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PA Ed Policy Roundup for
August 21, 2014:
Everything you ever wanted to know about
PA education funding/school finance but were afraid to ask…..
New Pennsylvania
Everything you ever wanted to know about PA
education funding/school finance but were afraid to ask…..this
is the PowerPoint presented at yesterday's Basic Ed Funding Commission meeting
Basic Education
Funding Commission
School
By Jim Buckheit, Executive
Director, PA Association of School Administrators and Jay Himes, Executive
Director, PA Association of School Business Officials August 20, 2014
This PA Senate site lists commission
members and includes news releases, audio/video (video from yesterday is not
possted yet)
PA Basic
Education Funding Commission Website
"It's a very complex issue; school
districts are affected differently," said former House member Kathy
Manderino, who was recently tapped to lead a new 40-member coalition, including
education, labor, churches and business groups, to push for fair school
funding. "It goes from urban
districts' 'Can we open doors?' to suburban 'We can open doors, but at what
cost to taxpayers?' to distressed districts that lost a big funding
stream," she said. "Every piece of the system is feeling pain from
not having had predictable and sustainable formula in a long time."
Bipartisan
state commission to look at education funding
AMY WORDEN, INQUIRER HARRISBURG
A new, 15-member commission is
charged with finding a way to solve that vexing problem, despite limited
revenue and the general aversion to statewide tax hikes. The Basic Education Funding Commission, a
bipartisan group of Senate and House lawmakers and Corbett administration
officials, held its first hearing Wednesday.
The goal of the commission, created by legislation signed by Gov.
Corbett in June, is to design a fair and predictable formula for distributing
state funding to school districts
"At the hearing Wednesday, Jay Himes,
executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials,
recounted the different formulas — and, sometimes, lack of a formula — through
which Pennsylvania has funded public schools.
“Now we’re back to sort of this year-to-year, based upon whatever
factors may be relevant that year, or whatever administration’s priorities
there may be and whatever the General Assembly wants to do,” he said.
The vast majority of Pennsylvania
Commission
examines Pennsylvania
By Karen Langley / Pittsburgh
How to create
fair public school funding? 4 questions committee faces
By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com on August 20, 2014 at 6:21 PM,
updated August 20, 2014 at 9:19 PM
Sturla ready to
get to work on Basic Education Funding Commission
State Rep. Mike Sturla's website HARRISBURG
House Democratic Policy Committee
Chairman Mike Sturla said he looks forward to reviewing the data received today
by the Basic Education Funding Commission during the group's first public
hearing at the state Capitol.
"Before making any decisions,
or using preconceived notions about the education funding situation in
Pennsylvania, it is important for every commission member to study the historic
and quantitative material that we were presented with at today's meeting,"
said Sturla, D-Lancaster. "While there was a vast amount of information
provided at today’s hearing, it just scratched the surface of this complex
issue. I'm excited to have open and purposeful conversations with each and
every commission member in the coming months so that we can develop the best
end product for every Pennsylvania
During today's hearing, the
15-member commission heard from representatives of the state Department of
Education, Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials and the
Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
"As we move forward, I am
hopeful that the group will keep an open mind and listen to others' viewpoints
in order to achieve a workable solution for improving education across the
commonwealth," Sturla said.
The commission includes House and
Senate members of both parties, as well as various members of the Corbett
administration.
The group's next meeting will be
Sept. 9 in the Lehigh
Valley
"Our research shows most states use
data-driven, cost-based education funding formulas to meet these goals. Most of
these formulas use accurate student data, account for differences among school
districts, direct funding to address those differences, and do so with a goal
of ensuring all students have adequate funding to meet state standards. The research also shows that Pennsylvania
Funding,
Formulas, and Fairness: What Pennsylvania
Turzai looking
to House Democrats for talks on pension reform
By Christina
Kauffman | ckauffman@pennlive.com on August 20, 2014 at 3:22 PM,
updated August 20, 2014 at 3:34 PM
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai is calling
on the House's Democratic leadership for a meeting to air pension reform,
asking for dialogue as the two caucuses maintain their divergent
solutions.
House GOP leaders met Wednesday to
discuss the issue, Turzai said, and he's sending a letter to House Democrats to
request a meeting before the fall session starts.
No Democrat has voted to advance
the plan Turzai's caucus still prefers, the so-called "hybrid"
plan introduced by Rep. Mike Tobash, R-Schuylkill Haven. Gov. Tom Corbett also prefers the plan and
has been pushing it during his statewide stump for pension reform, the
cornerstone of his re-election campaign.
