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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October
22, 2014:
Commission advances to
develop a funding formula for Pennsylvania public schools
In Pittsburgh, Commission
advances to develop a funding formula for Pennsylvania public schools
By Clarece Polke / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 21, 2014
4:15 PM
After more than four hours of testimony from Allegheny County
education officials Tuesday, the 15-member Basic Education Funding Commission
is "just a few steps closer" to its task of developing a funding
formula for Pennsylvania public schools, Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, in
Allegheny County and commission member said.
The commission is holding a series of statewide hearings to get
testimony from advocates and education experts, the fifth of which was held
this morning at the Community College of Allegheny County's West Hills Center in
Oakdale.
By June 2015, members of the commission are expected to appear
before the General Assembly with a recommendation of a formula for how the
state will pay for its K-12 schools.
"Allegheny County is a great reflection of what we're
looking at statewide because it's so diverse," Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh,
co-chair of the commission, told attendees.
The hearing began with a packed audience, and continued well
into the afternoon with testimony from scheduled speakers and ensuing dialogue
about best approaches for a funding formula.
Basic Ed. Funding Commission
Holds Pittsburgh Hearing on Enrollment and Funding
Senator Matt Smith’s website on OCTOBER 21, 2014
NORTH FAYETTE, October 21, 2014 – – The Basic Education
Funding Commission held a public hearing today at the Community College of
Allegheny County West Hills Center to gather information about enrollment
changes and funding challenges facing area public schools.
“The hearing allowed us to engage with education stakeholders
from western Pennsylvania and learn more about the challenges and issues they
face,” said state Senator Matt Smith (D-Allegheny/Washington), a member of the
15 member panel. The Basic Education
Funding Commission’s goal is to study basic education funding in Pennsylvania,
make recommendations to the General Assembly and develop a more equitable
funding formula. Today’s hearing is one of several slated to be held throughout
the state on various issues education funding-related issues.
“Allegheny County has experienced large increases and decreases
in student enrollment, so the location of today’s discussion and the experience
of those who testified were essential to gain a better understanding of the
challenges facing our region,” continued Smith.
Election 2014: A look at
Corbett and Wolf on education
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY OCTOBER 21, 2014
OK, let's get right to the looming question: Did Tom Corbett
cut a billion dollars from public, K-12 education? That question can be answered in different
ways. It all depends on what you count, and how you count it.
The Washington Post says Pa.
governor race most likely to flip
Lancaster Online Posted on October 21, 2014 by Karen Shuey
Not since 1984 have more than six sitting governors lost in any
one election. But The Washington Post political blog The Fix says that history
may be in the making. The site highlighted 11 very close gubernatorial races of 2014. But the
only incumbent they say is a goner for sure is Gov. Tom Corbett. The authors of the blog said Democratic
challenger Tom Wolf “is measuring the drapes in the governor’s mansion — and
rightly so.” They say the York County
businessman “hasn’t had a very high profile since cruising to a primary win in
the spring. That’s a smart move because his opponent, incumbent Corbett, is
extremely unpopular.” Meanwhile, a new poll finds
Corbett is closing the gap between him and his challenger.
Pa. governor's race down to
turnout?
WHYY Newsworks DAVE DAVIES OFF MIC A BLOG BY DAVE DAVIES OCTOBER 21, 2014
There comes a point in every political campaign when the
combatants decide they've convinced anybody convincible to vote for them, and
it's time to move from messaging to turnout.
Maybe that time has come.
Though Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's and Democrat Tom Wolf continue to
pump out TV ads, we're not seeing much in the way of new messages. I've been
away a few days, and even though FactCheck.org issued a blistering critique of Corbett's attacks on Wolf,
the governor's campaign continues to portray Wolf as a man committed to
raising your taxes through the roof. Wolf
continues to swing back, but we also see his
campaign bringing in a series of celebrity Democrats to lure big crowds and
fire up the base for a turnout Nov. 4. Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have
already visited Philadelphia, and Bill Clinton and President Obama are
expected to make appearances -- Clinton in Pittsburgh Monday and the
prez at a site yet to be announced.
