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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for
January 3, 2015:
Corbett administration's
efforts to deny appeal in York
PA
Editorial: York
York Daily Record
editorial UPDATED: 01/02/2015 02:34:55 PM EST
David Meckley, the York
City School
District 's recovery officer, left, and attorney Clyde Vedder
enter the York County
Judicial Center
as testimony continued in York
city schools receivership case Dec. 16. (Paul Kuehnel - Daily Record/Sunday
News) York Suburban School Board member
Joel Sears hit the nail on the head (or maybe we should say the gavel on block)
with his Facebook comment last week about a court filing in the York school district
receiver case:
"There's a Catch-22 if ever there was one," he wrote. Indeed, it is.
The
filing by the state education department and David Meckley, newly appointed
receiver for the district, argues that the city district's appeal of Judge
Stephen Linebaugh's decision to put the district into receivership is invalid. Why?
Well, because once Judge Linebaugh appointed Mr. Meckley as
receiver, the school board officially lost the authority to do anything other
than levy taxes.
That, according to the filing, makes the appeal invalid because
the only one with the power to authorize an appeal of Mr. Meckley's receivership
would be, well, Mr. Meckley himself.
And — no surprise here — Mr. Meckley doesn't want to appeal his
receivership.
Yeah, that seems like a Catch-22 that author Joseph Heller
would have admired.
"The net effect will be to impose a
district wide charter system under which all decisions concerning the education
of the children of the district will for the foreseeable future be controlled
by a board which at this time is made up solely of citizens of other
municipalities." Meckley had
advocated a full conversion of district schools to charter schools operated by
a for-profit company and overseen by a nonprofit board. The three members of that board, none of whom
live in York City
The state's response to the district's
appeal will be the subject of a hearing before Linebaugh on Tuesday morning,
according to the York
County
ERIN JAMES / The York Dispatch 505-5439 / @ydcity POSTED: 01/02/2015 03:57:42 PM EST
Attorneys for the York
City School
District
Last week, York County President Judge Stephen P. Linebaugh
granted the department's petition to appoint David Meckley as the district's
receiver for three years. That means Meckley would assume all powers and
responsibilities of the locally elected school board, except the power to set
the property-tax rate. Attorneys for the
district and two employees' unions filed appeals.
On Wednesday, the state filed a response to the appeal. The
state argued that Meckley "immediately" assumed nearly all responsibilities
and the appeal should be struck down because Meckley did not authorize it. Today, the district filed its response,
arguing the effect of Linebaugh's order "is drastic enough to militate in
favor of a clear right to appeal and be heard."
"The stated intent of the petitioner should not be ignored
at this point either," the district argues.
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_27243597/york-city-attorneys-fight-right-appeal-receivership
"… the state education department is
now trying to "run roughshod over the district's right to
appeal."
By Angie Mason, Daily
Record/Sunday News UPDATED: 01/02/2015 04:48:57 PM EST
An attorney for the York
City School
District
Some have signed a
petition in favor of a traditional option
York Daily Record By
Angie Mason amason@ydr.com @angiemason1 on Twitter
As the possibility that York City School District
Converting district schools into charters was an option included
in the school district's financial recovery plan — a move that David Meckley,
recently named the district's receiver by the court, has said is warranted
because of the district's academic performance and a lack of new employee
contracts with concessions called for by the recovery plan.
The school board tabled the idea in November because of
unanswered questions on the plan and is trying to appeal the court's decision
to make Meckley receiver, which would give him the authority to move forward
without the school board's consent.
If the district's schools are converted into charter schools,
with Charter Schools USA
In court hearings, Meckley listed a cyber program as an
alternative. Law firms that deal with education matters have said that wouldn't
be sufficient for special education students.
Since then, state education spokesman Tim Eller has said that
cyber was one possibility but that additional public options would be
considered to make sure students have programs and services as required by
state law.
