Monday, January 04, 2010

School News from Around Kentucky

Beshear warns state deficit will top $1.5 billion: Gov. Steve Beshear warned Tuesday that state lawmakers will face a deficit of more than $1.5 billion as they craft a two-year state budget, despite better-than-expected revenue estimates released last week. Beshear said ballooning costs for Medicaid and debt payments will add at least $600 million in new spending to the state's next budget. Already, lawmakers must find an extra $890 million over the next two years just to continue spending $9.1 billion a year from the General Fund...But Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said after Tuesday's news conference that he believed Beshear's dire budget projection was a scare tactic designed to strong-arm the legislature into passing expanded gambling at the state's racetracks, a measure that failed during a special legislative session this summer. Williams also said the state should look at cutting more, including personnel. (Herald-Leader)

8 steps to understanding Kentucky's budget crunch: Although the economic recession, which has brought double-digit unemployment to Kentucky, is the major factor behind Kentucky's budget woes, their roots run much deeper. Here's an eight-step primer in advance of the 2010 General Assembly, which begins Jan. 5. (H-L)

Teacher uses superhero studies to engage students: A Kentucky special-education teacher says a classroom unit about superheroes helps engage and focus his students in academic learning. Middle-school teacher Jeremy Belcher says that creating background stories for superheroes helps with writing skills, while graphs and charts detailing the heroes' powers help with science and math. "We go full class periods with them totally focused and into what they're doing," Belcher said. (Courier-Journal)

Clark Schools look at staffing guidelines: Clark County Schools is not adhering to its own staffing guidelines according to a comparison study done by School Board Management Associates. The study was commissioned by the Clark County Board of Education and presented by Dr. Bob Arvin to the board at its meeting last week. The study was done to see how the district’s staffing compared to six others across the state: Elizabethtown, Henry, Franklin, Shelby, Simpson and Trimble counties. According to the study, Clark Schools had 283.7 certified positions, 12.2 above the board-approved allocation guidelines for the current school year.
Superintendent Elaine Farris said the issue had to be addressed, even if it meant changing the guidelines. “We have not stayed with the guidelines, for whatever reason. But we cannot continue to have a guideline and staff over it,” said Farris. “If we’re going to, if we think we need to do something differently with our personnel, then we need to revise and amend the guidelines, because right now, we are not staying with the guidelines we have on the books.” (Winchester Sun by way of KSBA)

Charter schools not part of Ky.'s Race to Top: Advocates for charter schools had hoped the lure of federal funding might force Kentucky lawmakers to allow the alternative schools in coming months, but state education leaders say they have no plans to push the idea. Kentucky law doesn't allow charter schools — publicly funded schools that operate outside traditional state regulations — but advocates were banking on Washington's $4.35 billion Race to the Top program to change lawmakers' minds. President Barack Obama's program offers federal grants to states that can demonstrate efforts to boost student achievement. States with charter schools, which backers contend can boost achievement because they often embrace innovative teaching methods, will have a leg up in the competition for money, Obama has said. The chance of cashing in has prompted some states to consider allowing charter schools and others to raise caps on the number of such schools, but Kentucky is not likely to follow suit. State Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said last week that Kentucky's application for Race to the Top funds will be filed next month without any provision for charter schools. That omission could make Kentucky's application less attractive to federal officials. (Herald-Leader)

Mason & Lewis schools await new state standards: It's a waiting game for area school districts as state officials consider making changes to public education standards.According to Lisa Gross, spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Education, the adoption of new common core content standards for English and math is practically guaranteed at a Feb. 9 meeting involving the state Board of Education, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board. Gross said each has stated its intention to adopt the new standards."We will have higher, clearer standards," Gross said. "There may be fewer, but we think better." (Ledger Independent)

NCES Predictions: [The National Center for Education Statistics makes annual predictions.] The federal agency each year releases education data and predictions, based on surveys, population patterns and other demographic changes. Policy makers, from legislators to school district treasurers, use such numbers to make decisions about districts and schools... Across Ohio, the number of high school graduates is projected to be nearly flat by 2018, while Kentucky's grads will grow by 13.2 percent, the center predicts. Nationally, high school graduates will increase by 11 percent. Meanwhile, education spending nationwide is expected to grow 36 percent by the 2018-19 school year to $626 billion, the report states, using inflation-adjusted dollars. That averages $11,600 per student. The report didn't break out states. State web sites show Ohio taxpayers spend $10,184 per student and Kentucky taxpayers about $8,839 per student. (Enquirer)

Minority grad rate expected to worsen: While one in four of the nation's public high school students fail to graduate on time, minority students are more than twice as likely to drop out as non-minority students. The problem will get more obvious in the 2010-11 school year, when new federal No Child Left Behind rules change how states and school districts count and report graduation rates. The changes are likely to result in lower graduation rates than those previously reported by many districts and states, experts said. And for the first time the rates will specify graduation rates for minority and other disadvantage students. (Enquirer)

UK professor raises privacy issues with state test results: A University of Kentucky business professor says it's all too easy to figure out standardized test performances of minorities at schools across the country using publicly available data and a little bit of math. That, essentially, would violate federal laws that require individuals' test scores remain private, said Krish Muralidhar, a professor of decision science and information systems at UK's Gatton School of Business. (H-L)

Film on Floyd bus tragedy set to premiere: A documentary film about the worst school bus tragedy in the nation’s history will make its debut near the place where the tragedy occurred. The debut will take place just a few days before the 51st anniversary of the accident.“The Very Worst Thing,” a film focuseing on details and memories of a Feb. 28, 1958, school bus crash which left 26 children and their driver dead in the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, will premiere at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19.Director Michael Crisp said strong emotions remain evident for everyone who was touched by the crash of Floyd County school bus No. 27. (Daily Independent)

OEA requires Training for LaRue School Board member: A LaRue County School Board member is being required to complete extra training in his role after state investigators determined he violated state law. Norbert Skees, who is in his first term of representing the first district, was investigated... [for]attempted to interfere in personnel issues...The complaints included Skees questioning the transportation director about the rotation schedule of bus drivers; "harassment and intimidation" of the band's color guard director; stating that a letter of nonrenewal should be sent to the band director; requesting that school-related trip sponsors be allowed to choose the bus driver they wanted for the trip; and requesting applications and resumes of all applicants for a maintenance position. (LaRue County Herald)

School board on grant bandwagon: A memorandum approved by the Caldwell County Board of Education could indirectly help the state receive up to $170 million in federal stimulus funds. The school board, meeting in regular session Monday, approved a memorandum of understanding with the Kentucky Department of Education in support of the Race to the Top grant project. The project involves $4.35 billion in federal funding for education agencies... Holliday’s goal, Boyd said, is to use the Race to the Top funds to offset the cost of implementing the new testing system when it takes effect. Each school district’s superintendent, board chairman and education association president are being asked to sign a memorandum of understanding supporting the grant application. “We’re being asked to trust our commissioner,” said Boyd, adding that most districts are choosing to do so. (Times Leader)

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