budgets

Superintendent Linda Callaway said a replacement for Scott Mann – who resigned earlier this month before he was sworn in as Menifee's first elected mayor – could be named as soon as Jan. 7, when the board will interview applicants. Trustees are paid $265 per month, with health benefits available.

Durham's superintendent of schools says new exam requirements will cost the school system more than $100,000 a year. Durham Public School Superintendent Eric Becoats spoke Thursday about new exams required by the state. As part of North Carolina's Race to the Top plan, common exams will now be given in any subjects that are not already covered in a state-mandated exam. In the past, teachers whose classes were not part of a state test would administer their own exam. But now, the exams will look the same across the board, even for classes like physical education.

Philadelphia's Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced the proposed closures of 37 school buildings, plus multiple other changes to the cash-poor Philadelphia School District. He is proposing the buildings listed for closure, around 20 elementary schools, a handful of middle schools, and about 10 high schools, shut their doors in June, according to sources and documents obtained by The Inquirer. The schools are in nearly every part of the city and include well-known ones with long histories.

Maine's highest court will hear arguments this week on whether a private boarding school in central Maine should pay property taxes on facilities it rents to outside groups. The town of Hebron is appealing a Superior Court judgment that Hebron Academy is a "literary and scientific" institution and that most of its real estate is exempt from local property taxes.

Court rulings on student transfers and school funding will collide with the desire of charter school and voucher advocates to take advantage of a new Republican majority when Arkansas legislators tackle education issues next year.

Officials say Tacoma (Wash.) middle school kids will be the big losers if money to save the after-school SPARX program can't be found. "It has a positive impact on our student body," said Jon Kellett, principal of Jason Lee Middle School. "Any after-school programming can help kids find their niche." Krestin Bahr, director of middle schools for Tacoma Public Schools, added: "It's been an effective model. It's a time for kids to explore who they are."

Spending reductions caused by the fiscal cliff would be devastating for Kentucky’s public schools, officials say. According to the Kentucky Department of Education, federal funding for public schools would be reduced up to $61 mil­lion per year for the next 10 years, affecting more than 1,350 jobs and nearly 130,000 students. Higher education officials in Kentucky and Indiana also are warily eying the fiscal cliff talks.