N.H. Senate votes for kindergarten delay in 11 districts

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The state Senate voted Thursday to give 11 school districts an extra year to start kindergarten programs they now must have in place by fall and to give them a choice of aid programs to build classrooms for the programs.The Legislature included public kindergarten as a requirement for all schools in the definition of an adequate education adopted last year. The law gives the 11 districts without kindergarten until September 2008 to offer programs, but the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Costing an Adequate Education recommended giving them an extra year.Districts seeking the extra year would have to provide a detailed plan to the state to ensure they will have kindergarten programs ready for fall 2009.The state had estimated it would cost at least $20 million for portables, furniture, fixtures and new classroom construction. Senate President Sylvia Larsen said a kindergarten aid program has $1.7 million in it to go toward the costs.The 11 districts that don't have public kindergarten are Hudson, Litchfield, Lyndeborough, Mascenic, Milford, Pelham, Auburn, Chester, Derry, Salem and Windham.The bill includes money for temporary classrooms, furniture and fixtures for three years. Towns also would get state aid for each kindergarten pupil.Districts will have the option of getting 75 percent of the cost to build the classrooms of the their choice or 100 percent of a basic building or addition that meets minimum standards. The state Department of Education would set the specifications for the basic building.Senators said that avoided triggering a constitutional prohibition against mandating new programs onto communities without paying for them.Districts would have the same aid options if the use of existing classroom space for kindergarten requires shifting older students to new or renovated classrooms.

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Tips on Buying Preschool Furniture

Preschool Furniture

Preschool furniture is considered to be very important in providing basic training to children before proper education. As a part of training, these small children need to be taught ways to behave and sit in a class. Here, preschool furniture plays a very important part in familiarizing children with school environment and training them for what is to come in the future.

Most essential parts of preschool furniture include tables, preschool chairs, miniatures, mats, toys etc.

Preschool Chairs

While buying preschool chairs, it is crucial to ensure comfort as well as storage space, size as well as strength, and economy along with the quality of product. In addition, chairs for preschool must be sized suitably according to the age of children and the height of desks and tables.

Along with this, the placement of these chairs and the arrangement of the classroom are also very important. Preschool chairs are most important components of a classroom and once they are well positioned; the entire nursery follows the learning rhythm!

Buying Discount Preschool Furniture

Preschool furniture at huge discounted rates is available at big furniture stores during their sale season. Along with this, online search for discount furniture may also help you in this regard. But before you buy anything, it is most essential that you make sure that the retailer is well reputed and provides you with money back guarantee or some kind of warrantee for the furniture. This helps you avoid being scammed.

The ideal time for finding discount furniture is just about between the months of January and July that is, the end of the academic year when the retailers tend to accommodate space for the newer stock; therefore they sell their remaining stock away at amazingly low rates.

Visit our website at www.AceOfficeSystems.com for more information on buying preschool and other furniture. We offer a huge selection of preschool, classroom, office, and home furniture and discounted prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lois_J._Wright

Squeeze on Preston Office Space Saves Millions

Media-Newswire.com - A MAJOR shake-up of office space used by Lancashire County Council is saving millions on administration costs. A revolution in working practices and a fast and flexible approach to managing property has reduced the amount of accommodation needed, with many offices being vacated. Over £2m has already been achieved from the sale of property and leases in Preston alone. The money has been reinvested to protect and improve frontline services. City centre buildings on Fishergate, Cross Street and Winckley Square as well as offices on Navigation Way are amongst those no longer in use. The ongoing review has seen staff relocate to existing sites including County Hall and East Cliff near Avenham Park. Space is being created thanks to new working practices, with more people working from home or sharing desks if their job is not always office-based. Other measures include the introduction of smaller desks for more efficient use of space. County Councillor Anne Brown, Cabinet member for Resources and Performance, said: “We work hard to get the best value for money from all our resources and this includes looking at how much accommodation we need for staff. “Better technology has led to our staff being able to work in a more flexible way and we are taking advantage of this by cutting back on the number of offices we own and lease.” Employees moved into County Hall during the review include Corporate Human Resources and Youth and Community teams previously in offices on Fishergate and Environment staff are transferring from buildings in Cross Street. Leases on eight premises have already been assigned to new tenants or ended. One property owned outright by the county council – the former Westleigh Emergency Planning headquarters at Lea – has also been sold. Emergency Planning is now based at the Red Rose Hub. County Councillor Brown added: “This year we have been awarded top marks in a government inspection of our use of resources. This has been achieved by making sure we focus all our efforts on improving frontline services and reducing costs elsewhere.” The review of accommodation in Preston is part of a wider review of offices across Lancashire. By 2009/10 the authority expects to have vacated 3,134 square metres of leased office space, achieving savings approaching £400,000 every year.

