On Tuesday, the House Education Committee took up HB 1879, which would create a Blue Ribbon Task Force to study the impacts of increasing the compulsory attendance age for public school from sixteen to seventeen or eighteen. Such a move has been endorsed by the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation. [...]
Education Archives
- Jun15
Ed budget cuts — and the rest of the picture
Public school superintendents were out in force yesterday fighting against the proposed budget cuts in the state budget See: article). A couple of facts you aren’t likely to hear in this debate. First, while it is true state appropriations for the public schools were reduced by about $840 million, NC public schools also received about $944 [...]
- Jun14
Budget, smudget. What you really need to know.
Trying to understand government spending is a mind-numbing exercise. The proposed operating budget for the Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) for next year will likely be in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion. How has the budget for WCPSS grown and where is all that money going are two questions I address in “The district’s dollars” which appears [...]
- Jun08
Education tax credits:what are we waiting for?
Thousands of law-abiding North Carolinians choose to educate their children at home or in private schools. In addition to paying state and local taxes for an education system their children do not use, parents must also pay the costs of tuition, books and the other costs associated with non-public education. It’s not difficult to see how those who choose not to attend [...]
- Jun08
Anybody See Bill Harrison At A Charter School?
My good friend Matt Mittan stumbled across some fascinating audio showing part of what is wrong in public education. Apparently, if you can’t back up your statements with facts, it’s ok to just make them up in front of the senate subcommittee on education (you can hear the audio). State Board of Education Chairman [...]
- Jun07
Charter school cap bills sit idle but carry caution
Three bills in the General Assembly would raise the cap on charter schools. Civitas Institute Senior Policy Analyst Bob Luebke urges caution over state control in them.
- Jun04
NC Charter School Conference in Raleigh, July 11-13
Charter schools represent a wonderful example of innovation in education. They offer unique learning environments to educators and students; expanded educational opportunities for parents and a quality educational product — at a cost usually significantly below that of traditional public schools – to taxpayers . How are North Carolina’s charter schools doing? People vote with their feet and a charter school waiting list [...]
- Jun01
Proposed House Budget Could Penalize Wake Schools
The current House version of the proposed state budget SB 897 contains a provision to change how Disadvantaged Students Supplemental Funding (DSSF) is distributed. The provision (Page, 33 Section 7.23) states: In determining whether to approve a local school administrative unit’s plan for the expenditure of funds allocated to it for disadvantaged student supplemental funding, the [...]
- May26
Case Studies in Progressivism
It’s funny how hard it is to give something up once you’ve got it. That’s the lesson that unions are teaching governments and the public all over America. What have been the fruits of the institution that was supposed to advance the working class and end oppression? Let’s look to the Mecca of labor unions, [...]
- May25
School wars: classroom vs. central offices
As reported in yesterday’s Under the Dome, Bill McNeal of the N.C. Association of School Administrator, and Wendell Hall, president of the N.C. School Boards Assn. are circling the wagons and defending school administrators from politicians hoping to make additional cuts to central offices. “There is no bloated central office,” Hall said. Now I [...]
- 1May20
Not much diversity among diversity supporters
For all the talk about diversity at Wake County school board meetings, it is hard to ignore the lack of diversity among diversity supporters. The adjacent picture from Wednesday’s News & Observer report on the Wake County school board meeting, makes the point. Lots of clapping and chanting from demonstrators – all of which seem [...]
- May18
More Charter School Mischief?
Charter school proponents would do well to keep an eye on HB 856. While the bill, introduced by Rep. Marvin Lucas, does increase the cap on charter schools to 106, it also gives the State Board of Education (SBE) new powers to shut down schools who fail to meet student performance goals for two consecutive years. I’m all for accountability, [...]
- May12
Quality proficiency standards lacking in most states.
The development of strong state academic standards were considered a major selling point for No Child Left Behind legislation. They gave states flexibility and also provided a means by which the feds would gauge progress. How have the states done in developing useful and academically rigorous standards? The record is a mixed bag at best. That’s the assessment [...]
- May07
A peek at the Senate Education Budget
This morning’s meeting of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education provided a preview of what topic will likely dominate discussions when legislators return next week: budget cutting. Senate members reviewed 5 percent budget reduction scenarios for K-12 public education, community colleges and the UNC System. Some of the proposals sure to garner the most attention include: [...]
- May05
Higher Education and Healthcare: what do they have in common?
And you moderates thought the government only had designs on healthcare, banking and the auto industry? You can now add higher-ed to that ever-lengthening list. Last month, I blogged on why the federalization of student aid was bad and how the administration planned to shoehorn the legislation onto the healthcare bill. Well Obamacare passed. (The higher-ed bill [...]
- 1Apr26
Ethics and the left: Do as I say, not as I do.
John Tedesco, Wake County School Board member, was catching heat from the left for speaking at the Raleigh Tea Party. Chase Foster, a local liberal activist and lobbyist for N.C. Voters for Clean Elections, nearly blew a gasket going after Tedesco at last week’s school board meeting. See WRAL video below. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq73qNcgCps Foster called the Tea [...]
- Apr23
Ignoring white test scores? My reply.
In a letter-to-the-Editor published earlier this week in the News & Observer, Wake County School Board member Kevin Hill took me to task for ignoring the scores of white students in Wake County who beat their student counterparts in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) on high school end-of-course tests and also for rounding off percentages. My [...]
- 1Apr22
Wake School budget: looking for cuts in the wrong places
On Tuesday night the Wake County School Board reluctantly approved a $1.2 billion operating budget. The budget included $20 million in cuts. That amount may increase to $40 million, depending on final state and local funding levels. While the budget includes layoffs, I’m still miffed by many WCPSS officials who say further cuts will have a greater impact on [...]
- Apr16
Wake Schools: more admin. cuts possible before classroom reductions?
Wake County teachers and parents are hoping that when Governor Perdue reveals her budget proposal this Tuesday, the cuts will not go any deeper than the proposed 3 percent cut in state funding for education. WCPS officials said earlier this week previous cuts, larger class sizes and fewer supplies will likely help the district to stave [...]
- Apr13
Technology in the Classroom: Friend or Foe?
Students are using technology in the classroom now more than ever. Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and others are just clicks away and may be opening a new world of distraction in the classroom. Here, I explore six questions technology in the classroom introduces and why students, professors and parents should take notice.