Wednesday, June 22, 2016

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 22: Ahead of budget deadline, Wolf scales back education funding ask

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 3900 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

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup June 22, 2016:
Ahead of budget deadline, Wolf scales back education funding ask



PA Supreme Court sets Sept 13th argument date for fair education funding lawsuit in Philly



Education Week: PA FACTS AT A GLANCE
Use the Education Counts Database to find more detailed state information, ranks, comparisons across states, national statistics and more.
Governor:          Tom Wolf
Secretary of Education:  Pedro A. Rivera
Quality Counts state grade:        B-
Pre-K-12 enrollment:      1,755,236
Number of school districts:         721
Number of public schools:          3,068
Number of public school teachers:          121,330
Unadjusted education spending per student:       $13,864
Percent minority students:          30.1%
Percent of students eligible for free/reduced price lunch:  43.4%
Percent of students with disabilities:       16.8%
Percent of English-language learners:     2.8%
NAEP Mathematics 2015 percent proficient
4th grade math: 45.0%
8th grade math: 36.0%
NAEP Reading 2015 percent proficient
4th grade reading:          41.2%
8th grade reading:          39.1%

“Advocacy is a key part of our mission at NASSP… Advocacy is not just a one time per year event, it must be ongoing and informed to make an impact on policy…and we are really calling on you as well as our other exemplary principal leaders to engage in our advocacy activities numerous times throughout the year to keep our platform, our experiences, and your voices fresh and on the minds of our Congressmen as they hear our voices and our stories several times reinforcing our messages.  …So that they can hear real stories of actual practice and experience…And help them to clearly see how their decisions and policies impact our children in real life not in some imaginary land where everything follows a predictable script.”
Guest Post: Aliquippa Principal Michael Allison on Advocacy
Principal Matters Blog June 22, 2016
This is a guest post by Michael Allison, President of the National Association of Secondary Principals.  Michael is also principal of Hopewell High School, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
On June 20-22, 2016, NASSP hosted an advocacy conference for state leaders to discuss current federal education issues. Michael’s opening remarks were so poignant, I ask him if he would mind reposting part of it here as a guest blog post:  As the leading organization and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders from across the United States, NASSP connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs.  We are proud to support the important work of principals and to prepare you to share with others the positive agenda of support and encouragement for our nation’s schools and children!  Legislators need to hear the voices of their constituents. They value those voices much more that figureheads or employees from national associations. That is why we have you all gathered here in our capital!  Our goal at NASSP is always but especially this week to advocate on behalf of the nation’s 115,000 school leaders to ensure the success of each student.  As such, it becomes our duty to bring the issues of the principalship to the halls of Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, the White House, and the national news media.

 “The Campaign for Fair Education Funding, which is a coalition of over 50 advocacy groups, has been calling for the state to increase basic education funding by $400 million annually for 8 years.  Gov. Tom Wolf says that's not politically possible. After a historically long budget battle last year, the state boosted total basic, special and block grant education funding by $245 million.
Spokesman Charlie Lyons says his members are not disappointed by Wolf.
"I think people recognize that he's pushing, but that's not to say that we don't think there needs to be more," he said.”
Ahead of budget deadline, Wolf scales back education funding ask
WHYY Newsworks BY KEVIN MCCORRY JUNE 22, 2016
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf says he now believes a 2016-17 budget deal can be reached without hiking state sales or income taxes.  This comes as Wolf scales back his public education funding proposals.  Wolf made this statement Tuesday morning on KDKA, a commercial radio station in Pittsburgh:  "We need a balanced budget that is truly balanced. I want $250 million dollars for basic education, an increase, and I want $34 million dollars for the heroin overdose problem, which is really a big problem in Pennsylvania. And I think all this can be done without a broad-based tax increase."  Wolf had been seeking $350 million in basic education funding this year — $100 million more than what he's now asking for the state's main pot of public school cash.  In his first budget proposal in March 2015, he called for a $2 billion boost to all K-12 budget lines over four years.  If this new proposal goes through, Wolf would end year two only about a quarter of the way towards that goal.

