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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for September 2, 2015:
Test question: If a charter school has 3000 students
and 24% are special ed, and the school makes a MINIMUM of $14,000 per special
ed student over cost, what is the minimum
amount of profit made in a year?
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
3K CCCS students; 24% Sp.Ed = 720
students @ min profit of $14K each = $10,080,000 per year
'Trade secret' -
"Randi J. Vladimer, an
attorney representing the charter school, said in the appeal, filed Monday in
Delaware County Common Pleas Court, that the management company's records were
not covered by the Right to Know Law because it was a private business. She also argued that the Office of Open
Records made a technical error in the timing of its decision that invalidated
it. Further, she said the records were a "trade secret or confidential
information" that could hurt the management company's competitive position
if disclosed."
Reprise Inky June 2009: Charter
files to halt release of its records The Delco school and its management firm
said The Inquirer's request for data was invalid.
By Dan Hardy
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER POSTED: June 11, 2009
The Chester Community Charter
School Delaware County
From Judge Chad Kenney's ruling regarding the Chester Upland School District
"The Charter Schools
serving Chester-Upland Special Education students reported in 2013-2014, the
last reporting period available, that they did not have any Special Education
students costing them anything outside the zero (0) to twenty-five thousand
dollar ($25,000.00) range, and yet this is remarkable considering they receive
forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00) for each one of these Special Education
students under a legislatively mandated formula
This means the legislative formula permits the Charters to pocket
somewhere between fourteen thousand ($14,000.00) and forty thousand dollars
($40,000.00) per student over and above what it costs to educate them. While this discrepancy needs to be seen in
most instances as the operators of Charters taking advantage of legal mandates,
it is clear that the Legislature did not mean for its averages to produce such
windfalls to the Charter School industry in a distressed district."
Is this any way to run a school district?
Back
in 2012, the long-beleaguered Chester Upland School District
in Pennsylvania
ran out of money — literally — and the unionized teachers and staff agreed to
work without pay. (When it made national news, first lady Michelle Obama
invited a Chester Upland teacher to sit with her at the State of the Union
speech that year.) Well, it’s happened again — at least the part about the
district being out of cash and all of the teachers, support staff, bus drivers
and other adults in the system agreeing to work for free when the 2015-16
academic year starts on Wednesday.
“We knew we had to
do it, again,” said John Shelton, who has been an educator in the district for
23 years and now is dean of students at a district middle school. “With great
pain, we agreed to work as long as our families allow us to.”
Why does this keep
happening?
This District Has No
Money, So Teachers Are Working Without Pay
If that's not dedication, what is?
Rebecca Klein Education
Editor, The Huffington Post Posted: 09/01/2015 05:12 PM EDT
When teachers at the
Chester Upland
School District in Pennsylvania return to their jobs Wednesday
for the first day of school, they will not be making minimum wage. In fact,
they will not be making any money at all.
Educators and support staff at Chester Upland
School District
Guest Column: Lawmakers,
it’s time to stand up for Chester Upland students
By Maria Weatherly, Times Guest Columnist POSTED: 09/01/15, 10:43 PM EDT
Maria Weatherly is a math
teacher at Chester High School and a resident of Chester
Ask any educator why
he or she chose this line of work, and you’ll hear stories about the value of a
public education or the hope for a better tomorrow. And you’ll hear about the students — the
hundreds of lives one educator can change for the better over the course of a
career.
That is why the
teachers and support professionals who serve Chester Upland’s kids unanimously
agreed to keep working just hours after we were told that the school district
couldn’t afford to make payroll in two weeks.
You read that right. Unanimously. Not one of us said “no” to dispatching
buses, picking up kids, and opening the school house doors, even though we may
not get paid. We all said “yes.” We’ve
always put our students first. And we always will. The big question now is,
will our lawmakers in Harrisburg
do the same? Will they put words into
action? Will they put politics aside and do the right thing for the students in
Chester Upland and across the commonwealth?
Will they walk the walk?
By Vince Sullivan,
Delaware County Daily
CHESTER >> Dr.
