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
“With hours before budget deadline, 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
With hours before
budget deadline, Pa.
Patriot-News Op-Ed By Sharon Ward June 28, 2013 at 12:00 PM
A decade ago, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Since then, many of the business tax breaks have become law, but
policymakers have taken no action to close tax loopholes. The cost of business
tax cuts has mounted to close to $3 billion annually and is one big reason why
the state is now facing an education funding crisis.
As the clock ticks toward a new state budget, lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett have turned
their attention once again to closing loopholes. This is welcome news. If done
right, it will help balance the scales after a decade of significant business
tax cuts – recovering hundreds of millions of dollars that can be invested in
neighborhood schools and health services.
Unfortunately, lawmakers are under heavy pressure from the business
community to water the plan down, and that could mean Pennsylvania
“Facing a $304 million shortfall July 1, the district has laid off
several art teachers and all 76 itinerant music teachers who work with orchestras
and ensembles at several schools. Their loss will end several music groups,
including the All-City
High School
The Real Consequences of School
Reform: As Phila. schools make arts cuts, two luminaries retire
Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: Saturday, June 29, 2013 , 1:07 AM
As the Philadelphia
School District Kimmel
Center
Read more at
Read more at
Gov. Tom Corbett will not go 4 for 4
on his budget wishlist
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2013
at 10:27 PM
Now that the countdown to the midnight
Sunday deadline is being counted in hours, instead of days, it's starting to
become clear that Gov. Tom Corbett will not be going four-for-four on his
wishlist of big-ticket items. But what his final tally on achievements still be
remained in question late Friday evening.
State
Senate panel OKs liquor privatization in session that goes until 1:38 a.m.
The vote moves Pennsylvania
By Meg Rogers and Steve
Esack, Call Harrisburg
The state Senate pulled an all-nighter as Republicans and Democrats haggled over a
liquor privatization deal Gov. Tom Corbett covets. At 1:17 a.m. Saturday the 27-member
Republican majority won and the 23 Democrats lost. At that time, which was more than two hours
past the Senate's self-imposed 11 p.m. curfew to wrap up legislative work, all
Republicans supported an amendment to a bill that could end the state's 80-year
monopoly on wine and spirits sales.
Delaying the phaseout of the capital stock and franchise tax cut could
raise $360 million.
Letter
to the Editor: Time running out to delay Capital Stock and Franchise tax cut
damaging to schools
Delco Times LTE by Lawrence June 26, 2013
Time is running out for students across Pennsylvania
Some
estimates say the Delaware loophole causes Pennsylvania
PA Budget and Policy
Center
In the coming days, the Pennsylvania Legislature will be hammering out a
deal to balance the 2013-14 state budget. One piece of the package will be a
budget-related tax plan that may include a provision designed to close
corporate tax loopholes. Specifically,
lawmakers are discussing the creation of a so-called "addback"
rule. Such rules require corporations to add back interest and
intangible expenses (such as for copyrights and patents) paid to
related companies — often affiliates in Delaware
or Nevada
Lawmakers call for quashing the
Common Core standards in Pennsylvania
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2013
at 7:13 PM
A group of House Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a five-bill
package aimed at halting implementation of the Pennsylvania Common Core academic
standards once and for all.
At a Capitol news conference on Friday morning, the lawmakers maintained
that the Common Core movement that originated with national organizations of
unelected bureaucrats that want to standardize education across states is not
the path to raising student achievement in Pennsylvania
PA School Funding: What's Really
Going on at Sto-Rox school district?
Op-Ed:
Our schools need more state funding
On becoming a school board director, I vowed to do all I could to ensure
that our children get the best quality education possible, a mission shared by
my fellow school board members. This has become increasingly difficult to
fulfill after two years of state funding cuts.
Cuts in funding for Pottstown schools
have forced us to let good teachers go and eliminate all but mandated teacher’s
aides. Administrative positions are at bare bones and we are maneuvering
through the intricacies of attempting to maintain programs that are vital to a
healthy learning environment. Music, arts and athletics have been spared so
far.
Right now our lawmakers are on track to approve a budget that does
little to restore damaging education cuts or help school districts address the
higher costs we expect next year. One way to provide relief to local taxpayers
is to stop giving businesses new tax breaks.
By Alex Zimmerman / Pittsburgh June
29, 2013 12:34 am
The Wilkinsburg school board voted
Friday night to approve a $28 million budget that eliminates nearly 10 faculty
positions and at least three administrators.
Business manager Philip Martell said four to five of the teacher
reductions will likely occur through attrition without requiring layoffs.
On
funding for our schools, give Corbett an F
PhillyBurbs.com By STATE REP. MIKE STURLA
Posted: Friday, June
28, 2013 6:00 am
As the school year ends and students hit the road for summer vacation, I
think it is fair to say if Pennsylvanians — students, parents, educators and
taxpayers — were able to grade Gov. Tom Corbett on his education policies,
they’d give him an F.
For the third year, the Republican-backed state budget proposal axes
education funding across the board. Early childhood programs, higher learning
and career schools, science-based curriculum, improvements to aging school
buildings — nothing is safe in the GOP’s spending plan. The chronic underfunding our schools have
endured during the Corbett administration have already had huge impacts on
students, their families, property taxpayers and educators, resulting in nearly
20,000 layoffs, larger class sizes and fewer course offerings.
WHYY RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE; GUESTS: JOHN BAER
& JOHN MICEK
The $28.4 billion Pennsylvania midnight Sunday, June 30th,
and is supposed to start Monday, July 1st. There are
many items to consider including three transportation funding plans, a liquor
privatization overhaul, property-tax reform, public education funding, pension
reform, and a plan for the state to respond to the national Affordable
Healthcare Act regarding its Medicaid coverage strategy. Also, will Governor
Corbett be running for a second term in 2014? The governor, who continues to
score low public opinion ratings, has been reported scheduling 29 campaign
meeting in the first four months of this calendar year. He has recently noted Pennsylvania
NAEP
results show minority students making strong gains, but gaps remain
National School
Boards Association’s Center for Public Education (Alexis Rice|June 28th, 2013
This was republished from the National School Boards
Association’s Center for Public Education (CPE), The EDifier and
written by Jim Hull, CPE’s Senior Policy Analyst.
Minority students have made significant gains over the past four decades
in both math and reading, according to the 2012 long-term NAEP results. While most white students made
significant gains as well, achievement gaps narrowed considerably since
minority students made much larger gains than their white peers. However, large
achievement gaps still remain.
Save the Date:
Diane Ravitch will be speaking at the Main Branch of the Philadelphia 7:30
pm . Details to come.
October 15-18, 2013 | Hershey Lodge & Convention Center
The
PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference is the largest gathering of elected
officials in Pennsylvania
Registration:
https://www.psba.org/workshops/?workshop=17
The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College , PA
The state
conference is PAESSP’s premier professional development event for principals,
assistant principals and other educational leaders. Attending will enable you
to connect with fellow educators while learning from speakers and presenters
who are respected experts in educational leadership.
Featuring
Keynote Speakers: Charlotte Danielson, Dr. Todd Whitaker, Will Richardson &
David Andrews, Esq. (Legal Update).
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
PA Charter Schools: $4
billion taxpayer dollars with no real oversight
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny
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