Monday, November 30, 2015

PA Ed Policy Roundup Nov 30: Day 153: Legislators hunting for #PABudget; their automatic COLA kicks in tomorrow

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3800 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, Superintendents, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup November 30, 2015:
Day 153: Legislators hunting for #PABudget; their automatic COLA kicks in tomorrow


"The automatic COLA for legislators should be repealed and all future increases voted on by each member and then only effective after they stand for re-election before their constituents. That's what the constitution says; and that's what should be done."
Unconstitutional Cost of Living Adjustment should be repealed: PennLive letters
Penn Live Letters to the Editor  by Barry Shutt November 29, 2015 at 3:00 PM
Watch for it folks ... all you taxpayers and especially those receiving social security. It's coming in a few weeks, after Black Friday and just before Hanukkah and Christmas. It's nothing to celebrate unless you're one of the elites under the capitol dome in Harrisburg. But for the rest of us it's essentially a kick in the teeth.    What is it?  It's the automatic Cost of Living Adjustment coming on December 1st for the "big shots" in Harrisburg; those elected to serve but who, more often than not, serve only themselves.    Who cares if the automatic COLA violates the intent, if not the precise language of the constitution? Who cares if Social Security recipients won't receive a COLA this year? Not that the state legislature controls Social Security benefits, but they can control the automatic COLA but they won't.  

Some lawmakers to hunt despite budget impasse
York Daily Record by Teresa Boeckel, tboeckel@ydr.com2:46 p.m. EST November 28, 2015
State Rep. Dan Moul is a hunter, but he will not be heading into the woods for the first day of firearms deer season this year.  "That would be bad," he said on Friday afternoon.
That's because it's been almost five months now that the state has been operating without a budget. Lawmakers are scheduled to come back to work after the Thanksgiving break, but it will not be Monday morning.  The state Senate hasn't scheduled session until Wednesday.
The state House has planned a non-voting session on Monday. Some Republicans have noted they might be called to work on Monday evening. That would let them hunt all morning and clean up in time to get to Harrisburg.  Moul, R-Gettysburg, said he plans to work at his district office on Monday. He can always go hunting another time.

Taxes remain key in Pa. budget after plans fail to hike sales tax, end property tax
Penn Live By The Associated Press on November 28, 2015 at 11:15 AM, updated November 28, 2015 at 12:27 PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is now five months into a budget impasse with taxes the main sticking point — a scenario familiar to anyone who's tried to understand the Byzantine motives that drive elected officials in its capital city.  A "framework" agreement being worked out between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled Legislature teetered on the edge of collapse after Republicans said a key element, increasing sales taxes to plug a budget deficit and cut school property taxes, lacked support among their ranks.  A few days later, a Senate Republican proposal to impose a $12 billion to $14 billion state tax increase to fully eliminate the hated school property taxes — legislation Wolf opposed — failed by a single vote last week.

A look how Wolf's budget proposal fared in the Legislature
By The Associated Press PA State Wire Published: November 29, 2015
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and leaders of the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature say they expect final budget legislation to emerge for votes this week. Here is a look at what Wolf proposed in his first budget plan in March and whether it ended up in his agreement with Republicans:
THE BIG PICTURE Wolf's original budget proposal had sought a 9 percent increase in spending, to $31.6 billion, plus a $3.2 billion package to reduce school property tax bills and a new $426 million-a-year rent rebate benefit for renting households earning $50,000 or less. It appears that lawmakers are settling on a spending plan of about $30.75 billion, up about 6 percent, but without any package to reduce school property tax bills or expand rent rebates.
EDUCATION Wolf originally sought a big bump in education spending: $400 million more for public school operations and instruction, a 7 percent increase, plus $120 million more for early-childhood education programs, $100 million more in special education funding and $160 million more for higher education institutions, including state system universities, state-related universities and community colleges.  Wolf has secured an agreement for nearly all of the money he had sought for public schools - $350 million, a 6 percent increase - and about half the money for early-childhood education, special education and higher education.   Wolf also had sought to pare back $160 million in annual school district payments to cyber charter schools; it is not clear whether it will pass.

Here's where we were six days ago…….
Pre-Thanksgiving flurry leads to more negotiations on to-be agreed to budget framework
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, November 24, 2015
After the Senate unexpectedly announced Tuesday evening they would return to session that night and try to override Gov. Tom Wolf’s stopgap budget veto, a flurry of activity between the four legislative caucuses and the governor’s office left Republicans and Democrats to try and negotiate a full-year spending plan that can be passed sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Legislators have yet to decide on when they will reconvene, but all seemed to agree that there will be no voting session held until the week of November 30th.  Staff will stay through the Thanksgiving holiday to work on legislation that can be run that week.  Details on what remains of the budget framework announced two weeks ago were scant Tuesday night as legislative leaders tried to keep mum on specifics about what lies ahead as the budget situation became as intense as ever in the nearly five-month long budget stalemate.  “These things go back and forth all the time,” said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) after a meeting with Gov. Wolf where Republicans agreed to hold off on the veto override attempt.  “What’s important is we’re rescinding the recall and we’re going to move ahead with a framework,” added Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson).  As to what’s left, Sen. Scarnati said it’s a framework that will get all four legislative caucuses and the governor to agree.

