News
June
2000-December 2004 News Archive
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported
Saturday that the Governor's Blue Task Force on Financing Student Success
wrapped up 16 months of work on December 17th without figuring out
how Ohio should equitably pay for public education.
"What the task force could not determine is
how to pay for delivering education, no matter the wealth of the
district," the Plain Dealer said. Then, the article went on to say,
the task force is preparing a report for Governor Taft with 15
recommendations. The report is due by the end of December and the
Governor figures to use it to determine a budget for K-12 education.
The Plain Dealer also said the task
force, without voting, reached a consensus that poor school districts
need more money to educate students.
Read the Plain Dealer article. Click: School
finance panel has suggestions, no solution
*
Average tuition at Ohio's state universities this
academic year is just over $7,500, well above the national average of $5,132
reported this fall by the College Board. ....Cleveland
Plain Dealer, December 20, 2004
*
Ohio’s starting teacher salaries fall short when compared
with nearby states, according to an October report by the
Legislative Office of Education Oversight. Ohio ranked last when
compared with Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. ....Columbus
Dispatch, December 20, 2004
*
The federal No Child Left Behind law will label
thousands of Ohio special-education teachers, who have state licenses
certifying they are trained to teach children with disabilities, as
unqualified beginning this school year. And unless they take hours of
classes or the law changes, many could lose their jobs by the end of the
2005-06 school year. NCLB requires that special-education teachers be rated
as highly certified in up to four subjects, math, English, social studies
and science. Most regular high-school teachers need to be certified in just
one of those disciplines. ....Columbus
Dispatch, December 19, 2004
*
The State Board of Education amended rules relating to
Teacher Education and Licensure Standards. The amendments are in response to
mandates in Senate Bill 2 and to provisions of the federal No Child Left
Behind Act. Changes in the rules include the following: (1) Addition of
a provision that would permit National Board Certified teachers to renew
their licenses one time based on earning National Board certification; (2)
Addition of a K-12 gifted endorsement; (3) Addition of the designation
“ESEA Qualified” on the educational aide permits of paraprofessionals
who meet the No Child Left Behind requirements for paraprofessionals;
and (4) Incorporation of provisions to designate teacher-preparatory
institutions as effective, conditional or low-performing. ....Ohio
Department of Education, December 14, 2004
On Tuesday of this week the National Center
for Education Statistics released the results on the performances of U.S.
students from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
TIMSS, conducted every four years, is an assessment of fourth and eighth
graders in mathematics and science. In 2003, the United States and 44 other
countries participated in data collection at two grade levels. Twenty-five
nations collected data on fourth-graders and 45 nations collected data on
eighth-graders. TIMSS results are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000,
with the international standard deviation set at 100.
U.S
PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS
2003 Performance at Grade Four
U.S. fourth-grade students scored 518 in mathematics, on
average, exceeding the international average of 495. (25 nations)
2003 Performance at Grade Eight
U.S. eighth-grade students
scored 504 in mathematics, on average, exceeding the international average
of 466. (45 nations)
U.S. PERFORMANCE
IN SCIENCE
2003 Performance at Grade Four
U.S. fourth-grade students scored 536 in science, on average,
exceeding the international average of 489. (25 nations)
2003 Performance at Grade Eight
U.S. eighth-grade students scored 527 in science, on average, exceeding the
international average of 473. (45 nations)
For more information click:
PDF
version of the powerpoint presentation for TIMSS 2003
Current School Finance Litigation
in the United States
The Dayton Daily News said
today that the State of Ohio must solve a shortfall of up to $5
billion as it develops a new two-year budget by June 30 of next year........and
observers believe the legislature may cut the Local Government Fund by 50
percent over the biennium. The Daily News also reported that House
Speaker-elect Jon Husted said local governments shouldn't budget to receive
anything from the fund until after the state budget is prepared.
The Montgomery County Auditor said if the
legislature were to eliminate the Local Government Fund, it would take up to
10.46 additional mills of local property taxes in his county to make up
for the lost revenue. There is little doubt that similar results would
occur in every Ohio county.
What are the implications for school
funding? Cuts in state aid to schools? More school levies on the ballot? Increased
reliance on local property taxes? More districts with fiscal emergencies?
"Again, you're at the discretion of the voters," the Montgomery
County Auditor told local school treasurers and government
budget officials. "The idea that voters are going to put 10 more mills
on themselves is doubtful."
According to a recent article in Education
Week, some school choice advocates are worried about Margaret
Spellings’ nomination to succeed U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. They
fear their cause will get crowded out in President Bush’s second term by
a heightened focus on test-based accountability.
Today's Cleveland Plain Dealer published an
article highlighting former State Representative Bryan Flannery's school-funding
initiative petition.
