TO CLIPS INDEX  Clips for January 7, 2009

Report gives Ariz. education mixed grades
The Arizona Republic 1/7/09
Arizona education gets high marks for holding
schools accountable and for rigorous student
standards, but once again the state pulls a
failing grade in financing schools. The
assessment is contained in a report called
"Quality Counts 2009: Portrait of a Population,"
released today by Education Week magazine.
This year the annual report added English-
language learners to its analysis of states'
efforts to hold schools accountable for
educating all students. English-language
learner students increased nationwide by
57 percent between 1995 and 2005 and
now number about 5.1 million.

ASU increasing football ticket prices
The Arizona Republic  1/7/09 1:24 PM
Arizona State football ticket prices are
increasing in 83 percent of 71,706-seat
Sun Devil Stadium, including 72 sections
where prices have remained the same
or gone down since 2001. Approximately
12,000 season tickets remain at $99.
The higher prices are a combination of
ticket and seat premium increases.
Revenue generated by the Sun Devil
Club from tax-deductible seat premiums
pays for scholarships, books, fees, tutors
and other academic related costs incurred
by 500-550 ASU athletes in 21 sports.

Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale rank low on 'Most
Literate' list
The Arizona Republic 1/7/09 7:41 AM
Valley cities may have to worry about more
than being boring. They also appear to be
relatively ill-read when compared to their
big-city brethren. Central Connecticut State
University released a study ranking
"America's Most Literate Cities, 2008" and
included all 71 cities with a population more
than 250,000. ....A 2008 study by Arizona
State University's Morrison School of
Management and Agribusiness found that
just 19 percent of Glendale residents at
least 25 years old hold college degrees.
In Phoenix, about 25 percent of the
population has completed college, along
with 22 percent of Mesa's population. The
overall findings, Miller said, "perhaps are
cause for national concern."

Court to hear cities' fund dispute with state
Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
1/6/09 5:52PM
The Arizona Supreme Court agreed Tuesday
to consider the claim by cities that the state -
and Gov. Janet Napolitano in particular -
illegally took some of their funds. In a brief
order, the justices said they want to hear
arguments about whether the provision
ordering cities to surrender $29,748,400 is
effectively a tax. That's the argument being
made by attorney Paul Eckstein who
represents the League of Arizona Cities
and Towns. If the court sides with Eckstein,
then what lawmakers and the governor did
is illegal for two reasons.

Tribe gives $2M toward Native American
center at NAU
Arizona Daily Sun 1/7/09
A Southern California Indian tribe has donated
$2 million toward a Native American cultural
center at Northern Arizona University's Mountain
Campus. The gift from the San Manuel Band of
Serrano Mission Indians, the indigenous
people of the San Bernardino mountains and
valleys, is the first major contribution to NAU's
Native Roots, Native Futures fundraising
campaign. The new facility, which will be located
on North Campus not far from the University
Union, will cost $6 million. Another $2 million
will be dedicated to programs and scholarships.
Catherine Talakte, director of Native American
Student Services, said she was pleased and
pleasantly surprised with the large gift. She said
Native American Student Services has outgrown
its shared space in the University Union with
Multicultural Student Services and Student
Support Services, and with its new space can
reach a wider population.

Opinion: Voters must have primacy over
state Legislature
Arizona Daily Star 1/7/09
Our view: Our Constitution's framers didn't
want lawmakers overriding the electorate's
will, as is being proposed. The framers of the
state Constitution would probably shake their
heads in disappointment at the proposed
legislative attempt to hijack voter-approved
programs. Capitol Media Services' Howard
Fischer reported in Tuesday's Star that
Arizonans may be asked to repeal a 1998
constitutional amendment that restricts law-
makers from altering voter-approved initiatives
or referendums. The issue could be put to the
voters in a special election as early as March.
Fischer reported that Russell Pearce, R-Mesa,
incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, said it will be virtually impossible to
balance next year's budget if almost half of the
state's spending is constitutionally off-limits.
Pearce said lawmakers need the flexibility to
make adjustments.

