Sunday, February 19, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Feb 19: “money misspent pushing minority students from high school into college instead of into vocational programs”

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 Feb 19, 2017
“money misspent pushing minority students from high school into college instead of into vocational programs”



Do you know how much your PA School District spends on Charter Schools?  Find out here:
Total tuition paid to PA charter schools in 2014-15 was $1.48 billion
Education Voters PA February 2017 using PDE data



Movement to eliminate school property taxes pushes for support in Western Pennsylvania
Trib Live by JAMIE MARTINES AND BRIAN RITTMEYER | Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, 11:40 p.m.
Local supporters of eliminating school property taxes think spending by districts is out of control: Schools are overstaffed, class sizes are too small and pensions are too big.  They say the responsibility to pay for those costs falls on homeowners — an expanding, aging population who increasingly cannot afford to stay in their homes.  “But I want to stress the word ‘everybody' — not just the property owners, everybody — has the responsibility,” said Catherine Fike, a resident of Westmoreland County's Southmoreland School District who is working to raise local support for legislation to abolish school property taxes.  Complaints about high taxes to fund schools and discussions about how to address them aren't new.

“He then moved into a critique of Pennsylvania’s “inner city” education programs, positing that money was being misspent on pushing minority students from high school into college instead of into vocational programs.  “They’re pushing them toward college and they’re dropping out,” Eichelberger said. “They fall back and don’t succeed, whereas if there was a less intensive track, they would.”
Sen. Eichelberger tackles education questions at town hall meeting
By Zack Hoopes The Sentinel Feb 16, 2017
Local residents issued a number of critiques to state Sen. John Eichelberger (R-30th District) during a town hall meeting this week, with the state GOP’s approach to education taking the bulk of the fire.  Eichelberger, who represents the western portion of Cumberland County as well as Blair, Huntingdon, Franklin and Fulton counties, is one of the Senate’s most prolific conservative legislators, and was recently named chair of the Education Committee.  Residents issued Eichelberger with sharp rebukes Monday in West Pennsboro Township for having prioritized anti-union legislation and an inquiry into downsizing the state’s higher education system instead of seeking to restore funding or reform the standardized testing system, as many teachers would prefer.  “I’m hearing a lot of conversation about sick days and union dues, but these aren’t the things that actually make a difference for the kids or for the outcome in the workforce,” said constituent Adam Oldham, a guidance counselor from East Pennsboro School District.  “These things sound like taxes on the employees rather than ways to actually improve the schools,” Oldham said.

“Retiree Beverly Goldston  worked as a mathematician and computer programmer, and Nefertiti Stanford works for IBM. They were part of a panel discussion Thursday at the Roxy Theater to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.”
Screening of film 'Hidden Figures' ignites interest in STEM among (minority!) students
The notebook by Camille DeRamos February 17, 2017 — 12:42pm
About 150 9th graders from city schools gathered at the Roxy Theater on Thursday morning for a private screening of the Oscar-nominated movie Hidden Figures, which is based on the true story of three female African American mathematicians who worked at NASA during the 1960s and played a crucial role in helping to launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit.  Students from Kensington Creative & Performing Arts, Bartram, Furness and Roxborough High Schools and Olney Charter High filled the theater for the showing. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with professionals with careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.  The event was meant to ignite interest among students in STEM-related careers, while also shining a light on how professionals working in this field excelled despite the prejudice they faced.  The event was presented by the Philadelphia Education Fund, a nonprofit that supports high-quality teaching in city schools and works with schools to create college- and career-going cultures, as well as IBM and the Philadelphia Film Society.

“To Mira Bernstein, a BEAM instructor and a leading figure in the extracurricular math ecosystem that incubates many of the nation’s scientists and engineers, the scene was unremarkable, except for one striking feature: None of the children were wealthy, and few were white or Asian.”
Beyond ‘Hidden Figures’: Nurturing New Black and Latino Math Whizzes
New York Times By AMY HARMON FEB. 17, 2017
One afternoon last summer at BEAM 6, an experimental program in downtown Manhattan for youths with a high aptitude for math, a swarm of 11- and 12-year-olds jockeyed for a better view of a poster labeled “Week One Challenge Problem.”  Is there a 10-digit number where the first digit is equal to how many 0’s are in the number, the second digit is equal to how many 1’s are in the number, the third digit is equal to how many 2’s are in the number, all the way up to the last digit, which is equal to how many 9’s are in the number?  Within the scrum was a trio of friends-in-formation: “Can we work on this during Open Math Time?” one asked. The second, wearing red-and-black glasses and dogged by the fear that he did not belong — “I’m really not that good at math,” he had told me earlier — lingered at the snack cart. “Leave some for the rest of us, J. J.,’’ demanded the third, gently elbowing him aside.