The Plain Dealer said the Flannery proposal
would:
*
Establish a commission that would determine what constitutes
an adequate education for all children - special needs, vocational, gifted,
poor - and what it would cost. The legislature would be required to pay for
all of that cost, minus local property taxes equal to 20 mills (or $20 for
every $1,000 of property value.) The makeup of the commission is not
outlined in the proposal.
*
Discontinue all local school property taxes over 20 mills,
and prohibit districts from going to the ballot to seek tax hikes for
operating expenses. For high-wealth districts that lose revenue as a result,
the state would be required to make up the difference. Flannery estimates
local property taxes would be cut by at least $1.7 billion.
*
More than double Homestead Exemption benefits for elderly
and disabled people.
*
Prohibit the state from raising sales, income or other taxes
to pay for the commission's recommendation.
There
are only eight days left.Your help is needed to make this happen.
Download
petition and instructions from www.flanneryforohio.com
and collect signatures. Petitions
must be sent to Bryan Flannery,
20169 Bradgate Lane, Strongsville, OH
44149 as soon as possible. The signed petitions must be filed
with the state no later than December 21, 2004.
The Columbus Dispatch said the Governor's Blue
Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Success failed again yesterday
to reach a consensus. Controversy over the proposed task force
recommendations intensified last month when a draft report
was made public. Now, according to the Dispatch, Governor Taft is
to meet privately with several educators on the Blue Ribbon Task Force.
A spokesperson for the Governor said, "The governor wants to hear their
thoughts on the recommendations before the report comes out."
The task force is supposed to finish its work
December 17th, the Dispatch article said.
According to a Los Angeles Times article, a
provision that has been inserted into a federal spending bill that would
require schools to devote at least part of a day each year to teaching about
the U.S. Constitution. Schools receiving federal funding would be
required to teach about the Constitution on September 17, the
anniversary of the document's signing in 1787. The provision would apply to
all schools, elementary through college, that receive federal aid.
The L.A. Times said education groups are
concerned that the provision could be the "opening wedge in a
campaign by Washington to influence what schools teach." A spokesperson
for American Association of School Administrators (AASA) said,
"We think it's great that Congress really wants to make sure that every
child understands the Constitution. But we hope that members of Congress
will remember the Constitution itself when they make policy. And the 10th
Amendment clearly states that education is a state's right."
Source: "Mission
to Mandate Teaching of Constitution Inserted Into Bill," Los
Angeles Times, December 4, 2004
The
Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools (CORAS) has
131 active members for the 2004-05 school year. Seventeen
of the 29 Ohio Appalachian counties have 100% membership in the Coalition.
These counties are Brown, Pike, Gallia, Hocking, Vinton, Perry, Meigs, Morgan,
Washington, Noble, Monroe, Muskingum, Guernsey, Coshocton, Holmes, Jefferson
and Harrison. Two counties, Athens and Jackson, are just one school
district short of having 100% membership. Seven new members, not
active in CORAS last year, have joined the Coalition this
year.
*
Garfield Elementary School, Steubenville City School District,
is one of the 14 Ohio schools nominated by the State Superintendent
of Public Instruction to be considered for the U.S. Department of
Education’s 2005 No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools award.
Garfield was the only school nominated from the 29 county
Ohio Appalachian region. ...Ohio
Department of Education, December 3, 2004
*
The Ohio Department of Education reported yesterday
that 54.5 percent of the 127,737 third-graders who took the Third-Grade
Reading Achievement Test in October 2004 passed. Last October (2003),
46.3 percent passed. By the end of the 2003-04 school year, the
passage rate had improved to 78 percent. ...Associated
Press, December 7, 2004
*
The nation's 15-year-olds make a poor showing on a newly
released international test of practical math applications, ranking 24th out
of 29 industrialized nations, behind South Korea, Japan and most of Europe.
U.S. students' scores were comparable to those in Poland, Hungary and Spain.
Results of the test, known as the Program for International Student
Assessment, were released Monday by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, a group of industrialized nations. ...USA
Today, December 7, 2004
*
The topic for discussion
at the Tuesday, January 25, 2005 CORAS
meeting at the Olde Dutch Restaurant in Logan will be FUNDING
OHIO'S SCHOOLS: WHAT'S
BEING PROPOSED FOR THE NEXT BIENNIUM (FY 2006-2007) AND BEYOND?
, The program will include Susan
Tavakolian, Executive Director, Office of Budget and Planning,
Ohio Department of Education; Paul Marshall,
Executive Director, Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student
Success; Bryan Flannery, Former State Representative
and sponsor of the Flannery Education Initiative Petition; and John
Brandt, Executive Director, Ohio School Boards Association.
