Latest news with #educationfunding
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘We won't let it stand': Chicago Teachers Union calls for state aid amid budget deficit
CHICAGO (WGN) — Financial problems are piling up at Chicago Public Schools, amid the district's growing budget deficit and more cuts from the federal government. Now, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling on the state to step up and provide assistance. CTU representatives spoke Wednesday about how the impact of CPS's $734 million budget deficit is starting to be felt, adding that many are concerned that they might not receive their negotiated retroactive pay until the fall. 'They must pass a budget that isn't going to shortchange our students,' said Jhoanna Maldonado. Last month, the district laid off 161 employees and says it will not fill more than 200 positions. Although the financial picture is murky, the teachers say they won't tolerate waiting for CPS to make good on their new contract. CTU vice president Jackson Potter was among those who spoke Wednesday, addressing concerns. 'We are not going back to Pedro Martinez' false promises that we have a significant and appropriate amount of spending to fund our contract and then we discover when the new CEO is in place that suddenly they don't have any money for libraries or librarians, suddenly they're talking about cutting special education that put them under state oversight for illegally violating the law,' Potter said. CTU leadership is calling on the state legislature to raise taxes on millionaires and billions. But raising the income tax would require everyone to pay more. Illinois has a flat tax system. 'We are here today calling on Governor JB Pritzker to immediately schedule an emergency session in Springfield, Illinois to address the needs of our people, whether it's health care, higher education, Medicaid, or K-12 education,' Potter said. 'These cuts are severe as they are perverse, and we won't let it stand.' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also sees the state as part of the solution. 'It's no secret across the state of Illinois that there is still yet to be a fully funded school district; it just doesn't exist in Illinois right now,' the mayor said. Complicating matters for CPS, Cook County has said the district's twice-a-year infusion of property tax revenue will be delayed. Some, like former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, have suggested Chicago tap into its TIF well. Joe Ferguson, the head of the Civil Federation, says TIF is not the long-term solution, however. 'The actual amount of money that exists that isn't obligated in TIF year in and year out is significantly less than a billion dollars,' Ferguson said. 'CPS could only sweep for half of it on the basis of a decision by the city, which is supposed to make its decision on the basis of what the city may need, in a world in which we're not supposed to be sweeping TIFs at all.' To shore up finances, Ferguson wants the city and state to rethink school spending and revenue sources. He's proposing a State Finance Authority with control over the CPS budget. 'At the end of the day, the state is going to have to be part of the solution, but right now the state does not have a responsible – fiscally responsible – grownup on the other side in CPS,' he said. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Outside control of CPS's budget could be a tough sell, as Chicago just moved to an elected School Board. Governor Pritzker has stated that he'd like to allocate more funds to education. This year, under the evidence-based funding model, the state boosted K-12 funding by more than $300 million. But CPS wants and seeks more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Sky News
7 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Supply teachers costing schools £1.4bn - as students say they are 'falling behind'
Chronic teacher shortages and increased sickness absences have pushed schools to rely heavily on supply agencies, costing the education system nearly £1.4bn in the last year alone. The majority of the £1.4bn was made up by academy schools which spent £847m on agency supply staff in the 2023-24 academic year, new analysis by Sky News using Department for Education data shows. That's nearly double the amount (in real terms) compared to 2014-15. One headteacher told Sky News it can cost schools upwards of £200 a day for a "decent supply teacher". "In some subjects like physics, supply agencies can charge £300-£400 per day, and schools are being held over a barrel," said Gary Moore, the headteacher at Regent High School in north London. But it's students like Zainab Badran who are feeling the impact. "Every lesson we would have a different supply teacher," the GCSE student said. "I didn't feel like I was learning anything. We were falling behind." Mineche Kyezu-Mafuta, a Year 10 student, remembered her science class being taught by five different teachers in a week. "We had subs, and we have science five times a week, so we had a sub for every single one of those lessons - the sub changed for every lesson," she said. "Students (were) out of their seats, throwing stuff, talking, just anything you could really think of would be happening in that class. "It was very loud, students weren't behaving, no one was really doing their work." The vacancy