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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 23, 2015:
Fair & Adequate Funding: See You in the Capitol
Rotunda at Noon Today
PA Senate Education Committee Meeting 9:30 am Tuesday
June 23, 2015
Room 461 Main
Capitol
To consider SB910
, Codifying the Basic Education Funding Commission’s School Funding Formula
Come to Harrisburg
Education Voters PA website June 1, 2015
On June 23 at the Capitol in Harrisburg ,
Education Voters will be joining together with more than 50 organizations to
send a clear message to state lawmakers that we expect them to fund our schools
in this year’s budget. Click
HERE for more information and to register for the June 23 All for Education Day
in Harrisburg. Join us as we speak up for the importance of
funding our schools fairly and at sufficient levels, so that every student in
PA has an opportunity to learn. Community,
parent, education advocacy, faith, and labor organizations will join together
with school, municipal, and community officials to hold a press conference and
rally at 12:00 in the main rotunda and to make arrangements to meet with
legislators before and after the rally. We
must send a strong message to state lawmakers that we are watching them and
expect them to pass a state budget that will fund our schools this year. Please
come to Harrisburg
on June 23 to show broad support for a fair budget for education this year.
COMMUNITY MEETING: PUBLIC
SCHOOL FUNDING IN BERKS
COUNTY
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Time:7:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Registration begins
at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Berks
County 1111 Commons Boulevard ,
Reading , PA 19605
Local school district leaders will discuss how state funding issues are
impacting our children’s education opportunities, our local taxes, and our
communities. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn how you
can support fair and adequate state funding for public schools in Berks County Berks County
Republican lawmakers on path to passing budget
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf doesn't support
Morning Call By Marc Levy Of The Associated Press June 22, 2015
Legislators play blame
game over budget negotiation impasse
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Monday, June 22,
2015
As the end of
Pennsylvania’s fiscal year grows closer, leaders from all four caucuses began
pointing fingers in earnest Monday, blaming one another for why negotiations on
the budget and related pieces of legislation like pension reform and liquor
privatization have stalled. Democratic
leaders from both the House and Senate emerged from a Monday morning
budget-related meeting with Gov. Tom Wolf expressing frustration at an impasse
in overall negotiations they say is caused by Speaker Mike Turzai’s
(R-Allegheny) unwillingness to move forward without a deal on liquor
privatization. “The hold up in my view,
and I think the consensus is, that wine and spirits privatization is the thing
that’s bringing everything to a halt,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa
(D-Allegheny). “It’s a matter of
priorities,” said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny). “We have
the Speaker of the House here worried about booze and how we buy booze instead
of worrying about our kids and how we’ll educate them.”
Signs of stalemate build in Harrisburg
ANGELA COULOUMBIS AND MADISON RUSS, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
LAST UPDATED: Monday, June 22, 2015, 7:24 PM
HARRISBURG - The prospects for a state budget deal dimmed
Monday as Democrats and Republicans in the Capitol ramped up their rhetoric and
raised the possibility of a budget stalemate.
With eight days left before a new fiscal year, the Wolf administration
and the GOP leaders who control the legislature still appeared far apart on the
key issues driving budget talks: property tax reform, liquor privatization and
a fix for skyrocketing public pension costs.
Republicans groused that Wolf was rejecting key parts of their pension
proposal, while the Democratic governor complained he could not get GOP
lawmakers to discuss his priorities. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20150623_Signs_of_stalemate_build_in_Harrisburg.html#elkPsVktX2C6BmIr.99
Are state budget talks at a standstill? GOP lawmakers
say yes
Penn Live by Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com By Jan Murphy
| jmurphy@pennlive.com mail the author |
Follow on Twitter on June 22, 2015 at 4:29 PM
Have state budget talks reached a stalemate with eight days
left before the new fiscal year starts? That is how House and Senate Republican leaders seemed to
portray how their negotiations with Gov. Tom Wolf left off last week. Wolf made it clear to the Republicans that he
has no appetite to move to a defined contribution pension plan for future state
and school employee hires, which the Republican lawmakers regarded as a
must-have in any agreement about pension reform. "The governor, on his own, really took
off unilaterally any chance for any type of defined contribution plan for new
hires at all," said House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, in an
impromptu news conference with Capitol reporters on Monday. "We don't
think that is negotiating in good faith."
