Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 3700 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors,
administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition
team members, Superintendents, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
emails, website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for July 20, 2015:
PA House returns to budget
impasse; Next up for NCLB: Senate-House negotiations
PA House Education committee hearing on PA
State Assessments is scheduled for 10:00 am July 29, Room 250 Irvis office
bldg.
Did you catch our weekend
postings?
PA Ed Policy Roundup July 18: Wolf
campaign asks Pennsylvanians to call lawmakers about budget impasse; budget
talks to resume Tuesday
Interested in letting our
elected leadership know your thoughts on education funding, a severance tax,
property taxes and the budget?
Governor Tom Wolf, (717) 787-2500
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, (717) 772-9943
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
"At least four outside
groups are involved in these ad campaigns.
They include America
Works USA Alliance of Pennsylvania
House returns to budget
impasse
Times-Tribune BY ROBERT SWIFT, HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF July
20, 2015
GOP 'majority of majority'
rule could test any budget deal
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
— In one of Pennsylvania's defining legislative battles this century, then-Gov.
Ed Rendell won passage of a $1 billion tax package, and it still nags some
Republicans that their leaders worked with Democrats to make it law, despite
opposition from most members of the GOP's legislative majority. Twelve years later, an unwritten Republican
rule inspired by votes like that under Rendell could be a key test as leaders
of the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf try to
break a budget deadlock. Simply put, the
"majority-of-the-majority" rule means legislation cannot get a floor
vote unless most Republican lawmakers support it. And many Republicans,
particularly the most conservative, want to see their leaders adhere to that
rule this time around, as Wolf pursues what opponents call Pennsylvania 's biggest tax increase in
history.
School funding: Reform
pensions
Editorial By The
Tribune-Review Sunday, July 19, 2015, 9:00 p.m.
The relentless push by some Pennsylvania lawmakers, citizen groups and Gov. Wolf to increase public school funding ignores an inconvenient fact based on the latest expenditure and revenue figures released by the state's Department of Education: For the 2013-14 school year, spending by Pennsylvania's school districts hit an all-time high, totaling $26.1 billion — a $600 million increase over the previous year. The fact is, school spending has steadily increased over the last five years with the exception of 2011-12, when the temporary federal stimulus ended, according to state figures analyzed by the Commonwealth Foundation. On pace as well is state revenue to school districts, which in 2013-14 came to $9.7 billion, another record. But as taxpayers pour more money into public schools, school district pension contributions are taking more money out. In 2008-09, districts spent $562 million on pension contributions, according to state figures. In 2013-14, that figure ballooned to $1.9 billion. In just five years, schools have seen more than a three-fold increase in pension contributions.
The relentless push by some Pennsylvania lawmakers, citizen groups and Gov. Wolf to increase public school funding ignores an inconvenient fact based on the latest expenditure and revenue figures released by the state's Department of Education: For the 2013-14 school year, spending by Pennsylvania's school districts hit an all-time high, totaling $26.1 billion — a $600 million increase over the previous year. The fact is, school spending has steadily increased over the last five years with the exception of 2011-12, when the temporary federal stimulus ended, according to state figures analyzed by the Commonwealth Foundation. On pace as well is state revenue to school districts, which in 2013-14 came to $9.7 billion, another record. But as taxpayers pour more money into public schools, school district pension contributions are taking more money out. In 2008-09, districts spent $562 million on pension contributions, according to state figures. In 2013-14, that figure ballooned to $1.9 billion. In just five years, schools have seen more than a three-fold increase in pension contributions.
"A Mercyhurst poll
conducted in January found that Pennsylvanians support increased funding for
public schools by a margin of nearly three to one, with 74 percent favoring
increased school funding and only 22 percent opposing."
Letter: Lawmakers must
address school funding shortfall
Pocono Record Letter by Denise Kurnas Posted Jul. 14, 2015 at 6:12 PM
Pennsylvania 's
school funding system is broken, and students in classrooms across the state
are suffering the consequences. Recent
cuts in state funding, combined with the fact that the state does not have a
predictable, sustainable, fair and adequate basic education funding system to
distribute dollars where they are needed, has put our students and our school
districts at a disadvantage. The lack of an adequate funding formula has hit Monroe County Monroe County
State leaves schools
waiting
Times-Tribune by KATHLEEN BOLUS, STAFF WRITER Published: July 19, 2015
After years of
failed promises for new state funding, many local educators played it safe when
budgeting for state aid in their 2015-16 school budgets. Business managers, administrators and board
members in Lackawanna
County Pennsylvania ’s
first-term governor Tom Wolf vetoed the GOP-crafted $30.2 billion state budget
on June 30; budget negotiations are continuing. Districts on a fiscal year must
also pass their budgets by June 30 under state law. “I don’t know how they expect us, as a school
district, to be able to pass a balanced budget when they have no idea what
they’re doing in Harrisburg,” said Carbondale Area School Board President Gary
Smedley. “We have a 65-percent poverty rate and the tax base isn’t growing. The
majority of our funding comes from state funds.” State aid varies by district. In Abington Heights
Letter: Put kids first, not gas companies
Post Gazette Letter
by Lee Branstetter, Nathaniel Horner, Granger Morgan, Ed Rubin and Parth
Vaishnav of CMU July 19, 2015 12:00 AM
This article was
written by Carnegie Mellon University's Lee Branstetter, a professor of
economics and public policy; Nathaniel Horner, a doctoral candidate in the
Department of Engineering and Public Policy; Granger Morgan, the Hamerschlag
University Professor of Engineering and founding director of the Scott Institute
for Energy Innovation; Ed Rubin, the Alumni Chair Professor of Environmental
Engineering and Science; and Parth Vaishnav, a post-doctoral fellow in the
Department of Engineering and Public Policy.