"Picture this: the superintendent of
your public school system makes so much money that he’s tooling around in his
own 43-foot yacht on the weekends. Hard
to believe, right? A public school
superintendent has to report to his board of directors, the school board, who
would think twice about paying lavish sums of money on the taxpayer’s dime.
However, if you’re the founder of Charter
Schools USA
By: Sharon Aron Baron
March 31, 2014 by Coral
Springs Talk
Picture this: the superintendent of your public school system
makes so much money that he’s tooling around in his own 43-foot yacht on the
weekends. Hard to believe, right?
A public school superintendent has to report to his board of
directors, the school board, who would think twice about paying lavish sums of
money on the taxpayer’s dime. However, if you’re the founder of Charter Schools USA
Politics, Fiscal Issues Frame
Pa. School-Aid Debate
In November’s Republican-dominated elections, the Pennsylvania governor’s race was a big outlier, and the
implications for public school spending in the Keystone State Pennsylvania
joins Nevada and Georgia as states with momentum
building to overhaul school funding.
LTE: Gap between schools in
PA is a call to action
Inquirer Letter to the Editor Jan 2, 2015 by Brett Schaeffer,
communications director, Education Law Center , Philadelphia , bschaeffer@elc-pa.org
Heading into a new year, it is becoming increasingly clear that
state lawmakers and Gov.-elect Tom Wolf must confront how to fund public
education ("Gap between rich, poor schools doubled in 4 years," Dec.
28). The latest analysis, conducted by the Associated Press, is one in a long
line that drives home the point that the state's approach to funding schools
just does not work. Classroom sizes are getting bigger and bigger. Programs are
being cut and student performance is stagnating. School districts are in
crisis. The existing funding system places untenable burdens on local
taxpayers.
Students and taxpayers need a sustainable, predictable, and
long-term funding method based on the real costs necessary to meet state
academic standards. The good news is that leaders across a wide array of
interests and from every corner of Pennsylvania
are joining together to help lawmakers address this challenge. The Campaign for
Fair Education Funding (www.fairfundingpa.org)
includes more than 40 education advocacy organizations; teachers and
administrators; representatives of charter schools and traditional public
schools; urban and rural interests; business groups and organized labor;
faith-based groups; and community groups.
Our members agree that every public school must have the
resources necessary to enable every child to meet state academic standards, be
prepared for post-secondary success, and become productive, knowledgeable, and
engaged adults.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20150102_LETTERS_-_Jan__2.html#zGUg60JHAoxvZbIO.99
Round 2 of new Philly charter
hearings gets underway on Monday
By the Notebook on Jan 2, 2015 03:07 PM
The first three of 40 separate hearings in a second
round of presentations on proposed new
Philadelphia charter schools will take place Monday at School District headquarters. Then 10 more days of hearings are scheduled
this month, as the District prepares to make decisions by the end of February
on whether to approve these charter applications. In this round, the charter applicants will
hear from the Charter School Office or District staff on the evaluation of
their proposals, respond to questions from a hearing officer, and have 15
minutes for a final statement. Hearings
are open to the public, but will not be live-streamed. The hearing schedule:
District working to place
students from closed Palmer
Charter School
So far, Philly officials have found spots in District
schools for about one-third of the 640 displaced charter students. Classes
resume Monday.
the notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on Jan 2, 2015 04:21 PM
With classes at Philadelphia
public schools starting up again on Monday, District officials were working
hard to find new placements for students left without a school when the Walter
Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter abruptly shut its doors during the
winter break.
About 180 Palmer students had been placed either online or in
person at the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement as of Friday, said
District spokesman Fernando Gallard. When all the Friday enrollments are
tallied, he said, he thinks the number will be about 200 -- still less than one-third
of the 640 or so K-8 students enrolled at Palmer in mid-December.