Democratic lawmakers:
'We're not going to negotiate away retirement security' for public employees
Penn Live By Christian Alexandersen |
calexandersen@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on June 22, 2015 at 5:04 PM,
updated June 22, 2015 at 8:06 PM
Democratic lawmakers
worked to refute claims made by top GOP lawmakers that Gov. Tom Wolf is not
addressing the state's underfunded pension programs in budget negotiations.
House Democratic Leader
Frank Dermody and Democratic Whip Mike Hanna said on Monday the governor has
been addressing the state's pension issue while in negotiations.
Republicans criticize Gov.
Tom Wolf for 'not negotiating in good faith' on pensions
Penn Live By Christian Alexandersen |
calexandersen@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on June 22, 2015 at 3:46 PM,
updated June 22, 2015 at 5:24 PM
Top Republican
lawmakers said they made their budget negotiations clear to Gov. Tom Wolf: He must address the
state's underfunded pension programs before everything else. House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnatiheld
a brief press conference Monday after reports of budget negotiations with the
governor. Senate Bill 1 would move the
state from its state from a defined benefit plan to a 401-K pension system for
future employees.
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON JUNE 23, 2015
The tentative optimism
about a timely state budget is giving way to partisan backbiting as lawmakers
enter the last week before their deadline to approve a new spending plan for Pennsylvania . Gov. Tom Wolf and the GOP-controlled
Legislature appear to be stuck, both sides unwilling to compromise major
priorities tied up with the state's spending plan due June 30. "I think what's
becoming a road block is that I'm not seeing a real interest in having an
honest conversation," said Wolf, emerging from his office Monday after a
meeting with Democratic legislative leaders. He's expected to meet with GOP
leaders Tuesday.
Editorial: Remedy offered;
now get to work
When it comes to school funding, state government is supposed to play the
role of Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. In other
words, school districts with fewer resources (read: less money) are supposed to
get more state funding. The idea is to create parity or close to it. Ideally, all kids in the state should receive
a comparable education regardless of family income or a community’s wealth. In
fact, communities populated with McMansions generate a mountain of property
taxes for their school districts versus towns where less costly housing rules.
And so the state is supposed to even things out when it divides up education
revenue, which this year amounts to about $5.5 billion. In reality, the state funding formula is out
of sync with reality and skewed by politics. The result is that state education
dollars are doled out without apparent attention to need. It’s outrageous, not
to mention unfair. And embarrassing.
Consider these figures reported by the Associated Press last week:
- Reading,
ranked by the state as No. 1 in poverty, is 51st highest in per-student
state aid.
- Erie, ranked
29th poorest, is 196th in per-student state aid.
- Allentown,
ranked 36th poorest, is 130th in per-student state aid.
- Philadelphia,
ranked 58th poorest, is 145th in per-student state aid.
If those numbers make sense to you, help us understand the logic. What
they suggest to us is what they suggested to the 15-member Basic Education
Funding Commission. The commission spent the last year studying the state’s
education funding formula and found that the way the state divvies up the money
is in need of sweeping change.
WHYY Newsworks BY LAURA BENSHOFF JUNE 22, 2015
Making a budget
before knowing how much money you have might seem like putting the cart before
the horse. But that's exactly what many school districts in Pennsylvania
are doing.
The state budget is
technically due June 30, but Gov. Tom Wolf stated publicly as early as April
that the state might not meet that deadline. By law, school districts must
adopt their budgets by the end of the month.
In its fifth annual survey of school districts, the Pennsylvania
Association of School Administrators (PASA) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Business Officials (PASBO) rounded up stories of how school leaders are
planning around budget uncertainty. In all, 346
districts, from 66 of the state's 67 counties, responded. Of those districts,
71 percent said they're raising property taxes this year. Eighty percent are
taxing at or above their Act 1 limit, a cap the state created to keep property
taxes in check.
Forecasting Fiscal Futures of Pennsylvania School
Districts: Where Law and Current Policy Are Taking Our Public Schools
Center on Regional Politics Policy Brief by William Hartman
& Timothy Shrom May 2015
"Raising taxes to the
legally permissible Act 1 index would generate $1.1 million in additional
revenue. Increases in pension payments alone exceed $2 million for 2016."
