Weekly News Round-Up for April 27th

posted by: Melissa | April 27, 2018, 08:27 PM

Each week, KANAAE brings its members a round-up of what’s happening in education. From big, eye-catching headlines to the stories most papers overlook, we find the news our members really want to see. This week, there are walk outs in Arizona and Colorado, while teachers in Las Vegas decide to dump their union.

Teachers Walkout for Second Day in Arizona: On Thursday, teachers across the state of Arizona walked out of their classroom in an effort for better education funding. Attempts to stave off the protest with a 20% raise failed because teachers said the raise would not bring their pay up to the national average, nor would it address issues surrounding pensions and classroom funding. Some analysts tie Arizona’s funding issues to low tax rates that have steadily fallen over the past 30 years. The protests are not confined to public schools either, with some charter school teachers joining in.

Colorado also joins protests: Teachers in some districts in Colorado also walked out of their classes on Thursday, and today were joined by teachers in the rest of the state. Colorado protestors want higher pay and a fix to their pension system, which they say need to be improved, even though the state just approved an increase in education funding. Proponents say that the new funding does not go far enough to fix a decade of underfunding, however those opposed to the protest point out that Colorado is about average when it comes to per-pupil funding.

Las Vegas Teachers vote to disaffiliate from Union: Wednesday night, members of the Clark County Teachers union voted to disaffiliate from the Nevada State Education Association. The vote comes after nearly a year of conflict between the Las Vegas union and its state affiliate. The two unions have disagreed over funding and politics. Over the summer, teachers will have to choose to remain with the new, disaffiliated union, join a new union that is affiliated with the NEA, or join an independent association.

Happening Elsewhere:

Vermont Tax Chief Declines to Detail Education Funding Proposal

Wife of Oregon lawmaker sues union, joining national effort

Assembly looks to un-tether New York teacher evaluations from state tests

Applications open for federal STEM education grant programs

High-Paying Trade Jobs Sit Empty, While High School Grads Line Up For University

Judge: Public money for private schools violates Michigan constitution

Texas Ex-education official questions biracial teen’s Harvard acceptance

New York bill would ban riflery, trap shooting, archery in public schools

Kentucky will take over testing at JCPS schools flagged for potential cheating

Tennessee lawmakers OK new bill to prevent TNReady fiasco from harming teachers

As battle over education funding divides Democrats, New York City mayor adds $125M to city’s schools