Education Next – Frederick Hess

“I know, I know. I’m always kvetching that schools need to do more with less. That superintendents aren’t making the tough cuts. And, when they do, that they aren’t cutting smart. When folks press me for specific details or suggestions, they want something more than broad discussions of staffing levels or analogies from other sectors. They want concrete ideas. Because I strive to please, the result is the just-released Harvard Education Press book Stretching the School Dollar: How Schools and Districts Can Save Money While Serving Students Best.”(more)

The Indianapolis Star – Timothy L. Ogle

“Our award-winning district in Avon has experienced unprecedented success while maintaining financial stability. This is the result of years of dedicated professionals, supportive parents and strong school leaders. With the start of the 2010-11 school year, never before have we as a community faced such challenges.”(more)

BBC – Staff Writer

“Representatives from five teaching unions say an impasse over education in Northern Ireland must be resolved.”(more)

Times Higher Education – John Gill

“The scale of the financial problems facing public universities in the US is laid bare in a recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The analysis shows that 39 states are using federal stimulus money to prop up their higher education budgets, compared with just 14 last year. Yet as one expert in the field explained, there is “very little of the federal stimulus left for this fiscal year, and it looks unlikely that there will be any more for higher education”. If this prediction proves accurate, the expectation is that public universities will turn to their usual remedy for holes in their finances: higher student fees.”(more)

The Wall Street Journal – Iain Martin

“All Mr. Gove has said is that there won’t be another 1,300 playgrounds built to add to the many already in existence across the country. We should be able to cope. Britain can take it.”(more)

Wall Street Journal – Stephen Moore

“Before Congress succumbs, it should know about the unfolding fiasco in Milwaukee. Wisconsin is a microcosm of the union intransigence that’s fueling the school funding crisis in so many cities and states and leading to so many pink slips. It also shows why a federal bailout is a mistake.”(more)

Education Week – Lesli A. Maxwell

“Within two months, hundreds of low-performing schools targeted for turnaround must make drastic changes—in many cases, replacing the principal and at least some teachers—under new rules for the federal Title I School Improvement Grant program. Taking those steps hinges largely on states’ receiving their shares of the $3.5 billion available for the grants, an unprecedented federal investment in the nation’s chronically underperforming schools.”(more)

Education Next – Eric Hanushek

“Many people find it hard to believe that student performance has been flat for four decades when we have more than tripled funding for schools and when we have put into place a number of reform measures. Those facts are clear, but the explanation is less clear. The recent discussions in Congress, however, shed some light on this. When push comes to shove, it is appears that it is not about the kids–it is about the adults.”(more)

The Wall Street Journal – Alex P. Kellogg

“Detroit’s ailing public schools suffered an unexpected setback Wednesday when the district announced its budget deficit would balloon in the fiscal year beginning Thursday.”(more)

Indianapolis Star – Staff Writer

“The Herald-Times of Bloomington reports that enrollment officials across the state say hundreds of hours of staff time were wasted sorting through applications and trying to follow up with students who never had any intention of attending college.”(more)