NJ Spotlight--Could Advisory Board Help NJ Avoid Last-Minute Budget Shortfalls?
Lawmakers are hoping to implement consensus forecasting to keep state on even financial keel, but governor would still be only one who could certify state revenues
Lawmakers are considering a change in how the state forecasts tax collections each year — which is key to determining state spending — in the name of improving fiscal policy. But even if it is adopted, Gov. Phil Murphy would still retain sole authority to sign off on revenues for the state budget.
John Reitmeyer | December 13, 2018
Star Ledger--Superintendent salary cap is as stupid as we thought | Editorial
The salary cap isn't as restrictive today as when former Gov. Chris Christie first imposed it, but still hamstrings districts
The cap on superintendent salaries, unilaterally enacted by Gov. Chris Christie in 2011 as a belt-tightening measure, was an ill-conceived political stunt.
This immediately became obvious after good superintendents started leaving for New York or Pennsylvania, lured by higher salaries.
Christie got the public all riled up about superintendents in big districts who earned more than his own $175,000 salary.
But it’s hard to see the logic in applying a cap to one single public job, and only in K-12 districts. Why not, say, the Rutgers football coach?
What was common sense is now confirmed by an academic: This cap was worse than silly. It was harmful.
Star-Ledger Editorial Board| Updated Dec 12, 8:57 AM; Posted Dec 12, 8:57 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer--Study: 2018 worst year for gun incidents in schools
The past year has seen 93 gun-related incidents in K-12 schools across the United States, the highest number since recording began in 1970
http://www2.philly.com/news/report-gun-violence-school-shootings--20181212.html
Justine McDaniel, Updated: December 12, 2018- 5:59 PM
Washington Post--Project-based learning is a new rage in education. Never mind that it’s a century old.
Put the phrase “project-based learning” into a search engine and the results could lead you to think that it is a highly successful approach to learning that is thoroughly modern and even transformative in a way never seen before in American public schools.
While project-based learning can indeed be successful and exciting, it is hardly new. It is, in fact, a century old, as education historian Jack Schneider explains in this post. Schneider, a policy analyst who studies the influence of politics, rhetoric, culture and information in shaping attitudes and behaviors, looks at its place in the continuum of school reform and what happened the last time it was popular. It is something of a cautionary tale.
Valerie Strauss| December 12 at 2:19 PM
Education Week--Rollout of ESSA Report Cards Frustrates School Leaders
Arduous process yields new accountability systems
The rollout of states' redesigned school accountability systems in recent weeks has reignited tensions between policymakers, practitioners, and parents over how best to define and incentivize school success.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/12/12/rollout-of-essa-report-cards-frustrates-school.html
Daarel Burnette II | December 11, 2018