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,
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These daily emails are archived and
searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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PA Ed Policy Roundup for July
8, 2014:
Education will be Corbett's
weakness heading into general election, poll finds
Pa. budget, related
bills remain in Harrisburg
AMY WORDEN, ANGELA COULOUMBIS, AND KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS LAST
UPDATED: Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Monday, July 7, 2014,
6:56 PM
Pa. budget still up in air,
could wind up in court
Delco Times By MARC LEVY Associated Press POSTED: 07/08/14, 5:43 AM EDT |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Key budget-related legislation on tap
for consideration Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Senate covers topics from how oil
and gas drilling should be regulated to how billions of dollars for public
schools should be spent, despite complaints that it trips over constitutional
guidelines that bills be limited to a single subject.
Aides to top Republicans say courts have allowed the
Legislature’s practice of creating a wide-ranging “fiscal code” bill that
guides how money from a general appropriations bill is to be spent, as long as
each subject is linked by clear wording to how the money is spent.
Lights, camera, budget? Work
on Pa.
By on
July 08, 2014 at 5:45 AM, updated July 08, 2014 at 5:48 AM
The Pennsylvania budget
that isn't gets its
next-best shot at completion Tuesday, as the state Senate returns to Harrisburg to take up the
fiscal code, one of the final pieces of the puzzle.
Not keeping track over
the holiday weekend?
Here's a quick recap.
The state's 2014-15 fiscal year began July 1, so far with a $29.1 billion
general fund spending plan sitting
unsigned on Gov. Tom Corbett's desk.
Philly lawmaker cautions that
cigarette tax for schools not a done deal
Whyy Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY JULY 8, 2014
Last week, the Republican-held, tax averse Pennsylvania House
of Representatives gave its blessing to Philadelphia 's
$2-per-pack cigarette tax. The tax is
expected to generate $40 million to $45 million for the struggling schools this
year and double that for years to come.
But the measure still must win approval from the state Senate
before moving to the governor's desk. And
state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, D-Philadelphia, offered some advice during a
City Hall news conference Monday: Don't spike the football on the 5-yard line.
WITF Smart Talk: School
Budgets and Public Opinion Polls; Tuesday 9 am
Written by Fred
Vigeant, Director of Programming and Promotions for TV and Radio | Jul
7, 2014 11:59 AM
Tuesday on Smart Talk will feature guest host Dr. G. Terry
Madonna, Franklin and Marshall College, Director of the Center for Politics and
Public Affairs, Professor of Public Affairs, and Director of the Franklin and
Marshall College Poll.
For the first half of the show we’ll talk about school
budgets. The Pennsylvania Association of School Board Officials (PASBO)
with the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) last month
released their fourth annual
report on School District Budgets. About 56% of districts contributed data
to this report that focuses on the financial challenges districts are facing.
Joining Dr. Madonna to speak about this research is Joe Bard Executive Director
of Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARRS), and Jeff
Ammerman Director of Technical Assistance of PASBO
Education will be
Corbett's weakness heading into general election, poll finds: Monday Morning
Coffee
By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com on July 07, 2014 at 7:59 AM, updated July 07,
2014 at 8:37 AM
Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Hopefully, the last firecracker has cracked and you're reasonably well-rested from a raucous holiday weekend. We here at Capitol Notebook World HQ are feeling like a mere shell of our former bomb as the new work week begins. But we're confident that condition is transitory and will fade as our cells absorb both caffeine and the powers of Earth's yellow sun.
Hopefully, the last firecracker has cracked and you're reasonably well-rested from a raucous holiday weekend. We here at Capitol Notebook World HQ are feeling like a mere shell of our former bomb as the new work week begins. But we're confident that condition is transitory and will fade as our cells absorb both caffeine and the powers of Earth's yellow sun.
Gov. Tom Corbett enters the second week of July as he left
the first week -- sans a signed budget and avec the
legislative drama surrounding his spending plan still unfinished.
But all hope is not lost: The Senate returns to session on
Tuesday to send Corbett a key piece of enabling legislation that
could finally run down the curtain on this summer's production of "How
to Succeed in Politics Without Trying (Or Succeeding)."
From there, it's off to the general election campaign against
Democrat Tom Wolf. And, thanks to a Franklin & Marshall College poll released last
week, we know that public education funding will be near the top of voters'
shopping lists as they compare the two candidates.
