Daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 3250 Pennsylvania education
policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
Education, 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,
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These daily emails are archived and
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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?
Keystone State Education Coalition
Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup
for April 30, 2014:
PSBA members - Come hear
former Assistant US Secretary of Education, author and education historian
Diane Ravitch.
PSBA Buxmont
Region 11 and Penns Grant Region 15 Combined Region/Legislative Meeting --
Thursday, May 15, at William Tennent High School
-
Buffet dinner/registration, 6 p.m. ($8 charge for dinner) - Program, 7:30 p.m.
-- Minority Senate Education Committee Chair Hon. Andy Dinniman will
introduce guest speaker Diane Ravitch, author and education historian, and
former Assistant Secretary of Education.
Retiring House Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer will also be
honored for his long time (1981) public service.
By Brendan Wills bwills@21st-centurymedia.com Published: Monday, April 28, 2014
The Norristown
School Board approved two resolutions at April 28’s school board meeting, one
opposing a piece of charter school legislation and one supporting the Pre-K for
PA coalition. Senate Bill 1085, if passed, would amend the
language of the Public School Code of 1949. The new language would change the
code’s regulations for charter school funding and allow university or college
officials to authorize the creation of charter schools, a function currently
reserved for local school boards. Other
school districts across the state have adopted similar resolutions in
opposition of the bill citing the loss of local control over the creation of
charter schools that currently has public oversight through school boards’
adherence to Pennsylvania ’s
sunshine laws. Locally, Colonial
School District
The full resolution, and reasons for opposition, can be found onNorristown ’s website,
The full resolution, and reasons for opposition, can be found on
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2014/04/28/montgomery_life/news/doc535f0bbd97d50923320059.txt
Property tax burden should be
eased but not with proposed legislation
PSBA website 4/29/2014
No one likes property taxes -- or any tax for that matter. No
superintendent or school business official enjoys the time spent crunching the
numbers to balance the budgets, and no school director enjoys the task of
taxing his or her neighbors. However, no
matter how unpleasant they may seem, we can't forget that taxes do a lot of
good by providing resources to build and maintain our transportation system,
make public parks available, defend our country through the military, keep us
safe with police and fire service, and yes, educate our children in our locally
governed public schools.
Few will disagree that in Pennsylvania we rely too heavily on
school property taxes to fund our children's education. However, Senate Bill
76, which would eliminate this tax, is not the answer for either schools or the
taxpayers who foot the bill. The legislation would eliminate school property
taxes by shifting the burden of funding public education to individual
taxpayers in the form of increased state personal income and sales and use
taxes. While some may be heartened by this move, the reality is such a shift would
leave an already underfunded public education system in a worse situation,
while actually increasing costs for many taxpayers.
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=7638#sthash.BFmRSQp4.dpuf
Pennlive by on April 29, 2014 at 9:12
PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) —
Pennsylvania's tax collections during the all-important month of April were
badly lagging projections Tuesday, and House and Senate Appropriations Committee
officials said the only question was how much deeper the state government's
shortfall will plunge.
The poor performance is
a sobering development for Gov. Tom Corbett and lawmakers as they try to craft
a budget during an election year. Based on estimates by House and Senate
Appropriations Committee officials, the shortfall is expected to be big enough
to knock Corbett's $29.4 billion budget proposal out of balance by $1 billion
or more.
S&P warns: Time running
out for Pa.
Joseph N. DiStefano POSTED: MONDAY,
APRIL 28, 2014, 3:49 PM
Standard & Poor's
Ratings Services says it is ready to "lower (Pennsylvania's credit) rating
in the next few months" unless state officials replace Gov. Tom Corbett's
and legislative leaders' proposed "one-time" budget gimmicks, such as
the plan to defer payments to the state's underfunded pension systems, and
instead make "a concerted effort to bring revenues and expenditures into
alignment," rebuild cash reserves, and pass "meaningful pension
reform," S&P analyst John Sugden warns today in a report to investors.
The agency wants state leaders to make tough choices even as they face
re-election this fall.
Corbett, briefly, on revenue
shortfalls, open records, pensions and more
By on
April 29, 2014 at 5:26 PM, updated April 29, 2014 at 8:43 PM
After an awards
ceremony recognizing state agencies for saving $650 million since he came into
office, Gov. Tom Corbett took a few questions Tuesday.
He kept his answers
brief.
Dem. candidates for
governor to discuss views on education in Philly April 30th
the notebook by David
Limm on Apr 29 2014 Posted in Latest news
Perhaps no issue polls more consistently with Philadelphia
voters as the issue of greatest importance than the problem of
its public schools.