Francis Barnes believes the state should step in and help relieve the financial
burdens crushing the Chester Upland School District so that the struggling
district can stay open for the coming school year. In a Sunday statement emailed to members of
the media, the state-appointed receiver said that an $8.7 million debt owed to
charter schools educating Chester Upland students needs to be paid before meaningful
progress can be made. After a two-day
hearing last week in front of Delaware County Court of Common Pleas President
Judge Chad F. Kenney, the judge ruled against proposals from Barnes and the
state Department of Education that would reduce the tuition reimbursements made
to charter schools from district funds.
A special-education
student in a charter school brings with them a reimbursement of $40,000 from
the district, which Barnes proposed to reduce to about $16,000. Another
proposal would have capped the tuition reimbursement for a cyber charter
students at $5,950. In his decision,
Kenney cited the past-due charter payments as the reason for his denial of the
proposal. He said that because this debt wasn’t addressed in the plan as part
of a $22 million deficit, the plan would not resolve the district’s financial
woes. Without the judge’s approval, Barnes estimated that the district would
run out of money and cease operations in December.
Blogger's note: not so sure
about the" Do More" portion of the posting that follows this chart….you
decide.
PA
School Performance Profiles: How does Chester
Community Charter
School (K-8), Pennsylvania 's
largest brick and mortar charter, compare with Chester-Upland School
District
Source: http://paschoolperformance.org/ 2012/13 2013/14
School
SPP Scores
Charter Schools in Chester Upland
Statement by Dr. David Clark, CEO, Chester Community Charter
School
The Chester
Community Charter School (CCCS) shares in the financial pain of the Chester Upland School District Chester Upland
School District
Charter School Management Website
CSMI’s operating
philosophy is infused with the notion that the obstacles to providing a decent
education for children can be overcome with the right mix of creativity,
commitment, perseverance and an open-mind to rejecting a status quo culture of
low expectations. CSMI was founded on
the belief that schools would perform better if educators were freed from
non-academic responsibilities so they could focus exclusively on
teaching. We provide educators with the extensive support, training,
curricula and equipment that are consistent with the goal of helping students
attain the highest levels educational achievement.
"The owner is a trust
linked to Philadelphia lawyer and charter-school entrepreneur Vahan Gureghian
and his lawyer wife, Danielle. Three years ago, she told town officials the
house was the couple’s dream home, but their plans appear to have changed."
North End mansion listed
at $84.5M
Under-construction house has
bowling alley, 242 feet of beachfront
Priced at $84.5
million, a direct-oceanfront mansion under construction on the North End has
entered the market as the island’s most expensive property, according to the
local multiple listing service. Sporting
its own bowling alley, the French-style house is rising on the double lot –
expansive even by Palm Beach
standards – that measures about 2 acres with 242 feet of beachfront at 1071 N. Ocean Blvd. With about 35,000 square feet of living space,
inside and out, the house should be ready for occupancy some time next season,
according to listing broker Christian J. Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate. Angle’s sales listing showed up Friday in the
Palm Beach Board of Realtors MLS. The roughly H-shaped floor plan includes six
bedrooms in the main part of the house plus a pair of two-bedroom guest
apartments with ocean views. The house stands a third of a mile north of the
Palm Beach Country Club.
- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/north-end-mansion-listed-at-845m/nkhyf/#sthash.WLKvVu4j.dpuf
Wolf tries new budget
talks tactic: smaller, quiet meetings
Philly.com MARC LEVY, THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS POSTED: September 1, 2015, 5:28 PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
- Gov. Tom Wolf is shifting strategy as a state government budget stalemate
stretches into a third month, abandoning heavily attended meetings with
lawmakers and aides in the Capitol in favor of smaller, more private meetings
without staff.
Wolf held private
meetings Tuesday in his official residence with top Republican lawmakers,
including Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and House Majority Leader Dave
Reed.
"The path that
negotiations have been on have not been productive," Wolf's spokesman Jeff
Sheridan said. "I think there's been a lot of people in the room, a lot
going on outside the room."
