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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup November 23, 2015:
Property tax plan
collapses, imperiling Pa.
budget
850 followers now get their PA Ed Policy fix on twitter via
@lfeinberg; how about you?
"Proponents of the
current SPP system argue that it offers a clear numerical rating that holds all
schools equally accountable for their efforts to imbue students with the skills
needed to evidence mastery of the state's academic expectations.
Opponents argue that SPP's
heavy emphasis on state tests blurs what could be a more nuanced portrait of
school worth. They argue that SPP offers little but a codified way to shame
schools with high concentrations of impoverished students with deep
special-education needs.
A previous RFA report found
that – even when analyzing growth measures – low SPP scores were strongly
correlated to student poverty."
Research group calls for
revisions to Pa.
school quality index
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY NOVEMBER 23, 2015
Does Pennsylvania 's school
rating system make the grade?
In a recent brief,
Research for Action argues that the state's School Performance Profile index
leaves much to be desired. Under former
Gov. Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Department of Education introduced the SPP
scale in 2013 as a replacement for Adequate Yearly Progress. It scores every
school on a 100-point scale using a metric reliant on state standardized tests
for 90 percent of its tally. Federal
guidelines have mandated state accountability indices for schools for more than
two decades. And 2001's No Child Left Behind calls for each state to publish an
annual school report card.
"In a letter to his
Democratic colleagues Saturday, House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D.,
Allegheny) said Republican leaders told Wolf late in the week that they could
not muster the votes among their members to pass the property-tax plan."
Property tax plan
collapses, imperiling Pa.
budget
by Angela Couloumbis and Matthew Nussbaum,
Inquirer Staff Writers Updated on NOVEMBER
23, 2015 — 1:08 AM EST
Without the
property-tax reduction - a key plank in the $30 billion state spending plan -
"the whole agreement fails," said one high-ranking Democratic official,
speaking on the condition of anonymity. Republicans
acknowledged the new hurdle but strove to paint less of a doomsday scenario.
"We are going to continue to work on the other segments of the agreement
and hopefully bring it to closure," said Drew Crompton, the Senate's top
Republican lawyer. The budget framework
outlined by Wolf and GOP leaders had called for a hike in the state sales tax
from 6 percent to 7.25 percent. The $2 billion it would generate was expected
to boost school funding and offset a reduction in property taxes - for decades
the primary funding source for school districts. But neither side has released
details about how the education funds will be distributed, the form of
property-tax relief or other key concepts in their deal - reshaping the state's
pension system and sales of wine and liquor.
Could a fight over who
pays for public schools hurt a #PaBudget deal?
Penn Live By The Associated
Press on November 22, 2015 at 4:38 PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
— The Pennsylvania Senate is juggling a long-simmering fight over who pays for
public schools just as Gov. Tom Wolf and top lawmakers appear to be struggling
to hold together the skeleton of a budget deal that's five months late. There's head-scratching in the Capitol over
why Senate Republican leaders chose this moment for the debate. For one thing,
some privately worry it could further destabilize already wobbly efforts to
negotiate and pass a package of budget-related legislation. On Saturday night, top House Democrats
informed rank-and-file members that Republicans had told Wolf, a Democrat, that
there isn't enough GOP support for a state sales tax increase — from 6 percent
to 7.25 percent — to generate $600 million to balance the budget and $1.4
billion in rebates for homeowners who pay school property taxes. "We are assessing our options and
examining whether there are any acceptable alternative revenue sources to
balance the budget and provide property tax relief," they wrote in the
email obtained by The Associated Press.
