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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup May 13, 2016:
Ed Voters PA: Lawmakers
should focus on adequately funding our schools, not making it easier to cut teachers
from our children’s classrooms
Pennsylvania
has the widest funding gap between wealthy and poor schools in the country
Campaign for Fair Education
Funding Website
Make the new funding formula permanent; pass a budget for 2016-17 that
increases funding for public schools by at least $400 million
'Come hell or high water
there will be a budget on Wolf's desk' by June 30: Analysis
Penn Live By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
May 12, 2016 at 1:09 PM, updated May 12, 2016 at 1:56 PM
With just about six
weeks to go before Pennsylvania closes the books on the 2015-16 state budget,
Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic Wolf administration agree on exactly
two things: First, some kind of
completed state budget will land on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk before (or shortly
after) the current fiscal year blinks out of existence at midnight on June
30. Second, no one - not
Republicans, not Democrats, not no one, wants a repeat of the embarrassing,
nine-month-long stalemate that was finally resolved when the last piece of
Wolf's freshman spending plan lapsed into law without his signature in April. Beyond that - everything else is open to
negotiation. And for now, before
anyone's lost their tempers during negotiations, stormed out of the room or
otherwise thrown their toys out of the pram, there's a sense of quiet optimism.
You can't tax Pa. back to
prosperity, Gov. Wolf: Gene Barr
PennLive Op-Ed By
Gene Barr on May 12, 2016 at 2:00 PM, updated May 12, 2016 at 7:15
PM
Gene Barr is the President and CEO of
the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
Over the past
year-and-a-half, Pennsylvania's fiscal landscape has been marred by protracted
budget battles, repeated credit downgrades and the threat of multi-billion
dollar tax increases. Unfortunately, in
his 2016-17 budget address Gov. Tom Wolf continued his calls for many of the
same tax and spend policies that played a central role in the nine-month
2015-16 budget impasse. In
addition to policies that will increase labor costs for Pennsylvania employers,
the governor's budget plan includes $2.7 billion in new and increased taxes on
Pennsylvania's working families and businesses. What it doesn't include are any significant
reforms to address the Commonwealth's growing cost drivers.
HB805: Lawmakers call on
Wolf to reconsider his plan to veto bill ending seniority-based teacher
furloughs
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
May 12, 2016 at 1:59 PM, updated May 12, 2016 at 7:14 PM
A bill that would
let performance evaluations rather than seniority alone determine who is the
first to go if a school district is faced with having to furlough teachers is
on track to become the next candidate to fall victim to Gov. Tom Wolf's veto
pen. But supporters of House Bill 805 aren't going down
without a fight. At a Capitol news
conference on Thursday that drew representatives from the business, school
reform, and school board communities, the two lawmakers who championed the
legislation called on Wolf to reconsider his position. They said the bill would give local school
boards the flexibility to remove ineffective teachers in the event that layoffs
are necessary, keeping the higher performing ones in the classroom to inspire
kids.
HB 805: Lawmakers should
focus on adequately funding our schools, not making it easier to cut teachers
from our children’s classrooms
Education Voters PA Posted
on May 12, 2016 by EDVOPA
Susan Spicka,
Director of Education Voters of PA made the following statement about HB 805:
Supporters of HB
805 call this bill the “Protect Excellent Teachers Act,” but, in
fact, this bill does not protect our teachers. Instead, this bill creates a
mechanism that will make it easier for districts to cut even more teachers from
our children’s classrooms while allowing lawmakers who have refused to
adequately fund education for years to make the baseless claim that they
somehow support our children’s schools. Under
current law, teachers may only be furloughed if schools consolidate, if student
enrollment declines, or if a program is curtailed. HB 805 would change PA law
and allow school districts to furlough more teachers by using “economic
reasons” as an additional reason for cutting positions. But what are these
“economic reasons”? The bill does not define the term, leaving the definition
to 500 school boards throughout the state with no consistent statewide policy. Proponents of HB 805 often imply that
teachers with seniority cannot be furloughed and that HB 805 is an
“accountability” measure that will address this issue and allow school
districts to furlough teachers with seniority. Under current law, however,
regardless of seniority, school district administrators already have the
authority to remove failing teachers from schools by documenting teachers’
shortcomings and demonstrating cause for dismissal. HB 805 does not
create a new mechanism to furlough teachers with seniority, it simply creates
an additional reason to furlough teachers.
