Federal bailout to pay N.C. teachers?

By Ryan Graczkowski

North Carolina has welcomed U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Durham.

This comes in the face of efforts by state officials to earn a cut of the Race to the Top plan. Gov. Bev Perdue is also pushing for a federal teacher bailout to help teachers retain their jobs in North Carolina, amongst states elsewhere.

She may be talking to the right person about this. Duncan has spoken in support of the bailout, going so far as to say that there are no other solutions. “I don’t have a Plan B,” he said. “Plan B is children around this country getting hurt.”

Slicing art from art school’s budget

By Ryan Graczkowski

The Durham School of the Arts may be preparing to face even more severe budget cuts.

The school’s struggles are highlighted against the backdrop of the district’s move to save $20 million in education costs. The school district is looking to cut 292 positions. For the School of the Arts, that could translate into losing 15 teachers.

The school is already considering several cost-cutting measures such as increasing the class size, reducing the teachers’ pay, twoday furloughs, etc. They have already seen cuts to the summer school program and several after-school programs that were designed to help low-performing students.