Keystone State Education Coalition

Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

Monday, June 30, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 30: No-tax budget teed up for final votes Monday/ Philly school funding tangled up in Pa. budget battle

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

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

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

PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 30, 2014:

No-tax budget teed up for final votes Monday/ Philly school funding tangled up in Pa. budget battle

Pa. lawmakers punch in late for final budget push: Monday Morning Coffee

By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com on June 30, 2014 at 8:20 AM

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Well, this is it -- the final day of the 2013/14 fiscal year. It's the first day of the rest of our lives.

Or it's the first day of the rest of July if lawmakers fail to have a spending plan and its accoutrements in place roundabout midnight tonight. Legislators returned to work last night to push some papers around while the grown-ups got about the business of getting a budget in place. The $29.1 billion spending plan the House approved week cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee last night, putting it in position for a vote later today.

How do they pay for everything without a tax increase? Excellent question - glad you asked.

http://blog.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2014/06/pa_lawmakers_punch_in_late_for.html

Pennsylvania's 2014-15 state budget is set up for Monday passage

By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com
on June 29, 2014 at 11:13 PM, updated June 30, 2014 at 7:03 AM

The proposed $29.1 billion plan will balance through a hopes for a return to strong economic growth, the shift of some $200 million in medical assistance and welfare costs to special funds and other accounting maneuvers. But it does not raise taxes.

The plan raises total general fund spending about $500 million, or about 1.9 percent from current-year levels, according to Senate Appropriation Committee printouts.

It funds most of Gov. Tom Corbett's priorities – including a boost in k-12 education grants and pre-kindergarten programs and more funding to pare down waiting lists for services for adults with intellectual disabilities. Lawmakers even retained a small line item directing funds to Children's Advocacy Centers, regional centers dedicated to the professional investigation of and response to child abuse. It also, in what amounts to a major philosophical statement for lawmakers, makes the state's full payment for 2014-15 against what is a steadily-rising contribution to pension systems for state workers and public school teachers.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/pennsylvanias_next_state_budge.html

Pennsylvania lawmakers take up budget proposal again as deadline looms

By Kate Giammarise & Karen Langley / Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau June 30, 2014 7:03 AM

HARRISBURG -- Senate Republicans on Sunday turned from an earlier openness on using taxes to close a state budget shortfall, sending toward the floor a trimmer spending plan than Gov. Tom Corbett proposed earlier in the year. At $29.1 billion, the state general fund would be hundreds of millions of dollars smaller than Mr. Corbett called for in February, before months of poor revenue collections left Pennsylvania facing a budget gap of well more than $1 billion.

The Senate and House are expected to take up the proposal today with hopes of delivering the general appropriations bill to Mr. Corbett by the start of the new fiscal year at midnight.

Minority Democrats derided the plan, passed on a party-line vote, as based on overly-rosy revenue projections and too many one-time fund transfers.

Elected officials-only pension reform plan teed up for a vote in the Senate

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on June 29, 2014 at 10:11 PM

It's not at all the sweeping pension reform that Gov. Tom Corbett sought but the Senate has now positioned a bill for a vote by that chamber that would move elected officials into a 401k-style plan like most private sector employees have. The Senate Appropriations Committee tonight took the historic step of voting unanimously to approve the legislation that is hoped might grease the skids for a broader pension change later that Corbett wants. He is urging the Legislature to reform the state pension systems to address the $47 billion debt for pension benefits that retired and current employees have accrued but the systems lack the money to provide and to prevent the system from getting into this financial bind again in the future.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/elected_officials-only_pension.html

Lawmakers propose new spending plan as Corbett pushes Philly-area Dems

By Brad Bumsted and Melissa Daniels Sunday, June 29, 2014, 7:33 p.m.
Updated 8 hours ago

HARRISBURG — With one day left before the state's constitutional budget deadline, Gov. Tom Corbett on Sunday was coming up short of votes needed to push through his major agenda items: pension and liquor reform. The General Assembly could vote on a state budget of about $29.1 billion on Monday before the midnight deadline, but changes to the state liquor and pension systems appear to be shelved as lawmakers prepare to recess for the summer this week. The state is grappling with a $1.4 billion deficit, and the budget proposal increases spending by $500 million without raising taxes. The Senate Appropriations Commitee approved the plan in a 16-10 party line vote about 9 p.m., positioning the bill for a vote on the floor. The no-new-revenue plan includes a $300 million increase in basic funding for the state's 500 school districts, instead of the $241 million Corbett proposed in February. Corbett, in a last-ditch effort, attempted a compromise with Philadelphia Democrats to vote for pension changes if he agrees to a cigarette tax in that city only to fund Philadelphia schools. Sen. Vincent Hughes and other Philadelphia Democrats rejected the proposal.

Corbett could veto budget without pension changes

Senate panel responds with vote to remove all elected state officials and judges from pension system upon re-election.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau 11:18 p.m. EDT, June 29, 2014

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett said Sunday he has not ruled out a veto of the state budget if lawmakers do nothing to address pension debt costs that are eating up more and more taxpayer money. Corbett made that announcement at a news conference in his Capitol office as lawmakers continued their annual frenetic dance of trying to pass a new budget by 11:59 p.m. Monday. If pension reforms are not made, Corbett said, local property taxes will keep rising to cover escalating costs to pay off old pension debt, not help students, Corbett said.

"We are seeing high pension costs killing our school districts all across Pennsylvania," Corbett said. "I'm urging the Legislature to continue to work on pension reform."

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association backed Corbett. "Pennsylvania needs long-term pension reform," the group said in a statement.

PA lawmakers told to be prepared to vote on budget

Liquor, pension changes apparently off the table but $380M hole remains as Monday deadline looms.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau 9:20 p.m. EDT, June 28, 2014

HARRISBURG ——

Last week, Gov. Tom Corbett gave lawmakers an ultimatum: change liquor and pension systems or he won't sign a budget that includes tax increases by the June 30 deadline.

With that deadline at 11:59 p.m. Monday, lawmakers are wrapping up a budget proposal that does not include tax increases on tobacco products and natural gas drillers in the hopes that Corbett will sign it on time or at least some time before the July 4 holiday weekend.

On Saturday, Senate Republican leaders sent the administration a budget proposal that is expected to be higher than the $29.1 billion spending plan the GOP-controlled House approved last week but lower than the $29.4 billion Corbett suggested in February.

