Klein reverses elimination of schools’ rainy-day funds | GothamSchools

Klein reverses elimination of schools’ rainy-day funds | GothamSchools:

"A week after informing principals that they would be prohibited from saving extra money this year to pad next year’s sure-to-be-slim budget, Chancellor Joel Klein has reversed his decision.

In an e-mail sent to principals this morning, Klein said the city’s budget office had figured out how to let principals roll money forward to next year after all. Only schools whose budgets meet criteria “to prudently set aside money” will be allowed to do so, Klein said.

The reversal puts back on the table a key strategy that many principals use to reduce the impact of imminent budget cuts. About half of principals managed to save money during the 2008-2009 school year, together rolling over $95 million into this year’s budget. The funds mitigated against the 5 percent budget cut announced last May."

Throwing the Race: Assembly must not wreck charter schools and lose federal aid

Throwing the Race: Assembly must not wreck charter schools and lose federal aid:

"With just days to go before the Legislature must pass education reforms for New York to have a shot at up to $700 million in federal Race to the Top aid, fears are mounting that Albany is about to attempt a destructive bait-and-switch con.

The issue is charter schools. Education Secretary Arne Duncan made clear he will deny money to states that limit the growth of these successful, privately run but publicly funded schools.

Here in New York, Democratic lawmakers in the thrall of the teachers union have resisted charters every which way they can. The opposition has been especially strong in Speaker Sheldon Silver's Assembly, which has capped the number of charters at 200."

AFL-CIO backing teachers union against Gov. Paterson's education reform package, putting at risk New York application for federal aid - NYPOST.com

AFL-CIO backing teachers union against Gov. Paterson's education reform package, putting at risk New York application for federal aid - NYPOST.com:

"The state's powerful, 2.5-million-member AFL-CIO is using its muscle in a bid to thwart Gov. Paterson's plan to lift the cap on charter schools and undermine cash-starved New York's effort to qualify for $700 million in federal education aid, sources said.

The drive is targeting all of Paterson's proposals, which include granting charter schools access to public funds for building construction -- and striking a law that bars school districts from weighing student performance in teacher-tenure decisions.

'We're opposed to it,' an AFL-CIO insider said, referring to the governor's legislation.

The AFL-CIO is a massive umbrella labor organization whose membership includes the teachers unions, District Council 37 and the building trades."

Chicago News Cooperative - New Group Pushes to Improve Chicago Literacy Rate - NYTimes.com

Chicago News Cooperative - New Group Pushes to Improve Chicago Literacy Rate - NYTimes.com:

"Twice a month, Ava Zeligson stands in front of 55 strangers and, with her infectious enthusiasm, explains why each of them can make a difference in the battle against Chicago’s deeply entrenched illiteracy rate."



Ms. Zeligson is the volunteer coordinator for Open Books, the latest addition to the city’s crowded field of literacy organizations. The fact that nearly everyone who attends an Open Books orientation session goes on to volunteer is testament, at least in part, to her powers of persuasion. The fact that anyone shows up in the first place shows the wide appeal of Open Books’ mission and its relentlessly upbeat, cheerfully aggressive approach to voluntary recruitment.
“I knew immediately it was the right place for me,” said Erica Hawkinson, 28, a bilingual elementary teacher. Ms. Hawkinson had been shopping for volunteer opportunities at literacy organizations when she saw the Open Books Web site, which, thanks to an abundance of exclamation points, is almost as enthusiastic as Ms. Zeligson’s pitch.

Albany's race to the bottom - NYPOST.com

Albany's race to the bottom - NYPOST.com:

"Once again, lawmakers in Albany are maneuvering to sell out New York's kids -- this time, to the tune of $700 million. Even as the state is grappling with a $7 billion budget deficit.

And all to please their union bosses.

Their specific crime?

Blocking meaningful reforms needed to snag federal funds through the Team Obama's $4.35 billion Race to the Top program -- as Tuesday's deadline to apply for the cash nears.

RTTP winners will be chosen based on how states move to improve schools. By resisting, lawmakers (particularly in the Assembly) not only risk the federal cash, they also lock in inferior schools. Stabbing kids in the back -- twice."

Head Start Study Finds Brief Learning Gains [Education Week, Bethesda, Md.]

Head Start Study Finds Brief Learning Gains [Education Week, Bethesda, Md.]:

"Jan. 14--Participation in Head Start has positive effects on children's learning while they are in the program, but most of the advantage they gain disappears by the end of 1st grade, a federal impact study of Head Start programs says.

A large-scale randomized control study of nearly 5,000 children released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week shows that a group of children who entered Head Start at age 4 benefited from a year in the program, particularly in learning language and literacy. Benefits included learning vocabulary, letter-word recognition, spelling, color identification, and letter naming, compared with children of the same age in a control group who didn't attend Head Start.

Benefits for children who entered Head Start at age 3 were even stronger. By the end of Head Start, the group that had entered at age 3 showed gains in most of the language and learning areas that the 4-year-old group had, but also showed benefits in learning math, pre-writing skills, and perceptual motor skills."

