{"id":490259,"date":"2010-03-30T16:23:15","date_gmt":"2010-03-30T20:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=6957"},"modified":"2010-03-30T16:23:15","modified_gmt":"2010-03-30T20:23:15","slug":"in-the-news-march-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/490259","title":{"rendered":"In the News ~ March 30"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below are<\/strong>\u00a0links to news stories of interest from\u00a0newspapers that came up during a search\u00a0today.\u00a0\u00a0These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to\u00a0your computer is recommended.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

State News <\/em><\/h2>\n

Ken Swanson interview on WGN-AM 3-29-10 (Audio only)<\/a><\/p>\n

Reliance on local money drives school funding imbalances<\/a>\u00a0 For much of the last two decades, Illinois schools have lurched from financial crisis to financial crisis, with no shortage of potential solutions floated through blue-ribbon panels, reform legislation, lawsuits and even a constitutional referendum.\u00a0 To date, the only clear winner has been inertia.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois misses out in federal school cash dash<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Sun-Times\u00a0– Deficit-ridden Illinois schools missed out on a windfall Monday when Delaware and Tennessee won …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois loses race for federal education money<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Tribune\u00a0– Illinois narrowly lost a national contest to overhaul its public schools Monday, but state education officials vowed to try again for federal funding in the …\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois loses first round of Race to the Top<\/a>
\nSpringfield State Journal Register – with ineffective tenured teachers. But fixing the teacher issue could create tension with unions, which so far have cooperated with the federal money pursuit. Charlie McBarron, a spokesman for the Illinois Education Association, said the IEA would have to review the specifics of the evaluations to know the extent of how the state could reform dealing with tenured teachers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

State Doesn’t Win Race… This Time<\/a>
\nPeoria WEEK (NBC) 25 – Illinois has lost its chance to get over $500 million in education funding, at least this time around. Delaware and Tennessee were announced as the winners of the “Race to the Top” competitive program on Monday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois passed over for education grants<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Southtown – The Education Department asked states to concentrate their proposals on four areas: adopting standards and assessments to better prepare students for careers and college; getting high-quality teachers into classroom; turning around low-performing schools; and creating data systems to track performance. Federal officials will collect a second round of applications for the highly selective\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next heat<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune Editorial – \u00a0No surprise here. Illinois wasn’t expected to be competitive when the federal challenge was announced last year. This state did, though, make remarkable strides in reshaping its long stagnant education protocols: Illinois finished fifth overall, well ahead of early front-runners such as Louisiana, which placed 11th, and Colorado, 14th.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

