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PA Ed Policy Roundup for April 23, 2015:
WaPo: Pa.
Central PA education forum Tuesday, April 28, 6:30-8:30
Grace Lutheran
Church (in Harkins Hall), 205 S. Garner Street State College
Panelists
Dr. Cheryl Potteiger, superintendent, Bellefonte Area School District
Ms. Kelly Hastings, superintendent, Keystone Central School District
Mr. James Estep, superintendent, Mifflin County School District
Mr. Sean Daubert, CFO, Mifflin County School District
Dr. Robert O’Donnell, superintendent, State College Area School District
Mr. David Hutchison, school board member, State College Area School District
Ms. Cathy Harlow, superintendent, Tyrone Area School District
Mrs. Linda Smith, superintendent, Williamsburg Community School District
Dr. Cheryl Potteiger, superintendent, Bellefonte Area School District
Ms. Kelly Hastings, superintendent, Keystone Central School District
Mr. James Estep, superintendent, Mifflin County School District
Mr. Sean Daubert, CFO, Mifflin County School District
Dr. Robert O’Donnell, superintendent, State College Area School District
Mr. David Hutchison, school board member, State College Area School District
Ms. Cathy Harlow, superintendent, Tyrone Area School District
Mrs. Linda Smith, superintendent, Williamsburg Community School District
Register HERE to attend the central PA education forum.
Southeastern PA Regional Meeting on School Funding
Wednesday April 29th 7:00 pmSpringfield High School Auditorium, 49
West Leamy Avenue, Springfield
Wednesday April 29th 7:00 pm
Local school district leaders will discuss how state funding issues are
impacting our children’s educational opportunities, our local taxes and our
communities.
Hosted byDelaware County School
Boards Legislative Council, Education Voters of PA, the Keystone State
Hosted by
Panelists:
Mr. Frank Agovino, school
board president, Springfield School District and Board of Directors, Delaware
County Chamber of Commerce
Dr. James Capolupo,
superintendent, Springfield
School District
Dr. Wagner Marseille, Acting
Superintendent, Lower Merion School District
Mr. Joe Bruni,
superintendent, William
Penn School
District
Dr. Richard Dunlap,
superintendent, Upper Darby
School District
Mr. Stanley Johnson. Executive Director of Operations, Phoenixville Area School District
Ms. Susan Gobreski,
Executive Director, Education Voters of PA
Moderator: Mr. Lawrence
Feinberg, Chairman, Delaware
County School
Registration HERE to attend.
"Nowhere is that gap
wider than in Pennsylvania Duncan
said last month at a Philadelphia
At Lower Merion
High, 10 miles away in a suburb of stately stone homes, copy paper and
textbooks are available but are rarely necessary: Each student has a
school-provided laptop. A pool allows for lifeguarding classes, and an arts
wing hosts courses in photography, ceramics, studio art and jewelry making. The
campus has a social worker. While there
always have been inequalities among the nation’s public schools, the gap in
spending between public schools in the poorest and most-affluent communities
has grown during the past decade.
How much does Pa.
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa on Apr 22,
2015 03:35 PM
Q. How much does Pennsylvania
In 2012, Pennsylvania spent $26.5
billion on K-12 education. Only five other states — California ,
New York , Texas ,
Illinois , and New Jersey — spent more. On a per-student basis, Pennsylvania ranked 13th among the states.
In 2012, Pennsylvania
spent $13,653 per student compared to a national average of $11,735. Vermont came out on top with $18,882 per student, and Utah ranked last with
$6,688 per student.
Q. Where does the
money come from?
In 2012, Pennsylvania ranked 44th
in the percentage share of education costs covered by the state. Its 36 percent
contribution rate falls below the national average of 45 percent.
Harrisburg's inaction forces Lehigh Valley schools to
tap local taxpayers, district officials say
The Express-Times By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times on
April 23, 2015 at 7:30 AM, updated April 23, 2015 at 7:35 AM
"The education funding
discussion will continue April 23 when the school district hosts a basic
education funding forum in the Penndale Middle School auditorium, 400 Penn
Street, Lansdale, at 7 p.m. Viletto will be part of a panel discussion that
will include state representatives Kate Harper, R-61st District, and Todd
Stephens, R-151st District."