Editorial: Our Opinion: AZ still lags in student
spending and achievement
Tucson Citizen 1/7/09
Education Week's annual Quality Counts report
for 2009 is out, and as usual, Arizona has little
to brag about……    A stunning A-minus - and
ranking of eighth nationally - was given for
standards, assessments and accountability.
We are very good at setting standards, testing
for them and demanding accountability from
our schools. Of course, the fact that the kids
don't seem to be learning rather takes the
shine off that lofty grade.

UA Among Nation's Best in Granting Doctoral
Degrees to American Indians, Hispanics
UA News 1/7/09
A new report says that The University of Arizona
is one of the leading universities in the country
when it comes to granting doctoral degrees to
Hispanic and Native American students. The
Survey of Earned Doctorates reports the UA is
No. 5 in the country in doctoral degrees granted
to Native American students from 2003-2007,
and No. 6 nationally in degrees granted to
Hispanic students.  Maria Teresa Velez,
associate dean of the UA Graduate College,
attributes several factors in the University's
excellence in recruiting doctoral students who
are minorities and helping them complete their
degrees.

Leaders push plan for college campus
Payson Roundup 1/6/09
The potential for a four-year college in Pay-
son, which local leaders have been pushing
for years, ballooned recently when Arizona
State University’s president reportedly
pushed for small, regionalcampuses around
the state. The idea remains only a possibility
for now, and local advocates are talking care-
fully lest the delicate political balance falls
against Payson. Ultimately, the potential exists
for a 3,000-student, four-year satellite campus
of a state-run university, advocates say. Three
sites have been identified as “acceptable” in
Payson, said Mayor Kenny Evans. He declined
to specify which sites or which university could
serve Rim Country.

U. of California Pays $33-Million to Settle
Former Students' Lawsuit Over Tuition
The Chronicle of Higher Education 1/6/09
The University of California paid $33-million
last month to nearly 35,000 former students
who brought a class-action lawsuit alleging
that the university system had illegally raised
tuition despite a pledge not to do so, the
Contra Costa Times reported on Monday.
The payments end a lawsuit filed in 2003
by eight students, who said the university
had promised not to raise certain fees over
the course of their studies but increased
them anyway because of a state budget
crisis.

(Hidden) Cost of Doing Business
Inside Higher Education 1/7/09      
Expanding research may be a worthy
goal in higher education, but doing so
comes with significant costs that aren’t
recovered by grants alone, according to
a study published in Academic Medicine
this month. Researchers at the University
of Rochester School of Medicine &
Dentistry found that the cost of
supporting newly recruited scientists
costs an additional 40 cents over every
dollar these new faculty generate from
grants. While colleges may grow in
prestige by expanding their research
base, they’re likely to dole out more
money in start-up packages and other
benefits for new faculty than they bring
in through grants, the study asserts..

Arizona may seek first-ever bank loans
Reuters 1/6/09 8:51pm GMT 
SAN FRANCISCO - Arizona, which may
run out of cash in 60 to 90 days, is in talks
to open its first-ever line of credit from a
bank, seeking up to $5.7 billion so it can
pay its bills, the state treasurer said.
Arizona's financial troubles are severe.
Its state government faces a $1.2 billion
shortfall in its $9.9 billion budget over the
remainder of its fiscal year, likely to be
addressed by deep spending cuts.
Revenues tumbled after its once red-hot
housing market crashed, sending ripples
through its broader economy. Arizona's
unemployment rate climbed to 6.3 per-
cent in November from 4.1 percent a
year earlier. Non-farm payrolls shrank
by 83,100 jobs, or by 3.1 percent, over
the 12-month period. As a result,
Arizona's coffers have been thinning at
"unprecedented" speed, forcing it to begin
talks with Bank of America Corp (BAC.N)
State Treasurer Dean Martin told Reuters
in a telephone interview late on Monday.