The $800 billion in debt states have accumulated around teacher pensions have become a major roadblock for administrators trying to raise salaries in the classroom.
Funding for schools, literacy programs and special education teachers in Oregon—a state where 60% of third graders can't read at grade level—could be jeopardized by a Republican walkout that has stalled hundreds of bills and derailed the Legislature for nearly six weeks.
"Be so bold in your approach to work that you actually invite termination for being so passionate," says Carvalho, superintendent at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the country.
"We're not seeing people come back into the workforce fast enough as they are in other sectors to recover some of those jobs," notes Jim McCoy, senior vice president of talent solutions for ManpowerGroup.
Despite the furor over AI and chatbots, it's not the tools and devices at the cutting edge of edtech that are of greatest concern to K12 IT leaders as they look ahead to the 2023-24 school year.
At the top of Superintendent Rupak Gandhi's summer to-do list is telling everyone that Fargo Public Schools is about honesty in education, supporting the LGBTQ+ community and disability justice.
Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions.
Today, Chicago and other big cities again face similar dynamics as those that led to school closings across the country: major student population declines, aging buildings in need of repair, and budget deficits.
Public officials, including members of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, worry that flagship programs like Title I and IDEA will face "disproportionate cuts."