By Jarreau Freeman, jfreeman@21st-centurymedia.com,
@JarreauFreeman on Twitter
POSTED: 04/07/15, 11:42 PM EDT | UPDATED: 2 WEEKS AGO 0
COMMENTS
Lansdale >> Pennsylvania
has no basic education funding formula, Montgomery County Intermediate Unit
Legislative Services and Grants Development Director Tina Viletto said Tuesday
evening. “At this moment in time there
is no clear, consistent determination as to how a district receives its funds
(from the state),” she said to North Penn School Board members during their
monthly work session. “Without a formula, districts have a hard time
determining how they are going to fund all the needs that face the school
district each year. Without a formula, it is possible that districts won’t have
the revenue to cover the mandatory and necessary costs by the 2017-18 (school
year).” Many districts throughout the
region are facing increases in enrollment, climbing retirement and health care
costs, and deficits in the millions.
"Want another example of
how badly the state has done in taking over schools that were in trouble
financially and academically? You don’t have to go far. Look at the Chester Upland district,
which had a state-appointed receiver that the state tried to fire. After a
court challenge prevented that, the state hired a consultant at $144,000 a year
to assist the receiver, who was also paid $144,000 a year. And Chester
Upland schools are still among the worst in
the state."
State control of poorly
run schools no solution
Editorial by Harold
Jackson, Inquirer Opinion
Columnist WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015, 5:31 PM
It’s hard to believe
that anyone would propose that the state of Pennsylvania take over another school
district given its abysmal track record in that regard. Yet that is exactly
what State Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R., Lancaster) is suggesting with a bill he
plans to introduce that would threaten low-performing school districts with a
state takeover unless they improve. That’s like threatening to throw more water
on a drowning man unless he swims. Since
most of the state’s lowest-performing schools are in Philadelphia , the city would appear to be a
main target of Smucker’s bill. But wait a minute, Philadelphia schools are already under state
control, and have been since 2001, when the School Reform Commission was
created as part of a quid quo pro to get more state money for city schools. The
governor appoints three of the SRC’s five commissioners. How much more does
Smucker want the state to be in charge?
"It's hard to understand
why state intervention would make a difference, especially given that the
majority of failing schools are in Philadelphia, which has been overseen by the
state since 2001.
The heart of the problem is
not governance, but resources."
DN Editorial: District
distraction
A
special district for failing schools won’t help, funding will
Editorial: The
lack of connection between the state's inability to fund the schools more
equitably and the result - failing schools - is troubling.
Philly DaIly News Editorial POSTED: Thursday, April 23, 2015, 12:16
AM
AMONG THE MANY
things lost on the Harrisburg General Assembly - a strong work ethic, for
example - count irony among the biggest.
Case in point: As a lawsuit makes its way through the courts that claims
the state fails to uphold its constitutional obligation to educate children
adequately because of an "irrational funding policy," one lawmaker,
Sen. Lloyd Smucker, R.-Lancaster, wants to give the state's failing schools a
few years to turn around; if they don't, they get put in a special state-run
district. As an incentive to failing
schools, maybe it could work: After all, there are few scarier things on earth
than the notion of being relegated to a "special state-run school
district." The lack of connection
between the state's inability to fund the schools more equitably and the result
- failing schools - is troubling.
Sen. Smucker is
still working out the details about how such a special district would actually
operate, or why such oversight would lead to better results. He envisions a
seven-member board overseeing the district, with an executive who acts as
superintendent. Failing schools trying to turn around would be granted more
flexibility in their ability to hire outside contractors and have exemption
from some union rules. The plan does not call for increased funding for such
schools.
"According to the
plaintiffs in the William Penn case, the vast majority of courts in other states
that have addressed the issue have found that constitutional challenges to
school funding schemes are justiciable."
