Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1900
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent
advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of the press and a
broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education
advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
The Keystone State Education Coalition is
pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public
Education. Are you a
member?
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
PSBA Region 15 Members (Delaware and Chester
Counties ) May 30
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive Director for the Pennsylvania School
Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will present on the topic of
pension reform.
Corbett's education secretary Tomalis
said to be leaving
Corbett's education secretary Tomalis
said to be leaving
ANGELA
COULOUMBIS AND AMY WORDEN, INQUIRER
HARRISBURG
BUREAU
POSTED: Saturday,
May 11, 2013 ,
3:01 AM
Another member of Gov.
Corbett's cabinet is on his way out.
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis
is looking for another job and does not intend to stay past summer as Corbett's
education czar, two senior administration officials have told The Inquirer on
condition of anonymity. An official
timetable has yet to be set for his exit, but the sources said Tomalis would
likely stay in his $149,804 job until after the July 1 deadline for getting a
state budget passed and signed into law.
Officials discuss benefits of early
learning programs
Delco Times Published:
Thursday, May 09,
2013
SHARON HILL — Local
legislators, school officials and law enforcement officers discussed the
benefits of quality early learning programs for children during a roundtable
discussion Thursday morning. The
officials discussed how Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2013-14 state budget proposal
includes a 5 percent increase for the Pre-K Counts and state-funded Head Start
programs; a $7.1 million increase to reduce Pennsylvania’s child care waiting
list; and a $3 million increase to the Rising STARS initiative within the
Keystone STARS child care quality improvement program. The Rising STARS
initiative was developed to promote greater access for at-risk children to
higher quality child care.
Corbett rolls a rock uphill
Daily
News by John Baer POSTED: May 09, 2013
GOV. CORBETT, with his
leadership in question and his job approval in the tank, promises basic
societal collapse if he doesn't get his way on pensions.
He argues that unless the
Legislature, which helped create the problem, slashes costs for state workers,
lawmakers and teachers, well, things could get real ugly.
The picture he painted at a
Capitol news conference yesterday?
Painful cuts in police and
public safety, health and human services and, of course, education, where, he
said, school districts could "be forced to raise taxes and lay off
teachers."
I don't know, to me it sounds
like any day in Philadelphia .
Radnor taxpayers may see reduction in
school taxes
Published: Thursday, May 09, 2013
Delco
Times By Linda Stein lstein@mainlinemedianews.com
RADNOR - Although the Radnor
Township School Board adopted its $82.9 million 2013-2014 preliminary budget
calling for no new tax increases just two weeks ago, recent numbers have
members of the finance committee talking about lowering taxes. The committee agreed to offer the full board
two versions of the budget at the board’s May 28 meeting when it is slated to
adopt the final budget. District
business manager Timothy Vail said that the district realized $99,279 in
anticipated increased real estate tax revenues because of new residential
construction. Also, because the district had joined a health care consortium,
it will be able to save $203,000 on employee health costs.
Published: Thursday, May 09, 2013
Ambler
Gazette By Linda Finarelli lfinarelli@montgomerynews.com
One of four Upper
Dublin teachers furloughed for next year may get to return next
fall after all. A proposed final 2013-14
budget reviewed at a board work session May 6 reflected cost reductions for
nine of the 10 full-time instructors the
board voted to furlough or terminate April 22, according to Business
Administrator Brenda Bray. Those
furloughed, who had tenure, are placed on a call-back list, while the other
six, who did not have tenure, are not. Who might get called back would be
determined by seniority and certifications in terms of the position that might
be reinstated, administrators said.
Easton school board hints at budget deal,
job cuts
Board members choosing between three scenarios; each requires at least
29 layoffs.
By JD Malone, Of The Morning
Call 9:45 p.m. EDT, May 9, 2013
It's a bit like an episode of
"Let's Make a Deal," but the three doors don't hide prizes, just
regrets.
