Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

School Finance

Following the billions of dollars spent every year educating children.
Colorado
April 16, 2013

Disagreements still dog finance overhaul plan

The proposed update of the state’s school finance system has moved out of a House committee, but lots of questions linger.
Colorado
April 15, 2013

Finance bill faces first House test

Updated -The House Education Committee has voted 7-6 in favor of the proposed update of the state’s school finance system.
Colorado
April 11, 2013

School finance bill blank filled in

A school finance bill proposing some $5.5 billion in K-12 operating funds has been passed by the Senate Education Committee.
Colorado
April 10, 2013

School finance bill has temporary hole

Something’s missing in the new school funding bill – the proposed amount that school support would rise in 2013-14. Plus roundup
Colorado
April 2, 2013

School finance bill goes to House

Updated - The Senate has given 20-15 final approval to the proposed overhaul of the school funding system.
Colorado
March 31, 2013

Lots of ways to raise your taxes

The 24 proposed ballot measures that would raise taxes to help pay for K-12 schools suggest a variety of ways to do that.
Colorado
March 28, 2013

Resolving a $300 million difference

Key senators are negotiating amendments to the proposed school finance overhaul ahead of a key floor debate on Monday.
Colorado
March 23, 2013

Big stack of education tax plans filed

Twenty-five proposed tax-increase ballot measures were filed late Friday, another part of the effort to reform Colorado’s school funding system.
Colorado
March 8, 2013

School finance overhaul introduced

Updated - The proposed school finance reform bill has been formally introduced at the 2013 legislature's halfway point, along with details of its impact.
Colorado
February 28, 2013

Finance bill still a moving target

The proposed school finance overhaul could be formally introduced next week, likely different from the version that’s been circulating for nearly two weeks.
Colorado
February 18, 2013

School funding plan draft goes public

After months of preparation, a proposed new school finance system is about ready to see the light of day in the Colorado legislature.
New York
February 8, 2013

After weathering Sandy, Grady HS loses funding in the shuffle

Grady High School students gathered in the classroom that has been used by Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit group that has provided support to the school. The end of a grant program means the services and partnership will end. A month ago, administrators at William E. Grady Career and Technical High School had no reason to think the school's after-school and enrichment offerings were at risk. A year after getting the surprising news that the city would try to close the school, nine months after learning that the closure plan was off, and five months after reopening with a dramatically reduced student body and budget, the school was finally back on firm footing. Administrators expected a new round of funding for extra services to kick in this fall. Since 2008, the school has offered after-school programs with the support of a state 21st Century Community Learning Center grant secured through a partnership with Good Shepherd Services, a youth and family development agency. But last week, the school learned that in the next round of the grant, Good Shepherd wouldn't be working with Grady, and the funding — at least $150,000 a year according to Good Shepherd — would no longer flow. The news came too late for the school to sign on to a different organization's grant application.
Colorado
February 2, 2013

Questions raised about breakfast bill

A school breakfast bill draws some questions, Mike Johnston makes another funding reform pitch and more Capitol news.
Colorado
January 30, 2013

School finance on the brain

Colorado lawmakers got hit from two sides Wednesday on one of the Capitol’s toughest and most complex issues – school funding.
New York
January 14, 2013

After backlash, city tweaks new special education funding rules

The Department of Education is rolling back some special education policies that drew sharp criticism last week from many principals. The principals were alarmed by a deadline, originally set for today, to "clean up" data about students with disabilities. The deadline raised concerns that the department would take back funds from schools whose students fell into lower-than-anticipated funding tiers. "The last-minute data capture has left us scrambling to account for potentially massive cuts to our budgets halfway through the school year,” 20 principals wrote Thursday in a letter to Chancellor Dennis Walcott. In an email sent late Friday, the department's chief financial officer, Michael Tragale, told principals that the department would push back the deadline and relax a particularly anxiety-inducing rule so schools could retain their special education funds.