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,
website, Facebook and Twitter
These daily emails are archived and
searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Keystone State Education Coalition
Moodys: district's budget
for next FY will “materially imperil its ability to provide students with an adequate
education."
Moody's: Pa. School District
Joseph
N. DiStefano POSTED: TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014, 11:47 AM
Unless
the Philadelphia School District raises more than $200 million extra in a
hurry, Moody’s Investors Service warned it will cut the district's bond rating
-- which is already down at Ba2, junk status, forcing the district to pay extra
when it borrows money -- because the district's proposed $2.5 billion budget
for the next fiscal year will “materially imperil its ability to provide
students with an adequate education." Without $216 million in additional funding,
Moody's analyst Dan Seymour wrote in a report to clients, the district
threatens to increase the average class size to 41 students and lay off more
than 1,000 staff. " This is credit negative because a further
deterioration in education services will likely result in additional student
flight to charter schools and other alternatives," further reducing
district revenues, Seymour
added. 3 in 10 Philadelphia
students already go to charter schools.
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Moodys-Philadelphia-School-District-.html#1SeLy2YTIyQ04krd.99
PA lawmakers get stern
warnings from three major credit rating agencies
By Eric Boehm | PA
Independent May 5, 2014
Once is a fluke, twice
can be a coincidence. But three times is
a trend.
During the past two
weeks, all three major credit rating agencies have issued stern warnings to Pennsylvania
policymakers in advance of the coming budget season. Two of them, Fitch and
Standard & Poor’s, say they may be forced to reduce Pennsylvania’s credit
rating, making it more expensive for the state to borrow money on the bond
market, unless pension debts are addressed and spending is brought in line with
revenue to address a structural deficit in the state budget. “Pennsylvania
faces fiscal pressures in the form of a structurally unbalanced budget,
depleted reserves, and a rapidly growing pension cost burden following years of
underfunding and market-driven investment declines,” Fitch warned on April 24.
“Continued inability to address these concerns, or worsening of any of these
conditions, over the near term could trigger further negative rating action.” The agencies are most worried about Pennsylvania ’s $48
billion unfunded pension liability, which is split between the State Employees
Retirement System and the Public School Employees Retirement System.
Budget shortfall may scuttle
governor’s plan to boost education funding
By Maura Pennington | PA
Independent May 6, 2014
“What we have now makes no sense,”
Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq said. “Students with multiple
physical handicaps don't require the same amount of funding as kids who need
speech language therapy, and everyone is paying more than they should.”
PA formula for special
education funding unworkable, experts say
By Daveen Rae Kurutz and
Megan Harris Published: Sunday, May 4, 2014, 9:10 p.m.
More than 46,000 Western Pennsylvania special education students are on
the losing end of a state funding formula that dumps their education costs onto
school districts inequitably, educators and some lawmakers say. The state formula distributes aid on the
assumption that 16 percent of students — the state average — will need services
such as speech therapy, tutoring and devices to accommodate physical and
intellectual disabilities. But the formula shortchanges districts with
higher-than-average percentages of special education students, experts say. Even districts with fewer special education
students than the state average lack state resources to meet needs, school
officials say.
Charter schools blast proposed special education funding fix
HARRISBURG — Legislation
intended to fix Pennsylvania's flawed system for funding special education
could be a long overdue update — or it could deliver crippling financial
blows to charter schools statewide, depending whether you ask traditional
public school officials or charter school advocates. Identical bills in the House and Senate are
making headway in the General Assembly in an attempt to overhaul what educators
and lawmakers agree is an outdated and inequitable funding formula for special
education. The legislation is based on about eight months' worth of work by the Special Education Funding Commission, chaired by state Rep.
Bernie O'Neill, R-19, Warminster, and state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16, Allentown.
School districts and
their advocacy groups hail the proposed changes, which they say will finally
reimburse schools based on the true costs to serve students with special needs.
"Crippling
Blows?" Palm Beach
Owners on
the record — There’s finally word about
who bought 1071 N. Ocean Blvd. and the lot next door for a combined $28.9
million — the year’s second-largest Palm Beach residential purchase by a single buyer.
Although the property is
owned by a trust named after the 1071 address, public documents submitted to
the town show that behind the purchase were Philadelphia attorney and entrepreneur Vahan
Gureghian and his attorney wife, Danielle. They are planning to build a
20,000-square-foot mansion, complete with a two-lane bowling alley in the
basement.
