States State of the States

State of the States 2011: D.C., Tennessee

April 05, 2011 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

For complete coverage of this year’s governors’ speeches, check out State of the States 2011.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) • March 28

The freshman mayor, in his State of the District address, said he wants to create a “holistic education continuum” for infants through adulthood. Education is a challenge at the root of high unemployment in the city, he said.

Mayor Gray noted in his speech that he recently appointed Kaya Henderson, a deputy of former Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, to be the new chief of Washington’s 45,600-student school system. He also said the city would continue its work to bring down special education costs. The school system paid $150 million in private school tuition and $93 million in special education transportation during the last school year, the mayor said in his address.

As with many states, the District of Columbia must cope with a difficult budget environment. The nation’s capital is facing a $312 million shortfall for fiscal 2012, out of a budget of approximately $5 billion.

—Christina A. Samuels

TENNESSEE

Gov. Bill Haslam (R) • March 14

Gov. Haslam’s first State of the State address presented a $30.2 billion budget for fiscal 2012 that would boost K-12 education spending by $63.4 million while trimming $20.2 million, or about 2 percent, from postsecondary education.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is proposing to boost K-12 spending in fiscal year 2012, and also is seeking to give teachers a 1.6 percent raise.

The governor plans to cut the jobs of 1,180 state employees, about 90 percent from attrition and those hired through the federal economic-stimulus law, as aid from that source comes to an end. The remaining workers, including teachers, would see a 1.6 percent raise, their first in four years.

But Mr. Haslam also voiced support for a bill to delay tenure decisions until five years after a teacher is hired, up from three years, in order to include peer observations and data on student growth from the state’s value-added model. He also called for state education officials to streamline paperwork for teachers, asked lawmakers to lift the state’s 90-operator cap on charter schools, and pledged to support paying for maintenance that had been delayed in schools and other state buildings.

The governor followed up his push for education and other budget priorities in a second address, on March 22, in which he cited examples from a statewide listening tour.

—Sarah D. Sparks

A version of this article appeared in the April 06, 2011 edition of Education Week as State of the States

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
Student Success Strategies: Flexibility, Recovery & More
Join us for Student Success Strategies to explore flexibility, credit recovery & more. Learn how districts keep students on track.
Content provided by Pearson

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States Opinion The Age of 'Adulthood' Varies by State. This Matters for Your Students
States set different limits on when kids can do different things. What does this mean for education?
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
States Which States Require the Most—and Least—Instructional Time? Find Out
There's no national policy dictating how much time students must attend classes each year. That leads to wide variation by state.
2 min read
Image of someone working on a calendar.
Chainarong Prasertthai/iStock/Getty
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
4 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States A State Changed Anti-Bias Guidelines for Teachers After a Lawsuit. Will Others?
The lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm took issue with state guidelines on examining biases and diversifying curriculum.
5 min read
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024.
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024. As part of a recent court settlement, Pennsylvania will no longer require school districts to follow its set of guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education.
Gene J. Puskar/AP