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
EITC:
up to $150 million LESS tax revenue available to fund constitutionally mandated
public education
Delay the
cut in the capital stock and franchise tax
We urge the legislature to delay
planned tax cuts rather than making additional budget cuts to schools, health
care, and human services.
Help spread the message of the Pennsylvania School
Funding Campaign for the 2013-2014 State Budget
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/03/help-spread-message-of-pennsylvania.html
“Diminished state aid for
education and human services over the years has steadily shifted costs to
school districts and municipalities, overburdening local taxpayers”
Parkland school director to advocate for
more education spending in Harrisburg
By Precious
Petty | The Express-Times on June 01, 2013 at 5:00 AM
A Parkland
School Board member is slated to be among at least nine officials
who'll urge Gov. Tom
Corbett and state legislators next week to put education and human
services above corporate interests. Roberta
Marcus, a Parkland school director and co-chair of the Keystone State
Education Coalition, will join officials from across Pennsylvania
in Harrisburg
Better Choices for PA Press
Conference--Local Government Officials Raise Concern About Tax Cuts
Tuesday, June 4th at 1pm;
Main Rotunda, State Capitol, Harrisburg PA
On
Tuesday, June 4th, local government officials from across the state will gather
inHarrisburg to make the case against new business tax cuts that are
scheduled to take effect this year. Citing the need to restore funding to
local schools and county human services, officials will argue that Pennsylvania
Please
RSVP to atkins@pennbpc.org.
Early Childhood Education Caucus to discuss
state budget at June 4 news conference
Rep.
Phyllis Mundy’s website May 30
The
Early Childhood Education Caucus will hold a news conference at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, June 4, at the Capitol Media Center
- State Rep. Phyllis Mundy,
D-Luzerne, and state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh/Northampton/Monroe,
co-chairmen of the caucus;
- Lloyd Lamm, regional banking
executive for the capital region of First National Bank of
- Cumberland County District
Attorney David Freed;
- Retired Army Brigadier Gen.
Jerry G. Beck who will represent Mission Readiness; and
- Members of the caucus.
The
125-member Early Childhood Education Caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral alliance
of legislators who advocate for the continued funding and development of
high-quality early childhood care and education programs in Pennsylvania
The
caucus has worked together on many issues with the Pennsylvania Early Learning
Investment Commission, whose co-chairman is Peter Danchak of
northeasternPennsylvania.
PA House Education Committee Voting Meeting
on HB 618
Monday
June 3, 11 :00
am Room G50 Irvis
Office Building
Representative
Emrick; Cyber Charter Pension Double Dip
Schwank Hears Pros, Cons of Bill Affecting Cyber Charter
School
Senator
Schwank’s website on MAY 30, 2013
FREDERICKSBURG,
May 30, 2013 –
State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) and the Senate Education Committee today
listened to school district and charter school officials about legislation
affecting cyber charter school funding. Schwank’s
Senate Bill 335 would exempt school districts from paying cyber charter schools
if that district offers a cyber program similar to the one offered by the
non-district cyber charter school.
“My
goal is to alleviate the pressure school districts are experiencing in using
limited fiscal resources to pay outside providers of cyber education. If a
school district can offer a comparable or better cyber schooling option, then
it shouldn’t have to pay for both options,” Schwank said while emphasizing she
is not an opponent of charter schools. Schwank
– who earlier this year was appointed to a new Special Education Funding
Commission to recommend a new funding formula to more effectively pay for
special education throughout the commonwealth – said districts would only be
exempt from paying the cyber charter funds if that district had a comparable program
within its borders.
http://www.senatorschwank.com/schwank-hears-pros-cons-of-bill-affecting-cyber-charter-school-funding
Senate Education Committee Hearing Held in North Lebanon
21 Century Cyber Charter
School May
31, 2013
On
Thursday, May 30, the Senate
Education Committee held a hearing at North Lebanon
High School
The
hearing discussed Senate Bill 335, which was recently drafted by Senator Schwank of
the 11th District. Among other things, the most considerable
piece of this legislation will allow school districts to retain 100% of student
funds should that school district offer an in-house cyber program. This
eliminates the concept of school choice for parents and their children, so long
as a home school district develops and offers its own cyber program.
The
hearings gave voice to several groups, offering opinions and perspectives from
opposing sides of this argument.