State, U46 finish out of the money for fed grant<\/a>
\nElgin Courier News – \u00a0selected from 16 finalists, received the grants in the first round of the $4.35 billion federal competition. Both tweaked their education laws and enlisted the support of their school districts and teachers unions to better their chances. Illinois was one of the 16 finalists announced earlier this month, and School District U46 stood to receive a portion of the grant money.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I hate this job,’ board chief says after layoffs of 50<\/a>
\nBelleville News-Democrat – and staff will be laid off throughout the state in the next school year. \u00a0The coalition, which includes the Association of School Administrators, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association, made its projection after learning that three-quarters of the state’s districts had planned for 17,000 layoffs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Devastating’ layoffs loom in school districts statewide<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Sun-Times\u00a0– Teachers in south suburban Homewood School District 153 and southwest suburban Wheaton-Warrenville Unit District 200 also made concessions. …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Larger class sizes ahead as teachers collect pink slips<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Tribune\u00a0– Her district, Wheaton Warrenville School District 200, has proposed eliminating up to 71 teachers next year, part of $6.4 million in cuts. …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Champaign Teacher RIFs\u00a0<\/a>
\nChampaign WCIA (CBS) 3 – \u00a0other staff got Reduction in Force notices. Last year there were only 82. The district lays off teachers every year until it can figure out how many it can afford to re-hire. The increase in RIFs is because a lot of Stratton teachers will have their hours reduced. The district cut the extended day program to save money. The district says not counting Stratton staff, 98 teachers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s ‘Pink Slip Tuesday’ for 61 Oswego High School teachers OSWEGO, Ill. (STMW) — Oswego High School’s theater director, a learning disabilities teacher<\/a> – a learning disabilities teacher and a gifted-resource teacher are just three of 61 first-year teachers who will receive honorable dismissal notices today from Oswego School District. The Oswego school board on Monday voted 7-2 to pass the second phase of its deficit-reduction plan, which included layoffs to 61 first-year teachers, 12 of which are part-time.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meeting drawn from dispute<\/a>
\nDanville Commercial-News – \u00a0will take up a measure at Wednesday\u2019s special meeting that could lead to the reduction of one laid-off teacher\u2019s position for next year. He said ongoing discussions with the Danville Education Association and advice of the district\u2019s attorney had led to a proposal that could slightly realign the list of 82 positions \u2014 which would be cut by one to 81.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orland SD 135 cuts staff to fix budget\u00a0 <\/span>Orland School District 135 Supt. Dennis Soustek estimates the district will save about $800,000 during the next school year through layoffs unanimously approved by the school board Monday night. \u00a0The board voted to cut three full-time teachers and a part-time kindergarten teacher as part of the district’s reduction in force process. Board member Ann Gentile was absent. The board also eliminated two part-time custodial positions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knoxville cuts 11 school aides<\/a>
\nGalesburg Register Mail – The Knoxville school board approved the reduction of 11 elementary and junior high school aides Monday.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Sandwich schools fearing cuts for next school year<\/a>
\nBeacon News – While Sandwich schools should make it through this school year OK, cuts may be needed in the next school year. Superintendent Rick Schmitt told the school board this month that the district’s overall fund balances will allow it to sustain many of its current programs and services, but “right now it looks like we might have to cut back on staffing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Glenbard high schools’ layoffs will reduce services<\/a>
\nArlington Heights Daily Herald – Molek said he expects the district to call back between six and eight part-time teachers. That number is usually closer to 20. Glenbard Education Association President Tom Tully said an open process regarding the cuts made the layoffs easier to digest.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consolidate districts to save money<\/a>
\nCrystal Lake Northwest Herald – The state has an outdated system of regional school superintendents \u2013 45 in all \u2013 scattered across the state. Couldn\u2019t money be saved by consolidation, reorganization and streamlining the educational bureaucracy? Of course it could.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t some of that money be used to keep teachers in the classroom and important programs in place? Of course it could.\u00a0 But local community members would have to rethink how they provide an education, and be willing to embrace change in order to make necessary improvements.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mattoon schools on state financial watch list (again)<\/span><\/a>
\n<\/span>SPRINGFIELD \u2014 The Mattoon school district has landed on the Illinois State Board of Education\u2019s financial watch list for the second year in a row, although district officials cited the state\u2019s withholding of about $1 million in reimbursements as a factor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Editorial: State must do its part to make pension fix work<\/a>
\nAddison Press – \u00a0That is a very big \u201cif.\u201d Reckless legislators and governors are the true cause of Illinois\u2019 pension crisis, not too-generous benefits for rank-and-file employees and teachers. Gov. Pat Quinn and legislators were practically breaking their arms patting themselves on the back Thursday after taking such a bold vote. But their work on pensions is not done\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leave teachers’ pensions alone<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – Here we go again. The legislature is allowing the Chicago Public Schools to use pension money to balance their budget. Some legislators are calling for reducing pension benefits of retired teachers. While some pension reform is needed, it cannot be on the backs of retired Chicago teachers. Most of us earned our pensions by working 38 years, dedicated to Chicago kids,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Public pension reforms move in right direction<\/a>\u00a0 Bloomington Pantagraph\u00a0– ? Pat Quinn to sign the bill quickly and not cave in to pressure from unions, who oppose a two-tiered pension plan. Then, it is important to enact more …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

