Cincinnati Enquirer: CPS hindering vouchers, state says

More than 11,500 Cincinnati Public School students are eligible to receive state-paid vouchers to attend private schools next year, but state officials say that Cincinnati Public officials are hindering them from getting the word out.

The district is the only one in the state that has refused to provide to the state the addresses of students who are eligible for tuition vouchers.

This Saturday and next, the Ohio Department of Education is conducting free parent information sessions in Cincinnati to describe how students attending 27 Cincinnati schools that are in “academic watch” or “academic emergency” are eligible to receive Ohio EdChoice Scholarships to attend private schools.

State officials say they were prevented from sending out postcards with that information because Cincinnati Public Schools officials refuse to provide addresses of families of students in the eligible schools.

Boston Herald: City, teachers union agree on contract, avert strike

The city and the Boston Teachers Union agreed to a new contract yesterday, possibly averting a legal crisis for the union as it faced hefty court fines over its planned strike vote.

“Now that we’ve reached an agreement with the School Committee, a discussion of a strike would be a moot point,” said BTU spokesman Steve Crawford.

A Suffolk Superior Court judge found the union in contempt of court for voting two weeks ago to postpone its strike vote. The union had planned to vote on a strike today. Associate Justice Bruce R. Henry fined the BTU $30,000 for refusing to rescind its last vote by 2 p.m. yesterday, and ordered the union to pay the state $10,000 for each additional day it refuses to do so.

While he said the issue is “moot,” Crawford would not say how the union will respond to the judge’s order.

Washington Post: Most on Council Back Fenty’s Takeover Plan

At the last of seven public hearings yesterday on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s plan to take over the D.C. public schools, a majority of D.C. Council members voiced approval for the proposal, but several also indicated support for giving the Board of Education more power than Fenty (D) intended.

Several council members suggested that they favor amendments that could allow the board, instead of the mayor, to appoint a chief state education officer and a school ombudsman.

Fenty’s testimony brought a series of exhaustive public hearings to a close. "I must say that I’m glad that it’s about to be over," said council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). "It’s time. It really is time to act. No need for further studies. . . . Now, it’s up to the council. Let’s go."