Tuesday, January 10, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 10: Bethlehem PA: A disturbing look at how charter schools are hurting a traditional school district; DeVos hearing postponed til Jan 17

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 10, 2017
Bethlehem PA: A disturbing look at how charter schools are hurting a traditional school district; DeVos hearing postponed til Jan 17



DeVos’s hearing, originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, has been rescheduled for Jan. 17 at 5 p.m.

We had reports from western PA of a telephone campaign by DeVos supporters asking voters to contact their senators to support her nomination.  If you have not already done so, please consider calling Senators Toomey and Casey as noted below.

DeVos’s hearing, originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, has been rescheduled for Jan. 17 at 5 p.m., according to a joint statement from the HELP committee chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Patty Murray (D-Wash).

Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing is officially set for Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. in 430 Dirksen

Over the past three weeks, I have been unable to find any press coverage of her ever having visited a traditional public school.  She would be welcome to come visit my school district.

In a constituent response letter regarding the nomination of Betsy DeVos dated December 2, 2016, Senator Toomey stated: “I believe she is a great pick.”  His Washington, D.C. phone number is (202) 224-4254  You can find phone numbers for his Pennsylvania offices here

Senator Casey is a member of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee that will be holding the confirmation hearing.  His Washington, D.C. phone number is (202) 224-6324  You can find phone numbers for his Pennsylvania offices by clicking on the “Regions” link at the bottom of this “Contacts” page



“I went on the road to Bethlehem shortly before Christmas to understand the effect of charter schools on Pennsylvania’s district public schools. I was told that Bethlehem was a good example of how public schools are victimized by the lax charter school laws of Pennsylvania, whose own auditor general has labeled, “the worst charter school laws in the nation.”  All of the problems associated with charter schools, such as, siphoning of public school funding, increased segregation, scandalous recruiting practices and blatant profiteering can be found in charters in and surrounding America’s Christmas City.”
Bethlehem PA: A disturbing look at how charter schools are hurting a traditional school district
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss January 9 at 3:51 PM 
Charter schools have become a central feature of the school “choice” movement, itself a key part of corporate school reform, which seeks to operate public schools as if they were businesses rather than civic institutions. There are now thousands of charters — which are publicly funded but independently operated, sometimes by for-profit companies — enrolling a few million students in 43 states and the District of Columbia who make up about 6 percent of public school students across the country.  While they are a small minority of the public school student population, outsized controversy surrounds charter schools in many communities, especially in states where lax oversight has resulted in financial irregularities and traditional public schools are negatively affected. There are so many issues surrounding charter schools that in October 2016, leaders of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, bucked intense pressure from charter supporters and ratified a resolution calling for a moratorium on the expansion of charters and for stronger oversight of these schools.  Here’s a cautionary post about the impact of charter schools in one school district in Pennsylvania, one of a number of states with extremely lax charter school laws. It was written by Carol Burris, a former New York high school principal who is executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education. She was named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, and in 2013, the same organization named her the New York State High School Principal of the Year. She has been chronicling problems with corporate school reform for years, including with a series about troubled charter schools in California.

Public schools under assault at all government levels, school chief says
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com  Email the author | Follow on Twitter  on January 09, 2017 at 8:41 PM, updated January 10, 2017 at 1:58 AM
Pennsylvania lawmakers' efforts to replace the state's school property tax with higher sales and personal income taxes is an attack on local school district control, according to Bethlehem Area School District officials.   Monday night the district began its 2017-18 budget process with an overhead view of district priorities and a recent financial history. The administration plans to release preliminary budget figures at next week's finance committee meeting.  Most of Monday night's discussion focused on the multiple legislative hurdles Bethlehem and other public schools will face at both the state and federal level in the coming year.  Superintendent Joseph Roy said that the concept of community-based neighborhood, public schools run by locally elected board members is being challenged at all levels of government. He urged local activism to combat this.

