Friday News Roundup: Week of July 19-23

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

<p><b>Tuition at Pennsylvania’s State-Run Universities set to Rise</b></p>    <p><b>West   Virginia</b><b> Education Pilot Programs Approved in Special Legislative Session</b></p>    <p><b>Texas Charter Schools Seek Building Funds from State</b></p>    <p><b>Tuition at Pennsylvania’s State-Run Universities set to Rise</b><br>The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors this week approved a <a href="http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/07/23/news/doc4c490503951b8933595900.txt">4.5 percent increase</a> in tuition at state-run universities for the 2010-11 school year. The $250 increase will bring in-state undergraduate tuition to $5,804. The tuition increase was approved as part of a $1.5 billion budget plan for the state’s higher education system. This budget plan includes a combined $9.5 million cut to the state-run universities’ operating budgets. Members of the Board of Governors explained that they were trying to strike a balance between affordability and quality in the state university system as they constructed the budget. They also noted that they wanted to prepare for next year, when federal stimulus funds will no longer be available. <a href="http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/07/23/news/doc4c490503951b8933595900.txt">More here…</a></p>    <p><b>West   Virginia Education Pilot Programs Approved in Special Legislative Session</b><br>The West Virginia state legislature approved two <a href="http://www.dailymail.com/News/statehouse/201007210645">education pilot programs</a> in a special session that ended this week. One program would allow low-performing school districts to partner with community groups and implement new compensation systems that increase pay for educators in their neediest schools and subject-areas. Schools with career ladder systems that reward teachers for taking on additional duties would also be allowed to participate. The other pilot would allow up to five schools in the state to send disruptive elementary and middle school students to alternative settings. The state’s House Education Committee rejected a measure to revamp the state’s response to low performing schools and another measure proposing alternative certification routes. <a href="http://www.dailymail.com/News/statehouse/201007210645">More here…</a></p>    <p><b>Texas Charter Schools Seek Building Funds from State</b><br>This week, representatives from Texas’ charter schools asked the State Board of Education to <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072210dntexsboe.4018a6b.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StatelineorgRss-Education+%28Stateline.org+RSS+-+Education%29">provide classroom funds</a> to the state’s 460 charter schools. They also voiced their support for school board member David Bradley’s proposal to take $100 million from the state’s $22 billion Permanent School Fund and use it to purchase or build facilities that could be leased to charter schools. Opponents worry that directing these funds toward charter schools would be an unwise investment given the number of charter schools that have failed in the state. <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072210dntexsboe.4018a6b.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StatelineorgRss-Education+%28Stateline.org+RSS+-+Education%29">More here…</a></p>    <p><b>Briefly Noted</b></p>  <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li>Iowa state universities raised <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100723/NEWS02/7230349/State-universities-raise-record-amounts-of-money?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StatelineorgRss-Education+%28Stateline.org+RSS+-+Education%29">record amounts of money</a> in fiscal year 2010.</li></ul><!--break-->