Pa. state budget talks
showing renewed signs of stress, this time over property tax relief
Penn Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
November 21, 2015 at 7:34 PM, updated November 21, 2015 at 8:33 PM
Several Democratic
and Republican sources told PennLive Saturday that the ambitious "framework" upon which the
long-delayed Pennsylvania
state budget was to be delivered is showing new signs of stress. Publicly, it's important to note that no one
was calling the deal dead as of Saturday evening. "We're still meeting. Everyone is still
meeting trying to get this done," said Steve Miskin, the spokesman for
House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana
County . And late-stage
budget negotiations are so notoriously fluid that it's not impossible that the
foundations for a budget deal set out by Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican
legislative leaders on Nov. 10 could still work. But privately, sources in both parties said
there are serious problems showing with the$2 billion school property tax relief plank that may
cause it to be jettisoned from the larger budget package.
"It's a bad bill for a
number of reasons. For one thing, it does not raise enough money to cover the
entire bill of eliminating property taxes - in fact, it falls several billion
dollars short. No one is saying where that money will come from.
For another, it gives a
windfall tax break to businesses, who do pay property taxes but not income and
sales tax. At the same time, the sales tax is regressive, increasing the tax
burden on middle- and low-income people.
Finally, it cements the
inequity in the way school subsidy money is doled out in the state - using a
discredited formula that favors rich districts at the expense of poor ones."
SB76: DN Editorial:
DIVERSIONARY TAXES
Philly Daily News Editorial Updated on NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 3:01 AM EST
STORM CLOUDS are
gathering in Harrisburg
over the deal to settle the long state budget impasse. While one group of legislators is still
working with Gov. Wolf on hammering out the details of the $30.6 billion plan,
another group has launched a maneuver that could kill the whole deal. If that happens it will mean no state budget
for the foreseeable future and almost certainly a shutdown of schools and
social-service agencies across the state beginning in January - which is when
they run out of time and money. Instead
of hashing out their problems with the existing budget, several conservative
Republicans in the state Senate, along with a few Democrats, have taken a
different tack and are pushing a bill that would eliminate local school
property taxes.
Property taxes, pensions,
smokes, schools and booze - 5 things we know about the #PaBudget
Penn Live By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
November 20, 2015 at 8:30 AM, updated November 20, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
There's an old saying inHarrisburg
about protracted talks on any important issue:
"Until everything's done, nothing's done." And while we're still at least a few weeks
away from a final deal on the long-delayed 2015-16 budget, a quick survey of
the past week's political headlines reveals that the cosmic tumblers are slowly
ticking into place. Critically, the two
sides have reached agreement on what's typically referred to as the "Final Spend Number," or
the bottom line total figure for the fiscal 2015-16 spending plan that's now
five months late. The number is $30.26
billion, or pretty much the bottom line of the budget that Wolf vetoed away back on June 30. Let's
review, shall we?
There's an old saying in
"But the greatest
sticking point in the compromise agreement is a provision that would require
any local school tax hike to be approved by voters. Originally introduced as
Senate Bill 909 by Indiana
County Republican Don
White, the change would remove a school board’s ability to raise property
taxes, even within the state-dictated index, without voter approval.
The provision comes with the
misguided assumption that local school boards raise taxes for local costs they
can control. The reality is that the largest and fastest-growing costs for
school districts are charter-school tuition and mandated contributions to the
state school employees’ pension fund. Instead,
the budget compromise paints local school boards in a corner, failing to
provide enough state support to adequately fund education while telling
taxpayers, “Hey, blame the local boards: They’re the ones raising your property
tax.”
Editorial: Are Pennsylvania taxpayers
being taken to school?
Delco Times POSTED: 11/21/15,
9:39 PM EST | UPDATED: 20 SECS AGO
For the past four
and a half months, since the July 1 start of a new fiscal year, editorial
boards have been urging Gov. Tom Wolf and state legislators to come up with a
compromise that would produce agreement on a state budget. The largest sticking point has been education
funding and the need in Pennsylvania
to shift some of that burden off the local property tax. Now, it seems with a potential compromise
agreement on the table, the folks in Harrisburg
have missed the point. Instead of crafting a budget that will truly reform how public
schools are funded, they are pitching a plan that shifts the onus for high
property taxes without addressing the inequities or tax burden.