Public school districts are examples of democracy
The notebook Commentary by Michael Faccinetto and Joseph Roy January 9, 2017 — 12:19pm
Michael Faccinetto is the president of the Bethlehem Area School District Board of School Directors and the president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Board Association.  
Joseph Roy is the superintendent of schools for the Bethlehem Area School District. He was named as the state's 2017 Superintendent of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
The movement to take control of public education away from local communities and to turn tax dollars over to privately run charter schools, religious schools, and private schools is likely to take on new urgency in the Pennsylvania legislature in 2017.  The “choice” movement hampers public schools' efforts to address urgent problems they face, such as childhood poverty and an inequitable state funding system, by diverting public dollars to privately run schools.  Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts are governed by your neighbors and fellow community members. School boards and the public school districts they oversee are this country’s best examples of democracy – elected directly by the voters in their local community and charged with serving the public good. Serving as volunteers, these school directors accept the civic duty to educate our children and they balance that duty with the community’s ability to pay.  In Pennsylvania and across our nation, locally elected school boards are undermined by an anti-public education “choice” movement that is pushed in large part by billionaires and lobbyists. It supports using local tax dollars to pay for privately run charter schools and to pay tuition at religious and private schools.

Editorial: Dead of night dead wrong
Times Tribune BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD / PUBLISHED: JANUARY 10, 2017
The state House has rolled back a rule preventing it from railroading revised legislation.
After public outrage forced state lawmakers to repeal the infamous 2005 pay raise that they had given themselves in the dead of night on a holiday weekend, House members sensibly passed rules to deter them from repeating the abuse.  One rule precluded voting after 11 p.m. Another rule required the House to wait at least 24 hours before voting on any amended bills returned from the Senate. That offered time not only for lawmakers to study what is in revised legislation, but for public disclosure.  Last week the House scrapped the 24-hour rule and adopted a new one requiring only a six-hour wait before votes on revised legislation. Proponents say the new rule matches the Senate’s rule to wait six hours before voting on revised bills returned from the House. But the pressure should be on the Senate to lengthen its waiting period to 24 hours, rather than to reduce the House transparency standard.  Nothing has happened since 2005 to render the 24-hour rule unnecessary. If the House lifts the rule, it surely will use it at some point to ramrod revised legislation with scant notice.  Lawmakers should restore the 24-hour rule before the new session begins in earnest.

GOP moves to consolidate power on PA Senate committees
City and State PA By: RYAN BRIGGS JAN 6, 2017 AT 4:34 PM
After a historic election that saw them gain a supermajority, PA Senate Republicans are apparently attempting to increase their majorities in crucial legislative committees. Sources familiar with ongoing negotiations between Senate leaders in both parties told City&State that Republican Majority Leader Jake Corman may be looking to erode Democratic representation in all Senate standing committees, citing precedent.  Corman declined to comment.   A staffer for Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati said no final decisions would be made until the Senate reconvenes on Jan. 23, but acknowledged the majority party had recently explored expanding its hold on the chamber’s committees.  “At this time, committees are still being discussed and no official decision has been made,” said Katie Eckhart, Scarnati’s assistant director for legislative affairs. “In the past, committee structure has been based on precedent. Last session, we went back and looked at the number of committee members, and saw that it was based on [party] representation in the Senate.”

Gateway could vote Tuesday on Propel's charter renewal
Trib Live by SAMSON X HORNE  | Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, 9:00 p.m.
The only charter school inside the Gateway School District's borders is seeking a renewal of its charter.  Propel Pitcairn, which enrolls about 350 kindergarten through eighth-grade students at the former Pitcairn Elementary building on Agatha Street, received a five-year charter when it opened in 2012.  That charter, an agreement between the charter school and the public school system that allows the charter school to operate within district boundaries, expires in June.
The school has requested a five-year extension.

School District of Lancaster may spend down reserve funds
Lancaster Online by Kimberly Marselas | LNP Correspondent January 10, 2016
After spending much of the early 2000s in a deficit, the School District of Lancaster has completed a dramatic turnaround that likely will force the school board to spend down some of its reserves this year.  The district has raised taxes and cut positions and programs in recent years, attempting to offset spikes in health care and pension costs.  But after hitting bottom with a $3.3 million deficit in 2004 and surviving the 2008 recession, the district also slowly accumulated a $28.5 million fund balance.  At a meeting in late December, chief financial and operations manager Matthew Przywara recommended the district use a chunk of that cash to help create a separate fund specifically for construction and maintenance.