“The Democratic governor said he now will seek a spending increase of $250 million in the main K-12 education budget line, a decrease from an earlier request his office pegs at $350 million, along with $34 million in funding to help treat people who use heroin or abuse opioid medications.”
Wolf says he will not ask for tax hikes; GOP leader says 'things are progressing'
Post Gazette By Karen Langley & Angela Couloumbis Harrisburg Bureau June 21, 2016 1:26 PM
HARRISBURG — Gov. Wolf said today he will no longer seek a hike in the state’s personal income or sales tax to fund the state budget.  In an interview on a Pittsburgh radio station barely a week before the July 1 budget deadline, the governor said he believes he can achieve his priorities without having the state take more out of people’s paychecks  “I’m not asking for a sales tax increase or a personal income tax increase,” Mr. Wolf said on KDKA-AM. “I think we can do all this — a balanced budget, the increase in education and the heroin initiatives — without a broad-based tax increase.”  His remarks for the first time suggest a shift from a stance he has maintained throughout his first 18 months in office, one that added to the gridlock with the Republican-led legislature and a nine-month budget impasse.  When he delivered his second budget proposal in February, Mr. Wolf still included a tax increase in the plan. It called for raising the personal income tax rate from 3.07 percent to 3.4 percent.

Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf says budget can hit goals without major tax increase
Delco Times By Marc Levy, The Associated Press POSTED: 06/21/16, 9:53 AM EDT 
HARRISBURG >> Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is backing off his proposal for an increase on sales or income taxes, and now says his budget priorities can be met without it.  Wolf said Tuesday that budget negotiations are going well, even though tight-lipped negotiators are reporting no agreements with nine days until the fiscal-year deadline.  Wolf spoke during a regular appearance on Pittsburgh radio station KDKA-AM.  Wolf now says his priorities are a balanced budget with a $250 million increase for public schools and $34 million more for heroin addiction programs.  He’s also echoing Senate Democrats’ concerns about a gambling expansion under consideration in the House to help balance the budget. He says the proposals carry somewhat questionable revenues that may pose a threat to collections from casino gambling and lottery sales.

“Pennsylvania now has a new school funding formula, but that will only be as meaningful as the as the money put into it, Race said. If basic education funding increases next year, and in subsequent years, that will help ensure children get a quality education, whether they are coming from poor or wealthy families, he said.”
PA kids suffer effects of the economy
York Daily Record by  Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com9:02 a.m. EDT June 21, 2016
Pennsylvania dropped to 18 in the annual report, which gives states a rank based on how well children are doing.
The smallest Pennsylvania residents are feeling the effects of the economy, according to an annual report that looks at how well children around the nation are doing.  The state fell two spots to rank 18th in the annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report measures child well-being by looking at factors like the rate of children in poverty, parent employment, health insurance, education statistics and family characteristics, like the number of single-parent families.   Economic factors are taking a toll in Pennsylvania, the report shows. In recent years, there are more children in poverty, more parents without secure jobs and more children living in high poverty areas.  The report shows families are still facing tough economic times, in part due to the sluggish economy, said Mike Race, spokesman for Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. While there are a lot of factors that children's policies cannot fix, he said, there are things that can happen to improve the situation for kids.

“The audit, which covered January 2011 through March 2016, noted the charter's 2013-14 School Performance Profile score, the state's measure of academic performance. The charter scored 40.9 out of a possible 100 points on the measure, which takes into account scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and Keystone standardized tests.  "Clearly this is a severely underperforming charter school," DePasquale said in part in a news release announcing the findings.”
Auditor General criticizes Erie's Charter School of Excellence
By Erica Erwin  814-870-1846 Erie Times-News June 22, 2016 12:26 AM
ERIE, Pa. -- State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Tuesday that the Charter School of Excellence is failing academically and suffers from poor management, as evidenced by a recent audit.  Charter school officials defended the academic record of the school, which serves "at risk" students at three sites in Erie, and said the issues highlighted by the audit have been addressed.  "With the majority of the findings, we do disagree. If there have been deficiencies, we have already fixed those deficiencies and are in compliance," said Mark Amendola, CEO of the Charter School of Excellence and Perseus House Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides residential and educational services to youth. 

