Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
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administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers,
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officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of
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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for
August 1, 2014:
"In the same bipartisan spirit that
saw lawmakers in Harrisburg come together to enact transportation funding, we
urge all of our elected leaders to continue working together to address an even
greater challenge, the commonwealth's pension issues."
Legislature must get serious about pension reform
Legislature must get serious about pension reform
Philly.com Opinion By Rob Wonderling POSTED: Friday,
August 1, 2014, 1:08 AM
Rob Wonderling is
president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
Employers in the Philadelphia area know that public pension reform is needed if we are to grow our economy and improve government operations. Without legislative action soon, our pension obligations will continue to consume larger portions of the state budget and further strain the ability of state, county, and municipal governments, as well as school districts, to maintain, let alone improve, basic services. Today, the state and school employee retirement systems ofPennsylvania and Philadelphia have a
combined unfunded liability of more than $50 billion.
Employers in the Philadelphia area know that public pension reform is needed if we are to grow our economy and improve government operations. Without legislative action soon, our pension obligations will continue to consume larger portions of the state budget and further strain the ability of state, county, and municipal governments, as well as school districts, to maintain, let alone improve, basic services. Today, the state and school employee retirement systems of
Senate Education Committee
Chairman Folmer calls for inquiry of former state Education Secretary Ron
Tomalis
By Bill Schackner, Mary Niederberger and Karen Langley / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
August 1, 2014 12:00 AM
The chairman of the Senate Education Committee said Thursday
that the Commonwealth should take steps to assure taxpayers that Gov. Tom
Corbett’s special adviser for higher education is being required to do work
that would justify his $139,542 salary. “I’m
just saying it should be looked at,” said Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County Harrisburg activist called for additional state inquiries
following a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story Sunday regarding former
state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis.
Is Ron Tomalis a ghost or
semi-ghost employee? Stilp calls for more investigations to find out
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com on July 31, 2014 at 3:02 PM
Government reform advocate Gene Stilp is calling on two more
state agencies to investigate what taxpayers are getting for the money being spent on keeping former state education
secretary Ron Tomalis around as Gov. Tom Corbett's special adviser for
higher education.
Stilp, a Democratic candidate for the state House seat now held
by Republican Rep. Sue Helm, also is asking for Tomalis, of Camp Hill, to step
aside without pay or benefits until the investigations are complete.
Cigarette tax vote canceled;
schools' opening in jeopardy
By Dale Mezzacappa on Jul 31, 2014 07:10 PM
Pennsylvania House Republicans have canceled a planned session
on Monday to vote on a $2-a-pack cigarette tax in Philadelphia , jeopardizing the next school
year for tens of thousands of students. "Here
we are again," said a frustrated Superintendent William Hite at a hastily
called news conference Thursday afternoon.
Schools are now only weeks away from their scheduled opening day, but
without assurances that the District will have enough funds to operate a
functional system, much less one that offers an acceptable education.
The same thing happened last year, and the city's schools still
don't have a guarantee of reliable, recurring revenue sufficient to their
needs.
BY MARY WILSON
JULY 31, 2014
State lawmakers are scrapping plans to approve a cigarette tax
for Philadelphia
city schools this summer and, in the meantime, they're asking the governor to
send the school district a cash advance.
Philadelphia 's
mayor called it a disgrace. The state House
and Senate can't agree on a bill that includes authorization for Philadelphia to pass a
$2-a-pack tax on cigarettes to help fund its school system. A planned vote next week in the House was
cancelled, leaving the district without the injection of funds it was seeking. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and schools
Superintendent William Hite say that without additional funding in mid-August,
the school year will begin late, class sizes will increase, and about 1,300
school employees will be laid off.
Pa. House cancels Monday's
session, scheduled to address Philly cigarette tax
PennLive By Christina
Kauffman | ckauffman@pennlive.com on July 31, 2014 at 3:01 PM,
The House of Representatives voting session called for next
week has been canceled, said House Chief Clerk Anthony Barbush. Barbush said House leadership notified him
they were canceling session for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, all three days
it was to be held.
