Friday News Roundup: Week of July 9-13

Corbett signs bill to help troubled Pennsylvania school districts

Nevada school district: Race to the Top money not worth the effort

Kansas Board of Education recommends $440 million increase in base state aid to schools

Arizona governor opposes initiative to make education sales tax permanent

Corbett signs bill to help troubled Pennsylvania school districts
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed into law this week a bill that helps financially distressed school districts balance their budgets. Under the new law, the state secretary of education will appoint a chief recovery officer to districts deemed in “financial distress” to work with local school boards to create a recovery plan. Should the board approve the plan, the district will be eligible for interest-free loans from the state. Under the law, districts may go to new lengths to save money. The financially-distressed districts are allowed to cancel or renegotiate contracts that did not involve collective bargaining agreements; close schools and eliminate positions for professional employees or transfer those faculty members; hire teachers without certain certifications at the Secretary’s discretion; and convert schools to charter schools if that would save money. More here…

Nevada school district: Race to the Top money not worth the effort
The Clark County School Board in Nevada this week announced its decision not to compete for the new district-level federal Race to the Top grants because they argue that the costs and restrictions associated with the grant far outweigh the potential benefits. One board member said that Clark County, with 309,000 students and a $2 billion annual budget, is eligible for a maximum grant of only $6 million. Given that the grant requires creating a “personalized learning environment” for every student in a 10,000-student pilot program with an expectation that the program will expand to more students at the completion of the pilot program, the size of the award was not expected to cover the potential costs. Implementing a comprehensive teacher, principal, superintendent, and school board evaluation system by the 2014-2015 school year also seemed too challenging and costly given the size of the grant. Board members said they would instead pursue funding with fewer requirements attached. More here…

Kansas Board of Education recommends $440 million increase in base state aid to schools
Kansas’ State Board of Education has submitted a recommendation for a $440 million increase in base state aid to school districts. In the 2008-09 school year, base state per pupil expenditure was $4,438 per pupil, but in the face of a significant drop in state revenue, legislators cut that number to $3,838 dollars for the 2012-13 school year. Under Kansas law, the base state aid level is set by law at $4,492 per pupil for 2012-13, and the Board of Education’s recommendation would restore aid to those levels. The legislature will take the recommendation under consideration in next year’s 2013 legislative session, but many dismissed the proposal out of hand.  Governor Sam Brownback has not yet broadcast his feelings about the recommendation, but Republican lawmakers cited the anticipated expense of implementing the new federal healthcare law as costing dollars that would have otherwise gone to the school districts. More here…

Arizona governor opposes initiative to make education sales tax permanent
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced Monday that she opposes making permanent a temporary two-year sales tax that directed funding to K-12 schools, although she fought for the initial implementation of the temporary tax. Most of the approximately $1 billion collected each year from the 1 cent surcharge automatically is directed towards K-12 funding, with the remainder targeted to scholarships for higher education, children’s health insurance, and infrastructure projects. Brewer stated that she opposes any initiative that bypasses the legislature and instead automatically allocates funds. Proponents of the initiative say that voters don’t trust the legislature with their money, and would rather allocate it directly to K-12 education spending. The measure may not make it on the ballot this November due to a technical legal question about its filing, but proponents of the initiative claim that internal polling shows a substantial majority of Arizona voters would support the measure if it does. More here…