Only Himself to Blame
Wall Street Journal By
ALLYSIA FINLEY July 7, 2014 2:44 p.m. ET (paywall)
The one GOP governor in
the country almost certain to lose this November is Pennsylvania 's Tom Corbett, who rode to
office in 2010 on a tea party wave while Republicans secured control of both
legislative chambers. What has the governor since done to reverse his political
fortunes? Not much of anything, which may be his problem. A poll last week by Franklin
and Marshall College
"We're basically suing the state for
adequate funding,"
Republican Herald BY
JOHN E. USALIS (STAFF WRITER Published: July 5, 2014
SHENANDOAH - The Shenandoah Valley school board voted to have the district
involved in a school funding class action lawsuit to force the state to
adequately fund low-income schools.
The board's vote at its
June 25 meeting was 6-0. Called the
"Equity Lawsuit," the legal move is being promoted by the
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small
Schools , whose self-described mission
is to promote equal opportunity for quality education for all students in every
school and community in Pennsylvania . After the school board meeting, district
Superintendent Stanley G. Rakowsky said he supports the initiative.
"We're basically
suing the state for adequate funding," Rakowsky said. "We're going to
be part of a class action lawsuit. There is an attorney, Michael Churchill of
the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, who is proceeding with
litigation intent on compelling the (Pennsylvania )
General Assembly to act consistent with its obligations to the Constitution of
the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania
STATE REP. DUANE MILNE: Pa.
As we look forward to the start of the 2014-15 school year, I
am calling on my fellow Pennsylvania
citizens to join me in demanding a halt to the implementation of the Keystone
Exams as proposed. In short: The
Keystone Exams, if adopted as is, will require Pennsylvania high school students in general
to take and pass state-based standardized tests in certain subjects in order to
graduate from their local high school. That is, these state tests can
effectively override the graduation standards and student evaluations (i.e.,
“grades”) as set, monitored and implemented by local communities via their
locally elected school boards and local teachers and administrators. To put it
bluntly: The general rule will be that your children or grandchildren are not
going to receive their high school diploma without passing these state tests.
House Democrats reject 'Big
Gimmick' Republican budget; call for fresh start
PA House Democratic Caucus Legislative Review July 7, 2014
House Democratic
lawmakers rejected a state budget plan (H.B. 2328) put forth by House and
Senate Republicans, calling it irresponsible and full of $1.7 billion in unsustainable
revenues, questionable projections and one-time funding gimmicks that will do
real harm to Pennsylvania
now and in future years. The Republican
budget is unfair to most Pennsylvanians – schoolchildren, middle class
families, workers, women, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. It's
because Gov. Corbett and the Republicans have no new ideas. No matter the
problem, their answer is always the same – cut corporate taxes, shortchange
education and other services, and increase the burden on Pennsylvania ’s local governments, residents
and families.
As area school reserves
dwindle, taxes climb for 2014-15
As more of Northeast Pennsylvania ’s school officials worry their
districts will go broke within the next five years, they are passing higher
costs on to homeowners to stave off staff and program cuts. Residents in 13 of 15 of the region’s school
districts will pay higher real estate taxes in 2014-15, a Times-Tribune
analysis of recently approved final school budgets found.
Statewide, officials in
77 percent of school districts who responded to a survey last month expected to
raise taxes — less than the local rate of 86.6 percent — according to the state
Association of School Business Officials and state Association of School Administrators.
Pennsylvania lawmakers table
teacher seniority bill, special ed funding
Watchdog.org By Mary C. Tillotson / July 7,
2014
DN Editorial: Designed for failure
Underfunded schools can't give troubled
students the support they need
Philly Daily News
Editorial POSTED: Tuesday, July
8, 2014, 3:01 AM
IT'S GRATIFYING, of course, that Harrisburg
will allow Philadelphia
to impose a $2-a-pack cigarette tax to raise money for the school district.
But, as a recent study so starkly revealed, the money is wholly inadequate for
the Herculean task faced by our school district.
The study, released last month, revealed that 17 percent of
students have "been involved with the child welfare and/or juvenile
justice system" - a number that grows to 20 percent in the city's high
schools. In other words, one out of five high school students has been in
trouble with the law, has been traumatized, neglected and victimized, and has been
removed from the family home and put into placement. That information alone is heartbreaking. But
the fact that schools aren't able to save these children is tragic. They have
needs that simply can't be met in schools without counselors, aides, nurses,
psychologists. And their performance shows it.
