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
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
Parent Trigger Shoots Blanks
Again In Philly; Parents Want Good Neighborhood Public Schools
The Education Policy and Leadership Center
And they're off
Capitol Ideas Blog By Steve Esack June 6, 2014
The Legislature’s annual sprint race to finish budget by the
June 30 deadline officially got started Friday with the introduction of a
flat-line spending bill for 2014-15. If
you want to know what’s inside it, look at the current 2013-14 budget. It’s
identical and it’s main use is to get the negotiations started. “House Bill 2328 does not represent any
proposed budget for FY2014-15,” said Adolph’s spokesman Mike Stoll. “It is
simply a vehicle so that a bill will be in place to start the budget process
outlined in the House rules.”
Editorial: Charter
school law in need of repair
Bucks County
Intelligencer
When the charter school law was adopted, multiple benefits were
envisioned: to give parents an alternative to failing public schools, at no
additional cost to them; to provide competition for public schools, thus
spurring schools to improve; and to act as laboratories where, relieved of some
state mandates and sparked by the nimbleness of small scale, new and innovative
learning methods would percolate and migrate to public schools. But like anything new, the charter school law
had kinks in it. Ironically, what was supposed to help public schools has been
hurting them. And so, state lawmakers are in the throes of fixing the law or,
more accurately, have been presented with the opportunity to fix it. Most hurtful is the funding formula for
special education. The way it works, the districts forward funds for each
special-ed student lost to a charter school. That sum is determined by a state
formula that essentially reflects the average cost of educating a special needs
student. However, the formula does not distinguish between students in need of
low-level services versus those in need of a higher degree of help.
Parents at Phila. school
reject takeover by charter
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Friday, June 6, 2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Thursday, June 5, 2014, 8:52 PM
After a bitterly fought
battle, parents at Luis Muñoz Marín Elementary have voted to keep their school
a part of the Philadelphia
public school system, rejecting a charter organization's takeover
proposal. According to results announced
Thursday night by Philadelphia
School District
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140606_Parents_at_Phila__school_reject_takeover_by_charter.html#HcH8Xie3TAxqHZ38.99
Muñoz-Marín parents vote
decisively to keep school within the District
thenotebook by Bill
Hangley Jr. on Jun 06
2014 Posted in Latest news
Updated | 3:50 p.m.: Superintendent
William Hite announced that Muñoz-Marín will remain a traditional District
school, saying, “Parents
and guardians have chosen a path for their school and we are going to support
their choice and quickly move forward with the very important work of improving
outcomes for students at Muñoz Marín.”
A long, lively day of
voting at Muñoz-Marín School in North Philadelphia
ended with a decisive victory for the school’s current administration, with
parents rejecting a proposed match with a charter provider, ASPIRA, and
electing to remain under District management.
“It’s 223 for
traditional public school and 70 for ASPIRA,” spokesperson Fernando Gallard
announced at 7:45 Thursday night to a roar of delight from the school’s
jubilant supporters and staff. In a
separate vote Thursday, parents on Muñoz-Marín’s School Advisory Council also
voted to reject ASPIRA, 11-0.
"According to the survey,
nearly 60 percent of school districts have furloughed staff since 2010-11, with
classroom teachers accounting for more than 40 percent of those losing jobs.
Additionally, seven in 10 districts have not filled vacant positions, and more
than a quarter have instituted hiring freezes."
School officials: Budget
slashing in a class by itself
KATHY BOCCELLA, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Saturday, June 7, 2014, 1:08 AM
POSTED: Friday, June 6, 2014,
4:33 PM
Reduced state and
federal funding and rising pension and other mandated costs have led to
unprecedented cuts in Pennsylvania
school districts, according to an annual survey of school budgets. The survey, by the Pennsylvania Association
of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business
Officials, said that for the fourth consecutive year, schools had been forced
to make cuts inside and outside classrooms.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140607_School_officials__Budget_slashing_in_class_by_itself.html#pJVIq4vuUj0QuhTs.99
HB1722: Proposal to base
teacher furloughs on performance gets mixed reactions from educators
By on
June 06, 2014 at 6:02 PM, updated June 06, 2014 at 7:09 PM
A bill making its way through the House is
meant to let administrators decide which teachers to lay off based on
performance. The House Education
Committee approved
legislation earlier this week
that would phase out the practice of furloughing teachers based on seniority,
forbidding schools from making such an agreement with unions. Instead, school districts would base
those decisions on teacher performance in a uniform rating system currently
being implemented in Pennsylvania
schools.
