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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 17: School Privatization: More than half of Pence’s voucher recipients never attended public school; many have income over $90K; DeVos Hearing tonight at 5 pm

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4000 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, school solicitors, principals, 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, Instagram and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 17, 2017
School Privatization: More than half of Pence’s voucher recipients never attended public school; many have income over $90K; DeVos Hearing tonight at 5 pm



Nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education:
Live video of the confirmation hearing will be available on Senate HELP Committee website (link below) Tuesday, January 17, 2017 Time: 05:00 PM
Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee website



“Six hours is simply not enough time for even the most diligent House member to find and bring to the attention of the public objectionable provisions - especially considering the multiplicity of other legislation in play around budget time.  The 24-hour wait rule was adopted after the controversial midnight pay-raise vote of 2005. It was among the changes recommended by a bipartisan reform commission to improve both transparency and legislative accountability.  The new rules are a step in the wrong direction. They violate both the fundamental right of House members to cast an informed vote and the right of the public to give input to their elected representatives.  When the House returns to session on Monday, it should reverse these changes.”
Commentary: State House rules violate public's right to view legislation
Inquirer Commentary By Greg Vitali Updated: JANUARY 17, 2017 — 3:01 AM EST
State Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) represents the 166th Legislative District. 
On the first day of the new legislative session, the Pennsylvania House changed its rules to make it easier for leadership to obscure the contents of important legislation from rank-and-file members and the general public.  Under the new rules, the House will no longer have to wait 24 hours to vote on bills amended by the Senate. Now, bills can be considered by the House six hours after they come into the public domain.  This rule will be most damaging around budget time. Frequently, in the back rooms of the state Capitol, House and Senate leaders surreptitiously insert provisions in large budget-related bills that many House members and the public would find highly objectionable.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20170117_Commentary__State_House_rules_violate_public_s_right_to_view_legislation.html

Why Pa. school property tax reform won't make your bills go away
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com  Email the author | Follow on Twitter on January 17, 2017 at 6:58 AM
The school property tax elimination bill gaining traction in Harrisburg would only allow 2 percent of Pennsylvania's school districts to totally cut their tax levies, according to a new analysis. 
The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials released its analysis of HB/SB 76, known as the Property Tax Independence Act, on Monday.  The proposed bill calls for raising the state sales tax while expanding it to cover more items, and raising the personal income tax as well.  But school districts would be able to continue to collect real estate taxes to pay off existing debt. And most school district debt is issued as 20-year bonds.  That's why it could take many years for any Pennsylvania property owner to see a true elimination of their school tax bills. At the same time, some taxpayers will have to pay more in their personal income, sales and use taxes, according to PASBO.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/education/index.ssf/2017/01/why_tax_reform_might_not_make_your_school_tax_bill_drop.html#incart_river_index

Property Tax Reform and Related Issues
PASBO website
Property tax reform remains an important focus for the legislature in 2017-18, with a property tax elimination proposal taking center stage. While a bill has not yet been introduced in 2017, we assume that the proposal will be similar to that offered in past legislative sessions. The co-sponsorship memo for the bill states that the bill will prohibit school districts from levying a property tax on or after July 1, 2017, with the exception of a limited property tax necessary to fund the debt service existing in a school district as of December 31, 2016.  Like past versions of the bill, we expect that to replace local property tax revenue, the statewide PIT would increase from 3.07% to 4.95% and the statewide sales and use tax would increase from 6% to 7% and the list of items and services to which the tax would apply would expand to include the majority of services (such as legal services and mental health services) as well as items such as most food and clothing.
http://www.pasbo.org/content.asp?contentid=179

PSBA Webinar: Review and analysis of property tax-shift legislation
JAN 19, 2017 • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Join PSBA and the Pa. Independent Fiscal Office for this complimentary member webinar to discuss the proposed property tax-elimination legislation being considered by state legislators. Learn how the legislation could impact your school district.  Presenters include John Callahan, PSBA assistant executive director for public policy; Matthew Knittel, director, and Mark Ryan, deputy director — both of the Pa. Independent Fiscal Office.
Register online here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/647906298333681410

