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PA Ed Policy Roundup for July
9, 2014:
Budget bill passes, but
Philly schools in limbo
No decision from Gov. Tom
Corbett today on state budget package, staffers say
By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com on July 08, 2014 at 7:04 PM, updated July
08, 2014 at 11:14 PM
This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. to reflect plans by the
House Speaker to sign the fiscal code bill and send it to the governor's desk.
Gov. Tom Corbett's director of communications says there will
be no finality to the governor's consideration of the state's delayed $29.1 billion
2014-15 budget package on this night.
Lynn Lawson said Tuesday evening that the governor is committed
to reviewing the package as a whole, including the fiscal code bill passed
Tuesday afternoon, and that's an exercise that will take more than a couple of
hours to complete.
Budget bill passes, but
Philly schools in limbo
Corbett, a Republican, has until Friday night ends to sign or
veto the main budget bill before it becomes law on its own. He has expressed
disappointment that public pension legislation he had sought remained stalled
in the Legislature and he has not said what he will do with the budget
legislation while he waited out a fight between leaders of the House and Senate
Republican majorities. Every Democrat
has opposed the Republicans' budget bills, and one, Sen. Jim Ferlo,
D-Allegheny, took to the floor of the Senate to skewer it as a "clear
violation of the public trust."
"Legislators like to
boast that the new budget doesn't increase taxes on Pennsylvanians. That isn't
so. Within hours of the budget's passage in the House, the Shippensburg school
district was forced to raise property taxes to make up for the state support it
had counted on that didn't materialize."
Budget based on illusions
Budget based on illusions
By Sharon Ward POSTED: Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 1:08 AM
Sharon Ward is the
director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
As the General Assembly takes final action on the state budget, even before the ink is dry, the spending plan for the fiscal year that started July 1 will have begun its slow collapse.
As the General Assembly takes final action on the state budget, even before the ink is dry, the spending plan for the fiscal year that started July 1 will have begun its slow collapse.
Although it was structured in the hopes of avoiding new cuts to
things that voters care about - schools, early-childhood education, and support
for children with autism - the promised funding may never materialize. The
budget is balanced with sleight of hand and magical thinking - not actual
dollars. And that truth may by revealed as soon as December, when the money
begins to run out long before the budget year ends.
2013-14 General Fund Revenues
finish below 2012-13 levels, yet 2014-15 Budget assumes over $1 billion in
revenue growth
PA Budget and Policy
Center
Despite better than expected collections in June, the
commonwealth’s fiscal year 2013-14 General Fund revenue collections totaled less
than the revenues collected in 2012-13, falling over a half a billion
dollars short of estimate. While revenues can decline during economic
downturns, it is highly unusual that it happens in a time of economic
expansion. Years of tax cuts certainly added to this unexpected decline. Even with the lower than expected revenue
collections in 2013-14, the budget for 2014-15 approved by the General Assembly
is based on revenue collections of $29.6 billion, over $1 billion more than
were collected in 2013-14. This represents growth of 3.5% from 2013-14. Details
of this projection have yet to be released, as the Governor has not signed the
budget plan. Based on earlier projections, this amount of revenue growth may be
difficult to achieve – putting funding increases in the 2014-15 budget in
jeopardy.
Interest groups'
lobbying tally tops $500M in Pennsylvania
By Melissa
Daniels Friday, July 4, 2014, 11:07 p.m.
Read more:http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/6344518-74/lobbying-million-spending#ixzz36xsX1vJy
"Hughes blamed the influence of the
tobacco lobby. "This is a cigarette
tax. You have to assume that the cigarette lobby got engaged in this process
and tried to make changes in the legislation," he said. "All our
information indicates that those are the individuals who drove the
process." Sen. Anthony Hardy
Williams, D-Philadelphia, echoed that sentiment, referencing the tobacco
lobby's influence with Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson,
who represents tobacco growing districts in western Pennsylvania
Philly cigarette tax for
schools stalled in legislative pingpong match
By Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks on Jul 8, 2014 09:00 PM
The passage of the Philadelphia
cigarette tax hit a major setback Tuesday.
The Pennsylvania Senate approved the tax, but added provisions
as part of an omnibus package that will yet again need the blessing of the
House of Representatives, which is not scheduled to return to a voting session
until the fall. The Philadelphia School
District School District from borrowing against cigarette tax
proceeds. Philadelphia Schools
Superintendent William Hite immediately blasted the move in a written
statement, calling it an action that "throws us back into
uncertainty."
"Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said in
an interview that several members of his caucus suggested ending the tax after
five years, but declined to say who those members were. Pileggi, who voted for the change, said he
believed the request was reasonable. "That
is something that should be examined after five years to see what impact it has
had on revenues collected. Is it stable? It is declining, is it growing, what
effect has it had on neighboring counties," said Pileggi.