The Gem on the
Hill: How to Create a Community-Based In-District Charter
Cloaking Inequity Blog August 20, 2014 | Julian Vasquez
Heilig
In the post Photo Essay: This Charter School is Lovely, I first
introduced Travis
Heights Charter
School Travis Heights Austin
When AFT President Al Shanker first
promoted the charter school concept, they were designed to be spaces for
innovation, where educators could reach beyond the constraints of traditional
public education.[i] Currently, the public perception of
the charter approach is that freeing schools of certain rules will
automatically increase student success (Vasquez Heilig, Williams, McNeil &
Lee, 2011). However, it turns out that student success does not automatically
improve. CREDO (2009) showed that across the nation, 85% of charters did not
perform better than the traditional neighborhood public schools in their
vicinity. Furthermore, CREDO (2013) found that, on average, charter schools in Texas Texas
Some community members raised questions during a meeting
York
Daily Record By Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1
on Twitter UPDATED: 08/20/2014
10:10:30 PM EDT
The York City School Board heard heated
public comment on what path the district should take as it considers proposals
from charter operators interested in taking over school buildings in the
future. During a meeting Wednesday, the
board heard preliminary evaluations of the charter operators that submitted
proposals for taking over one or more schools in 2015-16. The public comment
session frequently devolved into arguments, with several audience members
urging the board not to pursue outside operators, an option in the district's
financial recovery plan if internal reform isn't working. Eric Kirkland said it seemed charter
operators would just be a change in management. The district would have the
same tax base, the same parent participation, the same concentration of
poverty. "I'm not hearing what is
going to change," he said.
Sandra Thompson, president of the
York NAACP, said she's against the idea of charters as the answer to public
education, and the board should fight against the possibility. "I took this to the state NAACP. She's
saying sue," Thompson said. "My next step is we need litigants."
"The fact is charter schools continue
to academically underperform traditional public schools, with less than half of
the brick-and-mortar charters meeting acceptable benchmarks, according to the
state Department of Education's School Performance Profiles. None of the cyber
charters met the mark."
Michael E.
Faccinetto: Public education beneficial for the common good
Morning Call Opinion by Michael
Faccinetto 5:55 p.m. EDT, August 20, 2014
Michael E. Faccinetto is president of the Bethlehem Area
School
We live in a society of high-stakes competition. With the shrinking economy and recent recession, quality middle-class jobs have become scarce. Reformers tell us students must be prepared to compete in the global economy, and this can only be accomplished by school choice and high-stakes testing. With the 1997 authorization of charter schools,Pennsylvania
We live in a society of high-stakes competition. With the shrinking economy and recent recession, quality middle-class jobs have become scarce. Reformers tell us students must be prepared to compete in the global economy, and this can only be accomplished by school choice and high-stakes testing. With the 1997 authorization of charter schools,
There is concrete evidence that
some charter operators have made millions in profit at the expense of
taxpayers. We mistakenly assume that charter schools are academically
high-performing. The fact is charter schools continue to academically
underperform traditional public schools, with less than half of the
brick-and-mortar charters meeting acceptable benchmarks, according to the state
Department of Education's School Performance Profiles. None of the cyber
charters met the mark.
PDK/Gallup Poll
Finds Rising Awareness, Majority Opposition to Common Core
the notebook By Lauren Camera
for Education Week on Aug 20, 2014 04:31 PM
While more people know what the
Common Core State Standards are than last year, a majority of them oppose the
standards, according to the 46th edition of the
PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Overall, the wide-ranging survey found, 81
percent of those polled said they had heard about the common standards,
compared with 38 percent last year. However, 60 percent oppose the standards,
generally because they believe the standards will limit the flexibility that
teachers have to teach what they think is best. Last year's poll did not
specifically ask respondents whether or not they supported the standards.
Two polls, two
views of Common Core: What do you think?
By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com on August 20, 2014 at 9:03 AM,
updated August 20, 2014 at 9:13 AM
Here's one for a Wednesday (via NPR):
"Two new polls this week
attempt to quantify the public's feelings for the Common Core
State
Poll Number One, out today, puts
support for the Core at just 33%. But Poll Number Two, released yesterday, puts
it at 53%. That's a big difference.
Which one is wrong? Or can they
both, somehow, be right?"