Could PA general budget reach Wolf by Dec. 5?
York Daily Record by Flint L. McColgan, fmccolgan@ydr.com2:07 p.m. EST November 28, 2015
A Pennsylvania state budget isn't something residents can be thankful for this year, but House Republicans hope for one early next month.  In fact, while Tuesday was the last session day of this week, lawmakers will return to Harrisburg next week to cobble together the latest budget offering in hopes of having a new budget on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk by Dec. 5.  Tuesday was day 147 without a state general funds budget in place.  "All the details are still being worked out," said state Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township. "Staff will still be here over Thanksgiving working out details and writing the budget. They will be here working diligently over the next five days."  State Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Hellam Township, said that legislators will return to the Capitol by no later than Tuesday. Saylor added that he expects lawmakers to return on Monday for meetings and briefings, but not for a full session day.

There's seemingly no end to Harrisburg's dysfunction
29 Nov 2015 — Erie Times-News Opinion by Pat Howard
Representative democracy is all about checks and balances, but as practiced in Pennsylvania it's more like chutes and ladders.  Harrisburg has never been anyone's model of good government. But these days it's downright embarrassing.  Budget gridlock. Criminal charges. Ethical lapses. And deaf ears to the damage being done.  The worst of the dismal drama was set in motion last November when voters elected a new governor because, face it, the old guy wasn't very good at the job. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf reported for duty with a new set of priorities and the challenge of getting them through a Republican-controlled Legislature.  Wolf and GOP leaders knew from day one they'd have to compromise. And the state Constitution directs that a new budget be in place by July 1.  That was 152 days ago. And counting.  I've been sorting through adjectives trying to describe this state of affairs -- incompetent, irresponsible, arrogant, clueless, out of touch, self-serving -- but none fits quite right. All of them together get closer.  Apportion blame for the impasse by ideology or party label if that's your inclination. But as a confirmed middle-of-the-roader, I'm just looking for some responsible adults.

DN Editorial: HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS
Philly Daily News Editorial Updated on NOVEMBER 30, 2015 — 3:01 AM EST
LAST WEEK, local government officials across the state decided they had had it with the long budget impasse in Harrisburg.  The statewide organization of county commissioners said it was considering filing a law suit against the state for withholding needed state funding for local programs, especially for social services. n Better yet, we like what the county commissioners in Bucks did.  Rather than wait for a lawsuit to make its way through the courts, they decided to withhold local payments from taxes and fees due to the state and use them to pay for services to the poor, homeless, elderly, and those with mental and physical disabilities.  In Bucks County, government collects between $4 million and $5 million a month meant for the state, including its share of the real estate transfer tax and fines and fees collected by the county courts.  The next day Delaware County officials stepped forward and said they were considering taking the same action. As County Councilman David White said: "How can the state keep our state parks open and our liquor stores open and not fund services to our young victims of abuse the neglect?"  It's an excellent question.

Inky Editorial: Too late for a tantrum
Inquirer Editorial Updated on NOVEMBER 29, 2015 — 3:01 AM EST
For a moment, as Republican legislative leaders joined the Democratic governor to announce a hard-won budget framework, it looked as if Pennsylvania's divided government was working and even tackling difficult problems.  That was a few weeks ago, before a faction of GOP members who are too immature or incompetent to compromise began demanding more, threatening to derail a budget that was already woefully late. Gov. Wolf and legislative leaders now say the deal is back on track, but that will be hard to believe until a plan is passed.  There is no time left to play partisan games. The budget is five months overdue. Schools and charities are borrowing money, cutting services and workers, and even closing. Those legislators who don't understand the importance of their duty to pass a budget should be marginalized by those who do.

"In a non-dysfunctional government, the need to reduce local property taxes readily would produce compromise. Significant reductions in local property taxes could be accompanied by modest increases in the regressive state taxes and establishment of a fair extraction tax on the natural gas industry, elimination of yawning corporate tax loopholes and a few other measures. That would constitute not only greater revenue but far better policy — overall tax reform that widely spreads the burden rather than concentrating it in the most regressive forms of taxation."
TT Editorial: Even now, it’s all or nothing
Scranton Times Tribune BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD Published: November 29, 2015
Gov. Tom Wolf recently called for passage of the state government budget by Dec. 4, which seems reasonable given that the actual deadline for the budget was July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.  Remarkably, though, even as schools and social service agencies borrow money to keep the lights on and county governments ponder suing the state and withholding tax collections, the game in Harrisburg still appears to be one of all or nothing.
Nov. 23, the state Senate deadlocked on a bill to eliminate the local school property tax. Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, the president of the Senate, cast a rare vote to break the tie, killing the bill. The bill’s purpose was to replace all local school property tax revenue — about $14 billion — through increased state sales and income taxes. Republican Senate leaders proceeded with the vote even after the Independent Fiscal Office reported that the higher state taxes would produce less than $13 billion — more than $1 billion less than necessary to cover the lost local money.  The point, of course, was the bill itself, which became a vehicle for yet more political posturing rather than policy.  Mr. Wolf is not averse to property tax reform. Indeed, it is badly needed. But property tax elimination would be a bad policy idea even if the replacement taxes were to produce enough revenue. The proposal constitutes a massive, regressive tax shift.

PG Editorial: Budget blather: Wolf and lawmakers must end it this week
Post Gazette By the Editorial Board November 29, 2015 12:00 AM
It’s been nearly three weeks since Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican leaders announced they’d worked out a “framework” for the overdue 2015-16 state budget. Two weeks later, everybody agreed that plan was all but dead. Now it’s back on, moving toward a possible vote as soon as this week.  Pity the Pennsylvanians trying to keep track of what’s likely to result from this political game.  Elected officials should not lose sight of what should be fundamental in a funding plan.