 “With public schools still absorbing rising costs and the effects of funding cuts in 2011, district officials are concerned about seeing no increase in state aid next year.  “No one has a magic answer, I get that,” said Mark DiRocco, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. “But level funding schools is not an appropriate response and it’s not responsible. We need to make sure our kids get a quality education.”
Questions burn in Capitol over how Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf will handle deficit
Delco Times By Marc Levy, The Associated Press POSTED: 01/16/17, 11:38 AM EST 
HARRISBURG >> It’s what everyone in the Pennsylvania Capitol is asking: How will Gov. Tom Wolf balance his budget proposal without a major tax increase?  Most details of the Democratic governor’s proposal, to be released Feb. 7, are still under wraps. But Wolf says it will be the first he has proposed without a sales or income tax increase that, in his first two years, he viewed as necessary to offset a huge, long-term deficit he inherited and help fix huge disparities between public schools.  Spending in the fiscal year starting July 1 could exceed $33 billion, and the big problem is this: Analysts are projecting a $2 billion-plus hole in the state’s finances.  Without a major tax increase, Wolf insisted he will not resort to the sort of “smoke and mirrors” that the Republican-controlled Legislature has preferred to tax increases to paper over Pennsylvania’s persistent post-recession deficit.  In the past few years, that has meant siphoning one-time cash from off-budget programs, booking revenues or savings that may never materialize and putting off big payments to counties and insurers.  “I’m trying to do this in a responsible way,” Wolf said Thursday. t’s also not clear to what extent Wolf will try to boost aid to public schools, perhaps his top priority.

Why is Pennsylvania's budget out of whack?
Penn Live By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com  Email the author | Follow on Twitter  on January 17, 2017 at 6:01 AM, updated January 17, 2017 at 6:54 AM
Gov. Tom Wolf is about three weeks out from the unveiling of his third state budget proposal.
But in recent weeks the backdrop for that plan -- including proposed prison closures, and the elimination of thousands of unfilled state jobs -- has been informed by some gloomy news about the current fiscal year.  Through December, state tax collections were $367 million below estimate.  What's worse, the December collections themselves didn't even hit 2015 levels -- all this in a year where most reports were that overall holiday sales, at least partly captured in that report, were supposed to be showing decent growth.  At his mid-year budget briefing last month, Wolf's Budget Secretary Randy Albright projected a $603 million general fund budget deficit, before any mid-year course corrections.  Historically, those numbers aren't startlingly out of whack. But they ain't pretty, either. And before Wolf's new proposals dominate the landscape, here's a quick look back at why that landscape -- at the moment -- is so bleak.

“Five years after the program was established, more than half of the state’s voucher recipients have never attended Indiana public schools, meaning that taxpayers are now covering private and religious school tuition for children whose parents had previously footed that bill. Many vouchers also are going to wealthier families, those earning up to $90,000 for a household of four.”
What Mike Pence doesn’t like to admit about Indiana’s school voucher program
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss January 16 at 1:20 PM 
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.  (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to spend $20 billion for a program to help states expand voucher programs, which use public funds to pay for private school tuition. As it happens, the man he chose as his vice president, Mike Pence, has experience with vouchers as governor of Indiana — and the story is a cautionary tale for anybody interested in making education policy with caution and deliberation.  The program was started as a way to give children from poor and lower-middle-class families a chance to leave public schools they felt were failing their kids. As my colleague Emma Brown explained in this story, it didn’t quite work out that way. For example:

Guest editorial | Pa. tax shift would have big winners, bigger losers
Tribune Democrat Editorial January 17, 2017
The following editorial appeared in The (Easton) Express-Times. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tribune-Democrat.
Looking ahead, the Pennsylvania Legislature might have the Republican majorities it needs to affect a $14 billion tax shift – “killing” the hated school property tax while saddling people with higher sales and personal income taxes.  The stakes are high, especially for those who say school property taxes are driving them from their homes or forcing them into greatly diminished qualities of life.  Homeowners with limited incomes feel the cruelty of annual tax hikes by school boards. That’s the primary force behind HB/SB 76, known as the Property Tax Independence Act. In 2015, the Senate failed, by a 24-24 vote, to insert SB 76 into another bill, and the effort died. This year, larger GOP majorities in each house could mean the death knell for the local school tax.  The question is whether Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf would veto any such bill, and whether it would be overridden.  Also in 2015, Wolf proposed increases in personal income and sales taxes, in part to significantly reduce school property taxes. That idea died in a protracted, bitter budget battle. Former Gov. Ed Rendell’s pledge to use gambling proceeds to reduce property taxes also fell well short of promises.  Selling the idea of popular control over local school taxes has been elusive, too. Wolf proposed giving voters veto power over local tax hikes, as a trade-off for raising other taxes.  So did the late Gov. Robert P. Casey and the Legislature in a 1987 referendum overwhelmingly rejected by voters.  So how is 2017 different?

“Research is clear that brain development in the earliest years is hugely influential on a child’s long-term success and health. We now know that effective interventions like high quality early learning programs and parent-focused programs can make a real difference in the lives of children and families. Yet many children arrive at kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed in school. And children who arrive at school behind their peers tend to stay behind.”
Invest early in America's children: George Miller and Rick Santorum
York Daily Record Opinion by George Miller and Rick Santorum 8:04 a.m. ET Jan. 16, 2017
Political opposites aim to bridge the partisan divide on a cause they say is crucial to equal opportunity.
The two of us have a lot in common. We’re fathers, former legislators, and share a deep love for our country. But in Congress we rarely agreed on policy solutions to the challenges facing the nation.  America is home to the world’s largest economy and most powerful military. She is blessed with tremendous natural resources and agricultural wealth and can boast great industrial power. But our most valuable national asset is the tens of millions of children who will shape America’s destiny. We both believe that ensuring our kids get a good start in life is essential.
We are convinced that supporting early childhood development is an issue that can unite both political parties. It’s also an area where Congress can begin immediately to work with the Trump administration to support the needs and aspirations of working families: a group our political system has neglected for far too long. The recent election results demonstrate that the Washington political establishment needs to recalibrate its focus. 

In the Spotlight: Civil engineer and Thaddeus Stevens instructor leads girls into STEM fields
Lancaster Online by KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff Writer January 16, 2017
Katie Surra, a civil engineer, leads the Skilled Women Get STEM Jobs initiative at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. The effort aims to increase female enrollment at the college.
Go to to any local event involving girls and STEM, and you’ll probably see Katie Surra. A civil engineer, Surra is a strong advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and math. She is currently an instructor at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, where she leads an initiative to increase female enrollment to 20 percent in three specific programs. As part of the effort, which received nearly $200,000 in support from the National Science Foundation, the college will take groups of local high school girls on tours of STEM workplaces starting next month.

DEEP DIVE: The PG connects 25 @realDonaldTrump transition team members to Pittsburgh's Scaife Foundation
FROM SCAIFE TO TRUMP
The Foundation of the Transition
REPORTING BY Julian Routh & Rich Lord | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette JANUARY 15, 2017
The Pittsburgh-based Sarah Scaife Foundation has quietly built the conservative movement's infrastructure for 50 years. Now bigger than ever, it's plugging into Washington at a time of unprecedented change and Republican control of the White House, Congress and soon the courts.  Through its own board members and the organizations it funds, the foundation suddenly has dozens of inroads into Washington, thanks to Donald Trump's election and transition. It's the untold story of the incoming president: Though he's a maverick, the people to whom he's turning have been preparing for decades to steer Washington, and the nation, firmly rightward.