"Moments after Wolf's brief remarks,
Clarke said Gov. Corbett had an open invitation to visit as well. "We are
truly a bipartisan Council," he said."
Wolf visits Council as it tangles with schools' cash woes
Wolf visits Council as it tangles with schools' cash woes
TROY GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Friday, June 6, 2014, 1:08 AM
POSTED: Thursday, June 5, 2014, 8:40 PM
POSTED: Thursday, June 5, 2014, 8:40 PM
Tom Wolf visited
Philadelphia City Council Thursday, landing squarely in the midst of a school
budget crisis that many members have blamed on the state's Republican
leadership.
The Democratic
gubernatorial nominee was escorted past pupils from three city elementary
schools displaying a quilt advocating for arts funding. Wolf then headed into a
closed-door meeting in Council President Darrell L. Clarke's office. Afterward, Wolf spoke in the caucus room to
Council, staff, lobbyists and reporters, saying he was "a fan of this
great city."
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140606_Wolf_visits_City_Council_as_it_tangles_with_schools__cash_woes.html#kBtflKwGC4GBbsxd.99
HB1738: Basic education
funding commission bill goes to Gov. Corbett
PSBA Legislative Update June 6, 2014
PSBA Legislative Update June 6, 2014
PSBA’s efforts to seek a predictable, adequate and equitable
funding formula were one step closer to implementation as the Senate this week
passed House Bill 1738, with the measure now headed to Gov.
Corbett for his signature. The legislation, passed earlier this year by
the House of Representatives, establishes a bipartisan commission to make
recommendations for a new funding formula for basic education. Under House Bill
1738, sponsored by Rep. Bernie O’Neill (R-Bucks), the commission will examine
and identify factors that could be used to determine the distribution of basic
education funding among school districts. Such factors would include each
school district’s market value/personal income aid ratio, equalized millage
rate, geographic price differences, enrollment levels, local support and other
areas. The recommendations will be made within one year; legislation would then
be drafted for approval by the General Assembly.
Deferring Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY
WILSON JUNE 7, 2014
The Republican House Majority Leader isn't ruling out a move to
shirk Pennsylvania 's
scheduled payments toward its pension debt.
"There's not an appetite to reduce the [payments] in the
House," said Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, as he stressed the need for
an overhaul to pension benefits for future employees. Pennsylvania 's
unfunded pension obligation is approaching $50 billion. That debt to its funds
for school and state worker pensions has grown, in part, due to underfunding in
years past. Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed reducing the scheduled payments, also
called collars, this year. "It's
kicking the can down the road," said Turzai. He declined to elaborate on
his way out of a press event where House Republicans made the case for a plan
to largely reduce benefits for future state and public school hires. That plan, offered by Rep. Mike Tobash,
R-Schuylkill, would enroll workers in a "hybrid" retirement system:
part traditional pension and part 401(k)-style plan.
Hybrid pension plan could
save future billions for Pa.
By Evan Brandt, The Mercury POSTED: 06/05/14,
10:09 AM EDT
To those who walk the halls in the Capitol in Harrisburg , the handicapping of the
Commonwealth’s two major pension programs is old news. What’s new is what lawmakers currently are
proposing to do about it. A Chester
County Republican member of the House has teamed up with a Schuylkill County
Republican to propose a bill creating a hybrid system for new employees,
combining the current “defined benefit” pensions with more flexible, and risky,
401(k) investment plans.
Teachers: ‘We've paid our
fair share' into pension system
Note to Readers: This is
the fourth part of a series on the pension crisis facing Pennsylvanians. The
stories are part of a project being done by The Pottstown
Mercury (www.pottsmerc.com), a sister paper of the Daily Local News.
There is one constant that runs through Pennsylvania ’s pension system debates,
shortfalls, reform measures, proposals and skyrocketing costs to local school
districts. Throughout it all, the
employees who are part of the system have steadily paid a share of their
paychecks into the system. When state
legislators decided they and school districts could take “a pension holiday”
because Wall Street was doing so well, the employees paid. When the legislators increased benefits for
themselves and those in the system, the employees paid. And when the market collapsed and Harrisburg enacted
reforms and “collars” to try to staunch the bleeding from the gaping wound they
had created, the employees paid.
“We never stopped. The only thing we’ve ever done to affect
PSERS is exactly what we were supposed to do. We’ve paid our fair share
throughout it all,” said W. Gerard Oleksiak.
Officials say their
attorney needs more time to review the matter.
By Meghan Moravcik Walbert, Special to The Morning Call 8:50
p.m. EDT, June 5, 2014
A vote that will determine whether charter school students may
attend Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical
School
The school's Joint Board of Directors expected to discuss and
vote on the issue at its Tuesday night meeting. However, shortly before the
meeting, the item was pulled from the agenda.