Pa. Senate delays cigarette
tax, fate uncertain
ANGELA COULOUMBIS AND
AMY WORDEN, INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU
LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 1:08 AM POSTED: Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 4:21 PM
Hite: $40 million shortfall,
more cuts needed
Philly Trib Written by Wilford
Shamlin III July 6, 2014
School Superintendent William Hite Jr., on Friday announced the
district’s budget shortfall at $40 million just hours after state lawmakers
approved a new cigarette tax hike in support of Philadelphia public schools. But the school chief also warned spending
cuts on the order of $45 million were still needed to balance the $2.6 million
operating budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
“In the next few weeks, the school district will work on
closing the remaining shortfall, an effort that may require a number of
difficult actions,” Hite said. He said ongoing contract negotiations with the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) could yield additional savings, but
the two sides have been at an impasse for months. Teachers continue to work
under terms of a collective bargaining agreement that expired nearly a year
ago.
PFT president Jerry Jordan made no reference to ongoing
negotiations with the school district in a statement responding to the approval
of the cigarette tax legislation. He called the action by state lawmakers a
huge victory for local public schools.
Their View | The hijacking of
the charter school movement
Centre Daily Times BY DAVID HUTCHINSON July 8, 2014
The concept of the charter school was first articulated back in
the 1980s by Albert Shanker, the head of the New York City teachers’ union. Charter
schools were conceived as an extension of the public school system —
“incubators of experimentation” — to be run by public school teachers, but
having the flexibility to try out new ideas, which, if successful, could be
templates for school improvement. In State College ,
our alternative school, the Delta Program, is the closest to matching Shanker’s
original vision. But there are some
other pretty good local examples. One of our charter schools was built on the
small learning community model; another emphasizes project-based learning; yet
another, instruction in multiple languages. These models have value to students
and their parents, and they could provide us with useful insight. But any value
we receive from these “experiments” comes in spite of state policy, not because
of it.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/07/08/4256255/their-view-the-hijacking-of-the.html?sp=/99/145/#storylink=cpy
Departure of Official Is
Sought by Teachers
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH JULY 8, 2014
The long partnership between Democrats and teachers’ unions has
frayed in recent years as the Obama administration has pursued policies that
many teachers oppose, including performance ratings that link student test
scores to evaluations and decisions about promotion or firing.
But the dissatisfaction hit a new level late last week when
the National Education
Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, with almost three
million members, passed a resolution at its convention in Denver calling for
the resignation of the secretary of education, Arne Duncan.
Largest U.S.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s relations with teachers
unions just got more difficult.
Delegates of the National Education Association, the nation’s
largest teachers union, voted at their annual convention to call on Duncan to resign after
similar efforts had failed in previous years. And the NEA is about to get a new
president, Lily Eskelsen García, who is known for her tough talk and
determination to fight back against corporate school reformers. She told the
delegates:
“People who don’t know what they’re talking about are
talking about increasing the use of commercial standardized tests in
high-stakes decisions about students and about educators … when all the
evidence that can be gathered shows that it is corrupting what it means to
teach and what it means to learn….
We know what is at stake, and it is why we are who we are.
It is why we are fearless and why we will not be silent when people who, for
their own profit and political posture, subvert words like ‘reform’ or
‘accountability.’”
The delegates voted on a surprise agenda item that said the
“department’s failed education agenda focused on more high-stakes testing, grading
and pitting public school students against each other based on test scores, and
for continuing to promote policies and decisions that undermine public schools
and colleges, the teaching education professionals, and education unions,”
according to
the Associated Press.
FCC Prepares to Vote on
E-Rate Overhaul
Education Week By Michele
Molnar Published Online: July 8, 2014
Schools and libraries hungry for faster and more reliably
funded Wi-Fi connections will be watching the July 11 open meeting of the
Federal Communications Commission closely.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's long-awaited E-rate modernization
plan, which he released in outline
form on June 20, will be discussed by commissioners and presumably voted
on during the meeting.
A watershed moment for
technology in education
It is more than likely that many of you don’t know much, if
anything, about the “E-Rate,” which is formally the Schools and Libraries
Program of the Universal Service Fund administered under the auspices of
the Federal Communications Commission. The E-Rate offers discounts
for schools and libraries to get Internet access and telecommunications. This
week, the FCC will vote on modernizing the E-Rate in a move that would first
redirect a few billion dollars in E-Rate funds to the benefit of millions of
students this year alone. In this post, Julius Genachowski and Jim Coulter
explain why they think the FCC should approve the modernization. Genachowski is
managing director of The Carlyle Group and former chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission. Jim Coulter is a commissioner of the bi-partisan
Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission, and co-founder and
chief executive officer of TPG Holdings.
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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