Tuesday 10/4/05

How about some fervor over academics?

Numerous services rank the state's high school teams, providing fans with a Friday night fervor several Web sites to see just where their favorite teams rate. And many do.
(snip)
A retired statistician and computer consultant at the nuclear research facilities in Oak Ridge, Nall works today as technology director for TSSAA. He began ranking high school football teams in 1993 as a hobby and has since gained a reputation for accuracy. From the Jackson Sun

Hamilton County needs a lawyer.

Sen. Ward Crutchfield has been serving as the school board attorney for many years. His annual charge was $53,985. Sen. Crutchfield stepped down from the schools post after his indictment in the Tennessee Waltz FBI bribery sting.

The board is discussing whether to keep current attorneys or make a change.

Board member Joe Conner said it appears there could be a savings by having in-house counsel. From Chattanoogan.com

And here they mention the former senator's pension and insurance via the school system.

The big boys are crying foul.

The mayors of Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Shelby counties say their schools have a disproportionate share of the state's low-income students and those who have a limited proficiency in English. They said the state's Basic Education Program financing formula doesn't account for those factors. From WVLT

The state BEP Review Committee, made up of educators, state officials and two members of the Legislature is expected to recommend changes to the formula to Gov. Phil Bredesen by Nov. 1. From Southern Standard

Williamson County, which has the highest median household income in the state, received around $345 more per student than Knox.

"There's something really wrong when children from very wealthy counties are receiving more money than a child from Lonsdale or Beaumont" in Knox County, [Knox County Mayor Mike] Ragsdale said Thursday.

"There's no logic behind it. There's no reasonable explanation behind it," he said. "And if it requires it, we need to just start over with a new funding formula." From KnoxNews

And standing squarely in the middle:

Patrick Smith, the legislative liaison for Bredesen, said the governor would not support any plan that "had a drastic negative impact on any school system's funding." From KnoxNews

Another reason to bring back neighborhood schools.

"We're paying about double what we were paying a year ago on our fuel prices. That's created a real budget problem with us," said Morgan County School Board Chairperson Perry Spurling.

The kids have been back less than two months, and the school system has already spent almost a third of its fuel budget. From WBIR

It's the same story across the state.


No more phone privileges.

Two teenage boys were arrested Monday afternoon in connection with a bomb threat at William Blount High School that resulted in an evacuation. From KnoxKnews

Legislation that worked.

Tennessee's charter school law was so narrowly written that the number of folks even willing to start through that 2 year gauntlet is becoming nil.

As of the Oct. 1 deadline, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) had not received any applications from parties interested in starting a charter school, according to Metro schools official Dr. Nancy Dill. From Nashville City Paper