Friday News Roundup: Week of May 10-14

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>In Bid for Race to the Top Success, New York Agreement Will Alter Teacher Evaluations</b></p>     <p><b>Kansas Legislature Passes Sales Tax Increase to Help Schools Avoid Deeper Cuts</b></p>     <p><b>Michigan Sweetens Teacher Retirement In Hopes of Saving on Teacher Salaries</b></p>  <p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>In Bid for Race to the Top Success, New York Agreement Will Alter Teacher Evaluations</b><br>The New York Department of Education and the state’s teachers unions came to an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/nyregion/11teacher.html?src=mv&amp;pagewanted=print">agreement over teacher evaluations</a> this week that could improve the state’s chances of success in the second round of the federal Race to the Top (RTT) grant competition. The agreement would overhaul the state’s teacher evaluation system, which currently rates teachers as only either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The new evaluation system would rate teachers as highly effective, effective, developing, or ineffective, and would measure teachers on a 100-point scale – 40 points of which would be based on student test score improvement. Under the plan, 20 percent of points would be based on student improvement on local tests, and 20 percent would be based on student improvement on state tests. The rest of the points would be based on observations by principals and other teachers and on other measures. Teacher pay would not be affected by the ratings, but teachers rated as ineffective two years in a row could be fired through an expedited 60-day hearing process. The plan must now pass the state legislature before the June 1<sup>st</sup> application deadline for the second round of RTT. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/nyregion/11teacher.html?src=mv&amp;pagewanted=print">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Kansas Legislature Passes Sales Tax Increase to Help Schools Avoid Deeper Cuts</b><br>The Kansas state legislature passed a state <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/13/1944626/kansas-schools-breathe-a-sigh.html">sales tax increase</a> of one percent this week to help avoid additional cuts to education spending in fiscal year 2011. The 1 percentage point increase will bring the state sales tax to a total of 6.3 percent, and is expected to plug a $312 million budget gap that would have meant cuts to school budgets in the coming fiscal year. Previously, the state Senate and House of Delegates rejected a plan that would have allowed school districts to raise funds from local sources, likely through property tax increases. Both plans received mixed reviews from school districts, as some lower-income districts would have benefited more from flexibility to raise local funds, while others would have benefited more from the sales tax increase. <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/13/1944626/kansas-schools-breathe-a-sigh.html">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Michigan Sweetens Teacher Retirement In Hopes of Saving on Teacher Salaries</b><br>In a middle-of-the-night vote, the Michigan legislature this week approved a plan to <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/state-passes-new-teacher-retirement-incentive-law/">sweeten teacher retirement benefits</a> in the hope of convincing more veteran teachers to retire this summer. The plan would save the state money on teacher salaries because senior teacher salaries are much higher than those of junior teachers. Remaining school employees will be required to pay an additional 3 percent of their salaries to go toward the additional retirement spending. About 50,000 employees are eligible for the retirement plan, and the state estimates that about half of those will accept the sweetened retirement package. If that is the case, the plan would save the state more that $670 million in the next fiscal year, and even more over time. The savings would offset the $200 per pupil state spending cut that will go into effect in fiscal year 2011. The state’s teachers unions argue that fewer teachers than expected are likely to accept the retirement plan, so savings will be lower than anticipated. <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/state-passes-new-teacher-retirement-incentive-law/">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Briefly Noted</b></p>  <ul><li>Despite      Governor Schwarzenegger’s promise to avoid more education cuts, his new      budget plan may mean <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJ7uUDlO1sEo7K7bEfHpj4G7wuLQD9FMMH5O0">less money for schools</a>.</li></ul><!--break-->