Education Budgeting

K-12 Spending Sees Gains, But Still Lags in Many States, Teachers Union Says

An analysis of 2017 data finds education funding remains below pre-recession levels in over a third of states.

  • By Bill Lucia

Some Arizona Republicans Pushing a State Tax Hike for Education

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Unemployment up in Illinois … Firefighters experiment with body cameras … What’s the future of the soda tax in Philadelphia?

  • By Emma Coleman

Teachers Earn Less Than Their Private-Sector Counterparts, Research Shows

Teachers have a 21.4 percent "wage penalty" compared to college graduates with similar education and experience, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Michigan Business Groups Give Support to Tuition-Free Programs

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | No radar can be used to catch speeders on some San Diego streets ... Could NYC transit chief leave? ... Vermont governor likely to embrace Columbus Day change.

  • By Laura Maggi

Most States Not Spending Enough on Neediest School Districts

New research found that most states do not allocate resources according to which school districts need it most.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Nevada on Course to Elect First-Ever Female-Majority Legislature

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Planning for a court-mandated infusion of education funding in New Mexico … Considering a hate crimes charge in attack on Latino mayor in Washington … Diversifying overwhelmingly white New Hampshire.

  • By John Tomasic

A State Where Working at a Chick-fil-A Is More Lucrative Than Teaching

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A low-profile, but very dangerous Wash. volcano ... Nev. county will vote on brothels … Pa.’s major Lyme disease risk … and an Ohio rural broadband bill.

  • By Michael Grass

The Obscure Tax Rule That’s Stopping U.S. States From Paying Teachers More

Supermajority tax measures have been pushed since the 1990s by deep-pocketed lobbying groups.

  • By Heather Timmons, Quartz

American Higher Education Hits a Dangerous Milestone

As younger generations become more racially diverse, many states are allocating fewer tax dollars to public colleges and universities.

  • By Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic

‘We Have No Bill. We Have No Deal’ to End Arizona Teacher Protests

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | N.Y. plans new assistance for Puerto Rico recovery ... N.M. legal battle over secret recordings … Richmond, Va. is an eviction hub … and a “silent impasse” at an Ohio village hall.

  • By Michael Grass

Why More School Districts Are Holding Class Just Four Days a Week

Today school districts in parts of 22 states use a four-day week, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts

Texas School Districts Eye Oklahoma's Striking Teachers

The era of gouged school finances and interstate “teacher poaching” continues.

  • By John Tomasic

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Kentucky Governor Cites ‘Thug Mentality’ in Teacher Pension Fight

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Major storm systems disrupt California and Northeast; Austin’s busy 9-1-1 call center; St. Paul mayor’s inaugural ball funding gap; Vermont’s ‘regressive’ DMV compliance; and Indiana’s new IoT hub.

  • By Michael Grass

West Virginia Ripple Effect Could Roll Into Another State

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Youngstown, Ohio residents target fracking; raising wait-staff wages in Washington, D.C.; Vermont F-35 fighter jet fight; and a Manchester arts commissioner caught on video gouging a city hall wall.

  • By John Tomasic

Some of America’s Worst-Paid Teachers Give Their State a New Ultimatum

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | New Mexico’s ‘no trespassing’ order for U.S. Border Patrol; opening the door to S.C. reparations; Nashville mayor resigns; and Lake Superior's high water level may hit all-time record.

  • By Michael Grass

Appalachia, Civil War Scholars Alarmed by Kentucky Governor's Budget Ax

STATE & LOCAL ROUNDUP | Michigan governor says pipeline isn’t at risk for imminent failure; fake flu information in Oklahoma; and a step closer to paying every city employee at least $15 an hour in Cleveland.

  • By Michael Grass

Dogged Fiscal Showdown in Illinois Gives Local School Leaders Major Heartburn

Also in our State and Local Weekend News Digest: Latino homelessness surges in L.A. County; clogged drain pipes flood N.C. town for 2nd time in 3 weeks; and Alaska’s struggle to fund homes for senior citizens.

  • By Route Fifty Staff

Tax-Averse County’s Last Public Library Prepares to Close

Funding for a library system that covers an area larger than the state of Connecticut has dried up. What comes next?

  • By Michael Grass

Survey Spotlights Citizen Sentiments on Outsourcing

54% said they would support a privately-run public library if the library was underfunded and could not update inventory or technology.

  • By Ed Garnett

The Gaps in New York's Free-College Plan

Critics worry that the students who need the most help might be among the least likely to receive it.

  • By James S. Murphy, The Atlantic

Amid California's School Building Bonanza, New Dollars Might Not Reach Poor Districts

"We have lost an opportunity to reform a fragmented system," says the chairwoman of the Golden State's Senate Education Committee.

  • By Jessica Calefati, CALmatters