Registration materials will be mailed to CORAS members in
early January. Mark this date on your calendar.
*
On Tuesday, March 15, 2005
the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools and the Southeast Region of
the Ohio School Boards Association will co-sponsor the program SUPERINTENDENTS
AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS: AREN'T WE IN THIS THING TOGETHER?
OSBA Director of School Board Development, Rob
Delane, will speak on the topic, "Aren't We
In This Thing Together?" A panel of superintendents and school
board members will conduct a follow-up discussion. The
location for this meeting will be announced later. Mark this date on
your calendar.
*
Planning is currently underway for the Thursday,
April 28, 2005 (tentative) Samuel
I. Hick Executive-In-Residence program sponsored jointly by CORAS
and Ohio University College of Education. The annual CORAS
summer meeting and golf outing is set for Tuesday,
June 14, 2005 at EagleSticks Golf Club and Inn,
Zanesville. Mark these dates on your calendar.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported yesterday
that nearly 130 Ohio school districts could be removed from the "needs
Improvement" list under a bill adopting new standards for
applying the New Child Left Behind Act. The Ohio Senate approved the bill
Wednesday and it now shifts to the House of Representatives where
a vote is expected later this month.
The Plain Dealer said that current law breaks students
into grading groups to track standardized test results. If just one of those
groups fails in reading or math, the entire district could be placed into a
"needs improvement" category and subjected to sanctions. The
bill that passed the Senate Wednesday states that a failing-grade group, as
long as others have shown academic progress over the previous year, will no
longer drop a district into the lower category.
"Decades have gone by with school
district administrators trying to make ends meet and keep their districts out
of debt. Cuts have been made by attrition, or not replacing employees who have
retired. Buildings have been consolidated, making districts -- taxpayers --
holders of real estate they don't need or want, but must pay to upkeep. Health
insurance rates have skyrocketed for everyone, including districts trying to
attract quality teachers. And, since the Ohio Supreme Court washed its hands
of DeRolph v. State of Ohio, the issue of school funding has nearly gone all
the way back to square one. Lawmakers have not been held accountable for the
debacle which is the funding of primary and secondary education." ....from
Chillicothe Gazette editorial, December 1, 2004
From the
Bryan Flannery web site.
There are three weeks left
to make this happen. Download petitions and instructions. Help
change Ohio for the better!
|
The Ohio
Supreme Court issued four DeRolph
decisions. The third
decision was reconsidered and thus set aside.
The fourth decision admonished the legislature to give the
school funding system a complete systematic overhaul in accordance
with the terms of DeRolph I
& II.
DeRolph
I & II clearly stipulated that
the system of school funding must undergo a complete systematic
overhaul. Among the
factors the Court found that contributed to the unworkability of the
system and must be eliminated are:
v
The operation of the school foundation program (no
relationship between the level of funding and the actual cost of an
adequate education)
v
Emphasis on property tax
v
“Phantom” revenue
v
Unfunded mandates
v
Lack of strict academic standards (which include input
standards or standards of opportunity)
The
initiative petition developed by Bryan Flannery, a former State
Representative, responds directly to the flaws the Court found in
the system. It requires
that the costs for the various categories of students—regular,
special education, vocational, gifted, disadvantaged and other
special needs—be based on essential learning resources inherent in
a thorough and efficient system.
The
petition makes public K-12 education an entitlement that requires
the state to fully fund education with the local involvement of 20
mills on property. The
provisions in the Flannery Initiative Petition effectively and
succinctly respond to the flaws enumerated in the DeRolph
decisions.
Download
the petition from www.flanneryforohio.com
and collect signatures at basketball games and other school events.
Petitions must be sent to Bryan Flannery, 20169 Bradgate
Lane, Strongsville, OH 44149
by December 15.
|
Violent
school crime has been cut in half over the past 10 years, according
to a report released Monday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National
Center for Education Statistics. This annual report examines crime occurring
in school as well as on the way to and from school. The report said violent
crime against students in schools fell by 50% between 1992 and 2002, with
young people more often targeted for violence away from school.
The report also said:
• In 2003, 22% of students in grades 9-12
reported using marijuana during the preceding 30 days. That compares with
18% in 1993 and 27% in 1999.
• About 45% of high
school students in 2003 said they had at least one alcoholic drink in the 30
days before they were surveyed, about the same as in 1993 and down from a
recent high of 52% in 1995.
• A third of students in
grades 9-12 said that someone had offered, given or sold them an illegal
drug on school property in 2003. That number has essentially remained the
same over the past decade.
Read the report. Click:
NEW!
