Education News for 07-20-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• Newark appears on track to meet 23 of 26 indicators on Ohio Achievement Assessment (Newark Advocate)

NEWARK - Although state report cards likely are a month away, Newark administrators said they are excited about preliminary Ohio Achievement Assessment results. According to preliminary results released by the Ohio Department of Education, Newark students passed more indicators than in 2011, including seventh-grade reading. Although nothing is final until report cards are released, Newark is on track to meet 23 of 26 indicators, said Maura Horgan, director of secondary curriculum instruction. Read more...

• Youngstown schools: Cost to update curriculum estimated at nearly $500,000 (Vindicator)

Youngstown - Getting the school district’s curriculum up to state standards will be an expensive proposition. One of the elements of the Academic Recovery Plan for the district updated by the state-appointed Academic Distress Commission earlier this year calls for up-to-date Ohio standards based pre-kindergarten through 12 plans in literacy, math, science and social studies. Teams of teachers and administrators determined the books, materials and supplies needed to accomplish that and the cost is nearly $500,000 for grades seven through 12. Read more...

Local Issues

• Cleveland schools CEO Eric Gordon says building, operating funds come from different accounts (WEWS 5 ABC)

CLEVELAND - It's been a monumental week for the Cleveland Municipal School District. Since last Friday, ground has been broken for four new, 21st century elementary schools: Paul L. Dunbar, Miles, Almira, and Orchard. Groundbreakings for the new Max Hayes and John Marshall high schools are coming soon. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the school board voted to seek a new 15 mill levy to finance the new education reform plan and avoid a huge budget deficit next year. Read more...

• Cleveland school district faces big challenge passing 15-mill tax increase, some councilmen say (Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND — Taxpayers can't quite wrap their heads around the 15-mill school tax the school board proposed Wednesday night, some Cleveland City Council members say, predicting the tax is likely to fail by a large margin. "It's going to go down in utter defeat," said Ward 2 Councilman Zack Reed. Councilman Mike Polensek, of Collinwood, said he and his office have received call after call from families shocked at a request that is twice as big as he expected -- an amount that he said families can't afford. Read more...

• Fostoria board OKs 2013 appropriations (Courier)

FOSTORIA - Fostoria school board approved fiscal year 2013 general fund temporary appropriations of more than $21.7 million at Thursday's regular meeting. The meeting was rescheduled from Monday to accommodate board members' schedules. The district finished fiscal year 2012 on June 30 with a carryover balance of $400,939, according to information from Treasurer Jaime Pearson, so the available general fund balance is more than $22.1 million on July 1, which is the beginning of the fiscal year. Read more...

Education News for 06-19-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• New approaches urged to get boys to read (Dispatch)

Tyler Teague is the kind of reader educators say is the toughest to reach. The 11-year-old would pick up a book if required by his teacher, but it’s not something he’d do for fun. “It felt like a chore and that you had to do it,” said Tyler, who will attend Hilliard Tharp Sixth Grade School this fall. Educators have long struggled to motivate boys to read on their own. Boys tend to be more active, hands-on learners and would rather clean their rooms than read Little Women, educators say. Read more...

Local Issues

• Fostoria school board OKs insurance contract (Courier)

FOSTORIA - Fostoria school board on Monday approved a contract of about $58,000 with Ohio School Plan, Toledo, for the district's property, fleet, liability and violence insurance for 2013-2015. Separately, the board approved a $50,195 bid from Roppe Corp., Fostoria, and a $45,500 bid from Lakeside Interior, Perrysburg, to replace the carpeted area on the first floor academic wing at the junior/senior high school. Read more...

• Belmont Co. school districts get grant to explore sharing some services (WTOV 9 NBC)

BELMONT COUNTY — As school districts continue to face challenges of budget cuts while trying to maintain programs and state mandates, two Belmont County districts have been awarded a grant allowing them to explore sharing administrative services. The Barnesville and Union Local school districts have been awarded a $100,000 grant that will allow educators to explore sharing administrative services through Project Share. Read more...

• Greenon district to keep salary freeze (News-Sun)

ENON — Greenon school board members plan to vote Thursday to freeze pay for district administrators and central office employees, a continuation of a two-year wage freeze for all district employees that has saved an estimated $460,000 to date. “It’s not a new crisis or a new issue,” said Treasurer Ryan Jenkins. “It’s just us following through with everything we said we would do.” In the spring of 2011, the district’s two labor unions — the Greenon Federation of Teachers, representing certified staff, and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, representing classified staff. Read more...

• Residents clear about education needs (Vindicator)

Youngstown - Residents of the city are clear about what needs to happen to improve the schools. The next step is devising a plan to get there. More than 115 people attended an education town-hall meeting Monday at Stambaugh Auditorium where the representatives of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation of Bethesda, Md., discussed the findings of a community-engagement effort launched last February. Read more...

