Latest news with #schooldistricts
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Schools blame tariffs for rising costs and supply woes
School districts across the country are grappling with how to navigate President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have led to higher costs for everything from Chromebook parts to juice boxes — leaving educators worried that supply shortages may affect safety and achievement. The price hikes and uncertainty have many schools wrangling with tough questions: whether to postpone replacing laptops, how to meet federal school meal nutrition regulations with current funding and whether to cut staff in the face of rising costs.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Liberals rewrite message on education cuts after a month of criticism
Social Sharing At first, the opposition saw the story of district education budget cuts as the story of a weak cabinet minister. On May 13, Progressive Conservative MLA Bill Hogan — a former education minister — blamed his Liberal successor, Claire Johnson, for the bad news trickling out of the province's seven school districts. "At what point will the premier realize that she has a minister struggling?" Hogan asked. "At what point does the premier look inward and ask herself if she made a mistake or two in the selection of her cabinet?" Over time, as the Holt government struggled to find a coherent narrative for its decisions on the district budgets, the PC criticism has evolved. Now it's about the government as a whole. "The Art of the Deal, Premier Holt-style, goes like this," PC MLA Rob Weir said this week, referring to Donald Trump's impetuous style of decision-making. "Step one: cut funding. Step two: wait for funding cuts to cause chaos, upset and job loss. Step three: then, and only then, start talking about negotiations." WATCH | 'We thought we were being clear,' minister says of message to districts: How the Holt Liberals' message on education cuts 'evolved' 7 minutes ago Duration 2:48 The Liberals are now in retreat over their education budget, which they increased by $200 million overall, but which — thanks to the earmarking of most of the money — forced the districts to reduce spending in some areas by a total of $43 million. One district cut library workers. Another said it would have to eliminate 25 support positions for students with behavioural issues, shifting those teachers into classrooms to comply with the government's directive to concentrate resources in classrooms. Last week, Johnson said forcing district education councils to rethink their budgets was "a good exercise," but the government had gone "a little bit too fast or too far" because it was so impatient for improvements. Holt later told Brunswick News the problem stemmed from the districts being so unused to consultation and collaboration that they didn't realize the Liberals wanted to negotiate with them all along. Johnson adopted that message in the last week, saying the government and the districts "have to relearn how to work together" after six years of Progressive Conservative government. "We almost have to deal with a trauma response as we fix a relationship that has been broken," the minister said. No mention of an offer to negotiate The districts could be forgiven, however, for presuming that what they were told weeks ago was the last word. Johnson herself said on May 8 that shifting resources to classrooms was vital, and "we all agree on this. We're making it happen." She made no mention of an offer to negotiate. Letters sent to francophone school districts on April 29 laid out their budget allocations for 2025-26 and reminded them they had until July 1 to submit their spending plans — with no deficits allowed. "You will note that your budget includes a significant reduction," said the letter, written in French. "In addition to your spending plan, please provide us with the details of the reductions you need to make this adjustment." The letter included an offer to meet with the districts "so we can better understand potential issues and communicate your budget realities to central government" — but only in the fall, after the cuts would already be in effect. Johnson wouldn't comment on the older April 29 letters this week, saying she wanted to focus on "the evolution, the correction" to the government's way of communicating. "It evolved as it needed to. We thought we were being clear. Maybe it wasn't as clear as it could have been." She produced new letters on Tuesday that ask districts to submit plans to "mitigate choices that could impact the classroom and the supports our students rely on most." The letter continues: "We will consider adjusting funding in relation to the proposals you submit." And it goes on to specify that the department wants to know "which staffing and funding choices you may have made that would impact the items above." Not clear what cuts may be reversed Johnson told reporters the process could lead to the province restoring some of the $43 million, but not all of it. "We want to be convinced that it's absolutely necessary," she said. "We will land somewhere in the middle. It won't be $43 million." The districts say they are going through the process, but it's not clear what cuts may be reversed. "At this stage, it's too early to speak to the number of positions that may be impacted," said Paul MacIntosh, a spokesperson for the Anglophone West district. Ghislaine Foulem, the chair of the Francophone Northeast district agreed the initial April 29 letters didn't seem to leave any room for negotiations. "There was maybe a lack of understanding, or a misinterpretation of intentions" between the two sides, she said. "Now I think we've heard an openness to reconsider those cuts." It's 'the entire government,' PC leader says PC Opposition Leader Glen Savoie said it wasn't credible for the government to claim now that its spring budget decisions were merely an invitation to negotiation. "If that's the case, the $600 million deficit that they've put us in — we'd like to go back in that house and negotiate that down so we have a balanced budget," he said. And, he said, the issue is no longer just Claire Johnson. "It's this entire government and their approach to governing. At every turn, they make a decision, it blows up in their face, and then they try to evade responsibility for that decision," he said.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Top Illinois schools • Mom accused of stabbing son • CosMc's to close