UCSF: Synapse: Current Issue: Synapse Interviews Chancellor Desmond-Hellmann

UCSF: Synapse: Current Issue:

Synapse Interviews Chancellor Desmond-Hellmann

"In a wide-ranging interview, Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann outlined her strategy to rein in student fee increases and enthusiastically expressed her support for “the best and the brightest” who work to make UCSF “this fantastic place.”

When asked about the cycle of student fee increases at the University of California, she responded: “I’m really concerned about this.” In the face of California’s continuing budget crunch, she said, “the legislators – our state – hasn’t adequately funded what we need for education in our state, higher education specifically.”

Better advocacy, holding onto top talent at the university, and more efficiency, she said, are among ways to deal with the problem."

Ca. Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Election of New Senate Republican Leader : Thu, 14 Jan 2010 : California Newswire™

Ca. Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Election of New Senate Republican Leader : Thu, 14 Jan 2010 : California Newswire™:

"SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement congratulating Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) on his election as the next Senate Republican Leader:

“Senator Bob Dutton has been a tremendous advocate for the Californians in his district and I congratulate him on his election as the next Senate Republican Leader. As vice chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, I am confident that he understands the importance of addressing California’s fiscal challenges as quickly as possible. I look forward to working together with him and my fellow Republicans in the Senate to invest in California’s economy by creating jobs, prioritizing education and getting our state on the right track.”"

Kang: Higher education is a strategic investment - Community Voices - Modbee.com

Kang: Higher education is a strategic investment - Community Voices - Modbee.com:

"Californians can be heartened by Gov. Schwarzenegger's bold call for a constitutional amendment to ensure our state spends more to provide higher education to its people than to imprison them. This common-sense reordering of funding priorities, if successful, may be the most significant accomplishment for California since the invention of the silicon chip.

The simple logic of providing our young people the best possible chance to succeed in this world — so they aren't drawn to a life of criminal behavior — is easy to see. Yet somehow the equation has flipped over the years resulting in an increase in spending to lock people away rather than to unlock their potential.

This has to change. It's not just a matter of fairness. The great success California has enjoyed in so many fields is largely due to our world- renowned public university system. For decades, California's high school graduates have enrolled in the University of California system to get a quality, affordable education and prepare themselves to be productive members of society. Innovation, entrepreneurial genius, economic growth and prosperity quickly followed"

Glendale News Press > Archives > Education > Educators to brace for losses

Glendale News Press > Archives > Education > Educators to brace for losses:

"GLENDALE — For local education officials, the sky keeps falling.

Glendale Unified School District expects a cut of up to $5.8 million, and Burbank Unified stands to lose $3 million annually, according to estimates from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals unveiled Jan. 8.

“We’re looking at five years at least before we begin to think about getting back to what we were getting,” said Lori Ordway-Peck, Burbank Unified School District interim deputy superintendent. “And yet, we’re being asked to do more, achieve greater results and absorb higher costs of operation. Something’s got to give . . . public education is at a point where it cannot continue to do this.”

Factoring in the latest cuts steepens Glendale Unified’s projected deficit to almost $50 million in 2012-13, up from a previous estimate of $32 million. Burbank officials came into 2009-10 having made cuts to reach a balanced three-year budget, but will have to make additional cuts next year to close the $3-million annual loss."

U.S. Education Secretary Duncan urges change for NCAA, NBA - washingtonpost.com

U.S. Education Secretary Duncan urges change for NCAA, NBA - washingtonpost.com:

"Amid a flurry of scandals and controversial coaching moves in college sports, Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Thursday urged the NCAA to hold coaches more accountable for nefarious behavior and for the NBA to drop its age restriction that essentially forces players to attend college for at least one year.

In a speech made during the NCAA Convention in Atlanta, Duncan, a former co-captain of the Harvard basketball team, said the NCAA should ban teams with low graduation rates from postseason play and suspend coaches who run afoul of the rules. In a telephone interview, Duncan later added that 'some of this insanity we are seeing around the country' stains college athletics."

State faces slow economic recovery: Chiang paints gloomy picture of state's future - Oroville Mercury Register

State faces slow economic recovery: Chiang paints gloomy picture of state's future - Oroville Mercury Register:

"CHICO -- Anyone looking for upbeat news in California State Controller John Chiang's words Thursday had to dig deep.
There are solutions to California's fiscal woes, Chiang suggested, but California legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger need to make 'hard decisions' to get there.

'Over the next couple of months, the governor and Legislature need to act strongly,' predicting that at the end of March, California will fall below its cash cushion to pay the bills unless steps are taken."

Capitol Weekly: The state budget: a mixture of hope and hard choices

Capitol Weekly: The state budget: a mixture of hope and hard choices:

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presented his $83 billion 2009-2010 budget last week. This budget is based on hope and hard choices.

The hope is for economic recovery and for nearly $7 billion in help from Washington. The hard choices are more cuts in government spending. Almost every part of government will experience additional cuts with the exception of higher education that receives a slight increase.

