Monday, October 3, 2011
For schools in struggling communities, DonorsChoose.org helps teachers raise the money they need to support their classrooms.
When McDonald Elementary School kindergarten teacher Mariam Farhat first heard that she could raise money for her classroom with little to no effort, no one blamed her for questioning it. But after she posted her first “project” at donorschoose.org and it was funded, Farhat was pleased, to say the least. “I was, of course, skeptical,” said Farhat, who learned of the website from another teacher. “I just didn’t think that complete strangers would donate money to my classroom.” Twenty-four projects and $10,855 worth of supplies donated to projects posted by Dearborn schoolteachers, however, has Farhat convinced. “We all know how things are with school finances,” she said. “This is a great program because donors can choose who they’ll donate …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Parents and students were invited Monday to ask questions about how state education funding cuts affect them, and what they can do to persuade legislators to restore funds.
State Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn), along with several Dearborn Public Schools union and PTA leaders, held a town hall meeting Monday afternoon at Geer Park Elementary in order to encourage dialogue between parents, students and legislators about statewide education funding cuts. In Dearborn, those cuts amounted to $3 million in general funds, as well as $7 million in at-risk and bilingual educations funds. The district, as a result, was forced to use teacher layoffs, as well as across-the-board pay cuts, to balance their budget. “In troubled times, education is finding itself in trouble as well financially,” said Principal Andrea Awada. “But we don’t give up hope. I am very hopeful because there are individuals out there who care about…
Monday, June 27, 2011
After weeks of negotiations, speculation and number crunching, members of the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education approved next school year’s budget Monday.
A painful budget process that included layoffs, pay cuts and protests from its largest employee union came to an end Monday night when the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education approved its $217.4 million budget. The vote was a unanimous one, with the exception of Trustee Pamela Adams, who was absent from the meeting. The budget includes the $161.8 million general fund budget, $16.3 million in funded programs, $9 million for center programs, $2 million for adult and community education, $6.8 million for food services and $21.5 for debt service funding. Superintendent Brian Whiston said the combination of steep per-pupil funding cuts from the state and a tightened economic environment meant the district had to make cuts that were …
The state budget has been approved, but Democrat legislators are still pushing for the restoration of funding–including at-risk money for Dearborn.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder may have signed the state's budget into law on June 22, but some legislators and school districts–including Dearborn–are still pushing lawmakers to restore funding. Education funding restoration rallies were held across the state Monday, the first of which took place in front of Dearborn's Long Elementary at 8 a.m. A small crowd of school employees and parents gathered as Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) spoke about the need to continue putting pressure on Republicans to restore K-12 state funding. "There's a lot we feel we can still do and we can still bargain with the governor and the Republican delegation to do things, we believe, the right way," Darany said. "So we're keeping the pressure on them to let them …
Five things you need to know to start your day in Dearborn.
Ready to start your day? Here's what you need to know. 1. The weather will stay mostly sunny today, according to the National Weather Service, with highs near 82 degrees. A 30 percent chance of thunderstorms will hang overhead after 3 p.m., with storms and showers more likely later in the night. 2. If it does rain, you may want to consider taking the little ones out to a movie. Better yet, a free movie! The Dearborn Public Library is showing Gnomeo and Juliet at the Henry Ford Centennial Library at 7 p.m. The showing of the 2011 animated hit will take place in the auditorium. 3. House Democrats will be holding press conferences across the state today with local education officials to call for a restoration to K-12 funding. The first of the…
With special education funding drying up across Michigan, Dearborn Public Schools will keep more special education students in-district to make sure programs stay in the black.
In his small office at the Dearborn Public Schools’ Audette Street administrative headquarters, Michael Shelton hopes that upcoming changes to offset special education monies will offset a looming crisis in funding for programming. Shelton, the director of special education for the 18,500-student district, said that balancing the needs of the district’s most challenged students against the backdrop of one of the most difficult fiscal environments in decades has been his challenge since taking the helm of the department for the 2010-11 school year. “We’re always going to make decisions based on what’s best for students,” he said. “But we knew what we would be dealing with a long time ago regarding funding, and we’re working hard to find …
Jon Awbrey
7:45 am on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
What can you do about it? Recall — • http://www.firericksnyder.org/ • http://www.firericksnyder.org/community/all-events-list • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Recall-Governor-Rick-Snyder/113418962065885 Repeal — • http://repealpa4.org/ • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Repeal-PA4-Emergency-Managers-Washtenaw-Area/137390633002568 • http://sites.google.com/site/rejectemergencymanagers/ • http://www.… more ›