An Overview of the Funding of Public Schools

The announcement of school closures is typically met with a high degree of emotion and concern. In Philadelphia, the proposal has also been met with plenty of protests, from the formation of zombie flash mobs to marches throughout the city. Many are opposed to the proposed school closures in one of the largest school districts in the country. However, district officials assert that closing schools is the only way to balance a school budget in dire straits.

Closing Philadelphia Schools

According to a report in the Philadelphia Public Schools Notebook, district superintendent William Hite has recommended the closure of 37 city schools. Hite has claimed that the closures are a necessary step toward saving the school district a significant amount of money. The district estimates the closures would result in savings of around $28 million annually. It would also be a positive move toward a more competitive school system since more resources could be poured into the remaining schools.

This video explains why the city council cannot stop school closings.

However, opponents to the closure plan say the savings to the district would be minimal since district officials were not currently factoring in the cost of transportation and transition expenses. Protesters also note that the closures could fuel additional charter school growth, which had already taken a significant bite out of the school district’s budget. Students and parents of the schools cited

For many months, the District of Columbia Public Schools has been weighing a reorganization plan that would include the closure of some historic schools in the district. Feedback was gathered from parents, students, community members, and other stakeholders in the closure plan. Local neighborhoods came together to save their schools, while school officials pushed for money-saving ideas to save the beleaguered district from more budget woes. As one of the largest school districts in the country, other districts have been watching the ongoing negotiations in D.C. with significant interest.

Strong Reaction to Original Plan

According to the District of Columbia Public Schools website, the original school closure plan announced in November was met with responses from numerous members of the D.C. community.

“The proposal we put out in early November evoked strong reactions from the community,” DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson stated on the district website. “We heard from people across the city that have never reached out or offered feedback before. People spoke up at meetings, they sent emails, they called, and we made sure to track everything they said.”

This video illustrates the strong community reaction to school closing.

Henderson added that she and her staff were “inspired and encouraged” by the feedback they received from parents, students, school staff, and community members. The district encouraged input by hosting four community meetings and meeting with education committees in three district wards.

College completion rates are up with students from Boston Public Schools, suggesting that even large urban school districts with many challenges can find the right formula for success. In Boston, that success may be attributed to a number of factors, most notably a new program dubbed Success Boston. As this city revels in positive numbers in a recent report, other school districts nationwide may be viewing the Boston trend with interest as they try to increase their own college graduation numbers.

Numbers from “Getting Closer to the Finish Line”

The Boston Globe reports on the release of a new report, “Getting Closer to the Finish Line,” which showed the number of college degrees earned by Boston Public Schools students has increased sharply in recent years. The report, compiled by the Boston Foundation, found that nearly half (49.2 percent) of all students that entered college after graduating from Boston schools in 2006 completed college within six years. That figure was a significant increase from 40.2 percent of students in the class of 2000 that earned their college degrees in the same time frame. Degrees include bachelor and associate degrees, as well as certificate programs.

The new Boston numbers also exceeded the national average, which showed around 47 percent of students completed college within six years. When one considers that Boston Public Schools is a district riddled by high poverty rates and ESL families, the new figures are even more impressive.

“We are evidence that

School security has been a high-priority topic in schools nationwide, since the Sandy Hook tragedy in Connecticut took the lives of 26, including 20 young children. In Fairfax County, one of the largest counties in Virginia and the U.S., the majority of teachers say that more guns in schools are not the answer. Instead, Fairfax educators are urging administrators in the district to take another look at current security procedures to see where improvements can be made.

Fairfax Teachers Survey Results

NBC Washington reports that the majority of Fairfax teachers do not support the idea of more guns in school, according to a recent survey. The survey found that 59 percent of Fairfax educators said they do not want guns in the school environment. Only five percent of teachers surveyed said they would support the idea of allowing teachers and staff to carry guns into public schools.

At the same time, most teachers in the county – 65 percent - would support armed police officers in the schools, if school budgets could accommodate that addition. Thirty-seven percent said they would support the addition of unarmed security guards to schools across the county. Currently, many high schools and a few middle schools within the county do have armed police officers at school during regular class hours.

The recent survey was conducted by the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, which represents around 4,200 Fairfax teachers, according to WTOP. The union surveyed 483