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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Weekend Roundup March 27, 2016:
#PABudget
Post Mortem
PSBA
Advocacy Forum & Day on the Hill APR
4, 2016 • 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Join PSBA and your fellow school directors for the third
annual Advocacy Forum on April 4, 2016, at the State Capitol in
Harrisburg.
Info and Registration: https://www.psba.org/event/psba-advocacy-forum-day-hill/
Campaign for Fair Education Funding - Rally for Public Education
Save the date: May 2nd at the Capitol
The #voterregistration
deadline for the #PaPrimary
is 3/28
Online PA Voter Registration
here:
EPLC
"Focus on Education" TV Program on PCN - Sunday, March
27 at 3:00 p.m.
Part 1: A Discussion on High
School Career and Technical Education in Pennsylvania, featuring:
Dr. Lee Burket, Director, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, PA Department of Education; Jackie Cullen, Executive Director, PA Association of Career and Technical Administrators; Dan Fogarty, Director of Workforce Development / Chief Operating Officer, Berks County Workforce Development Board; Seth Schram, Principal, Chester County Technical College High School - Brandywine Campus
Dr. Lee Burket, Director, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, PA Department of Education; Jackie Cullen, Executive Director, PA Association of Career and Technical Administrators; Dan Fogarty, Director of Workforce Development / Chief Operating Officer, Berks County Workforce Development Board; Seth Schram, Principal, Chester County Technical College High School - Brandywine Campus
Part 2: A Discussion on Citizens
for the Arts in Pennsylvania and Statewide and National Arts Education
Advocacy, featuring:
Jenny L. Hershour, Managing Director, Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania
Jenny L. Hershour, Managing Director, Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania
Ratings
agencies see much not to like in Pennsylvania budget
WTAE Published 10:40 AM EDT Mar 26, 2016
HARRISBURG,
Pa. —In the days
after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf finally put a stake in the Pennsylvania budget
impasse that has captured the Capitol for more than a year, his office wasted
no time in publicizing three analyses by financial firms that delved into what
it means for the state's future. The reviews were anything but positive. The administration late this week highlighted
reports from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and
PNC Financial Services Group that each, in different ways, found much to
criticize in how Pennsylvania policymakers have been doing their jobs.
Pennsylvania
budget ignores fiscal challenges, credit rating agency says
Reading Eagle by The Associated Press Saturday March 26, 2016 12:01 AM
HARRISBURG
— A credit rating agency on Thursday welcomed the end of
Pennsylvania's nine-month budget stalemate but said the spending package
doesn't resolve the state's structural budget deficit or address its looming
pension crisis. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf
backed off a veto threat and agreed to permit a Republican-penned $6.6 billion
supplemental spending package to become law, saying he relented because it was
"time to move on" and start work on the next budget. Moody's said Thursday that while
the budget represents an improvement over "political gridlock," it
fails to address the state's long-term fiscal challenges. "The approved budget ... casts no light
on the government's ability to reach compromise on its long-term fiscal
challenges," Moody's said in a statement.
Noting Pennsylvania faces sharply higher pension costs, the agency said
the budget fails to fully fund public employee pensions. It said Pennsylvania's
willingness to address the pension crisis "in spite of what could be slow
tax revenue growth will be a major factor in the commonwealth's credit
profile."
- See
more at: http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/pennsylvania-budget-ignores-fiscal-challenges-credit-rating-agency-says#sthash.g82pc96q.dpuf
Standard & Poor’s Says PA Budget
Outlook Is Negative
Reuters
by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services MARCH 24
BRIEF-S&P
says Pennsylvania debt ratings affirmed and off creditwatch after budget
impasse ends * Pennsylvania debt ratings
affirmed and off creditwatch after budget impasse ends; outlook negative. * Negative outlook reflects view that
lawmakers still face a projected budget gap for fiscal 2017 * In the immediate term, passage of budget
gives lawmakers starting point to address projected fiscal 2017 budget gap
Source text (bit.ly/1RBRuVw) (Bengaluru
Newsroom; +1 646 223 8780; )
New budget
leaves plenty of room for improvement: Editorial
By PennLive Editorial
Board on March 25, 2016 at 2:00 PM
After
nearly nine months, Pennsylvania's
longest-ever budget stalemate ended not with a bang but with a
whimper. Lots of whimpering, actually. And for good reason: Other than closing the
book on what ended up being a
roughly $30 billion 2015-16 spending plan, Gov. Tom Wolf and state
lawmakers accomplished precious little. Democrat
Wolf was unable to secure the additional funding he sought for education or any
of the new taxes he insisted were necessary to balance what he says are
hopelessly out of whack fiscal scales that will lead to future shortfalls. The statehouse's Republican majority couldn't
agree among themselves on a budget that would address systemic shortfalls, or
on public
pension reform to address the budget's number one cost driver.