"We are trying to put together a $29-plus billion budget that doesn't have any revenue increases," Budget Secretary Charles B. Zogby said. Saturday was a non-voting session for the House and Senate. But lawmakers have been told by their respective caucus leaders to be prepared to vote on a budget sometime Sunday evening or Monday.

Corbett stands by his demands as end-game begins

Governor again calls for pension reform as state House passes $29.1 billion budget without reform measure and a Senate panel follows suit.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau 9:13 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2014

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett on Thursday said legislative leaders need to allow lawmakers to vote on bills that would change the state pension systems as part of next year's budget. The public deserves to know where their local lawmakers stand on pension reform, Corbett said. Spending for education and other agencies will continue to suffer and the state's bond rating will erode if changes, even incremental ones, are not made to the pension systems for state workers and public school teachers, the governor said.

"In dealing with the pensions, I think it's very important for the people of Pennsylvania to know this is not partisan. This is not Republican, this is not Democrat, this is a taxpayer issue," Corbett said in a rare impromptu news conference in the Capitol newsroom. "It's a taxpayer issue because if the rating goes down, borrowing gets more expensive."

It's also an election-year issue in the face of a cumulative $1.4 billion deficit.

Gov. Tom Corbett issues budget ultimatum to Legislature

He wants liquor and pension reform changes — or he won't sign the budget by June 30 deadline.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau 9:36 p.m. EDT, June 17, 2014

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett celebrated his 66th birthday Tuesday. But the Legislature did not give him what he wanted: pension reform and changes to the state liquor store system as part of the 2014-15 budget. So Corbett advised lawmakers to cancel their summer vacations. He said he will not approve the budget — and any tax increases needed to close a big deficit — by the June 30 deadline without liquor and pension changes. He wants pension payments lowered to give him more money to spend on public schools — a move that would increase long-term debt. "I am willing to be here. The lieutenant governor is willing to be here," Corbett said in a rare, budget-related news conference at the Capitol. "No bluster, no threats. These are facts.

With the budget deadline looming, pension reform? What pension reform?: John L. Micek

By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com on June 29, 2014 at 8:47 PM, updated June 30, 2014 at 7:50 AM

So it's the Sunday night before the budget deadline, and it's come to this: Gov. Tom Corbetthas gone fishing for Democratic votes in Philadelphia to get a pension reform plan onto his desk before lawmakers skedaddle for the summer.

During a news conference in his Capitol office on Sunday night, Corbett offered to trade a vote on a Philly-only, $2-a-pack increase to the cigarette tax in exchange for a vote on pensions.

Why? Because the city needs state authorization to get the tax, which raises $45 million in its first year, and $85 million a year thereafter. Corbett tried to position the vote as a matter of property tax relief -- arguing that homeowners in Philly (and elsewhere in the state) would be socked with huge real estate tax increases as districts raced to keep up with exploding pension costs.

Democrats from both sides of the Capitol were quick to stomp on the administration's proposal, accusing Corbett of playing politics with schoolkids to score a win on one of his signal budget priorities. "The governor is trying to regurgitate a program that he couldn't get passed with Republican majorities in the House and Senate," said Sen. Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. "It's over."

http://blog.pennlive.com/capitol-notebook/2014/06/pension_reform_what_pension_re_1.html

Sunday morning budget negotiations produces near-agreement on a $29.1 billion spending plan, leaders say

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on June 29, 2014 at 2:50 PM, updated June 29, 2014 at 8:34 PM

House and Senate leaders emerged from a two-hour negotiating session with a near agreement on a $29.1 billion general fund budget and revenue plan for 2014-15. While some details still remained to be nailed down, leaders from both chambers sounded encouraged that they will be able to get a no-tax increase budget done before the new fiscal year starts on Tuesday.

"We're moving toward a final chapter," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County. "We still have things that need to be worked out [but] we're narrowing the issues."

"We're moving forward on a budget and we feel very positive about it," said

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County. "We should have an on-time budget and it's responsible."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/sunday_morning_budget_negotiat.html

No-tax budget teed up for final votes Monday

WITf State House Sound Bites by Mary Wilson, Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun 29, 2014 11:27 PM

A roughly $29.1 billion state budget is poised for final votes in the House and Senate Monday.

The plan includes no new taxes, and appears likely to go to the governor before the midnight deadline. Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans are noting the number of one-time funding sources and optimistic tax revenue forecasts baked into the plan.

http://www.witf.org/state-house-sound-bites/2014/06/no-tax-budget-teed-up-for-final-votes-monday.php#.U7FUi3vuz6s.twitter

"It is a sad day in public service that we find children being held on the railroad tracks awaiting some rescue to come from somewhere that has nothing to do with them." - Mayor Nutter

Philadelphia school funding tangled up in Pa. budget battle

AMY WORDEN, INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU LAST UPDATED: Monday, June 30, 2014, 1:07 AM POSTED: Sunday, June 29, 2014, 10:50 PM

HARRISBURG - The down-to-the-wire battle over the 2014-15 state budget was overshadowed Sunday by a firefight that erupted over funding for the Philadelphia school district.

Without enough GOP votes for a pension-overhaul plan, Gov. Corbett and House Republican leaders gave Philadelphia Democrats a Hobson's choice: Vote for the GOP pension plan in return for Republican support for an increase to the cigarette tax in the city.

Philadelphia wants legislative approval of the tax to help plug a hole in the school budget.

Vote against pensions, Corbett said, and city schools will end up at least $96 million short of the $135 million in additional funding Mayor Nutter said is needed to open the doors in September.

"The Philadelphia delegation has the ability to help far more than they have," Corbett said in an impromptu news conference with reporters in his Capitol office. "If there is a positive pension reform vote there will be a cigarette tax for Philadelphia."

Corbett added, "It's in their hands."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140630_Philadelphia_school_funding_tangled_up_in_Pa__budget_battle.html#L0QvvwRyVw55AXPU.99

Pension bill tied to aid for Philadelphia schools

MARC LEVY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LAST UPDATED: Sunday, June 29, 2014, 8:56 PM
POSTED: Sunday, June 29, 2014, 6:13 PM

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Approval for a cigarette tax increase in Philadelphia was being held up in the Pennsylvania Legislature on Sunday by Republicans who were trying to scrape up enough support to pass legislation backed by Gov. Tom Corbett to reduce future public employee pension benefits. House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, said Republicans were trying to persuade Philadelphia Democrats to support the pension bill in exchange for giving the city the authority to raise sales taxes on cigarettes by $2 per-pack to benefit the city's schools.