Schools decry giving
voters a say on future tax hikes
By Eric Devlin,
The Mercury , Evan Brandt,
The Mercury and Laura Catalano,
The Mercury
POSTED: 11/22/15
A possible provision
in the pending state budget deal that would require any future local school tax
hike to be approved by voters has raised a flurry of protest among school
advocates and officials. Locally, the
subject is arising at school board meetings as administrators contemplate and
describe what they say would be a disaster for school budgets and school
programs. Originally
introduced as Senate Bill 909 by Indiana County Republican Don White, R-41st
Dist., the change would remove a school board’s ability to raise property
taxes, even within the state-dictated index, without voter approval. With massive increases in mandated costs for
pension and charter school tuition, even additional basic education funding
from the state — which is by no means guaranteed from one year to the next —
can’t make up for the revenue lost by freezing local property taxes, predicted
David Nester, Pottsgrove School District’s business manager.
http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20151122/schools-decry-giving-voters-a-say-on-future-tax-hikes
Pa. sales tax looks to
climb; so does unfairness, critics say
by Matthew Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff
Writer Updated on NOVEMBER
22, 2015 — 1:09 AM EST
Pennsylvania soon
might raise its statewide sales-tax rate to the second highest in the nation, a
move that experts say would hit low-income residents the hardest while making
local businesses less competitive with neighbors in Delaware and New Jersey. And in Philadelphia ,
where a local sales tax is also imposed, the rate would be the second highest
among America 's
10 most populous cities. A framework to
end the months-long budget impasse between Gov. Wolf and Republican legislators
in Harrisburg
includes increasing the sales-tax rate - from 6 percent, to 7.25 percent - to
raise $2 billion in new revenue. At least $400 million of that money would go
to education. Some of the rest would also be applied to reducing property taxes
across the state, although no details have emerged. In Allegheny
County and Philadelphia , where additional local sales
taxes are imposed, the total rates would be 8.25 percent and 9.25 percent,
respectively. Only Chicago , among the country's
10 most populous cities, would have a higher rate than Philadelphia .
SB76: Sexy But Flawed
PCCY website
November 20, 2015
Extra, extra! Read
all about it! What a sexy headline: Pennsylvania eliminates burdensome property
taxes, seniors and homeowners rejoice! Stop
the presses!
You need only
scratch a half an inch below the surface to reveal the poisonous effect of this
plan. Senate Bill 76, which would shift the tax burden from property
to personal income would generate an enormous windfall for businesses, which
would be spared from paying property taxes. Most frustrating and
politically reckless though, is that running these bills is all but destroying
the fragile budget agreement in place that would provide area schools a
desperately needed injection of funding. Under the structure of the deal, which
would end a 5-month-old budget stalemate, is an agreed to $350 million new
investment in public education. If this
politically expedient bill to fully eliminate property taxes passes it will put
that school funding at risk. Yet here in the southeast this ill-advised
bill has attracted several co-sponsors including Senators Rafferty, Mensch and
Dinniman. Here’s a look at what some school districts they represent
stand to lose:
Taxpayer Relief Act at
mercy of state budget actions
Trib Live By Patrick
Cloonan Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, 4:46 a.m.
It is a law that was amended once since its enactment in 2006 — but could be altered or eliminated depending on what happens in budget negotiations inHarrisburg . The Taxpayer Relief Act, or Act 1 as passed
during the General Assembly's Special Session of 2006, provides an index for
school districts to follow when enacting budgets. “It set an index by which school districts
could increase their millage rate,” McKeesport Area business manager David
Seropian explained. “It is sort of a cost-of-living index.” The limit set in the Act 1 index can't be
exceeded without an exception granted by the Department of Education or voter
approval — but tax referendums rarely have occurred across the state, and none
have occurred in Allegheny County.
