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PA Ed Policy Roundup for July
1, 2014:
Happy
Fiscal New Year! Governor refuses to
sign budget without pension reform. Philly
SRC adopts $2.6B 'placeholder' budget
Gov. Tom Corbett refuses to
sign budget without pension reform
House and Senate sign off on $29 billion spending plan.
By Steve Esack,
Call Harrisburg Bureau 12:45 a.m. EDT, July 1, 2014
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett swiftly announced late Monday
night that he would not sign a $29.1 billion budget the Legislature had just
approved.
He is holding out — at least for a night and perhaps longer —
because he wants lawmakers to reduce the state's and school districts' pension
payments to free up money in the fiscal year that starts Tuesday and pass a
bill that reduces pension costs in decades to come.
"We are elected to serve the best interests of the people
of Pennsylvania," Corbett said in a statement issued 22 minutes after the
House approved the budget. "Leadership is not always about the popular
choices; it's about difficult choices.
Governor refuses to sign
state budget
Corbett prepared to miss budget deadline to get his
initiatives done
By Karen Langley & Kate Giammarise / Post-Gazette
Harrisburg Bureau June 30, 2014 11:55 PM
HARRISBURG -- With an hour left in Pennsylvania’s fiscal year,
Gov. Tom Corbett said in a statement last night he would withhold his signature
from a $29.1 billion budget sent to him by the Republican General Assembly
while he considers its effect on the state.
In his statement, the Republican governor cited the failure of
legislators to deliver measures reshaping the retirement systems for state and
public school workers. He cited the rising costs of pensions under current law. “The budget I received tonight makes
significant investments in our common priorities of education, jobs and human
services,” he said. “It does not address all the difficult choices that still
need to be made.” Mr. Corbett said he
would continue to push for a pension bill and that he was “withholding signing
the budget passed by the General Assembly while I deliberate its impact on the
people of Pennsylvania.”
Corbett won’t sign Pa.
no-tax budget yet
ANGELA COULOUMBISAND AMY WORDEN, INQUIRER HARRISBURG
BUREAU
LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 12:04 AM POSTED: Monday,
June 30, 2014, 10:58 PM
HARRISBURG - Gov. Corbett refused late Monday to sign a $29.1
billion budget that the Republican-controlled legislature scrambled to deliver
to him just 90 minutes before the midnight deadline. The legislature approved a plan that includes
some increased money for schools, and would not raise any taxes or impose new
ones. But Corbett, a Republican facing a
tough reelection battle in the fall, signaled disappointment that the
legislature was unable to deliver on one of his priorities: a measure that
would change pension benefits for new employees.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20140630_As_deadline_looms__Pa__passes_no-tax_budget.html#skuAK7trvT2E2mqu.99
Pa. House passes 2014-15
budget, sending plan to Gov. Tom Corbett for approval
By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com
on June 30, 2014 at 10:30 PM, updated July 01, 2014 at 3:06 AM
on June 30, 2014 at 10:30 PM, updated July 01, 2014 at 3:06 AM
A
$29.1 billion general fund budget to keep Pennsylvania's state government in
business passed the state House Monday night, just 90 minutes before
the July 1 dawn of the new fiscal year.
Rep. Bryan Barbin speaks at the Capitol on the last day of the
fiscal year Monday in Harrisburg.
Gov. Tom Corbett — who as early as Sunday afternoon was
still pressing lawmakers for major changes to Pennsylvania's public pension
systems — was being coy about his plans as the House debate
progressed. The House vote broke mostly
on party lines, with 108 Republicans voting for a plan they praised as providing
a modest boost in school funding and replenishing the ranks of the Pennsylvania
State Police in spite of severe fiscal challenges without any increases in
state taxes. All 92 Democrats and three
Republicans were opposed.
Corbett wants General
Assembly to send him 'meaningful pension reform' before signing the budget
By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on July 01, 2014 at 12:08 AM, updated July
01, 2014 at 3:07 AM
When Gov. Tom Corbett took a look at the $29.1 billion general
fund budget plan that the General Assembly sent to him on Monday, it was
missing something he wanted.
It lacked any meaningful pension reform to address the single
expenditure in the budget that is eating up 60 cents of every new dollar. So less than half-hour after the House
voted 108-95 on a mostly party-line vote to approve the plan that
increases spending by a little less than 2 percent, Corbett made the decision
to sacrifice his perfect record of signing an appropriations bill before the
July 1 start of the new fiscal year. "I
will continue to work with the Legislature toward meaningful pension
reform," the governor said in a statement. "I am withholding signing
the budget passed by the General Assembly while I deliberate its impact on the
people of Pennsylvania." Democrats
were puzzled that Corbett would hold up the budget since the
pension reform proposal he supported has zero impact on the 2014-15
pension contributions.
Corbett promises review
of budget, makes no promises of a result
By Charles
Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com on July 01, 2014 at 2:38 AM, updated July
01, 2014 at 6:25 AM
Leaving his Capitol office about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Gov. Tom
Corbett and one of his top aides sought to tamp down any impending sense of
Capitol chaos over Pennsylvania's
unsigned budget. Corbett said he had
had "very nice conversations" with several top Republican legislative
leaders shortly before, and that he planned to spend part of his workday
Tuesday reviewing the
$29.1 billion spending plan that passed both the state Senate and
House Monday night, along with the related codes. "There was not an agreed-to budget (with
legislative leaders) necessarily, on the details," Corbett explained.
