EdVANTAGE Blog

Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week, including school budget votes, pronouncements from state leaders, a bit more on testing controversies and teacher evaluations, and a few other subjects… Read the rest of this entry »

Next Tuesday, schools across the state will have their first experience with voters deciding whether to approve requested tax levy increases.

Up until this year, voters have been deciding whether to approve an authorized spending level for their school districts.

We will be looking to see if changing the question voters are asked to decide changes the outcomes and the turnout. Read the rest of this entry »

Some of the news we have highlighted on Twitter and our homepage over the past week or so, covering mandates, State Education Department news, the Governor’s Education Reform Commission, and the NYSUT Representative Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a power point presentation analyzing the property tax report cards school districts filed with the State Education Department for the votes coming up on May 15.

Some of the key findings: Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the membership of the Education Reform Commission he promised in his State of the State address in early January.

It will be chaired by Richard Parsons, a retired chair of Citigroup, who was once an assistant counsel to Governor Nelson Rockefeller, among other roles.

The members include State Education Commissioner John King, the Chancellors of the State and City University systems, the Chairs of the Assembly and Senate Education Committees, and many accomplished and impressive people from the non-profit and higher education sectors.

More than a few leaders in public education have remarked, however, on the absence of anyone currently working in a public school or serving on a school board in the state.

Read the rest of this entry »

News items we highlighted on our Twitter page and website this week:

• How the new property tax cap is affecting school district budgeting  is getting more focused attention in the media.
• A report on the recently enacted state budget projects a small overall deficit and a 3.5 percent School Aid increase for next year.
• The state’s English Language Arts assessment was given to 3rd through 8th graders this week.  The Wall Street Journal reports that the Board of Regents will consider giving high school students alternatives to the Global History and Geography Exam as a requirement for graduation.
• Plus pieces on teacher evaluations and mandate relief.

Read the rest of this entry »

By law, the Governor’s Budget Division is required to publish quarterly reports on the state’s financial plan – the implementation of the current year’s budget and the outlook for the next few years following.

This is one area where the performance of state government has improved over the past decade or so – the volume of information now disclosed in these reports is impressive.

The first report on the recently enacted 2012-13 state budget was released yesterday.  As one would expect (or hope), it concludes that budget is balanced.

Looking to the future, it projects a small structural deficit for 2013-14, and a $712 (3.5 percent) increase in School Aid.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes.  At least in schools.

This weekend, the Journal News published a comprehensive article analyzing school spending and taxing trends since 2003-04 in its readership area, the lower Hudson Valley.

The Journal News notes that average annual spending increases dropped by six percentage points between two four-year periods –  7.6. percent a year between 2003-04 and 2007-08 and 1.6 percent annually over the four years since.

Today, the paper has a follow-up editorial, “School districts learn their lesson,” and ascribes the change chiefly to an influx of more fiscally conservative school board members.

The shift in school spending and taxing occurred statewide.  My own sense, looking at the state as a whole, is that the change happened because superintendents and board members – veteran as well as new – recognized it had to:  following the “Great Recession,” taxpayers either could not or would not support a continuation of increases that had been common.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last month the Council sent the members of the State Board of Regents a white paper on regulatory actions they could take to give schools additional flexibility to support raising student achievement.

The paper was drafted by the Council’s Executive Director, Robert Reidy, with input from Council leaders, former superintendents, and Council staff.

The thrust of the recommendations is to give schools more flexibility in the use of their most finite resource – time with students.

Read the rest of this entry »

The debate over teacher evaluations continued to be the most discussed issue in state education policy this week.

Also, it was “Kids Speak Week” at the Education Speaks blog – students supplied essays and videos on how budgeting decisions were affecting their schools.

Read the rest of this entry »