Latino groups urge US to hold Hub funds - The Boston Globe

Latino groups urge US to hold Hub funds - The Boston Globe:

"Several local and national Latino organizations are urging US Education Secretary Arne Duncan to withhold potentially millions of dollars in aid from Boston schools until the district complies with federal and state laws for programs that teach students who speak limited English."

In a letter sent Wednesday to Duncan, the organizations said Boston has done little over the last six years to remedy its lack of services and equal educational opportunities to thousands of the students.

“The problems to which we allude are longstanding,’’ wrote Roger L. Rice and Jane E. López, attorneys with Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy, a national organization with offices in Somerville that works on behalf of multilinguistic children. “Boston has resisted facing up to its obligations and continues to do so.’’

The organizations are targeting money from the “Race to the Top’’ fund, a competitive program created by President Obama for states that pursue innovative educational improvements and overhauls of failing schools. Massachusetts, which submitted an application last month, is hoping to receive $250 million.

Education secretary says Robert Bobb is a 'breath of fresh air' | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Education secretary says Robert Bobb is a 'breath of fresh air' | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Washington -- Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager overseeing a massive overhaul of Detroit Public Schools, got a major boost in his quest for academic control of the district as the nation's top education official said he supported Bobb's reform efforts.

"I think that'd be a big step in the right direction," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said during a roundtable with reporters on his department's plans for nationwide school reforms.

Duncan's comments come as state lawmakers consider changing Michigan's emergency financial manager law to expand Bobb's purview from fiscal matters to those of academics as well. Detroit's elected school board has fought against such a change, suing Bobb in court and testifying at education committee hearings in Lansing.

Control over academics is unresolved, even as Bobb moves forward to implement sweeping academic reforms. Some of those efforts include new requirements for high-schoolers to take Advanced Placement courses that can help move them ahead with collegiate studies, pre-algebra curriculum for sixth-graders and a new program that would pair pre-kindergarten students with reading tutors to help them get an early jump on basic skills.

Many of those reforms fall in line with Duncan's nationwide reform efforts. Over the past year, the federal Department of Education has announced new funding efforts to offer schools districts incentives to devise innovative ways to educate students who might otherwise slip through the cracks.

Academic issues were highlighted by low scores by fourth- and eighth-graders on a national test. Most of Detroit students taking the test scored below basic on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Duncan called the scores a wake-up call.

"Detroit was so far behind everybody else, it was staggering," he said. "It was stunning."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100205/SCHOOLS/2050364/1409/METRO/Education-secretary-says-Robert-Bobb-is-a--breath-of-fresh-air-#ixzz0eg3Os3xb

Teachers resist increasing pressure to accept pay cuts - Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Teachers resist increasing pressure to accept pay cuts - Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Teachers, long a popular and protected political constituency, face increasing pressure to accept pay cuts as lawmakers try to decide how to trim $881 million from the state’s budget.

Democratic lawmakers, a longtime ally of the teachers union, and school administrators are urging educators to renegotiate their contracts to avoid layoffs and cuts in the classroom.

Clark County Superintendent Walt Rulffes told the Interim Finance Committee on Thursday that he’s trying to minimize the effect on students and prevent layoffs. To do that, he said, “involves a small sacrifice by everyone.”

Absent that, achieving the required $150 million savings would involve laying off more than 2,300 teachers.

Legislators also heard from a defiant president of the Nevada State Education Association, who said teachers are not willing to reduce their salaries. Lynn Warne, association president, told legislators to show “leadership and courage” and look at raising taxes.

“The choices seem clear and stark,” she said. “You can lay off teachers, shorten the school year or raise revenue.”

State starts process to withhold millions in MPS funds - JSOnline

State starts process to withhold millions in MPS funds - JSOnline:

"Wisconsin's superintendent of public instruction took the first step Thursday toward withholding up to $175 million in federal funds from Milwaukee Public Schools because of the district's failure to meet yearly academic progress targets required under law.

Superintendent Tony Evers notified the district that he would eliminate all administrative funds and defer all programmatic funds that MPS receives to serve low-income children through the Title 1 program. But in an interview, he said the notice wasn't final and that it indicated only his intent to withhold funds if the district's compliance with its corrective action plan didn't improve.

