PA Ed Policy Roundup Dec 10: #PABudget: districts consider remaining closed post Xmas if impasse continues

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Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup December 10, 2015:

#PABudget: districts consider remaining closed post Xmas if impasse continues

Campaign for Fair Education Funding: PA Lawmakers need to deliver a #PABudget that meets the needs of every child.  Ask them to at:

http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51238/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16556

Today might be an excellent day to reach out to your House members.  Phone numbers are here:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/contact.cfm?body=H

These Pa. school districts might remain closed if the budget doesn't pass

Penn Live By The Associated Press  on December 09, 2015 at 11:15 AM, updated December 09, 2015 at 12:57 PM

GREENVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Two western Pennsylvania school districts say they may not reopen after the Christmas break if the state budget impasse continues.  Officials from the Greenville Area and Sharpsville area school districts tell The (Sharon) Herald that they're running out of money because state subsidies are tied up while Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers spar over a budget now more than five months overdue.  Both districts say at least 60 percent of their budgets comes from state funds.  Greenville Superintendent Mark Ferrara says his district is in "a very precarious position." The school board is planning a special meeting next week to discuss closing the schools instead of borrowing money that could cost the district six figures in interest and other fees.  Sharpsville administrators are also discussing a possible closure.

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/12/schools_closed_budget_impasse.html#incart_river_index

Pennsylvania schools borrow $900 million to survive state budget impasse

Total will top $1 billion if there is no state budget by January

Philly Voice BY HILARY RUSS Reuters  DECEMBER 09, 2015

NEW YORK - School districts across Pennsylvania have borrowed about $900 million altogether since July 1 to stay open because of the state's budget impasse, State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale told Reuters on Wednesday.  That amount is more than double DePasquale's last estimate in October. The total will top $1 billion if there is no state budget by January, he said.  "The longer it goes, the worse it gets," he said.  Lawmakers in the state's Republican-led legislature are still hashing out a spending plan after a political stalemate with Democratic Governor Tom Wolf that has made Pennsylvania's fiscal 2016 budget late by 161 days.  In the meantime, funding is not flowing to school districts and social service agencies that rely on state aid, forcing many to borrow and suffer.

http://www.phillyvoice.com/pennsylvania-schools-borrow-900-million-to-survive/

"There may well be some degree of posturing in the districts' announcement.  But it is no less a disgrace that the state has found itself in such a state of affairs that school districts are now actively discussing closing down in response to the paralysis that has gripped the Capitol for the second half of 2015."

Pass the #PaBudget 'framework,' end the stalemate: Editorial

By PennLive Editorial Board on December 09, 2015 at 1:42 PM, updated December 09, 2015 at 3:00 PM

Here are two more excellent reasons for state lawmakers and the Wolf administration to finally run down the curtain on Pennsylvania's agonizingly long state budget drama:  The Greenville Area and Sharpsville Area school districts, whose officials told the Sharon Herald that they might not reopen after the Christmas break if the warring factions cannot agree on a spending plan for a fiscal year that's now half over.  According to The Herald, which is based in Mercer County, near the Ohio line, both districts say that 60 percent of their respective budgets come from state funds.  In Greenville, school officials will meet next week to discuss closing the schools instead borrowing money that could cost the district six-figures in interest and other fees, the newspaper reported. Officials in Sharpsville are also discussing a possible shutdown.

http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2015/12/lawmakers_wolf_cannot_let_this.html#incart_2box_opinion

Our view: Pa. House deepens budget mess

GoErie.com Editorial December 10, 2015 01:01 AM

Pennsylvania's budget impasse has been viewed as a fight between the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.  Now it turns out that the new battle is between Pennsylvania's Republican lawmakers. The state Senate passed a budget bill Monday that Wolf can live with, by a 43-7 vote, but that didn't suit the state House, which passed its own budget bill on Tuesday, 115-86.  State Rep. Curt Sonney, of Harborcreek Township, R-4th Dist., said that because the two chambers passed competing bills, "Logic would say that a compromise would be somewhere in between." Sonney then added: "But I'm not sure if somewhere in between will be enough" for the governor.

http://www.goerie.com/our-view-pa-house-deepens-budget-mess

"Sources reached Wednesday night said the resumption of talks doesn't mean House GOP leaders have capitulated on seeking lower spending.  And all acknowledged there are still serious issues to resolve, foremost among them what taxes might need to be raised to bring any final spending plan into balance.

