Watch: How foreclosures could have cost schools millions

The housing crisis has cost Minneapolis Public Schools $150 million in state funding as students were forced to move from the area after their families’ homes were foreclosed, according to a new report, the Huffington Post reports. The report, by nonprofit advocacy group Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, found that there have been more than 13,000 foreclosures in Minneapolis since 2006, leading to an estimated loss of 4,000 students from MPS. The majority of state funding for school districts is based on enrollment numbers…

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Michigan Republicans: Let’s privatize public school teaching

In Michigan, a state perennially crippled by budget deficits, public school districts across the state have already outsourced their bus drivers, cafeteria workers, sports coaches, and janitors to try and save money. Now Republicans in Michigan’s state Legislature want to take the outsourcing frenzy one giant leap forward by privatizing public school teaching, Mother Jones reports. Michigan Republican Sen. Phil Pavlov, who chairs the state Senate’s education committee, is preparing legislation that would allow public school districts to hire teachers through private, for-profit companies…

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