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directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers,
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House Budget Locks in 85 Percent of Education
Cuts.
Let your legislators and legislative leadership
know how that impacts your students, schools and taxpayers.
MEETING OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA COMMISSION
Thursday, June 13, 2013 10:00 AM Hearing Room 1, North Office
Bldg.
To consider Special Education Funding in PA
Send an email to Harrisburg
Education Voters PA
In the event that you have a few minutes to
spare, please consider contacting the legislative leadership listed below regarding
the education budget ; here’s part of their job description:
PA Constitution - Public School System Section 14.
“The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and
support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs
of the Commonwealth.”
PA Legislature Republican Leadership 2013
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi
717-787-4712
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake
Corman
717-787-1377
Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati
717-787-7084
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai
717-772-9943
House Appropriation Committee Chairman William
Adolph
717-787-1248
House Speaker Sam Smith
717-787-3845
Governor Tom Corbett
717-787-2500, Fax: 717-772-8284
Email: governor@state.pa.us
No Funding, no peace
Education
Voters PA Update and Action Steps (Philadelphia
June 12:
City Council did not move legislation that would enable Philadelphia Pennsylvania Philadelphia
No surprises here folks…..
Roll Call Vote on House Bill 1437 – Budget Bill
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 4:12 pm
“Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Allegheny County and the
ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said more funds can be
found for schools, colleges and human services programs by suspending a gradual
phase-out of the state tax on business assets, or more fairly taxing natural
gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region.”
On a straight party-line vote, House Republicans
pushed through a $28.3 billion state general fund budget this afternoon.
The House plan - which serves as that chamber's opening position in final
round budget talks - would increase spending by $550 million above this year's
state spending level but spends $100 million less than what Gov. Tom Corbett proposed in
February.
The plan passed on a 108-92 vote, with all
Republicans in favor (three GOP members were excused for the day), and all
Democrats opposed.
"Some lawmakers continue to blame temporary federal
funds for Pennsylvania
Statement: House Budget Locks in 85 Percent of Education Cuts
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, GOP legislative leaders meet on
budget
Gov. Tom Corbett and Republican legislative
leaders convened for an end-of-session-week power meeting today. As
they broke shortly before 6 p.m., participants shared no specifics of their
behind closed door talks but uniformly described the meet – which apparently
was mostly devoted to the state’s spending plan - as positive and productive.
“We moved the ball forward,” a seemingly content
Corbett told a reporter as he walked back into his Capitol office. The
governor, as is his routine practice on most working issues, declined to take
questions on specifics.
Teplitz, school superintendents blast Gov. Corbett
for underfunding urban schools
By Josh Fatzick |
PennLive.com on June 12, 2013 at 3:55 PM
Sen. Rob
Teplitz, D-Dauphin, joined urban school superintendents from across the
state at the Capitol today to ask for more money for their districts,
which are hit harder by funding drops than other school districts. “The misplaced priorities of this
administration have put special interests above the interests of school
children and families,” said Teplitz. “I find it outrageous that the state
would put school districts like Harrisburg
Published
on the national blog of education historian Diane Ravitch
By Joseph
Batory, Former Superintendent of Schools, Upper Darby School District
With regard
to the inadequate funding of Philadelphia Public Schools, the city’s
politicians
have been and continue to lacking in political courage and moral fiber. Far too
many of
them are much too self-serving and most of them do not even understand what
their
fiscal insanity has done to the schools and the children of their city.
Likewise,
the recent array of superintendents has each been far too meek and without the
commitment
to confront the system’s financial deficiencies.
But the
worst villain of all has been the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania
Taking it
to Harrisburg
Yinzercation
Blog June 12,
2013
What are
you doing on Tuesday, June 25th? Our new coalition – called Great
Public Schools (GPS) Pittsburgh – is partnering
with other groups around the state for a large rally in Harrisburg Philadelphia
This week
Republicans in the House refused to allow budget proposals from Democrats to
come to a vote, effectively keeping the old Republican budget plan on the
table. As you will recall, that plan puts $100 million back in the public
education budget, but gets us nowhere near the almost $2 billion our students
have lost these past two years. (See “Budget Talk.”)
New Study
Shows State
A new analysis by the Public Interest Law Center
of Philadelphia shows that lower income students and minority races are
affected in significantly greater amounts compared to other students by the
Corbett Administration cuts.
In 2011 Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion in
public school funding. As a result of these cuts 70 percent of school
districts have increased class sizes, 44 percent slashed extracurricular
activities and 35 percent eliminated tutoring programs. He has maintained this
cut for the past two budgets and now proposes to increase public school funding
by a mere $90 million. This still leaves a massive funding gap that 75 percent
of public schools must account for by continuing to lay off teachers and staff
this coming year. Because of this gap, Philadelphia
Five minutes well spent…..