But it does mean that, after all other parties stuck to a previously-agreed-to $30.8 billion spending level, House leaders have at least agreed to rejoin that table and see if the remaining differences can be hashed out."

After the split, some detente in Pennsylvania state budget talks

Penn Live By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on December 09, 2015 at 11:35 PM, updated December 10, 2015 at 12:21 AM

House Republican leaders will apparently rejoin their legislative counterparts in talks Thursday aimed at closing out the 2015-16 state budget and related issues based on the November "framework."  That news came just one day after the members of the majority House caucus tried to strike a different track Tuesday, adopting a budget passed with only Republican votes that would spend about $500 million less than currently proposed in the current fiscal year.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/12/no_movement_thursday_toward_fi.html#incart_river_index

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s sticking to budget deal, amid new GOP demand

Delco Times By Marc Levy, The Associated Press POSTED: 12/09/15, 1:49 PM

HARRISBURG >> Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday he remains committed to the outlines of a budget deal he had struck with top lawmakers to end a five-month budget stalemate, a day after the House Republican majority revolted and passed a significantly smaller spending plan.  The second collapse of a budget deal in the past month left lawmakers, lobbyists and people in the education and social services communities wondering if the stalemate would stretch into 2016.  Layoffs have mounted in recent weeks as social services agencies have stopped programs in the absence of state aid, while the Philadelphia School District alone has borrowed $525 million.  Wolf also said Wednesday that he wouldn’t spend the weekend in New York at the annual Pennsylvania Society festivities, where thousands from the state’s political and business establishments typically gather.  “If there’s no budget, I’m not going to be up in New York,” Wolf told reporters after he showed up for a celebration of the Holiday Wish Program, a volunteer gift drive. “This is where I need to be.”  Asked if he would make more concessions to appease the House GOP, Wolf would only say he is committed to the deal’s framework, declining to answer more questions.  After several districts briefly considered it in September or October, talk among school boards has begun to turn again to closing down, as they face the prospect of taking out new loans to stay open.

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20151209/pennsylvania-gov-tom-wolf-says-hes-sticking-to-budget-deal-amid-new-gop-demand

Scarnati on budget process: “This is a House drill now”

The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Leaving a meeting between House and Senate Republican leaders over the budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) said the Senate will wrap up its process of passing the budget framework bills—except a revenue plan—and will then leave the rest of the work up to the House where Republicans have been obstinate in their disapproval of the framework spend number of $30.8 billion.  “This is a House drill now,” he said. “We’ve done our drill and we’ve done what we believe is a responsible balance of reforms, pension, and liquor along with a spend number The House will have a say now with their members and we encourage them to look at it and that’s all I can expect.”  He said the Senate is taking a “huge leap” in giving the House the ability to finish the process in what he said can be done in short order with the process being set up.

http://plsreporter.com/Home/TabId/56/ArtMID/472/ArticleID/1054/Scarnati-on-budget-process-%E2%80%9CThis-is-a-House-drill-now%E2%80%9D.aspx

Local school districts eye state budget proposals

Senate, House adopt two different state budgets

One budget plan could put less funding than originally proposed into state education

Local school administration eager for any budget to be passed

Centre Daily Times BY BRITNEY MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com December 9, 2015

Two different state budgets were adopted Monday, but they presented different funding options for education.  To some Centre County school districts, though they’d like the most they can get from the state, they’re also eager for either budget plan to be passed.  The Senate adopted a budget that would increase basic education funding by $350 million, while the House adopted a budget that put less into public education.  According to a report from the Campaign for Fair Education Funding, advocates urged lawmakers Tuesday during a press conference in Harrisburg to reject the alternative budget proposal “offered by House Republicans because it does not live up to the agreed-upon framework for basic education and comes up short $200 million for public schools.”  The state is 162 days into the budget impasse.

