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Friday, January 20, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 20: Not everyone is buying into need for property tax reform

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

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Jan 20, 2017
Not everyone is buying into need for property tax reform


“Sainato is interested in who will be the biggest benefactor should tax reform take place.  “Usually, it’s the more wealthy communities and we will be subsidizing wealthy areas like the suburbs of Philadelphia,” he said. “It won’t be Lawrence County. Raising other taxes will hurt more lower-income people.”  Sainato believes other ways should be found to reduce property taxes and he is leaning toward expanding property tax rebate programs.”
Not everyone is buying into need for property tax reform
Discussion on eliminating school property taxes has been a topic for many years.
But where that debate, which would eliminate or severely reduce school property taxes and replace them with other revenue streams is headed, is a subject that a local government official and a school administrator find questionable.  State Rep. Chris Sainato says it’s a measure he won’t support.  And John Sarandrea, superintendent in the New Castle Area School District, said he is not convinced it’s a good step.  The bill would shift about $14 billion in taxes from property and business owners to Pennsylvania consumers and workers through sales and personal income taxes. The bill was reintroduced last week and would allow the collection of school property taxes only to retire current debt and give districts an inflationary aid increase annually. In late 2015, the General Assembly defeated the legislation by a 25-24 vote. The vote split both parties, and the Pennsylvania Association of School Board Officials, or PASBO, opposed it.
Senate supporters say the Nov. 8 election provided the necessary votes to do away with school property taxes entirely and find other taxes to replace them.

“Taxes are high in Monroe County because the state legislature, adhering to the corrupt practice of hold-harmless, has been short-changing Monroe's school districts by some $40 million every year for decades. All basic education funding should be distributed to school districts according to the fair funding formula. Further, the legislature could fix school property taxes by requiring regular and frequent property tax re-assessments, and by indexing property taxes to income.  The best tax is direct, difficult to evade, locally administered and spent, and easily monitored and resisted by taxpayers. Property taxes fit this description. Sales and income taxes, collected and spent by the state, do not.”
Letter: Property taxes better than sales and income taxes
Pocono Record Letter by Merlyn Clarke, Stroud Township Posted Jan 18, 2017 at 6:07 PM Updated Jan 18, 2017 at 6:07 PM
The bill to eliminate all school property taxes asks Pennsylvanians to entrust state government with an additional $14 billion, derived from increased sales and income taxes, while stripping local governments of any ability to fund their schools. This is a state government whose credit rating is one of the lowest in the nation, is looking at a $2 billion deficit for 2017, and has a $70 billion pension deficit. Prudence dictates consideration of the following:
1. State-administered "education" money can easily end up in the pockets of cyber/charter school operators who currently enrich themselves with taxpayer money.
2. The legislation calls for annual increases to school funding indexed to increases in the cost of living. But state revenues do not always rise with the cost of living. Where will this money come from?
3. This legislation will perpetuate the current practice of providing staggeringly unequal amounts of funding to students, depending upon their zip codes - deemed unconstitutional by courts across America. Current district spending on schools has little relationship to adequacy.
4. Corporate business properties and real estate developers reap a tax-free windfall from this legislation. Educating a skilled workforce is clearly secondary.

Peters Township School Board members wary of Property Tax Independence Act
The Almanac By Harry Funk Published: January 18, 2017
Although Peters Township School District received a favorable audit report, school board members are expressing concerns about financial implications for the future.  At the Jan. 17 board meeting, certified public accountant John Zivkovic of Hosack Specht Muetzel & Wood LLP reported his firm’s issuance an unqualified opinion with regard to the single audit for the 2015-16 school year, meaning “we gave district a clean bill of health.”  A single audit examines financial, internal control and compliance of a nonfederal entity that administers federal assistance money.  While filled with positivity, Zivkovic’s report led to a discussion about the district’s relative financial position if the state’s so-called Property Tax Independence Act goes into effect.  Now in the form of bills in the state Senate and House, the legislation seeks to replace school district property taxes and supplant them with other revenue sources, such as increasing the state personal income and sales taxes.

PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION SHIFTS NEARLY $2 BILLION FROM BUSINESSES TO INDIVIDUALS HARRISBURG
PASBO Press Release  (1/19/17)
Efforts to eliminate school property taxes will increase the burden on individual taxpayers to the tune of approximately $2 billion, according to an analysis by the PA Association of School Business Officials (PASBO). Using the most recently available data, PASBO’s analysis shows that individuals will pick up the tab for most of the approximately $3 billion in school property taxes currently being paid by commercial and industrial taxpayers under a property tax elimination proposal. According to a 2012 analysis by the Independent Fiscal Office, businesses will generate approximately 11% of the revenue from the increased personal income tax and about 10% of the revenue from the increased and expanded sales and use tax. As businesses are paying approximately $3 billion in school property taxes, this will result in a windfall to businesses of nearly $2 billion as their school property taxes will be eliminated without an equivalent shift to increased personal income and sales taxes. This shift away from businesses is at the direct expense of individual taxpayers. Individuals will not only need to replace their own property taxes through increased personal income and sales taxes, but will also be forced to subsidize the almost $2 billion windfall given to businesses. This shift from businesses to individuals will be most significant in those school districts with a large proportion of commercial property, especially in the 199 school districts that generate more than 20% of their local revenue from businesses. “Businesses may be the real winners

Implications of Property Tax Elimination
PASBO Website

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.  The revenue raised as a result of the increase and expansion of the PIT and SUT will be placed into the Education Stabilization Fund to be used to distribute revenue to school districts annually. In the first year of implementation, the state would provide each school district with the same amount of funding (from the Education Stabilization Fund) as their local property tax revenue in 2016-17 and their property tax reduction amount from 2016-17 minus the amount of property tax revenue still allowed to be collected by the district to correspond to their outstanding debt.

“The state Department of Education has since 2013 used School Performance Profiles to rank schools in its 500 districts. The performance profiles rate schools on a scale of 0 to 100 using a formula that takes into account a variety of factors, but most heavily weight state standardized test scores -- Pennsylvania System of School Assessments for grades three through eight and Keystones for high school students.  Critics of the SPP scoring system say that it places too much emphasis on just a few days of testing and doesn’t provide a holistic assessment of individual schools.”
SPP: New state public school ranking system to take effect in 2018
Beaver County Times By Katherine Schaeffer kschaeffer@timesonline.com January 19, 2017
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has been working to revamp the way it evaluates the state’s schools, and if all goes as planned, those changes will take effect in the fall of 2018.  The state’s new report card system for its schools, called The Future Ready PA Index, is intended to provide a more comprehensive gauge of school success, said Matt Stem, deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education. The Department of Education will spend the next two years nailing down the specifics before it can be implemented.  “Our goal was to establish a system of school performance measures that moves beyond point-in-time (standardized test scores) and values schools’ efforts to help students succeed in the classroom and beyond,” Stem said.
The index is in the second phase of a three-phase planning process, the first step of which began about 18 months ago as the department gathered feedback from about 1,000 stakeholders across the state about how the rating system could be improved.  Based in part on that feedback, the department tentatively identified a series of success indicators. During the second phase of the process, it will seek additional responses as it works to finalize them.  The final step of the process will involve determining an overall formula and a weight for each factor.

Day before Trump takes office, immigration takes center stage at SRC
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT JANUARY 20, 2017
The evening before Donald Trump would become president immigration took center stage at the January meeting of Philadelphia's School Reform Commission.  And the timing wasn't coincidental.  A coalition of left-leaning organizations urged the School District of Philadelphia to reaffirm its policies protecting undocumented students, immigrants, religious minorities, LGBT students, and students of color. The organizations also asked for the district to train teachers, administrators, and school police officers so that they're aware of policies that shield these groups.  They said such action is necessary because the presidential election "created a climate of fear." Kevin Itena, a student at Franklin Learning Center, said many immigrant students were mocked after Trump prevailed in the November election and told by other students to "pack their bags."

