Fort Wayne City Council members are expected to discuss a proposal that would increase the wheel tax and return a portion of the resulting revenue to the county. In return, the county will use that money to maintain bridges within city limits.

The agreement would double the local wheel tax and surtax on vehicle license plates in 2010.

The county has traditionally had responsibility for maintaining bridges, but a year ago the county commissioners made the decision to abdicate that responsibility and force cities and towns to take over the maintenance.

Any tax increase is unpalatable, but this compromise solution is more cost-effective than having the city maintain bridges and duplicate county resources. The city would be able to keep about 35 percent of the new revenue generated from the increase for use on road projects through 2017.

High school reinvention

Parents and community members are invited to attend a meeting Tuesday to hear more about Fort Wayne Community Schools’ effort to redesign its high school curriculum.

The district is implementing changes at each of the six high schools to make courses more rigorous, to encourage participation in Advanced Placement and college-credit classes and to ensure students have necessary skills, including critical thinking, digital literacy and effective communication.

In addition, specialized programs will be created at each of the schools, beginning this fall with the start of a New Tech High School curriculum for about 100 ninth-graders at Wayne High School.

P.L. 221 placements

On the heels of Adequate Yearly Progress reports for schools comes the state’s version of accountability requirements. Public Law 221 places schools in one of five categories based on performance and improvement on the ISTEP+ test, from “exemplary progress” to “academic probation.”

The State Board of Education meets Wednesday morning to adopt the placements, which are likely to elicit more criticism from the state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Bennett.