Wolf warns of impending 2016-17 budget
crisis
GoErie By Ron
Leonardi 814-870-1680 Erie
Times-News March 25, 2016 01:46 PM
Democratic
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday warned Pennsylvanians that state finances are far
from healthy despite his decision Wednesday to allow the Republican-backed
2015-16 state budget to become law. Wolf
said Thursday he has to move forward and address a looming $2 billion deficit
for the 2016-17 fiscal year, and he warned in a blog post that "we need a
budget Pennsylvanians can be proud of -- one that funds essential services,
invests in education, eliminates the $2 billion deficit, and brings us back
from the brink. That's our job.''
Wolf on
Wednesday announced he would not veto a Republican-backed, $6.6 billion
spending plan that is part of a $30 billion 2015-16 state budget. Wolf's decision ended a nine-month budget
impasse that has dragged on since the start of the state's current fiscal year
on July 1. Wolf on Thursday said he will
allow the 2015-16 budget to become law without his signature.
“Perhaps the most
immediate impact of a veto will be the halt on new school construction
borrowing. House and Senate GOP leaders said they will have to consider the ramifications
of that. Wolf said authorizing new bond
debt to cover school building expenses would be prohibitively costly right now.
This is due to inflated costs resulting from the lack of efforts in the 2015-16
state budget to address a built-in $2 billion state revenue deficit, he added. Many districts are saddled with debt payments
for construction projects and some $300 million in state aid to help districts
with these payments has been held up during the impasse, said Jay Himes,
executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business
Officials.”
New Wolf veto (fiscal
code) to have impact
Citizens Voice BY ROBERT SWIFT Published: March 27,
2016
HARRISBURG
— The nine-month impasse over the state budget ended last week with one piece
of unfinished business remaining. Gov.
Tom Wolf will let a $6.6 billion supplemental budget bill written by Republican
lawmakers become law without his signature so schools and publicly supported
universities get needed state aid to stay open.
But Wolf plans to veto an accompanying fiscal code bill that spells out
how some of the money in the budget is spent. The
fiscal code bills were an afterthought in the budget process until perhaps a
decade ago. Then they started to be loaded up with other provisions — policy
matters or spending earmarks attached by lawmakers so they could be enacted in
the rush to pass a budget. Many of the earmarks in these bills are written in a
sort of code — a specific amount of money for a health care facility in a city
of the third class or county of the fourth class, for example. So it takes some
sleuthing to find out who the beneficiaries of these earmarks are.
Viewpoints from Marc
Stier, Director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and James Paul,
analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation…
Analysts:
Schools short-term winners, long-term losers in new budget
York Dispatch by Katherine Ranzenberger, 505-5439/@YDKatherine4:38
p.m. EDT March 24, 2016
Pennsylvania
budget analysts agree schools are the biggest winners — at least in the short
term — with the 2015-16 budget set to become law. The new budget will go into
effect Monday. Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday he would not
veto the budget, as he previously had threatened to do. Analysts from the two state policy think
tanks looked at the numbers Wednesday and offered varied
views on winners and losers in the state budget resolution.
The next Pa.
budget: Have we learned anything? Can we help ourselves?
Penn
Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
March 25, 2016 at 7:15 AM, updated March 25, 2016 at 10:20 PM
That was
interesting. 270 days after the due
date, all the policy and spending questions (most of them anyway) at the core
of Pennsylvania's never-ending 2015-16 budget debate have been resolved. But state budgets, like Easter Sundays and
baseball seasons, come around every year.
So in a few short months, the pressure will be on Gov. Tom Wolf and
legislative leaders to craft another spending plan for the sixth-largest state
in America. This time for the 2016-17 budget, which should take effect July 1. Our discussion point for the day: Can this be
better? Or, in the words of the U2 song, are we "stuck in a moment that we
can't get out of?"