"We need a little help, and we'll help you," Smith told reporters during an unusual weekend session as Republicans tried to advance an approximately $29 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140629_ap_3d5339737b7b4dd48983bbd1f848cae3.html#jJK5b00a8smoxw0U.99

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Pre-K for PA has supporters all over the greater Philadelphia region who want to help ensure all three and four year-old children can access quality pre-K.

We need your help -- join an upcoming phone bank. Join a fun gathering of like minds in Philadelphia and Conshohocken on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer. We are calling fellow Pre-K for PA supporters to build local volunteer teams.

Call a Pre-K Friend in Philly:
United Way Building, 6th Floor 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway 19107
Wed July 9, 5-7 PM
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM

Call a Pre-K Friend in Mont Co:
Anne's House 242 Barren Hill Road Conshohocken PA 19428
Wed July 16, 5-7pm
Wed July 30, 5-7pm

RSVP: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51084/c/10476/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9390

EPLC Education Issues Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters - Harrisburg July 31

Register Now! EPLC will again be hosting an Education Issues Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters. This nonpartisan, one-day program will take place on Thursday, July 31 in Harrisburg. Space is limited. Click here to learn more about workshop and to register.

PSBA opens nominations for the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award
The nomination process is now open for the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award. This award may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. Applications will be accepted until July 16, 2014. The July 16 date was picked in honor of Timothy M. Allwein's birthday. The award will be presented during the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in October. More details and application are available on PSBA's website.

Apply Now! EPLC’s 2014-2015 Education Policy Fellowship Program

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Click here to read more about EPLC’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, including: 2014-15 Schedule 2014-15 Application Past Speakers Program Alumni And More Information

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.

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Sunday, June 29, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 29, 2014: Schools to lose in House Budget Proposal

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

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

PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 29, 2014:

Schools to lose in House Budget Proposal

The Senate Education Committee is slated to meet off the floor today (Sunday) to consider HB618, Charter School Reform

The House Appropriations Committee Fiscal Note summarizes the provisions in this bill

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2013/0/HB0618P2371.pdf

PA lawmakers told to be prepared to vote on budget

Liquor, pension changes apparently off the table but $380M hole remains as Monday deadline looms.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau 9:20 p.m. EDT, June 28, 2014

HARRISBURG ——

Last week, Gov. Tom Corbett gave lawmakers an ultimatum: change liquor and pension systems or he won't sign a budget that includes tax increases by the June 30 deadline.

"We are trying to put together a $29-plus billion budget that doesn't have any revenue increases," Budget Secretary Charles B. Zogby said.

Saturday was a non-voting session for the House and Senate. But lawmakers have been told by their respective caucus leaders to be prepared to vote on a budget sometime Sunday evening or Monday.

Lehigh Valley schools to lose in House budget proposal

By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times on June 28, 2014 at 7:30 PM

The Lehigh Valley's three largest school districts are set to lose almost $5 million combined if the state budget passed by the House of Representatives stays intact.

Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal called for a $241 million increase in funding for school districts through a new Ready to Learn Block Grant.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed -- in a 110-93 vote -- a budget that replaces the block grant program with a $70 million basic education increase. The House plan includes a flat 2 percent special education funding hike, eschewing a new formula devised by the special education funding commission. Lehigh Valley legislators in the House voted along party lines with Republicans supporting the plan.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/06/lehigh_valley_schools_to_lose.html#incart_river

Get ready for the big 'gimmick' state budget

BY MARC LEVY ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Call it "the big gimmick."

An approximately $29 billion state government operating budget under negotiation in the Legislature is likely to be based on a fast-growing amount of one-time cash items to avoid the prospect of a tax increase that would split the House's and Senate's Republican majorities.

The one-time items — derided by critics as gimmicks — include raiding off-budget programs, postponing bills and cleaning out reserves.

And this year, with a massive and unexpected collapse in tax collections, Republicans have shied away from putting off business tax cuts or increasing taxes on the booming natural gas industry or sales of tobacco products advocated by Democrats. Instead, they have looked to push one-timers past $2 billion. That is the highest they have ever been, not counting the $6.9 billion in federal recession bailout dollars that came to Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2011.

"This will be precedent-setting in one-time revenues," said Randy Albright, the Democrats' top staff aide on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Some Republicans acknowledge that the trend toward a tax increase is inevitable.

On-time budget for Pennsylvania? Most wouldn't notice a short delay

By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2014 at 4:36 PM, updated June 28, 2014 at 7:12 PM

So who gets hurt if there is not a state budget signed, sealed and delivered by July 1, the start of Pennsylvania's new fiscal year? Most likely, no one if the delay is short.

Court rulings in recent years have largely taken the threat of payless paydays for state employees – one of former Gov. Ed Rendell's ploys during an extended stalemate in 2009 - off the table.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/on_time_budget_for_pennsylvani.html

Corbett may be resigned to getting just a budget, without his wish list: Pennsylvania budget update

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2014 at 9:39 PM, updated June 28, 2014 at 11:43 PM

As the clock for getting an on-time budget gets closer to running out of time, people around the Capitol began to suggest on Saturday that Gov. Tom Corbett has resigned himself to just getting a budget done without it having pension reform or liquor privatization in tow.

When asked about the governor's level of enthusiasm for accepting a budget-only scenario, his communications director Lynn Lawson offered no direct response.

Instead, she said, "The governor is working toward what is in the best interests of the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The budget meetings and negotiations are ongoing and details are changing frequently so it is premature to comment on a particular proposal."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/corbett_may_be_resigned_to_jus.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Midnight oil being burned in two state Capitols this weekend to get a budget done on time

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2014 at 7:26 PM, updated June 28, 2014 at 8:20 PM

What do Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have in common besides both being commonwealths?

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures'website, both happen to be the only legislatures burning the midnight oil trying to finalize a budget before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/midnight_oil_being_burned_in_t.html

Protesters forgo day at an amusement park to send message to Corbett, lawmakers: Fund our schools

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
on June 28, 2014 at 3:04 PM, updated June 28, 2014 at 4:46 PM

Had it not been for the dire straits in which the state budget proposals being bandied about inside the state Capitol would leave their schools, these Philadelphia parents say they would have spent this sunny June day at an amusement park or Franklin Institute or taking the kids to church choir practice. Instead, they found themselves crammed under a pop-up canopy at the bottom of the Capitol steps, shaded by spray-painted bed sheets that carried two simple messages: "Fund Our Schools" and "Expand Medicaid."

