Parents United Network
Home > News & Events > 2009 News  Print View
2009 News
Links to media coverage and other information resources about public education issues.

New Fees in the Era of "No New Taxes"
1/5/2009 12:00 AM
Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020
During the era of "no new taxes," Minnesota is primarily addressing rising budget shortfalls by cutting much-needed aid to local governments and jacking up regressive fees on Minnesota families.... Post-secondary tuition is one type of fee that has grown rapidly in recent years.  State revenue generated from tuition has increased by 22.3 percent from FY 2003 to FY 2008 in inflation-adjusted dollars per capita.

Teach for America looks to expand into Minnesota
1/5/2009 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
A national teaching program that targets low-income school districts might come to Minnesota next year.

Make reform this Legislature's goal
1/4/2009 12:00 AM
Star Tribune Editorial
"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste."
...A recent report by the Minnesota Budget Project noted that even before the current financial trouble, state funding for E-12 and higher education, and for affordable housing, were on track to be at lower real-dollar levels at the end of this decade than they were in fiscal 2003.

The Budget Squeeze
1/4/2009 12:00 AM
Star Tribune
A historic budget shortfall is certain to dominate the 2009 legislative session, with all parties predicting, for now, that the scale of the problem will bring together Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and majority DFLers in the Legislature. But don't be surprised if a few disagreements arise.

Technology spending in Minnesota schools varies from district to district, forcing some to get creative with how they fund upgrades and maintenance
1/4/2009 12:00 AM
Emma L. Carew, Pioneer Press
Mounds View schools reported spending $117 per student in 2007 for the latest classroom technology. Forest Lake schools spent $3 per student. The most recent state figures on technology spending show a wide gap in what Minnesota's schools pay. As computers assume a bigger role in our lives, education experts fear a technological divide in the classroom will leave some students behind.

Thoughts on budget? The floor is open.
1/3/2009 12:00 AM
Lori Sturdevant, Star Tribune
For 10 seconds, consider selling a batch of state parks. Or consolidating rural school districts into regional units. Or turning off every other streetlight, all over the state. Ideas that normally would have been discarded out of hand -- or passed around the State Office Building for staff amusement -- are suddenly worth at least 10 seconds of lawmakers' time.

More support for early education
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Star Tribune Editorial
The evidence continues to mount: Investing in the youngest learners is one of the best, most cost-effective ways to improve education.

Where does the money go?
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Kremena Spengler, New Ulm Journal
In District 88, 46% of the operating budget goes into the classroom; next biggest spending category is special ed

A new frontier of online learning in Minnesota
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Jenna Ross, Star Tribune
On a trip around the state, Gov. Tim Pawlenty laid out a new goal: By 2015, students in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system would earn 25 percent of their credits online.

Schools Brace For Financial Troubles
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
With a projected state revenue shortfall closing in on $6 billion, lawmakers are likely to be chary when eyeing funds for Minnesota's overburdened and underfunded schools.

Study team recommends closing three Robbinsdale District 281 schools this spring
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Sue Webber, MN Sun Newspapers 
A facilities study team led by Wold Architects and Engineers recommends closing Sandburg Middle School in Golden Valley, Pilgrim Lane Elementary in Plymouth and Sunny Hollow Elementary in New Hope at the end of this school year to right-size Robbinsdale Area Schools.

For McLeod West district, the end is nigh
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
Students in the McLeod West School district are wrapping up what will be the district's final winter vacation. Administrators are preparing to close the district's only remaining school after this year.

School years on par, longer
1/2/2009 12:00 AM
Dave Aeikens, St. Cloud Times
At STRIDE Academy, a public charter elementary school in north St. Cloud, students are in school 178 days a year. It’s the most days students are in school in any school or district in the region, and it is the second-highest number in the state.

Anderson brings change to public school
1/1/2009 12:00 AM
Karen Colbenson, Austin Post-Bulletin
It was a year of many changes in Austin Public Schools and interim superintendent Bruce Anderson was the element that began to help calm the waters.

Too political to think big on education policy?
1/1/2009 12:00 AM
Emily Johns, Star Tribune
With the start of Minnesota's legislative session nearing, several education groups have been pushing the Legislature to establish an independent commission to research state education policy and look at efficient, innovative ways to educate Minnesota students.


RSS Feed

In This Section
  • 2004-2008 News
  • Media Watch

    • Featured Articles
    Too political to think big on education policy?
    1/1/2009
    Star Tribune

    State may loosen mandates to help communities save
    12/29/2008
    Minnesota Public Radio


     

    Per Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work is distributed
    for educational purposes only under fair use without profit or payment.