Here are
some reasons to be hopeful, and some reasons to worry.
Inquirer
Editorial: Public schools shouldn't have to beg for money
Inquirer Updated: MARCH 27, 2016 — 3:01 AM EDT
Schools
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. doesn't plan to ask City Council for more
money this year, but that doesn't mean public schools don't need it. When Hite
told reporters in a budget briefing Thursday that he wouldn't make that
"ask," one couldn't help thinking he might be tired of begging the
city for money to educate its children. The
School District's share of the $30 billion state budget that will go into
effect without Gov. Wolf's signature is not only very late but also close to
last year's $1.38 billion, with a relatively modest $52 million increase
expected. That will allow the district to finish the school year, but it will
remain challenged by the fiscal mire created by former Gov. Tom Corbett's cuts. This year's state budget, which arrived nine
months past its due date because the Democratic governor and Republican-led
legislature couldn't agree on spending and taxes, forced school districts
across the state to borrow money to stay open. Loans will cost the Philadelphia
schools $8 million in debt service.
Pennsylvania Played Chicken with Budget
Morning Call Bill White Contact Reporter
March 24, 2016
Gov.
Wolf had no choice but to let budget go through
As I’ve written before, there’s plenty of
criticism to go around in the state budget impasse, which had a devastating
effect on our schools and social services.
I thought new Gov. Tom Wolf poisoned the well with some
of his early comments, making it more difficult to sell a compromise when he
finally decided that was necessary, and you could argue that he extended the
impasse by not allowing the lack of a budget to shut down state services.
I thought House Democrats showed too
much resistance to changes in public employee pensions and our state liquor
control system. And the fact that House and Senate Republicans can’t get along
added an extra monkey wrench to the situation.
Mostly, though, I blame conservative House Republicans who months ago
shot down an attempt at a compromise agreement and have clung for whatever
reason to the idea that Pennsylvanians loved the job Tom Corbett did as governor,
pursuing his same strategy of employing budgetary tricks to avoid facing the
reality of a structural deficit that continues to drag down the state’s credit
rating.
“Yep, after nine months
without a budget, they’re still not deviating from the Republican playbook or
even pretending to address the independently verified fact of Pennsylvania’s
massive structural budget deficit.”
Budget tricks
are for kids
Chambersburg Public Opinion1:26
p.m. EDT March 25, 2016
“I hope the governor has learned a lesson from
the painful mess that he caused ...”
That was
Republican state Sen John H. Eichelberger Jr.’s response this past week to Gov.
Tom Wolf’s decision to allow the unbalanced Republican budget for last year to
take effect without his approval. Here’s
what Franklin County’s Republican senator, Rich Alloway said:
“How we
proceed from here is largely up to Governor Wolf. The actions and attitude of
his Administration have set the tone for the budget debate, and that tone has
been undeniably negative. However, if he is willing to work in a cooperative,
bipartisan manner ...'
“Lawmakers and Wolf might
start with heeding the message of a new Franklin & Marshall College poll
that found 79 percent of voters believe their elected leaders should compromise
to complete the budget. Just 17 percent said elected officials should be
unyielding on principles even if the budget doesn’t get passed.
In addition to the
structural deficit, the two sides left on the table a number of issues critical
to Pennsylvania’s future, including the state’s long-term pension crisis and
local property tax reform. Republicans would also like to finally get the state
out of the liquor business, something we have long supported.”
Editorial: Time to get to work on next Pa.
budget
Centre
Daily Times Opinion March 25, 2016
A
considerable amount of the coverage and commentary about the end to
Pennsylvania’s infuriating budget impasse focused on which side of the
political aisle got the better of it.
Let’s be
clear. Pennsylvania and Pennsylvanians got the worst of it. They deserve
better. Much better. After threatening
another veto, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday gave up on the stare-down
and said he’d let the rest of the 2015-16 budget take effect without his
signature. That means the state will at last have a complete budget — nearly
nine months after it was supposed to have one and a little more than three
months before it’s supposed to have another.