"Our attorney didn't have enough information to render an
opinion yet," joint committee Vice Chairman Basilio Bonilla said after the
meeting. The vote is now expected to take place Aug. 5.
Last month, some directors said they want to draft a policy
that prohibits charter school students from taking classes at Bethlehem Area
Vo-Tech. Two directors in particular, Bonilla and Michael Faccinetto, who also
serve on the Bethlehem Area School Board, said the change is necessary to
ensure that Bethlehem Area students do not get pushed out of classes. However, Director Bryan Eichfeld, who represents
the Saucon Valley School District
"The big culprits are the ever-increasing contribution
rate for the Public School Employees Retirement System and the state's
"Hold Harmless" funding distribution formula."
G-A school board raises
property taxes by 2 mills
GREENCASTLE >> Property owners in Greencastle-Antrim
School District will have to pay an additional two mills in property taxes in
the 2014-15 school year. Some thought
the increase should be higher and others thought it should be lower, but G-A
school board on Thursday unanimously approved it. The increase brings the total
mill rate to 103.5 mills. One mill is
equal to $1 in tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value. The two-mill increase will be reflected in
the 2014-15 general fund budget as about $348,000 in revenue. Despite that and
the use of about $650,000 from the fund balance, the district is facing a
deficit of about $652,000, according to Jolinda Wilson, business manager.
"I think the biggest thing, though, is in a troubled
system, to create a place, a space, where there is lots of information and
rational conversation about: How are we gonna fix this thing? And we've just
heard from many, many readers about how important that is to them to help them
stay in the fight. This is something sooner or later we've gotta figure out, or
Philly isn't ever gonna be the great city that people want it to be. I
think The Notebook's biggest
contribution is to help people stay in that battle and keep trying to solve
it."
20 Years of Covering Philadelphia
Talking with Paul Socolar as The Notebook celebrates two decades in the
trenches.
On Tuesday, The Philadelphia Public School Notebook celebrates its 20th anniversary with a celebration at
the University of the Arts, complete with music, awards, and exhibitions —
including the Harvey
Finkle photos you
see below — documenting the challenges of covering urban education for two
decades. (A 20th anniversary issue has also been published.)
Paul Socolar is the editor and publisher of The Notebook. He talked with Philly Mag about
the publication, the persistent challenges of urban education, and how Philly
schools might finally be saved.
Public School Notebook
celebrates 20 years of muckraking excellence
Citypaper By Daniel
Denvir Published: 06/06/2014 | 0
Comments Posted
The Philadelphia Public School Notebook turns
20 and is celebrating this Tuesday at the University of the Arts. Event details
are here.
It is hard to imagine education news in Philadelphia without the Notebook.
There are great education reporters at other outlets, including The Inquirer
and WHYY (the Notebookhas a partnership with the latter). But theNotebook alone
provides the sort of comprehensive coverage that our perennially battered School District needs.
Decades of underfunding, concentrated poverty, waves of
reforms-of-the-moment, high-stakes standardized testing and the unmet needs of
special-education students all require more reporting and investigation than
the rest of us reporters can handle.
District says union's latest contract proposal starts
negotiations anew.
By Jacqueline Palochko, Of The Morning Call 9:27 p.m.
EDT, June 6, 2014
The Saucon
Valley School
District
District officials this week filed the unfair labor practice
charges with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The charges come just a
couple of weeks after the union presented the board with a new contract
proposal that the district says has been the most costly to date during two
years of negotiations.
Coatesville School Board
approves teacher contract, includes raises
By Kristina
Scala, Daily Local News POSTED: 06/06/14, 1:17 PM EDT | UPDATED: 4 HRS AGO
CALN – Coatesville
Area School
District
One day, perhaps, the
national media might admit that they were taken in by the purveyors of the Néw
Orleans story. Or maybe they will keep saying the same things again and again,
without regard to facts. Mike Deshotels,
veteran educator, blows up the carefully manufactured tale of success by
privatization. What a lesson for the nation: close down every public school;
turn every school into a privately managed charter school; fire every
experienced teacher and replace with a fresh college graduate with give weeks
of training. Is this the formula for success in any other nation? No.
OSBA, education groups support new Ohio
NSBA School Board News Today Joetta Sack-Min|June 6th, 2014
The Ohio School
Boards Association (OSBA) is among a coalition of state education
groups that is supporting new graduation requirements for Ohio students. The new graduation requirements, approved by
a joint legislative committee, would replace the Ohio Graduation Test with
seven end-of-course exams in English, math, science, U.S. history, and government. The
measure would require all high school juniors to take a nationally recognized
college-entrance exam, most likely the ACT exam, with expenses paid by the
state. There would be alternative paths
to a diploma other than through the new planned end-of-course examinations,
which would replace the Ohio Graduation Tests.