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School case to be heard again next month
By Torsten Ove / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 21, 2014 7:20
AM
A federal court hearing to address allegations that the FBI
improperly recorded conversations between indicted Pennsylvania Cyber
Charter School founder Nick Trombetta and his lawyers will extend into
its third month in November. U.S.
District Judge Joy Flowers Conti, who first heard arguments in September,
listened again Monday and set new hearing dates for Nov. 10 and 12. The
hearing is open to the public after the media intervened to prevent it
from being held in secret. Mr.
Trombetta's lawyers want the judge to throw out the government's charges
or limit its evidence gleaned from the recordings, saying the FBI violated
the attorney-client privilege.
Mr. Trombetta is charged with siphoning some $1 million from
the Midland-based school through several corporate entities he controlled.
Crucial court hearing on
PFT-District dispute Wednesday morning
The District
hopes the state court will take jurisdiction. The union won a victory Monday,
with a local court ordering immediate arbitration.
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 21, 2014 05:56 PM
A crucial hearing will occur Wednesday morning in Commonwealth
Court in Harrisburg in the legal dispute between the School Reform Commission
and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers over the union contract. The SRC on Oct. 6 nullified the PFT contract and unilaterally imposed
changes in teachers' health benefits, saying that 21 months of negotiations had
been unproductive and that it needed the savings to put resources back in
schools. At dispute Wednesday is
which court is the proper venue for the case -- the local Common Pleas Court or
the state Commonwealth Court. The
District took the case directly to Commonwealth Court, arguing that
the Pennsylvania Department of Education should be a party to the case, making
it a state matter. The union filed a motion last week arguing that PDE has no place in the
dispute and asking that the case be sent to Common Pleas Court.
That motion will be argued at 9:30 a.m. in Harrisburg. The PFT
successfully argued for an expedited hearing of the matter.
“The Controller's Office conducted an
analysis of the district's 86 charter schools and found that charters had a
total fund balance of $117 million last year, while the district had a $68
million deficit. The report concludes that the current formula for tuition
reimbursements and special education does not factor in the district's real costs
or what charter schools actually spend.”
Controller calls for overhaul
in charter-school funding
SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903 POSTED: Wednesday,
October 22, 2014, 3:01 AM
PENNSYLVANIA'S charter-school funding formula is unfair and
damaging to the Philadelphia School District, City Controller Alan Butkovitz
said in a report issued yesterday.
The Controller's Office conducted an analysis of the district's
86 charter schools and found that charters had a total fund balance of $117
million last year, while the district had a $68 million deficit. The report
concludes that the current formula for tuition reimbursements and special
education does not factor in the district's real costs or what charter schools
actually spend.
"The school district has been operating with
multimillion-dollar deficits for almost a decade, whereas charters have had
substantial fund balances," Butkovitz said in a news release.
City controller says laws
must change to ease charters' pressure
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 6:41 PM
City Controller Alan Butkovitz Tuesday released a report
calling for sweeping changes in state law to lessen the financial impact that
the city's growing charter school community has on the district and taxpayers. Butkovitz's office has previously released
reports that criticized the district's oversight of its 86 charters and
detailed cases of possible fraud in some charters.
The new report, he said, examines charters as a factor in the
district's continuing financial crisis.
"Charters are having a substantial financial impact,"
he said. "It's time to revisit that and make sure that it doesn't become
institutionalized as an 'us vs. them' war."
Helen Gym and Bill Green Try
to Find Common Ground (or Not) on Education in Philadelphia
In an extended version
of their talk from our Conversation Issue, the indefatigable activist and the
School Reform Commission chair (politely) square off.
Philadelphia Magazine BY PATRICK KERKSTRA OCTOBER
21, 2014
He’s chairman of the School Reform Commission. She’s
co-founder of Parents United for Public Education. They have very different
ideas about how to run the district. In mid-September — a month before the SRC
voided the district’s contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers —
Bill and Helen sat down for a lengthy chat. Here, their (abridged) conversation
about trying to see eye to eye.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/articles/bill-green-helen-gym-common-ground-education-philadelphia/#3qCpa4pwi6iVvpvd.99
A response to SRC Chair Bill
Green’s Inquirer op-ed.
