Latest news with #Mundell
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
How to Watch BKFC 75 Albuquerque Mundell vs. Sanchez: Live Stream BKFC, TV Channel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship returns to Albuquerque, featuring a main event between reigning BKFC Middleweight World Champion David "The Redneck" Mundell and local favorite Donald Sanchez. David Mundell squares up during the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event at the Orange County Convention Center on November 3, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. David Mundell squares up during the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event at the Orange County Convention Center on November 3, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. Photo byHow to Watch BKFC 75 Albuquerque Mundell vs. Sanchez: When: Friday, June 6, 2025 Time: 9:00 PM ET Where: Tingley Coliseum TV Channel: Fubo Sports Live Stream: Fubo (Try for free!) Mundell (9-1), widely regarded as the pound-for-pound king of BKFC, has been dominant over his last three title defenses. The Florida native has notched seven consecutive wins, with his last three title defenses all ending in emphatic second-round finishes. Known for his power, volume, and iron chin, Mundell's aggressive yet calculated style has made him a must-watch champion. He's faced and beaten top contenders, including Francesco Ricchi, Mike Richman, and Danny Christie, and now looks to further cement his legacy in hostile territory. Challenging him is Albuquerque's own Donald Sanchez (4-1 BKFC), a veteran of nearly two decades in combat sports and a former MMA champion. Sanchez has been on a tear since joining BKFC, winning his last four bouts and earning this long-awaited title shot in front of a hometown crowd. With a reputation for grit and finishing ability, Sanchez aims to make history by dethroning Mundell and claiming the middleweight crown on his biggest stage yet. Live stream BKFC 75 Albuquerque: Mundell vs. Sanchez on Fubo: Start your subscription now! Regional restrictions may apply. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands of Arkansans apply to school voucher program as universal access offered for first time
The majority of private schools that participated in the inaugural year of Arkansas' voucher program have reapplied for the second year. They're joined by more than two dozen new applicants. () Nearly 37,000 students have been approved to participate in the state's school voucher program during the 2025-2026 academic year, the first time it's open to all Arkansans. Created by the LEARNS Act, a 2023 law that made sweeping changes to the state's K-12 education system, the Education Freedom Account program provides state funds for allowable education expenses such as private school tuition. The program was phased in over three years with expanding eligibility. As of Monday, the Arkansas Department of Education had received 42,624 applications — 27,752 from private school students, 14,866 from homeschool students and six incomplete applications. Applications could be considered incomplete for a variety of reasons such as someone not entering a school in the application, ADE spokesperson Kimberly Mundell said. ADE had approved 36,855 applicants as of Monday — 25,569 private school students and 11,286 homeschool students. In the first two years of the EFA program, participation was capped at 1.5% and 3% of the total public school enrollment, roughly 7,100 and 14,000 students, respectively. ADE is projecting approximately 40,000 participants for the 2025-2026 academic year, Mundell said. With no cap in year three, participation will be limited by available funding, which is worrisome to Courtnei Jackson, principal and teacher at Shiloh Excel Christian School in Little Rock. 'It is a concern to know that there's a possibility of funds running out and we still don't have families that have renewed or applied yet,' she said. Shiloh Excel had 13 students last year, the majority of whom participated in the EFA program. Jackson expects around 20 students to enroll for the 2025-2026 academic year. EFA students are eligible to receive up to $6,994 per student next year. Students who previously qualified for the Succeed Scholarship Program, which was absorbed into the EFA program, will receive up to $7,771. For the 2025-2026 academic year, $277 million in state funds have been approved for the EFA program, Mundell said. Asked if applications are expected to exceed available funding and if per-student funding would be reduced if that happens, Mundell said funding hasn't yet been exceeded and 'there is no plan to reduce the amount of funding per pupil at this time.' To manage the large influx of applications, ADE is evaluating and approving applications based on funding priority categories within designated application priority windows, instead of a first-come, first-served basis, according to the education department's EFA website. Three-week priority windows began in early March. The application portal was closed from May 26 to June 1, before reopening for the fifth application window on Monday. Once a priority window closes, all submitted applications are reviewed