Education and Public School Issues for the Public

Ifay F. Chang*, Ph.D. Trustee of Somers Central School District*

* Any Statement(s) or Publication(s) By Ifay F. Chang Are His Personal Opinion Not Necessarily Endorsed by SCSD Unless Specifically Indicated

Education & School Boards

Reading, math scores rise sharply across New York
(6/24/08)

English, math test scores up across state (6/24/08)

School boards get lesson on new pension fraud measure
(6/24/08)

Massachusetts governor plans new kind of public school (6/17/08)

High school recognized as School of Distinction (6/17/08)

Voucher proposal passes in Senate (6/13/08 Louisana)

Bush loyalist fights to save ‘No Child’ law (6/12/08)

McCain, Obama reps discuss education (6/6/08)

Genders split up at more schools (6/6/08)

State's graduation criteria called 'wave of the future' (6/3/08)

Whitesboro school board to interview superintendent candidates in private (6/3/08)

More school districts look to hire teachers of Chinese (6/1/08)

State asks to review contracts from some school district superintendents (5/29/08)

State task force works on standardized teacher evaluations (5/28/08)

Cuomo, legislators seek to cut abuse of state's retirement systems (5/23/08)

Newly seated Port school board to 'listen to the people' (5/23/08)

Journal News on School Board Candidates (5/19/08)

High school grad who can't read diploma is suing school district
(5/17/08)

Are gifted students getting left out? (5/15/08)

Middle school warns parents about energy drinks (5/15/08)

Virtual schools see strong growth, calls for more oversight (5/15/08)

Evolution's critics shift tactics with schools (5/5/08)

Tech Gizmos Increasingly Target Toddlers (5/5/08)

Study: Creativity is important but neglected (5/2/08)

Bus Accident and Safety Issue (4/30/08)

Bus contractors asking city schools to cut out field trips because of fuel costs (4/28/08)

David Rockefeller pledges 100 million dollars to Harvard (4/25/08)

Catholic school enrollment falls 20 percent (4/25/08)

Education secretary offers changes to ‘No Child’ law (4/23/08)

Court approves city schools cellphone ban (4/23/08)

Putnam, northern Westchester school board candidates (4/22/08)

AT&T launches $100M effort to stem dropouts (4/21/08)

Students want more use of gaming technology (4/21/08)

Videotaped beating sparks national outrage (4/21/08)

Somers makes cuts to get $77.2 million school budget (4/20/08)

Chappaqua budget adds technology, Chinese studies (4/20/08)

Wick's Law restraints to be eased
(4/11/08)

Teacher tenure plan's 'just an outrage,' fumes Bloomberg
(4/7/08)

U.S. students achieve mixed results on writing test (4/4/08)

Students' writing scores show marked improvement (4/4/08)

Op-Ed: Parents must unite to demand better school choices
(4/3/08)

State troopers will stay in schools
(4/3/08)

Editorial: Standard on tenure would help students (3/28/08)

PCB Issue in School (3/28/08)

State attempt to lessen role of school districts in tenure stirs debate
(3/27/08)

Several Westchester schools and districts fall short of targets on state tests (3/26/08)

Editorial: Something out of whack with superintendent salaries
(3/25/08)

In response to critical audit, Hamburg school board president resigns
(3/19/08)

Tonawanda school board considers cutting 22 positions to hold down property tax increase (3/19/08)

Bill would bar linking test scores to teacher tenure (3/18/08)

Passing eighth grade in New York just became a little harder (3/18/08)

Senate looks to establish a state 'Teachers Day' (3/18/08)

Report urges changes in teaching math (3/17/08)

State puts Web-only schools on short cord (3/17/08 Oregon)

Program will pay AP students $100 to pass (3/13/08)

Westchester Superintendents' Salary (sent by reader)

Lawmaker wants scent-free schools (3/12/08)

Two Long Island students place in top 10 at Intel contest (3/12/08)

Many Texas school districts reject merit pay for teachers (3/12/08)

Lawmaker proposes school crisis plan (3/6/08)

Poughkeepsie school budget retains staff, adds learning opportunities
(2/28/08)

Port Jervis school district proposes 4 percent tax hike (2/28/08)

