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Pennsylvania Education Policy
Roundup for June 19, 2013:
Senate Approp. Cmte Chair Corman would consider $350 million Capitol
Stock and Franchise tax cut rollback.
Send an email to Harrisburg
Education Voters PA
As the budget process continues 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
Corman
would consider $350 million Capitol Stock and Franchise tax cut rollback. House GOP divided.
Capitolwire
Under the Dome June 18,2013
Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman, R-Centre, today said he would
“consider” rolling back the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax (CSFT) to its 2012
rate, as House and Senate Democratic leaders have proposed. He became the first
major General Assembly Republican leader to publicly take that stance. But
after he spoke, House GOPers showed division on this issue.CLICK HERE (paywall) to read Capitolwire Bureau Chief Peter
L. DeCoursey’s story about the CSFT issue.
“Meanwhile,
Mr. Corman said he's willing to consider a freeze in the phaseout of the state
Capital Stock and Franchise Tax or a House-approved bill to close part of the
Delaware tax loophole for businesses as a way to generate new state revenue.”
PA Senate
weighs distressed school aid
Scranton Times-Tribune BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG
BUREAU CHIEF) June 18, 2013
HARRISBURG
- Providing special state aid to distressed school districts for a second year
in a row is an issue facing senators as the House-approved state budget bill
lands in their lap.
This
aid would be in addition to what districts receive through their basic
education subsidy.
Senators
are looking at how much aid would be provided, how to define which of the 500
school districts are considered distressed and the aid distribution formula,
said Senate Appropriations Chairman Jake Corman, R-34, Bellefonte, on Monday.
Deal said
to be in works on school finances
MARTHA WOODALL AND ANGELA COULOUMBIS, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
POSTED: Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 6:52 PM
Gov.
Corbett's administration - along with city and state officials - is working to
assemble a funding package that could pump as much as $100 million more into
the coffers of the Philadelphia School District, according to sources with
knowledge of the high-level talks.
But
the money, which could include federal funds the state would send to the
cash-strapped district, might come with hefty strings attached, they said.
The
additional aid would be contingent on the district's ability to obtain major
concessions from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, including requiring
teachers to work a longer school day and contribute to their health-care
coverage, sources said.
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130619_Deal_said_to_be_in_works_on_school_finances.html#4UxxPTUBee44Uvkb.99
Philly
City Council leaves school funding largely to state lawmakers
TROY GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 6:29 AM
Philadelphia
City Council plans to pass the city's budget and begin the summer recess
Thursday with the task of solving the School District's financial crisis left
largely in the hands of state lawmakers.
That would turn the tables from the last two years, when Council
approved taxes that raised $125 million for the schools without the state's
contributing any money. This month,
Council unanimously passed a $2-a-pack cigarette tax that would raise $46
million for the schools, but the state also must approve that levy.
“No one should think that solving this year’s funding crisis
will “solve” how Pennsylvania funds schools, particularly given the low state
appropriation to k-12 education. In the most recent data from the US Census
Bureau Pennsylvania’s state funding per capita was lower than every surrounding
state, and the state’s share of the total cost of education was only 35.8%,
making it the 8th lowest in the
country. As a consequence of insufficient state support, districts must
rely on local property taxes, leaving poor rural and urban districts with
insufficient money to pay for necessities for all students to have a fair
opportunity to meet state standards.”
Fixing Philadelphia’s School Funding
Problem Requires More than Ending this Year’s Deficit
Public
Interest Law Center of Philadelphia June 2013
Secretary
of Education Harner’s recent recognition that contributions from the state as
well as the teachers and the city are necessary in order to have a solution for
the School District’s 2013-14 budget crisis is welcome news to parents and
advocates for Philadelphia’s children, if it is enacted. But it is
not a long-run solution for either Philadelphia or the state.
It
is indeed worth celebrating that he agrees that the City and District’s
“strategy to close the budget gap is spot on.” That strategy called for
$120 million increase from the state, $60 million from the City, and $180
million in give-backs or slowdown in increases from the teachers’ union.
No prominent official in the state has previously endorsed the urgent need for
state funding at this level. That should put additional pressure on City
Council to come through with its $60 million share and for concessions from the
PFT.
