Statewide Education News
- Cleveland mayor has Kasich’s ear on schools (Dispatch)
- Kindergarten-readiness program SPARKs success in Youngstown (Vindicator)
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is heading to Columbus today to try and sell state legislators on his plan for overhauling his city’s school system. The Democrat’s proposal is advocated as a model for reforming urban schools across the state by Republican Gov. John Kasich. But there’s a big problem: So far, no legislator from either party has stepped forward to sponsor the plan. Cleveland’s teachers union opposes the proposal, which would allow the district to fire ineffective teachers and share tax revenue with privately operated charter schools. Read More…
Youngstown - City school children participating in a kindergarten readiness program scored better on literacy assessments than their classmates. SPARK, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, operated by D&E Counseling Center and funded by the Raymond John Wean Foundation, enrolled 26 students who entered kindergarten at Taft or Williamson Elementary schools in fall 2011. Gregory Cvetkovic, D&E’s executive director, said the program is not only to prepare children but to help parents to help their children in school. Read More…
Local Issues
- Columbus school board looks at sports funding (Dispatch)
- Cincinnati Public Schools to lay off 40, cut superintendent pay (Business Courier)
- East Holmes cuts staff, as expected (Times Reporter)
- Reynoldsburg schools OK support-staff contract (Dispatch)
- Audit adds to allegations of charter misspending (Dayton Daily News)
It was a big turnout when 42 students joined the South High School football team last summer — so big that the team was short four helmets. Despite repeatedly asking for more helmets, South football coach Felix Catheline said the problem dragged into August training camp. So Catheline had to decide whether to sit four players on the bench or let them participate without helmets in the non-contact drills — when players wear helmets but not pads. Read More…
The Cincinnati Board of Education approved layoffs for 40 administrators Monday. Read More…
BERLIN — The East Holmes Board of Education gave its approval Monday to a plan to eliminate 16 full-time teaching or staff positions throughout the district as a cost-cutting measure. The reductions were necessitated by the narrow defeat of a 3.77-mill emergency operating levy by voters March 6. The reduction in force, based on seniority, will take effect during the 2012-2013 school year. The 11 teachers, with 75 years of experience, are paid a total of $445,421. Read More…
Reynoldsburg school-board members unanimously approved a new agreement for the support staff last night that allows the district to keep its budget in the black through 2015, a year later than what officials had promised during a 2010 levy campaign. The agreement, which extends the current contract to June and includes a three-year pact that will expire in 2015, lowers the salary schedule for new employees by 25 percent, allows the district to hire contractors for some operations, raises employee contributions to health insurance, and paves the way for a performance pay plan. Read More…
Tens of thousands of dollars of questionably spent public money has been added to the cloud over several now-defunct Dayton charter schools and former charter treasurer Carl Shye. An audit released today of Petersen Entrepreneurial Training Enterprise singles out nearly $55,000 in undocumented or poorly documented spending before the school closed in 2009. The audit demands this money be repaid by former administrators, including Shye. This is the fifth audit of an Ohio charter school to name Shye since mid-2011. Read More…