Wolf looks to 'private
conversations' to break budget impasse - but the public will end up the losers;
Analysis
Penn Live By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on
September 01, 2015 at 3:13 PM, updated September 01, 2015 at 4:27 PM
Having found an
annual rite of budget season "counterproductive" -- the closed-door,
big-table negotiating session that ends with participants rushing out to face a
phalanx of reporters and violate the sanctity of the confessional -- the Wolf
administration says it wants to move to "private"
conversations with lawmakers to end the more than two-month-old standoff. "The governor is moving to private
conversations with Republicans and Democrats alike," administration
spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan said Tuesday. "It's time to get serious about
negotiations. The governor feels he can have more
productive conversations in private."
After 16 budget seasons, I'll be the first to admit that there's a
definite element of theater to the way budget talks are
traditionally structured. And each side knows its appointed role. Gov. Tom Wolf Discusses Tuesday's Budget Meeting And House's
Plan To Hold Override Votes Of His Budget VetoWolf shares his thoughts on
where the state budget talks were left following Tuesday's meeting with
legislative leaders. Reporters camp out
-- sometimes for hours -- hoping for any scrap of news that advances the
public's (and, hence, their own) understanding of a process that, when it's not
being maddeningly Byzantine in its particulars, is ridiculously glacial in its
pace.
Here's how a principled
shale tax can break the budget stalemate: Gene DiGirolamo and Steve Stroman
State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, a Bucks County
Republican, chairs the House Human Services Committee; Steve Stroman is
the director of Penn's Woods Conservation Advocates, and resides in York County
PennLive Op-Ed on September
01, 2015 at 10:45 AM By Gene DiGirolamo
and Steve Stroman
As the budget
stalemate in Harrisburg
drags into its 10th week, it is clear to most observers that a reasonable
natural gas severance tax will be a key element of the final compromise. Such a severance tax is smart public policy,
fair to the industry, makes substantial investments in our citizens and natural
resources, and can attract the support of Gov. Tom Wolf, Republican legislative
leaders, and both Democratic and Republican members of the General
Assembly.
Our perspective is
informed in very general terms by our work on House Bill 1363. We developed
this bi-partisan severance tax legislation in conjunction with Republican Tom
Murt of Montgomery County , and Democrats Harry Readshaw of Pittsburgh and Pam DeLissio of Philadelphia .
"I think if everyone
locked themselves in the Governor's Residence for a weekend and were willing to
come up with a deal on those three things, they could do it within a
weekend."
Auditor General DePasquale
has plan for solving budget impasse
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on
September 01, 2015 at 11:14 AM, updated September 01, 2015 at 2:41 PM
Arriving at a
solution to the state budget impasse has
eluded Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative leaders for 63 days now, but Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale thinks
it should be simple.
He explained his
plan in a mere 41 seconds at a Capitol news conference on Tuesday where he
announced his auditors will begin
to calculate the cost of the impasse on a school district as
part of the routine district audits his office does. "Find out some compromise on the shale
tax. Use that money for education. Find a bit extra money to get the governor
closer to his spend number [on education], which I think he clearly won the
election based on education. Then work out a fiscal responsible pension reform
plan that I think all the parties can buy into and help save money and protect
retirees. "On the liquor store side of it, all I can tell you is
that consumers want more convenience and there's a way to find a compromise to
do that as well," he said.
"It is somewhat ironic
that the fight over more funding for education is actually costing school districts
money," DePasquale said.
Auditor general: Pa.
Pocono Record By Associated Press Posted Sep. 1, 2015 at 4:36 PM Updated at 9:06 PM
HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania audits of its school districts will highlight unscheduled expenses resulting from the state government's budget impasse now in its third month, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Tuesday. DePasquale, the state's elected fiscal watchdog, cited a survey that showed many school districts are at least considering tapping their reserves, delaying vendor payments or taking out short-term loans as the 2015-16 school year begins with state subsidies frozen. The survey by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, based on responses from about one-third of the state's 500 school districts, was released last week. A new state budget was due July 1. But Republicans who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf remain at odds over issues including taxes, education spending, public pensions and liquor sales.
HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania audits of its school districts will highlight unscheduled expenses resulting from the state government's budget impasse now in its third month, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Tuesday. DePasquale, the state's elected fiscal watchdog, cited a survey that showed many school districts are at least considering tapping their reserves, delaying vendor payments or taking out short-term loans as the 2015-16 school year begins with state subsidies frozen. The survey by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, based on responses from about one-third of the state's 500 school districts, was released last week. A new state budget was due July 1. But Republicans who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf remain at odds over issues including taxes, education spending, public pensions and liquor sales.
Philly: Hoping for a year
without reductions, closures, and cuts
Despite budget uncertainty, Superintendent
Hite says he’ll push for “great schools close to where children live.”
the notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on Sep 1, 2015 01:54 PM
No state budget.
Continuing labor strife. Conflict with City Council. Courts that block the
School Reform Commission’s moves to control charter expansion. Student
proficiency rates that tanked in the wake of a new, more difficult state test. Despite these challenges, Superintendent
William Hite, starting his fourth year in Philadelphia ,
says he is optimistic that he can move forward with an agenda for 2015-16
focused on expanding opportunity for all students – what he is calling
“ensuring equity.” In an interview, Hite
said he hopes this will be the year to settle the teachers’ contract and get
the District’s charter office operating at full speed to make sure that all
charter seats are “high quality.” Overall,
he said, “Things feel different this year. This is the first time we are
talking about opening schools without having to reduce, cut or close
something.” Under Gov. Wolf, he said,
“There is real talk about providing school districts with the resources they
need and restoring drastic cuts” imposed under his predecessor, Gov. Tom
Corbett. Although schools are planning
to operate under the insufficient status quo, Hite noted that every principal
has proposed a wish list budget should Harrisburg
significantly increase education spending.
But if the Harrisburg
standoff goes on too long, -- until mid-October, Hite said -- it could result
in $1 million in borrowing costs. He also raised the possibility of being
unable to borrow at all due to the District’s precarious finances.
Trib Live By Katelyn
Ferral Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, 10:36 p.m.
As the budget debate persists inHarrisburg ,
school districts in the Pittsburgh
region lean on loans and reserves to fund their schools without money from the
state. The Sto-Rox School District Wilkinsburg
is relying on property tax revenue to carry its payroll. It has enough to pay
employees through September at least, said Superintendent Daniel Matsook. After
that, it might consider a short-term loan to pay salaries until state money
arrives. Brentwood Borough
School District
As the budget debate persists in
“The state’s delay in passing
a budget only aggravates the current education inequities in Pennsylvania
Editorial: State budget
standoff hits local classrooms
Delco Times
Editorial POSTED: 09/01/15, 10:36 PM EDT
Two months past the
deadline for a state budget, and little has changed since the July 1 start of a
new fiscal year. Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature are no closer to resolution
than they were at the start of summer. What
has changed is that children are heading back to school with no money from the
state to support education. In most
districts, the shortfall isn’t missed in August because property tax payments
are coming in, insuring good cash flow in school districts even without state
subsidies. But that scenario of relying solely on local tax income emphasizes
the inequities in Pennsylvania
public education. That’s not the case in
struggling school districts such as Chester Upland. Classes resume in the
perennially broke district today, no thanks to either Wolf or the Legislature.
Without a state budget in place Chester Upland will not get the money it needs
to pay teachers and staff. To their credit, teachers will continue to man the
classrooms even while not getting a check for their efforts.
6 Lancaster
County
The day before
school starts is magical, "like the night before Christmas," says
Brian Malek, a principal in Penn
Manor School
District Lancaster County
By Erica
Erwin 814-870-1846 Erie Times-News September
1, 2015 12:23 PM
"I'm most
excited about the playground," the 5-year-old kindergartner said, bouncing
in time with his words as he waited for the front doors of Pfeiffer-Burleigh School Erie School
District Millcreek
Township School
District students return today and Girard School District
Plancon: PA backlog keeps Bristol
The Bristol Township School District Bristol
Township School
District
Testing Resistance & Reform News: August 26 -
September 1, 2015
Submitted by
fairtest on September 1, 2015 - 1:04pm
Though schools are
still closed for the summer in many parts of the country, the weekly testing
story count is already exploding. No doubt it's going to be a most exciting and
productive year for assessment reformers. Stay with us for weekly updates
and be sure to check the news clip archives (http://www.fairtest.org/news/other)
for articles you may have missed.