'I'm looking at them in totality; I don't think appropriate progress has been made in benchmark areas,' Evers said. 'It's halfway through the school year, we've been working with the district, and clearly we feel there has to be more emphasis and a sense of urgency.'"

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Another tale of school bathrooms

Not too long ago I wrote about how some bathrooms at Montgomery Blair High School--one of the premier institutions in Montgomery County Public Schools, itself a leading school district--had to be closed during lunch because there wasn’t enough staff to keep them from being vandalized.

Now we find that the bathrooms at the county’s Whitman High School--as good as a high schools gets--are also, in the words of a young journalist at the school’s student newspaper, black&white, “downright disgraceful.”

Continue reading this post »

Readers question Challenge Index

After the release of every new Washington Post Challenge Index list, my rankings of local high schools based on college-level test participation, I get many questions, complaints and even an occasional compliment from readers. Here is a sample of this week's mail. There are some surprises.

Q: When you were compiling your list, I was developing my own, which I feel is equally important. I decided to look at the graduation rates for students with disabilities from the Virginia school report card. Last year Centreville High School had a graduation rate for students with disabilities of 63%. While it’s not the lowest in this category in Fairfax County – Edison and West Potomac have that esteemed title at 49%-- I still think that a rate where over one third of the students with disabilities do not graduate is a compelling statistic, and one that should be spotlighted. Here are the graduation rates for students with disabilities for the other high schools from your Challenge Index – Woodson 90%, McLean 72%, Langley 88%, Madison 81%, Herndon 52%, Oakton 84%, Lake Braddock 75%, Fairfax 61%, Marshall 61%, South Lakes 57%, Chantilly 71%, West Springfield 70%, South County 66%, Westfield 70%, Stuart 51%, Falls Church 55%, West Potomac 49%, Hayfield 61%, Lee 52%, Mt Vernon 61%.

Why should I be excited about my son attending a school where in all likelihood he will not take an AP, IB or college level class, and where he has a 37% chance of not graduating? ---JoNell M. Doyle

Continue reading this post »

Industry Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans - NYTimes.com

Industry Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans - NYTimes.com

ASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.
President Obama called the idea a “no-brainer” last fall, predicting it would take billions of dollars from the profits of private lenders and give it directly to students, and many colleges were already moving to get loans directly from the federal government in anticipation of the next move by Congress.
But an aggressive lobbying campaign by the nation’s biggest student lenders has now put one of the White House’s signature plans in peril, with lenders using sit-downs with lawmakers, town-hall-style meetings and petition drives to plead their case and stay in business.
House and Senate aides say that the administration’s plan faces a far tougher fight than it did last fall, when the House passed its version. The fierce attacks from the lending industry, the Massachusetts election that cost the Democrats their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and the fight over a health care bill have all damaged the

Schools Arts Program Range from Four Star to Nonexistent (Gotham Gazette, Feb 2010)

Schools Arts Program Range from Four Star to Nonexistent (Gotham Gazette, Feb 2010):

"Eighth graders at MS 223, the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, in the Bronx, will soon learn about American history through an unusual lens, thanks to a grant the school just received from the Bronx Council of the Arts. Nicholas Thompson, a history teacher and musician, will teach students about how the guitar and its music migrated from the South to cities in the North after the Civil War.

This is just one of many art programs that the school's art coordinator, Rose Greco, and principal Ramon M. Gonzalez, have implemented to increase interest and skills in the arts and keep students engaged in their academic coursework. While MS 223 has taken advantage of resources for the arts, many schools have cut their art programs."

New Tools Introduced To Help Pinpoint "Racial" Achievement Gap | KPBS.org

New Tools Introduced To Help Pinpoint "Racial" Achievement Gap| KPBS.org:

"SAN DIEGO — State Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell visited San Diego High School today to unveil a new set of tools that he says will help California close its persistent achievement gap."

The tools come in the form of two surveys and a workbook for each school district in the state. The findings are designed to shine a light on how the educational system works against black, Latino, special education and migrant students.

The surveys do that by gauging teacher and student attitudes about how race affects classroom instruction, how campus culture affects student involvement, and what kind of social challenges students bring to school every day.

O'Connell says the workbook gives principals and teachers strategies to overcome problems.