52% OF YOUNG AMERICANS ARE NOT COLLEGE STUDENTS OR GRADUATES
Kids Count Datacenter, Annie E. Casey Foundation February 2, 2017
To secure living wages, tomorrow’s workforce must be educated and trained.  Yet, in 2015 — the latest full year in which data is available — only about one in every two youth, ages 18 to 24, was attending college or had already completed college.  The good news? This rate has improved 33% since 2000 (including an uptick among Latino youth in the last five years).  Although we have seen improvements, American Indian (30%), African American (39%) and Latino (39%) are less likely to be enrolled in or have completed college. The proportion of young Americans who are college graduates or current students ranges by state. The rate is highest, at 63%, in Massachusetts and lowest, at 31%, in Alaska.  Education will play an increasingly important role in the future economy, ensuring youth have access to higher education and training is more critical than ever.  Explore more education data — at the state and national level — in the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

A new approach to state budget hearings (column)
York Daily Record Opinion by Stan Saylor 10:33 a.m. ET Feb. 16, 2017
State Rep. Stan Saylor is a Republican from Windsor Township and is Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
This year’s budget address by Gov. Tom Wolf was a noticeable departure from his previous budget proposals, both in content and in tone.  In outlining his 2017-18 budget proposal before a joint session of the General Assembly, the governor presented a budget without any broad-based tax increases and includes several initiatives aimed at reducing spending and improving efficiencies by consolidating some state agencies. The governor believes that this could save the commonwealth about $2 billion. This is a welcome change from the last two budgets that have been proposed by Gov. Wolf.  Looking at the governor’s budget proposal, I am cautiously optimistic. If the governor is sincere in his desire to shrink government, both by the amount we spend and the number of employees, I welcome his cooperation. But simply combining departments without eliminating duplicative positions and programs is not beneficial to taxpayers or the state’s fiscal health. The House Republican Caucus has consistently stood up for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania in blocking any increase to the personal income tax and the sales tax. It is refreshing to start a budget season with the governor realizing the folly of raising these taxes.

Op-ed: We will fight to protect public education
WHYY Newsworks COMMENTARY  BY HTTP://FRIENDSOFPUBLICED.ORG/ FEBRUARY 19, 2017 SPEAK EASY
Despite a huge public outpouring of concern and protests consisting of tens of thousands of phone calls that lit up the Capitol switchboard — making it the busiest in history — more than one million emails, and countless rallies across the country, Betsy DeVos is now our education secretary.  We now turn our focus and collective energy of the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools, to ensuring that the new secretary recognizes that her proper role is to support a free and appropriate public education for all students in public schools. Her goal should be to make high-quality public schools available to all students, regardless of ZIP code and not, as Ms. DeVos currently states, to offer more choice.  Public school educators will work with her to improve public schools, but will not stand idly by if she tries to shut them down. We will continue to value the diversity and inclusiveness that make our public school systems great and work tirelessly to bring the highest quality education to all students, no matter what challenges we face.

Another game, another Lower Merion statement
By Rob Parent, Delaware County Daily Times POSTED: 02/17/17, 10:34 PM EST
The Aces ... the black, white, yellow, brown and altogether unifed Aces of Lower Merion High, wore those shirts again Friday night.  And once again, they issued a statement beforehand. Just like Tuesday night...  “What’s beautiful about America,” their statement then read, “is that everyone is different. And whether we are black, white, brown, orange, yellow or red, it is our legal right to express our opinions and beliefs.”  So they came out that night for warmups for the Central League championship game against Strath Haven wearing T-shirts that expressed their unified belief: I am a Muslim. I am a Refugee. I am an Immigrant. I am an American. I am an Ace.