rate among classroom teachers is still three times higher than it was a decade ago. Last year, the number of classroom teachers leaving was twice the number of newly qualified teachers joining the workforce. At the same time, teacher pay has failed to keep up with the rising cost of living. Since 2015, the median teacher salary has increased by nearly 30%, while inflation has risen by about 50%. Agency commission rates Agency commission rates are another source of frustration for school leaders. A teacher earning £30,000 may cost a school approximately £36,900 through an agency, an effective 23% markup. This rate of fees continues to rise further with higher salaries. Andy De Angelis, headteacher of a secondary school in west London, said: "UK agencies provide a CV and possibly help with references. I arrange the interviews." Sky News contacted several leading supply agencies for comment, but none responded. A Department for Education spokesperson said work is "well under way to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers so schools are less reliant on agency staff in the future". "We are already seeing early progress with over 2,300 more secondary and special school teachers in classrooms this year, and over a thousand more people than last year have accepted places on teacher training courses starting this September," they added. "To support schools to get better value for money when hiring supply teachers and other temporary school staff, we have established the agency supply deal." 'Significant failings' But the teachers' union NASUWT has said recent government-commissioned research shows less than 0.5% of school leaders reported obtaining supply teachers through the Crown Commercial Service framework. "Currently, the approach of government ignores the significant failings that exist in the provision of supply teachers," it said. "This creates unnecessary cost and adversely affects supply teachers, schools and pupils. "The best way forward for both schools and supply teachers would be for schools and local authorities to be supported by the government to maintain their own supply pools."
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
24 states sue over funding pause to after-school programs
Twenty-four Democratic states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration's pause on education funding for after-school programs, along with other specialized instruction. The lawsuit argues the Trump administration has violated the Constitution and several federal laws by stopping $6 billion in funding allocated for after-school programs, English lessons for nonnative speakers, trainings for teachers, expansion of science and arts curricula and antibullying programs. The money, which is normally released on July 1, was held unexpectedly with no timeline regarding when the government may release it. 'The federal government cannot use our children's classrooms to advance its assault on immigrant and working families,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James. 'This illegal and unjustified funding freeze will be devastating for students and families nationwide, especially for those who rely on these programs for childcare or to learn English. Congress allocated these funds and the law requires they be delivered. We will not allow this administration to rewrite the rules to punish the communities it doesn't like.' The federal government says it has paused the funds to review where they are going, saying the priorities do not align with the goals of the administration. 'This is an ongoing programmatic review of education funding. Initial findings have shown that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda. In one case, NY public schools used English Language Acquisition funds to promote illegal immigrant advocacy organizations. In another, Washington state used funds to direct illegal immigrants towards scholarships intended for American students,' a spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said. The effects of this pause have been immediate, with the lawsuit alleging summer programs have already been canceled or put at risk, and classes for teacher development or English learners have been stalled or scaled back. The states say they had no time to make up the funding gap, as there was no prior warning on the pause. The states are seeking a preliminary injunction and for the judge to compel the federal government to release the funding. Along with New York, the lawsuit was joined by Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico joins 22 other states in lawsuit over education funding freeze
