From the Google news alert for rural education.

Rural schools are feeling the pinch
Enid News & Eagle - Enid, OK, USA

A report released by the state Legislature shows larger school districts in Oklahoma have a greater financial need than smaller districts.A portion of the study was released to the News & Eagle by the state Legislative Services Bureau, contrary to a claim made by Oklahoma Education Association in a publication lawmakers would not provide the information to the public. A copy of the entire costing-out study was being processed for release to the News & Eagle by the bureau Wednesday, said Dale Wythe, a bureau spokesman. The report has yet to be received via mail, but Wythe provided a faxed copy of the document’s executive summary.

Much to fear in Bush's budget
BurlingtonFreePress.com - Burlington, VT, USA

Vermont stands to lose money on everything from affordable housing to programs for dairy farmers if President Bush's budget proposal is approved by Congress. The president released his plan Monday, revealing plans to cut services for health care, education, economic development, homeland security and more. If approved by Congress, some of those programs might be eliminated without adequate funding. Others would be passed on to Vermont taxpayers to fill the gap.

Many metro schools pack them in
OregonLive.com - Portland, OR, USA

Forty-one students cram into Tom Ustach's U.S. government class at Benson High School in Portland, lined two and three deep in seats around the edge of the room. Classes of 38, 40, even 45 students are not uncommon at Benson, which had the third-biggest average class size among Oregon middle and high schools last year. "There are many ways to organize a large class," Ustach says. "The problem is in giving meaningful feedback to 170 total students. Extra help for each student is hard. Often it just goes to students who know how to advocate for themselves."

Education, a key issue among the poor
News Today - India

Political parties have been giving scant respect for education for a long time now, and this has shattered the public education system of the state?, said V Vasantha Devi, former Vice-chancellor of the Manorama Sundaranadar University and a member of Alliance for Education, while addressing a press meet yesterday, the eve of submitting an education manifesto to various political parties keeping in view of the coming state assembly elections. The manifesto, according to the organisers, contains measures for stemming the rot in the current public school system. Issues on education are very dear to the poorer section of the society. Political parties ignoring these issues is doing so at their peril? she said. Vasantha Devi criticised the quality of school education in the rural areas saying that in many of the rural schools there are just two teachers per five classes which is grossly inadequate and posing a challenge to primary school education.

£16 million funding for major research developments in Wales
eGov monitor - London, UK

Jane Davidson, Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning yesterday announced support of some £16 million to build on research excellence in the Welsh higher education sector. In accordance with the principles set out in Reaching Higher, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Wales, Bangor have come together to collaborate across a number of research disciplines where they currently demonstrate excellence and have natural synergies. The Research and Enterprise Partnership funded at a level of £10.95 million will create four joint research centres – a Centre for Catchment to Coast Research, a Centre for Integrated Rural Environment Research, Centre for Advanced Functional Materials and Devices Research and an Institute for Mediaeval and early Modern Studies. These areas will make a significant contribution to the Welsh economy. [See all stories on this topic]

The Electricity Control Board Assist Rural Schools
NBC - Windhoek, Namibia

The Electricity Control Board has donated four-thousand Namibia dollars to the Muhopi Primary school, about 30 kilometers east of Rundu in the Kavango region. The donation forms part of the ECB`s social responsibility programme and is to be used to the benefit of the school`s development projects. At the occasion, the ECB`s Human Resources Manager, Kenneth Gaoseb said his company was committed towards educating the country`s youth and to the development of new skills within the education sector.

Committee flunks plan for schools
Montgomery Advertiser - Montgomery, AL, USA

A House committee Wednesday gutted Gov. Bob Riley's $233 million tax cut and derailed his plan to spend hundreds of millions on school improvements. A spokesman for the governor derisively referred to the $6 billion budget that passed the House Education Finance and Appropriations Committee as "the No Special Interest Gets Left Behind Act." With Riley losing this battle, the powerful Alabama Education Association won, with association Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert praising the committee's budget. [See all stories on this topic]

Residents: Don't cut school programs
Peoria Journal Star - Peoria, IL, USA

At a public forum Wednesday night to discuss the future of Bureau Valley School District 340, many residents asked the School Board not to cut programs. "If we cut programs, we're cutting opportunities," said Bureau Valley South Junior High Principal Susan Zbrozek. "Keep the programs we already have for kids." The board faces four options for reducing an estimated $330,000 deficit for the 2006-2007 school year. The six-school district, serving about 1,250 students within 340 square miles, has lost $1.6 million over the past five years and is operating with a deficit of about $390,000 for this school year.

Posted by MKB @ 7:37 AM |