Friday News Roundup: Week of April 27-May 1

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.

Oregon Bill Would Ease School Requirements

Connecticut Legislators Debate Best Use of Stimulus Money

New Jersey Supreme Court Hears Arguments on School Funding Formula Reforms

Stimulus Transparency Off to a Slow Start

Oregon Bill Would Ease School Requirements
A bill passed by the Oregon Senate Education Committee on Monday would ease program and instruction requirements for schools for the next two years if it becomes law. As state legislators contemplate per-pupil spending cuts of more than 10 percent, this measure is intended to give school districts flexibility. The bill would allow schools to cut guidance counseling, school libraries, special programs for gifted students, drug and alcohol prevention education, and textbook updates. Schools would also be able to offer as few hours and days of school as they choose. Opponents of the measure are concerned about the negative repercussions of these cuts on students. They also worry that they could create legal problems or jeopardize federal funding. The legislature is expected to decide in June how much money it will spend on schools and services over the next two years. More here.

Connecticut Legislators Debate Best Use of Stimulus Money
Lawmakers in Connecticut are arguing about how best to spend the $745 million in federal stimulus money for which the state is eligible. Governor M. Jodi Rell is counting on using the majority of the funds to preserve local school aid at the current level and to help cities and towns avoid laying off teachers or cutting programs. However, some argue that some of the money should be used to create model school programs. Noting the administration’s focus on innovation in the use of the stimulus dollars, some lawmakers worry that using the money to continue the status quo would put the state’s chances of cashing in on later stimulus disbursements at risk. They argue that using some of the funds for innovative reforms would make the state eligible for a “Race to the Top” grant later this year. More here.

New Jersey Supreme Court Hears Arguments on School Funding Formula Reforms
This week, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments about whether or not to end the state’s Abbott-Burke funding formula. Under this formula, the state must fund the 31 poorest districts, so-called Abbott districts, on par with the wealthiest communities in the state, with additional money going toward new schools, full-time preschool, and other supplemental programs. Under the new formula proposed more than a year ago in the School Funding Reform Act, which was approved by Governor Jon Corzine and state lawmakers, Abbott districts would face funding cuts, but would still receive about half of the state’s school aid money. The money cut from these districts would help serve poor students in districts not targeted under the Abbott formula. Supporters of the change claim that the formula short changes poor students in schools other than the 31 Abbott districts. Opponents of the formula at the Education Law Center argue that the new formula will prompt growing shortfalls in the state’s poorest districts because the aid won’t keep pace with rising fixed costs like salaries and utilities. More here.

Stimulus Transparency Off to a Slow Start
Despite many promises from President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan of unprecedented transparency in the tracking of federal stimulus dollars, states and the federal government have been slow to develop tracking and dissemination systems for this data. $145 million in aid has already been disbursed to states and districts, but most states’ “recovery” websites list only general information about the stimulus program. A few states, including Maryland, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, and Connecticut, are ahead of the curve, including county-by-county spending information and lobbying contacts. For other states, the focus has been on developing internal reporting systems, with little attention paid to making this information public. More here.

Briefly Noted

• As ballot measure lags in polls, California colleges prepare for cuts.
• Lower costs increase appeal of satellite campuses.