3/23: States consider reducing number of schools

Stateline: States consider reducing number of schools

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour has asked a blue-ribbon commission to come up with a plan for reducing the state’s number of school districts by a third. “If you picture a state with 82 counties and 152 school districts you start to see part of the problem,” says Dan Turner, a spokesman for Barbour. “This is both an educational opportunity and an economic necessity.” The governor’s office claims that the change will save $65 million, but acknowledges that as a “guesstimate.”

In Arkansas, school districts in many small towns include only one school, so district consolidation and school consolidation are often synonymous. Julie Thompson, director of communications for the state Department of Education, says that consolidation has helped provide students in some small towns with academic opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise. But she concedes there are serious problems. “Anecdotally, there have been administrative type savings, but it hasn’t always been easy,” she says. “There have been some very painful transitions that communities have gone through as school buildings have closed down. But it's the only way that they can afford to provide a quality education for their students.”

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Sen. Shelby says 'health care turned upside down'

ARKANSAS: Gov. Beebe says state will abide by health care reform

FLORIDA: "Fast train" will make five stops along 84-mile route

GEORGIA: Georgia Hospital Asso. reverses stance to support Gov. Perdue's tax proposal

KENTUCKY: Senate approves spending plan; House calls it a 'budget buster'

LOUISIANA: Report says federal funds for raising Katrina homes have been misused

MISSISSIPPI: Narcotics Task Force busts 21 meth labs in 8 days in Jackson County

NORTH CAROLINA: UNC study says NC could produce 100% of power from off-shore wind turbines

SOUTH CAROLINA: SC Student Loan Corp. to take a big hit with health care passage

TENNESSEE: State lawmakers look at costs of federal health care bill

VIRGINIA: State AG ready to challenge health care law

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

9/9: H1N1 flu cases rising in Southeasat

Miami Herald: H1N1 flu cases rising in Southeast

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC says, "It's widespread in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.'' Schuchat said the agency was aware of "24 localities" in Georgia, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee dismissing elementary and high schools on Friday, affecting 25,000 students.

Asked why the increases are biggest in the Southeast, Schuchat said: "We don't know exactly. One possibility is that schools started earlier there. Another is that the Southeast states were not that heavily hit in the spring, and they're just getting their spring wave now."

Also on Tuesday, the CDC put out new guidelines that say the flu medicines Tamiflu and Relenza should only be used to treat people who are sick with the flu and at high risk for complications.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State's tax amnesty program raises more than $8.1 million

ARKANSAS: Could soda pop tax as seen in Arkansas go national?

GEORGIA: The Clean Air Campaign's Diesel Idling Reduction program has 60 companies signed on

KENTUCKY: Bill would cancel $12 million prison food contract

LOUISIANA: ACLU lawsuit filed over single-sex classes in Lafayette

MISSISSIPPI: State has a shortage of school nurses

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Perdue ready to sign consumer protection law

SOUTH CAROLINA: Decision is near on off-shore oil and natural gas drilling

TENNESSEE: Rep. Kelsey to resign House seat after Senate primary to keep seat in party

VIRGINIA: Gov. Kaine cuts 929 jobs to make up for budget shortfall

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org