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004
*
In addition to their normal progression from elementary to middle
school to high school, at least four in 10 students change schools
one or more times by the time they are 17 years old. ....Associated
Press, November 28, 2004
*
An investigation of Head Start agencies by the Columbus
Dispatch found that nearly 70 percent of money intended for
preschool education of poor children in Ohio is going unspent, and nearly
8,000 eligible children are not receiving help. ....Columbus
Dispatch, November 28, 2004
*
More than 26,500 limited English proficient students
were enrolled in the state's elementary and secondary public schools
during the 2003-2004 school year, according to the Ohio Department of
Education. This represents a 33 percent increase over the number
reported three years ago and a 110 percent increase over the number from
10 years ago. ....Dayton Daily
News, November 29, 2004
*
In his column today, Lee Leonard said the
current "school-funding system will remain for three basic reasons: (1)
Ohioans won’t give up their constitutional right to vote on school
taxes, (2) property taxes provide a stable source of revenue and (3) the
Buckeye State is too diverse for a one-size-fits-all method of
distributing the money."
....Columbus Dispatch, November 29, 2004
"If the governor and lawmakers
really believe that education is a key element in improving the state's
economy and the state's future -- and they certainly should believe that --
then they should start working with educators instead of fighting them."
...from an editorial in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette, November 20, 2004.
According to the Ohio Job & Family
Services September 2004 Civilian Labor Force Estimates (the latest
data by county available) 23 of the 29 Ohio Appalachian counties had unemployment
rates above the national average. Unemployment rates in 21 Ohio Appalachian
counties exceeded the state average. In six counties, including Coshocton,
Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry, the September unemployment rate
was above 10 percent, ranging from 10.3 percent to
15.8 percent.
The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday
that Ohio’s October 2004 jobless rate was 6.3 percent, almost a full
percentage point higher than the U.S. average of 5.5 percent.
Congress has approved and sent to the President
a bill updating special education requirements. The American Association of
School Administrators (AASA) said the bill will:
*
Broaden the ways for schools to identify special education pupils, allowing
schools to reach children in earlier grades and reduce the relatively high
share of minority children who are tracked toward special education.
*
Give districts the flexibility to spend up to 15 percent of federal special
education money on services to children who are not in special education,
but who may need extra help to succeed in regular classrooms.
*
Regarding the issue of classroom discipline, AASA said the bill maintains
federal protections that require schools to show that a disabled child's
misbehavior is not a result of a disability or of the school's failure to
provide services that could have prevented the outburst. But if a review
determines that the misconduct is unrelated to the disability, the school
could expel the pupil.
The President is expected to sign the bill.
The Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force On
Financing Student Success met yesterday to finalize their report to the
Governor. The task force recommended some changes to finance
Ohio's public schools. But, according to newspaper reports, legislators
instantly dismissed them. The Columbus Dispatch said the group could
not reach agreement on even the most-basic issues. The Dispatch added,
"The divisions among the 35 lawmakers, educators, and business and
community leaders underscore the uncertainty surrounding any proposal."
Some published comments:
Senator Jacobson said, "I will work to
defeat it." (Akron Beacon
Journal and Cincinnati Enquirer) Senator Jacobson told
colleagues on the panel that he will work against a proposed amendment to
the Ohio Constitution that, if approved by voters, would allow real-estate
tax revenues generated in school districts to increase, within limits, as
property values grow. (Columbus
Dispatch)
Senator C. J. Prentiss said, "We spent
16 months working on something that I frankly feel will fail." (Columbus
Dispatch) and "I've been saying all along that we
need a Plan B because what we are proposing is not going to pass the General
Assembly." (Cleveland Plain
Dealer)
House Minority Leader Chris Redfern said he
doubts that many of his fellow Democrats would support the amendment.
(Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Paul Marshall, executive director of the task
force, conceded that winning approval for the constitutional amendment
wouldn't be easy. (Cleveland
Plain Dealer)
Since it appears the Governor's Task Force is
struggling, there is another "game in town." Check out former
State Representative Bryan Flannery's website.
The Governor's Task Force On Financing
Student Success will meet this morning to finalize its
recommendations. The Columbus Dispatch said the "49-page draft
report doesn’t include a magic number and doesn’t promise a quick
fix..." but has ".....some significant recommendations aimed at
easing the financial burdens on school districts."
The recommendations referred to by the Dispatch
would allow real-estate tax revenues generated in school districts to
increase, within limits, as property values grow; would eliminate
"phantom revenue;" would provide districts with large numbers of
students living in poverty more state aid for all-day kindergarten and smaller
class sizes; and would provide all school districts with more money for
professional development, student intervention and the building of databases
to evaluate students’ performance. The cost would be about $400 million more
a year, according to the Dispatch.
