Friday News Roundup: Week of January 4-8

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.

Idaho Lawmakers Struggle with Education Budget Cuts, Hope for Federal Relief

Florida Teachers Unions Fight Race to the Top Application

Massachusetts Legislators Pass School Improvement Bill in Midnight Vote

California Governor Pledges to Spare Education from Budget Cuts

Idaho Lawmakers Struggle with Education Budget Cuts, Hope for Federal Relief
Idaho Governor Butch Otter this week said that more budget cuts are coming to the state’s fiscal year 2010 public K-12 education budget. He is expected to announce the cuts in his State of the State address on Monday. He also warned that the budget for fiscal year 2011 will reflect the trimmed spending plan. Governor Otter said that he would do everything in his power to spare public education from budget cuts, but since the state has been using rainy day funds to keep education funding whole since September, options for plugging holes now are limited. State educators have suggested that Governor Otter reduce statewide education programs, suspend charter schools, and consider shortening the school year. They say they are hopeful for a second education stimulus law – currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate – to save the schools from deep budget cuts in fiscal year 2011. More here…

Florida Teachers Unions Fight Race to the Top Application
Florida education officials and the state’s largest teachers union are at odds over the state’s application for federal aid through the Race to the Top (RttT), a new competitive grant program that rewards states that commit to federal education reform priorities . Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith is touring the state touting the new federal program as an important opportunity for school districts to avoid a desolate budget situation in the coming 2011 fiscal year. Meanwhile, Florida union leaders are calling the program “fatally flawed” and encouraging local union leaders not to sign on. Florida is widely viewed as a top contender for RttT funds because of its long term dedication to the reform priorities outlined in the RttT, including using data to assess school performance, supporting charter schools, and being open to merit pay for teachers. Union officials are opposed to the state’s application because the state would use grant money to develop a teacher pay system that uses student test scores as a criterion. District superintendents and state officials have until January 19^th to convince union leaders to get on board, or will have to submit their application without union support. More here…

Massachusetts Legislators Pass School Improvement Bill in Midnight Vote
In a late-night vote this week, members of the Massachusetts state House passed a bill that would allow the state to force improvements at failing schools. The bill, which had already passed the state Senate, will go to Governor Deval Patrick his signature after the two houses work out the differences between the two bills by the end of next week. The bill provides a near doubling of funds for charter schools in the state’s lowest performing districts and allows state intervention in school reorganization in the lowest performing 3 percent of schools. It also addresses persistent achievement gaps between the state’s highest performing groups and students living in poverty, those learning English as a second language, students with disabilities, and minority students. In addressing these gaps, the bill also strengthens the state’s application for a federal Race to the Top (RttT) grant, according to Governor Patrick. Some lawmakers worried that the bill did not ensure that funds intended for local public schools could not be diverted to charter schools, but their concerns were overruled. More here…

California Governor Pledges to Spare Education from Budget Cuts
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week pledged to spare public schools, colleges, and universities from budget cuts in fiscal year 2011. The state’s current deficit is nearly $20 billion. While state democrats said they support the governor’s plan to hold funding for education steady, they remained skeptical that it would be possible in practice. They also were skeptical of another proposal by Governor Schwarzenegger – a constitutional amendment to guarantee that spending on higher education is higher than spending on prisons – because it would limit the options of the state legislature in setting future budgets. Many state lawmakers also worried that holding education funding steady would cause devastating cuts to other services, leaving Californians without much needed social safety net programs. Governor Schwarzenegger’s detailed spending plan is expected to be released today. More here…

Briefly Noted

• Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has called a special session of the General Assembly to tackle the state’s Race to the Top application.