Upper Perk taxpayers say they can't afford $58 million middle school
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Staff Writer Updated: JANUARY 10, 2017 — 1:07 AM EST
Upper Perkiomen School District officials were so convinced of the need for a new $58 million middle school that they fast-tracked its construction to start as early as this summer - even before many of the details were made public.  Now, angry taxpayers in the exurban and rural district, sprawling across seven communities in upper Montgomery and Berks Counties with many retirees on fixed incomes, are sending a message to the school board: Not so fast.  Last week, about 300 people packed a state-mandated public hearing and sharply criticized the plan, alleging that such a large project is unnecessary and would send property taxes through the roof. Officials say enrollment at the 58-year-old Upper Perkiomen Middle School, which has been expanded or renovated five times, is expected to grow from 780 to 847 by 2020-21, then drop back to current levels by 2025.


DeVos’s hearing, originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, has been rescheduled for Jan. 17 at 5 p.m., according to a joint statement from the HELP committee chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Patty Murray (D-Wash).
Senate postpones confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick
Washington Post By Emma Brown January 9 at 11:02 PM 
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has postponed the confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary.  DeVos’s hearing, originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, has been rescheduled for Jan. 17 at 5 p.m., according to a joint statement from the HELP committee chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Patty Murray (D-Wash).  The move comes after Democrats raised concerns about the fact that the Office of Government Ethics, which has said it is overwhelmed by vetting Trump’s nominees, has not yet completed its review of DeVos’s financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest.  Alexander and Murray did not mention those concerns in a joint statement announcing the postponement. They said the change in timing came “at the request of the Senate leadership to accommodate the Senate schedule.”

The Senate Delays a Key Nomination Hearing
The move pushes back the examination of Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for education secretary. But three other Cabinet picks are still set to receive confirmation hearings before they have obtained ethics agreements.
The Atlantic by RUSSELL BERMAN JAN 9, 2017
This story was updated on Monday, January 9 at 11:27 pm
Senate Republicans have delayed the confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education amid mounting criticism from Democrats that the GOP is rushing to install Trump’s Cabinet without sufficient vetting.  The Senate hearing for Betsy DeVos will now occur on the afternoon of January 17, the leaders of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee announced late Monday night. DeVos, a conservative education activist and wealthy philanthropist, was set to testify on Wednesday along with four other Trump nominees even though she had yet to sign a certified ethics agreement detailing how she planned to resolve potential conflicts of interest—a step that traditionally occurs before a nominee receives a confirmation hearing.  Senators Lamar Alexander, a Republican of Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, said the change was made to accommodate the Senate leadership. In addition to highlighting the ethics issue, Democrats had complained that Republicans had jammed several confirmation hearings into a single day to dilute public attention and make it easier for Trump nominees to survive a rocky hearing.

Opposition grows to Senate confirmation of Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education nominee
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss January 10 at 3:53 AM 
Public education wasn’t much of an issue during the 2016 presidential campaign — but it sure is now as opposition grows to the Senate confirmation of Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s education secretary  nominee, who once called the U.S. traditional public school system a “dead end.”  The confirmation hearing by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions had been set for Wednesday, Jan. 11, but late Monday it was postponed until Jan. 17, with panel leaders releasing a statement saying the date was changed “at the request of the Senate leadership to accommodate the Senate schedule.” They did not note that Democrats had been pushing for a delay because an ethics review of DeVos has not been completed.  DeVos, a leader in the movement to privatize the U.S. public education system, has quickly become a lightning rod in the education world since her nomination by Trump in November 2015.  Supporters say that as secretary of education she would work to expand the range of choices that parents have in choosing a school for their children and that she is dedicated to giving every child an opportunity to succeed. Her critics say that her long advocacy for vouchers and her push for lax regulation of charter schools reveals an antipathy to public education; they point to an August 2015 speech in which she said that the traditional public education system  is a “dead end” and that “government truly sucks.”