The dozen or so people hanging out there were all from Philadelphia, but they said they speak for all children who will be hurt by a no-new tax budget that legislative leaders directed their staffs to spend today inside the Capitol developing.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/protesters_forgo_day_at_an_amu.html

This letter was sent to all state legislators in the 5-county region and to press representatives yesterday. 150 signers from 27 colleges/universities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

An Open Letter to Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly

Higher Education United for Public Education June 27, 2014

As college and university educators from the greater Philadelphia region, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, we would like to offer our perspective on Pennsylvania’s current approach to funding public education for grades K-12. We believe that this approach is undermining not only students’ primary and secondary school experiences, but their post-secondary educational options as well.

From the perspective of access to higher education, this disinvestment can mean Pennsylvania students are (1) less prepared than their peers from other states who have had access to a well-rounded curriculum, including honors, IB, and AP courses, (2) less able to compete for academic or athletic scholarship funding when their schools are unable to offer PSATs or sports programs, (3) less likely to apply to college due to the absence of adequate counseling on the high-school level, and (4) less able to manage the academic demands of college without remedial coursework.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-plbIARQ3VYCZw8IKOK3PEpOsdY1Y789VB9pMOYoDIo/pub

Enough Is Enough: Pennsylvania Must Contribute Its Fair Share to Fund Our Schools

Huffington Post by Brian SIms, Pennsylvania State Representative in Philadelphia's 182nd District Posted: 06/27/2014 2:21 pm EDT Updated: 06/27/2014 2:59 pm EDT

Over the past year and a half, I have walked the halls of Philadelphia schools and spoken with students of all ages. I have met with parents in community centers, cafeterias, and gymnasiums to hear their worries and frustrations. I have heard from teachers, who day in and day out go to work unsure if they will have enough paper for their students or worried a child will have a medical emergency on a day there is no school nurse available. For the last several years, we have found ourselves facing an unacceptable lack of state funding for schools. This year we are once again facing the Commonwealth's dereliction of duty in properly funding our public schools.

I'm proud to say that the City of Philadelphia has done its part. Despite fiscal problems of its own, City Council has delivered an additional $30 million to help narrow the gap in education funding. Philadelphia has also asked for enabling legislation to impose a $2 per pack tax on cigarette sales within the city limits. This initiative is estimated to generate nearly $45 million for the school district, which would significantly aid in closing the district's $216 million deficit resulting from Governor Corbett's over $1 billion in devastating education funding cuts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-sims/enough-is-enough-pennsylv_b_5537483.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000020&ir=Education

Playing Politics With Education

Did the governors of Michigan and Pennsylvania cut education funding or increase it?

FactCheck.org Posted on June 27, 2014

Claims from gubernatorial candidates and their opponents about education funding in Michigan and Pennsylvania couldn’t appear to be more conflicting.

§ In Michigan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer talks about reversing Gov. Rick Snyder’s “billion dollars in education cuts.” Snyder’s campaign adviser, meanwhile, claims “Governor Snyder increased school funding by $1 billion.”

§ In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett’s wife, Sue, is featured in an ad saying that Corbett “increased spending in the education department $1.5 billion over what it was when he came into office.” But according to the website of Corbett’s Democratic opponent, Tom Wolf, Corbett “cut state education funding by more than $1 billion.”

What gives? The disparate claims in both states have similar roots.

http://www.factcheck.org/2014/06/playing-politics-with-education/?utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=6bf4e6822c-FactCheck_Newsletter_6_27_20146_27_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3294bba774-6bf4e6822c-47756729

Deal seen near on Penna. budget

POSTED: Sunday, June 29, 2014, 1:09 AM

HARRISBURG - For years, the GOP-led legislature has resisted imposing a tax on the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, arguing it would create a burden on a fledgling industry.

But with gas production booming, tax supporters have countered that Pennsylvania should capitalize on hundreds of millions in potential revenue - money that could have helped fuel the state's economic recovery. Aft ion budget shortfall, legislators left Friday confident that next year's spending plan won't rely on new er weeks of rumblings that a natural gas tax might be needed to close the state's nearly $1.5 bill taxes. They didn't say how they would balance the budget, but they return to session Sunday evening, with an eye toward reaching a deal by Monday night.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140629_Deal_seen_near_on_Penna__budget.html#VaceUXAAc9FCYYHi.99

Analysis: How Do House Budget Cuts Affect Your School District?

Posted by PA Budget and Policy Center on June 27, 2014

The Impact of the House Budget on Funding for School Districts and Charter Schools

The budget approved by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 25 made significant changes to the Governor’s proposed allocations to school districts and charter schools.

The House budget eliminates a $241 million increase to school districts and charter schools offered in the Governor’s Ready to Learn Block Grant, replacing it with a $70 million basis education increase, which is a 71% reduction from the Governor’s original proposed increase.

The House kept a 2% increase in special education funding, allocated through a flat 2% increase to each district – rather than using the formula devised by the Special Education Funding Commission to focus assistance where it is most needed, and added $10 million to fund new school construction projects, although the distribution of those funds is not known.

https://pennbpc.org/analysis-how-do-house-budget-cuts-affect-your-school-district

Failing in slow motion: A community's helping hands

Lancaster Online By JEFF HAWKES | Staff Writer Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 7:30 am

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series examining the financial sustainability of the Columbia Borough School District and the impact of its struggling schools on the students, teachers, residents and businesses of the proud river town. A six-page special section is in today’s Sunday News.

Presiding at school board meetings, Tom Strickler would look out at a sea of empty seats for the public and wonder how to engage the community. People complained about taxes but few saw how the board minimized increases. After one difficult vote to eliminate aides, Strickler visited kindergarten classes, saw the demands wall-to-wall 5-year-olds placed on a teacher and knew what to do.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/failing-in-slow-motion-a-community-s-helping-hands/article_419dfa5a-fc94-11e3-a839-0017a43b2370.html

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EPLC Education Issues Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters - Harrisburg July 31

Apply Now! EPLC’s 2014-2015 Education Policy Fellowship Program

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Click here to read more about EPLC’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, including: 2014-15 Schedule 2014-15 Application Past Speakers Program Alumni And More Information

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Keystone State Education Coalition PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 28, 2014: Statewide Budget Coverage

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PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 28, 2014: Statewide Budget Coverage

Education Policy and Leadership Center

EPLC Education Notebook – Friday, June 27, 2014

Senate Schedule:

tweet from Sen. Dominic Pileggi @SenatorPileggi June 27

#PASenate session schedule going forward: Convening on 6/28 at 11 a.m., on 6/29 at 4 p.m. & on 6/30 at 1 p.m.