DN Editorial: WHO DO THEY WORK FOR?
Philly Daily News Editorial November 27, 2015
WE HOLD TO the myth that people elect lawmakers to represent their interests, or at least the interests of the common good.  When that myth confronts money, as it does with increasing frequency, an uglier truth emerges: Special interests override the common good.
That's especially true when it comes to this state's sorry history of the natural gas industry. That industry began blossoming in 2005, when the first gas was extracted from the Marcellus Shale formation that lies under the state. In that short amount of time, billions upon billions of cubic feet of natural gas has been produced by a technology called hydrofracturing - or fracking.  The state's gas boom should have been transformative. That new and lucrative industry should have created a gold mine for the state. Instead, because of the short-sighted vision that kept the industry from being taxed for the gas they extracted - called a severance tax -state lawmakers have scrambled every year for ways to fund the state budget.

Editorial: Pennsylvania residents are victims of budget impasse
Delco Times Editorial POSTED: 11/28/15, 10:42 PM EST | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO
Only in Harrisburg could what has been happening now for better than four months be considered governing.  Actually, in the halls of the state Capitol, they have another word for it: Business as usual.  Thanksgiving has come and gone. Pennsylvania still has not budget in place, despite a mandate that officials have a new spending plan in place July 1.  What has happened in the past 100-plus days would make even Ed Rendell — not exactly a stranger to Harrisburg budget hijinks — blush.  If you haven’t heard, there are problems with that “broad framework” of an agreement so proudly proclaimed by Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican leaders in the Legislature.  The idea was to skim a bunch of money from Pennsylvania’s slot machine take and use that to address the state’s two massively underfunded public-employee pension plans.  Then a hike in the state sales tax would be used to increase funding for education and offer long-suffering home owners property-tax relief.  There was only one problem.

Letter to the editor: Have Pennsylvania lawmakers forgotten who they serve?
By Joan Duvall-Flynn, Ed.D., Delco Times Guest Columnist POSTED: 11/28/15, 10:43 PM EST
Joan Duvall-Flynn is president of NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference.
An open letter to the people of Pennsylvania:
Certain State Assembly members in leadership in Harrisburg are very worried that we Pennsylvanians do not have enough wine and spirits — take that to mean hard liquor — to drink and that we cannot access it readily enough.  Apparently, even give the heroin epidemic, we are not getting “high” enough. One member of the House is so concerned about this that he is seeking co-sponsorship on legislation to make sure that we can drink more.  Such lawmakers are not, however, concerned about the many children of Pennsylvania who do not have adequate resources to get a thorough education and prepare for their futures. In fact, these folks have done all they can to prevent meeting the state’s obligation to its children. They don’t want to fund early childhood education, and yet seek to manipulate the people about being able to put the needed $410 million dollars into basic education.

"Torres has blamed the school's financial problems on the state budget impasse, and said that it is owed an unspecified amount of money from the state and districts whose students are enrolled at the cyber school. But former staffers said questionable management decisions by the school's administrators and board were also a factor in the school's fiscal woes."
Funding gone, Ed Plus Cyber lays off rest of staff
by Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer Updated on NOVEMBER 28, 2015 — 1:07 AM EST
The troubled Education Plus Academy Cyber Charter School, which closed its six learning centers across the state and laid off 30 staffers earlier this week, has laid off the rest of its staff amid questions about its ability to continue to operate.  Nicholas Torres, founding CEO of the cyber, based in Wayne, said Friday that the school had no choice after its bank shut down its line of credit. Without those funds, he said, the school was unable to meet payroll or pay for benefits.  He said that Meridian Bank of Malvern had also frozen the school's account.  The 15 cyber employees remaining after the Tuesday layoffs were notified by email that they were being laid off.  A special board meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday to "determine next steps regarding staff and school operations."  Torres said that if Education Plus obtains financing, it could rehire staff and resume operations.  In the interim, he said, the 540 K-8 students statewide who are enrolled at Ed Plus will be able to continue to use the online curriculum modules that are available on their school-issued Chromebooks, but will not be able to consult with teachers.

Senior volunteers get tax breaks and enjoyment
by Kathy Boccella, Inquirer Staff Writer Updated on NOVEMBER 29, 2015 — 1:07 AM EST
Lorraine Ferraro is pretty good with numbers after retiring from a long career as an accounting manager in Philadelphia's western suburbs.  But in a kindergarten classroom at Pottstown's Lincoln Elementary School, the number Ferraro works on is 3 - as she leans over to guide a schoolboy practicing writing the digit on a sheet of paper.  "Good . . . good. . . . Those are sloppy," she tells the kindergartner.  Sharply attired in her businesslike red blazer with a gold pin on the lapel, the 70-year-old retiree started volunteering as a classroom aide in her school district after her husband died several years ago. "I knew I just couldn't sit home," she said.  But as one of nearly 90 participants in a program for senior volunteers that the Montgomery County district calls "Golden Sage," Ferraro gets something else from the program: A $500 discount on her yearly property taxes.  In a time of bombastic political debate from the corridors of Harrisburg to local school boards about what to do about Pennsylvania's property taxes, Ferraro is part of a little-publicized network of hundreds of seniors already getting tax relief the old-fashioned way: They earn it.

