Recently in Schools K-12 Category

Source: By Clayton Hardima, Muskegon Chronicle (MI), Thursday, June 28, 2007

One by one, union members and officials faced the Muskegon Heights Board of Education Wednesday night and made impassioned pleas to board members to reject privatizing school custodial services and save custodians' jobs.

They cited their dedication to their work, years of service and the family feeling they said existed among employees of the district.

......... Bryant estimated that privatizing custodial services would save the district $200,000 to $225,000. If the decision to not privatize is made, the money will have to be found elsewhere. Bryant said the decision would affect 141/2 custodial positions.

Source: By Amanda M. Wimmer, The Northwestern (WI), June 24, 2007

Nearly two months after its building and grounds director was reassigned in the wake of an investigation of inappropriate computer use, the Oshkosh school district is considering eliminating its contract with the company that former building and grounds director Dwayne Turpin works for.

Sodexho, a global food service and facilities management company, the company hired in 2003 to manage the school district's maintenance and facilities, is paid more than $250,000 per year to provide management staff and other maintenance services.

.......... Earlier this month, Superintendent Ron Heilmann recommended the board terminate the contract with Sodexho and hire its own buildings and grounds director. The change would save the district about $134,000 per year, Heilmann said.

Source: Sherry Anne Rubiano, The Arizona Republic, May. 25, 2007 08:28 AM

........ The Dysart Unified School District will begin running its own buses June 11, the first day for summer school activities, and will begin its full-scale operations when school starts in the fall. That means district-employed bus drivers and district-owned buses will be in charge of student transportation, rather than an outside provider.

Durham School Services had operated the school's transportation system for years. But problems with buses not running on schedule and incorrect pick-up and drop-off points prompted the change.

Source: By Susan Snyder, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), May 20, 2007

None of the six private groups hired to manage 41 Philadelphia public schools - including for-profit Edison Schools Inc. - has shown "sufficient" academic progress, and the district should consider axing them when their contracts expire in June, according to an internal school district report obtained by The Inquirer.

At best, only 14 - about a third - of the schools run by the groups deserve contract renewals, the report said. Those schools met federal targets for academic improvement in 2005, 2006 or both, according to the report.

Source: By CLARE JELLICK, Peoria Journal Star (IL)Wednesday, May 2, 2007
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District 150's "lunch ladies" are making a plea to the public to help them avoid complete outsourcing of food service, which workers say could result in a reduction in wages and benefits, their union being dissolved or a loss of jobs.

The 219 employees have been putting up orange and blue yard signs this week that say "Save Our Lunch Ladies - No Outsourcing #150." About 200 signs have been distributed.

Source: CATHY HENG, THE SAGINAW NEWS (MI), Sunday, April 29, 2007

MIDLAND -- Employees, citizens, union members, family members and even pickets are having their say before the Midland Board of Education as it considers outsourcing some school support services.

..... Employees and citizens have expressed concern about the loss of jobs, student and staff safety, reliability and background checks. They also say the proposals are cut-and-slash tactics, provide wages set at poverty levels and go against public opinion. Fred Baker, a district retiree, gave the board signatures of 1,905 community members who do not want privatization of school services.

Source: Lisa Cornwell, The Associated Press (OH), Sunday, January 28, 2007

CINCINNATI -- The state attorney general's office is trying to find ways to improve enforcement and oversight of criminal background checks on school bus drivers after a private bus company discovered that it had not done complete checks on all drivers.

........ First Student Inc., based in Cincinnati, suspended service for the day Thursday to the Columbus Public Schools while it scrambled to check if all drivers had required background checks. The district had to cancel classes for the day, and other districts that use the company around the state questioned if their drivers had the required checks.

Source: International Transport Workers' Federation news release, 2 February 2007

Trade unions from European countries where passenger carrier FirstGroup is planning to expand have announced plans to send a fact finding mission to the USA to investigate the company's service record and whether it is living up to its pledge to remain neutral during union membership drives.

....... The British and American delegates passed on examples of FirstGroup's poor service quality after being awarded local government and school contracts for bus service. Delegates learned that just in the past week schools in Ohio were shut down for a day because FirstGroup's school bus subsidiary failed to screen out drivers with criminal records.

Related article from the Cincinnati Enquirer, January 25, 2007: Schools close over bus driver checks

Source: By Martha Woodall, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), February 1, 2007

Desperate to find ways to boost student performance, districts across the country have turned to companies to run schools, but researchers say the management change didn't transform the schools. "They have neither destroyed the schools nor have they made a big difference," said Henry M. Levin, director of Columbia University's National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education

........ Overall, results have been mixed, Levin said. And a study by the Rand Corp. released today concludes that privately run schools in Philadelphia did no better in raising student test scores than did district-run schools.

Source: By Amy Fagan, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, January 30, 2007

Some National School Boards Association (NSBA) members yesterday booed Education Secretary Margaret Spellings when she mentioned the administration's proposal to help students in chronically failing public schools attend private ones instead. Sandra Nichols, a member of the Pajaro Valley Unified School Board in Watsonville, Calif., asked Mrs. Spellings to respond to critics who think the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) already is "an effort to privatize our school system" by setting tough standards and then deeming public schools as failing.