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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup January 19, 2016:
‘Holding the line’ in Harrisburg
" It is important to
consider that HB 1460’s 1.8 percent increase in basic education funding is more
than offset by state-required pension contributions that increased by 22
percent this year, or an estimated 11 percent increase in state-required
funding for charter schools; the figure is higher still for cybercharter
schools."
‘Holding the line’ in Harrisburg means
raising local property taxes
Lancaster
Online Opinion by HARVEY MILLER and ADAM SCHOTT | SPECIAL TO LNP January 18,
2016
Residents
of the School District of Lancaster must feel like characters in the Bill
Murray film “Groundhog Day.” Like last
year and the year before — and the year before that — SDL is staring down
a multimillion-dollar deficit that is wholly the product of forces outside our
control. And, consistent with recent history, we are now forced to raise
property taxes to correct for Harrisburg’s failure to deliver on promised
school funding. The only wrinkle this year is that we are faced with the
extraordinary task of building next year’s 2016-17 budget while the 2015-16
fiscal plan remains in limbo. The latest
chapter in the 2015-16 budget debate is House Bill 1460, which passed just
before Christmas and was partially vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 29. We
would like to take this opportunity to fact-check several talking points from
Harrisburg lawmakers concerning this legislation.
Claim
No. 1: HB 1460 takes “education spending to record levels.”
The test
of a fair budget isn’t whether it spends more than last year’s spending plan,
especially when Pennsylvania voters have identified education as a top priority
and view current spending levels as inadequate. Rather, the standard
should be whether the budget allows local districts to provide a high-quality
public education and meet state-mandated expenses. It is important to
consider that HB 1460’s 1.8 percent increase in basic education funding is more
than offset by state-required pension contributions that increased by 22
percent this year, or an estimated 11 percent increase in state-required
funding for charter schools; the figure is higher still for cybercharter
schools. The disconnect between state mandates and state funding is the
chief factor in years of staff and program cuts in districts across
Pennsylvania, and HB 1460 will do nothing to arrest this trend. In fact,
the legislation represents just the third budget in the past 20 years that
reduces education investments from a governor’s proposed level of funding.
Centre
Daily Times Opinion BY MARY M. DUPUIS January 18, 2015
Mary M. Dupuis is education
committee chairwoman of the State College Branch, American Association of
University Women.
Thanks
to a seven-month budget stalemate, Pennsylvania state government begins 2016
without a full budget, leaving the short- and long-term needs of every school —
and every student — unmet. In the short
term, the partial spending plan recently signed by Gov. Tom Wolf will provide
desperately needed money for schools and human services, but only enough to
stave off closures and further cuts for the next few months. The extended budget deadlock forced scores of
districts to borrow emergency funds just to keep their doors open. In addition,
all Centre County districts were forced to make cuts when the education budget
was slashed several years ago. Clinton and Mifflin counties and Williamsburg
Area School District made shockingly deep cuts.
Equally upsetting, efforts to fix our broken public school funding
system remain unresolved in the face of the deadlock. Pennsylvania’s system
does not provide enough resources to educate every student to the necessary
academic standards, nor does it distribute dollars according to a fair and
valid formula. The result is that Pennsylvania has the widest funding gap
between wealthy and poor school districts of any state in the country.
State government sued by Pennsylvania School
The Penn State
Republicans
are pointing the finger at Democrats and Democrats are pointing the finger at
Republicans, but Steve Robinson believes the continuing budget impasse
resulting in the lack of full education funding is a “collective failure of
government.” The Pennsylvania
legislatures and the governor have been unable to agree on a budget for longer
than six months, which has prompted the Pennsylvania School Board Association
to take legal action in suing the Pennsylvania legislature and the governor,
saying it is a legal and constitutional obligation for the government to fund
education. The Pennsylvania government recently signed into
law a partial budget, which will allow for partial funding of the schools, but
the PSBA does not believe this is adequate.
Reprise March
2015: F&M Poll: Education Funding, Property Taxes are Top Priorities
PoliticsPA Written by Nick Field, Managing Editor
March 26, 2015
In Harrisburg , lawmakers are
currently discussing a wide variety of issues as budget talks heat up. As a result, Franklin and Marshall decided to survey PA
residents to find out what their top priorities are. Coming in first was “increasing state funding
for public education” which narrowly edged out “reforming the state’s tax
system to reduce local property taxes” by a 27% to 25% margin. The ranking of the other top priorities was
as follows: “passing a plan that deals with the state’s pension obligations”
(15%); “reduce overall state spending” (15%); “increasing the state’s minimum
wage” (8%); and “privatizing the liquor stores” (1%).
