The Palm Beach County, Fla., school board has bought out the contract of the district’s superintendent, C. Monica Uhlhorn.
Ms. Uhlhorn stepped down about a week after the board vote last month. In voting to remove her, the board said she had alienated teachers, administrators, and parents. Her defenders maintained she was the scapegoat for the board’s leadership failures. (See Education Week, 5/17/95.)
Smart Start’s Success: North Carolina’s Smart Start program has succeeded in expanding the reach of high-quality child services in the state. But it has been somewhat hindered by state mandates, according to researchers who evaluated it.
The brain child of Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., Smart Start provides seed money to communities to improve child care, health care, and other services to children and families. (See Education Week, 4/5/95.)
The state’s $68 million contribution to Smart Start has become a contentious political issue, and the researchers’ study was released as legislators haggled over refinancing it. As of last week, lawmakers had agreed to continue funding to 32 counties and allocate planning money to 12 others.
Privatization Problems: The legal battle over the Wilkinsburg, Pa., school district’s plans to hire a private company to run an elementary school are threatening to disrupt the opening of the school in the fall.
Last month, a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel upheld a preliminary injunction barring the 1,900-student district from contracting with Alternative Public Schools Inc. of Nashville to run Turner Elementary School. (See Education Week, 4/12/95.)
Discrimination Suit Settled: A Wisconsin high school teacher who sued his school and district for allegedly discriminating against him because he is a recovering alcoholic has settled the lawsuit.
The out-of-court agreement in June between the physical-education teacher, David B. White, and officials from the McFarland school district calls for Mr. White to receive an undisclosed amount of money. In a joint statement, neither party admitted any wrongdoing.
In a federal lawsuit filed last year, Mr. White claimed he was rejected for a coaching job because he is a recovering alcoholic. The district denied the allegations. Mr. White sued under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars discrimination against the disabled. (See Education Week, 9/7/94.)
Mr. White will continue teaching physical education in the district.
Authority Restored: Kentucky education officials have returned some authority to local school board members in Letcher County--the first district taken over by the state under a sweeping school-reform law.
The state seized control of the 4,600-student district last year after an audit showed evidence of corruption and other problems. (See Education Week, 5/25/94.)
Last month, state officials restored the local board’s authority to conduct routine business.