Letter: End tax credit donations to private schools
Opinion: Why Pa. should end tax credit donations to private schools
Morning Call Letter by Rachel Sue Ritz November 29, 2015
To date, the Diocese of Philadelphia has paid out $11 million for its child sexual abuse scandal. No wonder it needs our tax money to get kids into Catholic school("Catholics urged to lobby governor for tax credits").  Using our tax money to fund religious and private schools is legal too. Why? Pennsylvania has a law that allows businesses to divert some of their taxes to fund private and religious schools. This money should be going into the general fund for use in the state budget. Nice scam. Speak out about against and urge repeal of this law.

York County OKs charter school tax deal
York Dispatch by Greg Gross, 505-5433/@ggrossyd5:58 p.m. EST November 27, 2015
York County commissioners this past week approved tax abatements for a city parcel that houses a charter school.  The 2-acre property at 32 W. North St. is the former Smyser-Royer building and has been home to York Academy Regional Charter School since it opened its doors in 2011.  The building, which was built before the Civil War, underwent a massive renovation project several years ago to prepare it for school children, said Jay Shaffer, controller with Kinsley Construction.  Under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, property taxes on the improvements will be phased in over the course of 10 years. Taxes will still be charged throughout that time period.

Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford high schools makes AP National Honor Roll list
Pottstown Mercury By Mercury Staff POSTED: 11/29/15, 12:01 AM EST | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO
Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford Area high schools have been named to the AP National Honor Roll School District, according to the College Board.  This distinction was given to 425 school districts in the U.S. and Canada which simultaneously achieved increases in access to Advanced Placement courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or improved the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP Exam.  In Pennsylvania, Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford are two of only 43 schools that earned this honor and only two other schools in the Montgomery County earned a spot on the AP School District Honor Roll.

AP District Honor Roll
College Board website
The College Board is announcing the 6th Annual AP District Honor Roll — a list of 425 districts across the U.S. and Canada being honored for increasing access to AP® course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Reaching these goals indicates that these districts are successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit from rigorous AP course work.  National data from 2015 show that among black/African American, Hispanic, and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students are participating. The first step to delivering the opportunity of AP to students is providing access by ensuring courses are available, that gatekeeping stops, and that the doors are equitably opened so these students can participate. AP Honor Roll District’s are committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

ESEA Reauthorization: A Look at a Draft of the Bill
Education Week Politics K-12 Blog By Alyson Klein on November 29, 2015 3:01 PM
We've brought you all the details of the deal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and a peek at what appeared to be the framework, but we know you've been on pins and needles waiting for real, live legislative language.  And it looks like we have a late stage draft, from sources in the know, of what could become the latest iteration of the ESEA, the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. (One note: This is a draft, so expect at least a few tweaks when the bill is formally introduced, likely Monday.)  If the bill passes in the next few weeks, as lawmakers plan, it will replace the current version of the law that we all know and few folks like: the No Child Left Behind Act.   Dig into the bill below. For Title I, each part has its own PDF, except for Parts E and F, which share a PDF. All other titles have separate PDFs. 

"Does high performance on standardized assessments truly equate to what we all mean by achievement?  Research shows otherwise: In 2003, the “gold standard” of charter schools, KIPP, had a graduating class that ranked fifth in New York City on the math standardized tests. Six years after entering college, only 21 percent of that cohort had earned a college degree."
Principal to N.Y. Gov. Cuomo: Stop spreading a false narrative about public education
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss November 27  
Jamaal Bowman is the principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle school in the Bronx.  The school’s website says that the mission of the school is to graduate “self-aware, hard-working and socially responsible 21st century learners.” Cornerstone Academy’s curriculum, based on the Common Core State State Standards, focuses on improving the “creative, critical, collaborative and higher-order thinking skills” of students.  Implementation of the standards and aligned testing in New York was widely described as a mess, and 20 percent of students across the state refused to take the Core tests this past spring as a protest. Cuomo took notice and in September, he created a task force to review the Common Core in his state. The New York Times just reported that Cuomo, a staunch advocate of making student standardized test scores up to 50 percent of teacher evaluations, may be ready to move away from that stance (which would be a significant change) and is awaiting the task force’s conclusions. (It could happen but don’t hold your breath.)  Here’s an open letter that Bowman wrote to Cuomo about the governor’s education agenda:

"It's not as much that we're failing — the country in general is failing poor black kids in every major city," said Edward DeShazer, executive director of Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy."
Failing Milwaukee voucher schools: “These are experiments that are being run on black students”
Fox6Now Milwaukee POSTED 9:15 PM, NOVEMBER 25, 2015, BY MEGHAN DWYER AND JOHN PARNON, UPDATED AT 09:45PM, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
MILWAUKEE — A FOX6  Investigation shows poor, minority families are choosing to send their kids to some of the worst performing Choice schools in Milwaukee.  "It's not every school," said Rep. Mandela Barnes (D-Milwaukee). "It's not every school at all. But the fact is, these are experiments that are being run on black students. That is what people need to understand."  Barnes wants to encourage parents to make more informed choices.  "When these schools you never heard of show up one day and people get a glossy flyer saying 'enroll your student today for a great education' you know, everything that glitters isn't gold," Barnes said.  The FOX6 Investigators looked at voucher school test data from the last two school years — some of the only data currently publicly available for these private schools.  The schools with the worst test scores had nearly 100 percent minority enrollment (and the majority of the students at these schools are on vouchers).  While the test scores don't tell the whole story, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program — at least in Milwaukee — hasn't yet bridged the racial gap in educational achievement.