Cost of special education highlighted

Experts Investigate Fatal Minnesota School Bus Crash (2/22/08)

Poll: Residents would rather higher taxes than cuts to education (2/21/08)

Mahopac school trustee quits after arrest (2/21/08)

More schools involved in lawyer, pension scandal (2/21/08)

Monroe-Woodbury school board votes to fire deputy school superintendent (2/21/08)

Students in N.Y. acing AP exams
(2/19/08)

Yorktown principal suspended, causing controversy (2/19/08)

Experts debate the definition of critical thinking (2/18/08)

New York tops AP Exam ranks (2/14/08)

How to make great teachers (Time Magazine)(2/13/08)

Mahopac voters OK spending $5.8M on school upgrades (2/13/08)

Greece school board's oversight questioned (2/10/08)

How much does your school district pay its superintendent? (2/10/08) Links to published contracts

Six city schools designated by the state as failing
(2/7/08)

Mixed results for New Jersey students on statewide tests (2/7/08)

New York once again the leader in Intel Science contest (1/31/08)
Byram Hills senior named Intel finalist (1/31/08)

Editorial: Problem isn't assessments, it's the cost of education (1/22/08)

Part Three: Economy, quality drive school budgets (1/15-22/08)

Schools pay price for giving kids more time to graduate (1/22/08)

Eight better buys for your school tax dollars (1/16/08)

Somers: Close community helps forge trust (1/16/08)(One of the Eight Better Buys)

New York tops nation in annual education report (1/11/08)

Losing an edge, Japanese envy India’s schools
(1/08)

Simple school resolutions for a great 2008

Success stories: Celebrating progess in public education. (9/28/07)

Voters approve a record 95.5 percent of school budgets. (5/16/07)

School Tax Related

3rd School Property Tax Reform Forum, June 5, 7PM, Location TBD, call Joyce 845-279-5301 Ifay Chang's Proxy Statement

School Property Tax Reform Forum Feb 2, 2008 (Organized by Assemblyman Greg Ball, Dr. Ifay Chang's Charts)

School Property Tax Reform Forum (Oct 20, 07) Notes

Web Site Created As Forum for School Tax Issues (Ifay Chang, presented at October 20, 2007, School Tax Reform forum)

Governor, GOP closer on deal to cap school taxes (6/22/08)

Republicans deciding whether to support Paterson's tax cap proposal (6/21/08)

Public wants cap on school taxes (6/17/08)

Column: Gov's tax cap puts Bruno in a box
(6/17/08)

Schools that incorporate 'green' technology in construction might receive federal money
(6/17/08)

NY Senate Democratic leader seeks property tax cap (6/13/08)

Bruno blasts Paterson's proposed school tax cap (6/13/08)

Letter: Lawmakers ignoring voters' desire for a tax cap (6/12/08)

Panel urges 4 percent tax cap on property in New York (6/3/08)

State report calls for capping school-tax hikes at 4 percent (6/3/08)

School tax remedies met with mixed reactions (6/3/08)

New York's property tax rebates largely unmonitored (6/3/08)

Questions and answers from the New Yorker trying to cut your taxes (5/28/08)

Silver nixes tax circuit-breaker idea(5/28/08)

Op-Ed: Tax relief: Property taxes can be reined in without hurting schools (5/23/08)

Report: New York shouldn't look to Massachusetts as a model for property tax reform (5/23/08)

Op-Ed: Builders and contractors group calls for Wicks Law reform (5/23/08)

State Aid Information per school (5/19/08)

State panel moving to cap increases in property taxes (5/15/08)

Property tax cap in doubt (4/28/08)

New York school unions lobby against property tax cap (4/28/08)

Plan to cap school taxes based on income praised
(4/25/08)

Briarcliff school officials say $52.9 million budget is tight (4/25/08)

Paterson to reconsider property tax rebates
(4/22/08)

STAR tax rebates may see changes (4/22/08)

County Legislature supports state proposal to cap school district levies (4/17/08)

Op-Ed: Property tax reform is your big chance, Mr. Suozzi (Mr. Marlin's article, 4/15/08 Also Readers' Comments)

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opmar155650350apr15,0,7521631.story