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/article48914365.html#storylink=latest_side

"The good news: the contribution rate for next year has now risen to "100% of the actuarially required rate" so the system's assets will no longer be falling behind its liabilities, as they have been most years over the past decade, executive director Glen R. Grell said in a statement. "

Pa. taxpayers will pay $4 billion+ to fund school pensions next year

by Joseph N. DiStefano  @PhillyJoeD Updated: DECEMBER 9, 2015 — 1:47 PM EST

The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) has boosted its annual surcharge on state and local taxpayers to 30 cents on top of every $1 paid to teachers and other school employees in fiscal 2016, up from 26 cents this year.  State income and sales taxes and local property taxes will pay $4.1 billion to keep PSERS assets from falling farther behind future pension obligations in the 12 months starting July 1, four times more than school employees will contribute to their pensions.  The taxpayers' surcharge has increased from near zero in the early 2000s. The latest boost caps a string of increases under Pennsylvania laws designed by elected officials to delay pension funding in hopes of easing the rate of increase and also in hopes that PSERS' complex investment portfolio would generate enough profit to reduce subsidies.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Pensions-boost-surcharge-on-Pa-public-school-payrolls-to-30-.html#8hg7MsarRx6dBxxF.99

"Now, after years of howling protests not just from students conned in to thinking this is all normal but from superintendents, principals, teachers and sensible parents who should know better, the testing tide is turning. As it should. Let’s get the American educational systems back on a track that values deep learning as opposed to mere testing above all.'

EDITORIAL: Stop merely teaching to the test

Pottstown Mercury Editorial POSTED: 12/10/15, 2:00 AM EST |

It’s a critical aspect of establishing balance in life, or in business or school: Knowing when you have too much of a good thing.  And so it is, or should be, when it comes to the business of standardized testing in our public schools. Of course testing knowledge of a subject that has been studied is not only a good thing but a necessary aspect of education. A student learns, and then to prove she or he has done so — to the student perhaps as much to the teacher — verifies the fact, under a bit of pressure.  But somehow, in our country, somewhere along the way, the essential concept that less can be more, whether in architecture or pedagogy, got lost. We couldn’t take the middle path. If one set of tests of our children’s knowledge was good, since these young ones were suddenly so woefully inadequate compared with the children of a Finland or a South Korea, wouldn’t more be better?  And the names were so aspirationally appealing: No Child Left Behind. Race to the Top. Who, after all, wants their child to be left behind? Who could not, once the race has begun, want to get to the top?   And yet, just as no legislative body ever seems to understand that just because a few hard and fast laws are necessary for a civil society, that doesn’t mean 10,000 are, as the new tests are excitedly introduced, the old ones are never discarded.

http://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/20151210/editorial-stop-merely-teaching-to-the-test

Sweeping liquor reform bill advances toward full Senate and uncertain future

Penn Live By Wallace McKelvey | WMckelvey@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on December 09, 2015 at 10:19 PM, updated December 09, 2015 at 10:26 PM

By Wallace McKelvey and Charles Thompson

Sweeping liquor reforms that would keep the existing state stores but expand sales at grocery stores and restaurants advanced Wednesday toward a full state Senate vote.  The raft of measures was based on the budget framework negotiated between Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican leadership, but it faces an uncertain future in the House, where key members have been vehement in their support of privatizing the state's liquor distribution system.  "I really don't know what's going to happen in the House and if this is going to be enough for them," said Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks County. "But, at the end of the day, in order to get something done you have to have a compromise."

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/sweeping_liquor_reform_bill_ad.html#incart_2box_midstate

New law creates learning curve for Pennsylvania educators

By Clarece Polke / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 10, 2015 12:00 AM

Pennsylvania schools are still developing an understanding of what will — and won’t — change with the approval of legislation rewriting the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  Local education officials and stakeholders agree: More localized control of standards and enforcement could pave the way for a more comprehensive, holistic look at student achievement with a minimized emphasis on testing.  President Barack Obama is expected to sign the legislation after it was approved Wednesday in the Senate in an 85-12 vote.  The bill would limit the role of the federal government in determining measures of student achievement. Instead, states and school districts can develop their own assessments for school and teacher performance, as well as intervention processes for struggling schools.  John Callahan, assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said the Pennsylvania Department of Education has already begun to implement some of the provisions seen in this “next generation of the bill.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/12/10/New-law-creates-learning-curve-for-Pennsylvania-educators/stories/201512100058

Pennsylvania State Department of Education Responds to Congressional Passage of Every Student Succeeds Act

HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Secretary Pedro A. Rivera said he is encouraged by many of the measures included in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) approved by Congress this week and believes the commonwealth's students, educators, and schools will benefit from the law.  ESSA replaces the expired Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  "Senator Casey and members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation were instrumental in securing updates to the nation's landmark education law that will allow us to equitably serve the commonwealth," Rivera said. "Many of the measures in the new law mirror the vision the governor has put forth for moving education forward in the commonwealth, including a focus on restoring equity, investing in high quality early childhood education, and reducing the reliance on standardized tests."  Rivera noted that the new federal law also provides the state with more discretion to develop strategies for improving outcomes in Pennsylvania's lowest performing schools.  

