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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup July 1, 2016:
HB
530 would strip control from local communities & make PA charter schools
even LESS accountable; Budget sent to Governor
Call your State Representative’s office this
morning and ask them to oppose HB530
Call your State Senator’s office this morning
and ask them to oppose HB530
·
HB 530 permits charter schools to add new grades beyond their
current charter agreement without review or negotiation with a school district,
thus increasing school district tuition costs without any prior notification or
agreement with districts.
·
HB 530 permits students to enroll in charters outside of their
district, establishing an entirely new and unanticipated cost driver and
forcing districts to pay unbudgeted bills.
·
HB 530 permits districts to reach agreement on the level of charter
enrollment but then removes any obligation to live by these agreements by
explicitly offering options to grow enrollment beyond an agreement by carte
blanche authorizing new grades and permitting out of district students to
enroll.
·
HB 530 proposes creating a matrix to establish performance measures
for charter and cyber charter schools that could be a good step forward, but,
astonishingly, and certainly not by accident, the bill precludes the
use of those performance measures when making charter application, renewal or
revocation decisions.
·
HB 530 puts the Commonwealth on the hook for charters that fail to
meet debt payments. This means the state is taking on debt obligations
for non-profit organizations that are yet to be formed or were recently formed
and have no track record to demonstrate fiscal stability or fiscal
acumen.
URGENT–Lawmakers
and Governor Wolf MUST oppose HB 530–legislation that would make PA’s charter
school law even WORSE
Education Voters PA Posted on June 29, 2016 by EDVOPA
The PA House is moving charter
school legislation today that would make PA’s charter school law even
WORSE than it already is.
HB 530 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is NOT a
genuine effort to improve the quality of education children in the Commonwealth
receive, but instead, a massive giveaway to charter schools that would damage
school districts throughout the Commonwealth and undermine the quality of
education children in all schools receive.
Governor Wolf Statement on Final Passage
of Budget
Governor
Wolf’s Blog June 30, 2016
Harrisburg,
PA – Governor
Wolf today released the following statement:
“I want to commend leaders and
members in both chambers for passing a bi-partisan, compromise budget that
invests more money in early childhood, K through 12 and higher education, and
also provides vital resources to combat the heroin crisis. I am pleased that
working together we took this important step to move the commonwealth forward.
I will sign the General Appropriations bill as soon as there is a sustainable
revenue package to pay for it, and I look forward to continuing to work with
the legislature to achieve this.”
Updates on 2016-17 State
Budget
PA House Republican Caucus Website June 30, 2016
>> Spreadsheet for 2016-17 State Budget Proposal (updated
June 30, 2016)
>> School District Funding Distribution (updated June 30, 2016)
>> General Fund Financial Statement
>> School District Funding Distribution (updated June 30, 2016)
>> General Fund Financial Statement
“The
plan includes $200 million increase in basic education, pushing this lifeblood
for many of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts to a record $5.9 billion.
Along
with that, it contains a $20 million boost in funding for special education,
$30 million more of early education, and $40 million hike for higher education.”
House sends Gov. Tom Wolf a $31.5 billion
spending plan while still figuring out how to pay for it
Penn Live By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on
June 30, 2016 at 7:19 PM, updated June 30, 2016 at 10:02 PM
OK, Pennsylvanians, we now have a 2016-17 spending plan to send to Gov. Tom Wolf
for enactment and unlike this year, it will arrive before the new fiscal year
started. The House on Thursday evening
voted 144-54 to approve the
spending plan that the Senate passed 47-3 on Wednesday. Half of the House votes in support
of the general fund budget bill came from GOP and the other half from
Democrats. What we don't have, though,
is a revenue package that raises the additional $1.2 billion needed to fund the
$31.5 billion it proposes to spend. That,
House and Senate leaders said on Thursday, remains a work in progress. But they
assured it will not include an increase in the state's personal income or sales
tax rates. About the House's passage of
the spending portion of the budget package, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman,
R-Centre County, said in a statement, "we have made excellent progress on
establishing a complete state budget in a timely fashion. We have a spending
plan in place that continues to provides a plan for funding for state
priorities while continuing to increase education funding at all levels."
