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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for February
28, 2015:
Hey Pennsylvania
- Maine
Education Voters of PA holding public forums on school funding
Lancaster County:
Tuesday, March 17, at 7:00 pm at Millersville University
York County: Wednesday,
March 25th, 6:30pm at the York Learning Center
Cumberland County:
Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 pm at the Grace Milliman Pollock Performing Arts
Center
Details/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
"Hubbell’s bill would instead spread
those costs – about $6 million total for the state’s seven charter schools –
among all school districts in the state. The state would treat the charters the
same as other school districts when dispersing education aid. In addition, Gov.
Paul LePage’s budget proposes adding the additional $6 million to the state
education aid budget, which would eliminate the financial impact on school
districts."
The measure, backed by
the Legislature's Education Committee, would then relieve school districts of
the responsibility and the difficulty.
Press Herald BY NOEL K. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER ngallagher@pressherald.com @noelinmaine 207-791-6387
Charter school budgets would receive money directly from the
state, rather than from districts that send students to those schools, under a
bill endorsed unanimously Wednesday by lawmakers on the state Education
Committee. Figuring out how to fund
charter schools “has been a problem since the initial legislation” in 2011,
said Rep. Brian Hubbell, D-Bar
Harbor
Pack your toothbrush and
jammies, it's probably gonna be a long budget season: John L. Micek
Penn Live By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 27, 2015 at 10:00 AM,
updated February 27, 2015 at 10:38 AM
So here's what we know about the budget plan that Gov. Tom
Wolf is going to present to a joint session of the state House and Senate
on Tuesday. It's going to include
more money for schools; slap a severance tax on Marcellus shale natural gas
drillers; cut an onerous business tax and propose other comprehensive tax
reforms like a boosted sales and personal income tax; more than likely call for
a minimum wage increase and some environmental stuff, and it'll be peppered
with lots of happy talk about increasing the state's economic competitiveness
and restoring its place as a national leader.
Because, y'know, that's what budget speeches are for.
Here's what we don't know:
Namely, how much of the plan Wolf presents to lawmakers will
be left on the cutting room floor when the two sides are scrambling for a final
deal that will wrap in some kind of pension reform and some sort of change to
the way Pennsylvanians obtain their favorite tipple.
Education funding coalition
calls for $3.6 billion boost to public education
By Sara K.
Satullo | The Express-Times Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on February 27, 2015 at 10:23 AM, updated February 27, 2015 at 12:10 PM
Ahead of Gov. Tom
Wolf's Tuesday budget address, a coalition fighting for fair school
funding released a new school funding formula they believe would result in a
student-driven way to distribute state funding to public schools, PennLive.com
reports. The Campaign for Fair
Education Funding, includes more than 50 educational, business, child advocacy,
faith and community groups. Their plan
proposes an eight-year phase in of the formula, boosting the state's current
$5.7 billion annual basic education and Ready to Learn grants to $9.3 billion,
PennLive reports. "We're putting
this proposal out, I would describe, as a stake in the ground not a line in the
sand," Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for
Children, one of the more than 50
coalition members, told PennLive.
Coalition's proposed school
funding formula calls for $3.6 billion additional investment in public
education
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on February 26, 2015 at 6:01 PM, updated February 27, 2015 at 2:05 PM
A coalition
of educational, business, child advocacy, faith and community groups has
crafted a school funding formula that they believe would lead to an equitable
student-driven method of distributing state dollars for public schools. The Campaign for Fair Education Funding's
plan proposes phasing in the formula over the next eight years, bumping up the
state's $5.7 billion yearly investment now spent on basic education and Ready
to Learn grants to $9.3 billion. "We're
putting this proposal out, I would describe, as a stake in the ground not a
line in the sand," said Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania
Partnerships for Children, one of the more than 50
coalition members.
“The state’s Basic Education Funding
Commission is planning to make recommendations later this year about how to
revise the state’s funding formula to make it more ‘fair,’ but I am deeply
concerned that could mean a loss in state funds for all of our rural schools
that are already struggling,” Causer said. “I specifically talked to the
governor about the plight of the Austin Area School District, which is the
largest district geographically but the smallest in student population, and has
a very limited tax base since 90 percent of the land in the district is owned
by the state.”