Thaddeus Stevens is
spinning in his grave. The venerable
Pennsylvania Republican, portrayed so vividly in the movie “Lincoln ” by Tommy Lee Jones, was a man ahead
of his time. He helped establish tax-financed public education in our
commonwealth — a massive expansion of government at a time
when many believed government had no obligation to educate its citizenry.
Mr. Stevens’ stern
visage still looks down on our legislators in Harrisburg , where a party bearing the name
Republican holds a solid majority. But he can’t be happy with what he sees
these days.
Back on June 1,
state Sens. John Eichelberger, R-Blair, and Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, conducted a
hearing on Gov. Tom Wolf’s severance-tax proposal, which would impose a tax on
the revenues of shale drillers in Pennsylvania .
At a time when the state’s finances are in perilous shape and public education
is still reeling from savage cuts instituted by our former governor in 2011,
this is a matter of vital importance. You
might expect that our leaders would seek the input of authentic experts who
could offer dispassionate, objective analysis of the issues. There are plenty
of them in Pennsylvania ’s
great universities. Sadly, none was invited to Harrisburg , despite the efforts of members of
the Democratic minority to secure their inclusion. Instead, Messrs.
Eichelberger and Yaw primarily sought the advice and counsel of shale-gas and
business-association lobbyists who are paid to protect their members’ bottom
lines, not to worry about what is best for Pennsylvania . And that one hearing is the
only one the Senate has conducted this summer.
More than $3M at stake for
local schools in Pa.
By Evan Brandt,
The Mercury POSTED: 07/19/15,
2:00 AM EDT |
With the budget
impasse grinding on in Harrisburg
for a third week, area residents may wonder what’s at stake in the debate
surrounding schools funding. The answer
is more than $3 million — and that’s just the beginning. According to a Mercury analysis, $3 million
in basic education funding to nine area school districts separates the Republican House-passed budget that Gov. Tom Wolf
vetoed and the
budget Wolf proposed in the spring. That
money would pay for an additional 45 teachers in the nine school districts of
The Mercury tri-county coverage area at the average regional
teacher salary of $67,699. That $3
million does not take into account proposed increases in other education
funding streams like special education funding or early education money. Those
specifics were not included in Republican budget numbers and so cannot be
compared to the increases Wolf proposed in February. As with anything
that has to do with Harrisburg ,
the numbers are a little fuzzy.
Guest Editorial: The governor of 'no'
The Sentinel Guest
Editorial Stephen Bloom July 17, 2015
State Rep. Stephen Bloom represents the 199th
Legislative District.
It’s been more than
two weeks since Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the balanced, no-tax-hike budget passed by
the House and Senate, and not much has changed.
After vetoing the budget, the governor locked in the status quo by
vetoing not only the new Fiscal and Public School Codes (including the
bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission’s long-awaited fairer funding
formula), but also vetoed the popular liquor privatization bill and the
urgently needed state pension reform bill. And he continues to demand his
entire package of unprecedented 16 percent tax and spending increases. Rather than negotiating in good faith, the
governor has instead doubled-down with confrontational radio and TV spots
which, along with campaign-style mailers targeting individual House and Senate
members, are being broadcast throughout the Commonwealth by America Works USA,
an arm of the Democratic Governors Association funded mostly by big public
sector labor unions. So far, more than half-a-million dollars is being spent on
this aggressive push for the Wolf agenda. Even more troubling, these ads are
distorting the truth.
Crushing pension
obligations are pushing stressed governments
JOSEPH N. DISTEFANO, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER Sunday, July 19, 2015, 3:01 AM
The cost of paying
public-worker pensions is soaring even for some well-off suburban towns.
