Thursday, June 9, 2011

California school spending and test scores | California Watch

California school district spending and test scores

June 2, 2011

Despite years of efforts to equalize spending in California schools, some districts receive thousands of dollars more per student than others. And although some districts spent much more than the average, the bigger expenditure didn't assure higher scores on the state's Academic Performance Index, which is based on student test scores and other academic measures. Download a spreadsheet of spending per student and Academic Performance Index data for all school districts here.

10 highest-spending districts

Districts with 500 or more students average daily attendance

District	$ spent per student	Location
Taft Union High	$21,932	Kern County
Shoreline Unified	$17,791	Marin County
Saint Helena Unified	$17,671	Napa County
Carmel Unified	$17,451	Monterey County
Portola Valley Elementary	$16,981	San Mateo County
Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified	$15,244	Humboldt County
Tamalpais Union High	$15,100	Marin County
Rancho Santa Fe Elementary	$14,287	San Diego County
San Pasqual Valley Unified	$14,028	Imperial County
Coast Unified	$13,775	San Luis Obispo County

10 lowest-spending districts

Districts with 500 or more students average daily attendance

District	$ spent per student	Location
Norris Elementary	$6,112	Kern County
Lammersville Elementary	$6,170	San Joaquin County
Rosedale Union Elementary	$6,176	Kern County
Hickman Community Charter	$6,192	Stanislaus County
Solvang Elementary	$6,206	Santa Barbara County
Dixon Unified	$6,287	Solano County
Spreckels Union Elementary	$6,322	Monterey County
Mccabe Union Elementary	$6,330	Imperial County
Central Elementary	$6,388	San Bernardino County
Ripon Unified	$6,394	San Joaquin County

Find your child's school district

Choose from California's largest districts

Modern School: Let Them Eat Cake: San Diego County Board of Education Votes Itself a Raise

Let Them Eat Cake: San Diego County Board of Education Votes Itself a Raise

by Michael Dunn

What if teachers and other workers could vote themselves a raise? Alas, we actually have to get up early and work for our meager salaries. Only bosses get this privilege. And, when you get right down to it, school board members are nothing but bosses.

Some have argued that school board members generally do not make much. On the other hand, they do not do much either. And their membership on the board is often a stepping stone to higher office, which helps them to cultivate relationships with business leaders that can result in various lucrative future jobs. So, in a way, serving on a school board could be seen as an apprenticeship, like student teaching, except way more profitable in the long run.

Of course, we are not talking about real money here. The 5% raise will only increase their

Two speeches by Linda Darling-Hammond. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Two speeches by Linda Darling-Hammond.

by Fred Klonsky

For those of us struggling within our teacher unions, particularly here in Illinois, to try to get them to stand and fight to defend our hard-won bargaining rights and for good education policy, this has been a tough year.

Senate Bill 7, which essentially took away the right to strike in Chicago and our tenure and seniority rights throughout the state, was actually championed by our union leadership.

After a massive campaign in which tens of thousands of public service workers told their state political leaders to oppose any change in employee pensions, the state union leadership appears ready to cave on that as well.

From the outside, Republican governors and legislatures are making a frontal assault on teacher unions. From

California teachers union declares state of emergency.

School Tech Connect: In Which I Select A Principal

In Which I Select A Principal

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Community members at Sullivan High School

I dropped by Sullivan High School tonight--- I live across the street, and I'm a busybody. I'm the Glady Kravitz of Rogers Park. It's a small (800 data-generators) neighborhood high school in Rogers Park, and I have a generally good impression of it, and the kids seem like kids anywhere. I rarely hear anything negative about Sullivan,* and some of their sleuthier student detectives put Rahm Emanuel in his placeduring the recent mayoral fund-raising season, where Rahm earned the mandate of 23% of the city's eligible voters. Rahm has a crazy delusional charter jones, and he's been whispering in the President's ear for years. Arne Duncan's been whispering in the other ear.

Sullivan was having a forum for the three finalists for

In Ackerman’s Hands « City School Stories

Notes from the Field « City School Stories

In Ackerman’s Hands

Submitted by Frank Murphy, June 8, 2011

Last Thursday I published a post in which I requested that Arlene Ackerman listen to the voice of reason concerning her budget priorities for the upcoming school year. Specifically, I suggested that she redirect the Title One funds targeted to support an eighteen-day district wide summer program, to restore funding for a full day kindergarten program. Interestingly enough, the next day (to the surprise of Mayor Nutter and Ackerman’s other political supporters) she decided to use Title funds to do so.

Now that was an easy solution. It was so easy in fact that you have to wonder how many other of the radical cuts she has proposed could be restored by her merely reordering her spending priorities.

Many of the teaching positions that Ackerman has targeted for elimination could be saved if she would simply rethink how she intends to spend our limited tax dollars. In fact, Ackerman could restore more than a hundred million dollars to important budget items by cutting unproven programs and unnecessary contracts.

The elimination of the extra funding that Ackerman intends to direct towards her experimental Promise

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