That’s welcome news for local school systems, at least in the immediate
sense. Their leaders will no longer have to worry about shutting down schools
or borrowing money to keep them going. But that relief didn’t come before
school districts had paid more than $40 million in interest and fees.
The
final, stitched-together $30 billion budget does contain $200 million more for
public schools, half of what Wolf sought. And it includes no broad-based tax
increases, which is what Republicans in the legislature were most against.
EDITORIAL: Pa.
budget impasse ends but sour taste remains
Pottstown
Mercury Editorial POSTED: 03/27/16, 2:00 AM EDT |
The
trickle-down theory is alive and well in Harrisburg. The misery continues to
trickle down. Well into month nine of a disgraceful budget impasse, Gov. Tom
Wolf finally caved in and signed a House measure that frees some money for
schools and human services. The state
now has a budget — for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
But the end of the budget impasse but does little to address the larger
goals of insuring adequate and predictable school funding, getting under
control ballooning pension obligations or eliminating the property tax. The drumbeat of who had been hurt by this
impasse sounds: First it was schools. Then it was social programs, followed by
early learning and Pre-K programs. All
have been squeezed by the failure of Democratic Gov. Wolf and the Republican
Legislature to agree on a spending plan.
Editorial:
Expect more of the same from Harrisburg
Delco
Times Editorial POSTED: 03/27/16, 5:15 AM EDT | UPDATED: 2 HRS
AGO
The
battle is over, but the war rages on. Well,
sort of. Welcome to what passes for governing in Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Wolf, who campaigned on the notion
of being “a different kind of governor,” is that all right, but probably not in
the way he imagined. Insistent on a big increase in spending and a hefty tax
hike to fund it, Wolf learned the way of Harrisburg. That was nine months ago.
The “new kind of governor” looked a lot like the way things always get done in
the state Capitol - kicking and screaming.
After a nine-month standoff with state legislators over the 2015-16
budget, Wolf has kindly agreed to not veto the spending bill, thus allowing
state funds, aka your tax dollars, to finally flow out to school districts
across the commonwealth.
In other
words, he’s simply letting the legislation lapse into law, and on
Easter Sunday no less.
Gov. Wolf made
the right call on Pa. budget
York Daily Record Editorial by YDR editorial board 5:16
p.m. EDT March 24, 2016
He did the sensible thing by
letting the budget become law without his signature.
In
January, state Sen. Scott Wagner, R-Spring Garden Township, said Republican
lawmakers had Gov. Tom Wolf “down on the floor with our foot on
his throat and we let him up. Next time, we won't let him up.” They didn’t let him up. They passed yet another budget bill they knew
he opposed (foot on throat) and then just stood there waiting for him to run
out of political oxygen. Unless
Mr. Wolf was willing to let schools run out of money and shut down, his
suffocation was inevitable. The governor
can talk until he’s blue in the face about how the GOP budget is full of
unsustainable gimmicks and doesn’t properly address a deficit that’s barreling
north of $2 billion. But he is one; legislative Republicans are many. It would
be a lot easier to pin the school shutdown tail on one donkey than on a herd of
elephants.
Editorial: On Pennsylvania's finally
resolved budget stalemate, and the not-so-resolved state of American politics
Lancaster
Online by The LNP Editorial Board Mar 25, 2016
THE
ISSUE
After
a budget stalemate that lasted about nine months, Pennsylvania will finally
have a full budget for 2015-16, leaving Illinois as the only state without one
in the country. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s quest for “a
multibillion-dollar tax increase from a Republican-controlled Legislature
to fund a record increase in public school aid ultimately fell far short — he
got half the aid he wanted,” The
Associated Press reported Wednesday. Instead, Wolf announced he would allow
a Republican $6.6 billion supplemental spending package with no new taxes to
become law on Monday. It will allow public schools to remain open, and will
fund prisons, health care spending and agriculture programs, including Penn
State Extension offices.
So what
was gained from Pennsylvania’s embarrassing,
marathon budget
impasse?
Sadly,
it seems, not much at all. Schools will
be able to finish the academic year, but many will remain on shaky
fiscal ground. The state remains in the liquor business. Employee pensions
will continue to keep school administrators awake at night. And don’t
be surprised if your local school district has to raise property taxes yet
again. The final product wasn’t
a compromise — the governor won’t even sign the Republican budget
bill, because it doesn’t address the state’s structural deficit. And on
Thursday, Moody’s,
the credit rating agency, said as much, too.
