The Rhode Island Central Falls school district which was lauded by President Barack Obama in March for holding its staff accountable for student performance after firing 87 district employees has reached an agreement with the teachers union that will allow all staff members to retain their jobs, the Associated Press reported Monday. The district's board of trustees approved the firing when negotiations about school improvements which would compel teachers to work more hours without an increase in pay fell through. Since the school's board of trustees made the decision to fire the employees, a mediator has been working between the district and the union, the AP reported. According to the new agreement, the 87 employees can retain the jobs they were due to lose at the end of the year without having to reapply, but the agreement also provides for the lengthening of the school day and an increase in the availability of after school tutoring, according to the AP.
The University of Virginia has contracted legal help to negotiate how the University will handle a request by the state attorney general for documents relating to former UVA professor of environmental sciences Michael Mann, UVA Today reported Friday. UVA faculty members say the request is politically motivated because of Mann's research, which supports climate change, and that University compliance with the request would curtail academic freedom, according to UVA Today. The attorney general's request, which is based on the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, asks for documents related to Mann's grant applications and data, according to the UVA Faculty Senate's position statement. The UVA Faculty Senate said Mann's findings had already been strictly reviewed before publication, UVA today reported.