More than anyone else who has joined the incoming Trump administration, she represents the combination of wealth, free-market ideology and political hardball associated with a better-known family of billionaires: Charles and David Koch.
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Education Pick, Wields Wealth Like a Koch
New York Times By NOAM SCHEIBERJAN. 9, 2017
After Tom Casperson, a Republican state senator from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, began running for Congress in 2016, he assumed the family of Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee to be education secretary, would not oppose him.  The DeVoses, a dominant force in Michigan politics for decades with a fortune in the billions, had contributed to one of Mr. Casperson’s earlier campaigns. But a week before his primary, family members sent $24,000 to one of his opponents, then poured $125,000 into a “super PAC,” Concerned Taxpayers of America, that ran ads attacking him.  The reason, an intermediary told Mr. Casperson: his support from organized labor.  “Deceitful, dishonest and cowardly,” was how Mr. Casperson’s campaign described the ads, complaining that the groups running them “won’t say who they are or where their money is coming from.” On Primary Day, Mr. Casperson went down to defeat.

All eyes on DeVos hearing
Politico Morning Education By MICHAEL STRATFORD 01/09/17 10:00 AM EST
With help from Caitlin Emma, Kimberly Hefling and Benjamin Wermund
ALL EYES ON DEVOS HEARING THIS WEEK: The education policy world will be fixated this week on the confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education secretary, Betsy DeVos. DeVos, who turned 59 on Sunday, has long been a prominent advocate for charter schools and school vouchers, but she’ll now have to answer questions about her approach to a range of other policy issues — like affordability in higher education and implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
— But first: Democrats and Republicans are at odds over whether the confirmation hearing for DeVos should proceed as scheduled on Wednesday. The question is whether the Senate HELP Committee should hold a hearing before the Office of Government Ethics, a nonpartisan watchdog, clears the billionaire nominee’s finances and she signs an agreement addressing possible conflicts of interest. Democrats are pushing for the hearing to be delayed until DeVos finishes that ethics process.
— OGE Director Walter Shaub over the weekend said it was “of great concern” that Congress is planning to hold confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet choices before their ethics reviews are completed. He warned that the hearing schedule would leave “some of the nominees with potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues.” More from POLITICO’s Burgess Everett.
— But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday rebuffed Democratic calls to postpone confirmation hearings, saying they need to “grow up” and move past “little procedural complaints” that are rooted in anger over losses in the election. More from POLITICO’s Seung Min Kim.

Supporters and Skeptics of Betsy DeVos, Trump's Nominee for Education Secretary
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on January 9, 2017 7:33 AM
Since President-elect Donald Trump nominated her to be his education secretary, Betsy DeVos has attracted a host of support and criticism, which could make her confirmation process quite different from past confirmation hearings for that position. But who's in her corner, and who's been throwing punches?   The public-relations squabbling about DeVos has various facets. At least two groups, America Rising and Friends of Betsy DeVos, have been defending her nomination from critics and sharing supportive statements since Trump announced his pick. By contrast, End Citizens United has been attacking DeVos by arguing that senators who have received campaign contributions from DeVos and her family should recuse themselves from considering her nomination. (The situation of senators having received contributions from a nominee is not unique to this nominee and administration, however.)  And over the weekend, Democrats sought to delay the confirmation hearing for DeVos, on the grounds that the the Office of Government Ethics had yet to finish its review of DeVos' financial and other disclosures.   It's also worth noting that many of the alphabet-soup professional education associations in Washington tend not to take official positions on cabinet nominees like DeVos.
Below are examples of both supporters and those who have criticized DeVos, in no particular order.

“Warren is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee which will hold a hearing on DeVos’ nomination Wednesday.”
Sen. Warren troubled by Trump pick for education secretary
Boston.com By STEVE LeBLANC AP, 6:15 AM
BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she’s troubled by the record of Donald Trump’s choice for education secretary.  In a letter sent to Betsy DeVos on Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat said DeVos’ advocacy for school choice, charter schools and school voucher programs should raise alarm bells for supporters of public education.  Warren pointed to what she called DeVos’ “deep record of activism, bankrolling and lobbying for policies that would privatize public education” without meaningful accountability.  “Your history of support for policies that would drain valuable taxpayer resources from our public schools and funnel those funds to unaccountable private and for-profit education operators may well disqualify you from such a central role in public education,” Warren wrote.  Warren also criticized what she said was DeVos’ “paper-thin record on higher education and student debt.”  Warren said the next education secretary much continue to help those struggling with student debt and protect them from for-profit colleges offering worthless degrees.  “You have no record or stated position on these higher education issues,” Warren wrote. “In fact the very policies you have spent decades advocating for in elementary and secondary education — more free taxpayer money for private and for-profit education operators with virtually no strings attached — are the exact policies that have caused so many problems and harmed so many students in higher education.”