Governor
Corbett Unveils New, Web-Based Resource for Pennsylvania’s Students, Teachers
and Parents
PDE Press Release August 19, 2014
Glen Mills – Governor Tom Corbett today was joined by lawmakers, superintendents, teachers, higher education representatives and education partners at Garnet Valley School District, Delaware County, to launch Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U – a collection of free, online, educational resources. Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U brings state standards-aligned resources to the world’s largest online catalog of free educational content that helps educators create courses, including lectures, assignments, books, quizzes and syllabi, and offer them to millions of iOS users. “This initiative, which is the culmination of nearly a year of work among various education partners, is designed to provide middle and high school students, parents and teachers with access to no-cost, high-quality, state standards-aligned resources to increase student achievement,” Gov. Corbett said. “I want to thank all of the educators as well as the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals and the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for their contributions to this project, and their continued commitment to students.”
PDE Press Release August 19, 2014
Glen Mills – Governor Tom Corbett today was joined by lawmakers, superintendents, teachers, higher education representatives and education partners at Garnet Valley School District, Delaware County, to launch Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U – a collection of free, online, educational resources. Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U brings state standards-aligned resources to the world’s largest online catalog of free educational content that helps educators create courses, including lectures, assignments, books, quizzes and syllabi, and offer them to millions of iOS users. “This initiative, which is the culmination of nearly a year of work among various education partners, is designed to provide middle and high school students, parents and teachers with access to no-cost, high-quality, state standards-aligned resources to increase student achievement,” Gov. Corbett said. “I want to thank all of the educators as well as the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals and the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for their contributions to this project, and their continued commitment to students.”
Wolf campaign
continues to hammer Corbett about former education adviser
By Kaitlynn Riely and Mary
Niederberger / Pittsburgh
Gov. Tom Corbett needs to “come
clean” on the specifics of the role Ron Tomalis played in his administration as
a higher education adviser, said Katie McGinty, chairwoman of the Campaign for
a Fresh Start. “The excuses, the
smokescreen, the cover-up really needs to stop,” Ms. McGinty said. Mr. Corbett "owes the taxpayers an
explanation" for what Mr. Tomalis did as adviser to earn his salary and
benefits, Ms. McGinty said.
She spoke during a news conference
this morning in the Allegheny County Courthouse, Downtown, where she was joined
by Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers,
and Lisa Stout, the Democratic candidate for House District 39. The three also
used the news conference to call for more state funding for education.
Corbett's schedule
listed no Tomalis meetings
TribLive By Brad
Bumsted Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, 4:00 p.m.
HARRISBURG — State records show Republican Gov. Tom Corbett had no scheduled meetings with his $139,000-a-year higher education adviser Ronald Tomalis, who has resigned effective next Tuesday. The Tribune-Review obtained copies of the governor's calendar showing no meetings from May 15, 2013 — the date Tomalis became his adviser after almost 2½ years as state education secretary — through mid-July of this year.
HARRISBURG — State records show Republican Gov. Tom Corbett had no scheduled meetings with his $139,000-a-year higher education adviser Ronald Tomalis, who has resigned effective next Tuesday. The Tribune-Review obtained copies of the governor's calendar showing no meetings from May 15, 2013 — the date Tomalis became his adviser after almost 2½ years as state education secretary — through mid-July of this year.
“Since Mr. Tomalis reports directly
to (Acting) Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq, his meetings and interactions occurred
with the secretary,” said Tim Eller, press secretary for the Department of
Education. Dumaresq has said Tomalis was engaged in his work on higher and
secondary education issues while an adviser.
Tomalis did not return calls seeking comment.
Records show
Tomalis reported to work, key Pennsylvania
TribLive By Brad
Bumsted Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, 4:00 p.m.
HARRISBURG — The chairman of the Senate Education Committee said Department of Education officials showed him documentation that indicates former Education Secretary Ron Tomalis was not a ghost employee, as political opponents of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett assert.
HARRISBURG — The chairman of the Senate Education Committee said Department of Education officials showed him documentation that indicates former Education Secretary Ron Tomalis was not a ghost employee, as political opponents of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett assert.
Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, said
on Wednesday that the agency produced a record of Tomalis' electronic “swipes”
to enter the state parking garage, and those records show “he was there.”
“I'm telling you, he was not a
ghost employee,” Folmer said.
The senator had planned to hold a
hearing on Tomalis but now sees no reason to do so. He said he had a “very
intense” meeting with acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq, who
vouched for Tomalis' work as an adviser to Corbett.
Federal
prosecutors dispute PA Cyber founder's claim of misconduct
By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh
Mr. Trombetta's Washington,
D.C.-based defense lawyers wrote then that prosecutors recorded, through wire
taps and informants wearing devices, conversations between Mr. Trombetta and
various attorneys, in violation of attorney-client privilege.