together, with priority given to students in higher funding categories. The students with highest priority are returning EFA participants, followed by students with specialized needs. The program will continue processing applications in three-week windows until Jan. 31, 2026. If the number of applications exceeds available funding, applicants in the highest priority groups will be awarded first until all funds have been allocated, according to ADE's website. Any remaining eligible students will be placed on a rolling waitlist and considered for funding as openings occur. Private schools that have participated in every year of the EFA program say they're grateful the funds have helped cover families' tuition costs and increase their enrollment. But they also say technological issues persist and worry how the program might change. Smaller class sizes are key to providing an effective education at Shiloh Excel, but the school may soon expand from 20 students to 100 because of the EFA program, Jackson said. 'We have been [considering expanding] over the years, but we're really considering it now, especially since we have the vouchers that are available…so it's possible that we could really increase quickly, and we want to be able to accommodate that,' she said. Joshua Academy in Van Buren opened in 2023 with 37 students. Enrollment grew to 47 by the end of the Christian school's first year and to 121 during the 2024-2025 academic year when 97 students participated in the EFA program. Enrollment is expected to be around 160 this fall and the EFA program has been 'a huge part of it,' Head of School Kara Witzke said. Joshua Academy serves 'a fairly underserved population' in a rural county with about a quarter of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and more than 70 ACE scholarships expected next year, Witzke said. Founded in 2000 by a group of people that included Walmart heir John Walton, ACE Scholarships are designed for families that make up to 350% above the poverty level ($112,525 for a family of four in 2025). 'The fact that everybody's getting it, the families are so relieved, those especially that have been paying full price for our school or relying on outside scholarships to do so,' Witzke said. 'They're so relieved to have that big burden taken care of.' Tuition will cost $9,000 for elementary school and $9,500 for middle school next year, and with the EFA program covering the majority of that, Witzke said it creates an opportunity for the outdoor-based school to launch its first annual fund. Heads of Arkansas private schools participating in state voucher program cite aid to families Private schools often rely on donors to pay for operational costs not covered by tuition, she said, so an annual fund would allow some families to donate part of what they would have paid in tuition and receive a tax deduction. While tuition increases are common, Jackson said she's cautioned her school's board not to raise tuition too much because it's important for families to have EFA funds for other things like uniforms and supplies. Shiloh Excel's tuition will increase from $4,250 to $5,000 this fall. At Clear Spring School in Eureka Springs, tuition will stay the same next year, ranging from $9,000 to $10,500 for K-12 students. Roughly 85% of the school's students receive scholarships, so the EFA program helps alleviate concerns about how much the independent school needs to raise for tuition assistance, Head of School Jessica FitzPatrick said. Though EFA funds are available, technology can make them difficult to access. Beyond the initial application, families must submit invoices through an online portal for quarterly payments to be disbursed to schools. Joshua Academy families often have phones but not computers, so some use the school's main office computer to access the online EFA portal, Witzke said. With a smaller enrollment of 69 students, FitzPatrick said staff can generally remind families to submit invoices or assist those who aren't 'tech savvy at all.' 'It's not hard, but if you've never done it, it's a challenge and it's usually our lower-income families that it's the biggest challenge for, which is who they're trying to help,' FitzPatrick said. 'But there's a disconnect there between the lowest income and their hurdles to technology.' Beyond technical glitches, some private school leaders have concerns about how the EFA program could change in the future. Opponents of the program have called for private schools receiving state funding to be held to the same standards as public schools. Some lawmakers have proposed laws to require just that. If program requirements change such that the state dictates the direction of Clear Spring, that could be a problem because it goes against its accrediting body's guidelines for independent schools to set their own mission, vision and philosophy, FitzPatrick said. Likewise, Witzke said the EFA program seems like it's often 'under attack' and she's worried about efforts to repeal the program or attach 'strings that would make it impossible for a Christian school, for instance, to maintain their freedom and curriculum choice.' 'I hope that the spirit of the LEARNS Act is maintained and that fidelity is maintained forever, but I am concerned,' she said. 'If it were to go away and we have 200 students at our school that all of a sudden lose 80% of their funding, we would at that point have to rely on donor funding to keep the kids here, and that would be more challenging.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The Herald Scotland