The Easton Area School District
Board of Education chattered Tuesday night about its pregnant 2013-14 budget –
a budget with expenditures and expenses, but no tax hike or cost cuts set to
balance the two
Boys,
girls and fairness: The court can fix a rule that hurts female athletes
Boys will be boys and girls
will be girls. But when girls and boys come out to play, it's the adults who
make matters complicated. Commonwealth
Court has a chance to correct a long-ago decision
that contributed to an unusual problem.
By Mary
Niederberger / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette May
11, 2013 12:10 am
The Clairton High School
robotics team put in countless hours to design the fighting robots that were
crowned the grand champions of the Southwestern Pennsylvania BotsIQ Regional
Competition last month at California University of Pennsylvania. Since then, the team has been hard at work
again, but this time on two tasks: the first, repairing and upgrading their
robots; the second, raising enough money to attend the national robotics
competition in Indianapolis
next weekend.
While other schools districts
may be able to cover the cost of sending their high school teams to the
competition, Clairton, one of the region's smallest districts with about 780
students, and one of its poorest, cannot afford to pay the $4,000 minimum cost
for the five students, the teacher sponsor and a chaperone to travel to
Indianapolis for the competition. Ideally, the students are hoping to raise an
additional $1,000 to purchase spare parts for their fighting robots, which like
race cars, require replacement parts to be used during competitions.
Bill Gates’s $5 billion plan to videotape America ’s
teachers
If, say, Dennis van Roekel or
Randi Weingarten, the presidents of the nation’s two national teachers
unions, proposed spending as much as $5 billion to videotape every teacher in
the United States so their performance could be judged by strangers as part of
their evaluation, you can bet that they would be called nutty spendthrifts. By
everyone.
“78% of Insiders still believe
that ESEA will not be reauthorized until 2015”
Whiteboard
Advisors News May
10, 2013
Summary: U.S. House Education and Workforce
Hearing on ESEA Reauthorization
This week, the House held a
hearing to discuss ESEA and reauthorization. A few key takeaways: During the
hearing, Committee Chairman John Kline noted that the Committee hopes to see a
bill on the floor by July. While we may see a bill this summer, in our forthcoming
Education Insider survey, 78% of Insiders still believe that ESEA will not be
reauthorized until 2015. Many Insiders believe this bill will look similar to
the ones Chairman Kline passed last year, and that the Committee will remain
split down party lines on any new legislation. Check out our full summary here.
House Informational
briefing on the Common Core Standards from PA Dept. of Education Secretary
Ron Tomalis.
Tuesday,
May 14, 2013
9:00 AM Room
G50 Irvis Office Bldg.
Senate Public
hearing on Common Core
Wednesday, May 15, 1:00 PM , Hearing Room 1 North Office
Bldg
PSBA
Region 15 Members (Delaware and Chester Counties )
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive Director for the
Pennsylvania School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will present on the topic of pension reform.
Penns
Grant Region 15 -- Thursday,
May 30 ; 5 p.m. Region 15 meeting; 6
p.m. dinner; 7 p.m. Legislative meeting; Garnet Valley HS, 552 Smithbridge
Rd., Glen Mills, 19342; registration is required
Directions:http://goo.gl/maps/fDkh0
Superintendents, Business Managers, School
Board Members, Union Leaders, Any Others interested in PSERS and wanting to
learn more about Pension Reform . . .
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Registration:
6:30 p.m. Presentation: 7:00 p.m.
Allegheny Intermediate Unit 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead , PA 15120 McGuffey/Sullivan Rooms
Jeffery B. Clay, Executive
Director for the Pennsylvania Schools Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)
will present on the topic of pension reform. Mr. Clay’s presentation will
review the increases in retirement contributions and the Governor’s proposal on
pension reform. As one concerned about public education, we are sure that
you will find this meeting enlightening and a valuable investment of your time.
In order to accommodate those
attending and prepare the necessary materials for the meeting, please
register using the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6252177431 by May 7, 2013 .
If you have any questions
regarding the registration process, please contact Janet Galaski at 412.394.5753 or janet.galaski@aiu3.net.