It is a law that was amended once since its enactment in 2006 — but could be altered or eliminated depending on what happens in budget negotiations in
Act 1 first allowed
10 exceptions to the index limit, but a 2011 law reduced that to three —
pensions, special education and indebtedness.
"Cincinnati ,
which is moving to an all-community schools model, credits the movement with
boosting academic achievement and graduation rates.
Its model costs schools relatively little,
about $65,000 per year per building, with funds usually coming from a mix of
federal Title I money set aside for poor schools, and from other fund-raising.
It's incumbent on the community organizations that provide the extras to make
the model work financially, usually by billing Medicaid or through their own
budgets."
Community Schools: In Ohio , a positive role
model
by Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff
Writer Updated on NOVEMBER
22, 2015 — 3:01 AM EST
Inside Oyler Community
Learning Center ,
a public school in a tough neighborhood here, were things the Philadelphia principal could only dream of. There were vision, medical, and dental
clinics. A food bank. A day-care center and a mental-health wing with five
therapists. Volunteers trooped into the school routinely, part of a rotation of
well-trained help that works one-on-one with Oyler's kids. "I thought," the South Philadelphia
High principal said later, "it was awesome." Oyler is a
"community school," a phrase about to become much more familiar in Philadelphia , where the
mayor-elect has pledged to establish 25 of them in four years. The idea is simple: Don't just teach kids in
schools. Meet their basic needs, concentrating social, health, and other
services inside as a way to better reach families, allowing educators to focus
solely on instruction. The schools primarily serve students but offer resources
to those in the neighborhood, too.
Lawmakers pledge to skip
swanky Pennsylvania
Society gala in NYC if budget deal not struck
Trib Live By Brad
Bumsted Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015, 10:50 p.m.
HARRISBURG — If there's no ironclad budget deal by the second week of December, many state legislative leaders and other lawmakers say they will skip the annual Pennsylvania Society gala in Manhattan, the premier political event for Pennsylvania politicians. Lawmakers don't want to be spotted partying at swanky hotel receptions while schools and nonprofits struggle to stay afloat without state funding during a budget stalemate that reached its 146th day Monday. TheNew York City gala culminates with a dinner
at the Waldorf Astoria, this year honoring former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on
Dec. 12. Preschool centers run by small
nonprofits have closed or are planning to do so shortly. Assistance programs
that address issues including mental health, domestic violence and homelessness
have been impacted by the impasse, but many are pursuing loans and grants.
HARRISBURG — If there's no ironclad budget deal by the second week of December, many state legislative leaders and other lawmakers say they will skip the annual Pennsylvania Society gala in Manhattan, the premier political event for Pennsylvania politicians. Lawmakers don't want to be spotted partying at swanky hotel receptions while schools and nonprofits struggle to stay afloat without state funding during a budget stalemate that reached its 146th day Monday. The
With no state budget, Pennsylvania schools start to worry
WKBN By Matt Horn November 20, 2015, 4:51 pm Updated: November 20, 2015,
7:31 pm
State budget impasse jeopardizing private school
stipends
By Mary Niederberger
/ Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette November 23, 2015 12:14 AM
As the state budget
impasse continues, concerns are growing that tax credit programs that provide
up to $150 million in scholarships for students in grades K-12 statewide could
be eliminated this year. That’s because
the state Department of Community and Economic Development has not approved any
of the corporate applications for tax credits to the Educational Improvement
Tax Credit program or the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program. The
deadline for approvals is Dec. 31. Cancellation
of the programs would cost the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the largest local
participant, $5 million and revoke the scholarships of 4,500 of its 18,000
students for the 2016-17 school year, said superintendent Michael Latusek. The EITC has allowed schools to raise general
scholarship money through business tax credits since 2001. The OSTC program,
approved in 2012, provides scholarships for students in the attendance areas of
the state’s lowest-performing schools to transfer to other public or private
higher-performing schools.
Race, class, and standardized
tests explained
the notebook By Dan Hardy on Nov 20, 2015
12:33 PM
The Notebook is
examining standardized testing this month. The topic is the focus of our
upcoming December-January edition.