Upper St. Clair School Board approves preliminary budget
By Terry Kish For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net Published: February 15, 2017
While still in its early stages, the Upper St. Clair School Board gave preliminary approval to the district’s $79,078,568 draft budget for the 2017-18 school year at its Feb. 13 meeting. “Approval of this preliminary budget for the purpose of Act 1 is actually an official starting point of the district’s budget deliberations,” Superintendent Patrick T. O’Toole said, adding the final 2017-18 budget will be presented to the board for a vote in May and should be approved in June. “Throughout the next three months, we will be working diligently to explore and analyze opportunities for cost-savings and efficiencies.” In accordance with the Act 1 of 2006, all Pennsylvania school districts had the option of passing a preliminary budget or adopting a resolution to stay within the Act 1 Index. With the passage of the preliminary budget, Upper St. Clair could file for exceptions to raise taxes above the inflationary limit.

Plum School Board passes 2017-18 preliminary budget
Post Gazette By Gail Flower February 17, 2017 12:00 AM
The Plum school board has approved a preliminary budget of $64.98 million that would exceed the state’s Act 1 index that limits tax increases. The Act 1 limit for the increase is 0.659 mills, but with special exceptions, Plum would raise it another 0.213 mills.  The current millage is 19.377.
Voting in favor Feb. 7 were Kevin Dowdell, Michelle Gallagher, Jim Rogers, Rich Zucco, and Michelle Stepnick. Opposed were Steve Schlauch, Sue Caldwell, and Vicky Roessler. Sal Colella was absent.  The budget plan is still a preliminary guideline.

“From a low of 4.7 percent in the 2005–2006 school year, the rate today stands at 32.57 percent and is set to climb higher in the future.  Retirement contributions added to the overall increase in benefit expenditures, which Finnegan said went up from their 2016–2017 figure of $19.3 million to a projected $20.6 million in 2017–2018, an increase of $1.2 million or 6.5 percent.  Two other factors driving costs were payments required for children who attend charter schools, and the failure of the local real estate market to rise in value as much as surrounding districts in the post-recession financial recovery.”
Kennett School District proposed tax hike will cost average homeowner $148 more per year
Daily Local By Matt Freeman, for 21st Century Media POSTED: 02/18/17, 5:56 PM EST
KENNETT SQUARE >> A new preliminary budget for the Kennett Consolidated School District includes a proposed tax hike that will cost the average household about $148 a year.  Board member and Treasurer Michael H. Finnegan said the tax increase was made necessary mostly by costs mandated from outside the district, in particular retirement fund contributions and payments for students who attend charter schools.  The millage rate would go up to 30.0540, a 2.79 percent increase, Finnegan said at the beginning of a presentation on the proposed budget. The overall budget is $84.5 million, Finnegan said.  Finnegan said one big factor requiring a tax hike was the soaring rate of teachers’ retirement fund contributions required by the state. In the early 2000s, he said, the retirement accounts were overfunded, so the state cut the percentage the school system had to put in for every dollar spent on salaries.

Municipal elections have major impact
Beaver County Times Editorial By The Times Editorial Board February 19, 2017
f you think your vote in this year’s upcoming municipal elections is not important, take a look at the scathing audit findings regarding the former Moon Area School District superintendent and previous school board members.  State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Thursday released an audit of the district that covered from July 1, 2012, through June 2015. DePasquale cited repeated instances of gross mismanagement and rampant overspending on the part of former Superintendent Curt Baker and the previous board.  Among the most disturbing audit findings: A lack of proper paperwork for more than $880,000 in construction change orders during the renovations of three elementary buildings; Baker’s decision to extend the district’s 2015-2016 winter break without explanation, a move that cost Moon taxpayers $450,000 in leave benefits; the unauthorized duplicate hiring of attorneys that resulted in $87,000 in legal fees; and the organizing of a rugby club by Baker without board approval or oversight.  DePasquale, in his report, said “the lack of oversight and poor judgment of the former board of directors and former superintendent resulted in unchecked spending, wasted tax dollars and actions that could have put students at risk

Commentary: Is compromise possible on school vouchers?
Inquirer Opinion by Jonathan Zimmerman Updated: FEBRUARY 19, 2017 — 3:01 AM EST
Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of "Campus Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know" (Oxford University Press)
Here's a quick news quiz: Who said, "Fully funded vouchers would relieve parents from the terrible choice of leaving their kids in lousy schools or bankrupting themselves to escape those schools"?  If you guessed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, you're wrong. The correct answer is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).