Dallastown creates Keystone
recovery classes
Dallastown Area students struggling to pass state Keystone
exams will have a semester-long course in coming years that helps students pass
the tests, which are a graduation requirement beginning with graduates in 2017. The school board approved Keystone recovery
courses for three subjects based on the statewide curriculum, which include
Biology I, English II and Algebra I. The recovery courses will allow more time
for students struggling with the curriculum in any or all of those classes to
receive additional teaching. The
students will meet each day for a semester in classes that are about 25 minutes
long, according to the course outlines, and will include one-on-one time with
teachers and work in small groups.
Requirements: The classes will be required for
students who did not score advanced or proficient on the Keystone exams, said
Assistant Superintendent Joshua Doll.
The plot to overhaul No
Child Left Behind
The Republican plan could dramatically roll back the federal
role in education.
Republicans are hatching an ambitious plan to rewrite No
Child Left Behind next year — one that could end up dramatically rolling back
the federal role in education and trigger national blowouts over standardized
tests and teacher training.
NCLB cleared Congress in 2002 with massive bipartisan
support but has since become a political catastrophe: The law’s strategy for
prodding and shaming schools into improvement proved deeply flawed over time,
and its unintended failures have eclipsed its bright spots. Today, NCLB is
despised by some parents who blame it for schools “teaching to the test,” protested
by some on the left for promoting education reform and reviled by Republicans
in Congress who say the law represents aggressive federal overreach. Now Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. John Kline,
who will lead the Senate and House education committees next
year, are planning to push an overhaul of NCLB at a moment when backlash in the
states has reached an all-time high, opening up new political windows to strip
the federal role out of education.
Common Core, don't copy China
CNN By Yong Zhao updated 11:53 AM EST, Wed December 10,
2014
Editor's note: Yong Zhao is presidential chair and professor in the
Department of Educational Measurement, Policy and Leadership in the College of Education ,
University of Oregon China
(CNN) -- The goal of Common Core is laudable: Give all
students a common experience in English and math. But the path to that end has
been fraught with problems. For one thing, more parents and educators are upset over all the tests
students now have to take. Teachers are concerned about the negative impact
of teaching to the test. Supporters of
Common Core insist the standards and tests are necessary for holding schools
accountable and ensuring a better future for America . But they may want to take
a page from China ,
which has experienced the good, bad and ugly of a testing culture. For over a thousand years, Chinese emperors
used the imperial exam system keju to select government officials. When the
great empire was shattered by Western powers in the 19th century, keju was
blamed for China 's
failure to cultivate the creative and diverse talents needed for modernization.
It was officially ended in 1905. But the keju spirit lives on today in the body
of the college entrance exam, or gaokao.
"More charter schools closed last
school year in Columbus
Fewer charter schools opened
in Ohio
By Jennifer
Smith RichardsThe Columbus Dispatch • Friday
January 2, 2015 4:29 AM
Only 11 new charter schools opened this school year. In the
entire state.
It’s a surprising number given that some years — including last
school year — more than 50 charters opened. Ohio consistently has been a boom state for
new charter-school ventures, and it’s not at all unusual for more than 30 to
open their doors each year. The slowed
growth this school year signals greater caution after a particularly tumultuous
year for charters.
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.
PSBA Master School Board
Director Recognition: Applications begin in January
PSBA website December 23, 2014
The Master School Board Director (MSBD) Recognition is for
individuals who have demonstrated significant contributions as members of their
governance teams. It is one way PSBA salutes your hard work and exceptional
dedication to ethics and standards, student success and achievement,
professional development, community engagement, communications, stewardship of
resources, and advocacy for public education.
School directors who are consistently dedicated to the
aforementioned characteristics should apply or be encouraged to apply by fellow
school directors. The MSBD Recognition demonstrates your commitment to
excellence and serves to encourage best practices by all school directors.
The application will be posted Jan. 15, 2015,
with a deadline to apply of June 30. Recipients will be notified by the MSBD
Recognition Committee by Aug. 31 and will be honored at the PASA-PSBA School
Leadership Conference in October.
If you are interested in learning more about the MSBD
Recognition, contact Janel
Biery, conference/events coordinator, at (800) 932-0588, ext. 3332.
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