Among his business
interests, which include a billboard company, Vahan Gureghian is the founder
and CEO of CSMI, a management and consulting firm for the charter-school
industry. The company also runs a large charter school that he founded in Chester , Pa. Pennsylvania after his election in 2010.
- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/beyond-the-hedges-k2-realty-opens-office-in-palm-b/nMDzL/#sthash.goYfiAfR.dpuf
EDITORIAL: Pa.
The wheels of justice have nothing on property tax reform and
education funding in this state.
Both grind away at a snail’s pace. In the meantime, senior citizens and others
on fixed incomes struggle to meet the bane of the Pennsylvania homeowner, the yolk of paying
for public education on the backs of those who deign to own property. With the state preparing for a battle royal
of an election in which a bevy of Democrats are running to unseat Gov. Tom
Corbett, it’s not surprising that education funding is zooming to the top of
the list of hot issues in the race.
Inquirer Editorial: Give
Council an F
City Council has lost
all credibility when it comes to bailing out Philadelphia 's cash-strapped public schools.
Its members may sound concerned, but if they were, they wouldn't continue to
sit on $120 million in potential sales-tax revenue that they could give to the
schools with one vote.
Council President
Darrell L. Clarke on Monday condescendingly assured Superintendent William R.
Hite Jr. that Council would "pony up more money" because "we
always do." But it is Clarke's insistence that half the sales-tax money be
used for pension relief that is blocking its use for schools. He and Mayor
Nutter must look elsewhere to pay for pensions.
Read more at
School Budget Problems Have
Deep Roots in Philadelphia
District's problems seen as chronic
Education Week By Denisa
R. Superville Published Online: May 6, 2014
For the second year in a
row, the public schools here face the possibility of hundreds of layoffs,
larger class sizes, and fewer programs. The
problem for the Philadelphia
district is revenue, or a lack thereof, according to Superintendent William R.
Hite, who described what has amounted to an annual cycle of deep budget cuts as
"immoral." Urban school
districts, to be sure, have had their share of financial challenges, but
Philadelphia's case appears to be far more acute and intractable, a confluence
of politics and money, ability, and means.
A school's fate remains in
question pending investigation
thenotebook by Bill
Hangley Jr. on May
06 2014 Posted in Latest news
In the wake of a
contentious and contested charter school election at Edward T. Steel School
Pennsylvania schools lament
possible loss of phone, Internet subsidies
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review By Debra
Erdley Published: Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 11:15 p.m.
A Federal Communications Commission proposal to trim some Internet and telephone subsidies to schools and libraries is raising red flags in cash-strapped school districts. The subsidies, known as E-rates, underwrote more than $1.1 billion in costs for telephone service, new websites, Internet connections and email access for 1,100Pennsylvania
schools and libraries between 1998 and 2012, according to the Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officers.
A Federal Communications Commission proposal to trim some Internet and telephone subsidies to schools and libraries is raising red flags in cash-strapped school districts. The subsidies, known as E-rates, underwrote more than $1.1 billion in costs for telephone service, new websites, Internet connections and email access for 1,100
Although the FCC has not
released its final plan, many suspect the agency intends to phase out subsidies
for so-called legacy services such as telephone voice services and hosted email
and add money for new technologies and services.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey,
D-Scranton, fears changes could hurt many schools.
PLANCON: Show us the money:
School districts wait in vain for promised state funds
The Donegal School District
"Crocamo,
along with Gary Schreckengost, Brian Kresge, Alice Yoder, Charlie Hample and
Bryan Sanguinito, were railing against a moratorium placed on funds under the
state's PlanCon program, which provides funds to help schools build and expand.
Freezing the money has left school boards, and quite possibly taxpayers, in
Donegal, Eastern Lancaster County, Elizabethtown, Hempfield, Lancaster, Manheim
Township, Octorara and Penn Manor, holding the bag for $8.5 million."
Democrats denounce PLANCON cuts
to local schools
Gov. Tom Corbett's decision to
renege on state funding promised to schools for construction projects has
Democrats running for office in November angry.
On Tuesday six candidates gathered at the corner of Route 772 and Koser Road just
outside Donegal High
School to vent their frustration and pledge to restore funding
the Pennsylvania 's
schools.
