FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, March 18, 2014

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Education Headlines

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Hacienda La Puente school district considers selling land to pay for new school

The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District listened to three consultants Monday morning at a special school board meeting. The local district wants to build a new school at Wedgeworth Elementary in Hacienda Heights to replace the portable classrooms that have housed the school for more than 40 years.

Adams: Electric school buses roll out in effort to reduce emissions

An all-electric school bus quietly began transporting students in the Escondido Union High School District on Thursday, part of a state-funded pilot program meant to introduce districts to the merits of bus fleets that are electric-powered, emissions-free and silent.

Lawsuit: Clovis North staffer asked 2 students to do campus drug sting

Two Clovis North High School students have sued the Clovis Unified School District, saying a school employee asked them to participate in a drug sting on campus without the consent of their parents or police.

School district seeks $29M bond

The Coronado Unified School District’s governing board has voted to place a $29 million bond proposal on the June ballot. If the measure passes, funds would be used on facilities, equipment and technology in the five-campus district.

Encinitas suggests joint-use arts center for Pacific View site

Encinitas school district officials said Monday they’ll give the city of Encinitas until Friday to submit an offer of at least $9.5 million for the former Pacific View School site or an auction planned for next week will go forward.

Antioch Unified files counter charter petition for Dozier-Libbey

In yet another twist in the petition effort by teachers at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School to turn the health care-themed public school into a charter, Antioch Unified officials announced they have filed their own petition.

EdTracker: EdSource’s guide to education legislation

EdSource will focus on a number of key bills through our EdTracker, reporting their status as they go through the legislative process. Our list will likely expand in coming weeks.

New school funds should go to needy students first, group says

A citywide coalition of community groups is demanding that 80% of $1 billion in new school funding headed to L.A. Unified be spent on needy students according to decisions made by local schools rather than district bureaucrats.

Stanford study highlights gains at Los Angeles charter schools

A new Stanford University study finds that Los Angeles charter school students are making significant gains in learning compared with their district school peers.

Monday, March 17, 2014

San Juan considers shutting 76-year-old Sylvan Middle School

The aging, deteriorating Sylvan Middle School campus in Citrus Heights would close in 2016 under one proposal before San Juan Unified School District trustees.

Modesto Teachers Association weighs split with CTA

The Modesto Teachers Association will vote on breaking away from its statewide affiliate in April, President Doug Burton announced. The Modesto City Schools union will hold a series of meetings for its members before the vote.

Pact reached in Tracy Unified

Negotiators for teachers and the Tracy Unified School District broke their three-month impasse late Thursday, reaching a tentative contract agreement calling for a 3 percent raise, a 1.65 percent one-time payment and several changes in working conditions teachers had requested.

Stanislaus Union District special education changes unsettle families

Changes are being made to cut costs, but families say some siblings will have to go to separate schools and others students will be forced to walk farther to their bus stops.

Beverly Hills principal cleared in sports camp probe

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has concluded its investigation into Beverly Hills High School Principal Carter Paysinger and the for-profit summer sports camp he owned — clearing him of any criminal wrongdoing, authorities said Thursday.

California schools issue few pink slips

This year, many fewer teachers than before are receiving the tentative pink slips. The California Teachers Association, which represents the majority of the state's K-12 teachers, on Friday estimated that just over 1,000 members would be told they risk being laid off.

Parents see "sexting" discovery at middle schools as learning tool

As police continue to investigate allegations that more than a dozen East Contra Costa middle school students shared sexually explicit pictures on their cellphones, school officials and parents said Friday the case reinforces the importance of teaching kids to act responsibly on the Internet.

Galt Joint Union High School District approves layoffs

At the end of the school year, the Galt Joint Union High School District will likely lay off the equivalent of five employees, including an assistant principal. The decision was made by the school board at its regular meeting this week.

Centinela Valley school district spends more than double the state average on administration

The same school district that made Jose Fernandez perhaps the most highly compensated superintendent in California last year also spends two-and-a-half times the state average on its administration as a whole.

How much should your school districts spend on disadvantaged students?

As the July 1 deadline for creating district spending plans is looming under the state's new Local Control Funding Formula, school officials should be asking parents how they believe money should be spent to best serve their children.

Deadline passes with few teacher layoffs in Southern California

Although California public school districts aren’t exactly flush with cash, the Ides of March appears to have passed without major layoffs in Southern California school districts.

Frey: National report highlights racial disparities in suspensions

In schools across the nation, African American boys receive harsher penalties than white students for the same offense; there is no evidence that “bad” students need to be removed from class so “good” students can learn; and poverty does not fully explain racial disparities in discipline, according to the findings of a series of reports  released Thursday.

Fensterwald: State Board makes it official: No API scores for next two year

With federal approval finally in hand to give a Common Core-aligned practice test this spring, the State Board of Education took the inevitable next step this week. It suspended the Academic Performance Index, the chief measure of schools’ academic growth or progress, for this year and next.