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February 20-22, 2008The Virginia Daily Education News is a daily update (Monday through Friday) of education news throughout Virginia. Links are created to various newspapers throughout the state. Questions or comments regarding the Virginia Education News should be sent to herbc@vsba.org. Thank You
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The VSBA Insurance Services Programs offer loss control and behavioral based safety programs that are unlike any other. In fact, VSBA is one of only two programs in the country that offer this type of safety training. We provide our Members with simple, yet effective, common sense awareness and skills to observe and manage the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that can cause injury to any employee or loss of property. Contact us at Toll Free: 800-446-8722Local: 434-295-8722 or Fax: 434-295-878 VSBA's governmental relations program ensures that the interest of school divisions is represented in formulating state and federal education policy. Educational funding and governance issues are at the top of the VSBA legislative agenda. Through the work of the VSBA board members and staff, local school officials become directly aware of and involved with federal and state activities affecting education. The Association represents the concerns of school divisions during the General Assembly, at meetings of the State Board of Education, and before other state agencies. Concerns on the national level are monitored by the VSBA staff and members of the NSBA Federal Relations Network, which consists of local school board members from each Congressional District of the state and nation. The "guiding light" of any school division is its policy manual. The VSBA Comprehensive Policy Services provide subscribers with policies that are based on state and federal laws and regulations, case law, State Board of Education policies, and Department of Education regulations and procedures. Services are available at a reasonable cost to member divisions and include periodic policy amendments necessitated by law. A periodic publication for policy services subscribers, The Policy Page, features topics affecting district policies. If you are a board member seeking information on VSBA Policy Services, e-mail: Ewing@vsba.org VSBA employs a full-time attorney for regular consultation and legal research. The staff attorney is available to school board members for limited consultation. The VSBA Council of School Attorneys provides a network for school attorneys as well as special publications and seminars concerning educational law. This organization is affiliated with the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys. The VSBA Legal Assistance Fund offers assistance in legal cases that have a statewide impact on school board authority. Participating members are eligible to receive financial aid, amicus cuirae (friend of the court) briefs prepared by the VSBA Special Legal Counsel, or a combination of these services. The VSBA Research and Information Service conducts research, surveys and provides information about particular issues/topics upon request by a Virginia school board member or superintendent. VSBA also maintains a Lending Library of books, articles, and publications that can be borrowed by school board members and superintendents. The VSBA does not necessarily support or promote any opinions, beliefs, or ideas expressed in articles found in the Library The VSBA Center for School Board Development offers individualized team-building development activities designed for school boards in a professional environment. The VSBA Center for School Board Development benefits participating members by:
Participants in the VSBA Center for School Board Development receive VSBA Academy credit. Among the most important decisions that a school board makes is the selection of the superintendent. The VSBA Superintendent Search Assistance provides thorough and professional services throughout the search process, all at a cost that is considerably less than that of private consultants. The goal is to promote a match that makes for an effective policy-making team. From advertising to screening to consultation, the VSBA helps to ensure that this vitally important decision is a sound one. For more information click here. BoardDocs has been developed for school boards, local governments, private and public boards to help alleviate the enormous task of assembling, printing, distributing and revising agenda items and policies. |
Issue 1,548..Friday - February 22, 2008 The first draft of a 2008-09 budget for Augusta County schools includes a 4 percent pay raise for all staff, as well as investments in personnel, textbooks and technology. Due to rising costs of food and other commodities, Harrisonburg students will pay more for school breakfasts and lunches next year. Hopewell board trims $1.3 million from school budget proposal State budget uncertainty postpones Prince George school budget Local school systems have not been impacted by the largest beef recall in history. - Winchester area After crunching the numbers, the Halifax County School Board agreed on a 6-2 vote to a compromise budget Wednesday night that calls for $2.6 million more in local funds and features a pay increase for employees ranging from 4 percent to 7 percent. The Virginia Board of Education seized the teaching licenses of 19 former educators this month as part of an aggressive campaign to ensure that teachers with criminal records are barred from state classrooms. Chesapeake School