More than 12 years after California voters decreed that independent charters should have access to public school facilities, Los Angeles Unified remains embroiled in a legal battle over how to share its campus space with charters that request it.

Families of eight special needs students sue district claiming teacher abuse

The families of eight special needs students sued former teacher Dina Holder, her principal and other Brentwood school district employees Wednesday, claiming they failed to report abuse suspicions appropriately and alert the community that Holder was a convicted child abuser.

Fensterwald: Schools rising from budget depths, EdSource report finds

With the passage of Proposition 30 and implementation of a new funding system channeling more money to most districts this fall, the 2012-13 school year will be the base for measuring how well schools recover from the Great Recession. Yet as EdSource documents in a report issued Thursday, there will be a steep climb out of the trough.

Public opposes use of test scores in teacher reviews, poll shows

In a reversal of public opinion, a majority of Americans now oppose using student test scores to evaluate teachers and more believe that increased testing has hurt rather than helped improve public schools, a new survey shows.

Lawmakers OK probe of accrediting panel over CCSF

California lawmakers voted Wednesday to investigate whether the accrediting commission that is threatening to shut down City College of San Francisco is doing its job right.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Twin Rivers employees call for an end to administrators' pension perks

Twin Rivers Unified School District employees and union officials called on the school board to end pension perks to top administrators at a meeting Tuesday night.

Oxford Preparatory enrollment increases

With approval from the Capistrano Unified School District, Oxford Preparatory Academy, a K-8 charter school in Mission Viejo, is bumping its fall enrollment by 92 students, in part to accommodate existing students’ younger siblings.

Supervisors nix Garden Grove Unified's bond deal

Garden Grove Unified’s efforts to remodel its aging schools were left uncertain Tuesday after the Orange County supervisors declined the district’s request to borrow an additional $120 million.

Ex-Glendora Unified employee arrested in missing cash case

Glendora police detectives on Tuesday arrested a 35-year employee of the Glendora Unified School District after investigators uncovered the misappropriation of more than $350,000 in district funds.