CHICAGO - Two Illinois districts were ranked among the top 10 in the nation in a new study; a Chicago mother was accused of stabbing her 7-year-old son after he made a mess in their Rogers Park home, police said; and McDonald's will close its short-lived CosMc's experiment, including in the southwest suburbs. These are the top stories in Fox 32's Week in Review. Two Illinois school districts landed on a new ranking of the United States' top education systems. The ranking was conducted by online tutoring marketplace Wiingy using data from school rating and review site Niche. FULL STORY New details were revealed in court Monday in the stabbing of a 7-year-old boy by his mother Saturday morning in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Llovana Torres, 26, was arrested Saturday morning, less than two hours after allegedly stabbing her son at their home. FULL STORY McDonald's is pulling the plug on its short-lived CosMc's experiment, announcing all locations—including the Bolingbrook original—will shut down starting next month. FULL STORY A 19-year-old man and juvenile have been charged—and may face hate crime counts—after a woman was seriously injured in an alleged anti-LGBTQ+ attack at a McDonald's in Carpentersville, authorities said. FULL STORY The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the City of Chicago for possible race-based hiring practices following comments made by Mayor Brandon Johnson. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division announced the investigation in a letter on Monday, citing potential violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race. FULL STORY Four men were accused of running an electronics counterfeit ring in DuPage County worth more than half a million dollars, prosecutors said. Salvatore Derosa, 50, Simone Signorelli, 23, Vincenzo Demartino, 49, and Luca Demartino, 25, were charged with possession of counterfeit items with intent to sell, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. FULL STORY Three men were arrested during a traffic stop in Chicago's Grand Crossing neighborhood after investigators recovered firearms and suspected drugs, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. FULL STORY Two UW-Platteville students have died following an incident at Wilgus Hall on Monday, May 19. In an email sent to campus, UW-Platteville Chancellor Dr. Tammy Evetovich said, "It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of two UW-Platteville students, Kelsie Martin, 22, of Beloit, Wisconsin, and Hallie Helms, 22, of Baraboo, Wisconsin. FULL STORY A plan to allow police to issue temporary curfews for unaccompanied teens advanced Tuesday after a Chicago City Council committee approved the proposal. The full City Council delayed a final vote on the matter later in the week. FULL STORY Four men accused of attacking multiple employees and an off-duty officer at a pizza restaurant on Chicago's Southwest Side last year were acquitted on Wednesday. The charges stemmed from an incident on June 23, 2024, when the men were accused of fighting staff members at Barraco's Pizza in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood. FULL STORY
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maryland school districts still assessing Blueprint changes
May 9—Changes to Maryland's signature education policy will impact how school districts implement and fund teachers' collaborative time. But plans for next steps go unspoken. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To log in, click here. Originally Published:May 8, 2025 at 5:50 PM EDT
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US school districts facing extortion attempt after hack, software provider says
DETROIT, May 7 (Reuters) - Hackers have tried to extort "multiple" school districts in the United States using previously stolen data from education software and cloud provider PowerSchool, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The California-based provider, which serves more than 60 million students globally, disclosed in December 2024 that personal information from its U.S. student information database had been stolen in a cybersecurity incident. The data stolen varied, the company said at the time, opens new tab, but could have included names, contact information, dates of birth, limited medical alert information, and social security numbers. In an update on Wednesday the company said it was "aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them," and for the first time acknowledged that the company paid a ransom for an undisclosed amount to the hackers responsible for the breach. The extortion attempts relied on data stolen as part of that incident, the company said. The company made what it called "the difficult decision" to pay the ransom "because we believed it to be in the best interest of our customers and the students and communities we serve." The company believed the hackers would delete the data, the company said, "based on assurances and evidence provided to us." Reuters could not establish whether the same hackers behind the original attack were behind the extortion tries. A person familiar with the extortion attempts told Reuters four school districts had been contacted. It was not clear where those districts are located. PowerSchool did not respond to a request for comment. Bain Capital took PowerSchool private in a deal worth $5.6 billion in June 2024.
