Latest news with #educationFunding
RNZ News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
The Panel with Sally Wenley and Simon Wilson Part 1
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Sally Wenley and Simon Wilson. With candidate nominations open today for local body elections, the Panel hears from former Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDoull about how local councils really work. They also talk to Nelson Victory Primary principal Dan George about how an after school programme for former refugees and migrants has had it's funding pulled by the Ministry of Education after 20 years. Photo: LDR / Moana Ellis
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Grad student loans could soon be capped. Here's what that could mean for you
The House of Representatives moving the GOP 's 'Big Beautiful Bill' closer to President Donald Trump's signing brings graduate students nearer to facing unprecedented limits on funding higher education. While critics argue that the spending bill would disproportionately block marginalized communities from pursuing advanced degrees, Republicans say the limits will help control college costs by reducing incentives for schools to raise tuition. Starting next summer, the bill will affect borrowers taking out loans and those stuck on the Biden -era SAVE plan, potentially causing monthly payments to increase by hundreds of dollars, according to the Student Borrower Protection Center. What are the proposals? The 'big beautiful bill' proposes significant changes to how graduate and professional students finance their education. One of the biggest changes would be the elimination of the federal Grad PLUS loan program beginning in July 2026, which currently allows students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for graduate programs. In its place, the bill raises annual and lifetime limits on federal Stafford loans, but these new caps may not be enough to cover further education for students. Graduate students would be limited to borrowing up to $20,500 annually, with a lifetime cap of $100,000, while professional students, such as those in medical or law school, could borrow up to $50,000 per year, with a $200,000 lifetime maximum. What impacts could the proposals have? The proposal could force students to rely on private loans with less favorable terms, delay or abandon plans for graduate education, or choose less expensive programs that may not align with their career goals. Experts warn this could worsen shortages in high-demand fields, particularly in rural healthcare, where access to graduate-trained professionals is already limited. What's happened to student loans so far? Recent student loan policy changes include the restart of loan payments following a pandemic pause, modifications to income-driven repayment plans, and ongoing legal battles over loan forgiveness programs. In June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration's plan to cancel up to $400 billion in student loans, and a court order continues to block its new income-driven repayment program. Meanwhile, the US Department of Education has resumed collecting on defaulted federal student loans. What's next? White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday that President Trump is scheduled to sign the "big, beautiful bill" on Friday at 5 p.m. EST.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill sets rules on sales tax hike
GUILFORD COUNTY — State Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham and Senate president pro tem, is pushing a bill through the N.C. General Assembly to set guidelines on how revenue from a quarter-cent sales tax increase could be spent if the referendum is approved by Guilford County voters in the November 2026 general election. Berger, whose district includes parts of Guilford County, said Thursday that the Senate approved an amended version of House Bill 305 that addresses the referendum issue. During its meeting June 18, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to yet again place the measure before county voters. Voters have rejected the quarter-cent sales tax increase six times in the past 20 years, most recently in the November 2024 general election. While the commissioners have said they want to use the additional revenue to support education, existing law doesn't restrict the use of funds collected for education or any particular purpose, Berger said in a statement. House Bill 305 would specify funds collected through a quarter-cent sales tax increase can only be used for classroom teacher salary supplements, fire protection equipment and services, Guilford Technical Community College and a small amount for municipalities, Berger said. A quarter-cent sales tax increase is expected to generate $25 million annually. 'Voters going to the polls in November 2026 need to know exactly what they're being asked to vote on,' Berger said. 'House Bill 305 now provides them with information so they can make an educated decision. I believe putting strict guardrails on the revenue collected gives taxpayers relevant information and guarantees the funds will be used as promised.' Democratic Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston said that he welcomes Berger's initiative. Having the quarter-cent sales increase revenue specified for certain uses will reassure voters and make them more likely to cast a ballot for the referendum, Alston told The High Point Enterprise. House Bill 305 now goes back to the House for a concurrence approval vote. Since the legislation is a local bill, it isn't subject to veto oversight by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ayotte signs two-year state budget, closing turbulent final chapter