2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Where did the 2016 presidential candidates go to high school?
Quora Blog by Lee Ballentine, Poet, engineer, three time Top Writer on Quora.
The publc school kids are having a good run this cycle. The presidency has been pretty weighted toward prep school kids in the past. Here are some of the 2016 Presidential candidates and where they went to school.
Public school
  • Democrat Hillary Clinton graduated from Maine South High School, in a suburb of Chicago.
  • Republican Ben Carson graduated from Southwestern High School, Detroit.
  • Independent/Democrat Bernie Sanders graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn.
  • Republican Chris Christie graduated from Livingston High School, New Jersey.
  • Republican Marco Rubio graduated from South Miami High School.
Private school
  • Republican Jeb Bush went to Andover (Phillips Academy Andover) one of America's most exclusive prep schools, founded in 1778, a Massachusetts boarding school.
  • Republican Donald Trump graduated from the New York Military Academy, a military and prep school founded in 1889.
  • Democrat Martin O'Malley graduated from Gonzaga College High School in Washington DC. A Jesuit school, Gonzaga is the oldest private school in Washington, founded in 1829.
  • Republican Carly Fiorina attended both public and private schools including the exclusive Channing School in London and a school in Ghana. She ultimately graduated from Charles E. Jordan High School, a public school in Durham, North Carolina.
  • Republican Ted Cruz graduated from the religious Second Baptist School in Houston, Texas.

Who Funds Jeb Bush’s Education Foundation?
Diane Ravitch's Blog By dianeravitch November 29, 2015 //
It is common knowledge that Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Educational Excellence supports charters, vouchers, and digital learning. When he announced his run for the GOP nomination, he stepped down and brought in Condaleeza Rice to lead FEE.  Who provided the money to showcase Bush’s education platform? Bush released his list of donors from 2007-14.
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Big-time donors to a nonprofit educational group founded by Jeb Bush, disclosed for the first time Wednesday, highlight the intersection between Bush’s roles in the worlds of business, policy and politics years before he began running for president….
After leaving the Florida governor’s office in 2007, Bush formed the Foundation for Excellence in Education, with a mission “to build an American education system that equips every child to achieve their God-given potential.” With Bush serving as president, the group attracted $46 million from donors through 2014.


Kenney holding five town halls to get feedback from Philly residents
WHYY Newsworks BY KATIE COLANERI NOVEMBER 30, 2015
Got a question or concern for Philadelphia Mayor-Elect Jim Kenney? You could have your chance to tell him in person this week.  Starting tonight, Kenney will hold a series of five town hall style meetings in the north, south, west and northeast sections of Philadelphia.   During a press conference earlier this month, he said the ideas and issues that come out of these meetings will be passed along to members of his large transition team, which will put out a final report in January laying out the Kenney administration's priorities.  "I think it's always important that not only are we inclusive of every community and every neighborhood in the city, but that we listen to what people have to say," Kenney said. "They pay taxes, they live and work in our city and they have something to say and we want to make sure that they're included."  All members of the public are invited, but are encouraged to RSVP online atKenneyForPhiladelphia.com. Those who can't make the meetings in-person can give their input at the same website. 
Here's the schedule:
Central High School, 1700 W. Olney Avenue
Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad Street
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
School of the Future, 40th & Parkside Avenue
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Mayfair Community Center, 2990 Saint Vincent Street
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Strawberry Mansion High School, 3133 Ridge Avenue
Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

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 PassNote: 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

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

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

Friday, November 27, 2015

PA Ed Policy Roundup Nov 27: Past Chester Community Charter testing head disciplined in cheating scandal

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3800 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, Superintendents, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup November 27, 2015:
Past Chester Community Charter testing head disciplined in cheating scandal


Past Chester Community Charter testing head disciplined in cheating scandal
The state's largest bricks-and-mortar charter is operated for profit by a GOP power broker. Its test scores plunged in 2012 when security measures were tightened.
the notebook By Dale Mezzacappa and Paul Socolar on Nov 25, 2015 05:09 PM
A former testing coordinator at Chester Community Charter School, the state’s largest bricks-and-mortar charter with more than 3,000 students, has been sanctioned by the state for “systemic violations of the security of the PSSA exams” over the five-year period between 2007 and 2011.  The school was under scrutiny for testing irregularities by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as part of a statewide cheating scandal that broke in 2011.  CCCS is operated for profit by a company owned by Vahan Gureghian, a major Republican donor and power broker who was among the largest individual contributors to former Gov. Tom Corbett’s campaign and a member of his education transition team. During his term, Corbett visited CCCS to tout it as an exemplar of high-quality education for low-income communities.  Now with two campuses, CCCS has drawn more than half the K-8 students who live in the Chester Upland School District

"odds that erasure patterns were random…were between 1 in a quadrillion & 1 in a quintillion”
 The state’s overcautious approach may have been driven by fear. Contracts totaling $750,000 with the law firm Pepper Hamilton, obtained by the Notebook, reveal that lawyers attempted to discern whether the state had subpoena power, and noted that “some schools may resist PDE’s investigation, and litigation may ensue.” Most of the legal work appeared to involve Philadelphia schools and area charters — including Chester Community Charter School
The latter would make for a fearsome legal opponent. CSMI, a management company to which the school, according to a 2012 Inquirer article, pays $16.7 million (more than 41 percent of the charter’s budget), is run by businessman and political powerhouse Vahan Gureghian, Gov. Tom Corbett’s top campaign contributor and a member of his education transition team. The charter enrolls the majority of Chester Upland district’s kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students. In December, the chronically broke Chester Upland district was placed under state control; they had just exited 16 years of state control in 2010. 
Gureghian unsuccessfully sued the Inquirer over a 2008 investigation that examined “whether the school is spending too much of its budget on administration and too little on teaching.” The next year, he sued the 18-year-old proprietor of a blog, Homes of the Rich, for posting a photo of his 10-bedroom, $13.5 million, Main Line mansion. It is surrounded by a moat. So, it appears, is his school."
Citypaper July 2013: How Pennsylvania schools erased a cheating scandal
Tainted scores throw an entire way of running schools into question.
Citypaper By Daniel Denvir Published: 07/18/2013