Some panel members say the draft report falls
short of the court’s order for a complete, systematic overhaul, the Dispatch
said.
Read the Dispatch article. Click: Panel
finalizing school-funding plan
*
The State Board of Education is considering a proposal that
would allow students to graduate from high school even if they haven't
passed the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). A report by the Task
Force on Quality High Schools for a Lifetime of Opportunity recommends
an appeals process that would allow students to graduate if they could show
in another way that they have learned the academic standards measured by the
graduation test. It suggests using college entrance exams such as the
SAT or ACT as an alternative to the OGT. Any changes would require the
approval of the Legislature. ....Associated
Press, November 17, 2004
*
School Districts currently must show that students in each of three grade
spans (grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12) improve annually in math and reading, a
major tenet of the No Child Left Behind law. A bill introduced in the
Ohio Senate yesterday would allow districts to show progress in just one of
those grade spans to avoid a series of sanctions. If passed, the bill would
be implemented immediately, according to an Ohio Department of Education
official. ....Columbus Dispatch,
November 17, 2004
*
Ohio high schools need to be revamped, according to a report
adopted yesterday by the State Board of Education. The report, by the Task
Force on Quality High Schools for a Lifetime of Opportunity, recommends
Ohio create smaller, more-personalized schools, offer challenging courses
and provide students with more hands-on learning experiences such as
internships. ....Columbus Dispatch,
November 17, 2004
*
Ohio charter schools will receive more than $376 million in
public money this year, based on the state's November payments compiled by
the Coalition for Public Education. ....Cleveland
Plain Dealer, November 17, 2004
According to a report released
yesterday, "Average Isn't Enough: Advancing Working Families to
Create an Outstanding Ohio Economy," one in five jobs in Ohio
pays less than poverty-level wages. For a family of four, that was $18,392, or
$8.84 an hour, according to 2002 census statistics that were used for the
report. Education and job training programs are needed to help the state's
neediest residents become self-sufficient, the study concludes.
*
Twenty school districts have reached fiscal watch or fiscal emergency
status, according to the Ohio Auditor's office. ....Toledo
Blade, November 15, 2004
*
"Many groups, including the Ohio Coalition for Equity &
Adequacy of Schools, and the Coalition of Rural Appalachian Schools, which
was formed in 1988, continue to fight for fairness in public school
financing." ....Toledo Blade,
November 14, 2004
*
Statewide (Ohio), just slightly more than 3,400 of the nearly 8,500
Head Start Plus slots are filled. Enrollment is down this year because of
the new eligibility restrictions and a tedious approval process, Head Start
Plus directors say. ....Cleveland
Plain Dealer, November 12, 2004
*
Studies routinely cited as evidence that home-schooled
students perform better than public school students don't prove anything
because there are huge, untested segments of the home-school population that
may be failing, according to many researchers. ....Akron
Beacon Journal, November 15, 2004 Read
ABJ article. Click: Claims
of academic success rely on anecdotes, flawed data analysis
Nationally, between 347,000 and 544,000 students
in grades 10 through 12 left school each year from 1990 through 2001,
according to a national study completed last month, according to the Toledo
Blade. The Blade said in the 34,000-student Toledo Public Schools, 3,464
pupils entered high school as freshmen in the fall of 1999. Four years
later, there were only 1,532 students in the senior class.
On Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. PBS
television will broadcast a program highlighting successful
dropout prevention efforts. Paint
Valley Local School District (Ross County, and a CORAS member)
is included in the TV program for their efforts in reducing
high school dropouts, according to Superintendent Phil Satterfield.
The National Center for Educational
Statistics (NCES) has projected that Ohio's public school enrollment will
decrease by 3.2 percent between the years 2001 and 2013. Only New
York, North Dakota, Kentucky and West Virginia are projected to have a greater
decrease. Nationwide, according to NCES, enrollment in public schools is
expected to increase by 4 percent during that same period.
*
In 1999, the federal government estimated the number of students being home
schooled to be around 850,000. By 2003, the number had jumped to somewhere
between 1.7 and 2.1 million students, according to data from the National
Home Education Research Institute. Some experts argue that home schooling is
the fastest-growing form of education in the country.
*
A recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll shows that 42 percent of adults
favor voucher initiatives while 56 percent oppose them. Government-supported
voucher programs are in several states including Ohio, Wisconsin,
Florida, Maine, and Vermont.
*
According to the Center for Education Reform, an organization that advocates
for charter schools, there were nearly 3,000 charter schools in 37 states
and the District of Columbia in January 2004. The schools enroll some
685,000 students.
*
Public school choice is gaining popularity according to Education Week’s
Quality Counts 2004. The report found that 44 states
(compared to 32 states the year before) have open-enrollment programs in
place.
