« Education News for Wednesday, May 30 | Main | Education News for Thursday, May 31 »

May 30, 2007

Morning Shots

New York Times:  New York is top sate in dollars per student

After the recent release of NAEP History and Civics test results, and continued evidence of stagnant achievement in schools across the country, this week the public gets a look at how much money those results cost.  Nationally, schools are spending nearly $9,000 per pupil, with some states like New York and New Jersey spending more than $13,000.  And still, no increase in achievement.

New York again leads all other states in school spending per pupil, according to the latest census figures.

Nationwide, public school districts spent an average of $8,701 per student on elementary and secondary education in the 2005 fiscal year, 5 percent more than in the previous year.

New York, which also came in highest last year, spent $14,119 per student, followed by New Jersey at $13,800, Vermont at $11,838 and Connecticut at $11,572.

Over all, public school systems spent $497 billion, compared to $472 billion the year before. About 60 percent of their $427 billion operating budgets was spent on instruction, with more than 9 percent allocated for operation and maintenance, 7 percent for administration and 4 percent for pupil transportation.

Nationwide, school systems spent nearly $42 billion on construction, with California and Texas, the two most populous states, accounting for almost one-third.

Toledo Blade:  Ohio urban school superintendents back Strickland plan

One important piece of information is mysteriously missing from this Toledo Blade article: the testimony of the charter schools that were attacked all morning by the district and the teachers union. When they finally did get to testify (at 5:30), they told their success stories and expressed the real will of the people - to bring quality education to all people. 

The superintendents of Ohio's eight largest urban districts and teachers' union leaders gathered yesterday to present joint testimony to the Senate Finance Committee in support of Gov. Ted Strickland's education budget.

As co-chair of the Ohio 8 Coalition, former Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Eugene Sanders delivered yesterday's testimony calling the proposed budget "critical to sustaining public education in Ohio's big cities."

Mr. Strickland's plan calls for an end to Ohio's statewide voucher program that uses public money to pay private school tuition for children in low-scoring schools, a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools, and a prohibition against charter schools being run by private, for-profit companies.

"Voters in our cities have over the decades approved spending their money on public education," Mr. Sanders said. "They have not voted for vouchers or charter schools."

Washington Post:  Putting his wealth to work to improve urban schools

He counts the Prince George's County school superintendent and D.C. school board president among his disciples. He has advised the D.C. mayor on cuts in school system bureaucracy. He and a better-known West Coast entrepreneur are spending millions to persuade the next president of the United States to improve teacher quality and lengthen school days. He is spawning a new generation of school administrators who hail his name.

The question is: Can Eli Broad succeed in his campaign to help America's schools shed years of bad management practices and avoid the pitfalls of divisive community politics?

He and his wife, Edythe, have committed more than $250 million to school improvement projects since 1999, and they plan to spend most of the Broad Foundation's $2.25 billion in assets on education. The Los Angeles couple, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, are widely considered the most influential public education philanthropists in the country.

Like other business leaders who have become involved in education, Broad is used to a corporate system where the top executive makes the decisions and the company board, with rare exceptions, goes along. School boards, on the other hand, often consider themselves in charge of major decisions, with the superintendent just there to carry out orders.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.edspresso.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/1482