No Education Today.  With all but one of the education bills attached to the omnibus supplemental budget bill, it was a day for the other budget areas to be reviewed and combined into the same vehicle.  That made it a quiet day on the education front.  Things will pick up again early next week when the supplemental budget bill hits the floor and most of the activity taking place among education interests is the analysis of the bills and the determination of what items to support and which ones to oppose.  Negotiations will be interesting this year because it won't be a five-on-five conference committee dealing solely with education.  Instead, a number of the conferees won't have the slightest familiarity with some of the major education initiatives contained in the bills.  Always makes it more interesting . . . and more hair-raising.

Interesting Articles.  It seems everyone is writing about education these days and the folks at the left-leaning American Prospect are no exception.  Here are two articles, one on how forced school closures disrupt communities and often hurt education and the other on how charter schools divert revenue from other public schools.  Both stories highlight some very interesting issues, even though they aren't applicable to Minnesota's experience.

School Closures: A Blunt Instrument

Charter School Article