House Schedule:

tweet from Rep. Stephen Bloom ‏@RepBloom June 27

And the PA House stands adjourned. Non-voting session tomorrow (Saturday), voting session 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

PA Budget and Policy Center Analysis of House budget vs. Governor's proposed budget

· 498 of 500 school districts lose funds under the House plan. Only Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County and Bryn Athyn in Montgomery County come out ahead.

· Poorer school districts and those with growing enrollments or above average property tax burdens receive among the largest dollar cuts.

· Lebanon School District in Lebanon County has the largest per student cut, followed by Reading City School District, Scranton School District,Steelton-Highspire School District, Shenandoah Valley School District in Schuylkill County, Lancaster School District, Panther Valley School District in Carbon County, and Southeast Delco School District in Delaware County. For a list of 50 school districts with the largest per-student reductions, please see Appendix 1.

· The School District of Philadelphia receives a $16.6 million cut in the House plan from the Governor’s proposal. The district has seen large cuts over the last three years, and has eliminated 5,000 positions, closed 31 school buildings and eliminated all but 16 libraries for 200 school buildings.[ii]

· Other big losers include the Allentown School District, (-$2.5 million), Erie City School District, (-$1.8 million), Upper Darby, (- $1.7 million),Lancaster School District, (-$1.6 million), Bethlehem Area, (- $1.4 million), Pocono Mountain, (-$1.1 million), and Easton Area, East Stroudsburg and Altoona have reductions of almost $1 million. A list of the 50 school districts with the largest dollar reductions from the Governor’s plan can be found in Appendix 2.

· Charter Schools will lose a total of $19.2 million in direct funding from the proposed Ready to Learn Block Grant.

PBPC Analysis: How Do House Budget Cuts Affect Your School District?

Posted by PA Budget and Policy Center on June 27, 2014

The Impact of the House Budget on Funding for School Districts and Charter Schools

The budget approved by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 25 made significant changes to the Governor’s proposed allocations to school districts and charter schools.

The House budget eliminates a $241 increase to school districts and charter schools offered in the Governor’s Ready to Learn Block Grant, replacing it with a $70 million basis education increase, which is a 71% reduction from the Governor’s original proposed increase.

The education funding cuts from the Governor’s budget are part of an overall spending plan that is still in flux. The House plan, which relies on unlikely funding sources, could be amended in the Senate to include new revenue and a restoration of some of the education funding promised in Governor Corbett’s budget.

https://pennbpc.org/analysis-how-do-house-budget-cuts-affect-your-school-district

"Unfilled staff positions. Reduced building budgets. Pay-to-play athletics. New bus schedules. Schools across Lancaster County continue to search for ways to trim budgets as school funding fails to keep up with rising pension, special education and health care costs.

Fifteen of 17 school districts approved tax hikes this month. Tax increases alongside cost-saving measures mirror the decisions of school officials across Pennsylvania."

School cuts and tax hikes are the norm for county and state

Lancaster Online By KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff Writer Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 3:26 pm | Updated: 4:01 pm, Fri Jun 27, 2014.

Unfilled staff positions. Reduced building budgets. Pay-to-play athletics. New bus schedules.

Schools across Lancaster County continue to search for ways to trim budgets as school funding fails to keep up with rising pension, special education and health care costs.

Fifteen of 17 school districts approved tax hikes this month. Tax increases alongside cost-saving measures mirror the decisions of school officials across Pennsylvania.

About 75 percent of school district officials expected to increase property taxes in 2014-15, according to a survey of 279 of the state's 500 districts, released in early June.

More than half of school districts expected to eliminate or reduce academic programs in the coming school year.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/school-cuts-and-tax-hikes-are-the-norm-for-county/article_f87d882e-fe30-11e3-95d9-0017a43b2370.html

Pileggi, Pa. GOP leaders shoot for no-new-taxes budget

Delco Times By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press POSTED: 06/28/14, 5:20 AM EDT |

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Legislature pressed ahead Friday with efforts to put together an all-GOP state budget plan calling for as much as $29.4 billion in spending without raising taxes. Rank-and-file lawmakers were sent home early after a day of limited floor activity, while GOP leaders from both chambers huddled privately and staff members made plans to work into the weekend. The House and Senate were slated to reconvene Sunday afternoon.

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20140628/pileggi-pa-gop-leaders-shoot-for-no-new-taxes-budget

Progress reported in Pa. budget talks, but closure still seems days away

By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com on June 27, 2014 at 9:47 PM, updated June 27, 2014 at 10:06 PM

The push for a "live-within-your-means" budget in Pennsylvania gained momentum Friday, as Republican House and Senate leaders reported progress after closed-door talks on a spending plan of slightly more than $29 billion.

office Thursday kicking off multi-day protest for what they see as full statewide education funding and fair revenue solutions. Sean Simmers, PennLive.com. June 26, 2014SEAN SIMMERS

"We made very significant progress with the House Republican leadership. We have details to iron out and, as you know, many times those details are the most difficult things to iron out," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County. "But we had a very productive meeting today." The current paradigm has been set in part by seeming stalemate in the House and Senate on passage of another major reform to the state public pension systems, a priority demand of Gov. Tom Corbett's. Syrocketing taxpayer-funded contributions to the systems serving state employees and public school employees threaten to suffocate chances to significantly increase investment in school funding, aid to public colleges and other popular line items. The retirement system costs alone are expected to grow by a combined $600 million per year over the next several years, gobbling up about 60 cents of every new dollar in new state revenue.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/progress_reported_in_pennsylva.html

With no tax hikes, Pa. Republicans hope to approve budget by Monday

ANGELA COULOUMBIS, INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU POSTED: June 27, 2014, 7:44 PM Last updated: Saturday, June 28, 2014, 1:08 AM
HARRISBURG - Republican legislative leaders emerged from closed-door budget talks Friday saying they are considering a state spending plan that would not raise any taxes - and one that they believe they can approve by the Monday deadline. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said Republicans who control the Senate and House are looking at a budget blueprint that would spend between $29.1 billion and $29.4 billion.

He also said they are no longer discussing ways to raise new revenue through taxes. What that means, at least for now, is that a proposal to raise the state's tax on cigarettes, or impose a new tax on natural gas extraction, appears to be off the negotiating table.

