A big win for charter schools in Georgia: Voters approve creation of an independent charter school commission.
A big loss in Florida: Amendment 8 would have expanded the types of schools eligible to receive vouchers. It was defeated amid concerns about public funding for religious schools.
South Dakota resists education reform: Voters in that state rejected laws that eliminated teacher tenure and implemented a performance pay system.
Smoke ’em if ya got ’em: Missourians reject an increase in a tobacco tax. The additional tax revenue would have gone to public elementary and secondary schools.
Sound familiar? The good folks of Arizona will allow a temporary 1-cent sales tax expire next year.
Californication: Prop 30 was approved. It will raise taxes on wealthy Californians and use the additional tax revenue to plug a huge hole in the state’s education budget. In addition, a dues checkoff-like measure, Prop 32, failed. California’s teachers can continue to have political donations deducted from their paychecks.
Charter schools in the Evergreen State: In Washington State, Initiative 1240 appears to have passed.
A spud dud: Voters in Idaho voted to eliminate three laws passed in 2011 – merit pay, collective bargaining restrictions, and mandates on the use of technology in the classroom.