DeVos likely to advance school choice as education secretary
Delco Times By Maria Danilova, The Associated Press POSTED: 01/17/17, 5:28 AM EST
Charter schools and school choice are expected to be a major focus of education policy under the new Trump administration.  Betsy DeVos, Trump’s choice for education secretary, has spent over two decades advocating for school choice programs, which give students and parents an alternative to traditional public school education. Her confirmation hearing was scheduled for Tuesday evening.  Here is a look at the main players, concepts and controversies surrounding school choice.

“But the paperwork for two of President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire nominees with hearings scheduled for this week -- namely, Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos (up Tuesday) and Commerce Secretary-designate Wilbur Ross (up Wednesday) -- were notably missing from the ethics office's website as of Monday afternoon.  DeVos is an heir to the Amway fortune and Ross is an investor who made his money buying up distressed companies.  A Senate source indicated that DeVos' initial hearing date had to be rescheduled because her paperwork "was nowhere near ready," and Ross had been sluggish in completing his financial disclosure report.”
Ethics paperwork still missing for Trump's billionaire Cabinet picks
By Laura Jarrett, CNN Updated 8:43 PM ET, Mon January 16, 2017 
Washington (CNN)Several of the wealthiest nominees for top Cabinet posts are headed to Capitol Hill for confirmation hearings this week, but the clock is ticking for them to complete the ethics and financial review process.  Of the current list of 21 nominees, 14 must still sit for Senate hearings, and only five of those 14 have finalized their required paperwork.  All nominees for Senate-confirmed positions must first work with the Office of Government Ethics to devise a plan for resolving any financial conflicts of interest before they start their new jobs. Typically, the ethics office sends the Senate a package with the nominee's ethics agreement, a financial disclosure report and a cover letter certifying the report after all potential conflicts are addressed, and then posts the forms on its website roughly a day later.

Key Democrat requests tax returns from Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick
Washington Post By Emma Brown January 17 at 7:00 AM 
A key Senate Democrat has asked Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, to turn over three years of tax returns to the committee overseeing her confirmation process.  Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the committee on Health, Education, Pensions and Labor (HELP), made the request in a letter dated Jan. 13, days after Murray voiced concern about DeVos’s “extensive financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest.”  While the HELP committee has not required education nominees to share tax returns in the past, Murray wrote, several have done so voluntarily, including two George W. Bush nominees, Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings.  Murray said she plans to try to revise committee rules to require all presidential nominees to share tax returns. In the meantime, she said, DeVos should voluntarily disclose her tax returns “to ensure that the Committee has an opportunity to fully understand the challenges your investments and other financial transactions may present to your coming nomination as Secretary of Education.”

Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing: What to Watch For (Tonight at 5 pm)
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on January 17, 2017 6:39 AM
It's finally happening: Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, is set to testify before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at her confirmation hearing Tuesday.   In the past, confirmation hearings for an education secretary have typically been bipartisan love fests. But that's not going to be the case this time around.  DeVos' background as a voucher supporter who has never worked in a government, in a school district, or attended or sent her kids to public school has generated big backlash from educators and civil rights groups. In fact, 38 groups who don't always see eye-to-eye on K-12 issues—including Democrats for Education Reform and the teachers' unions—sent a letter Tuesday to Senate education committee leaders oppossing DeVos' nomination.    At the same time, Republicans—including former GOP presidential nominee Mitty Romney and former first Lady Barbara Bush—have embraced DeVos as someone who can train a set of fresh eyes on K-12 policy. And she'll be introduced by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who has worked with DeVos on school choice, according to the Washington Examiner

Trump education pick to face Warren, Sanders
The Hill BY LISA HAGEN - 01/16/17 04:53 PM EST
Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education, is about to walk into the fire.  Devos, a billionaire GOP donor, will take the first step toward a possible confirmation on Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee that will put her face-to-face with liberal stalwarts Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).   DeVos’s vocal support of school choice and charter schools is expected to get tough questioning at a hearing that promises to be contentious.   Warren just last week penned a scathing 16-page letter to DeVos, arguing that she’s unqualified to lead the Education Department and lacks public education experience.   “While past nominees for secretary of Education have served as teachers, school system leaders, and governors, and came to the Department of Education with deep executive experience in public education, you have held no such position,” Warren wrote.  “As such, your nomination provides the Senate and the public with few clues about your actual policy positions on a host of critical issues.”

