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NJ Spotlight-- NJ’s Budget Battle: Tax Breaks Are at Stake, Not Just Tax Hikes
Governor offers to compromise with Democratic legislative leaders, but fate unclear of tax breaks that would help low-income and middle-class New Jerseyans
Several tax hikes that could be enacted with the state’s next budget have gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks, but a number of proposed tax breaks are also at stake in the ongoing budget talks between Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders. Those talks took a new turn yesterday as the governor formally offered a broad compromise to lawmakers.
The tax breaks would benefit thousands of low-wage workers, working parents and homeowners struggling to pay New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation property-tax bills
John Reitmeyer | June 27, 2018
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: The Garden State’s Illusive 180-Day School Year
New Jersey statute mandates students attend school for 180 days each year, but everything from fire drills to teacher conferences can whittle that figure down
While instructional time is essential to student achievement, its importance in practice is often marginalized much to the detriment of students who need more of it.
While the relationship between teacher effectiveness and student learning has been subject to extensive research, little discussion has centered on the time actually dedicated to instruction.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/06/25/op-ed-the-garden-states-illusive-180-day-school-year/
Marc Gaswirth | June 27, 2018
Star Ledger--These 10 school districts are the biggest winners in N.J.'s new funding plan
A new school funding plan approved by state lawmakers last week has some big winners -- so big, in fact, that some districts would see their state aid double in a single year.
The proposal, awaiting the blessing of Gov. Phil Murphy, is aimed at making up for years of underfunding and inequity. The schools that will gain the most money have been chronically underfunded by the state, according to New Jersey's school funding formula.
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Posted June 26, 2018 at 08:35 AM | Updated June 26, 2018 at 08:35 PM
Education Week-- Teacher's Aide or Surveillance Nightmare? Alexa Hits the Classroom
For better or worse, a new technology is making its way from consumers' homes into America's classrooms: voice-controlled "smart speaker" systems from companies such as Amazon and Google.
The internet-enabled devices listen to what users say, send audio recordings to the cloud, translate that information into commands, and respond accordingly—providing users with a personal digital voice assistant such as Amazon's Alexa, which teachers are now using to help with everything from setting a classroom timer to leading a group of 3rd graders through a spelling test.
Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union are raising alarms about privacy.
Benjamin Herold on June 26, 2018 4:10 PM
