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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

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Wealthy schools keep bounty under new funding system






Education Headlines

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

New system offers schools hope

Gloom has been replaced by optimism, and empty pockets have been supplanted by visions of overflowing coffers. But amid California's increasingly sunny financial outlook, the experts who provide direction to the business officials from the state's school districts continue to preach caution.

Monterey and other coastal school districts are looking for teachers

Wanted: special education teachers. Apply almost anywhere in California. Usually by this time of year, most school districts are fully staffed and ready to start the upcoming school cycle. But teachers in some districts had until July 1 to confirm whether they would return in the fall, and in an effort to help fill those last-minute vacancies, the Monterey County Office of Education was recruiting replacements Tuesday. 

Upland Unified School District board hears update on budget

The district submitted the budget in June with $7 million in deficit spending, which did not include concessions recently agreed upon by employee groups. The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees was updated Tuesday on the county's rejection of their adopted 2013-14 fiscal year budget.

New school nutrition rules prompt few changes at Fresno Unified

New federal guidelines handed down in late June will nix sugary beverages and sodium-filled snacks from public school vending machines by fall of 2014, an edict that Fresno Unified School District officials say is largely in line with current operations.

Wealthy schools keep bounty under new funding system

California's new way of funding schools – designed to give extra dollars to districts with English learners, foster children and low-income families – leaves unchanged the status of one group generally considered financially elite. They are the basic-aid school districts – about 132 of the state's 1,038 districts where local property taxes exceed the state's minimum funding promise.

Schools chief zeros in on principals

The school principal might conjure up images — or memories — of uncomfortable meetings for unruly students and their parents. Come fall, the principal will step out of that often-feared office in San Diego Unified as Superintendent Cindy Marten shines a spotlight light on the job she believes is so crucial to a school’s success.

Riverside superintendent discusses education reform

Riverside Unified School District Superintendent Rick Miller joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and other community leaders in Washington, D.C., on July 15 to discuss partnership opportunities between cities and the U.S. Department of Education to foster effective approaches to education reform.

Teachers trained to avoid sexual misconduct, officials say

Keep your classroom door open. Never hug students with both arms. Don’t text students as if you were one of their friends. Teachers are reminded of these boundaries over and over, yet at least five Inland high school educators have been arrested this year on suspicion of having sex with teenage students.

House GOP rolls out conservative education bill

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor made a fresh push Tuesday to pass a massive rewrite of No Child Left Behind, as Republicans try to roll back the controversial education performance standards of the past decade while touting conservative priorities like charter school vouchers.

Adams: Fruits and veggies will flourish in classrooms with new grants

Hungry students don’t learn as well, which is why schools on Tuesday welcomed the announcement of new or renewed federal and state funding to provide students with fruits, vegetables, breakfasts and summer meals.

California budget includes new emphasis on foster youth in schools

A group of Bay Area advocates lobbied Sacramento legislators to keep "categorical" funding set aside for foster youth services intact and to add accountability measures to school funding to force districts throughout the state to track the academic progress of foster kids. As part of the Local Control Funding Formula signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, school districts must adopt plans by next year showing how they intend to spend extra money earmarked to help low-income students, English learners and foster youth.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Recall decision looms over Coachella Valley school board

The Riverside County registrar’s office has until Thursday to decide if an effort to recall the Coachella Valley Unified school board will finally move forward.

Tustin schools offer healthier lunches, more vegetarian choices for fall

Come fall, Tustin Unified School District will serve healthier, less processed options for lunch, including more vegetarian entrees and no peanut or nut items.

Tustin police increase, improve lockdown trainings for district teachers

The Tustin Police Department and Tustin Unified School District plan to increase and update lockdown training for school personnel and shore up building security. The changes are in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 26 people in December.