"So we'll get a chance to take a look at it and we'll make our
decisions." But the budget is
clearly not all that Corbett is going to be taking a look at.
The decision not to sign the spending plan immediately is also
part of a calculated gamble designed to give the governor at least another day
- or maybe 10 - to press for positive action on a plan to reduce Pennsylvania's
long-term pension costs. It is the issue
Corbett has spent
most of his political capital on in recent weeks, and with Monday's
move it seemed as if the embattled governor was putting all of his chips in the
center of the table.
How much of the
Ready-to-Learn block grant money will your school district receive?
By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com on June 30, 2014 at 8:39 PM
Public schools across Pennsylvania will all be eligible to
receive a share of the $200 million set aside in the proposed 2014-15 state
budget for a newly named block grant program
named Ready to Learn. This program
replaces the Accountability Block Grant, which was funded this past year at
$100 million. And, like that program, its uses are targeted to any single or
combination of 11 educational initiatives.
Among those initiatives are:
·
Offering preschool and full-day kindergarten;
·
Providing supplemental instruction for the
Keystone Exams;
·
Finding ways to customize instruction using
technology.
Districts and charter schools must seek the state Department of
Education's approval for how they intend to use their block grant funds.
In addition to the block grant, districts will receive the same
amount of the $5.5 billion in state funding being put into basic education
that they
received this past year.
A budget? Sure. But it's
a patchwork that'll have to be fixed again: John L. Micek
By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com on June 30, 2014 at 10:58 PM, updated June
30, 2014 at 11:00 PM
(This post has been updated to reflect House approval of the
budget and comment from Gov. Tom Corbett.)
By the time majority Republicans in the state House and Senate wrapped
up a flurry of votes late Monday that resulted in them sending a new budget to Gov.
Tom Corbett, they could claim a victory of sorts. Republicans delivered a fourth straight
on-time and balanced spending plan. But
giving the GOP credit for that is kind of like giving the sun credit for rising
every day: The former is the bare minimum lawmakers are supposed to do. The
latter is required by law. But that
didn't stop some of them from taking a premature victory lap anyway.
Some Delaware County
politicians happier than others with 2014 budgeting process
By John Kopp, Delaware County Daily
Times POSTED: 07/01/14, 12:35 AM EDT
State lawmakers worked throughout the weekend to piece together
a budget before Tuesday’s midnight deadline.
The result was a $29.1 billion spending plan that does not raise taxes,
but increases spending over the current fiscal year by $723 million. However,
another $200 million was being added to the end of the current fiscal year,
making a total increase of $923 million.
The budget increases spending on public schools, pensions,
healthcare and social services. It does not include revenue generated from
liquor privatization, as proposed by the state House last week, or an
extraction tax on Marcellus Shale. The
Republican-controlled legislature scrambled throughout a busy June to eliminate
a $1.7 billion structural deficit from the budget plan initially proposed by
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in February.
Some local lawmakers were more pleased with the budgeting process than
others.
Waiting on Harrisburg, Philly
Schools adopt 'placeholder' budget
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY JULY 1, 2014
By unanimous vote, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission
passed a budget Monday night that includes a $93 million placeholder for money
that it hopes comes through if a political logjam in
Harrisburg breaks. Short of that,
district leaders say they'd have to choose between laying off 1,300 employees,
or shortening the school year. What once
had seemed a far-fetched idea on the fringes, cutting the Philly school year
short of the state-mandated 180 days is now being discussed openly by
Superintendent William Hite. Hite
acknowledged that would be a major burden on families, but, he said, the
alternative could be worse.
"I think 40 students in a class is unrealistic and not
responsible," he said. "And I think that as we think about the
elimination of 1,300 more individuals, I'm not so sure that will leave our
schools with the resources they need to ensure safety and security."
SRC adopts a $2.6B
budget with a $93M question
Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer
Staff Writer LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 1:07 AM
Gambling on ongoing budget negotiations in Harrisburg, the
School Reform Commission on Monday night adopted a $2.6 billion budget with a
gigantic question mark.
The placeholder spending plan means the Philadelphia School
District will not need to lay off 1,300 workers or swell class sizes to 40 and
beyond - yet. But it contains a $93 million gap that needs to be filled either
with revenue or, if state legislators do not come through, cuts.
The reductions, including the layoffs, bigger class sizes, and
fewer student supports and security measures, would leave the district in such
rough shape that schools might not open as planned on Sept. 8. "It's not acceptable, and we have no
intention of creating that kind of environment," Superintendent William R.
Hite Jr. said at a special SRC meeting Monday. He called the harm that could be
done "irreversible."
SRC adopts $2.6B
'placeholder' budget
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 3:01 AM
WITH STATE funding still up in the air, the School Reform
Commission last night unanimously adopted a $2.6 billion budget that assumes
additional support from the state to prevent making devastating cuts - although
the pain may only be delayed. The
district's budget includes a "placeholder" for $93 million in
additional revenue from the state to close the district's budget shortfall - a
move urged by Mayor Nutter in a letter to commissioners yesterday - but that
money is far from certain. "We're
going to do this placeholder, and, hopefully, over the next week or so [it]
will be made up with revenue," SRC chairman Bill Green said before the
vote. "We're really punting on our difficult decisions tonight by passing
a placeholder budget. We have [advocated], and will continue to advocate, for
additional funding."
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140701_SRC_adopts__2_6B__placeholder__budget.html#IjMd9x6VurYCjOgV.99
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
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
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.
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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