Friday News Roundup: Week of August 8-12

Illinois Gov. Quinn moves to abolish controversial legislative scholarships

Joplin, Missouri schools to get up to $1.5M from state

Dome: $100 million in leftovers sought for North Carolina education

Austin, Texas schools’ 2012 budget shortfall narrows; state of emergency still in place

An Illinois scholarship program, called the General Assembly legislative scholarships, may be near its end. After the state Assembly passed legislation to alter the program and make it less vulnerable to scandal, lawmakers sent the bill to Governor Pat Quinn for his signature. Instead, Quinn rewrote the legislation to eliminate the program entirely. Past efforts to eliminate the program have failed in the legislature – in 2003, by only five votes in the House. The Assembly is currently on summer recess and Quinn’s proposal requires further legislative action to go into effect. Though lawmakers’ approval is far from certain, recent scandals that led to an ongoing federal investigation of one former state representative’s scholarship awards may benefit the governor’s efforts. More here…

Joplin, Missouri schools to get up to $1.5M from state
A May tornado in Joplin, Missouri killed over 150 residents and caused substantial amounts of damage to local homes and businesses, including the destruction of four schools. Additionally, the loss of revenue from residential property taxes as a result of the storm may further hurt the stability of the local schools. Governor Jay Nixon announced this week that the Joplin School District will receive aid from the state to cover the shortfall in property taxes. Without the funds, Nixon said, the district would have to increase property taxes next year, when revenue is expected to drop by nearly $800,000 in Jasper County. More here…

Dome: $100 million in leftovers sought for North Carolina education
Tensions are once again running high between Democratic North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue and Republican leaders in the General Assembly. Governor Perdue, looking to fill in the gaps left in education spending after major cuts earlier this year, identified over $100 million in funds that were budgeted to state agencies but left unspent by the end of the 2011 fiscal year. She hopes to reallocate those funds to K-12 and higher education in the state. Perdue does not have the authority to distribute the funds unilaterally, so her proposal is subject to lawmakers’ consent. More here…

Austin, Texas schools’ 2012 budget shortfall narrows; state of emergency still in place
An expected budget shortfall of over $94 million for the 2012 fiscal year led the Austin school board to declare in February that the school district was in a state of emergency. The shortfall was caused by declining tax revenues, cuts in funding from the state, the winding down of federal stimulus dollars, and increased expenditures. A meeting this week showed the shortfall is less than was anticipated – only about $517,000 – but the district will likely remain in a state of emergency for the foreseeable future. This allows the district to lay off as many as 1,153 employees, including those under contract. According to a new state law, the state of emergency will run out at the end of the fiscal year in which the declaration was made (2011) unless the board votes to continue it or cancel it earlier, so the school board has until the start of the 2012 fiscal year on September 1 to vote on the issue.

Briefly Noted:

The Montana state office of public instruction will assist 141 teachers in repaying their student loans. The aid is the fourth year of a program to offer incentives to teachers who agree to work in rural communities.