LM April 2016

community. It always helps to present a united front, so I would suggest working on your strategy with neighboring districts and districts in your region, much like you work in concert on weather-related decisions. If schools are open and running in August, this unprecedented political logjam likely won’t be broken until after the November 8 general election. However, if schools are NOT open then all bets are off because the political pressure to resolve the stalemate will be immeasurable. Imagine being an incumbent on the November 8 ballot if the school doors are closed in your legislative district – not a real promising scenario regardless of party affiliation. Feel free to share this column with your board or community groups as you see fit.

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reserves. We are 10 months into this fiscal year without an overall state budget and even for districts that have been able to maintain the suggested level of reserves, the math just doesn’t work at some point without state funding. Of course, any superintendent has to question burning through their district’s reserves to cover for the political impasse in Springfield. Would that jeopardize the long-term financial health of your district? Is it wise to open school in August, run for a few weeks and then close your doors until a budget is passed? These are just a few of the daunting questions now facing superintendents. In addition to sharing your district’s situation with legislators, I would suggest starting this conversation with your board, your faculty and staff, and your

Brent

AASA’s Ellerson provides update on ESSA

Click on the image to view the video.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015, effectively replacing the No Student Left Behind legislation. ESSA is now in the rulemaking phase, an extremely important part of the process that will actually define how the law is to be implemented and what states and schools will need to do to meet the new federal guidelines. In this three-minute video Noelle Ellerson, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy, gives a status update on ESSA and how the rulemaking is progressing.

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