school debt

When School Districts Fall Into Debt And Can’t Get Out

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Nationally, school district debt topped $443 billion in 2016. Districts that take on debt but can’t generate dollars through enrollment growth or taxes can struggle to climb out, and often have to take resources away from kids.

Education

Short On Financial Knowledge, Some School Districts Get Bad Deals On Bonds

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School district administrators and school boards typically turn to outside advisers and underwriters when issuing bonds. But relying on outsiders puts districts in a vulnerable position, one in which they sometimes get bad deals with high interest rates and fees.

Education

School Districts Are Going Into Debt To Keep Up With Technology

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Ed tech bonds are part of an emerging shift in how schools are thinking about paying for technology. Yet it’s an approach that some observers say not only violates the principle of taxpayer-financed debt, but exacerbates inequities for schools in communities lacking the municipal wealth of their higher-income counterparts.

school employee pensions

How Rising Teacher Pension Costs Hurt School Districts

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Colorado’s share-the-pain approach to pension reform is one that more states may turn to as they seek to prevent their pension funds from going bankrupt. Such changes could further depress teacher pay and crowd out money for school supplies and building repairs, but there are no simple alternative solutions in sight.

campus hate

Iowa College Campuses Respond To Bias- And Hate-Related Incidences

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As soon as students get off Highway 30 and arrive at Iowa State University, in Ames, they are greeted with bright yellow banners saying, “welcome,” in multiple different languages. This is just one thing Julian Neely, a journalism and communication major from Des Moines and the 2018-19 Student Government president, said the university does to promote inclusivity and reach out to students of different backgrounds.

college hate

Bias-Response Teams Criticized For Sanitizing Campuses Of Dissent

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Responding to a steep rise in reports of hate crimes on campus, at least 260 colleges and universities have implemented bias-response teams or other reporting policies to track such incidents. But the teams have created friction of their own, as conservative students, controversial speakers and followers of the alt-right movement claim colleges are sanitizing campuses of dissent, in violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech.

preschool funding

Who Should Pay For Preschool For The Middle Class?

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Low-income parents in the United States often can’t get into public preschools while middle-income parents can’t afford to pay for private preschools. As the price of private preschool soars and states spend more than ever on public programs for the poor, will the middle class be left behind?

education costs

High Textbook Costs Are Sending College Students Looking Elsewhere During Studies

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Dylan Miller spent $495 on college textbooks at the University of Northern Iowa – $167.50 for a linear algebra textbook – in the spring semester just ending, yet said he might have used the books, perhaps, once a month. The internet? Used it close to two hours each day, he said, raising the issue of why he still buys textbooks. “That’s a great question,” Miller, 20, a sophomore this spring semester from Homestead, Iowa, and studying for a major in actuarial science, said. “I will not be buying textbooks next semester.”

A lot of college students are avoiding textbooks costs that generally can range from around $20 for a book on writing grant proposals to $400 for a physics book, a spring IowaWatch/College Media Journalism Project revealed.

Textbook Squeeze

College Textbook Costs, In Their Words: Cody West, Iowa State University

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Q: What did you spend on textbooks this semester? Cody West: This semester, I spent $74.50 for one English textbook and it appears about $270 in course delivery fees… I also had a $81.49 textbook. Cody West, 21
Iowa State University
Spring 2018 senior
Hometown: Altoona, Iowa
Major: Biology
Q: Most expensive book:

West: Oh goodness. I want to say that my freshman year my biology book with the access code to do my biology homework was about $220. Q: How often do you use your textbooks?