Coverage here includes special ed, charter reform, cybers, cost drivers
Notebook Series: Pennsylvania's School Funding Crisis
Series coverage by the notebook June 2016

Erie School Board to reconsider deficit budget
By Erica Erwin  814-870-1846 Erie Times-News June 22, 2016 06:07 AM
ERIE, Pa. -- Program cuts or a tax increase could be back on the table as the Erie School Board renews its effort to erase a budget deficit that has grown to $5.5 million.  Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams, who in May urged the School Board to approve a proposed final budget that was then $4.3 million in the red instead of making massive cuts and eliminating programs, said Tuesday that the district cannot afford to enter the 2016-17 school year with an unbalanced budget.  The Pennsylvania School Code requires the district adopt a complete, balanced final budget by June 30. The state could issue a fine of $300 per day after 30 days if the district does not comply.  "We intend to comply with state law ... given that the alternative seems to be a fine that we can ill afford," Badams said.  The School Board will consider how to move forward at a committee of the whole meeting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room 1 at the district's administration building, 148 W. 21st St.

“Kenneth Potter Jr., president of the school board, explained that the Public School Employees' Retirement System, more popularly known as PSERS, was the reason for the disagreement during the meeting. The 2016-17 budget for PSERS is $14.5 million, a $2.2 million increase from the district's $12.3 million PSERS payment in the 2015-16 budget.  "Not everyone is happy with this budget," Potter said after the vote. "PSERS has really taken a bite out of our ability to do what we really want to do. Not a lot that can be done."
Dallastown school board narrowly passes budget
York Dispatch by  Alyssa Jackson, 505-5438/@AlyssaJacksonYD3:35 p.m. EDT June 21, 2016
The Dallastown Area school board voted Thursday 5-3 to approve a $102.2 million budget for the 2016-17 school year — a spending plan that includes a tax increase for district residents.  According to former meeting minutes, it is the first time residents have experienced a tax increase since 2011. The boost will put the millage rate at 22.93, a 0.67 increase over the former 22.26 millage rate in the 2015-16 school budget.  The $102.2 million expenditure total for this year's school budget is about a $4.4 million increase from the 2015-16 budget expenditures, which rested at $97.7 million.

Central York passes budget with tax increase
Darcel Kimble, For the York Daily Record 2:58 p.m. EDT June 21, 2016
The Central York School District board has approved its 2016-17 budget with a .35-mill -- or 1.9 percent -- increase in local real estate taxes.  The budget passed in a 7-1 vote, with director Karl Peckmann opposing it. Director Joseph Gothie was not at the meeting.  Proposed expenses stand at $83,222,521, an increase of 3.30 percent or $2,659,331. Revenue totals are projected to be $82,989,834, an increase of 3.99 percent or $3,185,194.

Spring-Ford board eyes $152M budget, 1.5% tax hike
By Eric Devlin, The Mercury POSTED: 06/21/16, 6:52 PM EDT | UPDATED: 8 HRS AGO
ROYERSFORD >> Just over a month after he recommended nearly a 2-percent tax hike next year, James Fink was back before the Spring-Ford Area School Board Monday with slightly better news.  Fink, the district’s finance director, stood as the board reviewed the updated 2016-17 proposed final budget in the amount of approximately $152 million, which calls for a tax increase of 1.5 percent. That’s down from the tax increase of 1.9 percent previously recommended last month.  Under the new millage rate of 26.426 mills, the owner of a home assessed at $100,00 would pay an additional $39.16 a year in property taxes, if the budget is adopted. A mill is equal to $1 for each $1,000 of assessed property value. The final budget is scheduled for adoption June 27, 2016.

School board approves tax hike to fund Easton Area library
By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com  Email the author | Follow on Twitter   on June 21, 2016 at 7:44 PM, updated June 21, 2016 at 7:58 PM
Before a crowd of more than 100 people, the Easton Area School Board approved a tax hike to stave off cuts in staff and hours at the Easton Area Public Library.  Library Executive Director Jennifer Stocker said the 34 percent hike in the library's millage rate equates to about $14.38 next year for the owner of a home assessed at the district median.  She said the library previously closed the South Side branch and cut staff to balance its budget. Under the new budget, employees will give up family health care.  The budget was supposed to be addressed May 17, but the crowd was beyond the capacity of the school district education center, so the discussion was moved to Tuesday at the middle school.