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-state-department-of-education-responds-to-congressional-passage-of-every-student-succeeds-act-300190611.html

Local educators cheer federal law passage

York Daily Record by Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com5:21 p.m. EST December 9, 2015

Some local educators cheered the passage of a federal law to replace No Child Left Behind, saying the rewrite puts more control over education issues back in the hands of the states.

The Every Student Succeeds Act is poised for President Barack Obama's signature after its passage by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday and the House of Representatives last week. It's a replacement for No Child Left Behind, the federal law known for its requirement that schools were to annually show progress on reading and math tests, with all students showing proficiency by 2014.  Northern York County School District Supt. Eric Eshbach called the passage of the replacement bill "the one good thing happening in politics to education right now."  "This is good news," said Eshbach, who chairs the legislative committee for the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and serves on the executive committee for the American Association of School Administrators, both of which supported the bill.  The replacement of No Child Left Behind is more than eight years overdue, he said. No bill is perfect, but this "definitely moved us in the right direction.

http://www.ydr.com/story/news/education/2015/12/09/local-educators-cheer-federal-law-passage/77030822/

"The idea is a bit like the "charterization" of ed. schools. It's the brainchild of folks at the New Schools Venture Fund, and it has in its mind's eye programs like the Relay Graduate School of Education, the Match Teacher Residency, and Urban Teachers."

ESEA-Rewrite Bill Includes Controversial Teacher-Prep Provisions

Education Week Teacher Beat Blog By Stephen Sawchuk on December 8, 2015 2:56 PM

One little-noticed provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, seems to be raising some consternation in the teacher-prep field: a proposal to allow states to use federal teacher-quality funds to sponsor a new kind of teacher-preparation program.  ESSA is poised to replace the No Child Left Behind Act. Under the conference report before the Senate—the last major hurdle before it's signed into law—states would now be authorized to set up teacher-preparation "academies," both inside or outside of higher education, which could operate apart from states' usual rules and regulations for teacher prep. They would, though, only be able to graduate teachers found to be effective at boosting student achievement.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2015/12/teacher-prep_provisions_in_ess.html

Senate overwhelmingly passes new national education legislation

Washington Post By Lyndsey Layton December 9 at 11:19 AM  

The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved sweeping legislation that resets Washington’s relationship with the nation’s 100,000 public schools, ending the landmark No Child Left Behind Act and sending significant power back to states and local districts while maintaining limited federal oversight of education.  The 85-12 vote mirrored the bill’s bipartisan passage in the House last week. President Obama plans to sign it into law Thursday.  “It is the single biggest step toward local control of public schools in 25 years,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate education panel and a chief architect of the law along with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/senate-overwhelmingly-passes-new-national-education-legislation/2015/12/09/be1b1f94-9d2a-11e5-a3c5-c77f2cc5a43c_story.html

ESEA Rewrite Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk

Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on December 9, 2015 11:00 AM

Washington UPDATED Hear that collective whoop from the Capitol? That's the sound of education advocates and lawmakers cheering at the finish line as the first rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in more than a dozen years sails through Congress and on to the White House.   The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved the rewrite of the withering No Child Left Behind Act—the current version of the ESEA—by a huge bipartisan margin, 85 to 12, mirroring the vote of 359 to 64 in the U.S. House of Representatives just days earlier. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill Thursday. (Two GOP presidential candidates, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz opposed it, while Hilary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, put out a supportive statement on it.)  But even as educators and policymakers toast the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the next set of battles—over how the measure will be regulated in Washington and implemented in states—may just be getting started. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/12/esea_rewrite_headed_to_obamas_.html

"Pennsylvania’s two senators voted in favor.  Testing, although important, had become excessive, said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. The old law created an incentive for educators to teach toward the test rather than to help children truly master content, he said.  Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said the reforms provide guidance in broad categories without being a “one-size-fits-all, formulaic Washington prescriptive program.”

