New Hampshire District Moving Toward Allowing Ads To Offset Budget Constraints.

The New Hampshire Union Leader (10/17, Alden) reports on the growing trend of cash-strapped school districts allowing "commercial messages" in schools to generate revenue nationwide, noting that "a preliminary proposal to allow limited advertising in Manchester public schools may still have a way to go before getting final approval from the full school board. Finding potential advertisers may be much easier than agreeing on what qualifies as appropriate. The Manchester school board Coordination Committee signed off last week on a draft policy that would allow some ads on school property such as sports venues and cafeterias, provided the product or organization behind the marketing meets district approval."

Analysis Compares State Per-Student Spending With Academic Outcomes.

A National Journal (10/17, Nhan, Subscription Publication) analysis of data from the 2012 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation explores the causal relationship between state per-student education spending and academic outcomes, noting that in general, "states that spend more on their students tend to rank higher, and states that spend less rank lower. But if the answer were that simple, education reform would be a breeze. So like every complex story, outliers and exceptions to the rule exist." The article explores a number of other factors that can impact academic outcomes.