FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, February 12, 2014

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Charter schools association continues push to weed out low-scoring schools | EdSource Today

Salinas joins effort to save ag education funding

As if the drought gripping California wasn’t enough to worry about, hundreds of Salinas Valley youths face the drying up of a key source of funding if Gov. Jerry Brown succeeds in eliminating $4.1 million for high school agriculture programs.

Monterey Peninsula USD transcript changes: Policies to blame, report says

Unclear and contradictory board policies and practices at the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District paved the way for changing the transcripts of 93 students. That was one of the major conclusions reached by Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski and her team of investigators after they conducted an audit behind the changes to the transcripts.

Novato school district planning use for Hamilton property

Novato Unified School District has been gifted a large piece of property from the military and district leaders are now trying to figure out what to do with it.

Ex-school board member charged with stealing $750,000

A former board member for a Newport Beach-based charter school district was arrested this week on charges he stole $750,000 in school funds for personal use.

San Ysidro schools face $12M judgment

A San Diego County Superior Court jury on Tuesday awarded a solar-power company $12 million in damages against the San Ysidro School District, already facing significant financial troubles.

StudentsFirst forming small donor campaign fund for local, state elections

Sacramento-based StudentsFirst is seeking to expand its political clout in California by asking its members to contribute to a new election campaign fund.

Fensterwald: Charter schools association continues push to weed out low-scoring schools

Upping its campaign to root out what it views as its lowest performing schools, the California Charter Schools Association last week criticized a San Jose school district for allowing a charter school to open two more campuses next year.

L.A. school board rejects proposal to put a caretaker in vacant seat

A proposal to appoint a caretaker to a vacant Los Angeles Board of Education seat failed Tuesday when a majority of the remaining trustees refused to support it.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Conejo Valley Unified expects to have budget surplus next fiscal year

The Conejo Valley Unified School District will likely have a $2 million surplus in its general fund next fiscal year, officials said this week.

Rowland Unified offers teachers 3.5 percent raise

The Rowland Unified School District has offered 700 teachers and counselors a 3.5 percent raise and an increase in the contribution to health care benefits, according to a district document released shortly before today’s board meeting.

Baldwin Park teachers, district at impasse in health benefit dispute

A dispute over health benefits is expected to draw hundreds of frustrated teachers to Tuesday’s Baldwin Park Unified school board meeting.

Salinas schools' salad for lunch bunch

In the war to capture America’s future consumers, the public schools aren’t exactly turning the tide toward better nutrition but they are winning some battles.

Natomas 7-year-old wandered off campus for hours, parents say

Seven-year-old Samaya Dillard wandered across major intersections, over a freeway and through a Natomas shopping center parking lot on a cold December day while her classmates at Jefferson Elementary School sharpened their reading skills.

Calif. ranks 6th in US on AP exam participation

California often ranks near the bottom of national measures of education quality and student achievement, but a new report puts the state ahead of the curve when it comes to the number of public school students enrolling in Advanced Placement classes and doing well enough to earn college credits.

Proposed Monterey Peninsula USD charter school not likely to make the cut

Sometimes, what you need to improve education is to create a brand new school, Vadim Nazarenko believes. So the Ukranian linguist is proposing, for the second time in less than a year, to create a charter school in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. And for the second time, administrators will recommend the charter be denied.

School suspension rates decline

Fewer students were suspended across the Inland area and California in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12.

Centinela Valley schools chief amassed $663,000 in compensation in 2013

The superintendent of the Centinela Valley high school district negotiated a contract so loaded with out-of-the-ordinary perks that he managed to amass more than $663,000 in total compensation last year.

Lodi Unified School District trustees consider ending health, driver’s education requirements

High school students in Lodi who hope to be competitive when applying to college say they are having trouble fitting the required driver’s education and health classes into their schedules.