Save the Date: Make your
voice heard at Education Action Day, Sept. 21
School directors and administrators from across the state will be converging at the State Capitol on Monday, Sept. 21 for Education Action Day — your opportunity to push for a state budget and pension reform. Join PSBA in the Main Capitol-East Wing under the escalators at 10 a.m. A news conference will be held from 11 a.m.-noon, and then plan to meet with your elected officials from 1-3 p.m., scheduled by PSBA . There is no charge for participation, but for planning purposes, members are asked to register their attendance online, which will be available in the next few days. We look forward to a big crowd to impress upon legislators and the governor the need for a state budget and pension reform now!
School directors and administrators from across the state will be converging at the State Capitol on Monday, Sept. 21 for Education Action Day — your opportunity to push for a state budget and pension reform. Join PSBA in the Main Capitol-East Wing under the escalators at 10 a.m. A news conference will be held from 11 a.m.-noon, and then plan to meet with your elected officials from 1-3 p.m., scheduled by PSBA . There is no charge for participation, but for planning purposes, members are asked to register their attendance online, which will be available in the next few days. We look forward to a big crowd to impress upon legislators and the governor the need for a state budget and pension reform now!
The John Stoops Lecture
Series: Dr. Pasi Sahlberg "Education Around the World: Past, Present &
Future" Lehigh University October 8, 2015 6:00 p.m.
Baker Hall |Zoellner Arts
Center | 420 E. Packer Avenue | Bethlehem , PA 18015
Baker Hall |
Free and open to the
public! Ticketing is general admission -
no preseating will be assigned. Arrive early for the best seats. Please plan to stay post-lecture for an open
reception where you will have an opportunity to meet with students from all of
our programs to learn about the latest innovations in education and human
services.
Register now for the
2015 PASCD 65th Annual Conference, Leading and Achieving in an Interconnected World, to be
held November 15-17, 2015 at Pittsburgh Monroeville Convention
Center.
The Conference
will Feature Keynote Speakers: Meenoo Rami – Teacher and Author
“Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching,” Mr. Pedro Rivera,
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Heidi Hayes-Jacobs – Founder and President
of Curriculum Design, Inc. and David Griffith – ASCD Senior Director of Public
Policy. This annual conference features small group sessions focused on:
Curriculum and Supervision, Personalized and Individualized Learning,
Innovation, and Blended and Online Learning. The PASCD Conference is
a great opportunity to stay connected to the latest approaches for innovative change
in your school or district. Join us forPASCD 2015! Online
registration is available by visiting www.pascd.org <http://www.pascd.org/>
Slate of candidates
for PSBA offices now available online
PSBA website July 31, 2015
PSBA website July 31, 2015
The
slate of candidates for 2016 PSBA officer and at-large representatives is now
available online, including bios, photos and videos. According to
recent PSBA Bylaws changes, each member school entity casts one vote per
office. Voting will again take place online through a secure, third-party
website -- Simply Voting. Voting will
open Aug. 17 and closes Sept.
28. One person
from the school entity (usually the board secretary) is authorized to register
the vote on behalf of the member school entity and each board will need to put
on its agenda discussion and voting at one of its meetings in August or
September. Each person authorized to register the school entity's votes has
received an email on July 16 to verify the email address and confirm they are
the person to register the vote on behalf of their school entity.
Register Now for PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference Oct. 14-16, 2015 Hershey Lodge & Convention
Center
Save the date for the
professional development event of the year. Be inspired at more than four
exciting venues and invest in professional development for top administrators
and school board members. Online registration is live at:
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.
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