"The owner is a trust linked to Philadelphia lawyer and charter-school entrepreneur Vahan Gureghian and his lawyer wife, Danielle. Three years ago, she told town officials the house was the couple’s dream home, but their plans appear to have changed."
March 2015: North End Palm Beach mansion listed at $84.5M
By Darrell Hofheinz Daily News Real Estate Writer Posted: 5:03 p.m. Monday, March 30, 2015
Priced at $84.5 million, a direct-oceanfront mansion under construction on the North End has entered the market as the island’s most expensive property, according to the local multiple listing service.  Sporting its own bowling alley, the French-style house is rising on the double lot – expansive even by Palm Beach standards – that measures about 2 acres with 242 feet of beachfront at 1071 N. Ocean Blvd.


A backlash against pervasive testing
As parents and students statewide forgo high-stakes exams, a broader movement grows.
the notebook By Bill Hangley Jr. on Nov 25, 2015 04:29 PM
Janet Zheng, a Northeast High School junior, says the material she’s learned in class doesn’t align with two Keystone exams she has taken. “We just don’t have time,” she said.  Growing up in China, Janet Zheng got used to taking tests. But she also got used to getting the preparation she needed from her classes, which is why the American system makes no sense to her.  “You take this much test,” she said, holding her hands apart, “with this little knowledge,” pulling them together.  Zheng is a junior at Northeast High School. She’s aced the Algebra I Keystone exam and takes AP calculus. But the two other Keystones have been a struggle, especially Biology. The test material doesn’t line up with what’s taught in class, she said. Teachers try to help, but support is hit or miss, especially for English language learners like her.  And part of the problem, she said, is that everybody has so many other tests to worry about.  “Northeast is a good school, but we just don’t have time,” she said. “We don’t have, like, one month just for Keystones. PSATs is crazy enough.”  Zheng doesn’t think it’s fair to judge her or other students based on how she does on Keystones or similar tests. The way she sees it, if she does well on her SATs, she’ll be on her way to the college of her choice, no matter what.
“You didn’t pass the Biology Keystone, now you can’t go to college?” she said, shaking her head with smile. “That’s crazy!”

"In short, it’s time to rethink our testing system from top to bottom."
End of a nightmare?
Opinion By the Notebook on Nov 25, 2015 12:01 PM
High-stakes standardized tests are falling out of favor. From President Obama and Congress to School District leaders, we are finally hearing recognition of the unintended consequences of over-testing and overemphasizing test results.  Philadelphia schools have lived through 20 years of test-based accountability. At first, it involved rewards and some punishments for schools based on standardized test scores.  Over time, the stakes for schools, staff, and students were steadily raised. Punishments for low-scoring schools have included curtailing autonomy in decision-making and imposing a highly regimented, dumbed-down, remedial curriculum. Lately, the threat has been charter conversion or outright closing.  Some key architects of test-based accountability – from former Superintendent David Hornbeck in Philadelphia to Sen. Ted Kennedy in Congress – saw it as a way to enforce higher learning standards in schools that chronically underserved their students. Test-based rewards and sanctions were supposed to force schools once and for all to address deep-seated race and class inequities. Measuring the disparities and racial gaps in outcomes would go hand-in-hand with providing equal inputs.  But resources were seldom delivered where they were needed. Instead, schools were labeled as “failing” wherever teachers, parents, and students couldn’t achieve at high levels.

Editorial: Turn the tables on Harrisburg’s shell game
Delco Times Editorial POSTED: 11/26/15, 10:00 PM EST 
Two can play this game.  That’s the message being delivered to Harrisburg from officials in Bucks County.  They announced this week they would withhold all payments owed to the commonwealth until the state has a new budget in place.  Good for them.  Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans in the state Legislature have been playing this financial shell game – Harrisburg’s own version of “Let’s Make a Deal” – for more than four months. The state constitution mandates that Pennsylvania’s elected officials have a new spending plan in place by July 1.  It’s one of the few things even his fiercest critics could agree on about former Gov. Tom Corbett. For four years he delivered a spending blueprint on time.  No one expected the same thing when voters send him packing and threw their lot behind York businessman Wolf.  But no one realistically predicted this – Thanksgiving Day has come and gone and still no spending plan in place.

News Release: Survey shows schools’ growing fiscal insecurity due to budget impasse
PSBA News Release November 25, 2015
Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) released a Budget Impasse Impact report this week based on a survey of public school leaders in Pennsylvania. At this time, districts are without 30% of anticipated state subsidies and largely dependent on tax revenue, fund balance and borrowing options to continue day-to-day operations in schools. The survey shows, as expected, that districts most heavily reliant on state aid are quickly approaching a very perilous precipice.  PSBA’s report analyzes data collected from a survey of Pennsylvania school leaders that was conducted in October and again in November for the purpose of gauging how deeply the lack of state funding has impacted school districts. The November survey update was distributed statewide, generating responses from school leaders in 225 (45%) of Pennsylvania’s public school districts. More than a quarter of those surveyed indicated that non-receipt of state subsidies has had a direct, negative impact on programs and services within their districts.