"Across the Pennsylvania Capitol, past a rotunda teeming with lobbyists, Philadelphia-area parents and children stood outside another set of closed doors -- those of Gov. Tom Corbett -- to repeat chants urging increases in funding for public schools."

Legislators scramble to beat budget deadline

By Karen Langley & Kate Giammarise Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau June 27, 2014 11:54 PM

HARRISBURG -- The June 30 state budget deadline ticked closer Friday without a clear end in sight as leaders of the Republican legislative majorities met privately to discuss ways to close a looming shortfall. “There's still a lot of work to do over the weekend," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, though he said the leaders had made progress in finding a common approach. The House and Senate had been scheduled to meet each day through Monday, but leaders told rank-and-file members to return late Sunday for possible votes.

Corbett stands by his demands as end-game begins

Governor again calls for pension reform as state House passes $29.1 billion budget without reform measure and a Senate panel follows suit.

By Steve Esack, Call Harrisburg Bureau :13 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2014

It's also an election-year issue in the face of a cumulative $1.4 billion deficit.

New taxes ruled out as Pa. budget takes shape

WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON JUNE 28, 2014

Pennsylvania's Republican legislative leaders say no new taxes will be part of the budget they're crafting for the fiscal year beginning Tuesday. The proposal is expected to include about a third of the governor's proposed increase to education funding and rely heavily on one-time sources of revenue – a move derided by some as unsustainable.

GOP Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said with new taxes taken off the table, an on-time budget may be within reach. "If the path that we're on would end on June 30th then we would have the budget work done on Monday -- if we're successful in our work this weekend," said Pileggi, R-Delaware, after a meeting among GOP House and Senate leaders Friday afternoon.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/69771-new-taxes-ruled-out-as-pa-budget-takes-shape?linktype=hp_topstory

State lawmakers to continue work on budget through weekend

Trib Live By Gideon Bradshaw Saturday, June 28, 2014, 12:01 a.m.

HARRISBURG — The Senate may add as much as $300 million in spending before it approves next year's budget, Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said Friday. Pileggi, R-Delaware County, would not say where the money would come from, though he ruled out voting on a severance tax on natural gas. The budget deadline is midnight Monday.

Pileggi said after a meeting with House and Senate Republican leaders that the Senate may finalize next year's budget this weekend. He estimated it would range from $29.1 billion to $29.4 billion.

Update from Harrisburg: “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around”

Parents United Posted on June 27, 2014 by HELENGYM

Yesterday, Parents United joined with sister groups across the state and our partners PCAPs, Fight for Philly and Action United to begin an as long as it takes sit-in of the governor’s office until the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passes a responsible budget for our schools.

The timing couldn’t be more important. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a budget that eviscerated Governor Corbett’s proposal for education funding, eliminating 70% (you read that right) of proposed block grants with consequences of at least $20 million for Philadelphia public schools. It’s an opening salvo for sure – changes will come – but it’s a clear reminder of how far apart our state’s legislative priorities are from the public’s priorities. The following day, Governor Corbett held a press conference and declared that it was essentially pension reform or bust. No movement on tax revenue or dollars for education unless pension reform went through.

http://parentsunitedphila.com/2014/06/27/update-from-harrisburg-aint-gonna-let-nobody-turn-us-around-2/

Sit-In or Call-In (June 30th)

Yinzercation Blog Guest post by Kathy Newman June 27,2014

We all know sitting is bad for us, right? But right now there is a group of Philadelphia parents, teachers and students sitting-in at Tom Corbett’s Harrisburg office, demanding that the Governor and the State Legislature pass a decent budget for education this month. You might not be able to get to Harrisburg to join the sit-in, but there is something you can do. And you can do it sitting down. Five-to-ten minutes of phone calling and emailing on Monday, June 30^th, from the comfort of your favorite chair, will make a real difference in this year’s budget negotiation

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/sit-in-or-call-in/

Monday, June 30 Statewide Call to Action for Public Education

Education Voters PA

It is hard to imagine, but the PA House advanced a state budget in Harrisburg that is far worse for public schools than the budget Governor Corbett proposed earlier this year.

The PA House is calling to eliminate the $241 million increase in state funding for proposed Ready to Learn Block grants and replace this with a paltry $70 million increase in Basic Education Funding.Under the House budget, PA school districts would lose about 70% of the increases in state funding they were expecting to receive this year, funding that they were relying on to balance their budgets.

The House budget is irresponsible and unacceptable. It does not call for a shale tax or a cigarette tax. Instead, it relies on the sale of state liquor stores (which the Senate has so far not supported), gimmicky sources of one-time funding, and the suspension of selected tax credits to balance the budget. Budget negotiations are just beginning. While the budget is still fluid and negotiations are taking place, advocates must speak out loudly and with one voice in support of responsible funding for public schools this year. If we don't speak up, public education will likely receive little more than scraps in the budget this year.

Mark your calendar for Monday, June 30th – and do 3 things in 10 minutes to make a difference!

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=9996

SRC likely to vote on budget without knowing state revenue

the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Jun 27, 2014 05:46 PM

The School Reform Commission is likely to vote on a budget Monday without knowing how much money the District will be getting from the state.

Intense budget maneuvering during the week will continue into the weekend, but it is entirely possible that the General Assembly will miss its June 30 deadline for approving a state budget.

Gov. Corbett said he would hold out past the deadline until he got support for his priorities, which include pension reform and privatization of state liquor stores.

As of Friday, the House had passed a budget that includes no new revenue sources and would virtually wipe out increases for education spending that Corbett had proposed. That plan would eliminate about $20 million of the funds that the District was counting on from the state.

And that budget doesn't include authorization for a city $2-a-pack cigarette tax that would bring in about $40 million for the schools next year and $80 million a year after that.

The latest reports also indicated that the Senate wasn't interested in passing any new sources of revenue -- meaning that it is likely that Philadelphia schools won't get additional money from the state.

http://thenotebook.org/blog/147409/src-likely-vote-budget-without-knowing-state-revenue

Taxes, taxes and more taxes

Failing in Slow Motion: High taxes hurting homeowners and economy in Columbia

Lancaster Online By SUSAN BALDRIGE | Staff Writer Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 7:00 am | Updated: 11:14 am, Fri Jun 27, 2014.