He was given no information about possible sessions to be held
at a later date, he said. The House is
set to reconvene in for the fall session in September, but the session
scheduled for Monday was called to address a bill to enable Philadelphia to charge a cigarette tax to
fund schools.
Cigarette-tax vote hits a Pa.
ANGELA COULOUMBIS AND TROY
GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
POSTED: Thursday, July 31, 2014, 1:08 AM
Hanging in the balance: Philadelphia
schools, and whether they can open on time. Mayor Nutter, as well as city
schools Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. have both said, unequivocally, that
time was of the essence - and that if the legislature did not act swiftly, they
would be unable to safely open schools in September.
Rep. Adolph blasts House
leaders for canceling vote to fund Philadelphia
Keystone Kopp Blog by John Kopp July 31, 2014
House Republican leaders cancelled a vote on a Philadelphia
cigarette tax that would provide critical funding to the School District of Philadelphia
A special summer session had been slated for Monday to consider
the proposal, which would have placed a $2 tax on all cigarette packs sold in Philadelphia . The tax was
expected to raise as much as $45 million in revenue for the beleaguered
district, which has a $93 million budget gap.
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said earlier this month that
the district would have to lay off employees or consider delaying the start of
the school year. State Rep. Bill Adolph,
R-165, of Springfield ,
issued a statement Thursday afternoon criticizing the decision to cancel the
special session. Adolph serves as the majority chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee.
Here is Adolph’s statement in full:
the notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on Jul 31, 2014 02:43 PM
Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of Science Leadership
Academy , a STEM-based, inquiry-driven
magnet school in Center
City Science Leadership Academy Beeber Middle School
The press release announcing the award said SLA
"tackles the achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) subjects for highly qualified minority students. The school
emphasizes college preparation and entrepreneurship through a technology-rich,
inquiry-driven curriculum that is enhanced by a 1:1 laptop program." The
school partners with the Franklin Institute.
Lehmann said he shares the award with the "students, teachers and
parents who breathe life into a dream."
Guest Column: Pa.
Delco Daily Times Guest Columnist By MARIA DONATUCCI POSTED: 07/30/14,
10:58 PM EDT |
Maria Donatucci is a State Representative
serving parts of Delaware County and Philadelphia
It’s my understanding that the hard-working people of Pennsylvania are tired –
and understandably so. The latest state budget process showed that Gov. Tom
Corbett is still tone deaf when it comes to the needs of everyday
Pennsylvanians. Residents are tired of their schools being severely
underfunded, of corporations continuing to get a free ride, and of their health
care being jeopardized while the governor plays political games. These are all valid concerns that need to be
addressed, and fast. But Pennsylvanians should also be tired of Corbett’s
feeding them lines about a flawed pension plan that’s destined to fail. The
governor’s latest stunt is to tour the state touting his perceived benefits of
the proposal, but these “advantages” don’t quite line up with reality. One of the most important things to know
about the plan is that it wouldn’t pay down the pension debt any faster than
would Act 120, the legislation currently in place to address the state’s
pension woes. Corbett wants to place new public employees in a hybrid pension
plan, saying it would save money and reduce property taxes in the short term.
However, even the author of the bill says it wouldn’t save a penny for school
districts for more than 20 years. So Corbett’s false claims shouldn’t be used
as bargaining chips to drop the current plan that’s already reducing pension
debt.
Sink-or-swim model for
teachers needs reform
Philly.com Opinion by BRUCE FRIEDRICH POSTED: Thursday,
July 31, 2014, 1:08 AM
Bruce Friedrich taught
for two years through Teach for America
My two years teaching at an inner-city high school through Teach for America (TFA) left me wondering: Do we have a problem of ineffective teachers, as is commonly claimed, or is there something rotten at the heart of the system, which sets new teachers up for likely failure?
