Friday News Roundup: Week of July 18-22

Tennessee plan to open Memphis schools on time has majority of board in support

Most New Jersey school districts keeping restored state aid for 2013 budgets, not 2012 property tax relief

Out-of-state students in Virginia shouldering more costs

Minnesota school officials ponder funding, policy changes in budget

Tennessee plan to open Memphis schools on time has majority of board in support
The Memphis City school board voted this week to delay the start of the 2012 school year, slated to begin on August 8^th,until it receives $55 million from the Memphis city government. The day after the school board vote, the city sent $3 million of the $8 million owed from the 2010-2011 school year to the district. In an effort to broker an agreement, the city has offered to provide $15 million to the schools by August 15, with the remainder paid out in monthly installments. The total amount owed is also contested, though; the schools have asked for $78 million this year, but the city council believes the amount should be closer to $68 million. The City Council is set to vote on the district’s budget on August 2^nd, and students will return to school on schedule if all parties are able to agree. More here…

Most New Jersey school districts keeping restored state aid for 2013 budgets, not 2012 property tax relief
New Jersey public schools will receive about $600 million more this year than expected following a budget agreement between Democrats in the state legislature and Republican Governor Chris Christie. Districts received notification of the additional amount they would receive on July 12^th. But with municipalities already calculating property tax bills, school districts had only until Tuesday afternoon to decide whether they would return the money to residents through property tax relief or keep the funding for use in the 2013 school year (2012 budgets have already been approved). Twenty of the 580 school districts elected to put the money into property tax relief; other schools are using the money for facilities improvement, educational programs, or to plug holes that will develop when the federal Education Jobs Fund dollars run out at the end of this year. More here…

Out-of-state students in Virginia shouldering more costs
Virginia has a requirement that, for all public colleges and universities in the commonwealth, out-of-state student tuition and fees cover at least 100 percent of the average cost of education at the school. The percentage is calculated using enrollment-weighted tuition averages for undergraduate and graduate students, compared to per-student costs at the school. But many schools have well exceeded that percentage requirement, according to a new report issued by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Last year, out-of-state students averaged 151 percent of the cost of education; this year, that number will rise to 159 percent. Schools at the upper end of the range include the University of Virginia at 185 percent and George Mason University at 164 percent. More here…

Minnesota school officials ponder funding, policy changes in budget
With the government shutdown in Minnesota resolved this week, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a two-year, $13.6 billion K-12 education financing bill for fiscal years 2012 and 2013. A key – and controversial – term of the budget permits the state to delay $700 million in aid payments to schools, allowing the state to balance its budgets. School districts are now responsible for paying this year’s bills, including loan interest payments, and they won’t receive the money the state owes them until fiscal year 2014. To help cover the difference, the state is adding $50 per student in funding to schools, set to rise by another $50 per student next year. But 40 percent of those payments will be on delay, too. Other provisions in the bill include teacher evaluation reform, waivers for some spending requirements schools are currently subject to, and an end to penalties for schools that haven’t reached agreements on teacher contracts by January 15^th of each year. More here…