Did you know that nationwide between 1991-92
and 2001-02 school years there was a 13.4% increase in public school
students and a 23.3% increase in the number of teachers?
Source: National Center for
Education Statistics
A new report by National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) shows that while progress was made during the 1970s and
1980s in reducing high school dropout rates and increasing high school
completion rates, these rates have since stagnated. The report includes four
rates to provide a broad picture of high school dropouts and completers in
the United States: the event dropout rate, the status dropout rate, the
status completion rate, and the 4-year completion rate. Each rate provides
unique information about the state of high school education.
Read about each "rate" by clicking on
the following.
According to the Ohio Department of Education
there were 286 school tax issues on the November 2nd ballot.
Election results show 144 issues passing and 142
issues failing. The November 2004 passage rate was 50.35%. The
five-year, 2000 through 2004, November passage rate is 59.28%.
Tax Issues Passage
Rate
November
2004.............286.....................50.35%
November
2003.............221.....................47.96%
November
2002.............189.....................59.26%
November
2001.............162.....................66.67%
November
2000.............252.....................74.60%
The CORAS/COE
Leadership & Research Committee met on October 19th to develop and
refine their new research project. The primary purpose of the meeting was to
assist the researchers in the design of the case study protocols dealing
with board-superintendent relationships. The
overarching research question to be answered is: What is the
character of communication between boards and superintendents in school
districts with different demographic characteristics?
Five school districts will be selected for case studies from among the
highest and lowest socio-economic quartiles in urban, suburban-small town
and rural locales in Ohio.
The committee
agreed on six subordinate research questions, which would provide a
beginning point for developing interview questions. Those research questions
are:
- What
explicit communication strategies are used?
- What
communication approaches are avoided?
- How
does communication work to advance vision-setting and continuous
improvement?
- How
is the work of boards evaluated?
- What
procedures are used to evaluate superintendents?
- How
is the superintendent transition handled?
CORAS members will
updated periodically on the progress of the research project.
For more information on the Coalition of Rural
and Appalachian Schools/College of Education research project,
Nearly 42 percent of Ohio districts are
on the ballot today seeking tax increases to support public schools.
The study, Funding Gap 2004,
by the Education Trust found that school districts in
high-poverty areas in 25 states received less money from state and local
sources than their wealthier counterparts. When adjusted to account for
additional costs associated with an equal education for children from
low-income families, 36 states were found to have funding gaps.
The Education Trust makes several
recommendations to states for easing the funding gap:
• Increasing the share of state funding for
education;
• Reducing reliance on local property taxes
to pay for education;
• Targeting more aid toward children from
low-income families; and
• Promoting budget practices that give
schools within each district the same amount of per-pupil funding, with
adjustments for students living in poverty.
The following message is from the
American Association of School Administrators.
Inspired by the steps taken by Barrington Public
School District in New Hampshire, AASA is starting a nationwide project to
bring increased attention to the federal shortfall of funding special
education. AASA has created a template for every district to bill the
federal government for their unpaid share of special education funding.
In 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with
Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). Recognizing that schools were
being asked to provide more services, Congress promised to pay 40 percent of
the Average per Pupil Expenditure for every student in special education.
Currently, Congress is barely at 19 percent instead of the 40 percent
originally promised. Despite recent increases in IDEA funding, at the
rate of increases of $1 billion a year, Congress will never reach its 40
percent commitment.
By billing the federal government for their
unpaid portion of special education, school districts across the country can
send the message that the federal government is passing its burden onto
local school districts. The invoice would be best issued on your
school district letterhead. You can access a template for this invoice
by clicking on http://www.aasa.org/government_relations/invoice_for_unpaid_federal_share.xls.
When you get the prompt, you can save the template as a document on your
computer. This prompt will show up when you click on the above link.
You will need three pieces of information to fill
it out: how many students your district serves under IDEA, how much you
received from the federal government for IDEA and how much your district
spent in total on special education services. Just plug them into the
above spreadsheet and the outstanding balance will automatically pop up.
Please send a copy of this invoice to all of the members of your
Congressional Delegation. You can find your members of Congress by
clicking on http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=AASA.
Also please copy AASA (Attn: Mary Kusler) on what you send to your
Congressional Delegations as AASA plans on tracking the efforts of its
membership.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Mary Kusler at mkusler@aasa.org
or 703-875-0733.
Will you be attending the OSBA Capital
Conference? The Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools and the Ohio
University College of Education have recently completed a series of studies
titled, “Who Will Lead Our Schools?” The results of this study
will be discussed at the OSBA Conference in November. The session will
be held from 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, November 10th at the Columbus
Convention Center. The presentation focuses on “growing your own
leadership" — what boards and administrators can do. The
CORAS/OU presenters are Aimee Howley, Max Evans, Larry
Burgess and Jerry Vinci. Mark this date/time on your calendar! (Pass this information on to members of
your Board of Education.)