Our view: Get to work on next Pa. budget
-- now
GoErie.com
Editorial March 25, 2016 09:58 AM
ERIE,
Pa. -- A considerable amount of the coverage and commentary about the end to
Pennsylvania's infuriating budget impasse focused on which side of the
political aisle got the better of it. Let's
be clear. Pennsylvania and Pennsylvanians got the worst of it. They deserve
better. Much better. After threatening
another veto, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday gave up on the
stare-down and said he'd let the rest of the 2015-16 budget take effect without
his signature. That means the state will at last have a complete budget --
nearly nine months after it was supposed to have one and a little more than
three months before it's supposed to have another. That's welcome news for local school systems,
at least in the immediate sense. Their leaders will no longer have to worry
about shutting down schools or borrowing money to keep them going. But that
relief didn't come before school districts had paid more than $40 million in
interest and fees.
Holmes: York
schools take giant steps toward reform
The message is simple: Everyone
in this community has the capacity to positively influence the lives of York’s
children.
York Daily Record Opinion by Eric Holmes, Guest
Columnist 9:19 a.m. EDT March 25, 2016
Eric
Holmes is superintendent of the School District of the City of York.
We have
passed the halfway mark for the 2015-16 school year and would like to update
you, our community, on our progress since we last communicated in August. We have taken giant steps forward toward the
implementation of several high-stakes reforms at both the district and
individual school level. These initiatives have been our primary focus during
the year. Change at this level is never easy, and the challenges that our
children, our school district and our city face will not disappear overnight.
However, we refuse to fail. As I
mentioned at the beginning of the school year, we are focusing on six
initiatives that we believe will eventually lead to growth in student
achievement. I am especially proud of
our district’s commitment to early childhood education. Since the 2007-08
school year, the district has offered high-quality Pre-K to this city’s
4-year-olds.
Delco school
districts happy Pa. budget impasse is over
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin, ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com, @KevinTustin on Twitter POSTED: 03/25/16, 10:24 PM
EDT | UPDATED: 1 HR AGO
Local
school districts are celebrating that the state will finally have a budget in
place on Monday morning, easing nine months of tension that held up
distribution of funds for education programs. Gov. Tom
Wolf Wednesday afternoon strayed from his firm stance of vetoing
Republican-drafted House Bill 1801 by allowing the $7 billion to become law without
his signature effective, 12:01 a.m. March 28. The total budget sits at $30
billion. The budget includes a boost of
over $150 million in basic education subsidies and $50 million in ready to
learn block grants. Specific monetary
allotments with a bump in basic education funding – and $80 million more in
other education areas – per school district would not be known under House Bill
1327, legislation that amends the state’s financial code that implements the
2015-16 budget and distribution of funds. “It’s a
wonderful relief for school districts,” said Springfield School District
Superintendent Anthony Barber.
“One representative only
would talk about reforming pension plans to cut expenses. Anyone who has looked
at the proposals for pension reform in any detail understands that reforms do
not cut expenses today, like that required to balance the budget. They would only
cut those expenses 10-20 years in the future. Pension reform is a good thing,
it just won't help right now.”
Blame clueless
legislators for lack of budget | Opinion
Chuck Ballard By Express-Times
guest columnist on March 22, 2016 at 7:32 AM, updated March 22,
2016 at 7:33 AM
Chuck Ballard, of Emmaus, is a
member of the East Penn School Board. This column represents his own opinion,
not that of the East Penn School District or its board.
In the
last couple of weeks I had the distinct displeasure of talking to two state
legislators in my area about the lack of a state budget. All I received is the
distinct impression that neither understands basic economics or budgeting. When presented with the fact that the Independent
Fiscal Office and the rating agency Standard
and Poors (both nonpartisan) stated the so-called 'budget(s)' for 2015
passed by the House are structurally deficient — that is, revenue does not
cover expenses — neither could or would state any real means to fix the
problem. If revenues do not meet
expenses, there are only two choices to fix the problem — raise revenues
or cut expenses. Or both. Raising revenues usually requires raising taxes
(unpopular) and both representatives are against raising any broad-based taxes
(e.g., sales or income). Cutting expenses usually means cutting services, and
that is unpopular too. Apparently more so in an election year.
