Numerous times I’ve heard people state America spends more on prisons than schools. Pretty damning
Tag / Teachers
Teacher Faces Fine For Handing Out Candy
Photo courtesy of barrjoneslegal.com
Kids at an West Virginia school are learning an economics lesson about their government by witnessing Continue reading →
Number of Indiana Children Receiving School Vouchers
Here is the most recent data by the state of Indiana showing children receiving school vouchers-
This school year, 29,148 students received vouchers, or 2.6 percent of the total state student population, according to the Choice Scholarship program’s annual report released in February. IDOE paid those private and Christian schools nearly $116 million in the 2014-15 school year.
California Pension System Imploding
With Detroit bankruptcy being approved just a few weeks ago look for many other municipalities and possibly states to use similar methods to fend off economically impossible to meet financial demands.
The next bankruptcy is best captured in the LA Times article entitled “California pension funds are running dry” :
The state’s pension goliath, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, had $281 billion to cover the benefits promised to 1.3 million workers and retirees in 2013. Yet it needed an additional $57 billion to meet future obligations.
The bill at the state teachers’ pension fund is even higher: It has an estimated shortfall of $70 billion.
Bankruptcy has already happened in some California towns.
Meanwhile, cash-strapped cities are facing escalating bills. Rising pension costs contributed to bankruptcies in Stockton, San Bernardino and Vallejo.
The man behind the transparency movement in California is state Controller John Chiang. He started a website tracking a towns finances for the public to see and it grew from there.
Indiana Hoosier Lottery Financial Release
Via Indiana Hoosier Lottery –
Hoosier Lottery officials announced Tuesday that the Lottery is providing the State of Indiana with more than $250 million in surplus revenue for fiscal year 2014.
The State uses the contributions to support the Build Indiana Fund, pensions for local firefighters and police officers and retirement funds for Indiana teachers.The $250 million in surplus revenue for fiscal year 2014 is a 12 percent increase from $224 million in fiscal year 2013. Although final audited figures will not be available until later this year, preliminary totals show sales were $1.018 billion for fiscal year 2014.
The rest of the article is here
U.S. “Student-to-Teacher” Ratio in Public Schools
If you ever debate public education with people you will sometimes hear the phrase “student-to-teacher” ratio as a source of need for more funding or for better teaching. JustFactsDaily.com released an e-mail with this question and the result may surprise you.
In 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the average student-to-teacher ratio in public schools during 2010 was 16:1.
The National Center for Education Statistics also has information on student to teacher ratio in education.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, public school enrollment decreased, while the number of teachers generally increased. For public schools, the number of pupils per teacher—that is, the pupil/teacher ratio—declined from 22.3 in 1970 to 17.9 in 1985. After enrollment started increasing in 1985, the public school pupil/teacher ratio continued to decline, reaching 17.2 in 1989. After a period of relative stability during the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, the ratio declined from 17.3 in 1995 to 15.4 in 2009. The public school pupil/teacher ratio increased to 16.0 in 2010. By comparison, the pupil/teacher ratio for private schools was estimated at 12.2 in 2010. The average class size in 2007–08 was 20.0 pupils for public elementary schools and 23.4 pupils for public secondary schools.
Another Indiana School District Battling Obamacare Regulations
More developments with Indiana school districts dealing with countless rules/regulations related to Obamacare. This story comes out of North Spencer County School Corporation. Superintendent Dan Scherry and the school board recently learned from a trade association that Obamacare would make him legally liable if fines are incurred.
Scherry said the law states an individual could be held responsible for fines incurred for an employee working full-time that isn’t offered health insurance. To give individual employees relief from that provision of the law, the North Spencer school board on Monday discussed and approved a Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Hold Harmless Resolution.
That resolution, which Scherry said was developed by the Indiana School Board Association, basically absolves administrators or other individuals from personal liability for those fines and makes the school corporation responsible.
And how much would have someone in like Mr. Scherry faced if the rule wasn’t found and dealt with? What is the process for something like this in order for a fine to happen?
“For us, it could be a $300,000 or $400,000 fine, so you’re talking about changing lives there,” said Mr. Scherry. If an employee is working more than 30 hours a week and not covered by health insurance, Scherry explained they could make a complaint with the insurance exchange through the government, then the government could impose a fine saying the business or school district didn’t follow the law. Without this resolution, Scherry said the fine could haunt individual people, but after it is passed by school boards the school corporation would be responsible.
With school districts already facing massive budget tightening as is, this new fine process will be the new normal for local taxpayers. Even though the school districts are protecting employees from not getting fined, now the taxpayer is on the hook. Go ahead and expect school corporation budgets to be cutting more from teaching areas so they can stash a “rainy day” fund for Obamacare fines.
Here is a link to the rest of the story.
I think I will just let Mr. Scherry sum up what this bill is doing to various aspects of our economy:
“It’s just a mess,”
Hoosier Econ 