“We believe this
public school funding crisis is one that has been manufactured and can be
solved when reasonable approaches are used.”
Letter:
With common sense, Pa. budget can save public education statewide
WHYY
Newsworks LTE by By Linda J. Weaver June 18, 2013
Linda
J. Weaver is a leader of the Council
for the Advancement of Public Schools.
With
the deadline to pass the 2013-2014 Pennsylvania budget closing in, the Council
for the Advancement of Public Schools believes it's critically important to
establish a plan and budget that provides fair, adequate, equitable and
sustainable funding for public education now and in the future. Without a
resolution to this funding crisis, a significant number of districts will be
pushed to the breaking point in this upcoming fiscal year.
Education
Policy and Leadership Center
Gov.
Corbett's pension reform: Good as dead?
Philly.com
Commonwealth Confidential Blog by Angela Coloumbis Tuesday, June 18, 2013,
11:28 PM
None
of the legislative leaders has ever been more than politically polite when
assessing Gov. Corbett's proposal to rein in the skyrocketing cost of public
pensions in Pennsylvania.
But
on Tuesday, a top Senate Republican all but said that the governor's full plan
is as good as dead. Senate Majority
Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) told reporters that the chamber was
expected to vote on a bill this week that picks up only a small piece of
Corbett's plan: moving all new employees into 401(k)-style plans.
This article has links to several
other PN pieces – in case you were wondering, there is no longer any mention of
lliquor privatization proceeds benefiting public education…..
Highlights
of Sen. Chuck McIlhinney's liquor privatization plan
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com on June 18, 2013 at 4:59 PM
THE
BATTLE OVER BOOZE SALES: PENNSYLVANIA AND LIQUOR PRIVATIZATION
- Senate
liquor plan: Alloway sees positive aspects to this proposal
- Senate
liquor plan: Vance has questions she needs answered before taking a
position
- Senate
liquor plan: Teplitz not convinced it represents progress
- Senate
liquor plan: Folmer wants to check in with beer distributors before
deciding support
- Liquor
privatization proposal gives interest groups bitter beer face
Sen.
Chuck McIlhinney, R-Bucks County, unveiled a liquor privatization plan today
that would allow beer distributors to sell six-packs and the 14,000 current
licensed establishments the opportunity to buy expanded permits to sell wine
and/or spirits.
Bethlehem accepts grant for charter
school over district's objections
By Lynn Olanoff | The Express-Times
on June 18, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Bethlehem City Council tonight
supported accepting a $3 million state grant for a charter school over the
objections of the Bethlehem Area School District. School district officials said they didn’t
think the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the
Arts should receive a state grant when
charter schools cost taxpayers so much money.
State
redevelopment capital assistance program grants are supposed to expand tax
bases and create jobs, and the planned new charter school does neither,
Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto said. The
new school will allow the charter school to add 200 students — if 100 of those
are from Bethlehem, it’ll cost the district $1 million annually, he said.
“It’s
not fair to us and it’s an insult to public education,” Faccinetto said.
Without
board knowledge, four Scranton teachers learn of furloughs
Scranton Times-Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL (STAFF
WRITER) Published: June 18, 2013
At
least four Scranton School District teachers were notified of impending
furloughs without the knowledge of most members of the school board.
Principals
notified two English and two math teachers, all on the secondary-level, about
the furloughs on Friday, Superintendent William King said Monday. The teachers
union president claims the district told even more teachers they may not have
jobs next year.
Any
furloughs would not be official until a board vote. Directors, who are
embarrassed - and angry - about the administration's actions, will work to keep
all jobs, they said.
"There's
no teacher going anywhere, that's it," board President Nathan Barrett
said. "The only people who hire or fire are the board."
Easton Area School Board approves list
of 43 staff cuts
By Peter Panepinto | The Express-Times
on June 18, 2013 at 8:04 PM
The Easton Area School Board tonight
approved the elimination of 43 employees, including 19 teachers. About half of the cuts came through
attrition, according to Chief Operating Officer Michael Simonetta. Simonetta said
14 teacher cuts are through attrition and five teachers are being furloughed.