26-05-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
CalMac: New ferry fiasco hits vital Islay supplies
The community council on the island which had told CalMac last week of the "critical importance" of either a backup plan or to get the 14-year-old ferry back in service in time for the annual Fèis Ìle, or Islay Festival that starts tomorrow (Friday) says there is already "major disruption". According to CalMac's schedule MV Finlaggan was due to go into for its annual maintenance on April 24, and return on May 12 - ten days ago. And the council says they are still awaiting a back up plan as the busy bank holiday weekend approaches. Key island haulier B Mundell Ltd has spoken out about the issues having on Wednesday been told they could not get a booking for trailer full of life-critical medical supplies and core and key infrastructure to keep the island going. Local ferry users were told last Wednesday that additional work had resulted in a 24 hour delay to the completion of maintenance and a return to services. It had been hoped it would be back on Monday - but it remains out of service and now CalMac has indicated the latest timescales are that it will not be back till Friday "As soon as we hit points like that, where they can't get drugs, they can't get business-critical supplies to keep the things flowing... the island is not able to get basic resident needs", said Matthew Mundell one of two brothers who run the family business responsible for what it says is the lion's share of the freight on and off the island. He says the failure to bring MV Finlaggan back online means the existing lower capacity ferries are "massively oversubscribed" and that it was indicative of a wider problem with ferries going on and off Islay that has been running for five years. A CalMac spokesman said that according to its prioritisation matrix, the cargo would have been prioritised but that they did know the nature of the cargo at first. CalMac said they had been endavouring to get the issue resolved. The annual festival Fèis Ìle, which was originally part of a plan to revive the Gaelic language, was left facing "significant difficulties" last year after CalMac initially failed to provide the usual additional sailings to allow whisky lovers and festival-goers to attend the nine-day long event at the end of May. The festival regularly brings upwards of £10 million pounds to the local economy, and organisers said last year it was in "serious jeopardy" if a solution could not be found. Up to 20,000 people from around the world are usually expected on Islay and Jura for what is said to be one of the biggest gatherings of its kind on the planet. Mr Mundell said that his company was desperately trying to get the reinstatement of a booking for a 55 foot lorry containing over 1000 parcels including medication, vital parts and supplies for utility services such as water, electricity and roads. One of the Mundell trucks on an Islay ferry (Image: YouTube (eye scotland)) The company has told CalMac: "It would be helpful to receive an update on how the service has deteriorated to this point and how goods are currently being prioritised. Based on the manifests, this load should clearly be at the top of your published prioritisation matrix. "As a family business, the ongoing disruption is costing us thousands of pounds per week in additional costs while simultaneously reducing our revenue in double digits. For the fifth consecutive year, our gross profits are once again being significantly impacted. "Our patience is wearing extremely thin—by most standards, five years is more than enough time to resolve the operational issues CalMac continues to face." The company said issues with deliveries has hit distillery production and claimed one local building merchant had run out of all essential supplies. The company has asked for a meeting to sort out how promised services were not being delivered and how CalMac can "stop repeating the same failures". Meanwhile the council has said it is insisting that CalMac advises what their back up plan is. Read more from Martin Williams: A message from CalMac to a user group said: "Once again huge apologies for the further delay, the port teams are working with each other and contacting all affected customers to either cancel or move to alternative sailings." It said there was a request for extra capacity on the route for Friday which was "currently being looked at internally". It is understood that users were told last week that the problems required the supply and installation of new pistons. And that the timeline for supply of spares, resulted in an estimated 24 hour delay to the completion of the maintenance period and consequently the vessel's departure from the port of repair in Birkenhead, Merseyside and return to service. The current vessels operating on the