Gov. Tom Corbett's office says he plans to sign it. The sponsor, Berks County Republican Rep.
David Maloney, says he became aware that the standards were different while
serving as a school board member.
New report cites $100
million-plus in waste, fraud in charter school industry
The Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS May
6 at 1:30 pm
A new report (see below) by two
groups that oppose reforms that are privatizing public education finds fraud
and waste totaling more than $100 million of taxpayer funds in 15 of the 42
states that operate charter schools. The
report, titled “Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, &
Abuse,” and released by the nonprofit organizations Integrity in Education and
the Center for Popular Democracy,
cites news reports and criminal complaints from around the country that detail
how some charter school operators have illegally used public money. It also
makes policy recommendations, including a call for stopping charter expansion
until oversight of charter operators is improved. Released during National
Charter School Week, it notes that despite rapid growth in the charter
industry, there is no agency at the federal or state level that has the
resources to provide sufficient oversight.
Testing Run Amok
I: U.S.
judge: It’s ridiculous to judge teachers by test scores of students they don’t
have, but it’s legal in Florida
The Washington
Post Answer Sheet Blog BY VALERIE
STRAUSS May
7 at 4:00 am
“Justice? You get justice
in the next world, in this world you have the law.”
― William Gaddis, A
Frolic of His Own
A federal judge in Florida said that it is
wildly unfair that the state evaluates many teachers on the standardized test
scores of students they don’t have or subjects they don’t teach, but he ruled
that can’t stop it because it is legal. U.S.
District Judge Mark Walker ruled in a
lawsuit filed in 2013 by seven teachers and their unions
which challenged the state’s educator evaluation system. The teachers said
they had been or would be evaluated on the scores of students they haven’t
taught and on subjects they don’t teach and that this violated the Equal
Protection and Due Process Clause of the Constitution.
"By
state order, teachers and principals may not disclose any contents of the three
days of standardized English tests that were given at the beginning of
April"
Testing Run Amok
II: A Conversation About Tests
That Educators Want to Have, but Can’t
New York Times About
New York By JIM DWYER MAY 6, 2014
Let’s talk about testing. “I want to,” said Bob Bender, principal of
Public School 11 in Chelsea .
“I want my voice to be heard about how outraged I was about the exam.” So by all means, speak up. He sighed.
“I can’t go against the state embargo,” Mr. Bender said.
By state order, teachers and
principals may not disclose any contents of the three days of standardized
English tests that were given at the beginning of April. Under many circumstances, this might be
considered a favor to humankind: Few subjects are as fraught as standardized
testing, with no end to the crossed wires of ideology, self-interest and strong
opinions about arcane matters (how many “plausible distractors” — wrong answers
that look as if they could be right — should be included in the multiple
choices?) and ultimately, what is, or ought to be, at stake. But it is hard to ignore an uprising by 37
principals from schools in Manhattan , as well as
others from Brooklyn , who say they are not
opposed to accountability or testing, but have spoken in blunt terms about the
design and quality of this year’s state English tests. Among them was Mr.
Bender.
Spreading the A.P. Gospel to
Nurture Scientists and Engineers
New York Times By KENNETH CHANG MAY 4, 2014
A.P. physics proved far more
difficult than the earlier class. “Turns out that I’m not that good,” she said
in November. But Ms. Fritzley is exactly
the sort of student Brashear administrators want in A.P. math and science
classes — not just the brainiest top achievers, but also the average and above
average. Next week, she will take the
advanced placement exam in physics, part of an annual two-week ritual for high
school students. The goal is to score 3 or higher on the 1 to 5 scale, which
many colleges will reward with course credit.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth
(PCCY) will Host an Education Funding Forum in Delaware County on May 7th
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
PILCOP Know Your Child’s Rights
Seminars
Join us on May 15th for one of three training
sessions on Assistive Technology and Settlements.
Public Interest Law Center
of Philadelphia
This
training series on special education law teaches parents, attorneys and
advocates how to secure education rights and services for students with special
needs. These seminars aim to bring together a diverse community of
advocates including parents, special education advocates, educators, attorneys,
and community members. Each session focuses on a different legal topic, service
or disability. Many sessions are co-led with guest speakers.
Next Trainings: Thursday May 15,
2014: Assistive Technology and Other Related Services; Settlements; Settlements
(Abbreviated Session)
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.
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.
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