"The biggest problem is that no one
owns the schools" - not Harrisburg , not City
Philly: Budget will turn schools into empty warehouses for kids
Philly: Budget will turn schools into empty warehouses for kids
The
proposed school budget won't educate our kids. It will warehouse them.
This isn't school
RONNIE
POLANECZKY, DAILY NEWS COLUMNIST
POSTED: Saturday,
June 1, 2013 ,
10:14 AM
USED
TO be, when young urban parents asked me if they should send their kids to Philadelphia
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130602_This_Isn_t_School.html#OhFQQJva4JXxbcqJ.99
It
isn’t called a “doomsday” budget for nothing: Philadelphia
“Instead of yelling at Bill Hite, folks, why don't you hop on the
Turnpike and go confront the main source of the problem? It's a building with a
dome on it, and it ain't on Broad
Street
In Philly schools drama, many boo the wrong
'villains'
WHYY
Newsworks By Chris Satullo June 3, 2013
I'm
not sure how much of this I can take.
It's
so painful to see so much well-meaning energy so misdirected through naivete
and misconception. I speak, of course,
again and ever more sadly, of the Philadelphia
The
School Reform Commission last week took a preliminary vote in favor of what has
become known as its doomsday budget. Staring at a $300 million budget gap for
next year, the commission approved a tentative budget that takes a meat cleaver
to classrooms, cutting 3,000 jobs, including classroom aides, assistant
principals and a lot more.
State OKs Harrisburg School District
By Emily Previti |
epreviti@pennlive.com on May 31, 2013 at 2:56 PM
Pennsylvania’s EITC and EITC 2.0 programs divert up to $150 million in tax
dollars that would be contributed to the state’s general fund (and available to
fund constitutionally-mandated public education as part of the budget process)
to private and religious schools with virtually no accountability for how those
diverted tax dollars are spent or how the students in the program are
performing academically.
Keep that $150 million in mind for context as this year’s budget process
proceeds; special ed funding has been flat for six years, Philly is looking at
“warehousing” students; the accountability block grant program is $171 million
less than it was pre-ARRA stimulus, $65 million in tutoring budget line no longer
exists, $226 million in charter school reimbursement to school districts no
longer exists….
Private schools hope Pa.
By
Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh June
3, 2013 12:02 am
After
a slow start, money is starting to come in to a tax-credit scholarship program
aimed at providing scholarships for students who live within the attendance
areas of the state's lowest-performing schools to transfer to other higher
performing schools. Ronald Bowes,
assistant superintendent for policy and development for the Catholic Diocese of
Pittsburgh, said the diocese has raised about $500,000 for scholarships through
the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program and hopes to double that number
by July 1, after which it will determine the number and amounts of scholarships
it will be able to award for the 2013-14 school year.
Here’s a background piece from last year when the original EITC program
was increased by $25 million (to $100 million) and the new EITC 2.0 program was
created ($50 million).
Posted: Mon, Jul. 2, 2012, 3:01 AM
By Dan
Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer July 2, 2012
Gov.
Corbett, who has pushed hard for a school-voucher program, achieved much of
that goal Saturday night through the expansion of a corporate tax credit that
for the first time will pay for public school students to attend private
schools. As part of the budget deal
concluded just before midnight, the legislature broadened the Educational
Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC), adding $50 million in tax breaks to
businesses that donate money for scholarships to students in the state's
lowest-performing schools.
Pension reform? What pension reform?:
Friday Morning Coffee
By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
onMay 31, 2013
at 7:46 AM ,
updated May 31, 2013 at 8:16 AM
on
Good
Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
If you've been paying even scant attention to state government these last few months, then you'll no doubt know that lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett were supposed to have been working on a Holy Trinity issues in the run-up to the June 30 budget deadline.
If you've been paying even scant attention to state government these last few months, then you'll no doubt know that lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett were supposed to have been working on a Holy Trinity issues in the run-up to the June 30 budget deadline.
But
just in case you've been trapped under something heavy and couldn't get to a
newspaper, or, like us, you've been transfixed
by that pretend mermaid show on Animal Planet, here's a quick refresher:
Corbett has sold the pension crisis, but
not his solution: analysis
By Robert J. Vickers
| rvickers@pennlive.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter onJune 02, 2013 at 7:06 AM
Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
There
have been plenty of instances where Gov. Tom Corbett has
gotten out ahead of an issue, only to find the matter didn't carry the weight
he anticipated. The first-term
Republican governor's efforts to change the way the state tallies its electoral
college votes, require voter ID, privatize the state lottery, and mandate
pre-abortion ultrasounds were largely seen as immaterial to the challenges
facing the commonwealth. But unlike
those ancillary distractions, Corbett has found his administration's cause
celebre that should be grabbing the attention of voters and state lawmakers.