Pa. voters
support severance tax, increased tobacco taxes
Citizens Voice BY ROBERT SWIFT Published: March 26,
2016
HARRISBURG
— By large margins, Pennsylvania voters support a severance tax on natural gas
production and increased tobacco taxes which affect smaller proportions of
taxpayers as a way to balance the state budget, according to a Franklin &
Marshall College poll released this week.
However,
voters by similarly large margins oppose hiking the state personal income tax
to get Pennsylvania out of a $2 billion built-in revenue deficit. Opinion is
divided closely on extending the state sales tax to include more items, the
poll found. For example:
■ 73
percent of respondents support a severance tax compared to 22 percent who
oppose it.
■ 79
percent support new taxes on the sale of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and
cigars compared to 18 percent who oppose them.
■ 69
percent oppose hiking the income tax compared to 28 percent who support it.
■ 45
percent support expanding the sales tax to include more items compared to 51
percent who oppose it.
Nearly
half of the respondents (44 percent) favor both spending cuts and tax hikes to
deal with the revenue deficit, while 35 percent favor cutting state programs
and services only and 12 percent favor increasing taxes only.
Receiver quits
at troubled Chester Upland district
Inquirer
by Kathy Boccella, Staff
Writer Updated: MARCH 26,
2016 — 1:07 AM EDT
Francis
V. Barnes, a former Pennsylvania secretary of education, said Friday that he is
resigning as receiver of the troubled Chester Upland School District, effective
May 1. Barnes was appointed chief
recovery officer for the district by a Delaware County judge last July after
the state sought to replace Joseph Watkins, who had attempted some unorthodox
measures to save the faltering school system.
The most audacious of Watkins' proposals was a partnership with a Chinese
businessman to bring a $1 billion investment into the district and community.
The deal, along with Watkins' planned trip to China, was scuttled by state
education officials. After that, in 2014, the state appointed Barnes as chief
recovery officer to work with Watkins. Watkins left last summer for a social
media firm. Barnes, 66, informed the
school board on Thursday that he was giving up the $144,000-a-year post.
“Coles, 38, said she's
running to put a legislator who "consistently votes with the Democratic
caucus" back in office. A supporter of abortion rights and a fierce
advocate for the public school system, Coles said she plans to advocate for
issues that she said Davidson has abandoned.
"I think it's key to
our Democratic values that we are for public education and not for accepting
interest or finances from entities that want to privatize our schools,"
Coles said. In 2011, Davidson faced
blowback when she sided against Democrats on abortion restrictions and school
vouchers - government-funded grants used to pay for part of a student's private
K-12 tuition. She was one of only four House Democrats to support
vouchers. Davidson's campaign has
received financial support from Students First Pa., a pro-voucher and
pro-charter school PAC, receiving $70,500 from the organization between 2010
and 2014.”
Erstwhile
allies square off in Delco House race
Inquirer
by Caitlin McCabe, Staff
Writer Updated: MARCH 27,
2016 — 6:49 AM EDT
When
State Rep. Margo Davidson - the first Democrat, first woman, and first African
American to represent her Delaware County district - was fiercely challenged by
two members of her own party in 2014, she had an ally in Upper Darby
Councilwoman Sekela Coles. Two
years later, the Delaware County legislator is confronting the same situation
again: challenged from within her own party. But this time, Coles isn't in
Davidson's corner - she's leading the charge against the Democratic incumbent,
who has drawn attention for her
Don’t Grade Schools on Grit
New York Times Opinion By ANGELA DUCKWORTH MARCH 26, 2016
Angela Duckworth is the
founder and scientific director of the Character Lab, a professor of psychology
at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the forthcoming book “Grit:
The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”
Philadelphia
— THE Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once observed,
“Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” Evidence has
now accumulated in support of King’s proposition: Attributes like self-control
predict children’s success in school and beyond. Over the past few years, I’ve
seen a groundswell of popular interest in character development. As a
social scientist researching the importance of character, I was heartened. It
seemed that the narrow focus on standardized achievement test scores from the
years I taught in public schools was giving way to a broader, more enlightened
perspective. These days, however, I
worry I’ve contributed, inadvertently, to an idea I vigorously oppose:
high-stakes character assessment. New federallegislation can
be interpreted as encouraging states and schools to incorporate measures of
character into their accountability systems. This year, nine California school
districts will begin doing this.
