Good by to the teacher of the year...

This isn't about NCLB directly, but a common thread everywhere is that there's just not enough money for schools to run properly. In this case, the teacher of the year may lose her position. Isn't that lovely?

The Danville Independent School Board voted this week to eliminate 10 positions for 2004-05 because of uncertainty over the school system's funding and the state budget, said Greg Shulz, the district's director of support services.

Among the positions is that of Patti Rowland, curriculum and technology resource teacher at Hogsett Elementary School. Rowland was named Kentucky's 2004 teacher of the year and received $10,000 from Ashland Inc. for the achievement.

"I call that the irony of the budget," Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the state Education Department, said of the Danville district's decision.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher has come under fire for proposed cuts to public schools in the budget. In January he ordered $6.9million in cuts to education programs, and proposed other cuts in his 2004-06 budget.

Critics have said the cuts would be a setback to gains made by schools since the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. But Fletcher has said he plans to restore more than $51million for education programs. And he has defended his education budget by noting that he proposes keeping base per-pupil spending at $3,191 for next year and adding $7 per pupil in 2005-06 to pay for teacher raises.