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policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
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professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies,
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Pennsylvania
Education Policy Roundup for October 16, 2013:
Property
tax reform a mixed bag for PA schools, businesses
THE HISTORY OF SCHOOL
FUNDING IN PENNSYLVANIA
The Pennsylvania
Written by Janice Bissett and Arnold Hillman
Updated September 2013
Core
Standards, lack of aid strain Pa. schools
Philly.com by SARA NEUFELD, HECHINGER REPORT Tuesday,
October 15, 2013, 11:03 PM
First
of three parts
Pennsylvania's
public schools have been waiting for three years to find out whether the state
will move ahead with new education standards designed to make students more
globally competitive.
Without
official direction, many schools went ahead and began teaching the Pennsylvania
Core Standards, which go deeper in fewer topics than prior guidelines and
emphasize nonfiction more than novels. Now,
it seems, the state is giving the green light not only to the standards but
also to related exams that students will have to pass to graduate from high
school. But it is not providing additional funding to implement the mandates,
and educators in Philadelphia and other cash-strapped districts say their
students are being set up for failure.
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131016_Core_Standards__lack_of_aid_strain_Pa__schools.html#H3T1HLQ7VwuEFUtL.99
“The state would keep about 13 percent of it in 2018-19,
creating a $2.6 billion shortfall for school districts, Knittel said. Even if
the law was amended to fix that loophole, Knittel said, the loss for school
districts would be $1.1 billion.”
Property
tax reform a mixed bag for Pa. schools, businesses
Bills
to eliminate property taxes to fund schools would create a massive business tax
cut.
By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg
Bureau 9:45 p.m. EDT, October 15,
2013
HARRISBURG
— Pennsylvania's 500 school districts would lose $112 million next school year
and up to $2.6 billion in five years if state lawmakers strip school boards of
their ability to set and issue local property taxes and replace the arrangement
with a statewide taxing system that relies on higher sales and income taxes and
more taxable goods.
That's
according to a report by the Legislature's Independent Fiscal Office.
Still,
Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill, the prime sponsor of a
Senate bill on the topic, said the state's 1800s property tax system needs to
be eliminated to stop school boards from raising taxes for daily operations and
long-term debt. "What I continue to
hear is some school districts do a good job of managing their dollars and some
spend like drunken sailors," Argall said after Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee hearing
on his proposal.
Pa.
lawmakers go round and round on school property taxes
WHYY
Newsworks BY MARY WILSON
OCTOBER 15, 2013
As
state senators in Pennsylvania consider how to address soaring school property
taxes, some say serious attempts at reform are a long way off. Many lawmakers have expressed interest in
bringing down school property taxes by replacing the levies with other revenue
streams. But consensus over this is
lacking -- and not just because shifting a tax burden is always going to be
controversial.
Former
students of shuttered charter school return for last time
REGINA MEDINA, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, October 16, 2013,
12:16 AM
MANY
STUDENTS of the shuttered Solomon Charter School returned to its Center City
building yesterday, four days after the school's board of directors voted
unanimously to close it down.
Parents
and grandparents, along with their K-12-age children, filled the third-floor
cafeteria to retrieve their academic and medical records and to say goodbye to
classmates and staffers. Students also returned their loaned computers to the
school, which focused on Hebrew and Mandarin languages, and met with recruiters
from other charter schools such as Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning
Partners and PA Virtual.
Lawmaker
wants to postpone addition of new Keystone Exams
Hazelton Standard Speaker BY MARK GILGER JR. (STAFF
WRITER) October 15, 2013
State
Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, wants to extend the time period for development of the
Keystone Exams.
The
Pennsylvania Department of Education has already implemented the standardized
tests in algebra I, literature and biology and has developed and will soon
field test Keystone Exams in English composition and in civics and government.
Under current law, a total of 10 Keystone Exams must be in place no later than
the 2020-21 school year. Through annual appropriation, tests will be added for
algebra II, geometry, U.S. history, chemistry and world history.
Tobash
wants to extend the time period for the remaining five Keystone Exams by
prohibiting their development and implementation prior to the 2022-23 school
year. The legislation will also eliminate the requirement of implementing the
remaining five exams by 2021 and instead allow annual appropriation. "My legislation simply says this: Let's
put the brakes on this and see what the results are and see what the unintended
consequences are," Tobash said Thursday. "Let's measure the exams.
Let's see their success rate before we put hundreds of million dollars to develop
the next five."
Grant bolsters Pittsburgh school math
effort
City
district in line for $3.4 million
By
Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 16, 2013 12:06 am
Pittsburgh
Public Schools are to benefit from a nearly $8 million grant from the National
Science Foundation to help increase student access to high-level math courses
and help more students think like mathematicians. The five-year competitive grant was made to
the Education Development Center, a nonprofit in Massachusetts, which is
partnering with Pittsburgh Public Schools, Carnegie Mellon University, the
University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University.
