Continued Opinions and Reaction to Passage of Voucher
Bill SB1 in the PA Senate 10/28/11
Karen Heller at the Inquirer, Senate Minority
Leader Jay Costa’s Floor Speech video, PSBA Executive Director Tom Gentzel in
the Patriot News, Students First PAC Executive Director Dawn Chavous in the
Patriot News, Patti Mengers in the Delco Times, Urban school principal Frank
Murphy in City School Stories Blog, Westmont-Hilltop School Board member
Phyllis Forman in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, Jan Murphy at Patriot News, Joy Pullman of the Heartland Institute at TribLive.com
Posted on Sun, Oct. 30, 2011
Karen Heller:
Vouchers are not for the kids
By Karen Heller, Inquirer Columnist
The state Senate passed SB 1 last week, the
voucher bill that appears to serve our poorest children attending
Pennsylvania's worst public schools, the majority in Philadelphia, the very
institutions whose funding the GOP-controlled legislature sliced and diced
earlier this year.
But appearances can run contrary to the
truth.
"This has nothing to do with helping the
poor children of Philadelphia
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/karen_heller/20111030_Karen_Heller__Vouchers_are_not_for_the_kids.html
“Since 2003,
PA is the only state in the country, for 9 years in a row, to consistently
improve achievement scores…nearly 80% achieving in reading and math….we have
considerably narrowed the learning gap…the number of students in the lowest
percentile has been considerably reduced…”
PA Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa’s response to
Senator Dinniman’s “Titanic” floor speech on SB1
During floor discussion prior to vote on SB1;
Video runtime 3:40
http://www.senatorcosta.com/October26-2011release.htm
Why do Pa.
Published:
Friday, October
28, 2011 , 5:00 AM
Patriot News OP-ED By Thomas J.
Gentzel
With the narrow passage this week of Senate Bill 1 by the Pennsylvania Senate, taxpayers in the commonwealth have been given a trick not a treat when it comes to potentially higher taxes in the future.
With the narrow passage this week of Senate Bill 1 by the Pennsylvania Senate, taxpayers in the commonwealth have been given a trick not a treat when it comes to potentially higher taxes in the future.
After actual
statewide test results in Wisconsin this year showed that voucher students in
Milwaukee (the nation’s longest running voucher program) were performing no
better than students in traditional public schools, voucher advocacy groups
began to tune their soundbites, switching from “helping poor students in
failing schools” to “helping poor students escape violent schools”.
The
“solution” proposed by voucher evangelists like the Students First PAC, The
American Federation for Children, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Reach
Foundation and the PA Catholic Conference is to give 5 or 10 percent of the
kids a ticket out and leave the “violent, failing school” with several hundred
thousand dollars less in funding for things like safety officers, counselors,
nurses and social workers – leaving the 90% or more of the kids at the school considerably
less safe. If the concern is actually
about safety it is a strange way of showing it.
Just my humble opinion…..LAF
School vouchers: For
some, it's a concern about safety
Published:
Saturday, October
29, 2011 , 10:46 AM
3 of 4 Delco
senators backs school voucher bill; passes first test
By PATTI MENGERS, pmengers@delcotimes.com
Three out of four Delaware County
School Vouchers: Funding Private Interests with
Public Funds
Some time
ago I wrote a post for the Notebook titled, “If I Were a Rich
Man”. My intention in writing this article was simple. I wanted
to point out how a few wealthy individuals were using their personal fortunes
in an attempt to influence the future of public education in our state.
These Bala Cynwyd businessmen had
contributed millions
of dollars to the failed gubernatorial campaign of State Senator
Anthony Williams. They are ardent advocates for the use of school vouchers.
http://cityschoolstories.com/2011/10/27/school-vouchers-funding-private-interests-with-public-funds/
See this related KSEC posting also: http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/10/sb1-senate-education-committee-roll.html
And this one from the Inky June 2010:
OP/ED: Voucher plan means more fingers in wallet
This
past Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 1 and sent it on to
the House. If passed, SB1 may have a significant impact on you as a taxpayer
and parent.
http://tribune-democrat.com/editorials/x717137967/Phyllis-Forman-Voucher-plan-means-more-fingers-in-wallet
School vouchers Q&A: Pennsylvania
Published: Sunday,
Published: Sunday, October 30, 2011 ,
11:04 AM
While the way the
voucher program is structured in Senate Bill 1 could change as it makes its way
through the legislative process, The Patriot-News wanted to give readers a
better understanding of how its architects, Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin
County, and Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, envision their voucher
program would work.
Voucher critics are misleading the public
Opinion at TribLive.com By Joy
Pullmann. Sunday, October
30, 2011
Joy
Pullmann is a research fellow in education and managing editor of School Reform
News at The Heartland Institute (heartland.org).
The usual suspects have again begun loudly denouncing Gov. Tom Corbett's push for a second chance at passing education vouchers for poor students inPennsylvania
The usual suspects have again begun loudly denouncing Gov. Tom Corbett's push for a second chance at passing education vouchers for poor students in
Read more: Voucher
critics are misleading the public - Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviewhttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/guests/s_764389.html#ixzz1cLwwocvZ
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