March 27, 2014
Local News
The News Journal
Milford voters reject proposed tax increases
Milford School District residents on Wednesday rejected a pair of tax hikes, proposed to pay for a new school and current expenses. The district sought voters’ approval on the separate proposals, the first of which would have raised nearly $13 million to build a new middle school. The vote on that referendum was 842 for and 1,020 against, based on unofficial results.
Milford Beacon
Milford School District referendum fails on both fronts
Milford School District Superintendent Phyllis Kohel said she was disappointed with the results, but said the outcome was not necessarily reflective of the community’s support of the district. “This has always been a very supportive community,” she said. “It’s a bad time.” Kohel speculated that residents may have been dissuaded by the district’s proposed tax increases with Gov. Jack Markell’s ongoing campaigns concerning a possible gas tax increase and needed funding for the Clean Water for Delaware’s Future plan.
Delaware State News
Passion for education fuels Barends’ Indian River School District board of education bid
Passion for education runs through Bobbi Barends’ veins. The current Dean of Instruction at Delaware Technical Community College, Ms. Barends served on a school board in southern Pennsylvania prior to moving to Delaware, and was a student school board member her junior and senior years of high school.
Sussex Countian
Proposed Sussex Tech tax increase sparks legislation for revamped school boards
Earlier this month, officials from the Sussex Technical School District in Georgetown announced the potential layoffs of 24 district employees due to a roughly $1 million shortfall in the fiscal year 2015 budget to cover personnel costs. The district is seeking a tax ceiling increase that would allow the school board to explore the possibility of a tax rate increase. Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown), one of the bill’s sponsors, said while the idea of an elected vo-tech school board has been considered in the past, the Sussex Tech tax increase brought the issue to the forefront.
National News
Education Week
For Common Core, Khan Academy goes high-tech
Continuing its evolution from quirky disruptor of traditional classroom learning to mainstream player aligned with the education establishment, free website Khan Academy unveiled Saturday new online math resources tied to the contentious Common Core State Standards.
NAEP provides vehicle for study of read-aloud option
Having teachers read aloud a reading-comprehension test to students with disabilities and English-language learners offers a boost in scores without altering what the test is trying to measure, according to a study of about 2,000 California 4th and 8th graders who were given the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, in 2013.
Associated Press
Florida Senate passes student data privacy bill
School districts will no longer be able to collect certain types of student data, such as political or religious affiliation, under a bill passed by the Florida Senate. Meanwhile, the Kansas House is preparing to debate similar legislation.
Los Angeles Times
California schools rolling out new standardized tests
Schools across California are set to begin administering new standardized tests Tuesday that are designed to demand more of students and offer a clearer picture of how much they are learning.
Inside Higher Ed
U.S. Education Dept. drafts regulations for online programs
The Education Department is looking to reinstate a requirement — which a federal judge struck down in 2012 for procedural reasons — that providers of online education obtain approval from state regulators in each and every state in which they enroll students.