skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Educators preserve, shape future with 'ALT NEW COLLEGE'; NY appeals court denies delay for Trump civil fraud trial; Michigan coalition gets cash influx to improve childcare.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A House Committee begins its first hearing in the Biden impeachment inquiry, members of Congress talk about the looming budget deadline and energy officials testify about the Maui wildfires.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A small fire department in rural Indiana is determined not to fail new moms and babies, the growing election denial movement has caused voting districts to change procedures and autumn promises spectacular scenery along America's rural byways.

Groups Say Slate of School Bills Would Undermine Public Education

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 6, 2021   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Advocates for public schools are urging the Missouri Legislature to bolster funding for public education, rather than shift resources towards charter schools and school voucher programs.

A bill pending in the House would provide tax credits for paying for private school tuition.

Another would change school funding formulas to give more resources to charter schools specifically in St. Louis, where public schools could lose up to $17 million a year.

Rev. Dr. Adrian Hendricks, founder of The Center for Change and Community Life in Jefferson City,
joined teachers unions and other advocates to oppose the bills.

"Anywhere where we're looking to move funds away from the local school district, as opposed to putting the effort into stabilizing those school districts, when you look at the long-term consequences of these decisions, they're not the best choice for tackling education reform in Missouri," Hendricks contended.

Another bill, this one before the state Senate, would support charter-school expansion beyond St. Louis and Kansas City. It also would take away local control in St. Louis of the sale or lease of city-owned land to charter schools.

Hendricks noted underserved communities, deeply rural communities, deeply urban communities, and Black and brown communities, are the most impacted by funding disparities.

He argued policymakers need to spend more time listening to constituents across the state and responding to their needs, from supporting local efforts to recruit and retain teachers and graduating first-generation students to improving mentorship and engaging students in workforce development.

"The problem is, we have education systems that go in cookie-cutter fashions that are not serving the students or serving those communities at the degree that those communities need, or those families need," Hendricks asserted.

He added it's not the first time these issues have come to the Legislature. Underserved communities have been battling for level public school funding for decades.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Michigan is among 20 states to receive a multiyear grant from the Pritzker Children's Initiative. (SneakyPeakPoints/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The coalition known as "Think Babies Michigan" has secured more than $36 million in funding to offer grants to child-care providers for infants and to…


Social Issues

play sound

High rent prices are draining the budgets of many Nebraska renters, who are paying between 30% and 50% of their income on rent. In some parts of the …

Social Issues

play sound

As the federal government nears a shutdown over a budget impasse in Congress, Wisconsin offices that help low-income individuals worry they'll have …


Lewiston, Idaho, sits on the Snake River at the border with Washington. (Guy Sagi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Indigenous leaders are traveling through the Northwest to highlight the plight of dwindling fish populations in the region. The All Our Relations …

Social Issues

play sound

Washington performs well in a new report scoring states' long-term care systems. The Evergreen State ranked second in AARP's Long-Term Services and …

Cynthia, Tatum and Damareus, with other members of the True Up Peer Network. (Kentucky Youth Advocates)

Social Issues

play sound

A lack of housing options, mental-health challenges and a lack of connections and support have combined to drive an uptick in the number of foster …

Social Issues

play sound

Connecticut advocates are keen to see what will come from the recently established White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The new office …

Environment

play sound

A new report ranks Illinois first among 11 Midwestern states for the amount of clean power capacity under construction, and second for new clean …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021