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez spoke with reporters on Wednesday about his and 22 states attorney generals' lawsuit against the Trump administration over education funding. Next to Torrez is Bill Rodriguez, who directs the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program at Santa Fe Public Schools. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia on Monday afternoon filed a lawsuit in federal court in Rhode Island asking a judge to order the Trump administration to lift a freeze on $7 billion meant for K-12 and adult education. GOP members of US Senate protest Trump freeze of $6.8B in school funding The money comes to the states through seven different federal grant programs meant for student learning and achievement; after-school programs; teacher training; and adult education and literacy. At a news conference with public school officials in Santa Fe on Wednesday afternoon, Torrez said the funding freeze undermines not only education, but also public safety in the long run. 'What happens to the kids who no longer have high-quality educational support in the summer?' Torrez asked. 'All of that impacts their ability to succeed in the education system and makes them far more likely to end up in the criminal justice system.' Bill Rodriguez, who directs the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program at Santa Fe Public Schools, said approximately 60 after-school staff in the state's capital serve 700 families and their students in 13 elementary and K-8 schools. Those workers are asking if they should start looking for new jobs, he said. 'Without the program, students' academic growth could be impacted, and parents may be faced with making the difficult decision to leave their children at home alone, or being watched by older siblings after school,' Rodriguez said. According to the lawsuit, the U.S. Education Department has approved New Mexico's grant funding plan since 2015, most recently on April 25, and state officials and school districts expected to receive more than $44 million on July 1. Schools weren't notified of the freeze until the day before that deadline on June 30, giving them almost no time to mitigate its impacts on families, school employees and children, said Peter McWain, executive director of curriculum and instruction at Santa Fe Public Schools. 'Without 21st Century funding, districts like Santa Fe Public Schools cannot give reasonable assurance of 21st Century after-school programming for this coming school year,' McWain said. '21st Century programming supports children who, without this funding, have nowhere else to go.' Kristie Medina, superintendent for Raton Public Schools in rural northeastern New Mexico, said the freeze will have a direct and devastating impact on students in her district and across the state. 'In New Mexico, where many students live in rural, low-income, multi-lingual communities, these funds are not extra, they're very essential to each and every community,' Medina said. Torrez said he finds it ironic that Trump issued an executive order seeking to make English the official language of the United States, and yet cut support for students who want to learn English. 'They want to more fully participate in the American Dream and in American society, and making these kinds of cuts will have a dramatic impact on their ability to do that,' he said. The lawsuit notes that the New Mexico Constitution requires the state government to provide funding so that teachers can be trained to be proficient in both English and Spanish, and have the ability to teach English. It also points out that state law makes it a goal for New Mexico's public schools to make all students, including English language learners, bilingual and biliterate in English and a second language, either Spanish or a Native American language. All three of New Mexico's representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives last week asked the Trump administration to lift the freeze, including Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who himself was an English language learner. Trump administration withholding $44M in education funding from New Mexico Ian Gates, with the New Mexico Out-of-School Time Network, urged the state Public Education Department to find funding to continue to support 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Gates said New Mexico allocated $15 million to after-school programs in its annual budget during the most recent legislative session, and 'we know that approximately $5 million has not been allocated' to programs in the department's Community Schools Bureau. 'These $5 million could be a lifeline for 21st Century Community Learning Centers that have been defunded,' Gates said. 'We urge the Secretary of Education to identify the additional $5 million if this crisis continues to ensure that students and families have a safe and engaging place after 3 p.m.' Source NM asked a spokesperson for the Public Education Department for comment and will update this story as needed. The other states suing the Trump administration over the education freeze include Rhode Island, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin; along with the District of Columbia. The lawsuit points to eight other times in the last half year that federal courts have blocked the Trump administration from unilaterally freezing or withholding other kinds of federal funds, and asks the court to do the same here. Alongside the lawsuit, the states also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, which, if granted, would allow temporary relief while the lawsuit plays out. Torrez said a hearing on that motion has not yet been scheduled, and his office anticipates that will happen sometime in the next week. If the states prevail in that hearing, Torrez said, the court would order the administration not to cut the funding and the status quo would remain. 'Finding quality help to make sure and childcare and after school programs that weighs on every parent's mind,' he said. 'How are you going to go and find out where your child is going to be in a way that's safe, where they're learning something? I'm trying to bring at least some reassurance to those families and those educators within the next several weeks, but this is something that is going to impact everybody.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