“Like other area districts, one of the highest budget increases was the mandated Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System contribution. At $1.02 million, it represents a 17 percent increase from last year.”
Greater Latrobe School Board adopts budget without anticipated tax increase
Trib Live BY MARY PICKELS  | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 11:00 p.m.
The Greater Latrobe School Board on Tuesday adopted a $54.8 million balanced budget, absent an earlier anticipated 1-mill increase in real estate taxes for 2016-17.  In May, Business Manager Dan Watson presented the board with a tentative $54.8 million budget. It showed a $340,000 shortfall and included the proposed 1-mill hike, which would have earned the district $340,000.  The preliminary spending plan included no additional state dollars, he said.  “The finance committee recommended going with 50 percent of what Gov. (Tom) Wolf was proposing for increased basic education and special education subsidies. That totaled to about $416,000 (for the district). ... We included $208,000 of that in our budget, and then decided to take $132,000 out of our reserve account, and that equated to the $340,000 deficit,” Watson said.

“Cherpak said the district will likely start the 2016-17 school year with a $5.5 million fund balance.  It will use roughly $961,000 of that fund balance to offset a deficit related to PlanCon reimbursements from the state that have not come in yet.  “At this late stage in the game I think we have to look at our budget based on not getting the PlanCon money,” board First Vice President Karen Brown said. “As hard as the administration has worked, and we have struggled for the last several weeks and months looking at the budget trying to get it balanced so that we could start righting the ship, we're already looking at close to $1 million out of sync for next year that will be a deficit just because of PlanCon money.”
Baldwin-Whitehall budget balanced but includes 0.83-mill tax hike
Trib Live BY MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 6:33 p.m.
Property owners in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District should expect to pay more in real estate taxes next school year.  The district's final budget, which is posted on its website, lists the tax rate at 19.25 mills, an 0.83-mill tax hike.  School board members were expected to approve the budget Wednesday, after the South Hills Record's deadline. They discussed the 2016-17 spending plan at a meeting June 15.  District Business Manager Mark Cherpak said the tax hike translates to $83 more in taxes for those who own a $100,000 home.  The budget is balanced at $62,363,584 for expenses and revenues. One mill generates about $1.8 million.

“That is to result in a drain of $2,623,481 from the district's fund balance, which would drop from $21,329,385 to $18,705,904. The fund balance is down from a high of almost $25 million in 2013-14.  “Our decrease in fund balance has been intentional as part of a long-term financial plan that the district developed,” board President Eric DiTullio said.  One of the biggest burdens continues to be the district's state-mandated pension contributions to the Public School Employees' Retirement System, or PSERS. That contribution will increase by 16.22 percent in 2016-17, resulting in an added expenditure of $2.75 million.”
Seneca Valley approves budget with tax increase
Trib Live BY VINCE TOWNLEY | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 10:57 a.m.
When it comes to passing a budget each year, Seneca Valley School Board members say they walk a fine line between providing the best possible education for the district's 7,000 students and limiting financial burden on district taxpayers.  And the line is not getting any easier to walk.  “I just feel like we are dealing with a entirely new reality when it comes to funding,” board member Jeanette Lahm said before the board approved a budget on June 13 that included a 2.59 percent tax hike. “And we as a board have to assume that burden.”  The board approved a spending plan that raises the property tax rate by 3.1 mills, from 119.9 to 123.0.  Each mill will generate $562,696 for the district, an increase of 2.6 percent over the current school year.  This marks the seventh consecutive year that the district's tax rate has gone up.  The spending plan includes $121,505,081 in expenditures and $118,881,600 in anticipated revenue.

Burrell school board raises property taxes nearly 3 percent
Trib Live BY LIZ HAYES | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 11:00 p.m.
Home and property owners in the Burrell School District will be paying nearly 3 percent more in real estate taxes next school year.  The school board on Tuesday night unanimously approved a $29.5 million budget for 2016-17 that is about $300,000 less than was originally proposed in April.  Business Manager Jennifer Callahan has listed several factors for the decrease including: the teachers union approving a contract that has employees contributing more toward health insurance; a decrease in health insurance costs due to changes in employee enrollment; an additional teacher retirement that is expected to be filled at a lower salary; and elimination of a proposed teaching position.  The district will dip into reserve funds to balance the budget, using about $750,000.

Deer Lakes budget for 2016-17 holds line on taxes
Trib Live BY GEORGE GUIDO | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 11:00 p.m.
Real estate taxes will remain the same in the Deer Lakes School District for the coming school year.  The school board Tuesday night gave final approval to a $35.3 million budget that keeps the tax rate at 21.953 mills.  The budget reflects a $637,000 spending increase over the school year that ends this month.  A $350,000 shortfall will be covered with a transfer from money that had been set aside for the state retirement fund contribution.