Legal Update – Commonwealth Court
PSBA website April
22, 2015
In a unanimous “en
banc” decision, the Commonwealth Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed
by seven school districts and several parents against the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, the Department of Education, the General Assembly and various
state officials challenging the state’s public education funding system as
inadequate to satisfy the state constitutional mandate that the “General
Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and
efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
The suit also claimed that the lack of equity in the funding system violated
the non-discrimination provisions of the state constitution by denying children
in poorer school districts an equal opportunity to receive an adequate
education. The school district
plaintiffs were the William Penn SD, the Panther Valley SD, the SD of
Lancaster, the Greater Johnstown SD, the Wilkes-Barre Area SD and the
Shenandoah Valley SD. The Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools
(PARSS) and the Pennsylvania
conference of the NAACP also were plaintiffs in the suit, which is being backed
by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Education Law Center
of Pennsylvania.
Call to fund Pa.
WITF Written by Tim
Lambert and Radio Pennsylvania
| Apr 23, 2015 3:09 AM
An expected standoff
between Democratic Governor Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled legislature
may place the June 30th budget deadline in jeopardy. Senator Ryan Aument says his bill is aimed at
addressing that possibility. "I
think it's important that we ensure that our students and our schools are not
used as pawns in a budget negotiation battle, hat are not negotiating chips in
a budget stalemate," he says.
Ahead of budget talks, Wolf says Pa.
WITF Written by Tim
Lambert and Radio Pennsylvania
| Apr 23, 2015 4:25 AM
(Harrisburg )
-- With a little more than two months to go before the state budget deadline,
Governor Tom Wolf has the tough task of trying to convince the
Republican-controlled legislature to support his proposed tax plans. The governor says while no one wants to raise
taxes, the commonwealth is facing some stark fiscal realities. "I think all of us are looking honestly
at what we have here," he tells the Radio PA program, "Ask The
Governor. "We have a budget deficit."
Senate Majority
Leader Jake Corman has said the proposed sales tax hike will be a hard lift in
the legislature.
http://www.witf.org/news/2015/04/ahead-of-budget-talks-wolf-says-pa-faces-stark-fiscal-realities.php
Letter: Tom Wolf's budget invests in education
Morning Call Letter
by Mark Spengler April 22, 2015
It should come as no
surprise that a recent Franklin & Marshall College Pennsylvania are asking
of their elected representatives.
On the Brink: York City
A young girl emerges from a closed-door meeting, her cheeks
still wet with tears.
She walks slowly to her father, who's been waiting in the
main office at McKinley K-8. Behind the girl is Dawn Squire, who leans in to
deliver a message. Squire tells the man
his daughter needs more help to boost her disappointing grades. She suggests
the district's after-school program and summer school. "This is hurting her heart," Squire
tells the father. "For her to be upset like this is a good thing. It tells
me she cares." Squire's official
title at the York
City
OXFORD >> When
the budget committee comes to the school board next month, they will be
recommending a 1 percent millage increase for the coming tax year. “We’re
getting really close to finalizing the budget,” Board Member and Committee
Chair Joseph Tighe said.
In his budget
committee report, at the Tuesday School Board meeting, Tighe explained that the
tax increase allowed by the state index is 1.9 percent but with special
exceptions allowable to the district, Oxford
could raise their property tax rate by as much as 2.6 percent.
The recommended
increase of 1 percent translates to an increase of $39 for the average home
owner in the district. This increase would result in approximately $300,000 in
increased revenues for the schools. That will still leave the district needing
over $4.3 million from the fund balance to reach a balanced budget for the
coming school year.
"By far the largest
increase in next year's budget comes from the $1.2 million jump in pension
costs, or 25.8 percent of the payroll. Pension payments are projected to
increase to 32 percent of the payroll in the 2017-18 school year, or another
$2.6 million, for a total annual budget just for pensions of $9.3 million."
