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Friday, May 6, 2011

PTOs from 12 Chester County Districts ask legislators tough budget questions



PTOs from 12 Chester County Districts ask legislators the tough questions
Chester County Daily Local, Published: Friday, May 06, 2011
By SARA MOSQUEDA-FERNANDEZ Staff Writer

WEST GOSHEN - Eight legislative officials discussed and answered questions posed by the community of the 12 Chester County school districts.  Held in the auditorium of West Chester East High School, the event began with a representative from each PTO group making a brief statement regarding how the state budget has already affected districts, students, and taxpayers as school boards must approve their own budgets before the state budget's deadline.

"Parents from each district express the concern that these proposed budget cuts will force their districts to possibly remove key elements in the educational system of their respective districts. And for me it became very clear, sitting and listening, that in effect what these proposed budget cuts may do is begin the process of dismantling the entire public education system in the state of Pennsylvania."

http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/05/06/news/srv0000011649000.txt

 

PSBA Call to Action: Act 1 Exception Bill Expected to Move Next Tuesday
The House Finance Committee is scheduled to meet next Tuesday, May 10, to consider HB 1326.  Please call or email your House members now, particularly if they are on the House Finance Committee, and urge them to oppose HB 1326 and retain the Act 1 exceptions. 
Explain why these exceptions are essential to your school district, why you have applied for them in the past, how you have used them, and the consequences of eliminating these exceptions.  Be sure to take a look at our summary of the Act 1 exceptions and include information from our talking points on the elimination of the Act 1 exceptions in your discussions with your Representatives. 
Kathy Swope, board president, and Dr. Mark DiRocco, superintendent, of the Lewisburg Area School District provided testimony on HB 1326 last week.  Read the complete text of Kathy Swope's testimony and Dr. DiRocco's testimony.

Posted on Wed, May. 4, 2011
Norristown, Pottsgrove teachers agree to freeze wages
By Dan Hardy, Inquirer Staff Writer
Teachers in Montgomery County's Norristown and Pottsgrove School Districts have agreed to wage freezes for next school year, joining two other area districts.

The Foundation for Educational Choice is the leading national pro-voucher advocacy group; their Executive Director was invited to speak at the Senate Education Committee's October 2010 hearing on school choice in PA.  BTW, our own Senator Piccola is listed on their speakers bureau:

http://www.edchoice.org/Foundation-Services/Speakers/Jeffrey-E--Piccola.aspx

 

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Signs Historic Voucher Bill into Law

Thursday, May 05, 2011 The Foundation for Educational Choice

Milton and Rose Friedman's vision of school choice for all takes one step closer to reality

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The Foundation for Educational Choice today praised Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels for signing the nation's largest voucher program into law. The School Scholarship Act (House Bill 1003) creates a school voucher program that has the broadest eligibility of any voucher program in the nation.
http://www.edchoice.org/Newsroom/News/Indiana-Gov--Mitch-Daniels-Signs-Historic-Voucher-Bill-into-Law.aspx

The changes to SB1 negotiated with the governor's office make more children eligible in the 2015-16 school year by increasing income limits to 350 percent of the federal poverty level ($78,225 for a family of four). The bill previously had an income limit of 300 percent of the poverty level ($67,050 for a family of four).  Vouchers would be available to any student already attending private or parochial school whose family fits the income limit, regardless of whether they have ever attended a public school and even if they live in the best performing school districts in the state.

Pennsylvania's Voucher Bill Would Hit Middle Class in 2015

EDUCTION NEWS MAY 2, 2011 9:31 AM
The bill under Governor Tom Corbett would see vouchers expanded to the middle class in the 2015-16 school year -- if passed by the legislature.
The proposed Pennsylvania voucher bill, which is the result of vigorous negotiations between state legislators and Governor Tom Corbett, is slated to expand voucher eligibility to middle-income students when it finishes its roll-out in 2015-16, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. 


Concerned about the Education Budget? Let Governor Corbett Know
Governor Tom Corbett Phone: 717-787-2500, Fax: 717-772-8284, Email: governor@state.pa.us





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