What is the
so-called achievement gap?
This gap manifests
itself in test scores; in the vast majority of standardized tests, scores for
African American and Latino students are, on average, significantly lower than
scores for White and Asian students. Many object to calling it an “achievement”
gap, citing vastly different resources available to students in different
circumstances. The gap has shrunk over the last few decades, but is still wide
and persistent, as is the gap in resources.
How large is the
Black-White test score gap?
The 2015 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a national test often called “the
nation’s report card.” This year, on reading and math tests, 43 percent of
White 8th graders scored Proficient or above, compared to 13 percent of African
Americans. On the 2015 SAT taken for
college admission, the combined score for Whites was 1576; for African
Americans, it was 1277. On the 2015
Pennsylvania Keystone exam in algebra, 57 percent of White Philadelphia 11th
graders scored Proficient or advanced, while 30 percent of Blacks met that
mark.
"If the state Department of Education would like to have
a worthwhile way to measure a school district's success with its students,
let's measure how well the schools help students achieve what they want to do
after they finish high school. "
'Test' isn't always a
four-letter word: Tod F. Kline
PennLive
Op-Ed By Tod F. Kline on November 20, 2015 at 1:00 PM
Tod F. Kline is the Superintendent of Schools
for the Susquehanna
Twp. School
District .
Recently, I have
been reading some interesting commentary on PennLive about testing in our
public schools. Some pieces
focused on results, and some on the effects of standardized testing on
students. Those articles lead me to weigh in on this topic. As an educator with more than 30 years of
experience, I believe this subject warrants a fair and close examination with a
very open mind. Well, at least, I think so. There are two sides to this testing coin. A
test is not necessarily a prohibitive four-letter word.
Marathon Philly SRC
meeting revolves around charter conversion proposals, renewals
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY NOVEMBER 20, 2015
The Philadelphia
School Reform Commission hosted a marathon meeting Thursday night featuring a
slate of nearly 70 public speakers. The bulk of the testimony showcased
opposition to the district's proposal to convert three of its elementary
schools into neighborhood-based charters.
Opponents started early. Before proceedings began, a coalition organized
by the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools protested in the
atrium of district headquarters, shouting, "Dr. Hite, we will fight,"
above the piped in classical music. Jay
Cooke Elementary Home and School Association President Deborah Azore said she
didn't want to see the last traditional public school taken from her Logan neighborhood. "You can't just do what you want and
keep it all charter. What do we have for public? We have nothing," she
said.
That sentiment was
expressed by many of the speakers during a four hour SRC meeting.
Tired of ho-hum elections?
Here's a few easy ways to boost voter turnout: Susan Carty
PennLive
Op-Ed By Susan Carty on
November 20, 2015 at 2:00 PM, updated November 20, 2015 at 6:38 PM
Susan Carty is president of the League of
Women Voters of Pennsylvania (and a former West Chester Area School
Board member).
Fewer than a quarter
of registered voters actually made it to the polls for the general election two
weeks ago, through which we elected three new Justices to the state supreme
court. This participation rate is far
below turnout levels in recent presidential years, but looking at turnout
numbers across the board, it's clear we've seen fewer Pennsylvanians voting now
than in previous eras. A new
voting-reform coalition is urging Pennsylvania
lawmakers to look to other states for examples of laws that make it easier for
residents to participate in elections.