SRC’s Contract Move
Isn’t About Shared Sacrifice — It’s Looting
Philadelphia Magazine BY HELEN GYM OCTOBER 21,
2014 AT 12:15 PM
Recently, I visited my brother-in-law at Radnor High School and
was privileged to see him teach his ninth-grade English/civics class. When I
walked in, his students were engaged in a debate about Plato and the notion of
dissent versus rule of law in Athenian society. The students had finished
reading John Stuart Mill and were getting their first papers back for revision.
It was October 2nd. A few days later, I
attended a parent meeting at Central High School, one of the city’s premier
institutions. Dozens of ninth graders had spent their school year with
substitute teachers who changed every week. The substitutes were put in place
to relieve teachers leading classrooms with 40, 50, or even more students. For
these ninth graders, school didn’t really start until October 8th, when
permanent teachers were finally assigned to them.
This is what a teacher’s contract was supposed to prevent.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/10/21/helen-gym-response-bill-green-src-inquirer-op-ed/#4HMGTPv4PKbMxTIQ.99
Common Core execution is
flawed
State College Centre Daily Times Opinion BY DAVID HUTCHINSON October
9, 2014
Most of us in education have come around to the view that it’s
no longer appropriate for students to spend the bulk of their time on the
memorization of facts and the rote use of math and science algorithms. In large part, the Common Core standards were
an attempt to address this, by refocusing classroom instruction on conceptual
understanding and the development of higher-order thinking skills — something
the better teachers have always tried to do.
The other rationale for Common Core is that, in a highly mobile society,
we should have some measure of consistency from one region of the country to
another. The parents of a reasonably successful fifth-grader in Mississippi
should not be shocked to discover that their child is reading at only a
third-grade level in Pennsylvania (a recent true story). Though far from perfect, and despite the fact
that there was almost no input from actual teachers in the development of these
standards, the majority of educators are of the opinion that Common Core
reasonably meets these two objectives. So,
what’s the problem? There are several.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/10/09/4395257/common-core-execution-is-flawed.html#storylink=cpy
Dual Language Charter School
sending some students back to home districts
By Adam Clark,Of The Morning Call October 21, 2014
A Bethlehem charter school is sending some students back to
their home districts
The Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School in Bethlehem is
temporarily suspending operations for seventh and eighth grade and telling
those students to return to their home school districts or enroll in other
charter schools. The decision comes as
the charter school fights with Bethlehem Area School District over its ability
to open a second location to serve middle school students. Seventh- and eighth-graders at the K-8
charter school have had class this fall 3:30-6:30 p.m. weekdays and attend
additional classes Saturdays because the building doesn't have room for all
eight grades during the traditional school day.
House 58th District seat
candidates focus on education, taxes
Trib Live By Renatta Signorini Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014, 10:54 p.m.
A Hempfield supervisor is challenging longtime incumbent R. Ted Harhai of Monessen for the House 58th District seat, which covers a portion of Westmoreland County. Tom Logan, 58, a Republican, will face off against Harhai, 59, a Democrat who is seeking his 10th term.
A Hempfield supervisor is challenging longtime incumbent R. Ted Harhai of Monessen for the House 58th District seat, which covers a portion of Westmoreland County. Tom Logan, 58, a Republican, will face off against Harhai, 59, a Democrat who is seeking his 10th term.
Harhai defeated challenger Scott Nestor, 25, a Monessen city
councilman, in the primary. Logan was unopposed in the primary. State House members serve two-year terms with
no term limits and are paid $82,026 per year.
The district covers Adamsburg, Arona, Madison, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant,
North Belle Vernon, Penn, Smithton, Sutersville and West Newton boroughs, as
well as parts of East Huntingdon, Hempfield, Rostraver, Sewickley and South
Huntingdon townships in Westmoreland. The
candidates place priorities on different issues in the district of nearly
60,000 residents. Harhai said getting a
handle on education funding at the state level is crucial. School districts
have been forced to cut faculty and programs or raise taxes as a result of
decreased funding, both of which impact economic development, he said. “They are passing it down to the local
municipality, and it makes it bad for these people,” said Harhai, who has held
the House seat since 1998. “I think education, the cuts that the Republican
administration made are far-reaching.”
Greater Latrobe teachers, school board
approve 5-year contract
Trib Live
By Stacey Federoff Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014,
12:06 a.m.