Pa. lawmakers OK spending plan, but not
how to pay for it
Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis and Karen Langley,
HARRISBURG BUREAU Updated: JULY
1, 2016 — 1:08 AM EDT
HARRISBURG - With hours to spare
before the start of the new fiscal year, the Republican-controlled legislature
gave its final sign-off to a $31.5 billion spending plan that Gov. Wolf said he
could support. That was the good news
for those aiming for an on-time budget. The
bad news for all sides is that there is no agreement on how to pay for the
plan, which calls for increasing funding for public schools, early childhood
and special education, and state colleges and universities. Negotiations on that critical piece of the
budget could stretch into next week, and Wolf reiterated in a statement
Thursday night that while he supports the spending bill, he wouldn't sign it
until "there is a sustainable revenue package to pay for it."
Legislature
sends $31.6 billion budget to Gov. Tom Wolf for his approval
Morning
Call by Steve Esack Contact Reporter
Call Harrisburg Bureau June 30, 2016
HARRISBURG — The House approved a
$31.6 billion budget and sent it to Gov.Tom Wolf for his signature Thursday evening. The 144-54 vote allowed the
Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic governor to accomplish the
bipartisan political victory of passing a 2016-17 budget before the close of
the current fiscal year at midnight Thursday. And all declared victory — even if they have
not figured out how to pay for the 5 percent spending increase in the fiscal
year that begins Friday. The
Legislature and governor have not settled their differences on a tax and
revenue plan that pays for government services. But that could wait for another
day as lawmakers rejoiced over passing the budget and Wolf vowed to sign it
once there's a revenue and tax package to go with it.
'I have been able to witness total
madness,' Sen. Scott Wagner says of #PaBudget vote: Friday Morning Coffee
Penn Live By John L. Micek |
jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on July 01, 2016 at 6:44 AM, updated July 01, 2016 at 7:19 AM
THE MORNING COFFEE
Good Friday Morning, Fellow
Seekers.
As we head into that final furlong before the long holiday weekend, we realized that it had been a while since we'd checked in with state Sen. Scott Wagner. As it turns out, our timing couldn't have been better. In the wake of Thursday's state House vote that kinda-sorta-not-really-at-all gave Pennsylvania the first on-time state budget of the Wolf administration, Wagner, R-York, was at his most Wagner-y. "I have been able to witness total madness,"Wagner, who's pretty much running for governor in 2018, told The Tribune-Review's Brad Bumsted. "The House and Senate have passed spending without determining where additional revenue sources are going to come from."
As we head into that final furlong before the long holiday weekend, we realized that it had been a while since we'd checked in with state Sen. Scott Wagner. As it turns out, our timing couldn't have been better. In the wake of Thursday's state House vote that kinda-sorta-not-really-at-all gave Pennsylvania the first on-time state budget of the Wolf administration, Wagner, R-York, was at his most Wagner-y. "I have been able to witness total madness,"Wagner, who's pretty much running for governor in 2018, told The Tribune-Review's Brad Bumsted. "The House and Senate have passed spending without determining where additional revenue sources are going to come from."
Delco Times By The Associated Press POSTED: 07/01/16, 5:11 AM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. >> Pennsylvania lawmakers are returning to work on the state’s spending plan for the coming year, facing decisions about tax increases a day after they sent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf the main budget bill. The list of unfinished business as legislators resume session Friday includes companion bills to the general appropriations bill and a quest to locate more than $1 billion in new revenue to make it all balance. Wolf says he won’t sign the $31 billion-plus budget without sustainable revenues to fund it. He has 10 days to decide what to do with the legislation. The main budget bill passed the state House on Thursday evening by a vote of 144 to 54. Forty-five Republicans and nine Democrats voted no.
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20160701/tax-decisions-await-pa-lawmakers-as-they-resume-work-on-budget
House leaders tout compromise, but still no final budget post-deadline
WITF Written by Katie Meyer | Jul 1, 2016 1:55 AM
The state budget's June 30th deadline has come and gone, and though the legislature has made strides, there is still no final verdict. The House and Senate have agreed to a 31-point-six billion dollar spending plan, which some House leadership said heralded an end to the budget process. "I think it's very important that we understand that we are doing something here tonight that we couldn't do the last few years. We are passing an on-time budget on time," said Appropriations Committee minority chair Democrat Joseph Markosek in his remarks on the House floor.
A key part of the budget is still missing, however--a concrete revenue plan that would pay for it.
http://www.witf.org/state-house-sound-bites/2016/07/house-leaders-tout-compromise-but-still-no-final-budget-post-deadline.php
Legislature OKs state budget; critics say it's not balanced
Trib Live BY BRAD BUMSTED | Thursday, June 30, 2016, 7:39 p.m.