“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said in the hearing that DeVos and her husband have contributed to the Thomas More Law Center, which represented the Dover Area School District in a 2005 lawsuit over the district's inclusion of intelligent design in biology class.”
Dover ID trial referenced at confirmation hearing
York Daily Record Angie Mason , amason@ydr.com Published 3:08 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2017
Donald Trump's nominee to run the U.S. Department of Education was asked this week about her support for the law firm that represented Dover Area School District in the 2005 intelligent design trial.  Much of what Betsy DeVos said during her confirmation hearing Tuesday has drawn attention, especially one remark about guns in schools and grizzly bears. But a question that didn't get quite so much attention referenced the Dover trial.  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said in the hearing that DeVos and her husband have contributed to the Thomas More Law Center, which represented the Dover Area School District in a 2005 lawsuit over the district's inclusion of intelligent design in biology class. Intelligent design is the idea that life is so complex it must have had an "intelligent designer." Ultimately, a federal judge ruled against the district.  "The 's' in STEM … is science," Whitehouse said, according to C-SPAN video of the hearing. "If school districts around the country try to teach students junk science, will the Department of Education be with the students or with the political entities trying to force junk science into the science program."  DeVos responded that she supports science.

 “Under the schedule established by  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Casey and other senators have until Thursday evening to submit final questions for DeVos.  But Alexander gave DeVos until Friday to submit her completed ethics paperwork, meaning that senators will be unable to consider her detailed record before asking their last questions.”
As vote approaches, senators still in the dark on DeVos finances, possible conflicts
Local officials and activists say disclosure is crucial before a vote. Sen. Casey says he is "deeply concerned."
The notebook by Bill Hangley Jr. January 19, 2017 — 4:20pm
Although her notion that some schools may need guns to ward off grizzlies made the headlines, Tuesday’s Senate hearing for Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos revealed almost nothing about her finances – both the money she might make while in office and the money she might spend.  U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat on the committee that will vote on DeVos’ proposed appointment Tuesday, has confirmed that members will not receive a full financial disclosure from DeVos in time to ask her detailed questions about specific potential conflicts, despite reports of her investments in several for-profit education entities.  “I am deeply concerned that Senate Republicans are pushing these nominees through their Senate hearings without their completed ethics paperwork, including Mrs. DeVos,” Casey said in a statement.  Likewise, senators heard little about DeVos’ plans for her future philanthropic work, beyond her pledge to refrain from making personal donations to candidates, which represents just a fraction of the millions spent each year by the DeVos family supporting charters, vouchers, and other political and policy causes.

Lesson for educators: Don’t force teens to get out of bed too early
Lancaster Online by DR. MAURICE “REESE” FLURIE | Commentary Jan 17, 2017
Dr. Maurice “Reese” Flurie is CEO of Commonwealth Charter Academy, a K-12 public cyber charter school based in Pennsylvania.
This is the time of year when kids all across Pennsylvania stumble out of bed in the dark, wait half-asleep in icy winds for a school bus, and struggle to stay awake in their first-period classes.  While public school start times vary across the country, a national study found that fewer than 20 percent of public school students started at 8:30 a.m. or later. That’s despite several health organizations — the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — calling for later start times.  Why? Because teenagers’ sleep/wake rhythms change with puberty, sometimes as early as middle school. They need eight to nine hours of sleep, but they don’t get tired until maybe 10 p.m. Still, that bus arrives regardless, as early as 6:30 a.m.  Studies show that lack of sleep in adolescents causes difficulty in concentrating and remembering information; impaired judgment leading to car accidents and all sorts of poor life decisions; stressed emotions that spark fights with family, friends and teachers; and a propensity to exercise less and eat more, leading to health problems.  That’s a heavy burden we’ve placed on America’s public school students, in part, so districts can juggle bus schedules and plan extracurricular activities.