A member of the U. S. House Education
Committee has called for a Government Accountability Office (GAO)
investigation of two U.S. Department of Education grants. The
grants were awarded to the Arkansas education department for an online
learning project it set up with K12 Inc. and to the American Board for
Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), a project of the Education Leaders
Council (ELC). The grants total almost $45 million, according to
Education Week.
EW said the grant involving K12
Inc. was awarded even though the project did not meet U.S. Education
Department grant criteria and peer reviewers had ranked at least one other
project higher. K12 Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, was founded by William J.
Bennett.
The letter calling for the
investigation said the ABCTE award disregarded two out of three
reviewers’ rejections of the project. Deputy Secretary of Education Eugene W.
Hickok was a founding member of the ELC, the Education
Week article said.
Twenty-five education, civil rights, and other
groups are forming a coalition to propose changing how the No Child Left
Behind law measures academic progress, reducing the amount of testing
required, and replacing “sanctions that do not have a consistent record of
success” with interventions that enable schools to improve student
achievement. The American Association of School Administrators, the Council
for Children with Behavioral Disorders, and the National Education Association
are among the organizations signing on to the statement.
The groups emphasize their support for the NCLB
objectives of strong academic achievement for all children and elimination of
achievement gaps, and support for an accountability system that
helps achieve such aims. But they call for “significant corrections” to the
law.
Another group called the Achievement
Alliance, which includes the Education Trust and the Business
Roundtable, formed a few weeks ago to support the No Child Left Behind law
and promote a better understanding of its provisions.
Read the Education Week article.
Click: Groups Offer Changes for School
Law
The New York Times said yesterday that charter
schools "has become one of the most contentious issues in
education." The Times pointed to the following challenges to charter
schools.
* Washington state passed a law in March
to allow charter schools, but is now facing a referendum on the November 2nd
ballot that seeks to repeal it.
* A
Chicago plan to close 100 failing schools and replace some with charter schools
has provoked protests.
* In Detroit, an entrepreneur
offered $200 million to create 15 charter schools, but the teachers union and
some parents persuaded the State Legislature to block the
proposal.
* In Massachusetts and Ohio, school budget
problems aggravated by the loss of money to charter schools have touched off a
movement against them.
* Florida and California are tightening
regulations after corruption scandals.
Today, there are 3,000 publicly financed,
privately managed charter schools operating in 40 states, according to the
NY Times.
Twenty-three Ohio Appalachian counties will
be selecting a representative to the State Board of Education on
November 2nd. The candidates from District 9, containing 11 Appalachian
counties (Perry, Hocking, Muskingum, Coshocton, Morgan, Athens, Meigs, Guernsey,
Noble, Monroe and Washington), are: David
Daubenmire, 50 Woody Knoll Drive, Thornville,
William E. Moore, 14 1/2 Maple Avenue, Woodsfield,
and Jennifer Stewart, 2775 Martin Road,
Zanesville.
Colleen D.
Grady, 18782 South Inlet
Drive, Strongsville, Robin C. Hovis, 188 North
Washington Street, Millersburg, and Ed Lepisto, 1842
Fishermans Trail, Madison, are candidates seeking a seat on the state
board from District 5. Holmes County is the only Appalachian county in
District 5.
Jane
Sonenshein, 6143 Kilrenny
Drive, Loveland, is the only candidate listed from District 10 with eleven
Appalachian counties (Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Highland, Jackson,
Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton).
*
Moyer and Connally also clashed over the role of the court.
Connally, saying she believes the Constitution is a living document, referred to
school funding and said the court must enforce its rulings. ....Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 22,
2004
*
Warren Appeals Court Judge
William O’Neill broke ranks with the three other associate justice candidates by
blasting the state legislature for not fixing school-funding
problems. The Ohio Supreme
Court, in four rulings, has found the system of financing public schools
unconstitutional. "I believe the Ohio General Assembly is in
contempt of court,’’ O’Neill
said. " When the
state legislature encroaches on the Constitution," he said, "They are entitled
to no deference. They are on forbidden ground."....Columbus Dispatch, October 22,
2004
*
Average undergraduate tuition at Ohio's four-year public
universities was $4,973 in 2001-02, climbing to $6,822 last year. ....Akron Beacon Journal, October 22,
2004
*
More than eight years after they were launched as a bold
experiment in education, Texas' charter schools as a whole are performing well
below other public schools on state tests, according to a new review of data.