My two years teaching at an inner-city high school through Teach for America (TFA) left me wondering: Do we have a problem of ineffective teachers, as is commonly claimed, or is there something rotten at the heart of the system, which sets new teachers up for likely failure?
I entered my new job with no illusions about the difficulties
that awaited me. I had run a shelter for homeless families for six years in the
1990s; while there, I had visited multiple inner-city schools - so I knew how
tough they could be. Nevertheless, I was
excited about my new task: improving 75 high school juniors' reading skills by
teaching social justice issues.
"That leaves some observers stunned
that Congress may find it easier to require background checks for people who
want to help children than for people who want to buy weapons that have been
used to kill them."
Bill would require school background
checks
By Tracie Mauriello / Post-Gazette Washington Bureau August 1, 2014 1:10 AM
Fairtest: Testing Resistance
& Reform News: July 23 - 29, 2014
Submitted by fairtest on July 29, 2014 - 3:12pm
As summer winds down toward back-to-school season, there is
ever more media coverage of the growing testing resistance and reform movement.
At the same time, a pattern of reaction is emerging from the "stay the
course" and "(testing) business as usual" camp. Though
policy-makers in a few states have rolled back standardized exam requirements,
many politicians are embracing study commissions, delaying consequences from new
Common Core assessments, promising vague initiatives in the future, and
otherwise dragging their feed to stall necessary changes That may buy a little time, but it will not
stop the increasing pressure for a full-fledged moratorium on high-stakes tests
from FairTest and its many allies.
PCCY: Join us in Harrisburg
Join us in Harrisburg
as we visit lawmakers to tell them the wisdom of siding with children over big
tobacco by voting for the cigarette tax increase. If this vote doesn't
happen or, if it fails, there is a strong chance Philadelphia Public Schools
will not open this September.
Buses are filling up quickly. Click here to RSVP today or call 215-563-5848 x11 or
emailinfo@pccy.org. Buses
depart 1709 Benjamin Franklin
Parkway at 8:30am and return to Philadelphia
about 5:00pm. If you plan to drive, meet us in the Capitol
at 10:30am in Room 39 of the East Wing.
Upcoming meetings on Philly
District's school redesign initiative
the notebook By Marilyn Vaccaro on Jul 30, 2014 05:14 PM
The School District is
planning a series of meetings and discussions about its new
school redesign initiative, which was announced last week. Two informational sessions will be
held, one tomorrow evening and the second on Aug. 12. Those who participate will be able to
learn more about the application process and the specifics of the initiative
itself. Through the initiative,
the District is calling on teams of educators, parents, community groups, and
other outside organizations to propose their own school turnaround plans. Ten
winning design teams will be chosen in October and will receive grants of
$30,000 to support planning costs.
Bucks Lehigh
EduSummit Monday Aug 11th and Tuesday Aug 12th
Location: Southern Lehigh High School5800 Main Street , Center Valley , PA
18034
Time: 8 AM - 3 PM Each Day(Registration starts at 7:30 AM. Keynote starts at 8:00 AM.)
Location: Southern Lehigh High School
Time: 8 AM - 3 PM Each Day(Registration starts at 7:30 AM. Keynote starts at 8:00 AM.)
The Bucks Lehigh EduSummit is a
collaboratively organized and facilitated two day professional learning
experience coordinated by educators in the Quakertown Community School District , Palisades School District, Salisbury
Township School District, Southern Lehigh School District, Bucks County IU, and Carbon Lehigh IU, which are all located in
northern Bucks county and southern Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Teachers in
other neighboring districts are welcome to attend as well! The purpose of the
EduSummit is to collaborate, connect, share, and learn together for the benefit
of our kids. Focus areas include: Educational Technology, PA Core, Social Media,
Best Practices, etc.
http://buckslehighedusummit2014.wikispaces.com/Home
http://buckslehighedusummit2014.wikispaces.com/Home
Educational Collaborators
Pennsylvania Summit Aug. 13-14
The Educational Collaborators, in partnership with the Wilson School
District
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