Rural Policy Matters: April 2012


Last Updated: April 28, 2012
 

Rural Policy Matters: April 2012


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The April 2012 edition of Rural Policy Matters features stories on the new class of Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellows, on a place-based arts program in Missouri, school finance news updates from Montana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and more.

Facts and Figures about the Mobility of Rural Students
Question: Which three states have the highest rates of rural student mobility, that is, the highest numbers of rural students who have changed residence in the previous 12 months?

Reminder: Don't Miss Upcoming Dropout Prevention Webinar!
The first of three dropout prevention webinars sponsored by U.S. Department of Education with assistance from Jobs for the Future is May 3 and registration is very limited.

2012 Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellows Announced
23 rural teachers from 11 different states have received fellowships to travel the world this summer to gain once-in-a-lifetime experiences that will inform their teaching.

Global Teacher Fellows Describe the Inspiration Behind the Application
Meet the 2012 Class of Global Teacher Fellows in this ongoing series featuring interviews where they describe their projects and plans for the summer.

Community Initiative Supporting Rural Arts Education in the Ozarks
Placeworks, a place-based community initiative, is helping to fill the need for art education in rural schools across the Ozarks region of Missouri.

Gainesville Schools and Community Benefit from Foundation Investment
The Mission-Related Investment Program of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks has made it possible for Gainesville School District to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.

 

Rural School Funding News

Missouri Formula Fight Likely to Produce Mostly Losers, Few Winners
A Missouri statehouse battle over how to deal with a combination of factors negatively impacting school funding has rural districts pitted against suburban and urban schools, and neither side is likely to win.

Hold-Harmless Clause Spurs Pennsylvania Legislators' Planned School Finance Lawsuit
Three Pennsylvania State Representatives have announced that they plan to file a lawsuit claiming the current school funding formula violates the state Constitution's equal protection clause but are targeting a rural-friendly provision in doing so.

Ohio Still Seeking Stable, Constitutional Funding Formula
In the fifteen years since the first Ohio State Supreme Court ruling finding the school finance system unconstitutional, there have been at least three attempts to come up with a new formula, and a fourth is set to begin soon.

Montana Rural District Coalition Secures Additional Funding for Schools
The State of Montana has agreed to increase school funding for FY13 by a full inflationary adjustment after being sued for not complying with a law requiring it to do so.

 

Graph

Rural School District Enrollment: Variations across Census Regions
The highest median rural district enrollment by far is in the South, at close to four times that in the West.