....Dallas Morning News, October 21,
2004
Education Week reports that voters in at
least a dozen states will cast ballots November 2nd on whether to force
their states to raise school funding, provide lottery or gambling revenues to
schools, or restrict taxes that traditionally have raised money for
education. The results could mean dramatic increases in K-12 spending in
some states and, at the same time, the outcomes could shrink local money
available for schools in other states, the article said.
Education Week reports that voters in at
least a dozen states will cast ballots November 2nd on whether to force
their states to raise school funding, provide lottery or gambling revenues to
schools, or restrict taxes that traditionally have raised money for
education. The results could mean dramatic increases in K-12 spending in
some states and, at the same time, the outcomes could shrink local money
available for schools in other states, the article said.
Taking the school finance debate directly to
voters has become increasingly popular in recent years, say political
scientists. "They’re going to the ballot to get priority for education, which
they can’t get from the state legislature," said a professor of education at
Stanford University. Advocates will continue to take such questions
directly to voters, another expert said, for a simple reason: They often
succeed.
Read the Education Week article.
Click: Voters Weigh K-12 Finance at
Ballot Box
The Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools
(CORAS) held meetings on September 14, 2004 and October 12,
2004 focusing on school funding and candidates seeking statewide offices in
the November election. Nearly 90 people attended the two meetings.
The September meeting in Logan offered
participants an opportunity to experience the School Funding in
Ohio Learning Maps developed by Edventures, Inc. and Ohio
Public School Dialogue. Dan Romano, Edventures, Inc. , presented the learning
maps. Table coaches were Dick Murray, Keith Richards, Forest Yocum, Paul Mock,
Barb Hansen, Rosemary Tolliver, and Barbara Spragg. Ron Bickert and Max
Evans represented the Ohio Public School Dialogue.
Presentations at the October meeting in
Zanesville included an update on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on
Financing Student Success, by Russ Harris, OEA Government Services, a
discussion of candidates favorable to public education, led by Paul Folmer,
Ohioans for Educational Justice, and a look at the escalating school funding
crisis in Ohio, by William L. Phillis, Executive Director, E&A
Coalition.
The next CORAS meeting
is set for Tuesday, January 25, 2005. The program and location will be announced
soon.
The following is an excerpt from an
article published Sunday, October 17, 2004, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Among other things, the article discusses the school-funding issue of
equity or adequacy.
The Plain Dealer said:
Lawsuits remain active in 27 states,
including Texas, New York and Kansas. Nine states including Ohio have funding
systems in place that have been ruled unconstitutional. The first wave of
those lawsuits, which started in California in 1971, focused almost entirely on
equity. That shifted in the late 1980s when reformers started to challenge the
adequacy of the finance systems. What's the difference? Policy analyst Andrew
Rotherham likens equity to Kurt Vonnegut's 1962 story "Harrison Bergeron." The
story describes a society in which everyone is equal. Fleet people wear weights
to slow them down. Attractive people wear masks. Intelligent people wear devices
in their ears that pipe in distracting noise. The point? "Equity" equalizes
funding levels in an arbitrary way. "Adequacy," on the other hand, provides the
resources children need to meet demanding new academic standards. "I'd argue
that adequacy is the best way to ensure equity," said Rotherham, director
of the 21st Century Schools Project at the Progressive Policy
Institute.
Some might question Rotherham's analogy, but
whether it be equity or adequacy, the Ohio General Assembly and the
Governor may not "deny any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws," according to the Fourteenth
Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
Jonathan Kozol, who has chronicled the
effect of school funding inequities on children throughout the nation, was
quoted in the Sunday Cleveland Plain Dealer. Speaking about Ohio's
school-funding system, Kozol said, "Ohio is, perhaps, the most
shameful example in the nation. The entire system is archaic, undemocratic and
ultimately unfixable."
American high school students are no better
prepared for college today than they were 10 years ago, according to a new
study released yesterday by ACT. The New York Times said the ACT
study found that the proportion of students taking a minimum core of
college preparatory courses, four years of English and three years each of
mathematics, science and social studies, had risen only slightly in 10 years: to
56 percent in 2004, from 54 percent in 1994.
Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust,
said the ACT report was useful in focusing attention on the need to improve high
schools. Haycock said, "There has been a belief that if we got kids off to a
better start, the problems in high school would fix themselves. That has not
happened. What we're learning is that education is not like an inoculation,
where if you do it once, you are set for life. It is more like nutrition, where
you have to do it right and then keep doing it right."
Reprinted form the October, 2004
Teachers Magazine.
All responses except the first one are drawn
from an annual survey of 800 registered voters conducted by Lake Snell Perry
& Associates for Education Week and the Public
Education Network. The first question is from a CBS
News poll.