On Wednesday, April 30, the four Democratic candidates vying to
become Pennsylvania
governor will be in the city for a forum dedicated to the topic of city
and state education issues. "The goal of the forum is to enable the
candidates to articulate deep and well-thought-out positions on the fiscal and
academic challenges of public education in Philadelphia and the state,"
according to a media advisory release from the forum's sponsors. Those sponsors -- The Committee of Seventy,
Congreso de Latinos Unidos, and the Philadelphia Education Fund -- decided that
a forum focused entirely on public education issues would force in-depth
discussions from the candidates and make them more accountable for
any promises if they win in November.
More $ for education, but
where to find it?
Lancaster
Online Editorial Posted: Monday, April 28, 2014 9:36 am
A
recent poll of Pennsylvania voters found that more than 70 percent want the
state to provide more and fairer funding for public schools. And two-thirds of voters say high-poverty
schools should get more state funding. Most
of the poll’s education questions — paid for by groups representing school
administrators, business managers and school board members — are interesting,
as far as they go. With a governor’s
race and 228 legislative races on the ballot this year —all 203 members of the
state House and half of the 50-member Senate — a discussion of education
funding is in order.
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review By Aaron
Aupperlee Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014, 11:18 p.m.
Drilling for natural gas underDeer Lakes School District property may hinge on whether Allegheny County
allows drilling under Deer
Lakes Park
Drilling for natural gas under
School report finds 'large
inequities' in Pittsburgh Public Schools
By
Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette April 29, 2014 11:37 PM
In the
more vulnerable public schools in Pittsburgh ,
students have fewer effective teachers, are treated with less respect and are
less likely to feel their school is a safe and positive place than in schools
with fewer needy students, according to an A+ Schools survey. “My question is how can students learn if
that’s how they feel in school? And whose responsibility is it to see that
students’ rights are upheld?” asked Amy Scott, director of research and data
analysis for A+ Schools. Ms. Scott
presented the results of the latest School Works report Tuesday to more than
200 educators, parents, students and community members at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Philly.com by Tricia L.
Nadolny LAST UPDATED: Tuesday,
April 29, 2014, 1:08 AM
WEST CHESTER The West
Chester Area School District will purchase 5,000 computers over the next four
years with the goal of giving a laptop to each student in eighth through 12th
grades, officials said. The new
computers - which students will be able to use at school and home - will cost
about $3.8 million. But officials said the net cost will be closer to $1.2
million due to cost-sharing for extended warranties and damage insurance, and
also the phasing out of shared computers currently used by the district.
Philly school district
facing another bleak budget
SNIP, SNIP: Cuts are
inevitable for Philadelphia schools next year.
By Maura Pennington | PA Independent April 28, 2014
PHILADELPHIA — The School District of Philadelphia is facing
budget cuts.
Superintendent William Hite previously issued a
hopeful Action Plan 2.0 to transform
schools at a cost of $320 million. But now that the budget for 2014-15 has been
released, it’s looking as if the district will instead be coming up at least
$96 million short. Reductions in staff
and services are inevitable in the face of a gap that size.
DN Editorial: Just no funds
Philly Daily News Editorial
POSTED: Wednesday, April 30,
2014, 3:01 AM
NEARLY two weeks ago, we
asked where the urgency was on the response to the School District of Philadelphia
North Philly parents suspicious
of postponed charter school election
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY APRIL 29, 2014
In meetings over the past four
weeks, the Philadelphia
School District
Some parents are suspicious the
election is being delayed because voters would have rejected the charter. The
school district and proposed charter operator say it's about not rushing the
process.
School board leadership DOES matter
NSBA
School Board News Today April 29th, 2014
An editorial by Robert Rader,
executive director of the Connecticut
The Fordham Institute, whose
president, Chester Finn, has called the school board “an aberration, an
anachronism, an educational sinkhole” that should be put “out of its misery,”
recently published a report, “Does
School Board Leadership Matter?
It definitely contradicts the
spirit of Finn’s previous comments.
The document lists information
that we have known ever since the original Iowa Lighthouse Initiative was
released: School boards, particularly their attitudes on student learning, are
an important element of student success. Other information points us to what we
must do to ensure that boards are relevant, effective, and beneficial. The report comes at a critical time for
executive directors from state school boards associations who have been
involved in attempting to discern what the board of tomorrow will be like. It
gives us an idea of what boards need to do to accomplish their primary goal:
increasing student achievement and growth.