HB805: Midstate lawmakers beg Gov. Wolf not to veto
teacher furlough bill
Abc27 By Dennis Owens Published: May 12, 2016, 6:08 pm Updated: May
12, 2016, 6:19 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa.
(WHTM) – It bordered on pleading. Two Midstate lawmakers making another pitch
to Gov. Tom Wolf. “Governor, please sign
this bill,” Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) said at a Thursday morning
Capitol news conference. “Let our kids keep their best teachers.” Sen. Ryan Aument
(R-Lancaster) joined the chorus. “As
leaders we cannot – and the governor should not – endorse a system that
promotes failing teachers over distinguished educators,” he said.
Giving laptops to students
helps performance, but school districts need to track effects better
WHYY Newsworks BY DAVE HELLER MAY 12, 2016 Audio
runtime 4:54
Do test scores
improve when schools provide laptops to every student? A new analysis of data
from researchers at Michigan State University sought to shed light on the
issue. Education Week’s Ben Herold joined
NewsWorks Tonight to make sense of what they turned up. The findings were
generally positive but not a ringing endorsement for a one-to-one laptop ratio.
But Herold says this is still a step forward, especially for schools that have
already made the investment. "Schools
have been spending billions of dollars over the past decade or so to give
devices, specifically laptops, to all of their students, and making that
investment with really very little understanding of how it's going to impact
student learning," Herold said.
No-bid school busing
contracts cost Pa. districts at least $53.7 million
Penn Live By Wallace McKelvey | WMckelvey@pennlive.com Email the
author | Follow on Twitter on May 12, 2016 at 11:59 AM, updated May
12, 2016 at 12:02 PM
Schools paid at
least $53.7 million over the state's transportation reimbursement formula
through no-bid busing contracts, according to an auditor general's report. That finding, based on audits of about 450 of
the state's 500 public school districts, prompted Auditor General Eugene
DePasquale to call for the Legislature to mandate competitive bidding for such
services. "The districts that are
competitively bidding for this service, even though it's not required, don't
have the same issues as the ones that do," DePasquale said Thursday.
"That's why I believe the school code has to be amended to make this a
requirement." In all, state
auditors found that 18 of the 19 school districts that substantially overshot
the state reimbursement rate hadn't sought other bidders for their
transportation contract.
Auditor: Pa. schools may
be losing millions on busing
Inquirer by Karen Langley, HARRISBURG BUREAU Updated: MAY 13, 2016 — 1:08 AM
EDT
HARRISBURG -
Pennsylvania school districts may be spending millions too much on busing, the
state auditor general said Tuesday. Examinations
by his office found 19 school districts in 11 counties paid a total of $54.8
million more for transportation during select periods between 2004 and 2014
than what the state determined was the maximum amount it would consider for the
calculation of reimbursements, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said. Only one of those districts had competitively
bid transportation services during the audit periods, according to DePasquale.
He said school districts should be required to seek bids on such contracts. "I want to put
more education dollars into our classrooms, not in our school buses," he
said at a news conference.
