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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup December 6, 2015:
#PABudget: Just when you thought it was safe to go
back in the water….
Campaign for Fair Education Funding: PA Lawmakers need to deliver a
#PABudget that meets the needs of every child. Ask them to at:
Today might be a good day to reach out to your House members. Phone numbers are here:
by Chris Palmer, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau. Updated on DECEMBER 6, 2015 —
1:08 AM EST
Rank-and-file House
members emerged from their hours-long caucus to say they would pursue their own
pared-down budget, eliminating the need to expand the sales tax to send more
money to schools. "I think the
rank-and-file aren't accepting of massive tax increases," said Rep. Seth
Grove (R., York). "And I think [House Republican] leadership realized
that, and they backed off, and they're moving in a direction that we can go
in." Wolf swiftly released a
statement tearing into Republicans for abandoning the so-called framework
agreement that House and Senate leaders had agreed to more than a week ago and
have trumpeted ever since.
Penn Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
December 05, 2015 at 9:47 PM, updated December 05, 2015 at 10:18 PM
Pennsylvania House
Republicans abandoned the fragile state budget "framework" Saturday
after members told caucus leaders they could not support the roughly $2 billion
in new taxes needed to pay for it. Republicans
said they will start work Sunday on a smaller, $30.3 billion plan, that cuts a
projected increase in funding for public schools from $350 million to $150
million, and contains no changes to the state sales or income taxes. The move was a clear setback for a $30.8 billion deal that legislative leaders and Gov.
Tom Wolf have been working on since Nov. 9, but most other parties refused to
declare that deal dead last night. Wolf,
as he climbed into his Jeep to leave the Capitol Complex Saturday evening, said
he was "still committed to the framework."
Penn Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
December 05, 2015 at 6:58 PM, updated December 05, 2015 at 9:09 PM
Pennsylvania House
Republicans took themselves out of the state budget framework Saturday, after
members said two days of closed-door caucuses made plain that they don't have
support for the $30.8 billion spending plan that needs about $800 million in
new taxes to balance. Instead, the House
GOP declared its intent to call up and vote on a smaller, $30.3 billion
spending plan that needs much less in new revenue to balance. It would also provide less new money to
public schools than Gov. Tom Wolf had agreed to in the more expansive plan. One
GOP source said the basic education spending line will increase by $150 million
in the House budget, as opposed to the $350 million increase contained in the
Nov. 9 framework deal.
That deal, of course,
is far from dead.
It was apparent Saturday
night the reason for the pared-down approach laid in the inability to get
significant support for revenue options to get to the $600 million in tax
increases that would have funded framework priorities.
Competing budget bills
could emerge Sunday
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Saturday, December
5, 2015
The House Republican
caucus seemed to emerge from a several hours-long internal meeting Saturday
afternoon with bad news for fans of the five-party budget framework agreed to
just before Thanksgiving. Following what
appeared to be a complicated discussion, rank-and-file members told reporters
that the caucus has agreed to run a pared-down $30.2 billion budget bill that
no longer includes the governor’s increases in public education and also no
longer includes GOP priorities of pension and liquor reform. That bill is slated for a Sunday vote in the
House Appropriations Committee. “It’s
far pared-down,” said Rep. Seth Grove (R-York). “No sales tax, sales tax
expansion, PIT, that kind of stuff.” He
said the decision to drop pension and liquor reform was made after the
realization the governor would not support the concepts without his desired
increases in revenue, but he did not say whether or not the proposal would fly
with Senate Republicans or the governor.
“It’s above my pay
grade,” he stated.
Delco Times By The Associated Press POSTED: 12/06/15, 5:33 AM EST
HARRISBURG, Pa.
>> A revolt by Pennsylvania House Republicans is setting up competing
plans to break the state government’s five-month-old budget stalemate and
sowing doubt about a resolution. Lawmakers
were to return to the Capitol for Sunday committee votes in the House and
Senate to advance two different plans. House
Republicans say their majority caucus won’t support a budget plan their
leadership had helped negotiate. Instead, they’ll try to advance a plan with smaller
spending and tax increases. Democratic
Gov. Tom Wolf and Senate leaders say they remain committed to an earlier deal
that involved a 6 percent increase in overall spending and public school aid. It would require a $600 million-plus tax
increase insisted on by Wolf to deliver the record boost in public school aid
and narrow a long-term budget deficit.