Islay route are MV Isle of Arran and MV Lord of the Isles which have the capacity to carry 953 passengers and 132 cars and are on a reduced service. The usual pairing of MV Finlaggan and the recently retired MV Hebridean Isles was able to carry over 100 more passengers and over 20 more cars and the haulier said that the carrying capacity was "significantly lower". Mr Mundell of the hauliers who have depots in Islay, Tarbet, Glasgow and Alloa said that there was a failure of communication over what was happening with the ferry failing to return from its annual service on time. Video: What makes the Islay Festival so special? "The island is going into freefall, " said the key haulier which does 140 articulated movements a week on and off Islay. "Tomorrow, the shops will have no food, the hospital will have no medication. People are desperate. They are going bananas." Mr Mundell, who is part of the Islay community ferry group that liaises with CalMac added: "I would not normally speak, but the Islay Festival, which is the biggest whisky festival on planet Earth starts and businesses don't have the goods. A significant amount of people come from all over the world for this. And the lead up to that week businesses move a lot of stuff that is critical to do with preparing for it. None of that can get over just now because of the ferry fiasco. "Through all our customers, and through all our member organisations, people are singing from the same hymn sheet which is that things are looking extremely desperate. "Nobody at CalMac is taking the responsibility for getting this sorted. "They are taking bookings for Finlaggan being on the route, but it is not. They just don't have the capacity to service the islands. "They keep saying it will back in two days. I told them last Friday, we will be lucky to see this back in a week. "We move a lot of business critical supplies, including controlled prescribed medication on a daily basis. CalMac have removed our bookings on the 6pm sailing [on Wednesday], which means none of the medical supplies will get to the island for delivery tomorrow morning. "Daily deliveries are needed to keep the infrastructure on the island - water, roads, SSE [energy] and Openreach [broadband] - running but they are not getting it. "When they cannot get the components to get the telephone working or can't get the drugs in the hospital, can't get the supplies to get the water flow, the island is at significant risk to not being able to provide the basic needs for the residents, let alone run a business. "There is chilled food on the lorry that hasn't got a booking that is meant to be on the island. "We have managed to struggle on through, but we have got to the point that the boat cannot move the absolute essential goods. Our prioritisation as a business, we try to satisfy all our customers, but at the end of the day loads that have medical supplies and core and key infrastructure stuff to keep the island going as an island always takes top priority over everything we move. And we are now at the point where CalMac have confirmed they are not able to give us a booking for an important trailer. "We are at a point where core services on the island - basic business operations like water, telecoms, the medical supplies for hospitals and pharmacy, chilled food productions are not being serviced.. "These are life-critical medical supplies. It is everything from a methadone prescription, to urgent medication, it is in locked boxes. It is stuff people need every day depending on their condition. "I know it is common sense that they don't ship this stuff for fun. It is life-critical things that people need on the island to keep them healthy and well." Food has already been a problem because of cyber crime. The targeting of retailers including Marks and Spencer and Co-op has led to sporadic empty shelves across UK stores as the companies slowed deliveries and shut down parts of their IT systems in response to cyber attacks. In most places, disappointed customers at least have the option of visiting other supermarkets to pick up supplies. But island communities such as that on Islay do not have that luxury, with Co-op the key store. MV Lord of the Isles is continuing to serve Islay when it should be operating in and out of South Uist (Image: George Munro) "The solution is that we keep getting told we are getting new ferries and improvements are being made, but this is the fifth year in a row that Islay has seen significant disruption, to a level that restricts business, movements and the commerce on the island to the point that it is loss-making," added Mr Mundell. "If it carries on being serviced the way, business could not operate their profitably. And our business is losing money because of the additional cost we face when we have disruption because we cannot move them in an economical fashion." The disruption has had a knock on effect on one of the most hit islands in the wave of ferry disruption - South Uist. South Uist continues to be badly hit by a shortage of vessels on lifeline ferry routes and has been served by 37-year-old veteran MV Isle of Mull which is restricted to just 45 passengers since the start of the year ,while its regular