Causer Meets with Governor
Wolf, Outlines Priorities for Rural PA
Bradford Era February 27, 2015 HARRISBURG – Rep. Martin Causer
(R-Turtlepoint) met with Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday morning to talk about several
key issues for rural Pennsylvania, including overregulation of the conventional
oil and gas industries, development of a rural community college, and fair
funding for rural school districts and communities with high amounts of
state-owned lands. “It is important for
the governor to understand the unique challenges facing people in rural Pennsylvania and even
more important for him to recognize how some of his proposed policies may
impact our region,” Causer said. “I appreciated the opportunity to bring these
issues to his attention.”
Start of Wolf’s Governorship,
and Education Funding
Pennsylvania Newsmakers with Terry Madonna Originally aired on
March 1st, 2015
This week’s Pennsylvania Newsmakers interviews
John Micek, Editorial Page Editor of the Harrisburg Patriot News/PennLive, and
Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, on the first weeks of the Wolf
governorship. Then, joining host Terry Madonna is John Callahan, Senior
Director of Government Affairs for the PA School Boards Association, for
discussion of the levels and distribution of education funding.
Education Secretary Arne
Duncan to honor 3 Philly school principals
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Friday, February 27,
2015, 4:34 PM
The principal of Science
Leadership Academy Workshop School ,
and the leader of Science
Leadership Academy Philadelphia
School District leaders have a solid
excuse for being absent: They'll be meeting with U.S. Education Secretary Arne
Duncan and other top principals from around the country in Washington .
Chris Lehmann, Simon Hauger and Chris Johnson have been chosen for a new
program, "Principals at ED," which "brings groups of highly
innovative and successful principals from across the country to the Education
Department to learn more about federal programs and to share experiences from
their jobs as school leaders."
Parents, students slam
high-stakes testing at opt-out forum
the notebook By Connie Langland on Feb 27, 2015 12:31 PM
Among the lineup of speakers at a forum on high-stakes testing
Thursday night, two young people stepped forward to share firsthand knowledge
of the toll that the state's annual standardized assessments can take on
learning in the classroom and life beyond high school. “My mom opted me out,” said Guillermo Santos, a 6th grader at
Masterman, facing a room of 90 to 100 educators, parents, and students crowded
into a conference room at the Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St . He described how “all the art, all the
posters, all the beautiful things” on the walls of classrooms and hallways are
covered up during the testing period in April. “I remember the PSSAs,” he said
gravely. Often among the first to finish, he could not leave the room until the
last child turned in the test, he recalled. “We would have to sit there in
complete silence for hours and hours.”
'If i had a child they would
be opting out': PennLive readers react to standardized testing debate
Penn Live By Chris Mautner |
cmautner@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
February 27, 2015 at 8:00 AM, updated February 27, 2015 at 8:43 AM
This week, PennLive reporter Candy Woodall has
been examining
and detailing the backlash against standardized tests in K-12
education, known as the "opt out movement," providing overviews
of the issue, profiling individuals
who are boycotting and offering
a statistical breakdown of those in the area who have decided to join.
PennLive readers have been debating the issue in the comment
sections of these stories as well. Here are a few of the more noteworthy
comments:
Trib Live By Bobby
Kerlik Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, 12:01 a.m.
Incoming high school students in the Midland
Borough School
District in Beaver County won't be attending high school in East Liverpool this fall. The Ohio
school district this week abruptly opted out of its contract to accept Midland students. Midland closed its high
school in 1986 but operates an elementary-middle school. Midland high school
students began attending East Liverpool
High School in 1994, the only such
arrangement across state lines in Pennsylvania ,
after the Beaver Area School District
House Republican leaders
scrap education vote
Philly.com KIMBERLY HEFLING, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, February 27, 2015, 12:46 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a political embarrassment for Republicans,
House GOP leaders on Friday abruptly cancelled a vote on a bill to update the
George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law after struggling to find
support from conservatives.
The bill would keep the annual testing requirements on schools
but would give more freedom to states and districts to spend federal dollars
and determine how to identify and fix failing schools. But conservative
opponents said it doesn't go far enough to allow states and districts to set
education policy. Such conservative groups as Heritage Action for America and
Club for Growth are among opponents.