Friday: Wolf, GOP leaders
reach tentative budget deal providing historic education boost
There
will be a $350 million increase in basic education aid, plus significant growth
in support for special education and pre-K.
the notebook By Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks
on Dec 4, 2015 02:43 PM
Dale Mezzacappa and Paul Socolar of the Philadelphia Public School
Lawmakers support pension
reform provided it doesn't affect them
Penn Live By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on December 04, 2015 at 1:40 PM, updated December 04, 2015 at 4:33 PM
The pension reform proposal that is taking shape as part
of the state budget package is encountering resistance from
some lawmakers who don't like how it would impact their own pensions. Sources identify that as one of the factors
that could sink the chances of not only the pension reform from happening but
could unravel the entire budget package that has been taking shape over the
past month to end the more than five-month-old impasse. The proposed pension reform proposal would
move new state government and school employees into a side-by-side pension plan
that provides them with a smaller base pension system similar to one current
employees have that would be accompanied by a 401(k)-style plan.
BLOG: Education Investment Must Start Before
Kindergarten
Governor's Blog By:
Sarah Galbally, Deputy Secretary of Policy & Planning December 03, 2015
Improving education
is at the core of everything Governor Wolf is working to achieve, and a vital
component of that goal is recognizing that a quality education doesn’t start
when a child goes off to kindergarten. That’s why the governor has fought so
hard to secure a much-needed $60 million funding increase to pre-kindergarten
programs with proven track records in Pennsylvania .
Under the current framework education budget, Pre-K Counts will see a
$50 million increase, and Head Start Supplemental Assistance will get an
additional $10 million. These investments will allow thousands of families
living in underserved communities to enroll their children in high-quality
early education programs. Statistically,
children who attend pre-k perform better in their k-12 education, graduate at
higher rates, and increase earning potential throughout their lives. For
example, 3- and 4-year olds who participated in Pennsylvania ’s Pre-K Counts programs
outperformed their peers in both math and reading by the third grade.
Christmas spirit can't end Pennsylvania
Steve
Esack Contact Reporter Morning Call Harrisburg Bureau
December 4, 2015
A Christmas ode on
PA's budget impasse in partial rhyme
In hopes
legislative leaders had a little flare
To teach members
about a middle course
That would end Pennsylvania
But alas, Friday
ended with no deal done.
So they will be
back Saturday, still on square one.
"We are back
tomorrow at 10 a.m.," state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, announced Friday after a
five-hour caucus session held a week before political leaders hope to celebrate
the holidays at the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering in Manhattan. Friday marked the 157th day
without a state budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year. Without a budget, money for state programs
has continued but has been halted to school districts, counties and social
service nonprofits. In recent weeks and
days, the Democratic administration and Republican legislative leaders have
agreed on some issues, but rank-and-file lawmakers need to be sold on it, too.
The budget would be
$30.7 billion. In that, Wolf would get an extra $400 million for the basic,
special and early-childhood education spending he campaigned on. In return,
Wolf dropped his call for a higher income and, sales taxes and a new levy on
natural gas drillers. He also made concessions on changes to the state's liquor
store system and pension plans for new hires, but not the full set of packages
GOP wants.
As weekend session looms,
top Pa.
Delco Times By Marc Levy, The Associated Press POSTED: 12/05/15, 5:44 AM EST
HARRISBURG, Pa.
>> Republican legislative leaders huddled with rank-and-file members in
earnest Friday to determine what kind of package of tax increases can get
enough support to break Pennsylvania’s five-month budget stalemate. The huge House and Senate Republican
majorities each met separately for hours behind closed doors, engaging in their
most substantive tax discussions yet, lawmakers said. However, the discussions were wide open,
lawmakers said, and left little settled in a search for more than $600 million
to meet Gov. Tom Wolf’s demand for a record increase in aid to public schools
and extra cash to help narrow a long-term budget deficit.
More Republicans say
they now support the kind of tax increase called for in GOP leaders’ negotiated
deal with Wolf. But the lack of consensus on how to do it left some
rank-and-file Republicans lawmakers defying predictions by GOP leadership that
a budget deal could be done by Wednesday.
Budget deal still on…for
now?
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Friday, December
4, 2015
If there's a better plan
for property tax elimination - now's the time for critics to step up: Mike
Folmer
PennLive
Op-Ed By Mike Folmer on December 04, 2015 at 11:00 AM,
updated December 04, 2015 at 11:56 AM
State Sen. Mike Folmer, a Republican,
represents the 48th Senate District, which includes parts of Dauphin , Lebanon
People throughout my
Lebanon County-based district have repeatedly told me school property
taxes are their biggest headache and they want property tax elimination to be a
top priority of the General Assembly.
This much needed -- and long overdue -- goal recently fell one vote
short when the Senate attempted to amend the provisions of Senate-authored property tax reform legislation into
another bill. A big problem in advancing
the Senate bill are lingering concerns with its companion version in the state
House. In October 2013, the House rejected its version of the legislation on a 139-58
vote because opponents said the numbers didn't work and it was flawed.
