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Friday, February 3, 2012
Delco Times Heron’s Nest
Blog by Phil Heron, Editor
Gov. Tom Corbett was out
at Punxsutawney
yesterday for the Groundhog Day festivities.
As we now know, ol’ Phil
saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
There’s a lot of people
in education in this state who believe Corbett also saw his shadow, and that
portends another brutal education budget.
Corbett will deliver his
budget address on Tuesday. You can almost hear the wailing and gnashing of
teeth among school board members across the county.
We will have a special
report on Sunday as educators brace themselves for what could be another brutal
budget season.
School districts brace for Corbett's
education budget
Superintendents have been banking on flat funding, but
the state deficit has them concerned.
By Steve
Esack and John L. Micek, Of The Morning Call
10:27 p.m. EST, February 2, 2012
When Gov. Tom Corbett delivers
his second budget to state lawmakers Tuesday, Lehigh Valley
school officials will be looking beyond his speech to the fine print of his
spending plan.
That's because they're still smarting over his first budget,
which seemed like good news at first and then got progressively worse as educators
learned more about it. Public schools took a $1.1 billion hit.
State's schools nervous
Trib Live By Chris Buckley,
VALLEY INDEPENDENT, Thursday, February 2, 2012
With class sizes growing
and costs mounting, Pennsylvania 's public
school officials are nervous that Harrisburg
will slash spending for public education again this year.
Just a year after
districts scrambled to make ends meet in the face of major cuts in general
subsidies, school officials anxiously are awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett's planned
budget unveiling Tuesday.
Read
more: State's schools
nervous - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/s_779584.html#ixzz1lJjbSzRR
Pa.
education secretary to hear concerns of Chester Upland officials, parents,
students
By Dan Hardy, Inquirer
Staff Writer Posted: Fri, Feb. 3, 2012 , 3:01
AM
At the urging of a
federal judge, Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ron Tomalis will meet with Chester Upland School District
stakeholders to determine how to keep the schools open until June.
Rebuilding
after the education storm
Anthony Hardy Williams is a state senator representing Philadelphia and Delaware County .
When it comes to K-12
education in Philadelphia ,
I've long felt like an ignored weatherman. I have warned about the storm about
to slam into us and the need for action to blunt its force. Now that storm is
here. The twin twisters of the
astounding deficit facing the School
District of Philadelphia
and the upheaval under way at archdiocesan schools are proof that we are indeed
in the midst of climatic change when it comes to how we educate children in
this city. Yet this disruptive change need not scar us, or scare us.
Instead, it could prove
to be the catalyst we need to start building the educational systems necessary
if our children are to survive and thrive. That is, if we are brave enough, and
honest enough, to embrace innovative solutions
Charter
Schools: Follow the Money
American School Board
Journal, February 2012, Stories by Del Stover
Two decades ago, not a
single penny of taxpayer money was spent on charter schools. This year, public
funding for charters will run into the billions of dollars. That’s a lot of
money to invest in an education policy with still-unclear consequences for America ’s
public school system.
So, 20 years after the
first charter school -- City Academy -- opened in St. Paul , Minn. ,
it’s really quite astonishing to look at the momentum of the charter movement.
In recent years, the number of charters nationwide has climbed by 400 to 500
annually; today, approximately 5,300 of these schools of choice serve more than
2 million students. An obvious question presents itself: What accounts for this
growth?
Part of the answer is
money. Private money.
Ellen DeGeneres: Public
education’s new funding stream
Ellen
DeGeneres just hosted
on her television show a teacher from a Pennsylvania public school district
that ran out of money — prompting unionized teachers to vote to work without
pay — and handed her a $100,000 check for her school.
Twenty-two percent
of American children live in poverty, and the emphasis of modern school reform ignores this fact. As long as this is the case, there
aren’t enough $100,000 checks from famous people to go around.
February
9th: Rally in support of public education 7:00 pm Downingtown East HS
Senator Andy Dinniman, February 1, 2012
Public
education has come under increasing attack in Harrisburg
and it is time for the citizens of Chester and Montgomery (and
Bucks, Berks, Lehigh and Delaware )
counties to stand up and protect our schools both here and
throughout Pennsylvania .
We are asking all those
who value public education to come together for a meeting on Thursday, February 9, 2012 ,
at 7 pm at Downingtown East High School,
50 Devon Drive
(just off Route 113) in Exton.
http://www.senatordinniman.com/enews/12_1_31_Education.htm
February 14th
Valentine’s Day Harrisburg
12:00 pm rally in support
of public education
Dear Gov. Corbett, Fall Back In Love
With Education.
Uploaded by PhillyStudentUnion on Jan 31, 2012
February 14th Valentine's
Day Rally at the Harrisburg
Capitol
Rally at 12pm in the
Harrisburg
Capitol Rotunda
1:36 YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gybrEHCMxQk&feature=youtu.be
More info, registration, sponsor bus seats for students at: http://showloveforeducation.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount
More info: www.phillystudentunion.org
February 16: EPLC Philadelphia
Budget Panel Breakfast 8:00 am
(note: there will be additional EPLC budget
events throughout the state; details as they become available)
Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel - 201 North 17th Street
Subject: Governor Corbett's Proposed Education
Budget for 2012-2013
RSVP Required: http://www.eplc.org/events-calendar/southeastern-pennsylvania-breakfast-series/
February 29th: at 6PM in the South Fayette High School Theater
Statewide
kickoff meeting of PSEA's Partners for Public Education (PPE) Program
PPE is all about connecting
parents, community leaders, elected officials, and teachers together for one
goal - the support of public education. State
Senator Wayne Fontana, State Representative Jesse White, PSEA President Mike
Crossey, along with
members of the SFEA Representative Council, SF School Board, SF Administration,
and SF Student Government will stand together to recruit parents and other
interested parties add their voices to the chorus of those who care about
public education.
http://partnersforpubliced.org/
March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the
April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the
direction of education policy in Pennsylvania
The
last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012. Make sure that you, your family and friends
are all registered to vote in the April 24th Pennsylvania
Primary. Forward this reminder to any
and all public education stakeholders.
PA House Democratic
Caucus Website
UPDATED DAILY –
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUDGETS
As districts consider their preliminary budgets and we await the
Governor’s February 7th budget
announcement, the PA House Democratic Caucus has begun daily tracking of press
coverage on school district budgets statewide:
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