HARRISBURG — Meeting a midnight deadline, the GOP-dominated General Assembly on Thursday approved a $31.6 billion state budget, even with critics saying it's out of balance and one senator describing the process as “total madness.” The Senate-approved budget, OK'd by a 144-54 vote in the House, now goes to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. While it technically meets the constitutional deadline of completion by June 30, the revenue bill to pay for the spending still hasn't been made public. “I have been able to witness total madness ... the House and Senate have passed spending without determining where additional revenue sources are going to come from,” said Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York County, a likely candidate for governor. Senate officials said the budget package requires no general tax hike. There are several budget-related trailer bills that still need approval. Approving a budget without the money to pay for it is “not responsible,” said Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry. “Spendaholic disease” has infected the membership, he said.
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/10718869-74/budget-state-million
Pa. Senate passes Wolf’s budget proposal, local lawmakers in support
Bradford Era By ALEX DAVIS Era Reporter a.davis@bradfordera.com | 0 comments Posted: Thursday, June 30, 2016 10:00 am
Local state lawmakers are backing a proposed state budget they say adds millions of dollars for education and the fight against opioid abuse. The state Senate, by a vote of 47-3, passed a proposed budget on Wednesday, and the spending plan was due to head back to the House. For their part, Senate lawmakers approved the investment of $245 million more in basic education, special education, and Pre-K Counts, as well as a nearly $40 million increase for higher education. “Throughout the past year, I have heard from my constituents who have told me they do not want the state to see another painful budget impasse that hurts schools and community organizations,” state Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, said. “We were able to work together to craft a budget that holds the line on broad-based taxes, boosts funding for schools, and addresses the heroin and opioid addiction crisis. This will continue to provide a high level of funding for our schools, while helping to provide vital services in our communities.”
Examining How PA's New Education Funding
Formula Impacts Students
WESA By ESSENTIAL
PITTSBURGH • June 29, 2016 Audio Runtime 19:56
As the legislature grapples with
budget details including education funding, Governor Tom Wolf has already
signed into law a new formula for distributing
state education money. The formula is used to decide how much each district
gets but how does it work? We’ll ask Keystone Crossroads reporter Kevin McCorry and Jay Himes, executive
director of the Pennsylvania Association
of School Business Officials.
Blogger comment: By far and away, increased mandatory pension
costs have consumed school district budgets for the past few years. Last year’s $200 million BEF increase didn’t
come close to covering those increased costs and neither will this year’s $200
million BEF increase. This is the single
biggest reason why property taxes have gone up throughout the state. Almost every article covering school
districts budgets cites at least a 6-figure increase in PSERs contributions and
a great many are over $1 million. BTW,
none of the “pension reform” legislation pending would do anything at all to
address these immediate short term costs (or the $50-60 billion unfunded
pension liability for that matter).
“By Friday, every Pennsylvania school district is expected to have passed
a final budget for the next fiscal year - and it must be balanced.
(Philadelphia has its own unique structure, one where the budget and taxing
authority fall to city council.) Over
the last decade, districts in the counties that ring the city have raised taxes
substantially, an average of 30 percent, or more than $1,000 for a typical
household, according to an Inquirer analysis of tax data.”
Your school property taxes are probably
rising again. Here's how much — and why
Inquirer by Grace Toohey & Daniel Block, STAFF
WRITERS JUNE 30, 2016 4:24 PM
EDT
Liana Roadcloud lives in a town
where homeowners pay some of the region's highest property tax rates, where the
schools struggle academically, and where the fiscal year that begins Friday
will bring exactly what she doesn't want: another tax hike. The William Penn School District insists it
has squeezed every nickel to keep the increase on her tax bill at just under 2
percent. For Roadcloud, that means a $58 bump next year, to $3,091 for a
Lansdowne home valued around $70,000. "People
don't mind paying for something if they're getting something in return,"
said Roadcloud, whose son is a sophomore at Penn Wood High School. "That's
not what I feel is happening right now."
William Penn is among the region's most economically challenged
districts, but the vote last week by the Delaware County school board to raise
taxes gave it at least one thing in common with wealthy school systems on the
Main Line and elsewhere in Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties.