Sara Linkous opened the doors of her china cabinet in her Columbia home to show a delicate green and white tea set that has been handed down from mother to daughter through three generations. The family treasure will likely be gone soon, sold to pay property taxes on the stone home her father built in the 1930s.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/failing-in-slow-motion-high-taxes-hurting-homeowners-and-economy/article_eab800c4-fc7e-11e3-a335-001a4bcf6878.html

Four days before the budget deadline - putting the 'fun' in dysfunctional, it's a day in the life of the Capitol

By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com on June 27, 2014 at 8:25 AM

It's a little after 7 a.m. on Thursday morning. And four days before the deadline to pass a new state budget, the state Capitol is quiet and empty. In the building's gold-trimmed Rotunda, where frescoes stare down silently, it's cool in the heat of a late June morning and footfalls echo off the historic Mercer tile floors. A tour guide sits alone at a desk near the front door. And two state Capitol Police officers man a security checkpoint at the building's main doors a few feet away.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/four_days_before_the_budget_de.html#incart_river_default

PENSION UPDATE - TIME TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Third and State Blog Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on June 26, 2014 9:00 am

We're closing in on the end game of the Pennsylvania budget process and lawmakers are considering two different pension proposals -- both of which would be a step backward. Here's an update on these options, with links to where you can find more information.
Most discussion over the past several months has focused on the Corbett-Tobash "hybrid pension plan." This would replace existing pensions with a much smaller guaranteed pension and 401(k)-type savings accounts that cover any salary over $50,000 and service over 25 years. The governor favors combining this pension re-design with reductions in state and school district pension contributions over the next five years.

The bottom line on the Corbett-Tobash plan is that it doesn't solve PA's pension underfunding problem but it does cut pension benefits deeply for new employees. It achieves this unsavory combination because savings from benefit cuts are offset by four cost increases.

http://thirdandstate.org/2014/june/pension-update-time-go-back-drawing-board

Inquirer Editorial: State needs real budget

POSTED: Friday, June 27, 2014, 1:08 AM

The Pennsylvania House's proposed $29.1 billion budget is so out of step with the state's actual needs that the document's only possible use is to serve as scratch paper for notes during the Senate debate. The House budget largely addresses the state's estimated $1.5 billion funding gap by again shortchanging schools. It provides an additional $70 million, a 1.3 percent increase, for basic education. But that doesn't come close to making up for past cuts that have forced schools to lay off teachers. The spending plan includes no new taxes even though Pennsylvania is the only state without a tax on natural-gas drilling. And it makes no mention of a proposed Philadelphia-only cigarette tax, which city schools need to stay alive.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20140627_Inquirer_Editorial__State_needs_real_budget.html#2u6HADOjrt0XhWf4.99

DN Editorial: Pennsyltuckered out

Philly Daily News Editorial POSTED: June 26, 2014

THE GENERAL Assembly is now grappling with what could be Gov. Corbett's last budget. And given some of the obstacles to finishing it, we're grappling with the best way to characterize the story it tells. Is it "Back to the Future"? Or "Welcome to Pennsyltucky"?

(We are not disparaging the rest of the state, which is sometimes referred to as Pennsyltucky, but conveying a general theme of "backward." If you're an "Orange Is the New Black" fan, you'll know it refers to the meth-addled hillbilly character.)

Lawmakers are scrambling to fill a $1.5 billion shortfall in the budget that came about because revenue projections fell short of what Corbett had anticipated in his budget address in February.

http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-26/news/50887743_1_corbett-pennsylvania-budget-last-budget

Legislation makes passing the Keystone Exams optional as graduation requirement

By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on June 27, 2014 at 2:53 PM

Just when it seemed the battle over requiring students in the Class of 2017 and beyond to pass Keystone Exams to graduate was a part of Pennsylvania history, Senate Education Committee Chairman Mike Folmer decided to launch another grenade. The Senate Education Committee, in a bi-partisan 8-2 vote, approved his legislation that would leave it up to school districts to determine how, if at all, a student's Keystone Exams scores would count toward a course grade or graduation. The legislation does not, however, make taking these state end-of-course exams optional. Neither does it waive the requirement on districts to remediate students who earn a failing score on these state exams. Even though the committee moved the bill, Folmer's chief of staff said he did not anticipate this bill being fast-tracked through the General Assembly before the summer recess.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/legislation_makes_passing_the.html

In Rebuttal / Give ‘insiders’ a chance to reform Pittsburgh Public Schools

Plenty of outsiders have weighed in; the city must listen to neglected voices on school reform

Post Gazette Opinion By PAMELA HARBIN June 27, 2014 12:00 AM

Last week the editorial board of the Post Gazette called for more outside voices to contribute to the mayor’s education task force (“Establishment Panel: The Education Task Force Needs Outside Perspective,” June 18). As a Pittsburgh parent who has been trying to get the voices of parents heard since 2009, I must respectfully disagree. The mayor is right to include on his task force stakeholders who are linked to the district, especially those parents, teachers and students whose voices are not always heard.

My boys, Ayden, 11, and Amari, 9, attend Liberty K-5, a Spanish magnet school in Shadyside. They have been in the Pittsburgh Public Schools since kindergarten, and for the last six years I have watched as outsiders have made decisions that have hurt our schools, including the statewide billion-dollar education cut made by Gov. Tom Corbett in 2011.

Locally, both superintendents who have served the Pittsburgh Public Schools over the last 10 years came here as outsiders. Mark Roosevelt and now Linda Lane both have worked closely with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, also a group of outsiders. The foundation has made huge investments in our district, both directly and via contracts with outside consultants who have brought us the very latest in outsider thinking.

Spring-Ford Area School Board finalizes budget for 2014-15

By Frank Otto, The Mercury

POSTED: 06/26/14, 5:35 PM EDT | UPDATED: 38 SECS AGO

LIMERICK — The Spring-Ford Area School Board quietly approved the district’s 2014-15 budget, which carries a 1.95 percent tax increase, at its Monday night meeting. There was no discussion directly regarding the budget at the meeting prior to the unanimous approval. It appeared that the $136,988,745 budget was unchanged from what was advertised as the proposed final budget last month. With a 1.95 percent tax increase, Spring-Ford’s millage rate will increase from 25.524 mills to 26.016. A taxpayer in the district with a property assessed at $100,000 will see their annual taxes increase by $49.24 for 2014-15.

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140626/spring-ford-area-school-board-finalizes-budget-for-2014-15

At a recent school board meeting I voted against authorizing a payment to Agora Cyber Charter School. Why? During the NCLB regime, Agora never once made AYP; this year their PA School Performance Profile Score was 48.3 (scale of 100). In my district, our Middle School score was 94; our High School score was 96.4. We offer our students a blended learning program that allows them to take some or all of their class work online, while still participating in all extracurriculars and receiving a diploma from our school.