ship - MV Lord of the Isles remains serving Islay. Some islanders have been describing the services as "non existent". One ferry user group officials said: "This is what happens when we get underinvestment in lifeline ferries. But the way you manage the fleet is key. There never seems to be a well communicated back up plan and the losers are always island residents and businesses." The new ferries, Glen Rosa and its sister ship Glen Sannox were both due to be online within the first seven months of 2018, to serve Arran. They were the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel ships ever built in the UK, capable of switching between LNG and marine diesel. In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine, under the control of tycoon Jim McColl, fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with state-owned ferry and port-owning agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and the yard's management blaming each other. Delays to the Glen Rosa are now heading towards the eight year mark, and is not expected to take passengers until between April and June of next year. Glen Sannox was launched in January, seven years late. The costs of both vessels, are set to soar to more than five times the original £97m contract. A CalMac spokeswoman said: 'We were not informed of the content of this trailer at first, and as soon as we were told that it contained essential goods, we were able to book it onto the 6pm sailing today (Wednesday). 'We appreciate that this has been a very difficult time for all our customers, and we are very sorry for the problems that this period of disruption has caused. 'MV Finlaggan was delayed during annual maintenance but is now leaving dry dock in Birkenhead tomorrow morning and we are confident that the vessel will resume service, alongside MV Isle of Arran, on the Islay route on Friday 23 May at 7am. If the vessel is not back by then, MV Isle of Arran and MV Lord of the Isles will continue to provide the service until she returns. 'The port teams have worked tirelessly to ensure as normal a service as possible for our customers during periods of disruption, with Fèis Ìle traffic being prioritised. Along with this, we are looking at adding extra capacity on Friday if this is required.'
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
CalMac: New ferry fiasco hits vital Islay supplies and famed festival
The community council on the island which had told CalMac last week of the "critical importance" of either a backup plan or to get the 14-year-old ferry back in service in time for the annual Fèis Ìle, or Islay Festival that starts tomorrow (Friday) says there is already "major disruption". According to CalMac's schedule MV Finlaggan was due to go into for its annual maintenance on April 24, and return on May 12 - ten days ago. And the council says they are still awaiting a back up plan as the busy bank holiday weekend approaches. Key island haulier B Mundell Ltd has spoken out about the issues having on Wednesday been told they could not get a booking for trailer full of life-critical medical supplies and core and key infrastructure to keep the island going. Local ferry users were told last Wednesday that additional work had resulted in a 24 hour delay to the completion of maintenance and a return to services. It had been hoped it would be back on Monday - but it remains out of service and now CalMac has indicated the latest timescales are that it will not be back till Friday "As soon as we hit points like that, where they can't get drugs, they can't get business-critical supplies to keep the things flowing... the island is not able to get basic resident needs", said Matthew Mundell one of two brothers who run the family business responsible for what it says is the lion's share of the freight on and off the island. He says the failure to bring MV Finlaggan back online means the existing lower capacity ferries are "massively oversubscribed" and that it was indicative of a wider problem with ferries going on and off Islay that has been running for five years. A CalMac spokesman said that according to its prioritisation matrix, the cargo would have been prioritised but that they did know the nature of the cargo at first. CalMac said they had been endavouring to get the issue resolved. The annual festival Fèis Ìle, which was originally part of a plan to revive the Gaelic language, was left facing "significant difficulties" last year after CalMac initially failed to provide the usual additional sailings to allow whisky lovers and festival-goers to attend the nine-day long event at the end of May. The festival regularly brings upwards of £10 million pounds to the local economy, and organisers said it is in "serious jeopardy" if a solution cannot be found. Up to 20,000 people from around the world are usually expected on Islay and Jura for what is said to be one of the biggest gatherings of its kind on the planet. Mr Mundell said that his company was desperately trying to get the reinstatement of a booking for a 55 foot lorry containing over 1000 parcels including medication, vital parts and supplies for utility services such as water, electricity and roads. One of the Mundell trucks