After 20 years, Roberta Marcus says good-bye to Parkland School Board
Margie Peterson Special to
The Morning Call November 19,2015
In the summer of
1983, Roberta Marcus was asked to sign a petition advocating for smaller class
sizes in the Parkland
School District . At the time, she was pregnant with her son
David and her daughter Rachel was 3 years old. Marcus, who majored in political
science in college, wanted to learn more so she started attending Parkland
School Board meetings. "I pretty
much got addicted," Marcus recalled Tuesday when she presided over her
final Parkland School Board meeting after 20 years on the board. That addiction became her vocation and on
Tuesday, school directors, educators and lawmakers paid tribute to the woman
they knew as a fierce and tireless advocate for public education. Marcus served as the president of the
Pennsylvania School Boards Association in 2010 and was the second recipient of
the association's Timothy A. Allwein Advocacy Award in 2013. Having chosen not to run for re-election this
year, Tuesday was Marcus' last meeting and it was filled with emotional
farewells. Proclamations, plaques and
other accolades came from representatives of the PSBA and the offices of state
Sen. Pat Browne and state Rep. Gary Day. Browne's chief of staff, Ellen Kern, pointed out
that in the proclamation for Marcus from the state Senate, "there are four
whereas's -- one more than they gave the pope, I might add." In a video shown at the meeting, U.S.
Rep. Charles Dent of the Lehigh Valley
talked about Marcus' "extraordinary leadership" on behalf of public
education, for which she received no compensation.
Negotiators
Come to Agreement on Revising No Child Left Behind Law
New York Times by MOTOKO RICH NOV. 19, 2015
Overcoming years of
partisan bickering over the federal government’s role in public education,
congressional negotiators came to an agreement on Thursday to revise the No Child Left Behind law
for the first time since it was signed by President George W. Bush 14 years
ago. Although Democrats
and Republicans agreed that the law — passed with overwhelming bipartisan
support in 2001 — had become an albatross on schools that led to overly
punitive stakes for standardized testing, Congress has for eight years been
unable to come to an accord on replacing it.
A conference committee of members from the House and the Senate voted,
39 to 1, to approve the agreement on Thursday. The full bill will be made
public within a week, and the House could consider it on the floor as early as
the first week of December, with the Senate following.
Massachusetts drops Common
Core, will develop own student evaluations
PBS Newshour November 22, 2015 at 6:00 PM EST Video Runtime 3:55
Massachusetts, a
state considered a leader in education reform, decided last week to reject
student tests based on federal Common Core standards--tests still used in many
other states. Instead, the state will develop its own exams to measure student
progress. New York Times reporter Kate Zernike joins Alison Stewart with more. ALISON STEWART, PBS ANCHOR: The
often contentious debate about national educational standards and testing kids
has taken another twist in a state considered to be a leader in education
reform. Massachusetts last week decided to reject
the tests based on federal Common Core standards, tests that are still used in
many other states. Instead, the state of Massachusetts
will develop its own exams to measure student progress. New York Times reporter Kate Zernike is
covering this story and joins me now. And Kate, what’s great about you is that
you wrote for The Boston Globe for years. So, you have been covering this for a
long time.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/massachusetts-drops-common-core-will-develop-own-student-evaluations/
Massachusetts’s
Rejection of Common Core Test Signals Shift in U.S.
New York Times By KATE ZERNIKE NOV. 21, 2015
Education Week
Charters & Choice By Arianna Prothero on November 20, 2015
8:00 AM
The Washington state Supreme
Court has said it will not reconsider its
September ruling that charter schools are unconstitutional. Several groups, including the Washington
State Charter School Association and the state's attorney
general, had asked the court to reexamine its decision. Nine charter schools opened while the state's
charter school law was in legal limbo. But this news out of
Washington 's
high court doesn't appear to mark the end of the fight for the state's charter
schools.
Urban Charter Schools Often Succeed. Suburban Ones
Often Don’t.
New York Times By SUSAN DYNARSKI NOV. 20, 2015
Charter schools are
controversial. But are they good for education?
Rigorous research
suggests that the answer is yes for an important, underserved group:
low-income, nonwhite students in urban areas. These children tend to do better
if enrolled in charter schools instead
of traditional public schools. There are
exceptions, of course. We can’t predict with certainty that a particular child
will do better in a specific charter or traditional public school. Similarly,
no doctor can honestly promise a patient she will benefit from a treatment. Social scientists,
like medical researchers, can confirm only whether, on average, a given
treatment is beneficial for a given population. Not all charter schools are
outstanding: In the suburbs, for example, the evidence is that they do no
better than traditional public schools. But they have been shown to improve the
education of disadvantaged children at scale, in multiple cities, over many
years.
