| ||||||||||||||||||||||
NJ Spotlight--Poll: Tuition-Free Community College — Smart Move or Dumb Mistake?
Under the ‘Murphy plan,’ students get a free ride at NJ’s two-year schools. Guadagno says the middle class will wind up footing the bill
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy announced earlier this week that, if he wins the election this fall, his goal is to make community college tuition-free across New Jersey.
The proposal was part of a broader policy platform aimed at improving the state economy by boosting opportunities for women, minorities, and the disabled. But the campaign of Republican candidate Kim Guadagno also weighed in, questioning how state taxpayers would be able to take on the added financial burden — estimated by the Murphy camp to be as much as $200 million — without facing major tax hikes.
September 21, 2017
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: Newark’s Long Road to Local Control of Schools — Where Will It Lead?
Even as Newark may be poised to resume local control, it's not clear how many schools will be returned and whether state operation actually has built greater local capacity to govern them
Newark’s long, twisting, and arduous road to local control of its schools may be nearing its end — or maybe not. On September 13, the state Board of Education adopted a resolution to initiate the return to full local control. Under that resolution, the state Department of Education is to collaborate with the Newark Public Schools to develop a “full transition plan,” which will “establish the framework for the return to local control of the district” and the “effective date of the return.”
Of course, this process could result in significant delays and unexpected wrinkles, possibly permitting the already substantial “charterization” of Newark’s schools to continue.
Paul L. Tractenberg | September 21, 2017
Philadelphia Inquirer (Via Associated Pres)--Editorial: THE TRUE COST OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
Two studies were released last week that at first glance have nothing to do with each other. The first was a report by Research for Action, a Philadelphia educational research firm, that measured the fiscal impact of charter schools on six school districts around the state, including Philadelphia’s.
RFA’s model accounts for variables like rates of charter growth, size of districts, and short- and long-term impact. The bottom line: the burgeoning charter system, which now numbers more than 130,000 students (70,000 in Philadelphia) has hit districts around the state hard. In Philadelphia, the report found, charters cost the district $8,000 per student initially and $4,000 each subsequent year, even after five years.
This is the first time fiscal impact has been measured so rigorously, though the news that charters have been costly is not altogether surprising.
Districts pay tuition for every student enrolling in a charter school — about equal to the per-pupil allotment the state issues for education. The more students who go to charters, the more money flows from district schools.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/editorials/charter-school-cost-public-education-20170919.html
Philadelphia Inquirer| Sept. 19
Education Week--Here's What the Latest Push to Repeal Obamacare Could Mean for Schools
Educators who thought Congress would leave schools alone and not pass a big health care overhaul any time soon might want to reconsider.
Senators are making one more push to end President Barack Obama's signature health care law before Sept. 30. The legislation now getting the attention has Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as the lead co-authors. After Sept. 30, the Senate would in practice have to pass any repeal of Obamacare with 60 votes, which is all but impossible politically given that Republicans control only 52 seats in the chamber. So time is short for this latest GOP effort to send an Obamacare repeal bill, even though some are skeptical that it's a "true" repeal of the ACA, to President Donald Trump.
Like previous recent efforts to overhaul health care and ditch Obamacare, the Graham-Cassidy legislation would significantly impact the $4 billion in Medicaid money schools receive annually.
Andrew Ujifusa on September 20, 2017 6:57 AM