Prosecutors responded today that
the conversations in question involved attorneys Joseph Askar, Timothy Barry,
Ralph Monico and Leon Daly, who represented either PACyber or its
subcontractors, not Mr. Trombetta personally. Some worked for the National
Network for Digital
Schools
Pittsburgh
Public Schools' state test scores inch higher
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh
After two years of disappointing
state test scores, Pittsburgh
Public Schools Superintendent Linda Lane
“I’m very grateful for the work of
our principals and our teachers that turned us around a little bit. I have to
feel really good about that after the two tough years we’ve had,” Mrs. Lane
At a school board meeting
Wednesday, Mrs. Lane
Pittsburgh
Public Schools to offer free lunch to all students
There is such a thing as a free
lunch.
Pittsburgh Public Schools announced
today that when the 2014-15 school year begins next week, all students,
regardless of family income, will get a free lunch. The school district
already provides free breakfasts for all students. “Ensuring that all of our students have
access to healthy meals daily is one of the ways we can meet the needs of
the whole child,” said district director of food service Curtistine Walker. The free meals are an alternative approach
made possible through the Community Eligibility Provision, a program of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture that allows school districts to offer free
meals to all students.
Cruel
Cuts: Philadelphia Public Schools Pay The Price For Pa.
Americans United for Separation of
Church and State Aug 19, 2014 by Simon Brown in Wall of Separation |
Americans United opposes vouchers
because they are frequently a taxpayer bailout for religious schools, but we
are also proponents of a strong public education system in this country. That’s
why it’s important to remember that when voucher programs expand, it often
comes at the expense of public schools. For
the second year in a row Philadelphia’s public schools are struggling to open
on time, and it appears deep budget cuts – including money siphoned for a
voucher-like program – are to blame.
After multiple reports questioned last
week whether or not Philadelphia Philadelphia
The strategic
campaign needed to save public education — in nine steps
Leaders of the school standardized
test-based reform’ movement have been very smart about using public relations
and intentional messaging to their benefit, something their critics have failed
to do. Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering
and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken , N.J.
On September 17, 2014 the Education
Law Center will hold its annual event at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker
Building to celebrate Pennsylvania’s Education Champions. This year, the event
will honor William P. Fedullo, Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association;
Dr. Joan Duvall-Flynn, Education Committee Chair for the Pennsylvania State
Conference of NAACP Branches; and the Stoneleigh Foundation, a Philadelphia
regional leader on at-risk youth issues.
Pennsylvania Arts Education
Network 2014 Arts and Education Symposium
The 2014 Arts and Education Symposium will be
held on Thursday, October 2 at the State Museum
of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA. Join us for a daylong convening of
arts education policy leaders and practitioners for lively discussions about
the latest news from the field.
The Symposium registration fee is $45 per person.
To register, click
here or follow the prompts at the bottom of the page. The Symposium will include the following:
Register Now – 2014 PAESSP State
Please join us for the 2014 PAESSP State Conference, “PRINCIPAL
EFFECTIVENESS: Leading Schools in a New Age of Accountability,” to be
held October 19-21 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh , Pa.
PSBA Website
Make plans today to attend the most talked about education
conference of the year. This year's PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference promises to be one of the best with new
ideas, innovations, networking opportunities and dynamic speakers. More details
are being added every day. Online registration will be available in the
next few weeks. If you just can't wait, registration
forms are available online now. Other important links are available
with more details on:
·
Hotel
registration (reservation deadline extended to Sept. 26)
·
Educational
Publications Contest (deadline Aug. 6)
·
Student
Celebration Showcase (deadline Sept. 19)
·
Poster
and Essay Contest (deadline Sept. 19)
Slate of candidates for PSBA offices
now available online -- bios/videos now live
PSBA Website August 5, 2014
PSBA Website August 5, 2014
The slate of candidates for 2015 PSBA officer and at-large
representatives is now available online.
Photos, bios and videos also have been posted for each candidate.
According to recent PSBA Bylaws changes, each member school entity casts one
vote per office. Voting will again take place online through a secure, third-party
website -- Simply Voting. Voting will openSept. 9 and closes Oct.
6. One person from the school entity (usually the board secretary) is
authorized to cast the vote on behalf of the member school entity and each
board will need to put on its agenda discussion and voting at one of its
meetings in September. Each person authorized to cast the school entity's votes
will be receiving an email in the coming weeks to verify the email address and
confirm they are the person to cast the vote on behalf of their school
entity.
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