Indiana schools to exit Race to the Top competition
State will bow out of the $4.35 billion federal competition after a highly public feud between public schools chief Tony Bennett
and the state’s teachers unions.
Public schools
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Report: Indiana far short of funding teacher pensions
Indiana is among the nation’s five most underfunded teacher pension programs, but low ranking is misleading.
Cash-strapped schools eye full-day kindergarten
Many districts want to keep the full-day programs and say they’re considering increasing fees to do so.
UPDATE: Teachers union tells Bennett to start over on reform
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett invites heads of teachers unions to meeting to publicly share reform ideas instead of “bureaucratic rhetoric and no
specifics.”
Bennett demands ISTA support for school reforms
State superintendent of public instruction says teacher union support imperative to win federal grant.
Catholic schools get final OK to become charters
The City-County Council gave its official blessing to two Catholic schools in poor neighborhoods converting into secular charters;
they will receive new names by fall.
$61M coming to Indiana to help low-achieving schools
Indiana will receive more than $61 million in federal stimulus money to help the state's lowest-achieving schools improve
their performance.
Anderson schools might cut 200-plus jobs
A central Indiana school district could see 20 percent of its jobs cut for next school year as it works to close a multimillion-dollar
budget deficit.
Daniels: Without recovery, schools face tough 2011
K-12 education in Indiana already has faced $300 million in reduced state funding this year as the state has cut spending
in the face of lower tax revenues.
Indiana out in first phase of ‘Race to the Top’ grants
Indiana has missed out in the first round of the U.S. Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” competition, which will
deliver $4.35 billion in school-reform grants.
Schools decry funding disparity in lawsuit
Hamilton Southeastern will see its per-pupil spending of $5,000 drop about $100 in 2010 despite a projected 900-student increase,
the lawsuit says. Indianapolis Public Schools, which has lost more than 1,000 students a year for the last five years, will
receive $7,500 per student in 2010.
Growing Indiana schools districts suing over funding
Hamilton Southeastern, Franklin Township and Middlebury Community Schools of Elkhart County say the school-funding formula
unfairly penalizes districts with growing enrollments.
State tries new plan to track students’ growth
Instead of focusing on standardized tests, the Indiana Growth Model will monitor individual students’ academic growth to measure
their progress and identify effective teaching methods, state public education officials say.
Daniels says he’d sign bill to push back school start
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he’d sign legislation that would prevent most schools from starting classes before Labor Day
if the General Assembly approves the proposal.
State sells $300 million in Tax Anticipation Notes
The proceeds will help more than 120 local government units pay their bills while they wait for their
property tax receipts.
Indiana Senate panel approves school-start-date bill
The committee endorsed legislation that would prevent the state’s public schools from starting classes before Labor Day.
Senate panel changes gambling, reading bills
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday night to remove provisions that would have allowed casinos on Lake Michigan
and the Ohio River to move inland. It also made major changes to legislation that would have required schools to hold back
third-graders if they couldn’t read well.
Bill to hold back some 3rd-graders has steep cost
Indiana Senate Education Committee votes 8-3 to advance the bill, which now moves to the Senate Appropriation Committee.
Indiana applies for $500M in federal schools grants
Indiana application for competitive grants includes aggressive proposals that could force out inefficient teachers and convert
struggling schools to charter schools.
ISTA wants schools to tap reserves, rainy day funds
State teachers union’s recommended approach differs sharply from spending cuts and salary freezes recommended by the Indiana
Board of Education.