Read Senator Warren’s Letter to Betsy DeVos

Are Pence and DeVos a One-Two Knock Out for Education Policy? Recent Reports Out of Indiana Suggest Yes
Education Law Prof Blog By Derek Black Monday, January 9, 2017
My recent posts have focused on DeVos and the problems she presents for public education, although I emphasize that without new legislation she does not have power to do too much. Some new information out of Indiana regarding the education system Governor Pence has overseen suggests more trouble on the horizon and give me pause about assuming an incompetent education administration.  Pence actually has a track record of getting things done in Indiana and what he has accomplished should raise red flags for those invested in improving public education.    Most notably is the state's teacher bonus system.  By law, the state mandated that $40 million in bonuses be handed out to the state's teachers.  I am all in favor of increasing teacher pay in ways that make the profession more attractive to new teachers and encourage others to stay.  Indiana's incentive pay, however, has two major problems.  First, it is having a very inequitable effect on teachers and driving most of the money to school systems that need it the least. Cory Doctorow offers this summary:

Teachers unions mount campaign against Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick
Washington Post By Emma Brown January 9 
National teachers unions are mounting an aggressive campaign against Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, arguing that she is an ideological extremist with a record of undermining the public schools her department would oversee.  The National Education Association, the largest labor union in the nation, is mobilizing teachers to call and email their senators, urging a vote against DeVos’s confirmation. The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, is scheduled to deliver a speech Monday in which she plans to say that DeVos endangers a new and fragile bipartisan consensus on the federal government’s role in education.  “Betsy DeVos is not qualified, and even more than unqualified, Betsy DeVos is an actual danger to students — especially our most vulnerable students,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. “She has made a career trying to destroy neighborhood public schools, the very cornerstone of what’s made our nation so strong.”

Virginia Gov. Seeks to Require All Schools to Offer Full-Time Online Education
Education Week By Benjamin Herold on January 6, 2017 11:21 AM
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has proposed that all K-12 schools in the state offer students the option of a full-time virtual education.  If the plan is approved, Virginia would join Florida as the only states in the country with such a mandate, said John Watson, the CEO of the Evergreen Education Group, a consultancy that supports online education. Students in more than two-dozen other states have access to a full-time virtual program, but their districts are not required by law to offer such an option.  "One approach is not clearly better than another, although there is a fear that when you mandate that all districts offer an online school, there will be a race to the bottom as some seek the lowest-cost alternative," Watson said.  Virginia education officials say Gov. McAuliffe's proposal is designed to expand online options for students in the state, particularly those in rural areas. The plan calls for the creation of regional boards, comprised of local school board members, with the authority to offer their own virtual education programs or contract with private providers, other school districts, or other public entities who already offer such programs.


NPE Pennsylvania alert: Betsy De Vos
Network for Public Education January 2, 2017 by Carol Burris
The confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos will happen shortly. Please call your senators this week and let them know you oppose her appointment as Secretary of Education. If you called already, please call again.  It is most effective to call a local office. Below is the list of local office locations to drop off a letter, and local numbers to call your senators.  If you want a script for your call, you can find it here.  Please pick up the phone and call.
You can share this alert with friends and family in your state by posting this link: http://wp.me/p3bR9v-2aO

Blogger note: Have an opinion about the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education?  Call these three senators today.
1. Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Washington, D.C. Phone:(202) 224-4944
2. Senator Toomey's Offices
Washington, D.C. Phone: (202) 224-4254
Senator Casey is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
3. Senator Casey’s Offices
Washington, D.C. Phone: (202) 224-6324
Toll Free: (866) 802-2833

