Legislative Alert HB 1326/ House GOP Passes Budget/ Text of Governor Corbett's Speech at AFC/ Language of School Choice

HB 1326 Which Would Remove All Act 1 Exceptions on House Calendar Today – Please Contact your House Member this Morning

The House of Representatives has placed on the voting calendar HB 1326, legislation that will eliminate all 10 Act 1 exceptions, including those exceptions for special education expenditures and for fulfilling pension obligations.  Please take a moment to call or email your House member this morning to ask him or her to oppose this bill in its current form and to support any amendments that would restore any exceptions. 

http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/act1-tax-reform/act1-eliminating_exceptions-rebuttal.asp

 

Pennsylvania House GOP passes budget over Democrats' objections

Published: Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 10:44 PM

By The Associated Press 

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Majority Republicans in the Pennsylvania House sent their state budget proposal to the Senate on Tuesday over the loud objections of Democrats during a marathon floor debate. 

The chamber voted 109-92 to approve a $27.3 billion spending plan and move the process closer to negotiations among legislative leaders and Gov. Tom Corbett in the weeks ahead. 

At least 74 members spoke on the bill, which Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, said might constitute a record. All Democrats, and two Philadelphia Republicans, voted against it.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/pennsylvania_house_gop_passes.html

Gov. Corbett: Poor need education escape route

Patriot News, Published: Sunday, May 22, 2011, 8:00 AM

The following is the speech Gov. Tom Corbett gave to the American Federation for Children May 9 in Washington, D.C

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/05/gov_corbett_poor_need_educatio.html

The Language of School Choice: "A school with boarded up windows and broken glass is the single most frightening visual of a school in trouble."

At the same American Federation for Children school choice conference where Governor Corbett gave the above noted speech, Dr. Frank Luntz, a pollster and political consultant specializing in testing public attitudes to key words lectured the audience on how to better communicate the goals of the school choice movement.  

He cautioned that roughly half of  Republicans believe access to good schools is a privilege, not a right, explaining that more work needs to be done convincing the right than the left.

Luntz released a collection of his findings in 2010, outlining his nine communication commandments that make the best use of the most impacting words that the public finds most compelling. Commandment number seven reads, in part: "Play the America card–often. Embrace 'American Exceptionalism' and encourage people to embrace the principle of exceptionalism in schools." Number three says: "While positive imagery and arguments are comforting and popular, it's the negative ideas and fear of failure that move people to action." That sentiment is paired with the efficacy of negative images: "A school with boarded up windows and broken glass is the single most frightening visual of a school in trouble."

Here's a link to the materials for his presentation, "The Language of School Choice"

http://schoolchoiceweek.com/Resources/luntz-video