Education

Murray State University’s Board of Regents Chairman wants to vote again on President Randy Dunn’s contract on Friday. Board Chairman Constantine Curris released a statement Wednesday asking the board to vote again to reinforce the board’s responsibility to act in an open and transparent manner.

The board first voted against extending Dunn a new contract on March 15th following a social gathering at a regent’s home. The Kentucky Attorney General has since deemed the gathering, where a quorum was present and university business was discussed, an illegal board meeting.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is moving forward with a plan to require local school districts to pay their share of teacher pensions. Currently the state covers pension payments for teachers in suburban Chicago and downstate Illinois.  Madigan says it's a "free lunch" for those districts. He says the practice has exacerbated Illinois' nearly $100 billion crisis and "should come to an end as soon as possible."

A conference geared toward helping minority students get into the college of their choice is scheduled for June at Eastern Kentucky University. The Council on Postsecondary Education is accepting registrations for the event, which will be held June 28-29. It will be the council's 26th year for the Academically Proficient High School Junior and Senior Diversity Conference.

The price for a president is going up at Eastern Kentucky University.  EKU’s new President will earn two-thirds more than its outgoing CEO.

The new president at Eastern Kentucky University will earn 400-thousand dollars a year…a big increase over what Dr. Michael Benson earned at Southern Utah University.  His job there as president  grossed over 281-thousand dollars a year. 

It’s also more than the $250-thousand paid to EKU’s current president, but a hundred thousand dollars less than the annual salary earned by the president at the University of Kentucky.  

The Tennessee Department of Education plans to use nearly $4 million in federal education funds to pay for eight leadership development programs. The grants are part of the $500 million the state won three years ago in the national Race to the Top education grant competition. Officials say eight recipients received grants, which were awarded to organizations in partnership with one or more school systems.