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Modern Artistic Furniture

Here are some interesting links about Israeli designers and artists making waves in the news:

~ The Wall Street Journal asks, “Is it art or just really expensive furniture?” Great question. Great article. And leading the discussion visually - the first photo featured - is Israeli design legend Ron Arad’s aluminum “After Thought” series (2007), at the Jablonka gallery space at the Frieze Art Fair last fall as featured above. Also peppering the discussion are works by Israeli design superstar Arik Levy.
~ Israeli contemporary artist Michal Rovner is interviewed in the Brooklyn Rail as her installation piece Makom II, meaning place or location, finishes its last week on view at the Pace Wildenstein Gallery.
~ For those of you in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Armory Art Center is celebrating Israeli Art month with an exhibition on Israeli textile art called “A Common Thread”. The month-long exhibition is accompanied by lectures and workshops by Israeli designers in the fields of fashion, jewelry and textiles.

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Office furniture grew 5.5% in '07

The office furniture industry grew 5.5 percent in 2007 amid a slowing national economy.

Industrywide shipments in North American increased to $11.42 billion, according to the Grand Rapids-based Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association.


The final tally for 2007 represents a solid increase from 2006 but is still a growth rate that was smaller than the two previous years.

The fourth quarter of 2007 was the weakest quarter of the year, as shipments grew 4.4 percent during the same period in the prior year, reflecting slower national economic growth.

"All things considered, I think it was very healthy," BIFMA Executive Director Tom Reardon said.

The growth of 2007 isn't expected to continue into 2008, though. BIFMA's last quarterly outlook three months ago projected flat or slightly lower shipments this year. An updated outlook is due out soon.

"I still think there's significant uncertainty about the year ahead," Reardon said.

That uncertainty showed up in the latest quarterly index on the industry activity from Michael A. Dunlap & Associates of West Olive.

The survey of industry executives and suppliers resulted in an overall index of 52.44 in January, down sharply from the 55.62 three months earlier in October and below the 56.86 average of the past 15 quarters.

The personal outlook index among respondents was 48.18, the first time it has fallen below 50 since Dunlap & Associates began the survey three and a half years ago.

The results reflect the national economy and a steady decline in growth that began for the industry about a year ago, Michael Dunlap said.

He noted most individual categories - gross sales, order backlogs, capital and tooling expenditures, and employment levels and hours worked - still remain above 50 and in positive territory. The survey uses a scale of one as "the absolute worst" and 100 as "couldn't be better."

The surveys results, he said, are "a little lower, but nothing that's bothering me.

"I'm not terribly worried. We do have these cycles," Dunlap said.

Total shipments for the office furniture industry:
Year Shipments
2006 $10.82 billion
2005 $10.07 billion
2004 $8.93 billion
2003 $8.50 billion
2002 $8.89 billion
2001 $10.97 billion
2000 $13.28 billion

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Pre-School Furniture - School Supplies - Ace Office Systems

Click Here to view our full line of preschool furniture.

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Office Chair Buying Guide

HOW TO FIND A CHAIR THAT FITS YOUR NEEDS:

People come in all shapes and sizes. To find an office chair that fits you need to ask yourself a few questions. For true comfort, start by determining how you will be using the office chair. Office Chairs come with a variety of mechanisms that control the tilt angle, tension tightness and a variety of other office chair controls as well. Depending on how much time you are in your chair, and what you are doing while seated at your desk chair, these features can make a huge difference on whether you are sitting in comfort or not.

Heavy Use Chair

These chairs are for people who are glued to their desk for long hours (computer programmers, receptionists, etc.). If this is you, then look for a chair with a synchro tilt mechanism, a fatigue reducing device on the under side of the desk chair seat. Thanks to this device, whether you lean forward or back, the chair moves with you to provide support. The effect is that your back is supported at all times.

Moderate Use Chair

If you are a typical middle manager, you are running back and forth between your desk and other areas of the office. Consider a desk chair with a knee-tilt mechanism. This will allow you to lean back in the chair but still keep your feet planted flat on the ground. In chairs without this, your feet typically are lifted when you lean back and can lead to discomfort over time. These type of chairs are also usually more stylish than your typical task chair.

Executive Office Chair

These office chairs have the same mechanical features as the moderate use chairs, but they are typically larger, more comfortable and stylish for the executive. It is designed for the busy executive who is running between conference rooms and spends a good deal of time on the phone and on the computer. Style, comfort and status are key features.

General Office Chair Rules

1) Your feet should rest comfortably on the floor, and your thighs should be fully supported and square with the floor.2) Your back should be comfortably supported. The angle formed by your upper legs and torso should be between 90 and 105 degrees.3) Tilting back should be easy, but not too easy.4) The desk chair should permit frequent posture changes.