I agree with the Governor that the Legislature must act with great urgency to bring our current year budget into balance. Our budget problems are so severe that we cannot afford to wait to make the honest budget choices required to get our state’s finances back on track. Also, it is imprudent, at best, to believe that California will receive any meaningful support from Washington for legitimate federal expenses born by the state, such as those associated with the incarceration of criminal illegal aliens in our prisons. It’s critical that we get to work immediately to address $21 billion in deficits this year and next through a mixture of cuts, efficiencies and reforms. The long-term solution to this crisis is to remove governmental barriers to economic growth and make California job creation the state’s number one goal."

University of California applications set record - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

University of California applications set record - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"University of California campuses from Davis to San Diego saw dramatic increases in the number of transfer students applying for the fall of 2010, fueling a rise in applications statewide to their largest number ever despite steep hikes in student fees, according to data released Thursday by UC's Office of the President.

A record 134,029 students applied to UC during the application period that closed Nov. 30 – even though regents voted earlier in November to raise fees by 32 percent. The increase in freshmen applicants was modest – 2.4 percent. In contrast, transfer applications were up 17.5 percent statewide."

K-State Collegian - K-State hosts historic speech

K-State Collegian - K-State hosts historic speech:

"On Jan. 19, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd of over 7,000 in Ahearn Field House on the campus of K-State University; the title of his speech was “The Future of Integration.” He was invited to present an “all University Convocation,” although today it is often assumed that he was a speaker in the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series on Public Issues. It is worth noting that the Landon Lecture Series was in its infancy at that time with Alf Landon giving the inaugural presentation on Dec. 13, 1966, followed by three speakers in 1967. As early as July 1967, King was invited to be a Convocations speaker in January of 1968. The Convocations Series had been established in 1963 with Harry Golden, an American Jewish author and publisher, delivering the first talk on April 3. The subject of his remarks was racial equality!"

Kathryn Matayoshi - Name in the News - Starbulletin.com

Kathryn Matayoshi - Name in the News - Starbulletin.com:

"Never let it be said that Kathryn Matayoshi shrinks from a challenge. After only six months with the state Department of Education, the Hilo native finds herself leading the nation's 10th-largest school district during a painful cost-cutting era."

The 52-year-old attorney was catapulted into the top job by the abrupt retirement of Pat Hamamoto, who had recruited her as deputy superintendent last July from the Hawaii Business Roundtable, where she was executive director.

As deputy, Matayoshi spearheaded the DOE's pending request for highly competitive federal education grants known as "Race to the Top." Now, as interim superintendent, she oversees the statewide public school system — 258 schools serving 172,000 students — as it copes with Furlough Fridays that have slashed class time and faces more budget cuts over the next two years that could force layoffs and school closures.

Bay Area school districts apply for Race to the Top - Inside Bay Area

Bay Area school districts apply for Race to the Top - Inside Bay Area:

"SACRAMENTO — Dozens of school districts have joined their county offices of education in bids to be part of the historic national Race to the Top education reform program.
In Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, all three offices of education are on board, along with more than half of each county's districts. Statewide, 760 local educational agencies representing 57 percent of kindergarten-through-12th grade students attending public schools have signed on to partner in California's Race to the Top application, which will seek a share of $4.35 billion in funding that could total about $700 million for the state."

SAC CHARTERGATE: Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot

SAC CHARTERGATE: Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot

Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot

In a preliminary ruling issued today, the court declared that the initiative process cannot be used to revise the Sacramento City Charter, embracing a key argument brought by former Johnson backer Bill Camp. 

The Sacramento Bee has the story. Strong mayor backers will work to seek a reversal at a hearing tomorrow afternoon.

The Sacramento Press reports Johnson's reaction:

“I think it was a temporary setback,

Mayor Kevin Johnson Statement regarding tentative ruling on strong mayor initiative

Mayor Kevin Johnson  Statement regarding tentative ruling on strong mayor initiative

Good Evening-

As you may know, a judge issued a tentative ruling this afternoon blocking the strong mayor initiative from appearing on the June ballot. 

Click here to read the Sacramento Bee article on Judge McMaster’s ruling.

Sacramentans for Accountable Government legal counsel, Tom Hiltachk, released the following statement:

“We are disappointed with the court’s tentative ruling but we are confident that this is only a temporary setback and that the strong mayor initiative will still be on the June ballot. Our first step will be to appear in court tomorrow and try to convince the judge to reverse this tentative ruling.”

Click here to read Tom Hiltachk’s statement in its entirety.

The next step is a hearing tomorrow afternoon. Please check the Sacramentans for Accountable Government website for updates.

Sacramento City schools facing "devastating" cuts | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Sacramento City schools facing "devastating" cuts | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento City Unified School District is looking at huge budget cuts, described by its new superintendent  as "devastating."

Supt. Jonathan Raymond said after studying Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal, the district's target for cuts went from $18.5 million to what could be $28-$30 million.

"Those are devastating figures on top of $144 million which we've cut over the last six to seven years," said Raymond "All bets are off. Everything is on the table."

Raymond said SCUSD is seeking ideas from the community. A community forum was held this week, and next Tuesday, Jan. 19, the district will launch an online survey to get ideas from members of the community. Raymond is also talking with teacher and staff unions as he works to come up with a balanced budget plan.