Education Budgeting

Two Different Funding Approaches to Education Reform

One solution holds that the public school system itself is the problem to be fixed while the other says that targeting money to disadvantaged communities is the answer. Both approaches are expensive and it’s not clear that either work.

  • By Liz Farmer

More Than 500,000 Public Workers Likely to See Debt Relief Under Student Loan Forgiveness Overhaul

The U.S. Department of Education announced a host of changes Wednesday to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which guarantees debt forgiveness to qualifying public sector employees.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

This School District Normally Gets $66,000 a Year for Library Books. This Year — $500,000.

Money from the American Rescue Plan will be used to replace items that went missing when schools closed at the start of the pandemic and enhance the district’s overall collection, St. Paul officials say.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

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
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‘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

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