Crane to host ASBA annual county workshop

The Arizona School Board Association will conduct its annual county workshop at  5 p.m. on Thursday at the Pueblo Elementary School cafeteria, 2803 W. 20th St.

The public is invited to attend the meeting, at which a quorum of the Crane School District governing board will be present. But this is not a Crane meeting and the board will not take any legal action, according to a Crane press release.

There will be an ASBA county director report from ASBA President Bob Rice, said Tracey Benson, ASBA communications specialist.

Each county in the state has one representative on the ASBA board except Maricopa and Pima counties which have two because of their larger populations, Benson noted. There will be nominations and election of new representatives. They will serve a term of two years beginning in January. Maureen Irr is the current Yuma County ASBA representative.

Also up for discussion will be the current state of Arizona's economy, a review of the deficit and an examination of where the state might be headed over the next couple of years. And discussions of how the federal stimulus has impacted kindergarten through 12th grade education, and details of the next stage of the stimulus, "Race to the Top," Benson said.

"Race to the Top is a $4.3 billion competitive grant available nationwide. Each state must write a proposal to receive an award. Then the states distributes the funds once they arrive next January."

She said 50 percent of those funds are required to go to the local education agencies, the school districts and charter schools. The rest of the funds can be applied to statewide education projects.

Also, issues on the legislative horizon will be discussed, such as establishing a national core set of academic standards in math and language arts. But the adoption of such standards would be voluntary. Yet if adopted, the standards would bring the entire country closer to having a uniform curriculum, also known as a common core states standard, she explained.

Finally, the ASBA will look at the problems of private school tax credits and how they impact public school funding.

William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.