• Cleveland schools CEO Eric Gordon likely to head district until 2015 (Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND - First-year Cleveland schools chief Eric Gordon will likely be back for three more. Today, after a year board President Denise Link and Mayor Frank Jackson consider successful, the school board will consider extending Gordon's contract as chief executive officer through June 2015. Gordon has worked closely with Jackson for the last four months, promoting to residents and legislators a school overhaul plan that lawmakers in Columbus approved last week. He will soon have to shift gears to recommend a tax increase for the board to put before voters in November. Read more...

• Ten lose jobs as Zane Trace board OKs $500K in budget cuts (Chillicothe Gazette)

KINGSTON - Ten Zane Trace employees -- eight of them bus drivers -- lost their jobs Monday after the board of education approved a reduction in force. With a projected $1.28 million deficit looming in 2014, the board moved forward on a series of cuts expected to save the district more than $500,000 annually. Also losing their jobs Monday were a middle school intervention specialist and a custodian. In addition, the board will leave vacant two teaching positions and a custodial position. Read more...

Editorial

• All layered up (Beacon Journal)

The hope of the Kasich administration, which last week released a report on local governments sharing services, is to encourage greater collaboration at the grass roots. To do so holds much potential for reducing expenses and improving services, quite a feat at a time of sharply curtailed state support for cities, counties and schools. “Beyond Boundaries: A Shared Services Action Plan for Ohio Schools and Governments” plows some familiar ground, previous reports establishing the burden created by the state’s overlapping units of government. Read more...

• Controversy over busing in Austintown was avoidable (Vindicator)

There is no denying that public education in Ohio is confronting major financial challenges. Significant reductions in state funding, along with the expansion of charter schools and voucher programs, are forcing districts to reduce spending — without affecting academics. The growing number of systems in state-designated fiscal watch and fiscal emergency illustrates the scope of the problem. Tensions are high, which means that lines of communication among school boards, administrators and the public, especially parents, must be open at all times. Read more...

• Ohio's third-grade reading standard is improved by revision (Plain Dealer)

Education in Ohio got a boost last week, when Gov. John Kasich and Republican lawmakers brokered sensible agreements to help struggling third-graders and impose more accountability on charter schools that cater to teenagers at risk of dropping out. The compromises are in an education reform measure, Senate Bill 316, now awaiting Kasich's signature. Kasich had wanted to hold back every third-grader who scored below proficient on reading. That would have forced an estimated 17,000 students to repeat the grade -- more than teachers could handle or parents would tolerate. Read more...

Education News for 04-17-2012

Statewide Education News

• Reports of Delay on New, Tougher School Rating System May Be Exaggerated (State Impact Ohio)

Last week, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner said schools would likely get “a year’s reprieve” from a tougher school report card system. Those new grades are called for in Ohio’s application to the U.S. Department of Education for freedom from some parts of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The application says the new grading system would be rolled out in 2011 and 2012. Read More…

• New state report card makes top rating tougher to reach (Delaware News)

New state report cards will make it a lot more difficult for Ohio school districts to earn the top rating. A total of 352 out of the state's 609 districts earned "Excellent" or "Excellent with Distinction" ratings on last year's report cards, which show how well districts meet Ohio Department of Education standards. Read More…

Local Issues

• Fostoria school board seeks waiver (Findlay Courier)

FOSTORIA -- Like many school districts in the area, Fostoria school board on Monday approved a resolution to seek a waiver of the state's body mass index screening requirement for the 2012-13 school year. The state guidelines require screening of kindergarten, third-, fifth- and ninth-grade students prior to May 1. The district received a waiver last school year and this year. After Monday's meeting, Deb Pirolli, director of student services, said procedures for administering the program have not been clarified by the state. Read More…

• School makes $1M in cuts (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

AUSTINTOWN - Tom Sellers acknowledged that he and other district officials were uneasy during most of the school board's meeting on Monday. Before dozens of residents and staff the school board voted to make cuts amounting to about $1 million including $700,000 in transportation - the hardest hit department. Read More…

• “Tribute tree' brings comfort to community in wake of Chardon High shooting (Willoughby News Herald)

Gifts of all types poured into Chardon School District in the aftermath of the February shooting that killed three students and wounded three others. Wagons full of flowers and food were shipped to staff and students from those touched by the incident. But Newbury Township artist Carol Hummel and her daughter Molly Sedensky had a different idea. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

• Youngstown schools district needs experienced treasurer (Youngstown Vindicator)

Although the Youngstown city schools system shed its state-designated fiscal emergency status more than a year ago, its finances are far from stable. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to describe the future of the urban district as bleak. With the loss of $4 million in funding from the state as a result of more than 500 students departing, major decisions must be made regarding the overall operation. Read More…