March 2009

Resources

• Stimulus offers boost to education funding [HTML 5,616kb]
  Economic stimulus legislation under consideration in Congress offers an unprecedented infusion
  
• FRN members urge Congress to start ‘New Era in Education’ [HTML 2,888kb]
  More than 1,000 school board members from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., in early February to urge members of Congress to ensure the proposed stimulus legislation provides adequate funding for schools hard-hit by the faltering economy.
  
• Federal investment would support ‘shovel-ready’ projects [HTML 4,230kb]
  Thousands of school districts around the country have “shovel ready” construction projects that would benefit from the economic stimulus package under consideration in Congress.
  
• Faced with critical needs, Michigan association brings 108 to FRN [HTML 4,560kb]
  For Michigan school leaders, many hard hit by troubles in the auto industry, the stimulus package is absolutely critical to prevent massive budget cuts and layoffs.
  
• Oregon school board leaders push districts’ priorities in Hill visits [HTML 4,594kb]
  School board members from Oregon came away from the Federal Relations Network Conference better informed about the federal issues affecting their districts and reassured that their members of Congress have a better understanding of how their decisions affect local schools.
  
• School board members to lawmakers: ‘Facilitate, don’t dictate’ [HTML 4,426kb]
  Advocacy experts outline NCLB, other priorities at FRN meeting
  
• U.S. does offer a world-class education [HTML 2,809kb]
  Since Sputnik launched into outer space more than a half century ago, the United States has been on a race to close a perceived achievement gap with other industrialized nations. But is the U.S. education system really that far behind?
  
• Henry honored with Shannon Award [HTML 1,785kb]
  NSBA has awarded the 2009 Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence in School Boards Association Leadership to Jeannie M. “Sis” Henry, executive director of the Georgia School Boards Association.
  
• Urban school leaders focus on inequities in education [HTML 4,816kb]
  The Obama administration offers urban school leaders their best opportunity in years to redress the inequities that exist between schools serving affluent communities and those serving the most economically disadvantaged.
  
• Gates grant helps boards make better use of data [HTML 2,692kb]
  NSBA’s National School Boards Foundation has received a $755,603 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help school boards better understand and use academic data for decision-making.
  
• Duncan outlines for vision for education [HTML 4,914kb]
  U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offered some clues about the Obama administration’s education policies during a recent meeting with education leaders and at his confirmation hearing.
  
• NSBA Conference will help you do more with less [HTML 3,151kb]
  If your school board is worried about how to raise student achievement, retain the best teachers, and implement innovative programs during a time of severe budget cuts -- and who isn’t nowadays? -- you’ll find plenty of good advice at the NSBA Annual Conference.
  
• Executive Director’s Report: In good times and bad -- NSBA is looking out for you [HTML 6,481kb]
  “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Those opening lines of Charles Dickens’ historical novel A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859, capture some of my feelings at this very hopeful time in our nation’s history.