CHIP bill for Pa. kids renewed
By
Kate Giammarise / Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau October 16, 2013
12:14 am
HARRISBURG
-- The state House unanimously approved a bill Tuesday renewing the Children's
Health Insurance Program and eliminating a six-month waiting period for some
enrollees.
The
bill now heads to the governor's desk for his signature; it passed the Senate
unanimously last month. The governor is
expected to sign the bill.
Read
more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/chip-bill-for-pa-kids-renewed-707756/#ixzz2hsQrFUE8
A
Moratorium Makes Sense
Yinzercation
Blog by Jessie Ramey October15, 2013
Pittsburgh
City Council has entered the debate over the future of city schools. At a
public hearing yesterday, parents, students, teachers, and community members
spoke passionately in support of a new resolution, introduced by Councilwoman
Theresa Kail-Smith, calling for a moratorium on school closures.
Organizers
defend pricey conference for Pennsylvania school board members
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review By Megan
Harris Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Survivors from Somali pirate raids and the Newtown shootings will join a highly regarded urban sociologist and a member of the Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team to motivate more than 800 school board members and administrators gathering this week in Hershey.
Survivors from Somali pirate raids and the Newtown shootings will join a highly regarded urban sociologist and a member of the Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team to motivate more than 800 school board members and administrators gathering this week in Hershey.
School
districts pay $379 each for participant to attend the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association's conference Tuesday through Friday and up to $700 each in
hotel fees — costs organizers say are worth the expense to taxpayers but
critics contend are diversions that have little connection to running schools.
Thinking Sensibly About Charter
Schools
New
York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Published:
October 15, 2013 14
Comments
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg has been a full-throated supporter ofcharter schools, of which
there are about 180 in New York City. The debate over how the next mayor should
handle charters has been part of the campaign from the very beginning. Earlier this month, charter school advocates rallied in Manhattan
to protest the more skeptical views of the Democratic mayoral nominee, Bill de Blasio. He says that
charter schools can be improved, which is true. He has also argued, much to the
delight of the teachers’ union, that the Bloomberg administration has
shortchanged traditional public schools and “favored” charters, which receive
public funds and free space in public school buildings even though they operate
independently of the school system.
What You
Need to Know About New York City’s Charter Schools
Diane
Ravitch’s Blog By dianerav October
15, 2013 //
New
York City’s charter schools are often held up as exemplary, which is the spin
that the Bloomberg administration has fed the media for a dozen years. This
insider says the spin is wrong.
Area
Organizations to Host Building Common Ground Summit at Dickinson/PSU School of
Law Saturday, October 26, 8:30am to noon
Event Organized by Jill Bartolli and Susan Spicka
10am
Senator Rob Teplitz will join Molly Hunter, esq. Education Law Center, and
Richard Fry, Superintendent, Big Spring School District on a panel to discuss
public school funding in PA.
More
info/registration: https://buildingcommongroundpa.eventbrite.com/
PA Budget and Policy Center Fall
Webinar Series to Tackle Property Taxes, Marcellus Shale, Health Care,
Education
Posted by PA Budget and Policy Center October 9,
2013
Pack
your brown bag lunch and join the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center noon to 1 p.m. Learn more about
the problems with legislative proposals to fully eliminate property taxes and
proven strategies to provide property tax relief where it is needed. Other
topics include the countdown to new health care options in 2014, the latest on
jobs in the Marcellus Shale, and what we can do to restore needed education
funding in Pennsylvania
More
info and registration here: http://pennbpc.org/webinars
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).
PASCD
Annual Conference ~ A Whole Child Education Powered by Blendedschools
Network November 3-4, 2013 | Hershey Lodge & Convention Center
We
invite you to join us for the Annual Conference, held at an earlier date this
year, on Sunday, November 3rd, through Monday, November 4th,
2013 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. The Pre-Conference
begins on Saturday with PIL
Academies
Click here for the 2013 Conference Schedule
Click here to register for the conference.
Join us as we celebrate their accomplishments!
Tuesday,November
19, 2013 5:30 pm
- 8:30 pm WHYY, 150 North 6th Street , Philadelphia
Invitations coming soon!
Tuesday,
Invitations coming soon!
Register: http://tinyurl.com/m8emc4m
Building One Pennsylvania
Fourth
Annual Fundraiser and Awards Ceremony
THURSDAY,NOVEMBER 21,
2013 6:00-8:00 PM
THURSDAY,
IBEW Local 380 3900 Ridge
Pike Collegeville, PA 19426
Building One Pennsylvania
is an emerging statewide non-partisan organization of leaders from diverse
sectors - municipal, school, faith, business, labor and civic - who are joining
together to stabilize and revitalize their communities, revitalize local
economies and promote regional opportunity and sustainability. BuildingOnePa.org
Join
the National
School Boards
Action Center
Participate
in a voluntary network to urge your U.S.
Representatives and Senators to support federal legislation on Capitol Hill
that is critical to providing high quality education to America
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