Seven of the 11 support staff layoffs are through attrition, he said.
Upper
Darby budget includes 2.94 percent tax increase
Delco Times By LINDA REILLY, Times Correspondent Wednesday, June 19,
2013
UPPER
DARBY — The Upper Darby School Board approved the 2013-2014 budget at a recent
meeting. The board adopted the $165.5
million budget at the recommendation of Business Manager Ed Smith that includes
the $2.6 million commitment from the district’s unassigned fund balance. The budget calls for a 0.965 mill increase,
from 32.85 mills to 33.815 mills, or 2.94 percent.
How
Pennsylvania Betrayed Its Schools
Diane
Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav June 18, 2013 //
This
commentary was written by a retired superintendent of schools.
Pennsylvania’s
Tragic Betrayal of its Public Schools
By
Joseph Batory, Former Superintendent of Schools, Upper Darby School District,
Drexel Hill, PA
Those
states now can ask for another round of waivers to delay implementing teacher
evaluation programs until 2016
EDUCATION
DEPT. OFFERS MORE TIME TO REACH GOALS
AP
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
— Jun. 18 4:08 PM EDT
WASHINGTON
(AP) — States can ask for another year before using student test results to
decide whether to keep or fire teachers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told
school chiefs on Tuesday. Thirty-seven
states and the District of Columbia have earned permission from the Education
Department to ignore parts of the No Child Left Behind education law in
exchange for school improvement plans. As part of those plans, many states have
linked student performance on standardized tests with teacher evaluations — a
move that teacher unions protested and Republicans criticized as Washington
overreach.
Education Chief Lets States Delay Use
of Tests in Decisions About Teachers’ Jobs
New
York Times By MOTOKO RICH Published: June 18, 2013
Acknowledging
that the nation’s educators face large challenges in preparing students for
more rigorous academic standards and tests, Arne Duncan, the secretary of
education, told state education officials on Tuesday that they could postpone
making career decisions about teachers based on performance evaluations tied to
new tests.
Sec’y
Duncan - New Flexibility for States Implementing Fast-Moving Reforms: Laying
Out Our Thinking
US
Department of Education Homeroom Blog Posted on June 18, 2013 by Arne Duncan
Over
the last four years, states and school districts across America have embraced
an enormous set of urgent challenges with real courage: raising standards to
prepare young people to compete in the global economy, developing new
assessments, rebuilding accountability systems to meet the needs of each state
and better serve at-risk students, and adopting new systems of support and
evaluation for teachers and principals. Meeting this historic set of challenges
all at once asks more of everybody, and it’s a tribute to the quality of
educators, leaders, and elected officials across this country that so many have
stepped up.
Why the
NCTQ teacher prep ratings are nonsense
Washington
Post Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss, Published:
June 18, 2013 at 1:57 pm
The
National Council on Teacher Quality, an organization that is funded by
organizations that promote a corporate-influenced school reform agenda, just
issued ratings of teacher preparation programs that is getting a lot of
attention in the ed world. The ratings are seriously flawed. Explaining how in
this post is teacher education expert Linda Darling-Hammond, chair of the
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Charles E. Ducommun
Professor of Education at Stanford University.
NSBA lauds
House ESEA bill, but calls to eliminate funding restraints
NSBA
School Board News Today by Joetta Sack Min June 18, 2013
The
National School Boards Association (NSBA) supports a new bill to reauthorize
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) but asks members of the U.S.
House of Representatives to change provisions that would stifle federal and
state education funding.
The
bill, H.R. 5, will be considered by the Education and the Workforce Committee
on June 19. NSBA has sent a letter to
Chairman John Kline and Ranking Member George Miller that praises the
legislation’s provisions that would help restore local governance and give
local school districts more flexibility to improve student achievement based on
local needs.
PA Charter Schools: $4 billion taxpayer dollars with no
real oversight
Keystone State Education
Coalition Prior Posting
Charter schools - public
funding without public scrutiny
Save
the Date: Diane Ravitch will be speaking at the Main Branch of the Philadelphia
Free Library on September 17 at 7:30 pm. Details to come.
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
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School FAST FACTS
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