Schlossberg: Allentown Schools Need Funding
YouTube video runtime 5:07 Published on Jun
12, 2013
Here’s House Appropriations
Committee Chairman Adolph’s view on the budget prior to the vote
YouTube Video Runtime 7:56 Published on Jun
12, 2013
Rep. William Adolph
urges support in advance of the vote for the $28.3 billion budget before the
House.
Attempt to hike tax on
drinking in Philly falters
WHYY
Newsworks By Holly Otterbein, @hollyotterbein June 12, 2013
Philadelphia
Mayor Michael Nutter's plan to increase the drink tax is on life support.
Council
President Darrell Clarke said lawmakers would not vote on the proposal
Wednesday, signaling that there is not enough support now for it to pass. The
plan, which requires state-enabling legislation, would raise the
liquor-by-the-drink tax to 15 percent from 10 percent.
It would
generate $22 million for the struggling school district.
Funding, Formulas and Fairness
What Pennsylvania
This report makes the case for restoring a sound
education funding formula to Pennsylvania
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent June 11, 2013
BOARD MATH: A new survey found seven in 10
districts plan to use reserve funds to fill budget gaps.
Retired Military Leaders Back Obama's Early-Childhood Plan
By Julie Blair on June 12, 2013 4:01 PM
President Barack Obama's early-childhood
education plan could lead to a projected two million more high school
graduates nationwide and $150 billion in net economic benefits to America over
10 years, states a report released Tuesday by Washington-based Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan security organization made up of
350 retired military leaders. It is critical for our nation to have an
educated population and for the U.S. Armed Forces to be able to draw talent
from it, states the report, "A Commitment to Pre-Kindergarten is a
Commitment to National Security."
Education Secretary Arne
Duncan works to sell Obama administration’s preschool initiative
Arne Duncan
woke at 5:30 a.m. in his Arlington
County Atlanta
The pitch
on this day was to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican inclined toward the
notion but dead-set against raising taxes to pay for it.
Study: Math requirements not aligned with Common Core in many
states
In a new sign that schools are not ready to
fully embrace the Common Core State Standards, a report concludes
that the large majority of states that have adopted the Core have not adjusted
their math high school graduation requirements to meet the standards.
The report, issued by Change the Equation and
the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education and
called “Out of Sync: Many Common Core states have yet to define a Common
Core-worthy diploma,” found that 10 states plus the District of Columbia
— out of the 45 that adopted the Core — have yet to align their math
sequences of courses and graduation requirements to standards. And it says that
even the 13 states that seem to be aligned with the Core in regards to math
still have “much to work to do to ensure that their high school course sequence
and content is truly aligned to the standards.”
“This Bill has tremendous bipartisan support,”
said Centennial School Board Director Mark B. Miller, Co-Chair of the Keystone
State Education Coalition and First Vice President of the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association. Miller strongly supported Rep. O’Neill’s efforts to develop
the bill. “We are very grateful to Rep. O’Neill for his hard work over
the last seven years to bring this bill to reality,” said Miller.
Gov. Corbett Holding Special Ed Bill Signing Event at Tennent
Friday
The governor has been invited to sign Special
Education House Bill 2 at the high school this Friday at noon.
Warminster Patch June 10, 2013
Governor Tom Corbett is scheduled to
visit William Tennent Friday, June 14 at
12 p.m. to sign Special Education House Bill 2 (Act 3 of 2013) that seeks to
create a better funding formula to support special education in Pennsylvania
CAPS Forum on Community Schools Saturday June 15, 9 am – 1:30 pm
The Philadelphia
Over the past year, in forums, workshops,
listening sessions, and through surveys, thousands of students, parents,
community members and school staff voiced their desire for an educational
system that provides a well-rounded education parallel to what affluent
districts offer, but that also addresses the challenges that come with poverty.
We understand that all of our schools must provide:
·
A rigorous academic curriculum
·
Enrichment activities such as sports, art, music, drama
·
Coordinated supports and services that address the
social-emotional as well as the academic needs of students and their families.
The Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public
Schools (PCAPS) has done our research! After meeting with experts from
around the country, we have concluded that the most equitable, effective,
financially sound strategy for our city is one that embraces community schools
for all children.
Please join us on Saturday, June 15th for
the Community Schools Conference (9am-2pm) at Kensington CAPA High School
(Front & Berks St.) to learn more from national experts and work with
others on a strategy to make this a reality for our city.
Please encourage your networks to attend and
feel free to bring a friend! Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/event/6815949689
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.
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
Lineup of speakers: https://buildingoneamerica.org/summit/speakers
Information and registration: https://buildingoneamerica.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1
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