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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy
Roundup for March 25, 2015:
State needs a
comprehensive solution to public pension crisis
Education Voters of PA will hold a forum
about public school funding in York: Wed., March 25th, 6:30pm to 8pm at York
Learning Center
More info/registration: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/2015-events/
Who will be at the PSBA Advocacy Forum April 19-20 in
Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg?
- Acting
Ed Sec'y Pedro Rivera
- Senate
Ed Committee Majority Chairman Lloyd Smucker
- House
Ed Committee Majority Chairman Stan Saylor
- Senate
Appropriations Committee Chair Pat Browne
- Diane
Ravitch
- House
Majority Leader Dave Reed
- House
Minority Leader Frank Dermody
- 2014
PSBA Tim Allwein Advocacy Award winners Shauna D'Alessandro and Mark
Miller
How about You?
Details and Registration for PSBA members (only $25.00) https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-forum-day-hill-2015/
"I have proposed Senate
Bill 564 to authorize this process by creating a Public Pensions Review
Commission. The commission, armed with the resources to hire expert guidance,
would have six months to sit down in open forums and fully consider the
problems and solutions to our public pensions. Representatives would be named
by each branch of state government, state-system schools, state-related
schools, the separate state organizations of county governments,municipal
governments and school districts, major public employee unions and private
pension experts. Taxpayers would be represented as well."
Another View: State needs
a comprehensive solution to public pension crisis
By Judy Schwank, Delco
Times Guest Columnist POSTED: 03/24/15, 10:33 PM EDT |
State Sen. Judy
Schwank of Reading is a Democrat who represents
the 11th Senatorial District .
Between the Public School Employees Retirement System the
State Employees Retirement System and the hundreds of smaller plans maintained
by municipal governments for their workers, public pension plans in Pennsylvania are
underfunded by more than $70 billion.
The underfunding and precarious status of the state pension
system is one of the most pressing problems facing us in Pennsylvania . It impacts every citizen in
the commonwealth – not just state or municipal workers. As long as we are
saddled with the crushing debt load from this unfunded liability, each of us is
paying more and getting less in terms of government services and public
education. Restoring Pennsylvania ’s pension systems to solvency
is a clear and unquestioned necessity. Why
are we not addressing this? To date we have not had a full discussion on the
pension problem, how we got to this point and how we are going to resolve it.
None of the proposed legislative pension fixes have been able to muster enough
votes to get to a governor’s desk. Most
of the bills introduced have purported to resolve the pension funding problem
going forward by switching new employees and school personnel to new pension
plans. They would do nothing to resolve the $50 billion unfunded liability.
Furthermore, all of these legislative initiatives only addressed state and
school employees.
Fixing pensions: varied
opinions with common threads
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, March 24,
2015
A House hearing Tuesday brought together experts from
academia, actuarial firms, public sector employee unions, and pension
management firms to discuss what needs to be done to fix the Commonwealth’s
looming—if not present—pension problem. While
all the different testifiers brought their unique perspectives to the
issue—especially as to whether a change in pension benefit plan design is
needed—one common thread was found among all who spoke on the issue: the
Commonwealth’s unfunded pension liability will not disappear without more money
being thrown at the problem. “A plan
design change is not enough to deal with the unfunded liability,” said House
State Government Committee Chairman Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), whose committee
convened Tuesday’s hearing. “We have to
bite the bullet and deal with the current underfunding. There’s no easy
answer,” he told The PLS Reporter.
“We have to find the funds to deal with the unfunded
liability and that either comes from cuts in spending, reductions in spending,
reappropriations to other areas that deal with the pension systems, or tax
rates would need to be adjusted for that.”
"Most of prefer to see
public education not as a "monopoly," a term dripping with malevolent
connotation, but as the most important stepladder to kids to escape poverty and
rise to great heights -- as it was once for many of the successful business
people funding "school choice," including folks like Greenberg and
Yass who attended the public schools in Queens, N.Y."
Attytood: It's the libertarianism, stupid
Attytood: It's the libertarianism, stupid
Daily News Attytood
Blog by Will Bunch POSTED: TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015, 6:43 PM
My long-awaited (not really) newspaper opus -- on the three
multi-millionaires (probably billionaires...after a certain point, who can
count?) from Montgomery Country who plan to invest some of their fortune in an
independent effort to boost state Sen. Anthony Williams in the mayoral race
-- dropped
today. In a matter of days, you'll
be seeing a blitz of pro-Williams TV ads funded by these principals of Bala
Cynwyd's Susquehanna International Group, whose political interests are tied to
one issue, and one issue alone: "School choice," led by the rise of
charters as an alternative to traditional neighborhood schools.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Its-the-libertarianism-stupid.html#VJspOCBsHIurDowP.99
"Today, as multimillionaire founders
of the Susquehanna International Group in their adopted home of Montgomery
County, Greenberg, Yass and Dantchik are hoping to parlay one large losing
political bet - more than $6 million plunked down on the failed 2010
gubernatorial bid of state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams - into a big win. And
the stakes couldn't be higher: the mayor's office in America's fifth-largest
city for the next four years."