The consequences for public education under Betsy DeVos
Lancaster Online Opinion by CHERYL T. DESMOND February 19, 2017
Cheryl T. Desmond, Ph.D., professor emerita, Millersville University, and lead facilitator for the Lancaster County Pro Public Education and Democracy Action Team.
On Feb. 7, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the nation’s education secretary with the help of a historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence after an all-night vigil on the Senate floor.   The first Cabinet member in the United States to be approved by a 51-50 vote, DeVos is also the first secretary in the department’s more than 35-year history who has not been a public school student, parent or educator.  The billionaire DeVos became involved in education “reform” in the early 1990s, around the time that her husband ran for a seat on the Michigan state Board of Education. After he stepped down from that post, she and her husband founded and financially supported the Education Freedom Fund, which, she has said, “I would define it as ultimately Christian in its nature because in excess of 90 percent of the parents who receive these scholarships choose Christian schools to go to.”  In her home state of Michigan, DeVos has championed and personally funded for-profit and nonprofit charter and cyber schools.  Over the past two decades, the DeVos family has given millions of dollars to pro-voucher and pro-charter candidates, both through direct contributions and through political action committees.


“HR 610, the School Choice Act, would eliminate the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was passed as a part of  Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.”  Federal funds would be used instead to create “block grants” to be used to “distribute a portion of funds to parents who elect to enroll their child in a private school or to home-school their child.” It would also roll back nutritional standards for free lunches for poor children.”
The Trump/DeVos Privatization Agenda Begins to Take Shape
Network for Public Education February 16, 2017 by Darcie Cimarusti
The new administration’s attack on public education has begun, and we need you to take action today to stop it.  In late January, HR 610 was introduced by Steve King of Iowa, with representatives from Maryland, Texas and Arizona signing on.  You can read a summary of the bill here. HR 610, the School Choice Act, would eliminate the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was passed as a part of  Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.”  Federal funds would be used instead to create “block grants” to be used to “distribute a portion of funds to parents who elect to enroll their child in a private school or to home-school their child.” It would also roll back nutritional standards for free lunches for poor children.

Reprise: Charter Advocacy Groups Want Higher Standards for Online-Only Schools
Education Week By Corey Mitchell on June 16, 2016 5:45 AM
Three of the nation's leading charter school advocacy groups are calling for a complete overhaul of state policies governing online-only charter schools.  A new report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and the 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now (50CAN) outlines the challenges facing the online-only, or virtual, schools and offers recommendations to hold their authorizers accountable for student performance and financial decisions.  The three groups largely crafted the report's recommendations in response to sweeping research findings released last fall that showed that students who took classes through virtual schools made dramatically less progress than their peers in traditional schools. It was the first national study of the cybercharter sector and was conducted by the Center for Research and Educational Outcomes at Stanford University, the Center on Reinventing Public Education, and Mathematica Policy Research.
In a review of online charter school performance, the charter school advocacy groups found that:
·         On average, full-time virtual charter students make no gains in math and less than half the gains in reading of their peers in traditional brick-and-mortar public schools.
·         All subgroups of students, including those in poverty, English-language learners, and special education students, perform worse in full-time virtual charters than in traditional public schools.
·         Students who leave full-time virtual charter schools are apt to change schools more often after they leave cyber charters than they did before enrolling.
"If traditional public schools were producing such results, we would rightly be outraged," the report introduction reads, in part. "We should not feel any different just because these are charter schools."

NPR Interview: TAVIS SMILEY Author; Research Professor Diane Ravitch
Video duration: 23:57 Aired: 02/16/17
Former Assistant Secretary of Education and current president of The Network For Public Education joins us to discuss the uncertain future of America's education system.