Board told it will need to cut $2 million from budget Beach - Martha Mansfield jokes that if someone's going to need CPR or first aid, Kempsville High School is the place to be. For the past five years the health and physical education teacher, athletic trainer and CPR instructor has certified every freshman student at the school. Issue 1,547 - Thursday - February 21, 2008 Virginia officials have launched several efforts to improve math and science education across the commonwealth, amid a nationwide push to better prepare students for careers in engineering and science. RICHMOND, -- Virginia's colleges and universities are competing with local school districts over securing more money from lawmakers, who are struggling to prepare a state budget amid a slowdown in revenue. Harrisonburg HS Service Club Second In The World In Charitable Fundraising Winchester - Three Handley High School seniors have been named 2008 National Merit Scholarship finalists. Thirteen Frederick County middle school students have been chosen to participate in the All-State Chorus, and three have been selected as alternates. With students past the halfway point in the school year, Mathews school board members took a hard look at test results with an eye toward achieving state and federal performance goals. David S. Daniel of Gloucester, was appointed principal of Page Middle School in personnel actions taken by the Gloucester County School Board during its Feb. 12 meeting. Superintendent Gary Mathews backed off from his “Budget B” for next year. He’ll fully fund the Academy for Life & Learning and put $1 million toward the reformed - Williamsburg-James City County Norfolk superintendent makes slimmer budget request Interim Poquoson Superintendent Marilyn Barr and School Board Chairman John Costulis presented their proposed budget at a meeting Tuesday night. The $23 million spending plan represents an increase of about 5 percent from last year. The word spread from student to student in Surry County late Tuesday night: Linda Wooden, who had worked as the guidance counselor at Surry County High School for more than two decades, had been killed in a car crash earlier that evening. NORFOLK -
Henrico prioritizes pay raises for instructional aides Just after Albemarle County's top official described his recommended fiscal 2009 budget, Board of Supervisors Chairman Kenneth C. Boyd laid out the rules of the game for those who wanted to speak. Salem names its teacher of the year. - G.W. Carver kindergarten teacher Becky Morgan wins the honor. The school system says Mrs. Morgan has taught kindergarten at G.W. Carver since 1983., and has been teaching for 35 years. List of States Mandating Criminal Background Checks for Local School Boards - See list here 2007-08 Salary House Change (pdf-zipped file)
Issue 1,546 -Wednesday,-February 20, 2008 A federal appeals court has turned away a lawsuit by two Illinois school districts and four families that said the No Child Left Behind Act was in conflict with requirements of the main federal special education law. While more American public school students are taking Advanced Placement tests, the proportion of tests receiving what is deemed a passing score has dipped, and the mean score is down for the fourth year in a row, an Education Week analysis of newly released data from the College Board shows. The Staunton School Board inched closer Tuesday to approving a 2008-09 budget that left the superintendent's $30.5 million proposal largely intact. HARRISONBURG - City School Board is moving forward with plans to build new offices A handful of citizens told Frederick County School Board members on Tuesday night that they support the district’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget. Improved health insurance rates and a 5 percent salary increase for teachers were among the recommendations made by the Winchester Education Association at Tuesday’s meeting of the city School Board. Superintendent David M. Gangel may be at the top of the Amelia County school system, but don't credit him with the system's success. It's a team effort and he's simply the one who keeps everyone on the same page, he said. Richmond schools set aside beef in recall The Pulaski County School Board has been considering four options for dealing with road entrance conflicts at the new Riverlawn Elementary School, but now a fifth option has emerged The Henry County School System has some of the tainted beef that is being recalled nationwide, but Martinsville City Schools and Patrick County Schools do not. A children's book about two male penguins that hatch and parent a chick was pulled from library shelves in Loudoun County elementary schools this month after a parent complained that it promoted a gay agenda. NEWPORT NEWS - Fifteen thousand pounds of beef sit sequestered in a Newport News Public Schools freezer. Suffolk City Schools has quarantined 150 cases of taco filling, and Williamsburg-James City County Schools has set aside about 25 cases of beef products. HAMPTON - The Hampton High School band director charged with obstructing justice for refusing police demands to silence his band after a football game was acquitted Tuesday. But Tory F. Smart still received a stern 15-minute lecture from a judge, who called his decision not to follow the officers' orders — made because of concerns over fighting in the stadium — "disgusting" and "appalling." List of States Mandating Criminal Background Checks for Local School Boards - See list here 2007-08 Salary House Change (pdf-zipped file)
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