Students First PAC: Upping
the ante for City Hall
WILL BUNCH, DAILY
NEWS STAFF WRITER POSTED: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 12:16 AM
IT STARTED exactly 40 years ago in cramped dorm rooms at the
State University of New York-Binghamton, a half-dozen guys staying up late to
play poker on a drab, rain-soaked campus that didn't even have fraternities. But what started as a poker game morphed into
a wider obsession for the card-dealing buddies that included the future
Philadelphia suburbanites Joel Greenberg, Jeff Yass and Arthur Dantchik. Its
wide, colorful playing field grew to include timeworn horse tracks, the gaming
tables of Las Vegas, jai-alai frontons in Florida and finally, improbably, the
floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
They lost many more nights than they won - 110 times out of 140,
according to a 1980s lawsuit, as later reported by Philadelphia magazine
- but their system meant that when they did win, they won big, even in the
high-stakes world of trading options in the financial markets.
Democratic Phila. mayoral
hopefuls battle over education
KRISTEN A. GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, March 25,
2015, 1:08 AM POSTED: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 9:51 PM
Five Democratic mayoral hopefuls agree on one thing: City
schools badly need fixing. On Tuesday
night, they offered up ideas - and occasional sharp words - at a forum focused
on education issues, the dominant issue in the campaign. State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, viewed as the
strongest supporter of charter schools, said he was "exhausted" by
the debate of charter vs. traditional public schools. "We need to stop beating up on one
type," said Williams, who has the backing and the financing of three
wealthy charter-school proponents, the founders of the trading firm Susquehanna
International Group. "We need to fix them all and fund them all."
"CFEF’s proposed formula would begin
by setting the baseline per pupil cost at $7,266. Districts would receive more
money according to their numbers of English language learners, homeless and
foster care children, and percentages of students living in poverty and deep
poverty. Rural districts and those with a high tax effort would also receive
additional money."
Campaign for education
funding proposes formula for state aid
the notebook By Allison Welton on Mar 24, 2015 02:36
PM
The Campaign for Fair Education Funding (CFEF), a statewide
coalition of 46 organizations seeking predictability and fairness in how
Pennsylvania allocates revenue to school districts, has proposed its own
version of a formula for basic education funding. Basic education, at $5.7 billion this year,
is the largest chunk of the state’s K-12 funding. Unlike most states, the
commonwealth has no formula for distributing it based on actual enrollment and
student need. Instead, districts receive money according to the previous year’s
allocations and grants that legislators sometimes arrange for individual
districts. This system has proved a
headache for school administrators. It has also resulted in what U.S. Secretary
of Education Arne Duncan called the most inequitable education system in the
country. According to the National
Center for Education Statistics, wealthy districts in Pennsylvania spend on
average 33 percent more per student than poorer ones – $12,529 compared to
$9,387.
Pa. Gov. Wolf says school
ratings should be less tied to tests
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN
MCCORRY MARCH 24, 2015
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf intends to steer the state away from
school accountability measures that he says place too great an emphasis on
standardized test scores. Details
of the new plan have not yet been released. Wolf says the state's existing
accountability tool — the School Performance Profile — doesn't provide parents
with a comprehensive view of school performance. "Education is a full and holistic
process. We've reduced it to a bunch of high-stakes tests that don't seem to me
to be tied to the specific, comprehensive skills that we want students to
have," said Wolf at a recent interview in the governor's Philadelphia
office. The School Performance Profile
system was unveiled by former Gov. Tom Corbett's administration in October
2013, replacing the Adequate Yearly Progress measuring stick created by the
federal No Child Left Behind law.
West Chester Area School
District school board backs Pa. bill to eliminate the Keystone Exams
Philly.com by Justine McDaniel LAST UPDATED: Wednesday,
March 25, 2015, 1:08 AM
WEST CHESTER The West Chester Area School District school board
showed its support Monday for a state bill that would eliminate the Keystone
Exams. The board unanimously approved a
resolution supporting House Bill 168, said a district statement.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150325_WCASD_decries_Keystone_exams.html#fDjIQKFFpZ53jgKW.99
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150325_WCASD_decries_Keystone_exams.html#fDjIQKFFpZ53jgKW.99
Court hears oral arguments in
Pa.