In response to these
concerns, Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill (who is the prime sponsor of the
current Senate bill), and I worked to correct the deficiencies of the failed
House bill to make sure the same fate didn't befall the legislation in the
Senate this year.
"The three biggest
rising costs are charter school costs, pension contributions and health care
costs, Clark said. The district will pay about $43 million in
charter school payments, which is around $5 million more than this year. Health
care costs are expected to go up $2.6 million, and pension payments $4 million."
Prelim ASD budget shows tax increase
Jacqueline
Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning
Call December 4, 2015
The Allentown School
Bill allowing districts to
furlough teachers for economic reasons advances in Senate
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow
on Twitter on December 04, 2015 at 7:13 PM, updated December 05,
2015 at 8:00 AM
By a party-line 6-3
vote, the Senate Education Committee on Friday pushed ahead an education reform bill that would allow teachers to be
furloughed for economic reasons and require those layoffs to be based on
performance rather than seniority. Committee
Chairman Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster
County
Bill would tie teacher furloughs to performance
ratings
The state Senate may
soon vote on a House proposal that would require school districts to choose
teachers to furlough on the basis of performance ratings, rather than solely by
seniority.
The bill also would
allow a district to suspend employees for “economic reasons.” Currently,
districts may furlough professional employees only when there is a decrease in
pupil enrollment, a change in education programming or the consolidation of
schools, according to an analysis by House Republican staff. The proposal cleared the Senate Education
Committee on Friday on party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats
opposed. It passed the House in June, 100-91, with all Democrats and some
Republicans opposed. Jennifer Kocher,
spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the Senate
plans to take up the bill soon.
State to examine charter school funding
Questions arise on state Department of
Education funding practices
State auditor general’s office to audit PDE
Public, charter school representatives give
input on audit
Centre Daily Times
BY BRITNEY MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com
December 4, 2015
Administration from
local public and charter schools hope an audit of the state Department
of Education is conducted appropriately. But they have different opinions on how
things are handled. Some public schools
think things are done unfairly at the state level in terms of education
funding. On the other hand, charter
school representatives said they need all the help they can get when some
public schools are withholding or delaying payments to their schools. Public schools pay a per pupil rate for
regular and special education students from within their district who attend
charter schools. Charter schools
commonwealth-wide reached out to the state for funding, despite public schools
not yet getting their share due to the budget impasse. “Transparency and accountability are very
important when it comes to spending taxpayer money,” Levent Kaya said.
“Therefore, the announced audits are a positive step to ensure both
transparency and accountability for all parties involved, charter schools,
school districts and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.”
Charter school teacher hit with multiple corruption
charges for leading Allentown
Jacqueline
Palochko Contact Reporter Of The Morning
Call December 4, 2015
Charter school
teacher hit with multiple corruption citations for leading Allentown student walkout
"While the Allentown School District
Letters: Budget bravado
costing students
Philly.com Letter by LUBIN L'AVENTURE & SEYNA MUSHINGTON .Updated on DECEMBER 4, 2015 —
3:01 AM EST
Lubin L'aventure and Seyna
Mushington are the parents of two Philadelphia
OUR KIDS ARE two of the lucky ones.
OUR KIDS ARE two of the lucky ones.
Across Philadelphia , tens of
thousands of students are forced to attend schools that fail to prepare them
for success in life. But thanks to the state's Opportunity Scholarship Tax
Credit (OSTC), our children were awarded scholarships that allow them to attend
high quality private schools. Without scholarships, the odds were against them;
today, they're on the path to college.
But Gov. Wolf is
taking away their opportunity to succeed. Under his direction, the state
Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is refusing to allow
the OSTC and its companion program, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
(EITC), to go forward until there is a budget in place. Even though state law
makes clear that this program should operate independent of the budget, our
children and more than 40,000 others across Pennsylvania may lose scholarships, all for
political gamesmanship. Unless Gov. Wolf changes his mind, our kids will be the
real losers. Since June, the governor
has been clear: He won't approve a budget that doesn't substantially increase
what the state spends on education. A delay is fine, he says, because the money
will eventually flow to schools. We applaud him for his leadership on
increasing education funding. But here's
the thing: OSTC and EITC aren't part of the budget. It is a separate program
funded by voluntary contributions from businesses around the state. These
contributions must be made by the end of the year. For the program to run, DCED
must send letters to businesses that say they're eligible to donate to the
program. If that doesn't happen, then businesses won't be able to make their
donations by the end of the year, and the money - $150 million, exclusively
used to improve education - will be gone for good.