By Monica Von Dobeneck | Special to
PennLive on April 22, 2015 at 9:05 PM, updated April 22,
2015 at 9:49 PM
The Derry Township
School District
Southmoreland school
budget work continues
Trib Live By Paul
PaterraThursday, April 23, 2015, 1:11 a.m.
The process of working on a 2015-2016 budget forSouthmoreland School
District
The process of working on a 2015-2016 budget for
No tax increase is expected for the third year in a row
York Daily Record By Dylan Segelbaum dsegelbaum@ydr.com
@dylan_segelbaum on Twitter
UPDATED: 04/23/2015
01:55:34 AM EDT0 COMMENTS
Along with not increasing in taxes for the third year in a
row, the York City School District
North Penn Reporter By Jarreau Freeman,
jfreeman@21st-centurymedia.com,, @JarreauFreeman on Twitter
POSTED: 04/22/15, 2:46 PM EDT | 0 COMMENTS
Downingtown’s three high
schools named to Washington Post’s 2015 America
EAST CALN >>
The three high schools in the Downingtown Area School District were named to
Washington Post’s 2015 America’s Most Challenging High School programs list.
The Downingtown STEM
Academy , Downingtown
West High
School and Downingtown
East High
School Pennsylvania high
schools achieved this honor with Downingtown being the only Pennsylvania school district to have all
district high schools nationally ranked, according to the Washington Post. “We are very proud of our students and
staff,” said Lawrence Mussoline, superintendent of schools. The report looked at public and private high
schools nationwide and ranked them based on the academic rigor of the schools’
curriculum. The Post filtered the number of Advanced Placement, International
Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given
at a school each year. That number was then divided by the number of graduation
seniors. Fewer than seven percent of the approximately 27,000 high schools in America
qualified for this list.
"Perhaps the single most
shocking number in a new review
of employment and earnings data by researchers at the Hamilton
Project, a research group within the Brookings Institution, is this one: The
median earnings of working men aged 30 to 45 without a high school
diploma fell 20
percentfrom 1990 to 2013 when adjusted for inflation."
Why American Workers Without Much Education Are Being
Hammered
New York Times by Neil Irwin @Neil_Irwin
APRIL 21, 2015
The last couple of
decades have been terrible for American workers without much education. New
research calculates just how bad, and offers some evidence as to why that
is. In short, they face a double whammy.
Less-educated Americans, especially men, are shifting away from manufacturing
and other jobs that once offered higher pay, and a higher share are now working
in lower-paying food service, cleaning and groundskeeping jobs. Simultaneously,
pay levels are declining in almost all of the fields that employ less-educated
workers, so even those who have held onto jobs as manufacturers, operators and
laborers are making less than they would have a generation ago.
Fewer High School Students
Show Interest in Teaching, Study Says
Education Week By Ross
Brenneman on April 21, 2015 9:55 PM
Bad news continues
to roll in for those watching the flow of people into the teaching pipeline: A
new report released today by ACT Inc. says that interest in teaching
among young persons continues to shrink. "The nation must fill the pipeline to
alleviate the expected shortfall in the number of available teachers," the
authors write. "Our inability to do so will force educational systems to
think differently about how we deliver education—which might, in turn, have a
negative impact on student success."
PSSA: Nazareth
By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | The
Express-Times on April 22, 2015 at 7:25 PM
The Nazareth Area School District doesn't
want students to miss a day of state-standardized testing for the annual
"Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day." Nazareth
Area Intermediate
School
Brave Teachers Speak Out
About Testing
If you’re lucky, you
never stop learning from teachers. It was hearing the courageous voices of
public school teachers that pushed me to think more closely about
high-stakes-testing and its impact on our children. But teachers are between a
rock and a hard place. It’s very hard for most to say anything, even if they
see great damage being done to their students and their schools, because their
jobs are literally on the lines. The very same forces that created this
high-stakes system gagged and handcuffed teachers (and now principals),
preventing some of the strongest advocates for kids – especially our most
vulnerable kids – from speaking up. (And perversely, when they do, they are
often accused of trying to protect their jobs, rather than students.)