Charter Schools Lose Their Way, Profits Intrude
Hartford Courant Opinion by ANNE DICHELE February 19, 2017
As one of the founders and board chair of a small charter school in Connecticut, I am more and more dismayed at the state of the once-admirable charter school movement in this country.
In 1997, Side by Side Charter School in Norwalk opened its doors — the first of only 12 charter schools in Connecticut. I and the six other founders met every weekend for the two years prior to the opening to design an overall plan for a school that we were not sure would come to fruition. The application process was extensive and overwhelming. So when our dream of opening a school that was big on innovation and small on red tape was approved, we were thrilled.
Twenty years have passed. We have not sought to grow larger, to build bigger, to become a franchise of successful schools. Why? Because our mission was never to become a corporation for education, a for-profit enterprise, an organization that promulgated a tidy panacea for solving educational problems. What we are what we always intended — a school that practices innovative ideas; ideas that are research-based and promote student success. We are a haven for students who though disenfranchised economically and socially, are taught to understand their important role in a democracy, to question structural inequities and develop the writing, reading, speaking and critical thinking skills that all schools should provide.

DeVos Spars With Teachers, Trump On Autism And More Education Stories Of The Week
NPR February 18, 20177:00 AM ET
With Secretary Betsy DeVos rolling up her sleeves at the Education Department and, at one point this week, joining Donald Trump at the White House to talk with educators and parents, Washington, D.C., is making a lot of education news these days.  For those of you struggling to keep up, the NPR Ed Team is trying something new: a weekly recap of the latest national education news.

DeVos to tour schools with teachers union head
The Hill BY MARK HENSCH - 02/16/17 05:38 PM EST 11
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the president of a teachers union that strongly resisted her confirmation have agreed to tour schools together.  “I said I’d like to visit a public school with her, and then I’d like her to visit a choice school with me,” DeVos told Axios Thursday, recounting a recent phone call with Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  Weingarten said the talk was a “short, frank, blunt conversation on my part,” adding the pair’s future school visits must be authentic rather than “a photo op.”  The AFT fiercely opposed DeVos before the Republican mega-donor’s confirmation to lead the Education Department last week.

Stand Up for PA's Public School Students!
Sign up for Education Voters PA email list
Join activists throughout Pennsylvania as we fight to ensure that ALL students have access to educational opportunities in their public schools that will prepare them for graduation and success in life.  Add your voice to thousands of others who are standing up against efforts to privatize and weaken our children’s public schools. Help us create strong public demand for a strong system of public schools that will offer an opportunity to learn for ALL students.

Gerrymandering: @FairDistrictsPA will be featured on @WITF's Radio Smart Talk on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9 am, rebroadcast at 7 pm.

The PASA-PASBO report on School District Budgets, January 2017

Student Enrollment Patterns and Achievement in Ohio’s Online Charter Schools
Sage Journals by June Ahn*, Andrew McEachin*First Published February 16, 2017
Abstract - We utilize state data of nearly 1.7 million students in Ohio to study a specific sector of online education: K–12 schools that deliver most, if not all, education online, lack a brick-and-mortar presence, and enroll students full-time. First, we explore e-school enrollment patterns and how these patterns vary by student subgroups and geography. Second, we evaluate the impact of e-schools on students’ learning, comparing student outcomes in e-schools to outcomes in two other schooling types, traditional charter schools and traditional public schools. Our results show that students and families appear to self-segregate in stark ways where low-income, lower achieving White students are more likely to choose e-schools while low-income, lower achieving minority students are more likely to opt into the traditional charter school sector. Our results also show that students in e-schools are performing worse on standardized assessments than their peers in traditional charter and traditional public schools. We close with policy recommendations and areas for future research.


Public Education Funding Briefing; Wed, March 8, 2017 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM at United Way Bldg in Philly
Public Interest Law Center email/website February 14, 2017
Amid a contentious confirmation battle in Washington D.C., public education has been front and center in national news. But what is happening at home is just as--if not more--important: Governor Wolf just announced his 2017-2018 budget proposal, including $100 million in new funding for basic education. State legislators are pushing a bill that would eliminate local school taxes by increasing income and sales taxes. And we at the Law Center are waiting on a decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as to whether or not our school funding lawsuit can go to trial.   How do all of these things affect Pennsylvania's schools, and the children who rely on them? Come find out!   Join Jennifer Clarke, Michael Churchill and me for one of two briefings on the nuts and bolts of how public education funding works in Pennsylvania and how current proposals and developments could affect students and teachers. (The content of both briefings will be identical.) 
The briefings are free and open to the public, but we ask that you please RSVP. 

