| 2010 News |  | Links to media coverage and other information resources about public education issues.
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Minnesota 2020 Property Tax Report: 2002-2010
8/31/2010 12:00 AM
Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020
Property taxes in Minnesota have soared since 2002, the product of state policies that have shifted more public costs on to property tax and more of the property tax on to homeowners. Minnesota 2020 Property Tax Report: 2002-2010 examines the causes of the growth in property taxes and what can be done about it. |
New oversight law worries charter schools
8/30/2010 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
Some charter school leaders in Minnesota say a new law has them worried about their futures. The law was meant to strengthen oversight of charter school. But some advocates say the new rules are stifling, not encouraging, their work. |
81 levy referenda -- that's all?
8/30/2010 12:00 AM
Opinion, Star Tribune
Sure, voters should ask questions about school funding, but they should direct their queries higher. |
Minneapolis schools feeling the heat
8/30/2010 12:00 AM
Corey Mitchell, Star Tribune
In Minneapolis, a new superintendent and her principals and teachers face a fresh set of challenges as classes get underway. |
Pawlenty administration seeks federal school aid after all
8/27/2010 12:00 AM
Beth Hawkins, MinnPost
After weeks of gubernatorial grumbling, the Minnesota Department of Education formally applied today for $167 million in federal education stimulus funding. The state had until Sept. 9 to ask for the money and school administrators were beginning to fear ideology would trump concerns about the budget crisis. |
More Details Emerge from Teacher Education Program
8/26/2010 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
The Bush Foundation is on an interesting tack to improve beginning teacher quality. In December, it announced a $40 million commitment to help recruit, prepare, place and support new teachers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota during the next decade. |
10 named 'Race to the Top' school grant winners
8/24/2010 12:00 AM
Dorie Turner, Associated Press (Pioneer Press)
The U.S. Education Department said today that nine states and the District of Columbia will get money to reform schools in the second round of the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition. |
School starts for 16,000 students in southwest Minnesota
8/23/2010 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — Monday was the first day of school for more than 16,000 students in southwestern Minnesota. That might sound odd to most Minnesotans, because state law prevents most schools from starting before Labor Day. |
When It Comes to School Finances, No News is Not Good News
8/23/2010 12:00 AM
Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020
Using published data from state sources, Minnesota 2020 has repeatedly demonstrated that real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) state aid to Minnesota public schools has declined sharply since fiscal year (FY) 2003.* Unfortunately for Minnesota children and the state’s long-term economic health, this disturbing trend shows no sign of abating. |
Library popularity creates challenges
8/23/2010 12:00 AM
Lee Ann Schutz, Session Daily
School libraries are also facing cuts, with many trimming their resources and staff. Minnesota Educational Media Organization President Tori Jensen estimates that, at best, 20 percent of high school graduates have the tools they need to do college research. |
Horner outlines budget plan: Taxes, cuts, delays
8/23/2010 12:00 AM
Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio
Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner has unveiled a financial blueprint to address Minnesota's $5.8 billion projected budget shortfall. |
Rate Teachers on Overall Student Achievement, Not Tests
8/19/2010 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
The idea that teacher performance reviews need to be reformed is a popular one these days, usually promoted by people who believe teachers are being paid too much or are getting away with not working very hard. |
Belated factcheck: Yes, on a properly adjusted basis, education funding did decline during the Pawlenty years
8/19/2010 12:00 AM
Eric Black, MinnPost
In yesterday's post about Tuesday's MN Chamber of Commerce debate among the guv candidates, I noted a few factual assertions that I thought could benefit from some checking. I heard Dayton say that during the Pawlenty years (2003-2011), public school spending, had declined by $1,300 per pupil. I assumed, since Gov. Pawlenty has often claimed to have spared K-12 education from the budget-cutting knife, that this was a controversial assertion. Turns out, I was wrong and way behind. |
As districts shuffle students, schools change for them
8/19/2010 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — The St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts moved several schools and closed buildings this year to help balance their budgets, and accomodating the changes has required more than your usual summertime school building maintenance. |
Did Destination 2010’s scholarship promise make any difference?
8/19/2010 12:00 AM
Charles Hallman, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
The Minneapolis Foundation, back in April 2001, promised 364 third graders at seven St. Paul and four Minneapolis elementary schools that if they stayed enrolled in the districts and graduated from high school, they would be given either a $10,000 scholarship for a four-year college or university, or a $5,000 scholarship for a two-year school. |
Minnesota ACT scores continue to climb
8/18/2010 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota high school students continued to improve their scores this year on the ACT college entrance exam. |
Hopkins voters to decide on school levy
8/16/2010 12:00 AM
Allie Shah, Star Tribune
One of the best-funded school systems in Minnesota will hold a referendum this fall, asking voters to do what they've done time and again: Pay a little extra to help their public schools. |
Minnesota to receive $430 million for health care and education
8/13/2010 12:00 AM
Steve Francisco and Scott Russell, Minnesota Budget Project
Congress has approved and President Obama has signed into law a bill that will send $430 million to Minnesota to help pay for health care and to save public school teachers’ jobs. The breakdown is $167 million for education and $263 million in additional funding for health care provided by Medicaid. |
The Four-Day School Week Retreat and Surrender
8/13/2010 12:00 AM
John Van Hecke, Minnesota 2020
The four-day school week is creeping across Minnesota's landscape like buckthorn, milfoil or Asian carp. We must stop this educational policy shift now. It's bad for students, families and schools. It's bad for Minnesota. |
Second group of Minn. schools consider early start
8/12/2010 12:00 AM
Associated Press (Star Tribune)
FAIRMONT, Minn. - A second group of school districts in southern Minnesota is proposing to start classes before Labor Day, a concept opposed by the state's tourism industry and State Fair supporters. |
NCLB Lies
8/12/2010 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
There is one, central lie to the No Child Left Behind Act. The lie is that one test can measure the effectiveness of education. |
Curing Achievement Gap is Key to Minnesota’s Future
8/11/2010 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
The achievement gap carries a social aspect that is shameful. While white Minnesota students tend to perform above average nationally and comparatively well internationally, the gap between their academic achievement and that of minority students is the worst in the nation. |
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| | Summer Reading | | The Death and Life of the Great American School System – How testing and choice are undermining education, Diane Ravitch (New York Times book review). |
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