Listen: Kara Newhouse talks with Hempfield High school grad Maya Rao for Women in Stem podcast
Lancaster Online Podcast by Kara Newhouse January 20, 2017
The Women in STEM podcast is back for season two. New episodes will be released every other week this winter and spring.  This week Kara Newhouse talks with Maya Rao, whose innovative device for testing water bacteria levels won her the senior champion award at the 2015 North Museum Science & Engineering Fair. A Hempfield High School alumna, Rao now studies chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. During the episode she discussed:
• Her experience working in a polymer synthesis lab.
• What science fair taught her about rejection.
• The value of having other interests besides science.
• The hardest part of being a STEM major.

“The School Improvement Grants program has been around since the administration of President George W. Bush, but it received an enormous boost under Obama. The administration funneled $7 billion into the program between 2010 and 2015 — far exceeding the $4 billion it spent on Race to the Top grants.
The money went to states to distribute to their poorest-performing schools — those with exceedingly low graduation rates, or poor math and reading test scores, or both. Individual schools could receive up to $2 million per year for three years, on the condition that they adopt one of the Obama administration’s four preferred measures: replacing the principal and at least half the teachers, converting into a charter school, closing altogether, or undergoing a “transformation,” including hiring a new principal and adopting new instructional strategies, new teacher evaluations and a longer school day.”
Obama administration spent billions to fix failing schools, and it didn’t work
Washington Post By Emma Brown January 19 at 5:53 PM 
One of the Obama administration’s signature efforts in education, which pumped billions of federal dollars into overhauling the nation’s worst schools, failed to produce meaningful results, according to a federal analysis.  Test scores, graduation rates and college enrollment were no different in schools that received money through the School Improvement Grants program — the largest federal investment ever targeted to failing schools — than in schools that did not.  The Education Department published the findings on the website of its research division on Wednesday, hours before President Obama’s political appointees walked out the door.  “We’re talking about millions of kids who are assigned to these failing schools, and we just spent several billion dollars promising them things were going to get better,” said Andy Smarick, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has long been skeptical that the Obama administration’s strategy would work. “Think of what all that money could have been spent on instead.”

“DeVos is entitled and expected to disagree with Obama administration policies; what disqualifies her is her lack of understanding of existing law and policy, and her inability to address them thoughtfully.”
L.A. Editorial: Betsy DeVos embarrassed herself and should be rejected by the Senate
L.A. Times by The Times Editorial Board Jan. 19, 2017.
Betsy DeVos’ love of private school vouchers didn’t disqualify her for the role of U.S. Education secretary, even though vouchers are a bad idea. Nor did her lack of experience in public schools.  What did render her unacceptable was her abysmal performance at her confirmation hearing Tuesday, during which she displayed an astonishing ignorance about basic education issues, an extraordinary lack of thoughtfulness about ongoing debates in the field and an unwillingness to respond to important questions.  She was so unprepared that she sounded like a schoolchild who hadn’t done her homework. She frankly embarrassed herself and should be rejected by the Senate. Better yet, President-elect Donald Trump should withdraw her name and find someone who at least meets the basic qualifications for the post.

“There is a minimum level of experience required for each cabinet-level position. As such, it’s the Senate’s job to ensure that the next Secretary of Education is qualified and fit to serve. While executing that obligation, it has become clear through DeVos’s lack of preparedness and knowledge of relevant laws and practices in public education that she is currently unprepared to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education — one of the most important positions in our nation — protecting opportunities to learn for all students and strengthening our public schools as cornerstones of our democracy.”
Our Next Secretary of Education Should Know Education
By Dr. John H. Jackson, President & CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education JANUARY 19, 2017
As Americans we celebrate the ideal that a freely elected president may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, anyone capable of carrying out his or her vision for the future of our nation. To the victor go the spoils. However, in this week’s first hearing of Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, it became immediately clear DeVos lacks even the most basic knowledge and capabilities required for the responsibility of U.S. Secretary of Education.  The DeVos Senate confirmation hearing did little to inspire confidence that she can competently serve as the chief of our nation’s public education system. In fact, the hearing laid bare astonishing deficits in DeVos’s understanding of the obligations and authority of the Department of Education. She appeared troublingly unversed in significant education issues and ill-prepared on current realities including:
·         Confusion around the responsibilities of schools to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the penalties the law applies for failing to meet the needs of students with special needs;
·         No clear understanding of and stance on standards of competency—also known as the proficiency vs. growth debate;
·         An insensitive approach to issues surrounding guns in schools;
·         A lack of clarity on the need to hold for-profit charter schools to the same level of accountability as traditional schools; and
·         A lack of clarity on the need to enforce rules that require private career academies to offer students real, marketable skills.
Her inability to assemble the team and dedicate the time necessary to adequately prepare for one of the most predictable parts of the process and the job—the Senate Confirmation Hearing—should be alarming and offensive to Senate members on both sides of the aisle.

