NC Schools will be forced to lay off current teachers, most likely those who specialize in art, music, physical education, and STEM. This would reduce or eliminate specials as currently offered in our schools.

Principal Bowman has made great strides in making Parkmead better in her short tenure. She has much more to do.

Education Secretary Betsy Devos just okayed further gouging of student borrowers. Lenders can charge 16% fees on borrowers who miss payments after DeVos axed former President Obama's policy that prohibited companies from gouging students.

A local Superintendent has the ability to effectively solve Birmingham's problems of corruption and nepotism. We want someone who is highly qualified and effective. There are several applicants who fit these wishes.

This is about basic fairness for the 44 million borrowers who owe $1.4 trillion in student loan debt. DeVos's decision to reverse Obama's policies with no coherent explanation or substitute effectively means that the Trump administration is placing the welfare of loan contractors above those of student debtors. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/DeVos-Undoes-Obama-Student-Loan-Protections-11066031.php

As a retired public school teacher from Michigan, I am familiar with Betsy DeVos's position on education and fear that our public schools are endangered. I have witnessed charter schools at work in Michigan often times with poor results. Under the emergency manager in Michigan, schools have been taken over with private managers with poor results. If no profit is seen, the schools are then abandoned. We need education not profit in our schools.

Previous legislation by the NC Legislature mandated reduced class size in grades K-3, BUT no money was allocated for this mandate. In Wake County, NC, for example, this results in needing 400 new teachers and classrooms for the 2017-18 school year. BEGINNING WITH THE 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR: THE ONLY WAY MOST NC SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN FULFILL THIS UNFUNDED MANDATE IS BY ELIMINATING ALL ELEMENTARY ART, MUSIC AND P.E. TEACHERS AND TURNING THE GYM, ART & MUSIC ROOMS INTO CLASSROOMS. HB13 eliminates the mandated class size requirements in the previous legislation until funding and space are created.

Evanston is currently struggling to fund its schools, its social service organizations, and its cultural institutions. Yet, President Trump's government proposes moving monies away from the EPA, HHS and the State Department to further inflate the military budget. We urge the City Council to let President Trump know this runs counter to our values as human beings and as a community. Taxpayers in the U.S. are paying $528.49 billion for the Department of Defense. This amount of money could alternately be used to fund: + 6.54 million elementary school teachers for one year, or + 7.13 million clean energy jobs created for one year, or + 9.51 million infrastructure jobs created for one year, or + 5.28 million jobs with supports in high poverty communities for 1 year, or + 59.31 million Head Start slots for children for one year, or + 51.15 million military veterans receiving VA medical care for one year, or + 15.91 million scholarships for university students for four years, or + 22.72 million students receiving Pell Grants of $5,815 for four years, or + 222.93 million children receiving low-income health care for one year, or + 595.33 million households with wind power for one year, or + 148.46 million adults receiving low-income healthcare for one year, or + 367.73 million households with solar electricity for one year. This is our money. It should be our choice how it is spent.

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is the main public system of higher education on the island. It consists of 11 campuses, more than 58,000 students, 5,300 faculty members, and approximately 14,000 administrative staff. It is a government-owned corporation with a board of trustees—consisting of private citizens—that is supposed to represent public interests. However, the board is highly politicized and its structure changes as often as the governor. This game of musical chairs makes the university a tool for the government in power instead of a resource for the people, and it changes the UPR’s vision, strategy, and plans every 4 to 8 years according to the political party in power. For the past 5 years, the UPR has suffered a reduction in funding of more than 150 million dollars. Therefore, wages were reduced, and job vacancies have not been filled. Currently, the Fiscal Control Board and governor of Puerto Rico are making huge cuts to the UPR’s already reduced budget. This translates to potentially the closing of 8 of the 11 campuses and firing more staff members. The UPR faces becoming a tragic casualty of the island’s fiscal crisis. Because of government corruption and mismanagement, its students are at risk of losing their only source of higher education and its employees are at risk of losing their jobs and the pension they’ve been paying into for many years How can Puerto Rico overcome its economic crisis when the plan is to sacrifice education? Lack of or poor education has devastating effects on an economy, including fewer professionals to fill vacancies, fewer businesses created, and ultimately fewer jobs. Cutting funds to the UPR and eliminating campuses is not the solution. This petition is to ask that the US Congress step in to stop the cutting of funds to the UPR and come up with a better plan in order to prevent further debacles that will harm not only the university, but the stability and future of Puerto Rico. Although the current structure is that the UPR receives about 9% of the Puerto Rico’s general funds, it seems that a better way to structure the process is making it so that: 1- the UPR be financially unhitched from the island’s central government 2- any and all federal funds destined for the UPR go directly to the university 3- the board of trustees be composed of qualified individuals (including financial experts) who truly represent the public’s academic interests 4- the board of trustees reports directly to the state treasurer 5- the state treasurer ensures federal funds destined for higher education go directly to the university 6- the board of trustees keeps detailed and irrefutable records of the use of federal funds and reports to the state treasurer 7- the state treasurer provides an education financial report to congress or the US Secretary of Education

Because we believe that every child deserves a safe and welcoming school! Check out the full text of our resolution that we passed on February 28, 2017 - http://www.vacateachers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/VACAVILLE-TEACHERS-ASSOCIATION-RESOLUTION.pdf

Budget cuts at UMass Boston are having a devastating impact on students, faculty, and staff.

The research is clear: adolescent sleep deprivation is directly linked to increased rates of depression, suicide ideation, drug and alcohol use, and car accidents. Sleep deprivation also undermines academic performance and increases tardies, absences and behavioral issues at school. And teen athletes who get inadequate sleep are more likely to get injured. The circadian rhythm shift of adolescence makes it difficult for the vast majority of teens to fall asleep early. When combined with too-early school start times, the result is sleep deprivation. As noted above, a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later has been shown to be the single best way to address this. To a large extent, school start times have been dictated by external factors such as bus schedules, and were established before researchers had identified the numerous risks of developmentally misaligned school hours. Healthy school start times are a public health issue and an academic issue. In California, only 21% of the state’s public middle and high schools meet the 8:30 a.m. healthy start time guideline – many start before 7:30 a.m., with students needing to wake at 6 a.m. or even earlier! We need to implement healthy start times for all of the 3-million-plus students in our public middle and high schools – not just those in districts willing to make the change of their own accord. For more information, visit startschoollater.net or join our Facebook page, Start School Later California.