EdVANTAGE Blog

Last week, Council Executive Director Bob Reidy and I were guests on Albany public radio’s “Vox Pop” call-in show.

Our scheduled topics were the federal Race to the Top initiative and the Education Department’s recent change in cut scores for the grade 3 through 8 assessments.

Several of the callers were teachers expressing opinions about “teaching to the test” and merit pay plans to link compensation and student performance.

You can listen to the hour-long show here.

Host Alan Chartock told us the program is heard in six states.

Earlier in the week I reported that the Assembly and Senate had both approved Governor Paterson’s proposal to authorize equal, across the board reductions in most areas of state spending, including School Aid, in order to accommodate a feared loss of $1.085 billion in anticipated additional federal help in paying for Medicaid.

Yesterday, however, there was a breakthrough in the U.S. Senate, which approved an amendment continue some of this additional federal aid.  The same legislation also authorizes an “Education Jobs Fund,” to help school systems create or maintain positions in the current school year.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass corresponding legislation early next week.  The House has previously approved similar initiatives, so passage is deemed certain.

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Today the Assembly and Senate approved an “FMAP contingency plan” proposed by Governor Paterson.  The plan authorizes across the board mid-year reductions in most areas of state spending — including School Aid — in anticipation of a shortfall in federal Medicaid funding.

The same bill also authorizes a delay in School Aid payments scheduled to be made on or by the first business day in September.  Instead, the payments would be made on or by September 30.

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