Fresno-area schools are asking voters for a lot of money. Here’s what you need to know
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Have you voted yet?
Election Day is Tuesday and one of the more important — and frequently overlooked — issues facing voters involves funding for local schools. Do you own property? Then read up, because this affects your wallet.
Six different Fresno-area school districts are asking voters to approve local bond funding, and there’s a statewide school bond on the ballot, too. Want to know how much you could pay, if voters support a bond in Fresno, Clovis and Central district schools?
Ed Lab has you covered.
Each district is asking for a different amount depending on their needs. You can also calculate how much homeowners will be paying with our bond estimators.
See our full breakdown of the three largest local school bonds here.
Come chat with the Ed Lab
The Ed Lab is holding listening sessions at the Fresno State Henry Madden Library, 5150 N. Maple Ave.
We will be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28; and March 6 and 13. We would love to meet you and talk about education in Fresno. If you have a story idea, a concern about an education issue, or you just want to chat with us, come on down! We are here, and we are listening.
What we’re reading at Ed Lab
These stories may be subject to subscriber paywall restrictions.
Fixing chronic absenteeism?
The Fresno Bee’s Manuela Tobias looked into an interesting experiment to reduce chronic absenteeism at a rural Fresno County school district. It’s the latest example of The Bee’s commitment to solutions-oriented journalism.
Find out more about solutions journalism here, and check out Manuela’s (really excellent) story here.
Cheerleader’s family ordered to pay Fresno school trustee
A Fresno County court last week ordered the family of a cheerleader to pay Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic $1,000 to defray the costs of defending against a restraining the teenager sought. The amount is substantially less than than $10,000 in legal fees Slatic was seeking.
Read the full report from The Bee’s Robert Rodriguez.
USC improving access for lower-income students
The Sacramento Bee’s Darrell Smith described a new effort at the University of Southern California to improve access to college for lower-income students. The announcement Feb. 20 to eliminate tuition for families earning $80,000 or less put the private school on par with the University of California. Read Smith’s story here.
For even more on this story, check out The LA Times’ Teresa Watanabe’s report here.
Addressing racism in schools
Dahlia Bazzaz, a reporter with the Seattle Times Education Lab, conducted more than 30 interviews, examining “how schools should intervene when students exhibit racial bias and ignorance.” Read her full story here.
More grants for community college students
Hundreds of thousands more California community college students would be eligible for Cal Grants, money students don’t have to repay under a proposal recently presented by the California Student Aid Commission, EdSource’s Michael Burke reports. Here’s his full story.
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We want to hear from you!
We’re looking for people who are involved in their communities. Maybe you’re an organizer, a teacher, a business owner, a librarian, a parks and recreation department employee, or you just have a tight-knit group of friends. Reach out, say hello, and consider inviting us. Or maybe you know someone we should speak to. Send them our way.
We are planning listening sessions around the community and would love to hear from you. Email us at edlab@fresnobee.com.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab here.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 8:28 AM.