Senate OKs education overhaul

By Tracie Mauriello / Post-Gazette Washington Bureau December 9, 2015 11:18 PM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday put individual states back at the head of the class when it comes to evaluating students, teachers, schools and school districts.  In an 85-12 vote, the Senate dismantled former President George W. Bush’s signature No Child Left Behind Act and transferred control of testing and assessment to the states.  The 2002 law had long been unpopular with teachers, parents, students and school board members across the country who said it was unworkable.  Wednesday’s legislation, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign today, prohibits the federal government from telling states and local districts how to assess performance. States and local districts now will set their own goals, design their own measures of achievement and decide for themselves how to turn around struggling schools.  The legislation retains a key feature of No Child: the federally mandated statewide reading and math exams in grades three to eight and one such test in high school. But it would encourage states to limit the time students spend on testing, and it would diminish the high stakes associated with these exams for underperforming schools.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/12/09/Senate-OKs-rewrite-of-No-Child-Left-Behind-education-law-sends-it-to-President-Obama/stories/201512090199

With 'No Child' done, testing is de-emphasized

by Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer. Updated: DECEMBER 9, 2015 — 2:38 PM EST

No Child Left Behind, the controversial federal education policy that has shaped schools across the country for more than a decade, is scheduled to die Thursday.  Philadelphia Federation of Teachers chief Jerry Jordan is scheduled to be in the room when President Obama signs "Every Student Succeeds," legislation passed Wednesday by the Senate on an 85-12 vote.  "The tide is turning," Jordan said. "This is a recognition No Child Left Behind - the test-and-punish era - has been a failure."  The new law, tied to about $26 billion in federal spending, de-emphasizes testing. It will return to states' hands the power to reform schools that do not meet standards created by the states themselves.  States will still have to measure students' annual progress in third through eighth grades, and once in high school.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20151210_With__No_Child__done__the__test-and-punish_era__ends.html#WbTaZjhQVPStoAxG.99

Pat Toomey's 'passing the trash' provision part of education bill

Laura Olson Contact Reporter Morning Call Washington Bureau December 9, 2015

— A massive education overhaul measure that's headed to the White House includes a provision sought by Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey aimed at keeping child predators out of school buildings.  Toomey's provision would prohibit school districts from giving a positive recommendation for a teacher or other school employee that they know or reasonably suspect has engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor.  "It is hard to imagine that this appalling practice ever occurs, much less that it occurs so frequently as to have its own moniker — 'passing the trash,'" said Toomey, a Republican. "Congress' ban is long overdue."  The provision is part of a bill that Toomey has sponsored with West Virginia DemocratJoe Manchin that attempted to do two things: require tougher, standardized background checks for school workers in every state, and prohibit school districts from assisting an employee suspected of sexual misconduct from taking a position in a new district.

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pat-toomey-education-bill-suspected-abusers-20151209-story.html

"No longer can the Department of Education deploy the power of the purse, as it did with “Race to the Top” challenge grants, to prod states into adopting dubious policies like using students’ standardized test scores to judge teachers or expanding the number of charter schools. Now those decisions are left to the states."

Why the New Education Law Is Good for Children Left Behind

New York Times Opinion By DAVID L. KIRP DEC. 10, 2015

THE No Child Left Behind law will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history. With a rare display of bipartisanship, Congress has overhauled federal education policy. The law’s successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act, is headed for the president’s desk, and he has signaled his intention to sign it.  Good riddance to a misbegotten law. Will its replacement be any better?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/opinion/why-the-new-education-law-is-good-for-children-left-behind.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

Wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families reaches record high

Pew Research Center December 9,2015

The gaps in the wealth (assets minus debts) of lower-, middle- and upper-income families are much wider than the gaps in income.⁴⁶ There is one other stark difference: only upper-income families realized notable gains in wealth from 1983 to 2013, the period for which data on wealth are available, while gains in income over that period were felt across all income groups, albeit at different rates. The wealth holdings of lower-income and middle-income families are virtually unchanged, and these families fell further behind upper-income families in the past three decades.  The widening gaps in wealth, measured as the ratios of median wealth, across income tiers are the consequence of the crash in the housing market and the Great Recession of 2007-09. These two closely intertwined events wiped out all of the gains in wealth experienced by lower- and middle-income families from 1983 to 2007.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/5-wealth-gap-between-middle-income-and-upper-income-families-reaches-record-high/

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

Remaining Locations:

• 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
• Delaware Co. IU 25 — Feb. 1
  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.

PASBO 61st Annual Conference and Exhibits March 8 - 11, 2016
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania

http://files.pasbo.org/conf_annual.asp

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.

http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/2016-national-conference/

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