There
was quite the partisan divide, however, in the responses.
Analysis: The
New Normal
PoliticsPA Written by Nick Field, Managing Editor
January 18, 2016
We’re
approaching Governor Tom Wolf’s one year anniversary in office.
Before
he took the oath, I examined if
he could be effective in Harrisburg and quoted the former President John Adams’
assertion that “I am determined to control events, not be controlled by
them”. It would surely be fair to say
Gov. Wolf has been controlled by events.
The prime example of this is the
lack of a full budget agreement. The stalemate is widely viewed as
the Governor’s major failure during his first year in office and proof that he
is having an extraordinary difficult time adjusting to the job. In reality, however, our budget situation is
not the product of a him or even the group of individuals who run the state
legislature. Rather our situation is a reflection of the sentiments of the
public at large and the peculiar structure of our government. Most
commentators, and even most citizens, believe that it is imperative that the
Governor and the state legislature get a deal done. They believe the lack of
compromise is the cause of all problems and the root of the public’s anger. But what if that isn’t the case at all?
Lancaster General Health looks to open
student clinic at McCaskey High School
Lancaster
Online by Kara Newhouse Staff Writer January 18, 2016
Starting
next fall, McCaskey High School students with a sore throat or other common
ailments might not have far to go for medical treatment. The School District of Lancaster board is
weighing a proposal from Lancaster General Health to create a
health center at the 2,600-student high school.
The goal is to make it easier to access health care, Lancaster General's
Director of Community Health Alice Yoder said. "The whole idea is to keep
the child healthy and keep them in school," she said. Numerous studies in the last 20 years have
found that school-based health centers increase adolescents’ use of medical
care. "It seems like an awesome
thing," said board member Candace Roper at a work session on Jan. 12. Lancaster General already operates three free
clinics at elementary schools in the district, but would charge for services at
the proposed high school center. A
two-year pilot at McCaskey would allow Lancaster General to work out a billing
system, which it could later use at the elementary clinics, Yoder said. The plan would not cost any money to the
district. The school board will vote on the proposal at its Tuesday night
meeting.
Blogger note: Now if we could
just get the other 49 PA senators to pony up…
Sen. Wagner
loans more to Thackston Charter
The Spring Garden Township
Republican's loans to York's Thackston Charter School will have grown to nearly
$890,000 on Wednesday.
York Daily
Record by Flint L. McColgan and Angie Mason,
amason@ydr.com3:49 p.m. EST January 18, 2016
State
Sen. Scott Wagner's loans to York's Helen Thackston Charter School will reach a
little more than $889,000 on Wednesday, he said Monday. The Spring Garden Township Republican first
floated a $400,000 loan to the school in late October to meet missed payroll
and to cover basic operating and insurance expenses. The school has not received any state funding
since late June, said Helen Thackston Charter School Board President
Danyiell Newman, who confirmed the total loan amount. Newman said she hopes to begin receiving
state funding later this week as part of the second round of state payouts now
that part of a state
budget is in place.
Wagner defends
controversial comment on Wolf
Flint L. McColgan,
fmccolgan@ydr.com4:03 p.m. EST January 18, 2016
“We
had him down on the floor with our foot on his throat and we let him up. Next
time, we won’t let him up.”
That's
what state Sen. Scott Wagner, R-Spring Garden Township, had to say about
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, according to a
report by Politics PA on the 2016 GOP Winter Meeting in Hershey on
Saturday. On Monday, the senator
confirmed he made the remark and stood by it. "Gov.
Wolf has waged war on the Republicans," he said by phone. "I stick by the statement because this
is a war between Gov. Wolf and conservative Republicans," he added.
"They continue to call me an extremist/Tea Party person, but I'm just a
lifelong Republican." He said he
was elected to represent the citizens of his district, which he says call on
him to oppose hikes to their taxes. Wagner
said that the budget Wolf wanted included $4.5 billion in additional taxes
"to fund education and all his grand ideas."
Dems want Sen.