Letter: Public schools
face insolvency
Pocono Record Letter
by Merlyn Clarke Posted Jun. 22,
2015 at 9:33 PM
the early 1990s President George Herbert Walker Bush abrogated his “no new taxes” pledge and raised taxes. While this contributed to his electoral defeat, it nevertheless put the nation’s finances on a sounder footing, ushering in one of the most prosperous decades in the nation’s history that included not only balanced budgets but also surpluses. Raising taxes is never popular. However, if raising taxes contributes to fiscal solvency and long-range economic prosperity, a courageous statesman will rise to the occasion. No such option exists for many Pennsylvania school districts today, certainly not for Stroudsburg School District. Raising taxes to the legally permissible Act 1 index would generate $1.1 million in additional revenue. Increases in pension payments alone exceed $2 million for 2016. Added to pensions are increases in healthcare, and the ever-climbing mandated tuition payments for charter/cyber schools, projected to exceed $3,000,000 in 2016, all beyond district control.
the early 1990s President George Herbert Walker Bush abrogated his “no new taxes” pledge and raised taxes. While this contributed to his electoral defeat, it nevertheless put the nation’s finances on a sounder footing, ushering in one of the most prosperous decades in the nation’s history that included not only balanced budgets but also surpluses. Raising taxes is never popular. However, if raising taxes contributes to fiscal solvency and long-range economic prosperity, a courageous statesman will rise to the occasion. No such option exists for many Pennsylvania school districts today, certainly not for Stroudsburg School District. Raising taxes to the legally permissible Act 1 index would generate $1.1 million in additional revenue. Increases in pension payments alone exceed $2 million for 2016. Added to pensions are increases in healthcare, and the ever-climbing mandated tuition payments for charter/cyber schools, projected to exceed $3,000,000 in 2016, all beyond district control.
Letters: Funding follies
cause trauma in Philly schools
Philly Daily News Letter by Lisa Haver POSTED: Monday, June 22,
2015, 12:16 AM
Lisa Haver, a
retired Philadelphia teacher, is co-founder of the Alliance for Philadelphia
Public Schools. Email her at philaapps@gmail.com.
CAN THE DNA of a school system by altered permanently?
CAN THE DNA of a school system by altered permanently?
For decades, the
accepted wisdom in the nature v. nurture debate held that our brains are fully
formed at birth, that our DNA cannot be changed. But recent research has shown
that trauma, especially in early childhood, can effect changes not only in the
DNA of the victim but in that of subsequent generations. Can the DNA of a school system be harmed
irreparably? So many factors have
contributed to the unaddressed trauma of Philadelphia's students: the expansion
of charter schools, some closing without warning due to mismanagement or
outright fraud; the yearly standardized testing - even in early grades - used
to label students and to justify the permanent closing of neighborhood schools;
the sense of abandonment felt when entire faculties are replaced for hasty
turnarounds or transformations. All of
these changes, often sold as "reforms", have affected the district and
its students in ways that may never be repaired.
By Marijon Shearer | Special to PennLive on
June 22, 2015 at 10:56 PM
As expected, Central
Dauphin School Board wrapped up its 2014-2015 meeting schedule Monday by
approving the final version of a $174 million general fund budget for the
school year that begins July 1. The new
spending plan calls for a 1.79 percent hike in property taxes, just under the
1.9 percent index allowed for Central Dauphin next year by the Pennsylvania
Department of Education. The increase adds about $39 to the annual bill of a
taxpayer with property assessed at $150,000.
By Brendan Wills,
The Times Herald POSTED: 06/22/15,
10:08 PM EDT
NORRISTOWN >> The Norristown Area school
board unanimously adopted the district’s $142,370,350 2015-2016 final budget
Monday night, including a 1.86 percent property tax increase and the
elimination of three teaching positions from the high school.
The tax increase
raises the millage rate to 33.179, which means $3,301 in taxes per each
$100,000 of assessed value of a district resident’s home.
The teaching
positions eliminated include one art, one music, and one physical education
position. Each teacher currently in those positions will be reassigned
elsewhere in the district and no furloughs will be required.
Daniel Boone School Board
votes to eliminate cafeteria, teacher positions
Reading Eagle By Samantha Tighe Tuesday June 23, 2015 12:01 AM
Thirty cafeteria
workers within the Daniel
Boone School
District York , had agreed with the
school board to hire most, if not all, the current cafeteria workers under new
contracts for at least a year. Wages will stay the same, and in some instances
possibly increase, while workers will retain similar benefits, the board said. Depending on their current contract, several
cafeteria workers could lose the sick days they have accumulated. Additionally, the school board gave its final
approval to the 2015-16 budget, which holds taxes steady but also eliminates
several teaching positions.