NSBAC First 100 Days Campaign #Ed100Days
National School Boards Action Center
YOUR VOICE IN THE FIRST 100 DAYS!
There is no time like the present for public education advocates to make their voices heard. Misleading rhetoric coupled with budget cuts and proposals such as private school vouchers that divert essential funding from our public schools are threatening the continued success of our 50 million children in public schools. We need your voice to speak up for public schools now!
The first 100 days in the 115th Congress and the Trump Administration present a great opportunity to make sure our country’s elected leaders are charting an education agenda that supports our greatest and most precious resource -- America’s schoolchildren. And you can make that happen.

New PSBA Winter Town Hall Series coming to your area
Introducing a new and exciting way to get involved and stay connected in a location near you! Join your PSBA Town Hall meeting to hear the latest budget and political updates affecting public education. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and networking with fellow school directors. Locations have been selected to minimize travel time. Spend less time in the car and more time learning about issues impacting your schools.
Agenda
6-6:35 p.m.         Association update from PSBA Executive Director Nathan Mains
6:35 -7:15 p.m. Networking Reception
7:15-8 p.m.         Governor’s budget address recap
Dates/Locations
Monday, February 20     Forbes Road Career and Technology Center, Monroeville
Tuesday, February 21    Venango Technology Center, Oil City
Wednesday, Feb 22       Clearfield County Career and Technical Center, Clearfield
Thursday, February 23   Columbia Montour AVTS, Bloomsburg
Monday, February 27     Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Jamison
Tuesday, February 28    PSBA, Mechanicsburg
Wednesday, March 1     Bedford County Technical Center, Everett
Thursday, March 2         West Side CTC, Kingston
Registration:

Ron Cowell at EPLC always does a great job with these policy forums.
RSVP Today for a Forum In Your Area! EPLC is Holding Five Education Policy Forums on Governor Wolf’s 2017-2018 State Budget Proposal
Forum #1 – Pittsburgh Thursday, February 23, 2017 – Wyndham University Center – 100 Lytton Avenue, Pittsburgh (Oakland), PA 15213
Forum #2 – Harrisburg Area (Enola, PA) Tuesday, February 28, 2017 – Capital Area Intermediate Unit – 55 Miller Street (Susquehanna Room), Enola, PA 17025
Forum #3 – Philadelphia Thursday, March 2, 2017 – Penn Center for Educational Leadership, University of Pennsylvania, 3440 Market Street (5th Floor), Philadelphia, PA 19104
Forum #4 – Indiana University of Pennsylvania Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 1011 South Drive (Stouffer Hall), Indiana, PA 15705
Forum #5 – Lehigh Valley Tuesday, March 28, 2017 – Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21, 4210 Independence Drive, Schnecksville, PA 18078
Governor Wolf will deliver his 2017-2018 state budget proposal to the General Assembly on February 7. These policy forums will be early opportunities to get up-to-date information about what is in the proposed education budget, the budget’s relative strengths and weaknesses, and key issues.  Each of the forums will take following basic format (please see below for regional presenter details at each of the three events). Ron Cowell of EPLC will provide an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget for early education, K-12 and higher education.  A representative of The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will provide an overview of the state’s fiscal situation and key issues that will affect this year’s budget discussion. The overviews will be followed by remarks from a panel representing statewide and regional perspectives concerning state funding for education and education related items. These speakers will discuss the impact of the Governor’s proposals and identify the key issues that will likely be considered during this year’s budget debate.
Although there is no registration fee, seating is limited and an RSVP is required.
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

PASBO 62nd Annual Conference, March 21-24, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh.
Register now for the 2017 NSBA Annual Conference March 25-27 Denver
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.

Register for the 2017 PASA Education Congress, “Delving Deeper into the Every Student Succeeds Act.” March 29-30

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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