on an Islay ferry (Image: YouTube (eye scotland)) The company has told CalMac: "It would be helpful to receive an update on how the service has deteriorated to this point and how goods are currently being prioritised. Based on the manifests, this load should clearly be at the top of your published prioritisation matrix. "As a family business, the ongoing disruption is costing us thousands of pounds per week in additional costs while simultaneously reducing our revenue in double digits. For the fifth consecutive year, our gross profits are once again being significantly impacted. "Our patience is wearing extremely thin—by most standards, five years is more than enough time to resolve the operational issues CalMac continues to face." The company said issues with deliveries has hit distillery production and claimed one local building merchant had run out of all essential supplies. The company has asked for a meeting to sort out how promised services were not being delivered and how CalMac can "stop repeating the same failures". Meanwhile the council has said it is insisting that CalMac advises what their back up plan. Read more from Martin Williams: A message from CalMac to a user group said: "Once again huge apologies for the further delay, the port teams are working with each other and contacting all affected customers to either cancel or move to alternative sailings." It said there was a request for extra capacity on the route for Friday which was "currently being looked at internally". It is understood that users were told last week that the problems required the supply and installation of new pistons. And that the timeline for supply of spares, resulted in an estimated 24 hour delay to the completion of the maintenance period and consequently the vessel's departure from the port of repair in Birkenhead, Merseyside and return to service. The current vessels operating on the Islay route are MV Isle of Arran and MV Lord of the Isles which have the capacity to carry 953 passengers and 132 cars and are on a reduced service. The usual pairing of MV Finlaggan and the recently retired MV Hebridean Isles was able to carry over 100 more passengers and over 20 more cars and the haulier said that the carrying capacity was "significantly lower". Mr Mundell of the hauliers who have depots in Islay, Tarbet, Glasgow and Alloa said that there was a failure of communication over what was happening with the ferry failing to return from its annual service on time. Video: What makes the Islay Festival so special? "The island is going into freefall, " said the key haulier who do 140 articulated movements a week on and off Islay. "Tomorrow, the shops will have no food, the hospital will have no medication. People are desperate. They are going bananas." Mr Mundell, who is part of the Islay community ferry group that liaises with CalMac added: "I would not normally speak, but the Islay Festival, which is the biggest whisky festival on planet Earth starts and businesses don't have the goods. A significant amount of people come from all over the world for this. And the lead up to that week businesses move a lot of stuff that is critical to do with preparing for it. None of that can get over just now because of the ferry fiasco. "Through all our customers, and through all our member organisations, people are singing from the same hymn sheet which is that things are looking extremely desperate. "Nobody at CalMac is taking the responsibility for getting this sorted. "They are taking bookings for Finlaggan being on the route, but it is not. They just don't have the capacity to service the islands. "They keep saying it will back in two days. I told them last Friday, we will be lucky to see this back in a week. "We move a lot of business critical supplies, including controlled prescribed medication on a daily basis. CalMac have removed our bookings on the 6pm sailing [on Wednesday], which means none of the medical supplies will get to the island for delivery tomorrow morning. "Daily deliveries are needed to keep the infrastructure on the island - water, roads, SSE [energy] and Openreach [broadband] - running but they are not getting it. "When we start points like that, when they cannot get the components to get the telephone working or can't get the drugs in the hospital, can't get the supplies to get the water flow, the island is at significant risk to not being able to provide the basic needs for the residents, let alone run a business. "There is chilled food on the lorry that hasn't got a booking that is meant to be on the island. "We have managed to struggle on through, but we have to the point that the boat cannot move the absolute essential goods. Our prioritisation as a business, we try to satisfy all our customers, but at the end of the day loads that have medical supplies and core and key infrastructure stuff to keep the island going as an island always takes top priority over everything we move. And we are now at the point where CalMac have confirmed they are not able to give us a booking for an important trailer. "We are at a point where core services on the island - basic business operations like water, telecoms, the medical supplies for hospitals and