DeVos Confirmation Hearing Raises More Concerns That She Will Be Bad for Public Education and Civil Rights
ACLU website By Ian Thompson, Legislative Representative JANUARY 19, 2017 | 3:00 PM
Prior to her confirmation hearing, the ACLU joined dozens of other organizations in urging senators to question Betsy DeVos — President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Education — about her extensive history of advocating for the use of public dollars to support private, often religious, schools. In addition, the ACLU raised serious concerns regarding the long track record of DeVos — along with several other Trump nominees — in supporting taxpayer-funded discrimination.  DeVos’ hearing on Tuesday evening did nothing to put our concerns about her nomination to rest. At one point, and under extensive questioning, she steadfastly refused to commit to not working to actively support the privatization of our nation’s public school system. One of the most significant shortcomings of vouchers — in addition to draining public schools of desperately needed resources — is that students who attend private and religious schools are deprived of civil rights protections that would otherwise be afforded to them.

The Daily 202: Lamar Alexander is dragging Betsy DeVos across the finish line to become secretary of education
Washington Post By James Hohmann January 18 at 10:43 AM  With Breanne Deppisch
THE BIG IDEA: No senator has done more to shield a Donald Trump cabinet pick from scrutiny and tough questions than Lamar Alexander has for Betsy DeVos.
After postponing the secretary of education nominee’s hearing for a week, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (known as HELP) rescheduled it for last night at the very unusual time of 5 p.m. (It then started 15 minutes late.)
The obvious goal was to minimize how many people would watch. The late start meant that cable news could not cover the proceedings live unless TV executives preempted lucrative primetime programming (which they didn’t do), and it made it harder for print reporters to make early newspaper deadlines – which forced some outlets to run shorter stories than they might have otherwise.
Despite howls of protest from every Democrat on the committee, Alexander allowed each member to ask five minutes of questions. He permitted just one round of questioning, compared to the three rounds that Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions faced last week. Most committees also give members 10 minutes per round, not five.

“However, the 990 tax forms from the foundation list Betsy DeVos as a vice president from 2001 through 2014. A spokesman for the family, John Prescott, told BuzzFeed that DeVos was surprised to find herself listed as a vice president on the documents. And a Trump transition spokesperson reiterated DeVos' comments to CNN. ProPublica also reported that on Jan. 13, Michigan state government received a request to remove DeVos' name from some of the foundation's paperwork, through a "certificate of correction." (The certificate was filed by the state of Michigan on Jan. 17, the same day as the hearing.)”
Betsy DeVos Denies Connection to Family Foundation, Despite Paper Trail
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on January 19, 2017 2:57 PM
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos denied association with the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation. This foundation has donated to groups such as the Family Research Council, which opposes same-sex marriage and is critical of the LGBTQ rights movement. 
What do we know about her links to that foundation, which is named after her parents?

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.
Trump team prepares dramatic cuts
The Hill BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 01/19/17 06:00 AM EST 25,751
Donald Trump is ready to take an ax to government spending.
Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday’s presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned.  The changes they propose are dramatic.  The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations.  The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.  Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years.  The proposed cuts hew closely to a blueprint published last year by the conservative Heritage Foundation, a think tank that has helped staff the Trump transition.


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

PA Educational Technology Exposition & Conference (PETE&C), February 12-15, Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.


PASBO 62nd Annual Conference, March 21-24, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh.

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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