Bald Eagle Area school board approves proposed final
budget
Centre Daily Times BY
BRITNEY MILAZZO bmilazzo@centredaily.com
May 12, 2016
The Bald Eagle Area
school board unanimously approved a 2016-17 proposed final budget at a meeting
Thursday night. According to documents
provided by the district, it calls for $31,566,152 — up from $29,806,747 in the
current year. That could mean a 3.3 percent
tax increase for residents. For the
average taxpayer in the Bald Eagle Area School District, that’s $26.08 more a
year, district business manager Craig Livergood said. The average home in the Bald Eagle Area is
assessed at $30,124, Livergood said. Livergood
said he expects about similar funds to come from state and federal subsidies as
the current year, but he said he’s not holding his breath. “It all comes down
to if and when it happens,” Livergood said. “Hopefully we’re not in a similar
situation as last year.” A state budget
didn’t go into effect until about nine months after it was due.
Cameron County School Board
adopts preliminary budget
Bradford Era By AMANDA JONES Era Correspondent amandajonesera@yahoo.com
Posted: Thursday, May 12,
2016 10:00 am
EMPORIUM — Members
of the Cameron County School Board adopted a preliminary general fund budget
for the 2016-17 school year during Thursday night’s meeting. The preliminary budget lists expenditures in
the amount of $12,601,089. Board secretary Carl Mitchell said there is
currently a projected $500,000 shortfall, but employees are looking into ways
to cut additional expenditures. This
year’s revenue estimates are again being taken from Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposals,
but they are more conservative than last year, Mitchell said. In addition, $400,000 was estimated for cyber
school expenses, showing a great increase from last year that is slightly
misleading. Wolf’s proposal for last year’s budget saw the state picking up
more of the cyber school tab than it actually did, making this year’s estimate
look like a large jump over last year. The budget will be
available for public review beginning today by contacting the administrative
offices at the high school.
This week in education:
York Academy charter renewal and more
York Daily record by Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com10:48 a.m. EDT May
12, 2016
A
local charter school could soon be approved for five more years, and state
leaders disagree on how teacher layoffs should work. Here's a look at the week
in education news.
A local charter
school could soon be approved for five more years, and state leaders disagree
on how teacher layoffs should work. Here's a look at the week in education
news.
Regional charter
school extension coming up
Three area school
boards are set to consider the renewal of York Academy Regional Charter
School's charter agreement this month. The
school has its charter approved by three districts: York City, Central
York and York Suburban. The school, which follows the International
Baccalaureate model, is in the city, but serves students from the three
sponsoring districts as well as others. Administrators
in the three districts have recommended approval of a renewal agreement.
The charter school's board has already approved it.
Some Kiski
Area property owners' taxes to rise
Trib Live BY GEORGE
GUIDO | Thursday, May 12, 2016, 11:25 p.m.
Kiski Area School
District real estate taxes will be going up about 5 percent next school year in
Parks Township, Armstrong County. The
remainder of the school district, which is in Westmoreland County, will see no
change in the real estate tax rate. The
school board Monday is expected to give preliminary approval to a $58.3 million
budget for the upcoming school year. That's an increase from the current year's
spending program of $56.45 million. Because
counties across the state are assessed differently, multi-county school
districts use a tax equalization process.
In Parks' case, the millage will rise from 41.12 mills to 43.13 mills —
nearly 5 percent — meaning the average property in that township will see a
$45.75 real estate tax hike. Next school year's
budget includes $34.8 million for instruction, $17 million for support
services, $1.4 million for non-instructional services and $5 million in debt
service and other expenses.
New
Kensington-Arnold budget includes deficit of $628K; no tax increase
Trib Live BY LIZ HAYES | Thursday, May 12, 2016, 11:25 p.m.
New
Kensington-Arnold School District's proposed 2016-17 budget does not include a
property tax increase, but it does include a $628,000 deficit. Business Manager Jeff McVey on Thursday
presented the latest version of the $37.4 million spending plan. McVey said the state inflationary tax cap,
plus an allowance for retirement expenses, would allow the board to raise
property taxes a maximum of 4.4 percent, or 3.67 mills. The maximum allowed tax hike would bring in
about $420,000 in additional revenue, which McVey did not include in the
budget. He said it would be up to the board to set the tax rate. No board members spoke in favor of a tax
increase Thursday; board President Bob Pallone in April said they were not
planning to raise taxes. The current tax
rate of 83.27 mills has been in place since the 2014-15 school year. District officials gave no indication of how
they would balance the budget. With a
total gap of about $2.9 million between expenses and revenue, the plan calls
for draining the $2.3 million reserve fund and still not covering the deficit.