House Republicans put off No
Child Left Behind vote
Politico By MAGGIE SEVERNS
2/27/15 1:58 PM EST Updated 2/27/15 3:55 PM EST
House Republicans decided not to vote Friday on their proposed
rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, the Student Success Act, after House
leadership struggled to lock down support for the bill and debate over
Department of Homeland Security funding eclipsed education plans.
The House passed a nearly identical bill in 2013, but
discontent with the Common Core academic standards and concerns about federal
government intrusion have grown, and conservatives have said they want to get
more out of an education bill in the newly Republican-controlled Congress. That
left House leadership facing new criticism from the right because the GOP bill
omits school vouchers, radical reductions to federal mandates and other
right-wing proposals.
“My district doesn’t
like it. They just feel that we’re moderating No Child Left Behind. They hate
No Child Left Behind,” Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said.
It’s not clear when a vote on No Child Left Behind will take
place.
House Leaders Officially
Postpone Vote on NCLB Rewrite
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on February
27, 2015 4:13 PM
If's official: After hours of speculation Friday, House leaders
decided to postpone a vote on a bill to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act,
amid conservative opposition. The
measure, which was slated to pass the House Friday, came
under fire from conservative organizations, including the the Club for
Growth and Heritage Action, two powerful lobby organizations that worried the
bill didn't go far enough in scaling back the federal role in
education. House leaders came up short
on Republican support for the measure—and they weren't able to look to the
other side of the aisle for help. Democrats have lambasted the legislation for
taking away funding from poor and minority students. More background
on all that here.
The William
Penn School
District
A Workshop in Support of Fair
Funding and other Common Sense Reforms for Public Education
Saturday Feb 28th 9:30 am -
Noon Evans Elementary School Auditorium, 900 Baily Road, Yeadon, PA
Doors open at 9:00 with a continental breakfast
Speakers:
Shanee Garner, Education Policy Director, Public Citizens for
Children & Youth
Mike Wood, Research Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy
Center
Larry Feinberg, Co-Chairman, Keystone State Education Coalition
Questions Email rafi@thecavegroup.com
EPLC "Focus on
Education" TV Program on PCN - Sunday, March 1 at 3:00
p.m.
Topic 1: Education Voters of Pennsylvania
Susan Gobreski, Director, Education Voters of Pennsylvania
Topic 2: Preview of the 2015 Pennsylvania State Education
Budget Debate
EPLC "Focus on Education" TV shows are hosted by EPLC President Ron Cowell.
EPLC "Focus on Education" TV shows are hosted by EPLC President Ron Cowell.
Visit the EPLC and the Pennsylvania School Funding Project web sites for
various resources related to education and school funding issues.
Bucks County Forum on how to
run for school board March 2, 7 pm at Northampton library
Courier Times By Chris English Staff Writer
Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 1:00 am | Updated: 7:17 am, Tue Feb 24, 2015.
How to run for school board and what to do if you get elected
are two issues that will be explored during a forum at 7 p.m. March 2 at the
Free Library of Northampton Township. The event is free and open to the public. "Anyone in Bucks County who is
interested in school board elections is encouraged to attend," said event
organizer and Newtown Township resident Amy McIntyre.
A panel of present and former school board members from
throughout the county will lead a discussion and answer questions about the
process and requirements of running for school board, the time commitment,
responsibilities of board members and the resources available to teach new
board members about the job. Centennial
school board member and Pennsylvania School Board Association Vice President
Mark Miller will moderate.
PSBA Members Only: Annual
Pennsylvania
MAR 4, 2015 • 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Join us for a special complimentary members-only Annual
Pennsylvania Education Budget Briefing webinar, Wednesday, March 4 at noon. The webinar features Acting Secretary of
Education Pedro Rivera and PSBA Senior Director of Government Affairs, John
Callahan, who will discuss Gov. Wolf’s 2015-16 proposed budget. You will have
the option to attend live at PSBA’s Headquarters in Mechanicsburg or join us
online through your computer. Both options will allow you to ask questions
during the webinar.
Lawsuit asks the Court to ensure that all
students -- including those living in low-wealth districts -- have the basic
resources they need to meet state academic standards.