“This new resource will help to close the achievement gap by improving both the culture and the climate of teaching and learning,” O’Connell said. “It will give our schools more information about the challenges they have and about the conditions of their schools.

Local: In Alameda : More on the Secretary of Education Resignation

Local: In Alameda : More on the Secretary of Education Resignation:

"I wasn't just being snotty yesterday when I noted that the Secretary of Education receives very little public mention -- and that hardly anyone knows who he is. A cabinet-level position is, of course, a big deal and I'm sure the job is a demanding one. And a number of people sent me comments, by email, saying that Mr. Thomas was an experienced, skilled, and valued educator in the state.

But the Secretary's activities (like those of most Secretaries, who really serve as advisors to governors) really are rarely covered (except for the appointments to and resignations from the office). And those appointments and resignations happen so often it's no wonder hardly anyone knows who the Secretary is in any given month. And this fact -- this ever-revolving door in the Secretary of Education office, that is -- made me dig a little deeper last night to learn more about the position."

Opinion: Holding the line on cuts to California universities isn't enough - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Holding the line on cuts to California universities isn't enough - San Jose Mercury News:

"My favorite day of every new year is the start of the spring semester, when students flood back to campus full of energy and high hopes, many of them with graduation right around the corner.

We all know that 2009 was a very tough year for California's public universities. Now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has given students — and the state — a new reason for optimism with his vow to 'hold the line' on funding for education in next year's budget. I applaud the governor for his proposal to restore this year's $305 million cut to the California State University budget and to add $60 million in funding for CSU's enrollment growth. The legislature should decisively enact these measures.

But let's be clear: 'Holding the line' against further cuts isn't enough. Saving higher education in California will take a bold vision in Sacramento of increased funding for education over the long term. A consistent and predictable scaling up of higher education opportunities for California's high school graduates is the best path to economic recovery."

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Deadlock on Einstein Academy

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Deadlock on Einstein Academy

A day after Hart district board members deadlocked over whether to approve a Hebrew-language charter school, Rabbi Mark Blazer said he will take his proposal to the Los Angeles County Board of Education.

"The process has already begun," Blazer said Thursday. "The important part of what we do now is to do what we've been doing all along, which is creating a school that would be a great asset and treasure for our community."

The county board will vote on the charter within 60 days once a complete application is submitted.

William S. Hart Union High School District board members deadlocked late Wednesday over whether to approve a charter with the Albert Einstein Academy for Letters, Arts and Sciences.

If approved, the school would remain in the Santa Clarita Valley and would be able to 

Sean James and Al Joyner respond to the Tebow Super Bowl ad

Former college and professional football player Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner respond to the Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad, featuring Tim Tebow and his mother.

Education | Judge: Seattle schools' choice of math texts needs more review | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Judge: Seattle schools' choice of math texts needs more review | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"Judge: Seattle schools' choice of math texts needs more review
A ruling by a King County Superior Court judge could send Seattle Public Schools back to the drawing board with regard to its controversial new math curriculum.

By Seattle Times staff
A ruling by a King County Superior Court judge could send Seattle Public Schools back to the drawing board with regard to its controversial new math curriculum.

Calling the choice of the Discovering series 'arbitrary' and 'capricious,' Judge Julie Spector on Thursday ordered the district's board to further review the choice of its math curriculum.

A group of parents who object to the Discovering series had sued the school district, its board and Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson."

Closing the Achievement Gap Workbook - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Closing the Achievement Gap Workbook - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

New Tool to Help Close the Achievement Gap
by Improving School Culture and Climate

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the availability of a new resource to help close the achievement gap by improving the culture and climate of the teaching and learning environment at schools.

The Workbook for Improving School Climate & Closing the Achievement Gap is designed to give teachers and school leaders step-by-step guidance on how to interpret and respond to the results of their state-sponsored school climate surveys, in order to make changes that can help close the achievement gap between higher- and lower-performing groups of students.

"There are many factors that go into effective teaching and learning," said O'Connell. "If students feel disconnected from their teachers or unwelcome at school, these factors can interfere with learning and contribute to the achievement gap.