New York Times By THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS APRIL 28, 2014
One of the first states to adopt
Common Core education standards became the first state to formally abandon the
national benchmarks, as Indiana ’s
State Board of Education voted overwhelmingly Monday for a replacement that
will guide student learning for years. The board voted 10 to 1 to endorse the
new benchmarks for math and English, which were created by a panel of faculty
from Indiana
universities and representatives from science and technology industries. Indiana adopted the
Common Core in 2010; eventually, 44 other states did, too. But states’ rights
advocates and Tea Party members
later opposed the standards, saying they were created without adequate local
input. In response, Indiana
lawmakers passed legislation pausing the start of the Common Core and requiring
a review to find a replacement. Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, signed
legislation in March making Indiana
the first state to drop the standards, which are not federally required.
Blogger
comment: Here's a surprise - the folks spending over $150 million per year on
privatizing democratically governed American public schools have created an organization
and funded a study predicting increased demand for skilled labor in their
privatized, parallel school system. I am
not aware of the Waltons spending one thin dime to help train leaders for our
public schools…(Where do you shop?)………
"The study was supported by the Bellwether
Education Partners and the Walton Family Foundation, which also provided the
startup funds for EdFuel."
(Walton) Study: Growth in
K-12 Education Sector Creates Demand For New Leaders
Education Week District
Dossier Blog By on April 29, 2014 7:15 AM
Growth in the
urban education reform movement, characterized largely by an exponential
increase in charter schools, will create a need for at least 32,000 senior and
mid-level workers over the next decade, according to a report to be released Tuesday by
EdFuel. The study, "MAP the
GAP," which also looked at transformation in urban education in the 50
largest urban cities where education reform is altering the landscape,
found that continued growth outside of the traditional school district model,
will create a "talent gap" for noninstructional staff,
including for workers who are skilled in business, finance, operations,
management, data analytics, and communications. "As demand for new and innovative
schools begins to snowball, there is a real threat of a leadership talent
gap," said Jimmy Henderson, the CEO of EdFuel, the Washington-based
nonprofit that trains leaders in this sector and which also conducted the
study. "MAP the GAP vividly shows that talent is the scarce resource that
could define the success or failure of this inspiring movement."
Public Citizens for Children and Youth
(PCCY) will Host an Education Funding Forum in Delaware County
On May
7th, PCCY will host a forum that discusses the state of school
funding in Delaware
County 501 Bywood Avenue ,
Upper Darby PA 19082 from 6:30pm-8pm.
Attendees will get a budget update from Sharon Ward of the Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center , hear from School Board members representing
Upper Darby, William Penn, and Haverford
School Districts
Please
RSVP by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OjFpJwTHnZwRqh0Q5Tdp0KHYaI1Jg0XNvGpmeYMmIyA/viewform
PSBA members in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware
Counties
PSBA Buxmont Region 11 and Penns Grant
Region 15 Combined Region/Legislative Meeting -- Thursday, May 15, at William
Tennent High School
-
Buffet dinner/registration, 6 p.m. ($8 charge for dinner) - Program, 7:30 p.m.
-- Minority Senate Education Committee Chair Hon. Andy Dinniman will
introduce guest speaker Diane Ravitch, author and education historian, and former
Assistant Secretary of Education.
Retiring House Education Committee Chairman Paul Clymer will also be
honored for his long time (1981) public service.
Just added - Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq
will be the after-dinner speaker on May 5.
PSBA Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill
May 5-6, Mechanicsburg & Harrisburg
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leading Pennsylvania political analyst, will discuss the legislative landscape in his usual lively and informative style. How to Be an Effective Advocate -- Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Larry Feinberg, Roberta Marcus and Tina Viletto on how to successfully support your issues. At noon, Rep. Dave Reed, Majority Policy Chairman, will address participants. On day two, participants will start with a breakfast at the Harrisburg Hilton with Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley as guest speaker and then hit the ground running with visits to legislative offices in the State CapitolSpace is limited so register early. Click here for more details and to register online.
Make an impact on the legislative process by attending PSBA’s Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill, May 5-6. Day one will provide legislative insights on pensions, training on being an effective advocate, and media relations. Dr. G. Terry Madonna, leading Pennsylvania political analyst, will discuss the legislative landscape in his usual lively and informative style. How to Be an Effective Advocate -- Hear from former Allwein Advocacy Award winners Larry Feinberg, Roberta Marcus and Tina Viletto on how to successfully support your issues. At noon, Rep. Dave Reed, Majority Policy Chairman, will address participants. On day two, participants will start with a breakfast at the Harrisburg Hilton with Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley as guest speaker and then hit the ground running with visits to legislative offices in the State CapitolSpace is limited so register early. Click here for more details and to register online.
Registration
fee of $50 includes lunch and dinner on May 5 and breakfast on May
6.
2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education
and Arts/Culture in PA
Education Policy and Leadership Center
Below is an alphabetical list of the 2014
Gubernatorial Candidates and links to information about their plans, if
elected, for education and arts/culture in Pennsylvania. This list will be updated, as more
information becomes available.
