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Budget cuts have forced public schools to reduce their curriculum offerings, increase class sizes, and cut back on teacher positions. However, to fill the fiscal gap, many schools are taking even more drastic measures to reduce their operating costs.

The costs of new textbooks, classroom materials, and even handouts can result in massive school expenses. Subsequently, many public schools are now requiring students to purchase their own materials and books! As a result, many families may be forced to increase their education spending to meet their child’s classroom needs.

This video offers an overview of public K-12 education in the United States.

Cutting Jobs, Classes...and Textbooks?

When schools are faced with budget costs, most districts begin by eliminating faculty positions; however, reducing the number of teachers and administrators can only go so far on the bottom line. If school leaders reduce their faculty numbers, but still have not met their budgetary restrictions, then leaders are forced to develop new, and often controversial, alternatives.

For example, according to ABC News, schools across the state of California are hoping to reduce their spending by using older textbooks for longer periods of time. While California schools have already eliminated various educational programs, along with teaching and faculty positions, these cuts are simply not enough – and new textbooks are literally getting the ax.

In fact, school leaders report that the state of California will not be

Bill Gates revolutionized the PC industry, but will he be changing the face of America's public schools? Based upon his generous donations to educational institutions, as well as his commitment to education research, the answer may be a resounding "yes."

Mr. Gates recently spoke at the 2009 National Conference of State Legislatures in July and expressed the importance of improving teacher performance in order to improve student learning and school success. According to PHYSORG, a science and technology based newsgroup, Gates argued that enhanced methods of measuring both student and teacher performance would ultimately help build for a stronger educational system. As Gates further explains, "The U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers."

With Gates retired from Microsoft, many educational leaders are eagerly awaiting his potential contributions to improving our nation's public schools.

Gates Foundation: Improving Education, Half a Billion Dollars at a Time

Bill Gates, along with his wife, Melinda, established the Gates Foundation to alleviate humanity issues both internationally and domestically. In recent years, the Gates Foundation has garnered attention for its incredibly generous contributions to public schools. Specifically, according to , the Gates Foundation has allocated half a billion dollars to improve teaching in public schools!

The Gates Foundation reviewed nearly 110 school districts, and thus far, has selected a group of finalists. Currently, Pittsburgh area schools are ranked with contenders from

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act mandated that all public schools evaluate their teachers based upon stricter qualifications. However, not all schools have revamped their employee rosters and hiring checklists, leading parents to wonder, "are my child's teachers still qualified?"

According to the US Department of Education in 2005, all public school teachers must be considered "Highly Qualified" in order to teach. To be labeled as a "highly qualified teacher," instructors must hold a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and proof of subject-area competency.

While the standards of a "highly qualified teacher" are generally reasonable, many schools in the United States expressed challenges in achieving these goals. Specifically, schools in rural areas found it nearly impossible to hire new, "more qualified" teachers than the limited number currently employed. As a result, the mandates of NCLB were revised to allow for more flexibility.

To find out if your local public school teachers meet all of the NCLB qualifications, consider the following standards outlined by the legislation.

NCLB "Highly Qualified" Requirements

The requirements for achieving the "highly qualified" teaching status depends upon one's subject area and additional state-based guidelines. Generally, all elementary teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Pass state-mandated subject tests
• Certified for all elementary education (as opposed to specific subject areas)

Middle school and high school teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Passing score on state subject-area tests

While schools should instill moral fortitude into their students, some educational institutions are "cheating" their systems. According to recent investigations, several public schools have been caught tampering with their schools' test score reports, graduation rates, and other performance-related statistics.

What Could Information be Falsified?

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, public school leaders are under incredible pressure to ensure their scores stay high while their graduation rates continue to soar. Public schools must publish data on campus violence, academic performance, and graduation rates. Adding to these focus areas, schools must publicly publish an annual "report card" of the school, allowing community members to ascertain how specific groups have performed throughout the year. The specific groups assessed in this report card are differentiated by:

• Ethnicity
• Disability
• Income (plus other potential related socio-economic factors)
• English language proficiency

In addition, all public schools must disclose their annual dropout rates, teacher qualification standards, and records, as well as other locally-mandated data.

This video is an example of test score manipulation in our schools.

The Pressure to Tamper With Public School Reports

While increased access to school records undoubtedly benefits the community, the transparency mandated by NCLB prompts some school leaders to falsify educational data.

Reason Magazine reveals, "While federal and state legislators congratulate themselves for their newfound focus on school accountability, scant attention is paid to the quality of the data they're using. Whether the topic is violence,

While school campuses are home to fights and violence between students, new research has found that dangers exist off-campus as well. A rising number of investigations and reports are beginning to question the safety of public school buses. Considering that 47 percent of public school students use the bus to travel to and from school, many parents are expressing concern about the safety of their local school's bus system.

Are Public School Buses Safe?

In exploring the specific dangers faced by children utilizing the school bus system, the (APHA) has found increases in violence on school buses, including verbal, physical, emotional, and sexual violence between students. While there are no major data reports on the total incidences of bus violence occurrences, BJC School Outreach conducted a private survey to question students of all ages about their fears and concerns of violence. According to the surveys, school buses are the second most likely location wherein a student may encounter bullying and/or harassment.

The states: "The school bus is the safest vehicle on the road—your child is much safer taking a bus to and from school than traveling by car. Although four to six school-age children die each year on school transportation vehicles, that’s less than one percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide. NHTSA believes school buses should be as safe as possible. That’s why our safety standards for school buses are above and beyond those