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Mar 24, 2015
02:53 PM
Area school officials must
report funding use
The Bradford Era By COLIN DEPPEN and ALEX DAVIS Era
Reporters news@bradfordera.com Posted: Tuesday,
March 24, 2015 10:00 am
Area school districts are being forced to report to the state
how a bump in funding would be earmarked next academic year — even though
increased dollars may not materialize as expected. By May 15, school leaders are required to
submit spending plans for a portion of suggested basic education funding
increases under Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2015-16 budget proposal. His plan calls for a
$400 million increase for basic education funding — the biggest in Pennsylvania history —
and a $100 million boost in special education funding. But one local superintendent is hoping the
Wolf administration delays the reporting requirement until a budget is passed.
Another indicated the move is adding paperwork to already swamped districts,
and a third school official said districts are stuck in the middle of political
wrangling. And, state Republican
leaders are saying the administration’s efforts are an executive overreach —
all following a letter that had been sent to school superintendents across the
state earlier this month requiring officials to report financial plans.
Less-costly Chromebooks offer
entry point to technology
The devices use
web-based storage and apps. In some District schools, they are turning outdated
classrooms into modern hubs of learning.
the notebook By Shannon Nolan and Camden Copeland on
Mar 24, 2015 12:53 PM
Are they glorified workbooks, just a substitute for paper and
pencils? Or are Chromebooks shaping the way a new generation learns? In a district catching up to 21st-century
learning on a tight budget, these lightweight netbooks could be a catalyst for
bridging the educational-technology gap.
They run through Chrome OS and store information on the web, known as
the “cloud” – as opposed to school servers.
In some Philadelphia schools, Chromebooks are changing outdated
classrooms into modern hubs of learning through user-friendly applications and
tools that promote collaboration between teachers and students, educators say. “Putting a device in everyone’s hands has
changed the way we look at education,” said Chris Lehmann, principal at Science
Leadership Academy in Center City. Such
devices are “important, but not enough,” he said, reaching their potential only
if teachers and students think differently about how learning takes place.
Teachers aren't the problem -
politicians need a tenure review: Jill Sunday Bartoli
PennLive
Op-Ed By Jill Sunday Bartoli on March 24, 2015 at 1:00 PM,
updated March 24, 2015 at 1:01 PM
In the midst of the worst attacks on our teachers that I have
ever witnessed, I have two special requests. First, tell all of the
teachers you know just how much you respect and appreciate all that they have
done for you, your children and your grandchildren. And let them know that you believe more in
their ability to teach and to evaluate student learning than in the bogus, high
stakes, standardized tests that are costing us $16 billion each year. By comparison, the NFL took in $9
billion last year; the box office movies-- $11 billion.
"School districts are looking down the
barrel of million-plus-dollar deficits. The two deficits for which I have now
been a power point audience can both be entirely explained by the formula:
Charter Payments + Pension Payments + Other Tiny Obscure Cuts = District Deficit
In other words, a district that had a fiscally responsible year last year, that didn't do anything crazy or odd or unusual and just left everything alone when planning for this year-- that district is still facing huge deficits in their current budgeting cycle, unrelated to any choices that they made in managing their own local district."
Charter Payments + Pension Payments + Other Tiny Obscure Cuts = District Deficit
In other words, a district that had a fiscally responsible year last year, that didn't do anything crazy or odd or unusual and just left everything alone when planning for this year-- that district is still facing huge deficits in their current budgeting cycle, unrelated to any choices that they made in managing their own local district."
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Monday, March 23, 2015
Over the past few months I have attended two public hearings in
two separate school districts about the closing of two separate rural
elementary schools, and they show pretty clearly the giant disconnect that
allows the assault on public education to continue unchecked. The closing of schools is rampant in my part
of PA, and we aren't alone. We're a region of not-very-wealthy rural districts,
but not-very-wealthy urban districts like Philly and York have also cut schools
like a machete in a bamboo forest. It is
not a matter of declining student population, and it is not a matter of
districts falling on tough times. It's a widespread financial crisis, and it's
manufactured.
How to manufacture a statewide financial crisis.
Cut state funding. This puts the making-up-the-difference pressure on local taxpayers.
Take a ton of money away from public schools and give it to charters.