Cautious optimism on final
passage of cigarette tax
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 3:01 AM
ABOUT A WEEK AGO, the Philadelphia
cigarette tax to help fund city schools appeared dead in the General Assembly.
By this afternoon, it could be headed to Gov. Corbett for his John
Hancock. A key member of the Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg said yesterday that he is cautiously
optimistic the measure will pass, with the state Senate expected to vote today
on House Bill 1177 - the legislation that includes the cigarette tax. It would
generate about $45 million for the distressed school district in the first
year.
A Hollow Victory for Philly
Schools
City and District win cigarette tax fight, but
secure wretched status quo.
| JULY 7, 2014 AT 9:11 AM
Dave Davies nailed it, as he so often does, when he described last
week’s surprise deal enabling Philadelphia to tax cigarettes and send the
proceeds to the schools as simultaneously “awful” and a “stunning,
come-from-behind legislative win.”
The $2-a-pack cigarette
tax looked dead right up until Wednesday night, when a surprise
amendment offered by State Rep. John
Taylor-the lone Republican in Philadelphia’s 34-strong
delegation to Harrisburg-won enough support for the initiative to enable
it to pass the tax-averse House. 119-90
Considering the alternative, there's little doubt that this was
a win for the city (and a reminder that a 100-percent Democratic
delegation is clearly not in the city's best interest). Parents, students
and educators owe Taylor, the rest of the delegation, Mayor Nutter and Council
President Clarke (all
of whom lobbied hard for this) their gratitude.
But let's look at what
was won.
"Philly data show that the district paid $847 million
in salaries in the 2012-13 school year and $101 million in pension costs. They
also show that salary costs dramatically dropped three years in a row as
pension costs dramatically increased.
But pension reform doesn't look likely in an election year."
Cigs for kids is leadership?
JOHN BAER, DAILY NEWS POLITICAL COLUMNIST POSTED: Monday,
July 7, 2014, 3:01 AM
LET'S TALK about governing and leadership.
And no smart-aleck remarks like, "Well, if you mean in
Philly or Harrisburg ,
there isn't much to talk about."
Don't be a cynic. That's my job.
Why, just last week, Philly folks managed to get Harrisburg to allow increasing the local
cigarette tax $2 per pack to raise money for city schools.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20140707_Cigs_for_kids_is_leadership_.html#HhYWQs0Zy0XcjRBR.99
Phila. teacher has White
House lunch with Obama
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Monday, July 7, 2014, 7:37 PM
But last week, she learned she was one of four teachers
nationwide chosen to lunch with the president and Education Secretary Arne
Duncan. The other teachers came from schools in Arkansas ,
North Carolina , and the District of Columbia .
"When planning the
budget, Watkins said that a $24 million structural deficit presented itself,
mostly due to massive charter school allocations. Each student residing in the
Chester Upland School District that attends a charter school means that the
district must pay out the estimated cost of educating that student, which
stands at more than $9,100 per pupil, and more than $35,000 for a student
deemed as having special needs. The district expects to pay out $54 million to
charter school in the coming fiscal year."
By Vince Sullivan, Delaware County Daily
CHESTER — Receiver Joe
Watkins approved a $118 million spending plan Monday night for Chester Upland
School District’s 2014-2015 fiscal year, and the school board approved a 3.4
percent tax increase. The board convened
for a rare public meeting at 6 p.m., during which it approved Watkins’ request
for the tax hike by a 6-3 vote after brief discussion. The board’s vote
precluded the need for Watkins to seek a court order forcing the tax increase,
as he did last year when the board refused to raise the tax levy.
Former school official
charged with theft from federal program
By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 7, 2014 1:43 PM
The former executive
director of the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, which provides educational
services to school districts in Butler ,
Lawrence and Mercer counties, was charged today with theft from a federally
funded program. The charge filed in U.S.
District Court accused Cecelia H. Yauger, 56, of Grove City , of using an American Express card
provided by the intermediate unit for an unspecified amount of non-business
spending.
NEA wants Duncan
Inquirer by KIMBERLY
HEFLING, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POSTED: Monday,
July 7, 2014, 11:59 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's largest teachers' union wants
Education Secretary Arne Duncan to quit.
Delegates of the National Education Association adopted a business item
July 4 at its annual convention in Denver
that called for his resignation. The vote underscores the long-standing tension
between the Obama administration and teachers' unions - historically a
steadfast Democratic ally. A tipping
point for some members was Duncan 's statement
last month in support of a California
judge's ruling that struck down tenure and other job protections for the
state's public school teachers. In harsh wording, the judge said such laws harm
particularly low-income students by saddling them with bad teachers who are
almost impossible to fire.
