Fast Report
01/09—Stimulus bill includes school repairs
• An economic stimulus package under consideration in Congress could provide badly needed funding for school repair and modernization. Congressional approval is contingent on whether lawmakers can work out a bailout deal for auto manufacturers.
A $100.3 billion bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Nov. 17 would provide $2.5 billion for school repairs, as well as billions of dollars for automakers, mortgage buy-backs, food stamps, unemployment benefits, energy projects, border security, and various measures to deal with the Wall Street crisis.
In allocating the school repair funds, the bill calls for priority to be given to districts with inadequate facilities and large percentages of poor children. The funds could not be used for new construction or maintenance.
NSBA urges Congress to invest in school infrastructure improvements, which would not only promote student achievement and improve safety and energy efficiency, but also boost the economy by creating jobs and contracting opportunities.
A study by Rutgers University found that school construction projects planned for New Jersey -- totaling $5.4 billion over five years -- could generate more than 9,350 new jobs and $2.5 billion in income a year.
More schools falling short on AYP goals
• The number of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind rose significantly this year, according to an analysis by NSBA’s Office of Advocacy and Issues Management.
For example, 40 percent of schools in Colorado failed to make AYP in 2007-08, compared to 25 percent in 2006-07. The percentage of schools falling short of their AYP goals rose from about 18 to 31 in Georgia, from 37 to 50 in Massachusetts, 30 to 60 in Missouri, 9 to 36 in North Dakota, and 6 to 25.5 in Wyoming.
States with rigorous standards can appear lagging behind as the proficiency targets continue to climb to 100 percent by 2014, the NSBA analysis states.
In many cases, student performance improved in 2007-08, but such improvement is not sufficient to meet the higher AYP targets in more than 40 states.
Some states experienced sharp increases in reading and math goals for 2008. These increases mean many more students must meet proficiency targets for a school to make AYP.
South Carolina has raised the bar the highest, increasing its goals for both reading and math proficiency by 20 percent. That means schools have to double the percentage of students who need to be proficient to make AYP.
Elementary school named for Obama
• If you’re thinking of having the first school in the nation named for the incoming president, you’re too late: The school board of the Hempstead Union Free School District on Long Island, N.Y., voted 5-0 Nov. 19 to rename the Ludlum Elementary School the Barack Obama Elementary School.
The name change was contemplated even before the election, says board President Charles Renfroe. After students held a mock debate in October -- and a straw vote, which Obama won by a large margin -- they became excited about the election and the possibility of the first African-American president, he says. The school’s student body is 62 percent Hispanic and 36 percent black.
The school board isn’t concerned that Obama has yet to prove himself in the White House. “To have a minority get this far -- he has already accomplished so much,” says Renfroe, who grew up in segregated Alabama and remembers how his teacher was so proud of Rosa Parks for refusing to move to the back of a bus in 1955.