Two States Repeal Education
Standards
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH JUNE 6, 2014
The governors of Oklahoma and South Carolina
signed billswithin
the past week repealing the Common
Core state standards, guidelines for children’s achievement in reading and
math between kindergarten and high school graduation. Both states had been
among the 46 and the District of
Columbia that had adopted the standards, written by a
group of educators and other experts convened by the National Governors
Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. But as resistance
grew in their states, lawmakers moved to replace them with standards developed
within the states. Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina
signed that state’s bill last week, and Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma signed a bill on Thursday that
would require educators in the state to set new standards to replace the Common
Core.
Come to Harrisburg
Wednesday, June 18, Monday, June 23, and Monday, June 30
Education Voters PA
Governor Corbett’s “election-year” budget is falling apart.
Revenue projections are down and Corbett and state legislators are looking to
make more than $1.2 billion in cuts to his proposed 2014-2015
budget. Lobbyists will be swarming the
Capitol in the month of June and we need to be there, too. Join Pennsylvanians from throughout the
commonwealth as we send a loud and clear message that after three years of
balancing the state budget on the backs of Pennsylvania’s public school
children, it is time for our state government to do what is right and pass a
fair budget that will provide students with the opportunities they need to meet
state standards and be successful after they graduate.
Details: http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7059
Cloaking
Inequity Blog by Julian
Vasquez Heilig May 23, 2014 | | 1
Comment
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Do you believe in public education? Do you
want US policymakers to understand why decision makers in Chile have now
judged vouchers to be problematic after 30 years of universal implementation?
Do you have frequent flier miles you can donate? Sponsor a grad student
today! This summer, I along with eight
UT-Austin graduate students will travel to Santiago, Chile in August 2014 with
Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig to conduct field research that will result in a
policy brief, op-eds and a peer-reviewed academic paper detailing recent changes in
Chile’s market-based education policy proposed this past April by Chile’s
current Education Minister Nicholas Eyzaguirre.
Legacy of Brown v. Board of
Education After 60 Years -
EPLC "Focus on Education" TV Program on PCN - June 8 at 3:00 p.m.
EPLC "Focus on Education" TV Program on PCN - June 8 at 3:00 p.m.
The next EPLC "Focus on Education" episode
will air this coming Sunday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m. on PCN television.
This June 8 panel will discuss the significance of the 1954 Brown v.
Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and its significance
today; the current picture of racial segregation in public schools; whether, in
Pennsylvania, we are improving or getting worse; the responsibility of state
government; the effects of the "school choice" movement on
segregation and integration in public schools; and much more.
The panel will include:
·
Ron Cowell, President of The Education
Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC) and Host of the "Focus on
Education" programs;
·
Homer C. Floyd, Former Executive
Director, Pennsylvania
Human Relations Commission;
·
Rhonda Brownstein, Esq., Executive
Director, Education
Law Center
·
Erica Frankenberg, Ed.D., Assistant
Professor, Department of Education Policy Studies, Penn State University
Visit the EPLC web site for related resources.
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.
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.
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
PCCY invites you to get on
the School Spirit Bus to Harrisburg on Tuesday June 10th for Fair and Full
School Funding!
Public Citizens for Children and Youth
On Tuesday June 10th, Public Citizens for Children
and Youth (PCCY) will be going to Harrisburg. Join committed parents,
leaders, and community members from around state to make it clear to Harrisburg
that PA students need fair and full funding now! We are providing free
transportation to and from Harrisburg as well as lunch. Please
arrive at the United
Way Building 1709 Benjamin Franklin
Parkway no later than8:15am. The bus will
depart at 8:30am sharp! Reserve your seat today by emailing us
at info@pccy.org or
calling us at 215-563-5848
x11. You can download and share our flyer by clicking here. We hope to see you there!
Pennsylvania Education Summit
Wednesday, June 11, 2014 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EDT) Camp Hill, PA
PA Business-Education Partnership
Featuring:
Welcome By Governor Tom Corbett (invited)
Remarks Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq
(confirmed)
Perceptions & comments of business leaders, educators,
college presidents, and advocacy groups
Full agenda here: http://www.bipac.net/pbc/2014-PA-Education-Summit-Agenda.pdf
Registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/pennsylvania-education-summit-tickets-11529363637?aff=eorgf
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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