"To give schools more insight into conditions and issues related to race and the achievement gap, we expanded and improved the state's school climate surveys for students and staff. And, I am pleased to announce today that we have created a guide to help schools interpret these results and make beneficial changes. Our school climate Workbookcan help foster crucial conversations at schools and districts that can lead to changes that will help all students feel safe and supported in their schools and better engaged in learning."

O'Connell called for an intensive effort in 2007 to close the state's pernicious achievement gap that exists between higher-performing subgroups of white or Asian students and their lower-performing African American or Latino peers. He charged his California P-16 Council with providing recommendations on what the state can do differently to assist local educational agencies in closing the gap.

The P-16 Council identified several areas of concern, including one that focuses on school culture and climate. This is based on an understanding that a student's ability to learn and a teacher's ability to educate occurs within the context of the values, beliefs, and rituals of the school, community, and larger society.

The P-16 Council made 14 recommendations in its 2008 report on Closing the Achievement Gap. One recommendation was to conduct a climate survey that would assess the educational environment and overall school well-being. This recommendation was implemented by expanding the existing California Healthy Kids Survey for students and the California School Climate Survey for staff. These surveys are currently administered in 7,648 schools in 833 districts in the state, with the results publicly available on the survey. They constitute the largest effort in the nation to provide schools with their own data to guide efforts to create positive learning and teaching environments that promote achievement and well-being. Both surveys were augmented to provide schools with better data on issues relating to students' and staff's race, culture, school conditions, and supports that impact the achievement gap, as well as the needs of migrant education and special education programs.

This led to the Workbook that is a collaboration between the national nonprofit research and service agency, WestEd, and the California Department of Education. The goal is to produce a valuable and user-friend document that recognizes the importance of creating a positive school environment to support students and teachers.

Schools may use the Workbook to gain a deeper understanding of the data collected in their Surveys to assess what is working and build on those strengths in the classroom, school, and district. The Surveys may also help identify aspects of the school climate that need improvement. Then the Workbook offers strategies to address those needs, helping them link data to practice and policy.

There are three sections of the Workbook focusing on various aspects of the achievement gap: 

(1.) closing the racial achievement gap, (2.) closing the achievement gap between special education students and others, and (3.) the gap that often leaves students in migrant education programs behind. The Workbook is available online at Working for Improving School Climate & Closing the Achievement Gap  (Outside Source; PDF; 20MB; 152pp.). Survey reports are available at CHKS: Home (Outside Source) and CSCS | Welcome to California School Climate Survey -- For Staff(Outside Source).

For more information on O'Connell's Closing the Achievement Gap initiative, 

please visit State of Education Address, February 6, 2007 - State of Education. 

For the P-16 Council, please visit P-16 Council - Initiatives, Projects, & Programs. 

For WestEd, please visit WestEd: Home (Outside Source).

Schools Matter: Congressman Miller: Will You Now Sponsor a Bill to Protect Children from Testing Abuse

Schools Matter: Congressman Miller: Will You Now Sponsor a Bill to Protect Children from Testing Abuse

The Honorable Congressman touts his work on stopping abuse and seclusion of children:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed bipartisan legislation to make classrooms safer for students and school staff by preventing the misuse of restraint and seclusion. The Committee passed the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4227) by a vote of 34 to 10.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last spring exposed hundreds of cases of schoolchildren being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff. In some cases, children died. A disproportionate number of these victims were students with disabilities. In some of the cases GAO investigated, ropes, duct tape, chairs with straps and bungee cords were used to restrain or isolate young children.

“This bill makes clear that there is no place in our schools for abuse and torture,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “The egregious abuse of a child should not be considered less 

SN&R > Editorial > Strong mayor, RIP > 02.04.10

SN&R: Editorial Strong mayor, RIP 02.04.10:

"SN&R has published both news pieces and commentary about Mayor Kevin Johnson’s crusade for city charter reform to include a “strong mayor.” It was one of the issues he campaigned on. But there’s been much to consider on the subject in the 15 months since Johnson was elected.

First, there was Johnson’s quick move for an initiative to put the “strong mayor” plan on the ballot, with very little public discussion beforehand. He attempted, as we noted in these pages, to do an end run around the more reasoned (and, we might add, collaborative) approach that the other city leaders were willing to take.