Jeannette City school taxes raised .75-mill
BY THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 3:00 p.m.
Jeannette City School District directors approved a $19 million budget Monday for 2016-17 that includes a .75-mill tax increase, bringing the millage rate to 85 mills.  The change will cost the average property owner $10 more annually.

Brentwood School Board approves tax hike despite PlanCon reimbursement uncertainty
Trib Live BY ERIC EISERT | Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 6:33 p.m.
Brentwood Borough School Board on Monday approved a 2016-17 budget, though questions about state funding, including PlanCon reimbursement, remain unanswered.  The property-tax rate in the district was set at 29.5322 mills, an increase of 1.3415 mills.  The budget also calls for tapping $587,726 from the district's fund balance, leaving $1.9 million in reserve.  The district is owed $545,000 from the commonwealth in PlanCon reimbursement for the 2015-16 school year, from renovation projects in the 1990s.  Superintendent Amy Burch said there still is no word from Harrisburg about whether Brentwood, and all other districts in Pennsylvania owed money, will receive it.

“No one is suggesting that defined benefits be taken away from retirees or scaled back for those currently on state and school district payrolls. But they should be dropped entirely from the benefits packages of new employees. Private-sector employees are being forced to get by with 401(k) plans, so public workers should make do with the equivalent. It makes little sense for taxpayers to give state workers and teachers benefits more generous than they get from their own employers.”
PPG Editorial: State pension pressure: The move to 401(k)-style will come in steps
Post Gazette By the Editorial Board June 22, 2016 12:00 AM
Defined-benefit pension plans are long gone at most private-sector employers, yet Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf want to retain some form of them for future state employees and public schoolteachers. If a scaled-down version of an old-style benefit is needed to sign pension reform into law, so be it. Some progress beats none at all.   The House last week passed a bill that would implement a hybrid defined benefit and 401(k)-style plan for future commonwealth employees and schoolteachers. The Senate passed legislation for a hybrid plan in December. It is unclear whether the chambers can reconcile their versions, which differ partly on how the defined benefit portion would operate. Mr. Wolf supports the House version, providing a defined benefit for the first $50,000 in salary and a 401(k)-style plan for additional income. 

Octorara public school students need school librarians
Daily Local By Sari Feldman and Leslie Preddy POSTED: 06/21/16, 3:03 PM EDT
Feldman is president of the American Library Association. Preddy is president of the American Association of School Librarians.
In today’s complex information landscape, students are expected to know how to locate, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple sources, and to thoughtfully and ethically create original content. School librarians are more important than ever in preparing students to succeed in school, in the workplace, and as citizens. With cuts to the library program in previous years, children in Octorara Public Schools (OPS) are already at a disadvantage to their peers in Pennsylvania and across the country, and now the district proposes additional cuts. As presidents of the American Library Association (ALA) and American Association of School Librarians (AASL), we are deeply concerned about how this move will impact students.  We are not alone; OPS parents have voiced similar concerns. We recognize that the district, like many across the country, is facing real budget challenges and must examine each of its programs. As leaders of national library associations who have reviewed the research and witnessed the impact of library programs across the country, we can affirm that the data speaks for itself. In a 2012 Pew Research Center study, 83% of teachers responded that students are overwhelmed by the amount of information available online, and 60% stated that the increasing array of technologies makes it more difficult to locate credible information.

Email shows School District of Lancaster principal dissuaded parents from PSSA opt-outs
Lancaster Online by KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff Writer June 21, 2016
As standardized testing time approached this spring, a principal in the School District of Lancaster grew worried about the number of children who would be sitting out of the tests.
Worried enough to try to persuade parents to have their children do otherwise.  In an email obtained by LNP through an open-records request, Buchanan Elementary School Principal Stacy Kain informed the district’s top administrator in charge of testing that she had dissuaded some parents from "opting out" of the tests.  Kain's actions alarmed parents here, who are among the growing ranks of critics nationwide who believe standardized tests play too large of a role in public education.  And they raised questions about how administrators should respond to parents' requests at a time when the state expects schools to achieve full test participation.