School cuts and the college bound<\/a>\u00a0 Daily Herald Editorial – It’s a tough time of year for high school seniors. In the next few weeks, they’ll have to finally commit to a college for next fall, taking into account family finances, rising tuition and an uncertain economy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Editorial: A four-day school week? Readers share their viewpoints<\/a>
\nQuad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – I sense a subterfuge here. I think this is a bluff to force massive tax increases. * I do not see how this will benefit the students. The time would be extended the remaining four days but, as a teacher, I would much rather have an entire extra class period rather than a small amount of minutes added to the other days. You would never recover the amount of minutes lost due to shortening\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

CPS vows special ed overhaul<\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>Critics describe the Chicago Public Schools special education system as so complex and litigious that parents of children with disabilities must hire a cadre of medical and legal experts to have any hope of getting their child proper educational services. Disputes with the district can drain parents’ resources and patience, and leave the physicians who care for their kids exasperated.<\/p>\n

Political News <\/em><\/h2>\n

Campaign 2010\u00a0<\/a>
\nChampaign WCIA (CBS) – Governor Quinn\u2019s running mate is talking up support for an income tax increase. Sheila Simon and Quinn made a stop the U of I on Monday. They used it to highlight the need to raise income taxes by 33%. Simon says it\u2019s part of a bigger plan to get the state back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sheila Simon<\/a>
\nChampaign News Gazette – \u00a0Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, right, and lieutenant governor candidate Sheila Simon speak to the media after Simon was introduced at the Illini Union on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Democratic team greets voters<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – \u00a0Sheila Simon greeted commuters Monday at a Chicago train station, a campaign tradition that in this case comes nearly two months after the primary election. Gov. Pat Quinn stood alongside Simon, his choice for running mate after primary winner Scott Lee Cohen dropped out due to damaging revelations about his personal life\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn opens quest to introduce Simon to state<\/a>
\nMattoon Journal Gazette – A pair of smiling admirers approached Sheila Simon as soon as Gov. Pat Quinn finished speaking Monday at the University of Illinois.\u201cWe\u2019re huge fans of your entire family,\u201d said one woman, who wore a decades-old campaign button for Simon\u2019s father,\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did Simon really deserve the lt. gov nomination?<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – If Sheila Simon really is the best candidate to run for lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket, then why was she Gov. Quinn’s third pick?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our View: Simon adds reform, rhythm to ticket, if not experience<\/a>
\nPeoria Journal Star – political royalty is a step up from the questionable character represented by the winner of Illinois’ Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, who later stepped down. In that sense Gov. Pat Quinn and the Democratic Party had little to lose with their invitation to Sheila Simon of Carbondale to join the ticket for the November election. She is the daughter of the late Sen. Paul Simon\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell: Art Turner Was Snubbed<\/a>\u00a0 Governor Quinn has chosen a familiar name to fill the lieutenant governor seat, but could there be some backlash for his decision? Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell joins us with more on the decision to pick Sheila Simon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WHITNEY BLASTS DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP ON HEALTH CARE AND PUBLIC PENSIONS<\/a>\u00a0 Decatur Tribune\u00a0– ? Two major events this week strikingly illustrate how the leadership of the Democratic Party makes a pretense of defending the interests of working people …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois taps consultant to help take lottery private<\/a>
\nCrains Chicago Business – \u201cIt\u2019s about operating the lottery in a responsible way.\u201d The state is moving quickly on the process in light of the current budget deficit and aims to have candidates to recommend to Gov. Pat Quinn by August. Many interested companies have contacted the state, and there may be national as well as international bidders, Ms. Winnett said. A law finalizing the terms for outsourcing lottery\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Biden to speak Wednesday in Peoria<\/a>
\nSpringfield State Journal Register – \u00a0of Abuse at the Peoria Civic Center. In the U.S. Senate, Biden sponsored the 1994 Crime Bill and the Violence Against Women Act, which, among other things, provides funding for prevention education for children. The center\u2019s Prevention Program made 35,000 student contacts last school year, teaching body safety and respectful relationships, according to a news release.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A state with no limits<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Southtown There can be only three reasons why Senate Bill 3668 exists. A. The members of the General Assembly are in a great hurry to get to Springfield quicker so they can continue their hard work for the people of Illinois. \u00a0B. The state is broke, needs money and sees an easy way to generate a ton of revenue by issuing speeding tickets to a confused motoring public. \u00a0C. No one in state government cares if we live or die.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