Kansas
lawmakers pass schools plan, but budget issues loom
Washington
Times By JOHN HANNA - Associated
Press - Saturday, March 26, 2016
TOPEKA,
Kan. (AP) - Before starting their annual spring break, Kansas lawmakers
approved an education funding plan designed to satisfy a state Supreme Court
mandate to help poor school districts. They also agreed on an overhaul of the
juvenile justice system and new protections for religious groups on college
campuses. But the Republican-dominated
Legislature is likely to face difficult budget issues when it reconvenes April
27 to wrap up its business for the year. Lawmakers also have a host of other
issues they could consider.
The
status of major issues when legislators adjourned Thursday:
PSBA
Advocacy Forum & Day on the Hill April 4th
APR 4, 2016 • 9:00
AM - 5:30 PM
Join
PSBA and your fellow school directors for the third annual Advocacy Forum on
April 4, 2016, at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. This year’s event will have
a spotlight on public education highlighting school districts’ exemplary
student programs. Hear from legislators on how advocacy makes a difference in
the legislative process and the importance of public education advocacy.
Government Affairs will take a deeper dive into the legislative priorities and
will provide tips on how to be an effective public education advocate. There
will be dedicated time for you and your fellow advocates to hit the halls to
meet with your legislators on public education. This is your chance to share
the importance of policy supporting public education and make your voice heard
on the Hill. Online advanced registration will close on April 1, 4 p.m. On-site
registrants are welcome.
Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
(PASA) 2016 Education Congress April
6-7, 2016
professional
development program for school administrators
Focus: "The
Myths of Creativity: The Truth about How Innovative Companies Generate Great
Ideas" Featured Presenter: Dr.
David Burkus
April 6-7, 2016 Radisson
Hotel Harrisburg in Camp Hill
The program will
focus on how school leaders can develop and utilize creativity in education
management, operations, curriculum and leadership goals. The second day will
allow participants to select from multiple discussion/work sessions focusing on
concepts presented by Dr. Burkus and facilitated by school leaders who have
demonstrated success in creative thinking and leadership in schools across the
commonwealth.
Deadline for
hotel accommodations: March 15
See the PASA website
for more information at: www.pasa-net.org/2016edcongress.
PenSPRA's Annual Symposium, Friday
April 8th in Shippensburg, PA
PenSPRA,
or the Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association, has developed a
powerhouse line-up of speakers and topics for a captivating day of professional
development in Shippensburg on April 8th. Learn to master data to
defeat your critics, use stories to clarify your district's brand and take
your social media efforts to the next level with a better understanding of
metrics and the newest trends. Join us the evening before the Symposium for
a “Conversation with Colleagues” from 5 – 6 pm followed by a
Networking Social Cocktail Hour from 6 – 8 pm. Both the
Symposium Friday and the social events on Thursday evening
will be held at the Shippensburg University Conference Center. Snacks at the
social hour, and Friday’s breakfast and lunch is included in your
registration cost. $125 for PenSPRA members and $150 for non-members. Learn
more about our speakers and topics and register today at this link:
Briefing:
Public Education Funding in Pennsylvania
TUE, APR 12 AT 8:30 AM, PHILADELPHIA,
PA
Join
attorneys Michael Churchill, Jennifer Clarke and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg for a
briefing on:
- the current budget impasse
- the basics of education funding
- the school funding lawsuit
- the 2016-2017 proposed budget
1.5
CLE credits available to PA licensed attorneys.
Light breakfast provided.
WHEN:
Tuesday, April
12, 2016 from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM (EDT)
WHERE:
United Way of
Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey - 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
1st Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
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.
Join the Pennsylvania Principals Association at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at The
Capitol in Harrisburg, PA, for its second annual Principals' Lobby Day.
Pennsylvania
Principals Association Monday, March 21, 2016 9:31 AM
To register, contact Dr. Joseph Clapper at clapper@paprincipals.org by
Tuesday, June 14, 2016. If you need assistance, we will provide
information about how to contact your legislators to schedule meetings.
Click here for the informational flyer, which includes
important issues to discuss with your legislators.
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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