Create a huge pension funding crisis. This is its own kind of challenge, but the quick explanation is this-- pre-2008, invest in really awesome stuff, and when that all tanks and districts suddenly have huge payments to make up, tell the districts they can just wait till later and hope for magic financial fairies to fix it. It is now later, there are no fairies, and a small district with an $18 million budget is looking at pension payments that go up $500K every year.
Oh, and pass a law that says districts can't raise taxes more than a smidge in any given year.
How to manufacture a statewide financial crisis.
Cut state funding. This puts the making-up-the-difference pressure on local taxpayers.
Take a ton of money away from public schools and give it to charters.
Create a huge pension funding crisis. This is its own kind of challenge, but the quick explanation is this-- pre-2008, invest in really awesome stuff, and when that all tanks and districts suddenly have huge payments to make up, tell the districts they can just wait till later and hope for magic financial fairies to fix it. It is now later, there are no fairies, and a small district with an $18 million budget is looking at pension payments that go up $500K every year.
Oh, and pass a law that says districts can't raise taxes more than a smidge in any given year.
Testing Resistance &
Reform News: March 21 - 24, 2015
Fairtest Submitted by fairtest on March 24, 2015 - 3:13pm
The testing resistance continues to expand rapidly across the
U.S. with assessment reform news updates from two dozen states in just the past
four days.
Hillary
Clinton Caught Between Dueling Forces on Education: Teachers and Wealthy Donors
New York Times By MAGGIE HABERMAN MARCH 24, 2015
The last time she ran for president, Hillary Rodham Clinton did
not have to take a position on the Common Core, Race to the Top or teacher
evaluations in tenure decisions.
She won the endorsement of one of the nation’s largest
teachers’ unions in 2007 after deploring the use of standardized tests and the
underfunding of the No Child Left Behind law
by President George W. Bush’s administration.
Now, as she prepares for a likely second run at the White House, Mrs.
Clinton is re-entering the fray like a Rip Van Winkle for whom the terrain on
education standards has shifted markedly, with deep new fissures in the
Democratic Party.
Already, she is being pulled in opposite directions on
education. The pressure is from not only the teachers who supported her once
and are widely expected to back her again, but also from a group of wealthy and
influential Democratic financiers who staunchly support many of the same
policies — charter schools and
changes to teacher tenure and testing — that the teachers’ unions have resisted
throughout President Obama’s two terms in office.
INVITATION: Join next Twitter
chat on PA education March 31, 8:00 pm
PSBA's website March 23, 2015
The next monthly Twitter chat with Pennsylvania’s major
education leadership organizations is set for Tuesday, March 31 at 8
p.m. Use hashtag #FairFundingPA to participate and follow
the conversation.
Curmuducation Blog Saturday, March 21, 2015
I don't get out much. I'm a high school English teacher in a small
town, and kind of homebody by nature. When I leave town, it's for family or
work. But in just over a month, on the weekend of April 25-26, I am taking a
trip to Chicago for neither. The Network
for Public Education is the closest thing to an actual formal
organization of the many and varied people standing up for public education in
this modern era of privatizing test-driven corporate education reform. NPE held
a conference last year, and they're doing it again this year-- a gathering of
many of the strongest voices for public education in America today. Last year I followed along on line-- this year I will be there.
Register
Now for EPLC Forum on the State Education Budget – Philadelphia
Education Policy and Leadership Center Pennsylvania
Education Policy Forum
You are invited to attend one of EPLC’s Regional Education
Policy Forums on Governor Wolf’s Proposed Education Budget for
2015-2016 Space is limited. There is no cost, but an
RSVP is required. The program will
include a state budget overview presented by Ron Cowell of EPLC and a
representative of the PA Budget and Policy Center. The presentations are
followed by comments from panelists representing statewide and regional
education and advocacy organizations. Comments from those in the audience
and a question and answer session will conclude the forum. Wednesday, April 1, 2015– EPLC
Education Policy Forum on the Governor’s State Budget Proposal for Education –
10 a.m.-12 Noon – Penn Center for Educational Leadership, University of
Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA –RSVP
by clicking here.
For this event, sponsored by Public Citizens for Children and
Youth (PCCY), local dentists will provide free screenings and cleanings for
children. Give Kids a Smile Day is especially for children who do not
have health insurance or who have not had a dental exam in the last six months.
Appointments are necessary, so please call PCCY at 215-563-5848 x32 to
schedule one starting Monday, March 16th. Volunteers will be
on hand to answer calls. Smile Day information can also be found on the school
district website and on PCCY’s website - http://www.pccy.org/resource/give-kids-a-smile-day/.
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, Camp Hill.
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/
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