Full-time flop: In June, the Legislature
punts on the big issues
The
$23.8 billion budget proposed by House Republicans last week was $110 million
short of the amount Gov. Tom Corbett put forward in the plan he unveiled in
February. That's not all that was missing.
The House blueprint does not incorporate three major initiatives under
discussion that come with big revenue impacts: the new transportation funding
package, the end of the government liquor monopoly and reform of the public
employee pension system. All three issues are before the Legislature and all
three have been crying out for resolution for years.
“Under the new system, 20 to 25 percent of
each teacher’s rating score would be determined by state-approved measures of
students’ growth, another 15 to 20 percent by measures established by the
schools, and 55 to 60 percent would be based on in-class observations or
performance assessed by video recording.”
By CHANNING
JOSEPH Published: June
1, 2013
The New York State
education commissioner broke a long and acrimonious impasse on Saturday by
imposing a new evaluation system that would rate New York City New
York City
“But many educators teach subjects for which
there are no widely used tests. In response, the city is developing assessments
in a range of subjects, including English as a second language, special
education and music. City officials are also working on assessments for
kindergarten, first grade and second grade, where exams are less common.”
NY Teacher Assessments Extending to Art and
Gym
New
York Times By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ Published:
June 2, 2013
The
Network for Public Education
Newsletter Volume 1, Issue #10 May 31`,
2012
Need to feel good about the Common Core and Keystone Exams?
What would it take for us to see similar events focusing on high quality
early childhood education and community
schools? Generous sponsors?
“The Pennsylvania Education Summit is
co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Business
Council Education Foundation, Pennsylvania Partnerships for
Children and Team Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Education Summit Pennsylvania
Agenda
and registration here: http://educsummit.eventbrite.com/
“What’s the least bad option going forward?
Who should bear the brunt of this legacy of fiscal irresponsibility? Current
retirees? Today’s teachers? New teachers? School districts? Taxpayers? The
students themselves?”
Live
or Webinar June 6, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. EDT
The
Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 1016
16th Street NW
America’s teacher-pension systems (with up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities according to some estimates) present a raging public-policy dilemma. Career teachers absolutely deserve a secure retirement, but lawmakers promised them benefits that the system cannot afford, as those promises were based on short-term political considerations and bad math. Now the bill is coming due, and someone’s going to get soaked.
America’s teacher-pension systems (with up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities according to some estimates) present a raging public-policy dilemma. Career teachers absolutely deserve a secure retirement, but lawmakers promised them benefits that the system cannot afford, as those promises were based on short-term political considerations and bad math. Now the bill is coming due, and someone’s going to get soaked.
Panelists:
- Sandi Jacobs, vice president
and managing director of state policy, National Council on Teacher Quality
- Josh B. McGee, vice president
of public accountability, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
- Charles Zogby, secretary of
the budget,
- Leo Casey, executive director,
Albert Shanker Institute
Moderator:
Chester
This event will be webcast.
Visit our website,www.edexcellence.net, at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday,
June 6, to watch the proceedings live.
Register
now to join the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the National Council on
Teacher Quality for a timely look at the teacher-pension crisis and various
state efforts to address it.
Info
and registration: http://www.edexcellence.net/events/no-way-out.html
EPLC Education Policy Fellowship Program –
Apply Now
Applications are
available now for the 2013-2014 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy
Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania
With more than 350
graduates in its first fourteen years, this Program is a premier professional
development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates,
and community leaders. State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are
available to certified public accountants.
Past participants
include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals, school
business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide
association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education
and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer
or another organization.
The Fellowship Program
begins with a two-day retreat on September 12-13, 2013 and
continues to graduation in June 2014.
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 320 S. Broad Street
Building One America 2013 National Summit July 18-19, 2013 Washington , DC
Brookings Institution to present
findings of their “Confronting Suburban Poverty” report
Building One America’s Second National Summit for
Inclusive Suburbs and Sustainable Regions will involve local leaders and
federal policy makers to seek bipartisan solutions to the unique but common
challenges around housing, schools and infrastructure facing America America
Information and registration: https://buildingoneamerica.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1
PA Charter Schools: $4 billion taxpayer dollars with no real
oversight Keystone State 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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