Meet Us in Court on March 11th
Education Law Center
On Wednesday, March 11th at 9:30 a.m., the
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will hear oral arguments in our school
funding lawsuit which challenges the legislature's failure to adequately
support and maintain Pennsylvania's public school system. This historic case,
which the Education Law Center filed with the Public Interest Law Center of
Philadelphia and pro bono counsel O'Melveny & Meyers, asks the Court to
ensure that all students -- including those living in low-wealth districts --
have the basic resources they need to meet state academic standards. We ask the
court to hear this case and enforce the rights of our children to a
"thorough and efficient" system of public education as guaranteed to
them by our state constitution.
Please come and support us as we fight for vulnerable students and all public school students across the state. The hearing will be held at thePennsylvania Judicial
Center , 601 Commonwealth Avenue , Courtroom 5001
in Harrisburg , PA.
Please come and support us as we fight for vulnerable students and all public school students across the state. The hearing will be held at the
2015 Pennsylvania
Budget Summit
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Hilton Hotel, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania
PA Budget and Policy Center
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will host its Annual
Budget Summit on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at the Hilton Harrisburg. Join us
for an in-depth look at the Governor's 2015-16 budget proposal, including what
it means for education, health and human services, and local communities. The
Summit will focus on the leading issues facing the commonwealth in 2015, with
workshops, lunch, a legislative panel discussion, and a keynote speech.
Space is limited, so fill out the form below to reserve your
spot at the Budget Summit.
The State of Public Education Funding in Pennsylvania
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia Tuesday, March
17, 2015 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
United
Way Building, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-state-of-public-education-funding-in-pennsylvania-tickets-15816877707
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in Lancaster County Tuesday, March 17,
at 7:00 pm at Millersville University
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in York :
Wednesday, March 25th, 6:30pm to 8pm at the York Learning
Center 300 E. 7th Avenue , York
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Education Voters of PA will
hold a forum about public school funding in Cumberland
County : Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 pm at
the Grace Milliman Pollock
Performing Arts
Center 340 North 21st Street
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
PSBA 2015 Advocacy Forum
APR 19, 2015 • 8:00
AM - APR 20, 2015 • 5:00 PM
Join PSBA for the second annual Advocacy Forum on April 19-20,
2015. Hear from legislative experts on hot topics and issues regarding public
education on Sunday, April 19, at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg. The next
day you and fellow advocates will meet with legislators at the state capitol.
This is your chance to learn how to successfully advocate on behalf of public
education and make your voice heard on the Hill.
Agenda/Speakers: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-forum-day-hill-2015/
Sign-up for weekly email updates from the
Campaign
The Campaign for Fair
Education Funding website
PA Basic Education Funding
Commission website
Thorough and Efficient: Pennsylvania
Education Funding Lawsuit website
Arguing that our state has failed to ensure that essential
resources are available for all of our public school students to meet state
academic standards.
Sign up for National School Boards Association’s Advocacy Network
Friends of
Public Education http://p2a.co/nsbac
Register
Now! EPLC 2015 Regional Workshops for School Board Candidates and Others
The Education Policy and Leadership Center, with the
Cooperation of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), will conduct A
Series of Regional Full-Day Workshops for 2015 Pennsylvania School
Board Candidates. Incumbents,
non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to
participate in these workshops.
Harrisburg Region Saturday, March 7, 2015– 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Boulevard, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Philadelphia Region Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, 2 W. Lafayette Street, Norristown, PA 19401
NPE 2015 Annual Conference –
Chicago April 24 - 26 – Early Bird Special Registration Open!
January 4, 2015 NPE 2015 Annual Conference, NPE National Conference
Early-bird discounted Registration for the Network for
Public Education’s Second Annual Conference is now available at this address:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/network-for-public-education-2015-annual-conference-tickets-15118560020
These low rates will last for the month of January.
The event is being held at the Drake Hotel in downtown
Chicago, and there is a link on the registration page for special hotel
registration rates. Here are some of the event details.
There will be a welcoming social event 7 pm Friday night,
at or near the Drake Hotel — details coming soon. Featured speakers will be:
§
Jitu Brown, National Director – Journey
for Justice, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Network for Public
Education Board of Directors
§
Tanaisa Brown, High School Senior, with
the Newark Student Union
§
Yong Zhao, Author, “Who’s Afraid of
the Big Bad Dragon?“
§
Diane Ravitch in conversation with
§
Lily Eskelsen Garcia, NEA President and
§
Randi Weingarten, AFT President
§
Karen Lewis, President, Chicago Teachers
Union
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