‘We're in a dire situation': Parents fundraising ‘an average of €10,000 per primary school'
Parents are fundraising an average €10,000 annually per primary school due to financial pressure, according to a new survey. The poll of 227 schools was conducted last month by the Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA), which supports about 85 per cent of all primary schools across the State. It found that capitation funding for primary schools, the main source of State funding, on average falls about €25,000 short of real costs. Capitation funding is geared towards general upkeep costs, such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and day-to-day costs. Edel Ní Bhroin, principal of Scoil Aonghusa in Drogheda, Co Louth, said the quality of education available to primary school pupils suffers due to the large amounts of time and energy devoted to meeting basic running costs. READ MORE 'The children miss out because the focus can't be on the teaching and learning 100 per cent,' Ms Ní Bhroin said. She pointed to primary schools' reliance on parents' fundraising efforts through events such as raffles and bake sales, which is highlighted in CPSMA's report. Describing the great lengths the families of Scoil Aonghusa's 170 pupils go to, Ms Ní Bhroin said parent Patrick Carolan recently participated in a 24-hour cycle challenge around Kildare's Mondello track, with sponsorship from members of the school community amounting to €6,200 raised. 'It's not fair that parents have to make up the shortfall in Government funding,' she said. Another principal commented in the survey: 'We are in a dire situation. Costs are spiralling out of control. The costs of a box of A4 copier paper and day-to-day items such as toilet paper, soap, etc have skyrocketed since Covid.' Schools say they are being forced to take a range of cost-saving measures to get by, such as reducing expenditure on school tours – a reality Ms Ní Bhroin's school is facing. In January, Scoil Aonghusa received €25,515 – 70 per cent of its capitation funding – and received the remaining €10,935 in June 2025 to meet total running costs. Having paid for insurance, light, heat and cleaning bills up to March, Ms Ní Bhroin said just €8,800 remained in school funds at that time. 'This is the bare-minimum stuff, this is not extra. This is literally just the skin and bones of trying to keep your school afloat and to try to give the best possible experience for your children. There's no fluff there.' Ms Ní Bhroin carried out her own survey among 23 school principals in Co Louth, which she said brought to light 'the stress and surprising shame that school leaders and management feel about the precarious financial situation they are experiencing'. 'School communities are not being informed openly of the situation for fear that it may reflect negatively on their school.' She called on Minister for Education Helen McEntee to deliver equal capitation grants for primary schools and secondary schools 'to ensure fairness for all children'. The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per secondary school student. From September 2025, budget increases will see this rise to €224 per primary school pupil and €386 per student in post-primary school. When asked to calculate the level of capitation funding per pupil, surveyed, schools reported that matching the €386 received at second level was 'vital' to meeting additional running costs due to inflation. The report found that recruitment expenses cost €964.40 on average, with some larger schools reporting expenses in excess of €2,000. An average of €4,326.37 was spent on the maintenance of special educational needs (SEN) equipment in the 2023-2024 academic year. While schools are provided with initial funding to buy such equipment, regular maintenance and annual certification requirements proves costly. Seamus Mulconry, general secretary of the CPSMA, said post-pandemic inflation has 'shredded' school budgets. 'Primary schools have always been underfunded. This survey shows that some are now under water financially,' Mr Mulconry said. 'Post-pandemic inflation has shredded school budgets, exhausted reserves and put many schools into an unsustainable position. We need a big increase in capitation this year just to keep schools going.' A spokesman for the Department of Education said the Government is committed to increasing capitation funding for schools of all types 'to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs and reduce the financial burden on families'. Pointing to measures announced in Budget 2025, including the 12 per cent rise in capitation rates from September for primary and post-primary schools, he said: 'this increase to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs will cost €30 million. 'This builds on increases provided in the previous year's budget, which is resulting in a 22 per cent increase over two years in the level of capitation rates paid to schools. An additional €45 million in cost-of-living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme was also announced to help them deal with increased costs.'