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/newsday/
T8EV8K9OI9F6FUJMN#lastPost (Reader comments on Mr. Marlin's article, 4/17/08)

Public schools spent an average of $9,138 per student in 2006 (4/4/08)

No Wicks Law reform just yet (4/4/08)

No school budget cuts for first time in 20 years
(3/27/08)

Kingston school budget levy hike 3.8 percent (3/27/08)

School board holds the line on taxes (3/27/08)

Greece budget drops by $1 million (3/27/08)

Lansing cuts $1.3M from school budget
(3/26/08)

Suozzi's school-streamlining plan gains support
(3/19/08)

Florida commission proposes replacing property tax with sales tax increase (3/19/08 Florida)

Property-tax reforms make homeowners big winners (3/18/08 Indiana)

Op-Ed: Tax cap would harm schoolkids (3/18/08)

Op-Ed: Tim Kremer: There's a simple fix for high property taxes  (3/3/08)

Regional meetings held on curbing property taxes
(3/3/08)

Court hears schools' appeal on county tax plan
(2/29/08)

Illinois state Senate tries again for 'tax swap' to raise income taxes (2/29/08)

Property taxes in New York among the highest in the nation (2/25/08)

Editorial: Shrinking enrollment and higher school taxes don't add up (2/25/08)

Letter: Link property tax relief to income (%income=Property tax) (2/19/08)

Rockland school board association armed with hard data asks for more state aid (2/19/08)

School tax scofflaws get rebates, too (2/17/08)

New York State Tax Payer Protection Act, Legislative Bill (2/16/08) Important Bill with details.

Op-Ed: Property tax cap would exact high toll on schools
(2/13/08)

New kind of property tax cap suggested (Feb 12, 08)

Property tax caps would limit educational investment (Feb 12, 08)

School budget holds line on taxes (2/7/08)

Editorial: Watch those state mandates (2/7/08)

NYC education officials under orders to cut $180 million (2/7/08)

State lawmakers plan to link property tax breaks to income (2/5/08)

Lawmakers seek to tweak property-tax relief program (2/5/08)

Florida legislators propose property tax reform (2/1/2008)

Why jeopardize New York's progress in public education with arbitrary tax caps? (NYSUT 1/31/08)

Pa. legislature rejects elimination of property taxes (Associated Press) (1/31/08)

School property tax reform proposed by Utah legislature  (Deseret Morning News 1/31/08))

Executive Budget: Addressing local property taxes (1/23/08)

Executive Budget: School aid tied to accountability (1/23/08)

Spitzer to urge smaller hike of school-tax rebate (1/23/08)

Analysis of the 2008 Executive Budget Proposal (1/22-08)

Spitzer budget would curb property tax rebates (1/22/08)

Spitzer budget raises spending, aid to schools

Taxpayers gain courage to say 'no' (1/15/08)

School officials question Spitzer's tax cap plan (1/15/08)

Report: The problems with property tax revenue caps (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)(1/15/08)

Assemblyman: We need property tax cap and we need it now (Legislative Gazette)(1/15/08)

Our Schools Our Money (1/13-17/08)

Editorial: Property tax cap has worked wonders elsewhere (1/11/08)

Senate Republicans offer to triple STAR rebate, end school property taxes (1/4/08)

Schools oppose mandated use of money
(1/08)

Poughkeepsie Journal report on Tax Reduction Conference (1/24/07)

The Problems with Property Tax Revenue Caps (Center on Budget and Policy Priority, 6/21/07)

Ifay Chang for Education

Congratulations to Missy Vece and Cheryl Smith re-election to the Somers School Board

Federal Resources for Education - Lesson Plans on Various Subjects

Response to The Questions from The Journal News about School Board Election(4/07)

School Board Statements (IFC)(4/07)

Press Release

Public Forum Related to School Board

Word Puzzles for SIS Students

Supplemental Teaching Material Prepared for SIS 4th Grade Science

Community Education - Scrammble Word Game Tournament and TV Show

Bio's

Publications

Short story - Blue Golf Ball for Christmas

Short story - Outopians

Teaching Web Site for Northern Westchester Chinese Language School

Ifay Chang's Work at TLC Information Services and Its Public Web Sites