At this rate, it will take 150 years to enroll 75
percent of U.S. kids in quality preschool
Washington Post Answer
Sheet By Valerie Strauss May 12 at 3:20 PM
Universal
quality pre-kindergarten has been gaining support around the country for years
now, with solid research showing that it has real and lasting benefits for
children — despite what critics argue. But, according to a new report,
there is a real problem — while states are making real progress, others
are moving at a snail’s pace. The
National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University just
released its“The State of Preschool 2015,” which details national and
state-level data on preschool access and other issues. (You can read it in full here or below.) In this post, W. Steven
Barnett, a Board of Governors professor and director of the National
Institute for Early Education Research, writes about the report’s findings. You
can also see key findings at the bottom of the post.
U.S. Department of
Education Has $65 Million for Charter Expansion
Education Week Charters
and Choice By Arianna Prothero on May 11, 2016 10:13 AM
The annual federal
grant competition for charter management organizations has opened.
The U.S. Department
of Education announced Tuesday that it will be awarding $65 million to 20
nonprofit charter management organizations that serve primarily low-income
students to expand or open new schools. Previous
awardees include well-known networks
from across the country such as Los Angeles-based Green Dot, Houston-based
Yes Prep, Chicago-based Noble Network, New York City-based Success
Academy, and KIPP, to name a few. The
CMO grant competition is part of the federal Charter Schools Program which has
awarded over $3 billion to charter schools since its inception, according to the
Education Department. Because state laws often do not provide startup money for
charter schools, federal funding has been crucial to the growth of the charter
sector. The Charter Schools Program
received a significant boost in the federal budget passed in
December. It got an increase of $80 million, putting the program at its highest
funding level ever: $333 million for fiscal year 2016.
Education officials say they’re trying to protect poor
children. A senator says they’re trying to break the law.
Washington Post By Emma Brown May
12 at 3:59 PM
An Obama
administration proposal to ensure adequate resources for poor children in the
nation’s schools has triggered a backlash on Capitol Hill and among the
nation’s K-12 superintendents, who say that the U.S. Education Department is
trying to unilaterally — and illegally — rewrite the nation’s main federal
education law. The nonpartisan
Congressional Research Service on Wednesday lent credence to that criticism,
writing that the department’s proposal seems to conflict with language in the
law and “appears to go beyond what would be required under a plain language
reading of the statute.” At issue is how
thousands of school districts prove that they are using $15 billion in
federal Title I dollars to provide extra help for poor children in tens of
thousands of schools nationwide. Federal law says that school districts must
spend the money in a way that provides extra help to poor children — that it
not be used to provide basic educational services — and requires that Title I
schools have comparable services to those in wealthier schools in the same
district. School districts are not allowed to underfund schools in poor
neighborhoods and then use the federal dollars to fill in the hole.
U.S.
Directs Public Schools to Allow Transgender Access to Restrooms
New York Times By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and MATT APUZZO MAY 12, 2016
WASHINGTON — The
Obama administration is planning to issue a sweeping directive telling every
public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the
bathrooms that match their gender identity.
A letter to school districts will go out Friday, adding to a highly
charged debate over transgender rights in the middle of the administration’s
legal fight with North Carolina over the issue. The declaration — signed by
Justice and Education department officials — will describe what schools should
do to ensure that none of their students are discriminated against. It does not have the force of law, but it
contains an implicit threat: Schools that do not abide by the Obama
administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or a loss of
federal aid. The move is certain to draw
fresh criticism, particularly from Republicans, that the federal government is
wading into local matters and imposing its own values on communities across the
country that may not agree. It represents the latest example of the Obama
administration using a combination of policies, lawsuits and public statements
to change the civil rights landscape for gays, lesbians, bisexual and
transgender people.