Trump’s Education Secretary Nominee Is 'The Godmother of Citizens United'
Village Viuce BY JON CAMPBELL SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2017 AT 5 P.M.
If Donald Trump really wants to “drain the swamp” in Washington, choosing billionaire Michigan GOP activist Betsy DeVos to be education secretary may not be such a bad idea after all; she’s a political operator who has made it her life’s mission to weaken public education, with a proven track record of undermining stable systems. If you want to drown government in the tub, first you need to get your assassin through the bathroom door.
For years DeVos been a high profile proponent of charter schools in her home state, and critics say Michigan’s education system hasn’t fared well for it, with many of the charter schools performing terribly even as they divert resources from the larger system. The only thing that has gotten more attention than her agenda is her tactics. A former head of the state Republican Party and a shrewd political operator, she’s been more than willing to use her vast family fortune, estimated at $5.1 billion, to achieve her ends, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support pro-charter politicians — or punish those who oppose her.  But shoveling money into a race — even if you’re using a backhoe — is of limited value. The effects may not last past the next election cycle. So for decades, DeVos and her family foundation have pursued far wider-reaching and longer-lasting changes by helping systematically weaken the barriers that keep money from flooding American politics. And they’ve been very successful.

A Former Education Secretary's Advice For Betsy DeVos
NPR by CLAUDIO SANCHEZ January 16, 201712:01 PM ET
Since he began running for President, Donald Trump has been talking about a smaller federal role in education.  The confirmation hearings begin tomorrow for the person he's nominated to carry out his vision, Betsy DeVos. In her home state of Michigan, DeVos has been a powerful advocate of school choice and a larger private role in education. If confirmed, she'll take over a huge federal bureaucracy of some 4,400 employees and a $68 billion budget.  To get an idea of what's ahead, I reached out to a former Republican education secretary, Margaret Spellings. She ran the Education Department under George W. Bush, from 2005 to 2009, and was a leader in the implementation of his signature education achievement, the No Child Left Behind Act.
Today, she is the president of the University of North Carolina system, with 17 campuses and more than 220,000 students. She says has not advised the incoming Trump administration on any official level, but she's met Betsy DeVos. Here's an edited version of our conversation.

Can school vouchers give kids a shot at a better education?
Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press10:57 p.m. ET Jan. 15, 2017
DETROIT — Betsy DeVos, the wealthy Republican activist from Ada, Mich., who faces her first Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, is likely to be a strong advocate for private school voucher programs if she becomes secretary of Education.  But even as vouchers rise to the forefront of the debate on education, a big question remains: Can they give kids, especially those who live in high-poverty areas, a shot at a better education?  The answer, largely, is that it's unclear given that the research — and the varied way such programs are designed — offer few strong conclusions. That uncertainty concerns those who worry the U.S. could move rapidly toward vouchers without evidence showing what works and what doesn't.



DeVos’s hearing will take place on 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.

Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing is officially set for Jan. 17 at 5 p.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


Stop DeVos: Hearing delayed but not defeated
Tell Senators Casey and Toomey to Demand Open Hearing, Oppose Billionaire School Privatizer Betsy DeVos for Education
Education Voters PA website
As a result of massive public pressure over the past two weeks, Senate leadership has delayed the DeVos hearing until this coming Tuesday, January 17.
We are speaking out and our elected leaders are listening. But we can't stop yet. 
The HELP committee has decided to hold this hearing with only a single testifier: Betsy DeVos.
This is unacceptable. We must demand an open hearing.
That's why we're calling Senators Casey and Toomey!
Please take a few minutes to call them and then follow up with an email. 
Senator Toomey's DC office: (202) 224-4254
Senator Casey's DC office: (202) 224-6324

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

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 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!

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


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