Greater Latrobe School District's teachers union and school board brought an end to 14 months of negotiations after both sides approved a new five-year contract Tuesday night.
Greater Latrobe School District's teachers union and school board brought an end to 14 months of negotiations after both sides approved a new five-year contract Tuesday night.
The deal will cost the district
about 2.75 percent more than the previous contract from 2010-14.
Teachers will be able to choose
from four different health plans through the Westmoreland County Public School
Healthcare Consortium. Depending on the
plan, contribution to premiums will increase between 6 percent and 16 percent
through July 31, 2019.
Education
Voters Action Fund 2014 Candidate Endorsements
Education Voters Action Fund Published on October
16, 2014
Education Voters Action Fund has endorsed the
following candidates for their commitment to public education:
·
Tom Wolf for Governor & Mike Stack for
Lieutenant Governor
·
Challengers/Open Seats:
·
Deberah Kula (D) SD-32 Fayette, Somerset
Westmoreland
·
Ann Schott (D) HD-13 Chester County
·
Gene Stilp (D) HD-104 Dauphin County
·
Michael Beyer (D) HD-131 Lehigh Valley
·
Marian Moscowitz (D) HD-157 Chester County
·
Leanne Krueger-Braneky (D) HD-161 Delaware
·
Dr. Jill Sunday Bartoli (D) HD-199 Cumberland
County
·
Incumbents:
·
Patrick M. Browne (R) SD-16 Lehigh County
·
Mark Longietti (D) HD-7 Mercer County
·
Gene DiGirolamo (R) HD-18 Bucks County
·
Bernie O’Neill (R) HD-29 Bucks County
·
Mike Fleck (I) HD-81 Blair, Huntingdon, Mifflin
Counties
·
Michael Sturla (D) HD-96 Lancaster County
·
Eddie Day Pashinski (D) HD-121 Luzerne County
·
Michael Schlossberg (D) HD-132 Lehigh
·
Thomas Murt (R) HD-152 Montgomery/Philadelphia
·
Steve McCarter (D) HD 154 Montgomery County
·
William Adolph (R) HD-165 Delaware County
·
James Roebuck (D) HD-188 Philadelphia
·
Cherelle Parker (D) HD-200 Philadelphia
Nation’s
Wealthy Places Pour Private Money Into Public Schools, Study Finds
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH OCT.
21, 2014
From bake sales to gala auctions, private groups are raising an
increasing amount of money for public schools in wealthier communities,
highlighting concerns about inequality.
In Coronado, Calif., a wealthy enclave off the coast of San
Diego, for example, local education groups, which support about 3,200 students
in five schools, raised more than $1,500 per student in 2010. These private
funds helped pay for arts and music classes at all grade levels, sports
medicine courses at the high school and a digital media academy at the middle
school, where students are learning animation and designing buildings with 3-D
printers.
By contrast, the combined fund-raising of groups affiliated
with schools in the San Diego Unified School District — where the median
household income is about two-thirds that of Coronado — amounted to $19.57 per
student. That pattern was repeated
across the country, according to a new studythat found nonprofits organized by parents and
community leaders more than tripled in number and more than quadrupled the
dollars they generated between 1995 and 2010.
“Nationwide, enrollments in university
teacher-preparation programs have fallen by about 10 percent from 2004 to 2012,
according to federal estimates from the U.S. Department of Education's
postsecondary data collection.”
Steep Drops Seen in
Teacher-Prep Enrollment Numbers
California and other big states particularly hard hit,
raising supply concerns
Education Week By Stephen Sawchuk Published Online: October 21, 2014
Fresh from the United States Air Force, Zachary Branson, 33,
wanted a career with a structured day and hours that would allow him to be home
in time to watch his kids in the evening. But just a month into his online
teacher-preparation program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
he had something of a crisis of faith. It
was brought on, he said, by the sense of being in the middle of an ideological
war that surfaced in everything from state-level education policy on down to
his course textbook, which had a distinct anti-standardized-testing bent.
"I feel like teachers are becoming a wedge politically,
and I don't want anything to do with that," Mr. Branson said. He's not alone in having qualms about
entering the teaching profession.
Massive changes to the profession, coupled with budget woes,
appear to be shaking the image of teaching as a stable, engaging career.