Wagner comment denounced
York Dispatch by Greg Gross,
505-5433/@ggrossyd7:53 p.m. EST January 18, 2016
Pennsylvania
Democrats are crying foul after York County state Sen. Scott Wagner made a
comment — steeped in violent rhetoric, they said — directed at Gov.
Tom Wolf over the weekend. "We
had him down on the floor with our foot on his throat and we let him up. Next
time, we won't let him up," political news website PoliticsPa quoted
Wagner as saying. Wagner made the
comment when discussing the ongoing state budget impasse at the state GOP's
Winter Meeting in Hershey on Saturday, PoliticsPa reported.
Lawmakers need
to get rid of outdated seniority-based layoffs for teachers: Ashley DeMauro
PennLive
Op-Ed By Ashley DeMauro on
January 18, 2016 at 1:00 PM, updated January 18, 2016 at 1:03 PM
Ashley DeMauro is the state
director of StudentsFirst in Pennsylvania, a nonprofit working to ensure all
students have access to great teachers and great schools.
With a
portion of the state budget bill signed into law, schools have been anxious to
receive the funds that are owed to them by the state. Because of the lengthy budget impasse, state
payments to schools were frozen for more than half a year and the resulting
funding crisis continues to ripple throughout our state. Gov. Tom Wolf signed roughly six months of
funding for schools in law and negotiations for additional education dollars
have been put on ice. Given the fluidity of the situation, school districts
must be given the flexibility to effectively manage their workforce. Because of the lack of a student-weighted funding
formula to drive dollars out to Pennsylvania schools in previous years, more
than 90 percent of districts say they have reduced staff, according to a survey conducted
by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials.
The bill, part of the incomplete budget package, now moves to the state
Senate for further consideration.
Another
41 percent say they may need to reduce staff this year.
There's hope
for public education
School communities
are fighting back against charter takeovers.
the
notebook by Kendra Brooks January 18 — 11:55am
After Superintendent
Hite dropped the plan to turn Wister Elementary School in Germantown
into a Renaissance charter school, the Notebook asked two commentators to weigh in on the
move. Kendra Brooks of Parents United for Public Education gives her view
here. For a contrasting opinion, see what Jonathan
Cetel of PennCAN says here.
On
Jan. 11, the School District of Philadelphia announced
that John Wister Elementary School would be removed from consideration
for a charter takeover. The reason was questionable data that hid the fact that
Wister was actually on the upswing. But the real story was that the parents and
communities of Wister had from the beginning told the District that they had
chosen the wrong school for charter takeover.
Parents at Wister stood up for a neighborhood school with stable
leadership, a principal that had stayed with the school for 14 years, a
community approach to learning, and a dedication to literacy and enrichment
despite the budget cuts from Harrisburg for the last four years. But contrast that with the rhetoric from the
charter takeover groups trying to privatize public education in our city. For
two months, we parents listened to charter operators like Mastery revel in
the “failing schools” narrative in order to incite despair and desperation into
parents and force their move toward charter. Mastery learned few lessons from
their failed attempt
to take over Steel Elementary School in 2014, where I helped lead a
parent vote that went two-to-one against them. Mastery continues to enter into
communities with a divide-and-conquer mentality, disrespectful of longtime
educators and with all the arrogance and entitlement their wealthy backers
and lobbyists demand.
Hite made the
wrong decision on Wister
While the school
has seen growth, parents want and deserve much more.
the
notebook by Jonathan Cetel January 18 — 11:54am
After Superintendent
Hite dropped the plan to turn Wister Elementary School in Germantown
into a Renaissance charter school, the Notebook asked two commentators to weigh in on the
move. Jonathan Cetel of PennCAN gives his view here. For a
contrasting opinion, see what Kendra
Brooks of Parents United for Public Education says here.
In a
Jan. 14 article
in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Wister Elementary parent Alisha
Grant said, "If you know Mastery has a good track record, why wouldn't you
let them come in and get the job done?"
It’s a good question. After all, Mastery’s results have been
praised by the likes of Oprah and
President Obama;
it was one of 12 charter management organizations in the country last year to
be awarded
funding from the US Department of Education as part of a competitive
grant to replicate high-performing schools; and multiple research organizations
includingResearch
for Action and the School District’s own Office
of Research and Evaluation have shown that in Renaissance schools
student achievement and student attendance is up while student attrition and
violent incidents are down.
Ms.