How to Get More Men of Color Teaching in the Classroom
Only 8 percent of educators are nonwhite males in New York City, where Asian, black, and Hispanic boys make up 43 percent of public-school students. A new program is trying to change that.
The Atlantic by Patrick Wall  JUN 21, 2016
“Start sharing. Don’t be shy,” the facilitator said at the start a training last week for Asian, black, and Hispanic men hoping to teach in the New York City school system. He’d asked them to name a movie or song that spoke to them.  “Rocky,” one man said. “The Star-Spangled Banner,” said another. “Remember the Titans,” Kwang Lee said, citing the movie about the black coach of a racially mixed high-school football team.  “In our classrooms, we have a lot of diverse students,” explained Lee, 47, who worked in advertising for two decades before deciding recently to become a teacher. “We have to find ways to work together.”  In a city where Asian, black, and Hispanic boys make up 43 percent of the over 1 million public-school students, just over 8 percent of the city’s 76,000 teachers are nonwhite men. That leaves thousands of students of color without role models who resemble them, and without teachers who research shows tend to have higher expectations of nonwhite students.

Delaware teacher evaluations could see less focus on test scores
Delaware Online by  Matthew Albright, The News Journal12:42 a.m. EDT June 21, 2016
Sponsor says focus should be on long-term performance rather than the results of one exam
Delaware would all but eliminate the role of test scores in teacher evaluations if a bill in the General Assembly passes. The practice has been part of an ongoing debate about measuring student achievement.  The state requires that annual appraisals of educators include how well student scores grew on the state standardized test if they teach a subject included on that exam. But Rep. Earl Jaques, D-Glasgow, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the system is too narrowly focused and doesn't accurately reflect the abilities of the educator.
"In the NFL, when a team goes to draft a player, they don't look at one game and make a decision based on that," he said. "They evaluate them over the course of a long time."

Christie proposes overhaul of N.J. school funding; critics say urban students will suffer
BY JOE HERNANDEZ JUNE 21, 2016
Gov. Chris Christie is proposing major changes to the way New Jersey doles out education funding to  school districts.  Departing from a decades-old policy in which the state sent more aid to low-performing urban districts, Christie is recommending a funding formula that gives every district $6,599 per student. (The state would make exceptions for special-needs students.)
"A funding formula that puts a higher value on one child over another is morally wrong, and it has been economically destructive," Christie said Tuesday. "We cannot let it continue."  Christie criticized the state Supreme Court's decision 30 years ago to create Abbott Districts, struggling urban school districts that received a larger share of aid, claiming the state has so overcorrected the inequity that regular districts are now suffering.


Apply Now! EPLC’s 2016-2017 Pennsylvania Education Policy Fellowship Program

EPLC's 2016 Report:  High School Career and Technical Education: Serving Pennsylvania's Workforce and Student Needs
PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATION POLICY FORUM Thursday, June 23, 2016 
Allegheny Intermediate Unit - 475 East Waterfront Dr., Homestead, PA 15120
Coffee and Networking - 9:30 a.m.  Program - 10:00 a.m. to Noon   
 RSVP by clicking here. There is no fee, but a RSVP is required. Please feel free to share this invitation with your staff and network. Similar forums will be held later in the Philadelphia area and Harrisburg. 
SPEAKERS:
An Overview of the EPLC Report on High School CTE will be presented by:
Ron Cowell, President, The Education Policy and Leadership Center
Statewide and Regional Perspectives Will Be Provided By
Dr. Lee Burket, Director, Bureau of Career & Technical Education, PA Department of Education
Jackie Cullen, Executive Director, PA Association of Career & Technical Administrators
Dr. William Kerr, Superintendent, Norwin School District
Laura Fisher, Senior Vice President - Workforce & Special Projects, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
James Denova, Vice President, Benedum Foundation

Nominations now open for PSBA Allwein Awards (deadline July 16)
PSBA Website POSTED ON MAY 16, 2016 IN PSBA NEWS
The Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award was established in 2011 by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. The 2016 Allwein Award nominations will be accepted starting today and all applications are due by July 16, 2016. The nomination form can be downloaded from the website.

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:

PA Supreme Court sets Sept. 13 argument date for fair education funding lawsuit in Philly
Thorough and Efficient Blog JUNE 16, 2016 BARBGRIMALDI LEAVE A COMMENT


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