The Short Shelf Life Of Urban
School Superintendents
NPR by STEVE DRUMMOND
October 21, 2014 4:35 AM ET
If you're a 12th-grader right now in the Los Angeles schools,
that means you probably started kindergarten back in 2001. It also means that,
as of this week, you've seen four superintendents come and go. As we discussed today on Morning
Edition, the ouster of John Deasy last week as the head of the nation's
second-largest district has renewed a long-running debate about leadership of
big-city schools, and particularly the challenges of raising achievement in
such a politically charged environment. Deasy
told Morning Edition host Steve
Inskeep last week that there's a clock ticking on
"reform"-minded superintendents, such as himself, who want to shake
things up quickly. "I think there is," he said, calling it a
"worrisome trend in America."
PSBA members elect officers,
at-large representatives for 2015
Members of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association elected
new officers and at-large representatives for 2014 at its Delegate Assembly on
Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center. The new officers and at-large representatives
will take their offices on January 1, 2015, as part of an 11-member PSBA
Governing Board. Officers and at-large representatives elected at the Delegate
Assembly are as follows:
·
Offices filled include:
·
President-elect: Kathy K. Swope, Lewisburg
Area SD (Union Co.)
·
Vice president: Mark B. Miller, Centennial
SD (Bucks Co.)
·
Treasurer: Otto W. Voit III, Muhlenberg
SD (Berks Co.)
·
At-large representative (East): Michael
Faccinetto, Bethlehem Area SD (Northampton Co.)
·
At-large representative (Central):
David Hutchinson, State College Area SD (Centre Co.)
·
At-large representative (West): Daniel
J. O’Keefe, Northgate SD (Allegheny Co.)
New website offers closer
look into candidate' views on public education
PSBA NEWS RELEASE 10/6/2014
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) has created a
new website for its members and the general public to get a closer look into
candidates' views on public education leading up to the 2014 election for the
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Following
the primary elections, PSBA sent out a six-question questionnaire to all
Pennsylvania House and Senate candidates competing for seats in the November
election. Candidates are listed by
House, Senate seat and county. Districts can be found by visiting the 'Find My
Legislator' link (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/).
Features include:
·
Candidate images, if provided
·
Candidates are tagged by political party and
seat for which they are running
·
Candidates who did not respond are indicated by
"Responses not available."
Visit the site by going to
http://psbacandidateforum.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the link tweeted out
by @PSBAadvocate.
Candidates wishing to complete the questionnaire before
election day may do so by contacting
Sean Crampsie (717-506-2450, x-3321).
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=8650#sthash.1vGGRff4.dpuf
Register Now – 2014 PASCD
Annual Conference – November 23 – 25, 2014
Please join us for the 2014 PASCD Annual Conference, “Leading
an Innovative Culture for Learning – Powered by Blendedschools Network” to
be held November 23-25 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in
Hershey, PA. Featuring Keynote Speakers: David Burgess - - Author
of "Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your
Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator", Dr. Bart Rocco,
Bill Sterrett - ASCD author, "Short on Time: How do I Make
Time to Lead and Learn as a Principal?" and Ron Cowell.
This annual conference features small group sessions (focused
on curriculum, instructional, assessment, blended learning and middle level
education) is a great opportunity to stay connected to the latest approaches
for cultural change in your school or district. Join us for PASCD
2014! Online registration is available by visiting www.pascd.org
Upcoming PA Basic Education
Funding Commission Meetings*
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 10
AM, Lancaster
Tuesday, November 18 & 19, 2014, Philadelphia
Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 10 AM, East Stroudsburg
Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 10 AM - 12:00 PM, Lancaster
* meeting times and locations subject to changehttp://basiceducationfundingcommission.pasenategop.com/
Tuesday, November 18 & 19, 2014, Philadelphia
Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 10 AM, East Stroudsburg
Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 10 AM - 12:00 PM, Lancaster
* meeting times and locations subject to changehttp://basiceducationfundingcommission.pasenategop.com/
January 23rd–25th, 2015 at The Science
Leadership Academy, Philadelphia
EduCon is both a conversation and a conference.
It is an innovation conference where we can come together, both
in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will
be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the
big dreams.
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