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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Fensterwald: Brown’s school funding formula lauded, then picked apart at hearing





Education Headlines

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Bolinas, Stinson Beach voters will face school tax increase

Voters in Stinson Beach and Bolinas will soon be asked to renew an annual $250-per-parcel schools tax and increase it by $50 after officials voted to place an initiative on the June 4 ballot.

Desert Sands Unified School District board member, Matt Monica, lashes out

A school board meeting escalated to a shouting match last week when a group in the audience stood up to leave during board discussion of potential layoffs.

Twin Rivers board OKs preliminary layoffs for 101 employees

The Twin Rivers Unified school board switched direction Tuesday night and voted to send pink slips to 101 employees before the state-mandated deadline Friday.

Bond uncertainty concerns Grossmont committee

Although the Grossmont Union High School District won’t lay off any teachers in the coming school year, the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee’s annual report warned that finances are still a concern.

Sweetwater axes career technical education program

After Sweetwater Union High School District attorney Daniel Shinoff delivered a 45-minute address on the importance of decorum between board members and the public, trustees got down to business Monday night at their monthly board meeting in the Chula Vista administration center. Of particular interest to many sitting in the packed board room and standing in the overflow crowd in the parking lot listening over a loudspeaker was agenda item R10, a resolution that essentially calls for dismantling the district’s ROP/career technical education program.

SD Unified chief to get $255K salary

Incoming Superintendent Cindy Marten will receive a starting annual salary of $255,000 under a four-year contract approved unanimously by the San Diego city school board Tuesday night.

Modesto schools pares layoff notices to 10, to revamp libraries

Modesto City Schools board members Monday night approved reducing 36 jobs, but layoff warnings will be sent to only 10 teachers, school nurses and counselors, said head of human resources Craig Rydquist.

Mt. View High student paper's stories on sex raise parents' ire

Articles in a student newspaper about sex -- that obsession of teenagers and staple of their nonchalant online exchanges -- have ignited parental protests and calls to rein in student journalists at Mountain View High School.

Mt. Diablo school board discusses transparency, administrator contracts

Citing ongoing controversies, low staff morale and general distrust of the Mt. Diablo school district, the board president and vice president said Monday they want to seek new administrative leaders.

Lopez: L.A. schools falling apart, literally

Years of budget cuts have meant many repairs simply aren't getting done. There are at least 35,442 unresolved calls for service and repairs, with about 1,100 more coming in each day.

Kerchner: Try a different tack; hold teachers responsible for education quality

I suggest changing strategy. Instead of attacking the unions via the school board, rewrite labor law so that it makes unions responsible for education quality.

L.A. charter school aims to toss out students with fake addresses

Officials at Carpenter Community Charter, a top-notch elementary, think 120 children are enrolled fraudulently. They want to make room for students who live in the neighborhood.

Baron: No pay to play or learn at public schools

A new state law governs when it’s OK to charge students for school-related materials, trips and activities. Under the law, schools were required to implement a formal complaint process allowing families to challenge what they believe are illegal fees by the beginning of this month, but today the state Board of Education starts the process of setting regulations for reimbursing students who were illegally charged for fees in the past year.

Fensterwald: Brown’s school funding formula lauded, then picked apart at hearing

To a person, every Assemblymember at a committee hearing Tuesday and the six superintendents who testified at it praised the principles behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed school finance reforms: simplicity, clarity and equity ­­– more money for the state’s neediest children. But there were also sharp disagreements over the components of Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula that would determine how much money districts would get were the new finance system phased in over the next seven years, as Brown hopes.

LAUSD charters would lose funding under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget

Administrators at Wilbur Elementary and other affiliated charters, nearly all of them in the San Fernando Valley, are struggling with the news that they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants if lawmakers approve Gov. Jerry Brown's new formula for funding public education.

L.A. Unified settles Miramonte abuse claims for $30 million

The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay about $30 million to settle 58 legal claims filed by students and parents in connection with lewd-conduct charges against a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, plaintiffs' lawyers said Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Desert Mirage High School administrators fired

Two administrators at a Coachella Valley high school were fired last week, prompting about 100 students to walk out of class on Monday, the district’s union president said.

Twin Rivers board to look again at early pink slips

A special meeting is set for 7 p.m. tonight for the Twin Rivers Unified school board to reconsider sending preliminary pink slips to teachers and support staff before the state-mandated deadline on Friday. The school board failed to vote March 5 on a staff recommendation to send warning notices to 74 teachers and counselors, as well as 23 support workers.

Group of Escondido charter schools outgrowing space

Popular charter schools run by Dennis “Coach” Snyder on the northeast side of the city are experiencing growing pains. “Our K-8 program is growing and in another year, I’ll be out of room,” Snyder said. “Our Heritage Digital Academy exploded.”