School Taxes on the Rise Again in the Pennsylvania Suburbs
Inquirer Infographic June 230,
2016
School taxes in the William Penn
School District in Delaware County will increase on July 1, as will tax bills
in 85 percent of the school districts in the suburbs of southeastern
Pennsylvania. The average bills in the four counties surrounding Philadelphia
will rise by about $120 per household this coming year, and taxes have
increased well over $1,000 per household throughout the last decade, far
exceeding inflation.
“Public
education is a cornerstone of our democracy. It should give children
foundational life skills and a penetrating understanding of the world to enrich
their lives and give them the tools for success. That should not depend on what
ZIP code they live in.”
Our
view: Erie schools get reprieve in state budget
GoErie Editorial July 1, 2016
12:42 AM
As summer fades to fall, Erie
School District students might return to find iconic educational opportunities
-- art, music, football and other extracurricular activities -- intact after
all. For the moment, at least, it
appears the district will emerge from the state budget process largely
unscathed, with the ability to cover all of the spending in its new budget. The state Senate on Wednesday easily passed a
$31.5 billion spending plan that included relief for Erie's beleaguered school
system -- $3.6 million in additional educational funding and $4 million in a
one-time emergency package -- that will allow the district to close a projected
gap of $5.5 million that remained even after $6 million in cuts. The plan had to go back to the House of
Representatives before landing on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk, but the school district
on Wednesday passed its $185.6 million final budget in hopes that the relief
will come through. Schools
Superintendent Jay Badams deserves credit for his unequivocal advocacy for
students that, with the help of local legislators, no doubt contributed to
Harrisburg's consideration for Erie.
“Quaker
Valley will pay about $5.8 million — up $912,000 from the 2015-16 budget — into
the Public School Employees' Retirement System, known as PSERS, school leaders
said.”
Quaker Valley taxes going up with new budget
Trib Live BY VINCE RUSSO | Thursday,
June 30, 2016, 1:51 p.m.
Quaker Valley property owners
will see an increase in taxes as part of the district's $47.5 million budget
for 2016-17. The increase — approved
last week in an 8-1 vote with board member Marianne Wagner dissenting — means a
homeowner whose property is valued at $200,000 would see a tax bill of about
$3,548 — up about $84 over the 2015-16 budget. Board members set the tax rate
at 17.7389 mills. It included a 0.4157-mill increase — the maximum allowed
based on the school's inflationary index — 2.4 percent for Quaker Valley —
which is set by the state Department of Education. District leaders estimate they will collect
more than $30 million from real estate taxes, according to the budget. Based on data, district leaders estimate
Quaker Valley will receive more than $7.1 million from the state — up about
$764,000 from last year. They expect to receive about $960,000 from the federal
government — down about $61,000 from last year.
“Major
expenses include $422,000 in tuition payments for district students who attend
charter or cyber charter schools and an additional $282,000 in payments to the
Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS).”
Leechburg approves budget, another tax hike
Trib Live BY JODI
WEIGAND | Thursday, June 30, 2016, 11:00 p.m.
The Leechburg Area School
District's 2016-17 budget increases real estate taxes for the fourth
consecutive year. As anticipated, the
board on Wednesday approved a 4 percent tax increase for Armstrong County
residents and a 6 percent increase for Westmoreland County property owners. The hike means an additional $74
in real estate taxes for a typical property in Leechburg and Gilpin and another
$132 for West Leechburg residents. The
$13.8 million spending plan is about $600,000 more than this past school year.
Hanover Area School District adopts $27.3M budget
Citizens Voice BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER / PUBLISHED: JUNE 30, 2016
HANOVER TWP. — The Hanover Area
School Board voted Wednesday to adopt a $27.3 million budget for the next
school year and increase the property tax rate by about 2.4 percent. The board reduced the size of the
tax increase proposed in a preliminary budget last month. The tax increase in
the preliminary budget was 3.4 percent — the maximum index amount for tax
increases that don’t need voter or state approval of referendum exception
amounts. The state establishes an index
amount for school districts based on cost factors. The index amount varies for
each school district and typically is between 2 percent and 4 percent.
Times Tribune By Sarah Hofius Hall / Published: June 30, 2016
For the first time in more than 100 years, two Scranton School District properties soon may have new owners. The district plans to hold an auction Thursday, July 7 to sell the former Lincoln-Jackson Elementary, at Academy Street and South Hyde Park Avenue, and the vacant lot that once held the Samuel Morse school, at Farr Street and North Sumner Avenue. School board members have not discussed the auction at a public meeting, but two public notices appeared in The Times-Tribune this week. Proceeds from the sale of the properties likely will be added to the district’s general fund. In recent years, the district used one-time revenue sources, such as the sale of school properties, to try to balance its budget.