Roughly a year ago, though, Johnson stopped the petition circulating for his strong-mayor initiative, citing it as a distraction from more pressing issues facing the city—specifically, the budget crisis and looming layoffs of city workers. We applauded the mayor for doing so. Next, the city council established the Sacramento Charter Review Committee, a body commissioned to examine the city charter and offer suggestions for its improvement, including a possible switch to a strong-mayor form."

UC System Provost talks budget with UCSC staff, students - Santa Cruz Sentinel

UC System Provost talks budget with UCSC staff, students - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"SANTA CRUZ -- Quality of education, access to that education and affordability were the common threads a top University of California official heard after meeting with students and faculty at administration at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday.

In Kerr Hall, under high security after the December student occupation that damaged the building, interim UC Provost Dr. Lawrence Pitts met with various groups to discuss what budget cuts might mean for a university system with a soaring number of applicants for next year, but with fewer spots to put them in.

'If the University of California loses quality in some demonstrable way, the entire university will sag. If we don't do everything in our power to preserve quality, it will change the face of the university, and it will be hard to recapture or regain in any short amount of time,' he said to a group of UCSC student reporters."

SCUSD Board of Education Meeting 2-4-2010

SCUSD  Board of Education Meeting 2-4-2010

Regular Meeting
Date:	Time:	Location:
February 4, 2010	4:30 p.m. Closed Session 6:30 p.m. Open Session	Serna Center 5735 47th Avenue Sacramento, Ca 95824 Community Room
Meeting Documents:		Online meeting Video/Archive
Agenda	Minutes	During a Regular Board of Education meeting: Click HERE to watch the meeting live from outside the district network. Click HERE to watch the meeting live from a district site Click HERE to watch the archive video of the meeting PLEASE NOTE: This video service is designed for high speed internet access.
Agenda Items:
Item 9.1 - Budget Overview and Update Item 11.1a - Approve Grants, Entitlements and Other Income Agreements, Ratification of Other Agreements, Approval of Bid Awards, Approval of Declared Surplus Materials and Equipment, Change Notices and Notices of Completion Item 11.1b - Annual Adjustment to Bid Threshold per Public Contract Code §20111 Item 11.1c - Approve Staff Recommendations for Expulsion #1 and #2 2009/2010 Item 11.1d - Approve High School Course of Study: 1st Level American Sign Language 1P-2P Item 11.1d Part 2 - 2nd Level American Sign Language 1P-2P Item 11.1d Part 3 - 3rd Level American Sign Language 1P-2P Item 11.1e - Approve Board Committee List for 2010 Item 11.1f - Approve the Board of Education Meeting Minutes for September 23, October 1, and October 15, 2009 Item 12.1 - Business and Financial Information		This meeting of the Sacramento City School Board is being videotaped in its entirety and will be cablecast without interruption on Metro Cable 14, the government affairs channel on the Comcast and SureWest Cable Systems.  Today's meeting will be replayed Saturday, February 6 at 1 p.m. & Monday, February 8 at 6 p.m Members of the audience wishing to address the Board should fill out a speaker identification form located in the back of community room and give to the Clerk.  Please speak into the microphone when addressing the Board, and state your name for the record.

10 amazing finalist: #1 Cathy Speck , Davis, CA

10 amazing finalist: #1 Cathy Speck , Davis, CA

One of five in her family impacted by ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease; Cathy was diagnosed only months after losing her brother to ALS. Having lost her mother to ALS at the age of 13, Cathy is well educated about the disease and has spent a lifetime coping with its devastating impact. While caretaking for her brother she began to recognize symptoms that he was experiencing in herself. Knowing that her family could not cope with losing her too, she kept her suspicions to herself.

Once diagnosed, Cathy became the biggest advocate ALS has ever seen! From teaching junior high school students to educating her co-workers at the Davis Food Co-op, Cathy shares her story with all who will listen. Honestly, it's not hard to listen either. Her spirit is kind. Her voice is soft. And her words eloquently deliver the powerful story of the disease that is so devastatingly killing her motor neurons and will ultimately lead to her passing.

Cathy knows that her days with us are limited and her biggest concern is for her wife Linda, who she is struggling with leaving behind. Federal laws don’t recognize their union, so Linda will not be able to receive her social security checks. They live in a one-bedroom apartment, have been living paycheck-to-paycheck most of their relationship (more than 16 years), and Linda has no family to support her. Cathy is also very worried about her other siblings, each of whom have a 50% chance of inheriting the gene mutation that leads to ALS.