National News <\/em><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only Two States Win Race to Top<\/a><\/p>\n

Wall Street Journal\u00a0– The Obama administration delivered a jolt to US public education Monday by selecting just two states, Delaware and Tennessee, …<\/p>\n

Race to the Top winners: How did Delaware and Tennessee succeed?<\/a><\/p>\n

Christian Science Monitor\u00a0– In announcing the Race to the Top winners, Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted that both states had strong buy-in from almost all districts and teachers …<\/p>\n

Arne Duncan the heartbreaker and Race to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington Post (blog)\u00a0– Just a few weeks ago, Duncan proudly announced that there were 16 finalists in his $4 billion \u201cRace to the Top\u201d competition for cash, er, I mean, …<\/p>\n

Feds poke holes in DC Race to Top bid<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington Post (blog)\u00a0– The District may well end up with a piece of the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top action when the grant competition moves to its second round later …<\/p>\n

DC comes in last in Race to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington Post (blog)\u00a0– The District’s application for federal grant money to help improve schools has fallen short — way shot, DC Schools Insider reports. …<\/p>\n

News Of The Day \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

New York Daily News – Delaware and Tennessee beat out 38 other states – including New York – and the District of Columbia to win “Race to the Top” funds. …<\/p>\n

A Disappointing Race to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n

Wall Street Journal\u00a0– ?The Obama Administration yesterday awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in education grants to only two states, which we’re glad to say made good on its …<\/p>\n

New York misses out on education grants<\/a><\/p>\n

WIVB\u00a0– ?New York has missed out on what Governor Paterson says could have amounted to $700 million in education grants.<\/p>\n

Paterson: NY to apply for 2nd round of ed grants<\/a><\/p>\n

Newsday (subscription)\u00a0– (AP) \u2014 Gov. David Paterson said Monday he wasn’t surprised that New York missed out on up to $700 million in federal education grants, but he believes the …<\/p>\n

Feds poke holes in DC Race to Top bid<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington Post – The District may well end up with a piece of the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top action when the grant competition moves to its second round later …<\/p>\n

Obama’s Education Awards Put High Value on Union Support<\/a><\/p>\n

Wall Street Journal – The Obama administration sent a core message to the states by picking just Delaware and Tennessee as winners in its $4.35 billion Race to …<\/p>\n

Florida’s terrible teachers bill a test for Duncan<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington Post – The state of Florida could prove to be a big test for Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Legislators in the Sunshine State are moving with all due speed to …<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

TIME.com Today’s Top Stories<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

EMP: The Next Weapon of Mass Destruction?<\/a><\/p>\n

Some argue that it’s time for the U.S. to worry about an electromagnetic-pulse attack by setting aside a day every year to worry about it<\/p>\n

Obama’s Visit with Karzai: No Pat on the Back<\/a><\/p>\n

The President’s journey to Kabul came amid growing concern over whether the Afghan government will play its part in the U.S. strategy against the Taliban<\/p>\n

Where Manny Pacquiao Is the Underdog: Philippine Politics<\/a><\/p>\n

The best pound-for-pound boxer in the world can certainly put up the campaign funds but he has several distinct disadvantages in his obsessive run for office<\/p>\n

A New Name in American Paranoia: Hutaree<\/a><\/p>\n

Raids in the Midwest brought in seven members of an extremist Christian group suspected of plotting against police and the federal government<\/p>\n

Ready for Your Biometric Social Security Card?<\/a><\/p>\n

Could a national identity card help resolve the heated immigration-reform divide?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below are\u00a0links to news stories of interest from\u00a0newspapers that came up during a search\u00a0today.\u00a0\u00a0These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to\u00a0your computer is recommended.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 State News Ken Swanson interview on WGN-AM 3-29-10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}