Panel: Striking Back on High Stakes Testing
hosted by Rethinking Schools
Panel Discussion Hosted by
Rethinking Schools
Arch Street United Methodist Church , 55 North Broad Street , Philadelphia
Wednesday, May
15, 2013 4:30pm until 6:00pm
Join CUNY Professor Michelle
Fine and Rethinking
Schools editors Stan Karp
and Helen Gym for a conversation on fighting back against the testing
industry's dismantling of public education. Suggested donation $10, or $20 for
panel plus your copy of Rethinking Schools' newest book: "Pencils Down:
High-stakes testing and accountability in public schools."
Space limited! RSVP: parentsunitedphila@gmail.com
Info and directions: https://www.facebook.com/events/459048834184078/
Looking for PA Governor's School for the
Arts Alumni
For over 35 years, the
Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts was a robust summer program that
provided over 10,000 students state-wide with extraordinary opportunities to
develop their artistic talents, intellects, self-confidence, and leadership.
Unfortunately, for budget reasons, state officials ended the program a few
years ago. The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC)'s 2012 Arts and
Education Policy Report recommended the school be reestablished and the
Pennsylvania Arts Education Network is now urging that the Governor's School
for the Arts be restored.
To support this effort, we
would like to create a comprehensive list of alumni who attended the School.
This list would be an important voice in supporting the reopening of the
Governor's School for the Arts, and arts education in Pennsylvania , generally.
If you, or someone you know attended the Pennsylvania 's Governor's School for the
Arts, please complete this form and share with others. This
list will be used internally, and will not be made public. For more information about the Pennsylvania
Arts Education Network and for news about the reestablishment of the
Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, please visit ArtsEducationPA.org.
PSBA Bylaws amendment proposals due May 15
PSBA
website 2/15/2013
As stated in Article XII,
proposals for amending the PSBA Bylaws must be submitted "in writing,
mailed first class and postmarked or marked received at PSBA headquarters prior
to May 15 of each year." Proposals
should be addressed to the Bylaws Committee Chair or the Executive Director and
sent to PSBA headquarters by the May 15, 2013, deadline.
The procedures for submitting
proposed bylaws changes are outlined in Article XII and can be found online atwww.psba.org/about/psba/2013_psba_bylaws.pdf.
Search underway for PSBA Executive Director
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA)
is a nonprofit statewide association of public school boards, pledged to the
highest ideals of local lay leadership for the public schools of the
commonwealth. Founded in 1895, PSBA has a rich history as the first
school boards' association established in the United States . Pennsylvania 's 4,500 school directors become
members by virtue of election to their local board -- the board joins as a
whole. Membership in PSBA is by school district or other eligible local
education agency such as intermediate unit, vocational school or community
college……..
Search
by Diversified Search, 1990 M St NW, Suite 570 , Washington , DC .
Questions may be directed to PSBA@divsearch.com. Interested
parties should email their resume and cover letter to PSBA@divsearch.com.
Please apply by June 1, 2013 for
best consideration.
Sign Up
Today for PILCOP Special Ed CLE Trainings
Spots are filling up for the
final two trainings in our 2012-2013 Know Your Child’s Rights series with
seminars on ADAAA, Pro Se Parents and Settlement Agreements.
For seminar details and
registration: http://pilcop.org/sign-up-today-for-special-ed-cle-trainings/
Turning the Page for Change
celebration, June
11, 2013
Please join us for the Notebook’s annual Turning the Page for
Change celebration on June 11, 2013 , from 4:30 - 7 p.m. at the University of The Arts , Hamilton Hall, 320 S. Broad Street .
We will be honoring a member of the Notebook community for years of
service to our mission as well as honoring several local high school
journalists. Help us celebrate another year of achievement that included two
awards from the Education Writers Association and coverage of other critical
stories like the budget crisis and the school closing process.
PA Charter Schools: $4 billion taxpayer dollars with no real
oversight Keystone State Education Coalition
(updated May 2,
2013 )
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny; Proposed
statewide authorization and direct payment would further diminish
accountability and oversight for public tax dollars
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