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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

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San Jose court ruling spells setback for Rocketship, charter schools









Education Headlines

Wednesday, March 12, 2014
FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Deal would give Kern HSD teachers 5 percent raise

Teachers in the Kern High School District would -- under a tentative agreement put in writing Tuesday -- receive a 4 percent salary raise next school year and a 1 percent raise this year, the first ongoing salary increase in seven years.

Stockton USD trustees reject search for admin. building

Stockton Unified trustees Tuesday night rejected a request by school district officials to begin researching sites for a new administrative building to replace the aging offices at 701 N. Madison St. and paying for it through bond Measure E.

Lodi Unified School District ratifies teacher agreement

Members of the Lodi Unified School District board voted to approve the tentative agreement reached with the Lodi Education Association on Tuesday night at a special board meeting.

Upland schools in better financial shape

After months of concern over Upland’s dire financial picture, the district on Tuesday was singing another tune: it can pay its bills now.

Embattled Centinela Valley school district Superintendent Jose Fernandez gives himself pay cut at stormy meeting

Kicking off a wild school board meeting that drew some 300 furious residents, Centinela Valley high school district Superintendent Jose Fernandez — who has come under intense scrutiny for a compensation package that amounted to $663,000 last year — announced he would voluntarily cut many of the perks embedded in his contract, bringing his salary to $295,000.

Riverside County Superintendent: Schools must push college, careers

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Young said Tuesday that local schools must spend the next decade pushing students toward goals beyond graduation, because a high school diploma just isn’t good enough anymore.

Baron: Fewer California school districts in financial trouble, state says

For the second straight year, the number of California school districts facing financial turmoil has dropped significantly.

Capistrano Unified OK's Talega refund

Hundreds of property owners in San Clemente’s Talega neighborhood will receive refunds from the money Capistrano Unified School District saved when it refinanced $44.98 million in Mello-Roos bonds eight years ago, trustees decided Friday night.

SD Unified pushes early retirement plan

Facing at least two more years of fiscal uncertainty, the San Diego Unified School District is poised to nudge its most senior educators off the payroll and cash in on more real estate sales to raise revenue and cut expenses.

Stanislaus State conference for future teachers draws a crowd in Turlock

Schools putting the Great Recession and its staff-slashing cuts behind them face a new problem: They need teachers. And with jobs on the horizon, more college grads are heading to credential programs.

San Jose court ruling spells setback for Rocketship, charter schools

The South Bay movement to fast-track the opening of charter schools has been dealt a setback, with a court ruling that county school boards can't override local ordinances while deciding where to place campuses.

Mt. Diablo school board to vote on charter field improvements

The Mt. Diablo school board on Wednesday expects to approve Clayton Valley Charter High field improvements, a union contract for some non-certificated employees, including instructional assistants, and a budget report.

Experts, officials address concerns over transgender student athletes

A 17-year-old who was born male but identifies as a female is one of the first to take advantage of recent changes by the California Interscholastic Federation and the state education code that establish nondiscriminatory policies based on students’ gender identity. But the new law has vocal opponents, including a Chino-based group that attempted to bring the issue to the November ballot.

Teachers stage apparent sickout at Compton high school

More than half the teachers at a Compton high school called in sick Tuesday, leaving students unattended and forcing district officials to scramble to bring order to the campus.

Brentwood school district now using robo-readers to grade essays

Meet Pearson EssayScorer, a Web-based software program that corrects and grades papers in the time it takes to tap the Enter key on a computer.

Mongeau: Cost grows for proposal to expand transitional kindergarten

A Senate proposal to expand transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds would be more expensive than originally predicted, according to a new analysis.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Alpine teachers, district 'getting back on track'

Healing and reconciliation have officially begun in Alpine.

As scrutiny intensifies, Centinela Valley school board will hold public meeting Tuesday

Amid heightening scrutiny from school officials and lawmakers across California, the Centinela Valley school board tonight will hold its second meeting since the furor over Superintendent Jose Fernandez’s employment contract erupted in early February.

Rialto Unified has not started search for Cebrun's replacement

Harold Cebrun will remain the superintendent of Rialto Unified for almost three more weeks, and the search has not yet begun for his successor.

Officials: No active chemicals found on Kings County school bus

 The children who got sick last month while riding in a school bus in rural Kings County apparently didn't get sprayed with dangerous pesticides, county officials said Monday.

Dutch educators take tips from San Diego schools

Although international rankings show United States schools below their European equivalents, a group of Dutch educators are in San Diego this week to learn some teaching techniques from their American equivalents.

Denair Unified looking to reduce teachers at charter school, hire chief business officer

The Denair Charter Academy, serving mostly at-risk high school students, would lose 12 hourly teachers next year under a proposal to be voted on tonight at a special meeting. The Denair Unified School District board also will convene Thursday night for its regular meeting, expecting to hire a permanent chief business officer.

Modesto City Schools votes to to send layoff notices, end elementary library course