Parent group accuses Upper Dublin
School District
Lansdale Reporter By Linda Finarelli, lfinarelli@21st-CenturyMedia.com, @lkfinarelli on Twitter
POSTED: 12/03/15,
9:19 AM EST
UPPER DUBLIN
>> A group of African-American parents in the Upper Dublin School
District have filed a complaint with federal and state authorities accusing the
district of persistent discrimination in disciplinary practices, curricular
tracking and giftedness placements. In a
complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education Nov. 23 by the Public Interest
Law Center
High-poverty schools often staffed by rotating cast of
substitutes
Mya Alford dreams of
studying chemical engineering in college, but the high school junior is at a
disadvantage: Last year, her chemistry teacher at Pittsburgh ’s
Westinghouse Academy Pittsburgh ’s
roughest neighborhoods, often see a rotating cast of substitutes, Alford said. “You’re looking at test scores,” Alford said
of the school’s low performance on state standardized tests in math, science
and reading. “But we didn’t have a stable teacher.” Every U.S. classroom needs a sub from
time to time. But in the troubled schools that serve some of the nation’s
neediest children, it is not uncommon for classrooms to churn with substitutes
as teachers leave in large numbers each June, or quit midyear, and principals
struggle to fill the positions.
Press Release Contact:
Ian Gavigan, Education Law Center-PA, 267-825-7713, igavigan@elc-pa.org
December 4, 2015
“Since its passage in 1965, the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has been a critically important federal law for
ensuring educational equity and protecting the civil rights of the most at-risk
students. In several ways the proposed reauthorization, the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), represents an improvement over existing
legislation and reaffirms the ESEA’s crucial mission ‘to ensure that all
children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a
high-quality education.’ However, the current bill could do much more to protect
the rights of the country’s most vulnerable students,” said Deborah Gordon
Klehr, executive director of the Education
Law Center Pennsylvania show that
when states are given unfettered control over education, the civil rights of the
most educationally vulnerable students often go unprotected and their academic
outcomes suffer. We are concerned that without federal oversight, states will
avoid the difficult challenges of ensuring that all students have fair and
equitable access to a quality education.
Given this concern, we also fear that states will be allowed to turn a
blind eye to overly punitive and discriminatory discipline practices that
exclude students of color and students with disabilities at disproportionately
high rates. The proposed bill does little to address the discipline disparities
that plague schools in Pennsylvania
and across the country. While states are given the option to
include school climate as a factor in their accountability plan, there is no
requirement or incentive to do so. The ESEA should serve as a robust protection
for the civil rights of all students. By failing to require measurable steps to
eliminate disparities in school discipline, the ESSA falls short of this
promise.
- See more at: http://www.elc-pa.org/2015/12/04/education-law-center-statement-on-the-every-student-succeeds-act/#sthash.A2yGfDxR.dpuf
Alexander, Murray: Full Senate to Begin Debate on
Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind
Following House passage yesterday by a vote
of 359-64, the Every Student Succeeds Act is ready for Senate action next week
US Senate Committee
on Health, Education Labor and Pensions 12.03.15
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 3 –
Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and
Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), following Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement that the Senate would take up the
bipartisan, bicameral agreement to fix No Child Left Behind next week, said
they look forward to a successful vote in the Senate, following passage in the
House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 359-64.
“The legislation
before the Senate next week fixes No Child Left Behind by reversing the trend
toward a national school board and restoring to states, communities and
teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement,” Alexander said. “It passed the House
of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 359-64 and received huge bipartisan
support in the Senate earlier this year. I expect the same result next week so
we can finally send a bill to the president’s desk to fix this broken law for
our 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public
schools.” “Moving forward on these last
steps to finally fix No Child Left Behind is great news for students, parents,
teachers, and communities in Washington state
and across the country,” Murray said. “I look forward to the
Senate voting to reduce reliance on high-stakes testing, invest in improving
and expanding access to early learning programs, ensure all students have
access to a quality education, and so much more. I will continue working hard
to finish our bipartisan work in the Senate next week and send the bill the
President’s desk so that this legislation can get to work for my home state and
our nation.”
Jeff Bryant: Pass ESSA,
But No Celebrations, Please
Diane Ravitch's Blog
By dianeravitch December
3, 2015 //
Jeff Bryant has written
the best analysis of the Every Students Succeeds Act that I have seen
to date. It is fraught with problems and perils, but it ends the failed NCLB
and RTTT. It is the first legislation to reduce the role of the federal
government dramatically, because of the harmful top-down mandates from Arne
Duncan. Duncan personally made the federal Department of Education repugnant to
a bipartisan majority in Congress. As Jeff notes, ESSA sailed through the House
yesterday by a vote of 359 to 64. With the support of Senator Lamar
Alexander (R) and Senator Patti Murray (D), it is likely to move quickly
through the Senate as well. President Obama has signaled that he will sign it.
After 15 years of torture by D.C., the game now changes and shifts to the
states.
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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