BY THE
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Thursday, June 30, 2016, 5:48 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Area school
directors approved a 2016-17 budget this week that includes a 2.75-mill
property tax increase. The increase will
cost the average taxpayer $45 annually. The new millage rate is 88.62 mills.
One mill of property taxes generates about $150,000 in revenue. Directors approved the $33 million budget at
a meeting Monday.
“One goal
of the READ! by 4th campaign is that by 2020, all the new K-3 teachers hired by
the School District will have received training from IDA-accredited schools of
education.”
Drexel's School of Education earns
important accreditation in reading instruction
The designation means that
graduates have learned the best strategies for teaching young children to read,
including those with learning issues.
The notebook by Ellen Schoder June
30, 2016 — 1:43pm
The Special Education program and
Multisensory Reading Instruction program at Drexel University’s School of
Education recently earned accreditation from the International Dyslexia
Association (IDA), making Drexel just one of 26 schools nationwide that meet
its standards. Those standards require that
teachers know the science of reading instruction and know how to teach all
students to read, regardless of their learning style or perceptual issues, such
as dyslexia. Jenny Bogoni, executive
director of READ! by 4th, the citywide campaign to help students reach
grade level in reading by 4th grade, said in a statement that
"empowering teachers is central to the work" of the campaign. She added that schools and districts hiring
graduates from programs like Drexel's that have been accredited by IDA and its
subsidiary, the Center for Effective Reading Instruction, “can be assured these
teachers have the knowledge and skills to teach all students
to read.”
Amid teacher hiring binge, Philly union
cries foul
The notebook/WHYY
Newshorks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT
JULY 1, 2016“We Are Hiring.” The banner — and its accompanying videos — are intended to entice newcomers to a district plagued by years of rolling teacher vacancies. For current district art teacher Marianne Evans, it’s a bold reminder that she’s still jobless. “When you’re in a situation such as mine, and you see that, it’s just mind-boggling,” said Evans. Evans, 55, was recently let go from her position at Spring Garden Elementary School after a provisional, one-year appointment. By her count, Evans has since applied for at least 18 open district positions and received seven interviews. Not one of those seven schools have hired her. “It was soul crushing,” said Evans of not getting a job. “I worked incredibly hard, and I just can’t believe I’m in this position where I don’t know whether or where I have a job next year.” A hiring frenzy has put the School District of Philadelphia on track to fill all its teacher vacancies by September. But not everyone is smiling. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said the district disregarded work rules and spurned veteran teachers in its drive to fill every position by June 30.
“With
the backing of the Turkish government, Amsterdam also has focused on a network
of about 150 publicly funded U.S. charter schools started by Gulen's followers.”
Turkish
government lawyer: Poconos-based cleric had 'unlawful conduct'
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A lawyer
representing the Turkish government says he'll continue exposing what he calls
the "unlawful conduct" of a reclusive Muslim cleric in Pennsylvania
whom Turkey's president accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt. Robert Amsterdam released a statement Thursday,
one day after a federal judge in Scranton dismissed his lawsuit against
Fethullah Gulen. "Despite the
outcome of this ruling, a very clear message has been sent to Gulen and his
co-conspirators in the Poconos: the days of impunity are numbered, and your
unlawful conduct will be brought to light," Amsterdam said.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-muslim-cleric-lawsuit01-20160630-story.html
When you see the announcement that the Waltons want to pump another $250 million into charter schools, you just have to wonder why. I know the Waltons (of Wal-Mart fame) are big fans of charter schools, but they didn't become gazillionaires by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on things they just find shiny. And if they really wanted to push charters, they have an army of employees that could be incentivized to push charters. Heck, the Waltons are in a position to offer employees some sort of bonus or support to send their own children to charter schools. So maybe the quarter billion bucks is just heartfelt charity. But I have my doubts. Part of the clue is in exactly what the Waltons want to spend that $250 million on. They're not really pumping money into the charter school industry-- they're pumping money into the charter schoolbuilding industry. They make the periodically made point that the charter industry suffers from not having Uncle Sugar to buy buildings for them. I'm not sure that's a real problem.