So I applaud those
who take a stand and help the rest of us see what is going on, as two more Pittsburgh teachers did
this week. Mary King has a beautiful op-ed in the Post-Gazette today
explaining why she is a conscientious objector and will not administer the
PSSAs to her students this year. She may be the first teacher in Pennsylvania to do so
and her action recalls a long Quaker and pacifist tradition in this state.
Earlier this week, Kipp Dawson testified to the Pittsburgh school board about the way in
which testing is hurting her students.
Testing Resistance & Reform News: April 18 - 21,
2015
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on April 21, 2015 - 1:15pm
This week's update
is being sent from the Education Writers Association National Seminar where
hundreds of reporters, editors and columnists are talking about the opt-out
movement and other forms of testing resistance as well as proposals for real
assessment reform at the local, state and national levels.
All are
invited for a screening of the documentary:
STANDARDIZED: Lies, Money
& Civil Rights—How Testing is Ruining Public Education Monday, April 27, 7-
9 PM Wayne , PA
The Saturday
Club, 117 West Wayne Avenue ,
Wayne , PA
Standardized testing
has long been a part of public education. Over the last ten years however,
education reform has become an increasingly heated political issue and
seemingly a highly profitable target market for private enterprise resulting in
expanded and high-stakes testing. While some hold the view that testing is an
effective assessment of student ability and teacher and school effectiveness,
many feel these exams are instead undermining our students, teachers and
schools. Daniel Hornberger’s STANDARDIZED documentary
raises issues about this model of education reform and the standardized
testing that goes along with it. The film includes interviews with prominent
educational experts and government officials who take aim at the goal of
standardization that is being promoted and imposed by our federal and state
governments. It sheds light on the development, nature and use of these
assessments, the consequences of high-stakes testing, and the ostensible
private enterprise and government agendas behind them.
A Q&A
session with a panel of informed parents, teachers and experts will follow.
This screening
is made possible through a collaboration of Radnor, Tredyffrin/Easttown and Lower Merion concerned parents and PTOs.
DISTRICT TO HOLD SEVEN
COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS
Wednesday,
April 15
Wednesday,
April 22
Tuesday,
April 28
Wednesday,
May 6
Tuesday,
May 12
Thursday,
May 14
Congreso, 216 West Somerset St .
Wednesday,
May 20
Nominations for PSBA
offices closes April 30
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. The positions open are:
PSBA Leadership Development Committee seeks strong leaders for the association
Members interested in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to complete an Application for Nomination no later than April 30. As a member-driven association, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking nominees with strong skills in leadership and communication, and who have vision for PSBA. The positions open are:
- 2016 President Elect (one-year term)
- 2016 Vice President (one-year term)
- 2016 Eastern Section at Large
Representative - includes Regions 7, 8, 10, 11 and 15 (three-year
term)
Complete details on
the nomination process, including scheduled dates for nominee interviews, can
be found online by clicking here.
Beyond a New School Funding
Formula: Lifting Student Achievement to Grow PA's Economy
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM (EDT)
Harrisburg, PA
7:30 am: Light breakfast fare and registration; 8:00 am:
Program
Harrisburg University Auditorium, Strawberry Square 326 Market
Street Harrisburg, PA 17101
Opening Remarks by Neil D. Theobald, President, Temple
University
SESSION I: THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ACHIEVEMENT GAPS IN
PENNSYLVANIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS with introduction by Rob Wonderling,
President, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and Member, Center on
Regional Politics Executive Committee.
Presentation by Lynn A. Karoly, Senior Economist, RAND
Corporation
SESSION II: WHAT CAN PENNSYLVANIA LEARN FROM THE WORLD’S
LEADING SCHOOL SYSTEMS? with introduction by David H. Monk, Dean, Pennsylvania State University College of Education
Presentation by Marc S. Tucker, President and CEO,
National Center on Education and the Economy
Sessions to be followed by a response panel moderated
by Francine Schertzer, Director of Programming, Pennsylvania Cable
Network
Program presented by the University Consortium to Improve
Public School Finance and Promote Economic Growth
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