Agora is run by K12, Inc., a for-profit company founded by convicted bond felon Michael Milken. K12 paid it's CEO $13 million from 2009 through 2013 and spent our tax dollars on over 19,000 local TV commercials. I do not believe Agora should receive one cent of my neighbors' tax dollars.

Statement From K12 Inc. on Agora Cyber Charter School

PRESS RELEASE June 26, 2014, 4:30 p.m. EDT

The Wall Street Journal Marketwatch HERNDON, Va., Jun 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) --

As required by the existing charter agreement, this Fall, the Agora Cyber Charter School in PA ("Agora") must submit an application for the renewal of its charter agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), to continue operations for the 2015-2016 school year and beyond. The Agora Board has elected to use an RFP process for the services and products required to operate the school. Proposals are due to the Agora Board on July 25, 2014.

K12 Inc. has been working with the Board and looks forward to providing robust submissions for the provision of educational services, products, and curriculum. We are confident that this process will lead to an even stronger application to PDE for the renewal of the school's charter. We are also confident that the value K12 has brought, and can continue to bring, to the students of Agora will be clear in this process. We are proud that so many of the parents with students at Agora have expressed overall satisfaction with the school and especially with K12's curriculum.

We value our long term relationship with Agora and look forward to building on the positive momentum we have created under the Board's leadership. The innovations K12 is making in curriculum, instruction and technology offer Agora students continued learning options to fit their individual needs.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/statement-from-k12-inc-on-agora-cyber-charter-school-2014-06-26

Fairtest: Testing Resistance Continues to Grow Nationwide

By dianeravitch June 28, 2014 //

FairTest National Center for Fair & Open Testing

TO: Journalists Who Cover Education
FROM: Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
RE: Testing Resistance & Reform News
DATE: June 24, 2014

What a week!

The impacts of “Testing Resistance & Reform Spring” protests reverberate across the nation with more states suspending testing requirements or pulling out of testing consortia. Bill Gates’ call for a moratorium on some consequences from Common Core exams, quickly implemented by some political allies, reflects another way grassroots power is forcing policy elites to backpedal. To take advantage of this opportunity, parents, educators, students, and community activists need to step up advocacy campaigns to end standardized testing misuse and press for implementation of higher quality performance assessments.

http://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/28/fairtest-testing-resistance-continues-to-grow-nationwide/

Community Schools: Impacting Academic Achievement Through Student Support

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG June 24, 2014 by Mary E. Walsh

Fifteen years ago, a small team of school, university, and community partners began working on creating the system of student support that is now City Connects. We were hopeful that we would be able to demonstrate that addressing students' out-of-school needs would lead to improvements in academic achievement and student well-being.

Developed at Boston College's Lynch School of Education in the late 90s, City Connects is a student support intervention that addresses the non-academic factors like homelessness or hunger that can limit academic achievement, especially for children living in poverty. The intervention identifies the strengths and needs of every child across academic, social/emotional, health, and family domains and connects each student to a tailored set of prevention, intervention, and enrichment services available in the community and/or school.

http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/impacting-academic-achievement-through-student-support

Obama expands use of standardized tests for special-needs and American Indian students

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog BY VALERIE STRAUSS June 27 at 8:55 AM

President Obama recently told graduates at the University of California, Irvine, that people who deny the science behind climate change are just as wrong as people who say the moon is “made of cheese.” Congress, he said, “is full of folks who stubbornly and automatically reject the scientific evidence” about climate change and call it a hoax. He’s right about that. But his administration is doing some denying of its own — refusing to accept extensive research on the proper use of standardized tests. The president and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, have for years been using student standardized test scores to hold students, teachers and principals “accountable” even though assessment experts say they aren’t reliable enough to be used for that purpose. Assessment experts say that tests should be used only for the purpose for which they were designed and nothing else, yet the administration keeps finding additional ways to use standardized test results in ways that are questionable.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/27/obama-expands-use-of-standardized-tests-for-special-needs-and-american-indian-students/

Charter Schools' E-rate Requests Much Higher Than Other Schools'

Education Week Marketplace K12 Blog By Michele Molnar on June 26, 2014 4:25 PM

Public charter schools are requesting 79 percent more per building from the federal E-rate program than traditional public schools are, according to an Education Week-requested analysis from Funds for Learning. The Oklahoma-based company, which consults schools on the E-rate, conducted a review of all requests for funding submitted by schools and districts in 2014—about 21,000 applications in all. The anaylsis shows that smaller applicants generally have to pay more for their services, "likely due to their inability to tap into the economies of scale that bigger applicants benefit from," said John Harrington, CEO of Funds for Learning. "Usually they're paying higher per-unit prices," so they are likely to request more funding.

At the same time, charters are generally better positioned to leverage newer and faster technologies "simply because it's easier to roll out and successfully integrate new technology to a single school than an entire school district," he added.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2014/06/charter_schools_e-rate_requests_much_higher_than_other_schools.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW%20via%20@educationweek

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Pre-K for PA has supporters all over the greater Philadelphia region who want to help ensure all three and four year-old children can access quality pre-K.

Call a Pre-K Friend in Philly:
United Way Building, 6th Floor 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway 19107
Wed July 9, 5-7 PM
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM

Call a Pre-K Friend in Mont Co:
Anne's House 242 Barren Hill Road Conshohocken PA 19428
Wed July 16, 5-7pm
Wed July 30, 5-7pm

RSVP: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51084/c/10476/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9390

EPLC Education Issues Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters - Harrisburg July 31

Apply Now! EPLC’s 2014-2015 Education Policy Fellowship Program

Education Policy and Leadership Center

Click here to read more about EPLC’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, including: 2014-15 Schedule 2014-15 Application Past Speakers Program Alumni And More Information

2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA

Education Policy and Leadership Center

http://www.eplc.org/2014-gubernatorial-candidate-plans-for-education-and-artsculture-in-pa/

Pages

Monday, June 30, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 30: No-tax budget teed up for final votes Monday/ Philly school funding tangled up in Pa. budget battle

Sunday, June 29, 2014

PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 29, 2014: Schools to lose in House Budget Proposal

Midnight oil being burned in two state Capitols this weekend to get a budget done on time

Deal seen near on Penna. budget

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Keystone State Education Coalition PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 28, 2014: Statewide Budget Coverage