Grant’s words are compelling, but the actions of parents are even more
persuasive. On Jan. 14, parents from Wister delivered
500 signed petitions to the SRC urging Dr. Hite to reconsider his
decision. Across all 20 Renaissance schools, there are now over 1,800
families who want to attend but can’t because the schools have reached
capacity.
Business workshop: Schools can target
commercial real estate tax assessments
Post
Gazette January 19, 2016 12:00 AM
Following
a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, Pennsylvania school
districts can selectively challenge real estate tax assessments on commercial
businesses.
The case
began when the Upper Merion Area School District hired a realty company to
identify commercial properties within the district that the county may have
under-assessed for real estate tax purposes. The district then appealed the
assessments on all of those properties. While
the school district’s appeals were pending, the owners of several apartment
buildings targeted filed a lawsuit against the school district and the realty
company, asserting that they unfairly targeted apartment buildings and other
high value commercial properties while choosing not to appeal any residential
assessments. According to the property
owners, the practice violated the Uniformity Clause of the Pennsylvania
Constitution, which states that taxing bodies must levy taxes uniformly among
“the same class of subjects.” he trial
court dismissed the lawsuit. On appeal, the Commonwealth Court upheld the trial
court’s decision.
Study Raises
Questions About State Takeovers of Urban School Districts
Education
Week District Dossier By Corey Mitchell on January 14, 2016 5:00
PM
State
takeovers of large urban school districts have become more common in recent
years, but there's no clear-cut evidence that the intervention leads to better
student performance or fiscal management, an analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts finds.
Using Pennsylvania's 2001 takeover of the
Philadelphia schools as a starting point, the Pew report
compares elements of the city's school governance structure with those of 15
similar urban districts, including Baltimore, Detroit, and Newark. The Pew analysis found that no form of school
governance, be it elected local school boards, mayoral control, or state
takeover, provides a surefire way to address the academic and fiscal issues,
and possible mismanagement, that large districts often face. "There is no indication that any
particular system for governing urban school districts is superior to another
in improving long-term academic performance," the report authors wrote.
"Too many other factors, experts say, help determine what happens in the
classroom, including the quality of principals and teachers, funding, and
parental expectations."
Remaining Locations:
- Central PA — Jan. 30 Nittany Lion Inn, State College
- Delaware Co. IU 25 — Feb. 1
- Scranton area — Feb. 6 Abington Heights SD, Clarks Summit
- North Central area —Feb. 13 Mansfield University, Mansfield
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
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.
Save
the Dates for These 2016 Annual EPLC Regional State Budget Education
Policy Forums
Sponsored
by The Education Policy and Leadership
Center
Thursday, February
11 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. - Harrisburg
Wednesday, February 17 - 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania )
Thursday, February 25 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. -Pittsburgh
Wednesday, February 17 - 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -
Thursday, February 25 - 8:30-11:00 a.m. -
Invitation
and more details in January
Save the Date | PBPC Budget Summit March
3rd
Pennsylvania
Budget and Policy Center
The
2015-2016 budget remains in a state of limbo. But it's time to start thinking
about the 2016-17 budget. The Governor will propose his budget for next year in
early February.
The
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will hold our annual Budget Summit on
March 3rd. Save the date and join us for an in-depth look at
the Governor's 2016-17 budget proposal, including what it means for education,
health and human services, the environment and local communities. And, of
course, if the 2015-2016 budget is not complete by then, we will also be
talking about the various alternatives still under consideration.
As in
year's past, this year's summit will be at the Hilton Harrisburg. Register today!
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.
2016 PA Educational
Leadership Summit July 24-26 State College
Summit Sponsors:
PA Principals Association - PA Association of School Administrators
- PA Association of Middle Level Educators - PA Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development
The 2016
Educational Leadership Summit, co-sponsored by four leading Pennsylvania education associations,
provides an excellent opportunity for school district administrative teams and
instructional leaders to learn, share and plan together at a quality venue in
"Happy Valley."
Featuring Grant
Lichtman, author of EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education,
Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (invited), and Dana
Lightman, author of POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have...
Create the Success You Want, keynote speakers, high quality breakout
sessions, table talks on hot topics and district team planning and job alike
sessions provides practical ideas that can be immediately reviewed and
discussed at the summit before returning back to your district. Register and pay by April 30, 2016 for the
discounted "early bird" registration rate:
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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