- See more at: http://readingeagle.com/news/article/daniel-boone-school-board-votes-to-eliminate-cafeteria-teacher-positions#.VYkV09-H8mk.twitter
By Lynn Olanoff | For lehighvalleylive.com Follow on Twitter on June 22, 2015 at 8:35 PM,
updated June 22, 2015 at 8:58 PM
The Bethlehem Area School District Lehigh
Valley Charter
High School East Broad Street . The board also appeared supportive of the
move. Members said they wouldn't vote to authorize the new location until they
see that planned renovations there are publicly bid.
Judge: Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY LAURA BENSHOFF JUNE 23, 2015
Who is responsible
when budget cuts require a school district to drop classes?
Following budget
cuts started in the 2011-2012 school year, parents in Philadelphia filed 825 complaints to the Pennsylvania
Department of Education. Their complaints ranged from overcrowding in
classrooms, to cutting back on courses such as art and foreign languages, to a
lack of guidance counselors in schools. In
a lawsuit against the department, seven of those parents -- along with the Public Interest
Law Center
A promising idea for
Lancaster city, School District of Lancaster
An idea
still in the discussion stage would ask private donors to support
higher education among students in the School District of Lancaster Pittsburgh and elsewhere,
students who graduate from the School
District of Lancaster
Think your newspaper
never publishes good news? We could give you a
list of examples to the contrary, but let’s focus on a potentially transforming
one for the moment. Dozens of Lancaster community leaders met this month at the Ware Center Pittsburgh
city schools up to $40,000 toward classes accredited Pennsylvania two-year or four-year
institutions of postsecondary education.
By Eric Devlin, edevlin@21st-centurymedia.com, @Eric_Devlin on Twitter POSTED: 06/22/15, 5:25 PM EDT
Phoenixville
>> Officials in the Phoenixville
Area School
District recently sent a message to lawmakers in Harrisburg — ease up on
testing. In a resolution approved during
Thursday night’s meeting, the school board called on legislators to minimize
the amount of mandated standardized testing and the use of standardized testing
for teacher and school evaluations. “We
are not in favor of the amount of testing time or prep time for testing,” said
board member Kevin Pattinson. In the resolution,
the district says that the amount of time required to prepare students for
state-wide exams, like the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and the
Keystone exam — an end-of-the-year exam that tests Algebra 1, biology and
English language arts — takes away the ability for a deeper study of
curriculum.
Grading
the Common Core: No Teaching Experience Required
New York Times By MOTOKO RICH JUNE 22, 2015
Register Now – PAESSP
State Conference – Oct. 18-20 – State College, PA
Registration is now
open for PAESSP's State Conference to be held October 18-20 at The
Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA! This year's
theme is @EVERYLEADER and features three nationally-known keynote
speakers (Dr. James Stronge, Justin Baeder and Dr. Mike Schmoker), professional
breakout sessions, a legal update, exhibits, Tech Learning Labs and many
opportunities to network with your colleagues (Monday evening event with Jay
Paterno). Once again, in conjunction
with its conference, PAESSP will offer two 30-hour Act 45 PIL-approved
programs, Linking Student Learning to Teacher Supervision and Evaluation
(pre-conference offering on 10/17/15); and Improving Student Learning
Through Research-Based Practices: The Power of an Effective Principal (held
during the conference, 10/18/15 -10/20/15). Register for either or both PIL
programs when you register for the Full Conference!
REGISTER TODAY for
the Conference and Act 45 PIL program/s at:
Apply
now for EPLC’s 2015-2016 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Applications are
available now for the 2015-2016
Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).
The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The
Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).
With more than 400 graduates in its first sixteen years, this
Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state
and local policymakers, advocates, and community leaders. State Board of
Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to certified public accountants. Past participants include state policymakers,
district superintendents and principals, charter school leaders, school
business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide
association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education
and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer
or another organization. The Fellowship
Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 17-18, 2015 and
continues to graduation in June 2016.
Click here to read about the Education Policy
Fellowship Program.
Sign up here to receive a weekly
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equitable, predictable and sustainable Basic Education Funding Formula by 2016
Sign up to support fair funding »
Campaign for Fair
Education Funding website
Our goal is to
ensure that every student has access to a quality education no matter where
they live. To make that happen, we need to fundamentally change how public
schools are funded. The current system is not fair to students or taxpayers and
our campaign partners – more than 50 organizations from across Pennsylvania -
agree that it has to be changed now. Student performance is stagnating. School
districts are in crisis. Lawmakers have the ability to change this formula but
they need to hear from you. You
can make a difference »
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