pharmacy, chilled food productions are not being serviced.. "These are life-critical medical supplies. It is everything from a methadone prescription, to urgent medication, it is in locked boxes. It is stuff people need every day depending on their condition. "I know it is common sense that they don't ship this stuff for fun. It is life-critical things that people need on the island to keep them healthy and well." Food has already been a problem because of cyber crime. The targeting of retailers including Marks and Spencer and Co-op has led to sporadic empty shelves across UK stores as the companies slowed deliveries and shut down parts of their IT systems in response to cyber attacks. In most places, disappointed customers at least have the option of visiting other supermarkets to pick up supplies. But island communities such as that on Islay do not have that luxury, with Co-op the key store. MV Lord of the Isles is continuing to serve Islay when it should be operating in and out of South Uist (Image: George Munro) "The solution is that we keep getting told we are getting new ferries and improvements are being made, but this is the fifth year in a row that Islay has seen significant disruption, to a level that restricts business, movements and the commerce on the island to the point that it is loss-making. "If it carries on being serviced the way it is being services, business could not operate their profitably. And our business is losing money because of the additional cost we face when we have disruption because we cannot move them in an economical fashion." The disruption has had a knock on effect on one of the most hit islands in the wave of ferry disruption - South Uist. South Uist continues to be badly hit by a shortage of vessels on lifeline ferry routes and has been served by 37-year-old veteran MV Isle of Mull which is restricted to just 45 passengers since the start of the year ,while its regular ship - MV Lord of the Isles remains serving Islay. Some islanders have been describing the services as "non existent". One ferry user group officials said: "This is what happens when we get underinvestment in lifeline ferries. But the way you manage the fleet is key. There is never seems to be a well communicated back up plan and the losers are always island residents and businesses." The new ferries, Glen Rosa and its sister ship Glen Sannox were both due to be online within the first seven months of 2018, to serve Arran. They were the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel ships ever built in the UK, capable of switching between LNG and marine diesel. In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine, under the control of tycoon Jim McColl, fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with state-owned ferry and port-owning agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and the yard's management blaming each other. Delays to the Glen Rosa are now heading towards the eight year mark, and is not expected to take passengers until between April and June of next year. Glen Sannox was launched in January, seven years late. The costs of both vessels, are set to soar to more than five times the original £97m contract.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas' rising 3rd graders will be first to be held back under new literacy standards
A group of elementary schoolchildren take a test. A 2023 Arkansas law requires third graders who fail to meet literacy standards to be held back beginning with the 2025-26 school year, but the rules haven't been written yet. (Getty Images) Arkansas students entering the third grade at public schools and open enrollment charter schools this fall will be the first cohort to be retained if they don't meet literacy expectations, a policy established by the 2023 LEARNS Act. 'By the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, if a public school student has not met the third-grade reading standard, as defined by the state board, or the student does not have a good-cause exemption, as provided under this subsection, the student shall not be promoted to fourth grade,' the law states. This new requirement could have extreme implications, considering a 2024 assessment showed that only about 36% of the state's third graders could read proficiently. Would the state of Arkansas really require all but 36% of the state's public school third graders to be held back? It's currently unclear. State education officials haven't yet set the new literacy standard by which third-grade reading will be measured for the 2025-2026 academic year. Kimberly Mundell, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Education, didn't answer specific questions about how the policy would play out. 'The law affects this school year's second graders, who will be third graders next year,' Mundell said. 'More information and details will be provided in the future.' The LEARNS Act — a 2023 law that overhauled K-12 education with increased teacher pay, a controversial school voucher system and new volunteer requirements for public school students — tasked the State Board of Education with establishing the literacy standard for third graders. Alisha Price, associate legal counsel for the state education department, said the nine-member board hasn't yet crafted rules related to the literacy requirements, but it will be discussed this year. 