Consider Radnor Township Main Line villages paid
$3.3 million in 2014 to stabilize its police and civilian pension plans,
tripling what it paid in 2006. Police
have agreed to contribute more, and the township has stopped offering
traditional, guaranteed pensions to new civilian hires. Still, the plans remain
"moderately distressed," with just 60 cents set aside for every $1 in
future pensions, a ratio similar to that in poorer towns such as Chester City
Registration open for Bethlehem
By Sara K. Satullo | For
lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on July 19, 2015 at 7:35 AM,
updated July 19, 2015 at 9:38 AM
The Bethlehem Area School District has
opened its K-12 cyber academy registration for the upcoming school year. The academy is open to any student within the
school district boundaries who is interested in online learning from
home. Informational sessions for parents and students are scheduled for July 28
and Aug. 6. Details about the sessions
and applications can be found here. The district
established the academy during the 2012-13 school year to
try to lure students back from charter schools. Bethlehem is projected to spend $21 million
to send 1,820 students to charter schools this school year.
Some midstate schools shifting to online summer
classes
WITF Written
by Ben
Allen, General Assignment Reporter | Jul 17, 2015 4:20 AM
In a handful of Lancaster County Derry
Township in Dauphin County Cumberland
Valley Susquehanna Township
School District
LNP Editorial: It's time
to take a serious look at school consolidation
By LANCASTERONLINE | Staff Posted: Sunday,
July 19, 2015 9:04 am
The issue: Pennsylvania New Jersey Lancaster County
Across Pennsylvania , more than
5 percent of total school spending goes to administrative costs, including
salaries. This spending amounts to an astonishing $1.4 billion statewide a
year; in Lancaster
County
School volunteers should
serve freely
THE ISSUE: Cash-strapped schools across Pennsylvania have stretched their staffs to
the limit, and volunteers are stepping up to provide essential support.
Recognizing the crucial role volunteers play in education and elsewhere, the
governor and state legislators have taken steps to make it easier for community
members to donate their time and talents.
School districts
have long struggled to strike the delicate balance between maximizing student
benefits and minimizing the community tax burden. That task has been
complicated in recent years by the double whammy of diminished state funding
and mounting pension obligations.
"The latest figures from
the state Revenue Department show that the $2-a-pack tax generated $50.2
million for the School District
of Philadelphia
$2-per-pack cigarette tax
helping Philly schools - for now
CLAUDIA VARGAS, INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER Monday, July 20, 2015, 1:07 AM
Moments after buying
some Advil and bottled water at a Suburban Station newsstand, Serena Starnes
realized that she was out of cigarettes. She quickly went back and paid $9.50
for a pack of Newports. Had Starnes been
in the suburbs, she would have paid much less because of the city's $2-a-pack
tax earmarked for city schools. The extra $2 stings, but at least the money is
going to help educate her children, the unemployed barber said. "It's good because it's going toward the
schools," the mother of nine said. Multiply
her spending by a hundred-thousand Philadelphia
smokers and the cash-strapped school district has got a big chunk of what it
needs.
"Here are five things to
know about congressional efforts to replace No Child Left Behind:"
Next up for No Child Left Behind: Senate-House
negotiations
Mercedes Schneider: Both
Senate and House ESEA Bills Remove Any Penalties for Opting Out
Diane Ravitch's Blog By dianeravitch July
18, 2015 //
Mercedes Schneider is one of the few people I know (outside of
Congressional staff) who has read every word of the proposed legislation to
reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (now called No Child
Left Behind). In
this post, she explains that both bills remove any penalties for
parents who choose to opt out. It is up to the states to determine whether
parents are allowed to opt out of testing, but there will be no federal
penalties if they do. In states that are either silent on the matter of opting out or that
explicitly ban it, parents can still opt it. They are the parents, and they can
decide what is in the best interest of their child.
One Step
Closer to Life After No Child Left Behind
A promising rewrite to the
notorious law just passed another hurdle.
The
Atlantic JUL 16, 2015
After
months of anticipation—and nearly a decade of neglect—No Child Left Behind’s
demise is closer than ever to becoming a reality. The U.S. Senate on Thursday
passed a much-anticipated bill that would remake the 50-year-old law on
which No Child Left Behind is based, ending a chapter in which the federal
government was the key decision-maker at local schools. The new
law—the Every
Child Achieves Act—would give much of that decision-making power back to
states. Instead of the feds, state-level officials would determine how to
assess academic performance, what counts as a struggling school, and which
mechanisms to use to hold educators accountable for achievement. No more
top-down reforms. No more mandatory interventions. No more Washington , D.C.
Right?
Of course not. There’s plenty of important nuance here, and the legislative
tug-of-war is just getting started.
Nominations for PSBA's
Allwein Advocacy Award now open
PSBA July 7, 2015
PSBA July 7, 2015
The Timothy M.
Allwein Advocacy Award was established in 2011 by the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association and may be presented annually to the individual school
director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in
legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that
are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. The 2015 Allwein Award nomination process
will close on Aug. 28, 2015. The 2015 Allwein Award Nomination Form is available online. More details on the
award and nominations process can be found online.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.