Councilwoman-elect vows to work for education, 'quality life' for all Philadelphians
WHYY Newsworks BY TOM MACDONALD NOVEMBER 26, 2015
One of the newly elected members of Philadelphia City Council says she will have a "laser focus" on several priorities, not just the one she's known for.   Education activist Helen Gym, who will take office in January, said she will continue to crusade for the issues she cares about as an at-large member of Philadelphia City Council.  "A quality life for every Philadelphia resident," she said. "Including, and most importantly, for schoolchildren in the city, for workers and for people who are really struggling.  I think that's a  very important aspect of why I ran and something I hope to bring some energy to on City Council."  Combating poverty, hunger and a lack of housing are all near the top of the list, she said.  She is one of five new members who will join Council in January.  Most, like Gym, are Democrats, but one is Republican.

"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.

"As soon as we are convinced that we have the extra two votes that we need, we'll find another bill to amend (the proposal into)," said Sen. David G. Argall, a Schuylkill County Republican who represents parts of Berks.
SB76: Lawmakers, advocates vow to continue fight to eliminate school property taxes
Reading Eagle By Liam Migdail-Smith  Wednesday November 25, 2015 12:01 AM
Activists who want to see the end of school property taxes say they're not viewing the plan's razor-thin defeat in the state Senate as the pinnacle of their work.  Supporters said Tuesday they're hoping the exposure generated by the vote and supporters' frustration that it didn't pass will buoy their efforts to finish the job.  Past attempts to advance the proposal failed to gain traction or met overwhelming defeat. On Monday, senators reached a 24-24 tie on a bill which would shift school funding to higher sales and income taxes. Lt. Gov. Mike Stack cast a deciding no vote.  "I don't think we're ready to just pack up and go away over a tie vote in the Senate," said Ron Boltz, an organizer with the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations. "Because really, this is forward progress for us."  The proposal has attracted friends and foes of both parties and has long been a top issue for Berks lawmakers. Lawmakers behind the effort said they won't ease up. 

Incentive to finish the #PABudget? Trump set to headline Pa. Society Event: Friday Morning Coffee
Penn Live By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on November 27, 2015 at 8:25 AM
Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative Republicans were making encouraging noises earlier this week about having a budget finished sometime in the first week in December.  But did a billionaire presidential candidate just hand the GOP some extra incentive to move things to an expeditious finish?  Maybe ...One-man Quote Machine and GOP hopeful Donald Trump is set to headline this year's Commonwealth Club Luncheon at the swank Park Plaza Hotel on Central Park.

Districts feel substitute shortage
York Daily Record by Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com2:31 p.m. EST November 24, 2015
Being a substitute teacher can have its challenges, Richard Muldrow III acknowledges.
It can take a while for students to get used to you, said Muldrow, who substitutes each day at Ferguson K-8 School in York City. They're accustomed to their own teacher, and gaining their respect can take work.  Muldrow -- who previously played football in the Arena Football League -- is at Ferguson every day, and he fills in wherever needed, from the library to the gymnasium. And while there are challenges, he said, there's good, too.  "It's a blessing because you get to work with kids where you're from," he said.  Muldrow, 26, who has a degree in history and emergency certification, wants to follow in the footsteps of his grandmother, the late Julia Hines-Harris, a longtime, well-respected city educator. He plans to study more to become a full-time educator and says substituting is a good way to get a feel for the role.

Midstate students affected by closing of cyberschool's learning centers
Education Plus Academy, a Delaware County-based cyberschool, announced this week it was closing its learning and tutoring centers and is reported as attributing the state budget impasse as a factor behind that decision.
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on November 25, 2015 at 5:22 PM, updated November 25, 2015 at 5:52 PM
Students from several midstate school districts who attend the Philadelphia area-based Education Plus Academy cyber charter school learned this week the school's learning and tutoring centers were closing.  A letter sent out to parents cited the state budget impasse as a factor behind that decision although a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer suggested the school, based in Wayne, Delaware County, had encountered other challenges since it opened in 2012.   That story indicates the school's CEO Nick Torres said some of the school's teachers from six of its learning centers would remain on staff to provide online education to students. 

Peters teachers, students return to school today after month-long strike
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 27, 2015 7:51 AM
Peters Township students and teachers returned to the classroom this morning after a 21-day strike ended without any resolution to a contract dispute in the district.  By state law, the 4,300 students had to return to class today in order to receive the mandated 180 instructional days during the school year. The lost time will be made up by canceling all non-mandatory holiday breaks and other previous scheduled days off, and students will be in class until June 15 — six days later than planned.  Despite more than 20 negotiating sessions since January, the district and the teachers union have been unable to reach any meaningful agreement on a host of issues.  The 285 teachers in the district have been without a contract since their last five-year pact expired in August.  State law calls for nonbinding arbitration to follow the first strike. Afterward, if an agreement isn’t reached, teachers can strike a second time, but it will be of shorter duration than the first because the second strike must allow 180 days of education by June 30.