At National Charter
Conference, the Numbers Add Up
Edushyster
Blog Posted on July 7, 2014
Except for the ones
that don’t…
*The numbers add up.* That was the theme of this year’ s National Alliance for Public Charter Schools conference in Las Vegas, an event that drew me like a moth to a high-performing
flame. The numbers that are adding up, of course, refer to the growing number
of charter schools, their students, and their scores (their scores!), not to
mention the swelling ranks of advocates, politicians, actors, TV news
personalities, pollsters and [insert unlikely charter supporter here] that have
leaped aboard the charter express, now headed direct to achievementville. But
what of the lesser numbers—the ones that are, well, less
than prime—and hence, don’t quite add up? Was there anyone who would
speak for them?
Linda Darling-Hammond
of Stanford University
She reviews an OECD
study about teachers. What it shows is that teachers in the U.S. work
longer hours under more difficult conditions than teachers in many other
nations.
“Now we have
international evidence about something that has a greater effect on learning
than testing: Teaching. The results of the Teaching and Learning International
Survey (TALIS), released last week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), offer a stunning picture of the challenges experienced
by American teachers, while providing provocative insights into what we might
do to foster better teaching — and learning — in the United States.
New Initiative to Provide All
Students Access to Great Educators
U.S.Department of Education JULY 7, 2014
As part of its efforts
to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education, today the
U.S. Department of Education is announcing the launch of the Excellent
Educators for All Initiative. The initiative will help states and school
districts support great educators for the students who need them most. “All children are entitled to a high-quality
education regardless of their race, zip code or family income. It is critically
important that we provide teachers and principals the support they need to help
students reach their full potential,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
said. “Despite the excellent work and deep commitment of our nation's teachers
and principals, systemic inequities exist that shortchange students in
high-poverty, high-minority schools across our country. We have to do better.
Local leaders and educators will develop their own innovative solutions, but we
must work together to enhance and invigorate our focus on how to better
recruit, support and retain effective teachers and principals for all students,
especially the kids who need them most.”
Joy Resmovits reports that the Onama administration plans to
enforce a provision of NCLB that requires states to put experienced and highly
qualified teachers in schools serving high numbers of poor and minority
students. Will this create a crisis for
Teach for America ,
whose corps members have no experience?
Since this administration believes that teachers can be judged by
student test scores, watch for policies attempting to reassign teachers from
affluent suburbs to inner-city and rural schools. Watch for the next step, when
those highly qualified teachers are reclassified as “bad” teachers if they
can’t raise scores.
Philadelphia District and
Teachers' Union Locked in Dispute Over
Seniority
Education Week District
Dossier Blog By on July 7, 2014 1:17 PM
Two weeks after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to get
involved in an ongoing dispute between Philadelphia
public schools and the Philadelphia Teachers Union over whether the
district can bypass seniority in making decisions about layoffs and staffing,
the two sides are still arguing over whether the district has the right to do
so.
The outcome of the dispute could have national implications
amid renewed debate over teacher tenure rules following the recent Vergara v. California decision, in which the court ruled
that California's teacher tenure laws "deprived students of the quality
education they're entitled to" under the California constitution and
violated their civil rights.
The Philadelphia
debate must also be considered in a local context. The district is financially
strapped: Last week, it passed a $2.6
billion budget with a $93
million hole—part of which it expects to fill with $42 million in revenues from
a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes and savings from the teachers' union, whose
contract expired last August.
Cultivating
Talent: Gifted Children and STEM
You don’t walk into a
shoe store and say here’s my eighth-grade son, give him an eighth-grade
shoe. “You measure his foot,” said David
Lubinski, professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University
Lubinski used this
metaphor to illustrate why education should be tailored toward a child’s
academic abilities. Specifically, he was referring to those children who are
gifted, which was the discussion topic during a panel discussion moderated by
The Wall Street Journal’s education reporter Leslie Brody at EWA’s National
Seminar in May in Nashville .
Pre-K for PA has supporters
all over the greater Philadelphia
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:
UnitedWay Building 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway
Wed July 9, 5-7 PM
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM
United
Wed July 9, 5-7 PM
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM
Call a Pre-K Friend in Mont Co:
Anne's House242 Barren
Hill Road
Wed July 16, 5-7pm
Wed July 30, 5-7pm
Anne's House
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
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.
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
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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