'These rules have not started the drafting process but will soon,' Price said. 'It usually takes a few months to go on a board agenda for approval, then public comment, but I do not yet have an estimate on that date.' As with other requirements set by the Arkansas LEARNS Act, mandatory retention for third graders who fail to meet reading standards applies only in public schools. Private school and homeschool students are exempt. Annual comprehensive testing typically occurs in April and May, near the end of the academic year. The current round of testing is expected to end Friday. While the standard for next year isn't set, data from an existing assessment — the Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment System (ATLAS) — showed that most third graders had not achieved proficiency, and had only a basic literacy understanding in 2024. ATLAS replaced the ACT Aspire assessment that was used from third to 10th grade from 2016 through 2023. Last year was the first time school districts used ATLAS. State education officials have said the assessment created a new baseline that should not be compared to previous methods. Of 250 public school districts included in state ATLAS data, a dozen reported that at least half of its third graders tested at the lowest level for reading, meaning students showed limited skills. Low reading scores also typically correlated to low English language arts (ELA) scores, another component of literacy testing within ATLAS. Among the lower performers was Blytheville School District in Mississippi County, where 70% of its 109 students showed a limited understanding of reading and another 26% showed a basic understanding. According to last year's state ATLAS data, only about five Blytheville third graders could read proficiently. The same data was reported for the school's English language arts scores. Last week, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said he intended to recommend to members of the State Board of Education that Blytheville School District should receive the highest level of state support due to declining enrollment and administrative challenges, the Arkansas Advocate reported. Little Rock School District, which had the highest number of third graders in the state in 2024 — more than 1,500 — reported one in three children had only limited reading skills last year. The district's English language arts scores matched within a few percentage points of its reading results. How those figures will compare to new literacy standards remains to be seen. States have authority over day-to-day operations and curriculum standards in schools, making apples-to-apples comparisons among states tricky. Though that process leads to varying standards nationwide, the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as 'the nation's report card' — tracks average reading scores and how they change over time. These national reports focus on fourth grade reading attainment, rather than third. The congressionally mandated program within the U.S. Department of Education reported that no states saw improvements in reading scores among fourth graders from 2022 to 2019, and Arkansas students' average scores decreased by three points. The state's decrease was on par with the national trend among all public school fourth graders. While the literacy standard the State Board of Education has been tasked to establish will apply to most third graders in public schools, there are some exceptions. The education board has already adopted rules outlined in the LEARNS Act to set good-cause exemptions for promotion to the fourth grade, such as limited English proficiency students and those with individualized education programs or 504 plans. Other exemptions include students who were previously held back, kids on an intensive literacy intervention program, or those who have received a special education referral. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 16% of Arkansas public school students, K-12, have a learning disability. Dyslexia is among the most common learning disabilities, and state law requires school districts to screen each student in kindergarten through third grade for dyslexia, then provide appropriate resources for their academic success. The State Board of Education further describes the third grade retention policy in the Right to Read Act, which outlines what public school districts or open enrollment charter schools should provide for students who don't meet the reading standard or are promoted with good-cause exemptions. The literacy improvement plan extends beyond the classroom and into students' homes. According to the rules, schools must provide 90 minutes of evidence-based literacy instruction each school day, assign the students to a high-performing teacher and send legal guardians a 'read-at-home' plan. Students will also be given priority to receive a literacy tutoring grant, and have the option to participate in additional programming. This story was first published by the Arkansas Times and is republished here by permission.