School lunch group hopes to revise rules it calls impractical, too restrictive
Trib Live By Mary Pickels Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015, 11:30 p.m. Updated 10 hours ago
On a recent school day, Belle Vernon Area High School students picked up lunch trays featuring ziti, breadsticks, a tossed salad, fruit and milk.  No chips.  No cookies.
For the last five years, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 has strictly mandated the levels of sodium, calories and whole-grain foods American students consume in school lunches.  “School lunch is truly the most regulated meal in America,” said Amy Keeler, food service director with the Brownsville Area School District.  The act funds the $12 billion-a-year National School Lunch Program and provides $3 billion annually for school breakfasts.  But the legislation expired in September and its reauthorization is being negotiated, a situation the School Nutrition Association — with more than 55,000 members — sees as an opportunity to revisit and possibly revise some of the rules they see as restrictive and impractical.


The Gift of Reading
New York Times Opinion by Frank Bruni NOV. 25, 2015
The list of what a child needs in order to flourish is short but nonnegotiable.  Food. Shelter. Play. Love.  Something else, too, and it’s meted out in even less equal measure.
Words. A child needs a forest of words to wander through, a sea of words to splash in. A child needs to be read to, and a child needs to read.  Reading fuels the fires of intelligence and imagination, and if they don’t blaze well before elementary school, a child’s education — a child’s life —may be an endless game of catch-up.  That’s a truth at the core of the indispensable organization Reading Is Fundamental, a nonprofit group that provides hundreds of thousands of free books annually to children age 8 or younger, in particular those from economically disadvantaged homes, where books are a greater luxury and in shorter supply.  I shine a light on Reading Is Fundamental, or R.I.F., for several reasons.  We’re in the midst of giving thanks, and this group deserves plenty. It has distributed more than 410 million books to more than 40 million American children.

Days Could Be Numbered for No Child Left Behind
Education Week By Alyson Klein Published Online: November 25, 2015
After more than a decade, Congress appears to be on the verge of leaving the almost universally unpopular No Child Left Behind Act ... well, behind. Lawmakers have spent months behind the scenes crafting a deal that would scale back the federal role under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—the 14-year-old NCLB law is the latest iteration—for the first time since the early 1980s. The compromise, the Every Student Succeeds Act, sailed through a conference committee this month, with just one dissenting vote, from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is running for president. It's expected to be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives next week. The measure's prospects in the Senate are rosy, but it could run into trouble with House conservatives.  The bipartisan agreement seeks to give states miles of new running room on accountability, school turnarounds, teacher evaluation, and more, while maintaining No Child Left Behind's signature transparency provisions, such as annual testing in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school.

Project to recognize ‘high schools of opportunity’ for all students goes national
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss November 11  
Last year, a project called Schools of Opportunity was launched as a pilot effort to honor high schools that work hard to offer all students a chance to succeed. Spearheaded by two veteran educators, it was different from other efforts to rate and rank schools through the use of student standardized test scores and data points. Instead, the Schools of Opportunity project sought to identify and recognize public high schools that seek to close opportunity gaps through practices “that build on students’ strengths” — not by inundating them with tests and obsessing on the scores. Seventeen schools were selected, and this blog spotlighted each winner.  Now, the pilot project that was concentrated in Colorado and New York is going national for the 2015-16 school year. Applications are welcome from public high schools in every state; you can find out how to submit one at the website, here, and in the post below.  The people behind the project are Carol Burris and Kevin Welner. Burris is  a former New York high school principal who is now executive director of the non-profit Network for Public Education Fund. A frequent contributor to The Answer Sheet, she was named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, and in 2013, the same organization named her the New York State High School Principal of the Year. Welner is a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Education who specializes in educational policy and law. He is director of theNational Education Policy Center at UC Boulder, which produces high-quality peer-reviewed research to inform education policy.  In this post, Burris and Welner talk about taking their project nationwide for the current school year. When the winners are selected in 2016, The Answer Sheet will write about each one.

"More than two dozen other candidates and lawmakers across the political spectrum received Gülen-linked donations that appear questionable, including Clinton and Jeb Bush. The movement runs more than 100 charter schools and dozens of Turkish cultural centers and "intercultural dialogue" groups around the country. Employees move around among the schools and among the non-profit groups, so it is hard to keep track of who is working where at any given time.
This feature of the Gülen movement has been called "strategic ambiguity" by Joshua Hendrick, a professor at Loyola University Maryland, and it makes it impossible to trace the root source of funding for any Gülen activities."
U.S. lawmakers got suspect Turkish campaign cash
Paul Singer, USA TODAY10:13 a.m. EST November 23, 2015
WASHINGTON — A Turkish religious movement accused of illegally financing congressional travel abroad may have also provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of improper campaign donations to congressional and presidential candidates during the past several years, a USA TODAY investigation has found.  USA TODAY has identified dozens of large campaign donations attributed to people with modest incomes, or from people who had little knowledge of to whom they had given, or from people who could not be located at all. All the donors appear to have ties to a Turkish religious movement named for its founder, Fethullah Gülen. USA TODAY reported last month that the movement has secretly funded more than 200 foreign trips for members of Congress and their staff.

USA Today: Gulen Charter Chain Giving Campaign Cash to American Politicians
Diane Ravitch's Blog by dianeravitch November 25, 2015
I am not sure why one of the largest charter chains in the U.S. is run by foreign nationals. But the Gulen chain has over 100 schools, which operate in many states under different names. One way to tell a Gulen school is that every member of the board is a Turkish man.  How did they proliferate? The old-fashioned way: By making friends in key places.  USA Today reports that Turkish men with modest incomes working for the Gulen chain made donations to members of Congress and Presidential candidates. If USA Today digs deeper, it will find contributions to state legislators as well as free trips to Turkey, all expenses paid.


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 PassNote: 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

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

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