Cathy insists that future generations of children should not have to endure the ravaging effects of ALS. Her courage and strength is unprecedented as she loses mobility with each passing day. Together with Linda, Cathy is often times found performing (music and singing are her passion). Whether it's at a local Farmers Market or a holiday party for other patients facing this disease, she uses this medium to share her words of 

• Cathy Speck
• Davis, CA
• The ALS Association

One of five in her family impacted by ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease; Cathy was diagnosed only months after losing her brother to ALS. Having lost her mother to ALS at the age of 13,...

Learn more about Cathy

vote for Cathy

S.F. City College cancels summer session

S.F. City College cancels summer session:

"Thousands of students who expected to make up missed courses or simply move their education forward will have to put those plans on hold this year because City College of San Francisco is canceling its popular summer session."



The cost-cutting move has angered many students who say they were depending on summer school this year in particular because the college cut hundreds of courses during the fall and spring semesters, and they have been unable to get into basic classes they need.
"It's messed up," said Giselle Rouede, 18, who wants to be an emergency medical technician. She tried to take the EMT course in the fall, but it was full. It was full again this semester, so she planned to take it over during the summer.
"I was really disappointed," Rouede said. "If people want to be educated, they should be able to take classes."
College trustees axed the $4 million summer school program to help close a budget gap expected to top $12 million. All but some state-mandated vocational classes will vanish, leaving more than 2,000 City College students wondering what to do

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/02/04/MNGF1BS143.DTL#ixzz0ebYplLUC

Teacher pension fund lost $9 billion last year while costs rose | GothamSchools

Teacher pension fund lost $9 billion last year while costs rose | GothamSchools

In Albany this week, UFT President Michael Mulgrew floated a plan to save the city money by letting teachers retire earlier. But a new report on the health of the city’s teachers pension fund suggests that Mulgrew’s proposal would only compound the fund’s potentially crippling budget crunch.

The fund’s annual report, released last week, shows that it lost 29 percent of its value, more than $9 billion, last school year, even as the portion the city is required to pay reached unprecedented heights.

The mix of rising costs and declining value raises serious questions about how the city will be able to afford to pay the pensions it has promised in the future without major concessions by the teachers union.

The fund, called the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), is a collection of investments paid for with a combination of taxpayer dollars and teacher salaries. Every year a chunk of it is used to pay retired teachers and principals the pensions state law says they are owed.

Last year’s financial crisis sunk the fund to its lowest level in more than 15 years, effectively erasing all of the gains made in the past decade’s bull market, according to a database of TRS’s financial reports. Over that time span, the fund’s value, adjusted for inflation, has shrunk by more than $11 billion.

This leaves a $15 billion gap between what the fund expects to pay out in the next 30 or so years and what it will have saved by that time, according to the TRS’s preferred accounting method. Another way of calculating these “unfunded liabilities” used in the private sector puts the number even higher, at $27 billion.

“It’s not a crisis. It’s a long-run big problem: The pension system is 

Sacramento Press / California Masons Team up with Sacramento Catholic School

Sacramento Press / California Masons Team up with Sacramento Catholic School

The Freemasons of Eureka Lodge No 16 of Auburn attended St Philomene Catholic School in Sacramento on Parents Day and provided FREE Kids ID thumbprinting and photo identification for all the children. The lodge also donated free stuffed animal toys for the appreciative students, while parents received an identification sheet that includes space to record child's height, weight, eye, hair color and space for a DNA sample. This sheet will be extremely valuable to authorities if a child ever becomes missing or abducted.

The California Mason's Kids ID Program gives parents the peace of mind that they are prepared for the unthinkable. Each year approximately 725,000 children are reported missing in the United States. Since the Masons started this program, more than 800,000 California children have received this important documentation. Freemasons provide this free service in communities throughout the state.

Democrats for Education Reform: UCLA Civil Rights Projec

Democrats for Education Reform released the following statement on the newly released Civil Rights Project report on charter schools: "The UCLA Civil Rights Project seemingly wants to block minority parents from choosing to enroll their children in better schools simply because it feels those schools aren't white enough. What's up with that?"