44 Oklahoma Parents, Educators Win In
Tuesday's Primary
BY DANA HERTNEKY, NEWS 9 Posted: Jun 29, 2016 6:34 PM EDT Updated: Jun 29, 2016 6:34 PM EDT OKLAHOMA
CITY -
Dozens of teachers and educators
are closer to becoming state lawmakers after Tuesday night's primary election. A group called Oklahoma Parents and Educators
for public education has been circulating a list of what they call
“pro-education” candidates. Tuesday night, 44 candidates on the list
either won their race or will move onto a runoff in August. “I didn’t want to be a politician, what I
want is for teachers to feel respected again,” said Judy Mullen Hopper a
retired special Education teacher. She won the democratic primary for Senate
District 47. Don Wentroth the former
principal at Putnam City High and Bethany was also on the winning side of
Tuesday’s primary. He won the democratic primary for House district 100.
“I think there’s been a message
sent,” he said.
“Oklahoma
Parents and Educators for Public Education, a Facebook page launched by an
elementary school teacher and a mom frustrated with the Legislature’s lack of
action, quickly grew to nearly 25,000 followers. The group gave candidates a
forum and an opportunity to tap into a network of local volunteers. They
endorsed Republicans and Democrats who opposed school vouchers for private
schools and supported increased funding for schools, and targeted incumbents on
the other side. The group backed
candidates in 59 races, in some cases more than one in a single race,
identifying them as supportive of public schools. In those contests, 33 won
nominations and at least eight others will be in runoffs.”
Oklahoma teachers fight education cuts by
winning elections
Washington Post By Sean Murphy | AP June 29 at
7:26 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY — Inner-city high
school English teacher Mickey Dollens was fed up with low pay and cuts to
public education, so he decided to run for the state Legislature to fix the
problem.
Then the 28-year-old from
Oklahoma City became a casualty of those cuts and was laid off. He has since
become a poster boy for a movement of teachers, parents and other supporters of
public education trying to elect candidates who will resist cuts imposed by
majority Republicans. The group passed its first major
hurdle with flying colors on Tuesday when candidates it backed knocked off two
incumbent House Republicans and came close to beating a third, a rarity in Oklahoma
politics. Only three GOP incumbents have lost to a primary challenger in the
last 16 years. “They’ve already cut some
sports and extra-curriculars like a welding program,” said Dollens, who won his
Democratic primary with more than 90 percent of the vote and now faces a
Republican in November. “Then my principal brought me in and said we have to
let you and 19 other teaches go.
The real problem isn’t teachers
Washington Post Answer Sheet
Blog By Valerie
Strauss June 30 at 12:36 PM
In
April, an appeals court in California upheld the state’s laws regarding teacher
tenure, dismissal and layoffs by overturning a lower court’s earlier decision
to scrap job-protection statutes in the highly publicized Vergara v.
California case. The plaintiffs in Vergara were
public school students backed by a school reform advocacy group called Students
Matter, and they claimed that job protection laws for teachers are the reason
that poor and minority children wind up with more ineffective teachers who are
hard to fire. The court found that “the evidence did not show that the
challenged statutes inevitably cause” the impact the plaintiffs claimed. Reform
and anti-union activists have promised to continue the legal fight against
teacher job protection laws that they say work against students. Such legal challenges are just part of what
many teachers consider to be a war on their profession by school reformers
and policymakers who have attempted to “disrupt” public education with systems
and programs that educators think rob them of their professionalism and
hurt the learning process.
Appointment
of Voting Delegates for the October 15th PSBA Delegate Assembly
Meeting
PSBA Website June 27, 2016
The governing body boards of all
member school entities are entitled to appoint voting delegates to participate
in the PSBA Delegate Assembly to be held on Saturday,
Oct. 15, 2016. It is important that school boards act soon to appoint
its delegate or delegates, and to notify PSBA of the appointment.
Voting members of the Delegate
Assembly will:
1. Consider and act upon proposed
changes to the PSBA Bylaws.
2. Receive reports from the PSBA
president, executive director and treasurer.
3. Receive the results of the
election for officers and at-large representatives. (Voting upon
candidates by school boards and electronic submission of each board’s votes
will occur during the month of September 2016.)
4. Consider proposals recommended by
the PSBA Platform Committee and adopt the legislative platform for the coming
year.
5. Conduct other Association
business as required or permitted in the Bylaws, policies or a duly adopted
order of business.
The 2016 Delegate Assembly will meet on Saturday,
Oct. 15, at the conclusion of the regularly scheduled events of the
main PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference.
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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