Stale Baloney About
Charter Schools
The New York
Times published an
article today about the “success” of charter schools, especially for low-income
black students. The article was written by Susan Dynarski of the University of Michigan . It seems odd that anyone living in the state
of Michigan
could express enthusiasm for private management of public schools in light of
the disastrous experience of that state. About 80% of the charters in Michigan operate for
profit, a scandal in itself. The Detroit Free Press ran a weeklong
series of articles last year about the failure of charters to be transparent,
accountable, or better than public schools. The year-long investigation
concluded that charters got worse results than traditional public schools,
received $1 billion a year taken from public schools, and were not held
accountable for waste, fraud, abuse, and poor outcomes.
Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights 11-20-15
PSBA New School Director
Training
School boards who will welcome new directors after the election should
plan to attend PSBA training to help everyone feel more confident right from
the start. This one-day event is targeted to help members learn the basics of
their new roles and responsibilities. Meet the friendly, knowledgeable PSBA
team and bring everyone on your “team of 10” to get on the same page fast.
- $150 per
registrant (No charge if your district has a LEARN Pass. Note: All-Access
members also have LEARN Pass.)
- One-hour lunch
on your own — bring your lunch, go to lunch, or we’ll bring a box lunch to
you; coffee/tea provided all day
- Course
materials available online or we’ll bring a printed copy to you for an
additional $25
- Registrants
receive one month of 100-level online courses for each registrant, after
the live class
Nine locations
for your convenience:
- Philadelphia
area — Nov. 21 William Tennent HS, Warminster (note: location changed from
IU23 Norristown)
- Pittsburgh
area — Dec. 5 Allegheny IU3, Homestead
- South Central
PA and Erie areas (joint program)— Dec. 12 Northwest Tri-County IU5,
Edinboro and PSBA, Mechanicsburg
- Butler area —
Jan. 9 Midwestern IU 4, Grove City (note: location changed from Penn State
New Kensington)
- Allentown area
— Jan. 16 Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, Schnecksville
- Central PA —
Jan. 30 Nittany Lion Inn, State College
- Scranton area
— Feb. 6 Abington Heights SD, Clarks Summit
- North Central
area —Feb. 13 Mansfield University, Mansfield
Register here: https://www.psba.org/2015/09/new-school-director-training/
NSBA Advocacy
Institute 2016; January 24 - 26 in Washington ,
D.C.
Housing and meeting registration is open for Advocacy Institute 2016. The theme, “Election Year Politics & Public Schools,” celebrates the exciting year ahead for school board advocacy. Strong legislative programming will be paramount at this year’s conference in January. Visit www.nsba.org/advocacyinstitute for more information.
Housing and meeting registration is open for Advocacy Institute 2016. The theme, “Election Year Politics & Public Schools,” celebrates the exciting year ahead for school board advocacy. Strong legislative programming will be paramount at this year’s conference in January. Visit www.nsba.org/advocacyinstitute for more information.
PASBO 61st Annual
Conference and Exhibits March 8 - 11, 2016
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
The Network for Public Education 3rd
Annual National Conference April 16-17, 2016 Raleigh , North Carolina .
The
Network for Public Education is thrilled to announce the location for our 3rd
Annual National Conference. On April 16 and 17, 2016 public education advocates
from across the country will gather in Raleigh, North Carolina. We chose Raleigh to highlight the tremendous
activist movement that is flourishing in North Carolina. No one exemplifies
that movement better than the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who will be the
conference keynote speaker. Rev. Barber is the current president of
the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the National NAACP chair of
the Legislative Political Action Committee, and the founder of Moral Mondays.
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
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