Pennsylvania Every Student Succeeds Act Public Tour
The Department of Education (PDE) is holding a series of public events to engage the public on important education topics in Pennsylvania.  The primary focus of these events will be the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal education law signed by President Barack Obama in late 2015. A senior leader from the department will provide background on the law, and discuss the ongoing
development of Pennsylvania’s State Plan for its implementation, which will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in 2017.  Feedback is important to PDE; to provide the best avenue for public comment as well as provide an opportunity for those who cannot attend an event, members of the community are encouraged to review materials and offer comments at http://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/tour.aspx#tab-1
Upcoming Public Events:
Tuesday, January 10- Scranton- 4:00 pm- Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County
Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County
3201 Rockwell Avenue Scranton, PA  18508

COMMUNITY TOWN HALL - SUPPORTING PHILLY IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
Tuesday, January 24,  6:00pm - 7:30pm
Community College of Philadelphia 1700 Spring Garden Street 19130
Bonnell Building (Large Auditorium BG-20) Entrance Between Spring Garden and Callowhill  on  N. 17th
Hosted by:
Councilmembers Helen Gym, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, Jannie Blackwell
Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent, Philadelphia School District
Faculty and Staff Federation, Community College of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC)
United Voices for Philadelphia
Juntos
For more info, or to reserve free childcare for ages 3 and up,
Contact: Office of Councilmember Helen Gym 215-686-3420

Register for the 2017 PASA Education Congress, “Delving Deeper into the Every Student Succeeds Act.” March 29-30
Offered in partnership with PASA and the PA Department of Education March 29-30, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg - Camp Hill, PA .    Approved for 40 PIL/Act 48 (Act 45) hours for school administrators.  Register online at http://www.pasa-net.org/ev_calendar_day.asp?date=3/29/2017&eventid=63

PSBA Governing Board seeks nominations for position of At-Large Representative (Central) Nominations are due by 9 a.m. on January 16. 
PSBA Website
Because no one ran for the open seat of At-Large Representative (Central) on the PSBA Governing Board during the 2016 elections, this position is currently vacant. According to PSBA Bylaws (Article III, Section 4), the Governing Board shall fill the vacancy.  The Governing Board is currently seeking nominations for this position from individuals in the Central Section, including Regions 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12, (see map). The selected person will fill the position for 2017, and the seat will be open for election for the remaining two years (2018-19) of the three-year term, according to PSBA Bylaws (Article III, Section 4, Part B, 2). The selected person may run for election for the remaining two years.
https://www.psba.org/2017/01/nominations-at-large-central/

PSBA Third Annual Board Presidents Day
JAN 28, 2017 • 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Nine Locations Statewide
Jan. 28, 2017 (Snow date: Feb. 11, 2017)
Calling all school board presidents, vice-presidents, and superintendents — Join us for the 3rd Annual PSBA Board Presidents Day held at nine convenient locations around the state.
This is a day of meeting fellow board members from your area and taking part in thought-provoking dialogue about the issues every board faces.  PSBA Past President Kathy Swope will start things off with an engaging presentation based on her years as board president at the Lewistown Area School District.  Bring your own scenarios to this event to gain perspective from other districts.  Cost: $109 per person – includes registration, lunch and materials. All-Access Package applies.  Register online by logging in to the Members Area (see the Store/Registration link to view open event registrations, https://www.psba.org/members-area/store-registration/)

NSBA Advocacy Institute 2017 -- Jan. 29-31, Washington, D.C.
Join school directors around the country at the conference designed to give you the tools to advocate successfully on behalf of public education.
  • NSBA will help you develop a winning advocacy strategy to help you in Washington, D.C. and at home.
  • Attend timely and topical breakout sessions lead by NSBA’s knowledgeable staff and outside experts.
  • Expand your advocacy network by swapping best practices, challenges, and successes with other school board members from across the country.
This event is open to members of the Federal Relations Network. To find out how you can join, contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org. Learn more about the Advocacy Institute at https://www.nsba.org/events/advocacy-institute.

Register now for the 2017 NSBA Annual Conference 
Plan to join public education leaders for networking and learning at the 2017 NSBA Annual Conference, March 25-27 in Denver, CO. General registration is now open at https://www.nsba.org/conference/registration. A conference schedule, including pre-conference workshops, is available on the NSBA website.

SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June 1-4, 2017
Join the League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful Inn at Pocono Manor!
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/SAVE-THE-DATE--LWVPA-Convention-June-1-4--2017.html?soid=1102026610927&aid=sie1JiXCxws

Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township,  PA



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