Gov. Kelly Ayotte delivers her inaugural address at the State House on Jan. 9, 2025. Seated, at right, is House Speaker Sherman Packard. (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin) Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed New Hampshire's two budget bills — House Bill 1 and House Bill 2 — into law Friday, approving a $15.9 billion two-year package to fund the state government until July 2027. The governor also signed a third compromise bill, House Bill 282, meant to address her concerns over education funding and changes to the retirement system, and to head off her threats of a veto. The signatures mark a political victory for the governor, when the outcome was hardly certain. Just one week after House and Senate negotiators made reductions to health care spending, education aid to Manchester school districts, and a proposed fix to police and firefighter retirement benefits championed by Ayotte, the governor had vowed to veto the budget without changes. That pledge kicked off days of negotiations that culminated in a last-minute deal Wednesday evening that Ayotte endorsed. But a faction of fiscally conservative House Republicans who objected to spending increases nearly derailed the process, joining with Democrats to briefly defeat HB 1 on Thursday before the vote was reconsidered and the bill was passed. In the end, after months of sharp disagreements among the Republican governor, the House, and the Senate over how much the state could afford, Ayotte emerged with a budget that kept much of the funding she proposed in February. The final package signed Friday restored many of the cuts made to Ayotte's budget by the House, which took a more conservative approach. Some boards and agencies that had been eliminated by the House, like the Office of the Child Advocate, the Commission for Human Rights, and the Housing Appeals Board, were restored in the budget, albeit with some changes and cuts. The budget also includes some policies championed by Ayotte, such as a 'bell-to-bell' cell phone ban in public schools and a new requirement that state agencies turn around housing development applications in 60 days. But the final spending package also adds cuts to the University System of New Hampshire not favored by Ayotte, and does not include the high revenue projections as Ayotte's budget did. And it inserted a series of 'back-of-the budget' cuts to agencies, such as a $51 million cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, that will require commissioners to reduce programs and potentially eliminate positions. Republicans broadly praised the budget for keeping spending increases within inflation, allowing education freedom accounts to apply to all income levels, and including some policy priorities such as the end of the state vehicle inspections beginning January 2026. Democrats, meanwhile, decried the budget's cuts to DHHS spending and its creation of a new premium added to Medicaid plans for participants, and said the budget underfunds efforts to improve housing affordability, child care, and public education.
Fox News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Chicago schools face enrollment crisis with 150 buildings half-empty
A new report showed that declining enrollment in Chicago leaves about 150 of its schools half-empty. The report, authored by ChalkBeat and ProPublica, found that 47 schools are operating "at less than one-third capacity, leading to high costs and limited course offerings." Chicago Public Schools had roughly 325,000 students enrolled this year after losing 70,000 students from a decade ago, according to the report. "District officials project that three school years from now, there could be as few as 300,000 or, in a best-case scenario, as many as 334,000 students. Those estimates are based in part on the city's sharply falling birth rates. Citywide, from 2011 to 2021, the number of births dropped by more than 43%," the authors of the report wrote. While the city faces enrollment struggles, the city spends about $18,700 per student. Some schools are "double or triple" that number the report stated. One school that enrolled 28 students costs $93,000 students. DuSable High School, which had declining enrollment, costs almost $50,000 per student, according to the report. DuSable is among 47 schools operating at less than one-third capacity. Frederick Douglass Academy High School, which has 28 students this year, reportedly costs $93,000 per student. Per the report, "Many of those schools are in historic buildings that need millions of dollars in repairs." A ProPublica and Chalkbeat analysis found that "students in the city's smallest schools have fewer courses to choose from and often miss out on clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. Chicago's underenrolled high schools are more likely to have lower graduation and college enrollment rates. They tend to struggle with chronic truancy and higher dropout rates." Chicago Teachers Union leaders reportedly look to Chicago's progressive agenda to lure families into the city to fill in classroom seats. "CTU leaders insist that the city is actually poised for a population turnaround. During President Donald Trump's second administration, Chicago under Johnson can bill itself as a progressive refuge — a place that protects immigrants, abortion care, LGBTQ+ rights and access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adults, said Jackson Potter, vice president of the CTU," the report stated. The report explains further that the city has avoided school closures for several years due to pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union and a closure moratorium mandated in 2013. CEO Pedro Martinez, who is leaving his position soon, told Chalkbeat and ProPublica that there are too many schools serving a few students and cited backlash for pushing to close or merge schools. Fox News Digital reached out to Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Frederick Douglass Academy High School for comment but did not immediately hear back.