U.S. to issue decree on
transgender access to school restrooms -NY Times
Inquirer by Reuters
Updated: MAY 12, 2016 —
9:17 PM EDT
WASHINGTON, May 12
(Reuters) - The Obama administration will issue a sweeping decree on Friday
telling every U.S. public school district to allow transgender students to use
the bathrooms that match their gender identity.
The letter, signed by officials from the Education and Justice
departments, does not have the force of law but contains an implicit threat
that schools which do not abide by the Obama administration's interpretation of
the law could face lawsuits or a loss of federal aid. "There is no room in our schools for
discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender
students on the basis of their sex," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch
said in a statement. "This guidance
gives administrators, teachers, and parents the tools they need to protect
transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust
school policies," she said. The
move comes as the Obama administration and North Carolina battle in federal
court over a state law passed in March that limits public bathroom access for
transgender people.
All New Orleans Schools
Set to Return to Local Oversight
Education Week By Arianna Prothero
Published Online: May 12, 2016
More than a decade
after Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, and the state of Louisiana
took control of most of New Orleans’ public K-12 system, the city’s schools
will return to local oversight in the next two years. Lawmakers approved legislation to relinquish authority over
most of the city’s schools from the state, which has been supervising them
since 2005. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, signed the measure Thursday
afternoon.
However, the
reunified system of schools that the locally elected Orleans Parish school board
will preside over is radically different from the one it ran pre-Katrina—or any
other district in the country. Nearly every school in the city now is a
charter.
Joint public hearing on Every Student Succeeds Act
Wednesday May 18th
PA House and PA
Senate Education Committees
Harrisburg Wednesday
May 18th 9:00 AM Hearing Room #1 North Office Building
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:
“NATIONAL ANTHEM “SING-A-LONG”
When: September 9, 2016, 10:00 am PST/1:00pm EST
Where: Schools across America
Sponsor: American Public Education Foundation (APEF)
The National Anthem “Sing-A-Long” is a movement to teach K-12 students the
words, meaning,
music and history of the Star-Spangled Banner. This annual event is held
each year on the
second week of September to honor 9/11 families, victims and heroes and
celebrate the historic
birthday of the National Anthem on September 14. Those who join the
“Sing-A-Long” are singing in unison at the exact same time at multiple sites
across the U.S. The APEF has also created a robust, companion curriculum
recognized by numerous State Departments of Education, available online
at www.theapef.org (see the “Educate”
tab) for free download.
The Foundation hopes to have the support of the Alabama Department of
Education as we
commemorate the 15th Anniversary of 9/11 this year. Teachers are encouraged
to sign up
before the end of the school year at www.theapef.org.
Also online is a "how-to" guide on
holding an event at your school and sample press release. If you do not
wish to hold a full
ceremony at the school, your students can simply stand up and sing
at 10 am PST/1:00pm EST.
The Star-Spangled Banner Movement is a simple, elegant way to honor 9/11
while also teaching students how the world came together in the days, weeks and
months after the September 2001 terrorist strikes. The APEF also offers a host
of other free educational material on its website, including polls, contests
and grant information.
Pennsylvania
Partnerships for Children (PPC), a statewide children's advocacy organization
located in Harrisburg, PA has an immediate full-time opening for an Early
Learning and K-12 Education Policy Manager.
PPC's vision is to be one of the top ten states in which to be a child
and raise a child. Today, Pennsylvania ranks 17th in the nation for child
well-being. Our early learning and K-12 education policy work is focused on
ensuring all children enter school ready to learn and that all children have
access to high-quality public education. Current initiatives include increasing
the number of children served in publicly funded pre-k and implementing a fair
basic education formula along with sustained, significant investments in
education funding.
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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