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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup Feb 8, 2017
Reactions
to Wolf’s Budget/DeVos Confirmation
Blogger note: Great to see the Governor’s
commitment to funding education, even in a tough budget year. Especially good to see the proposed increase
in early childhood resources. As a fifth
term school board member here’s my summary of the proposed budget:
+$ 25M special education
-$144M 500 districts’ share of PSERS cost increase
-$ 50M cut in pupil transportation line
= $69M more that our districts/taxpayers will have to pony up
As far as I know, there has been no “pension
reform” legislation in play that would address our skyrocketing short term
costs. In the meantime, yesterday the
House Ed Committee voted out HB250, which would divert $75 million more to
unaccountable private and religious schools via the EITC/OSTC programs. How about if we used that $75 million to
reduce the pension increase burden on taxpayers?
Some Montgomery County school districts
oppose property tax elimination
Times
Herald By Bob Keeler, bkeeler@21st-centurymedia.com, @bybobkeeler on
Twitter POSTED: 02/07/17, 10:27 AM EST | UPDATED:
2 HRS AGO
SOUDERTON >> Proposed state
legislation to do away with school property taxes has “laudable objectives,”
including helping senior citizens and others on a fixed income, according to
Wissahickon School District Superintendent James Crisfield. “But it’s mixed in with a really nefarious,
unstated subtext, which is a desire on the part of some to reduce spending on
education. Both aspects need to be recognized and addressed separately in the
open,” Crisfield said at a Monday, Feb. 6 press conference at Souderton Area
School District’s E. M. Crouthamel Elementary School featuring officials from
area school districts. The proposal to
eliminate property taxes was the portion to be addressed in this presentation,
he said. Other topics raised were concerns about increasing costs to the
districts for pensions and charter schools. A proposal to replace school
property taxes with an increase to state income tax and sales tax rates and
adding to the items on which the sales tax is paid was narrowly defeated in the
Pennsylvania Senate last year, but is believed to have enough votes to pass
this year.
“It would be a huge tax shift. It
would be a bonanza for businesses who would no longer pay property taxes,” said
Lawrence Feinberg, a board member in Delaware County’s School District of Haverford
Township and The Campaign for Fair Education member. In Wissahickon, the 10 largest property tax
payments, totaling about $6 million per year, come from businesses, Crisfield
said.
Post Gazette By Rita Michel February 3, 2017 12:00 AM
Calling
it a “money grab” by the state, a loss of local control of schools and the end
of quality public education, officials at a standing-room-only crowd at Fox
Chapel Area High School Tuesday night said a proposal to change how
Pennsylvania schools are funded is a bad idea. The
proposal in the Legislature, which would significantly reduce school property
taxes while raising other levies, also got a frosty reception in Peters on
Monday night. At an emergency public
meeting called by Fox Chapel District Forum, letters, phone numbers and
websites were distributed so taxpayers could let their state representatives
know they are opposed to legislation that would fund Pennsylvania schools by
adding 1 percent to the state sales tax (as well as adding taxes to food,
clothing and other goods and services) and raising the state income tax 4.95
percent, from 3.07 percent, according to the Associated Press. The forum is an organization obligated to act
in the best interests of children, said Elizabeth Klamut, president of the
group. “This legislation is obviously not,” she said. “Hence the calls, emails
and texts inviting you to this emergency meeting.” A vote could come as early
as February or March, so parents were encouraged to contact their senators and
representatives right away.
Governor Wolf’s 2017-2018 Budget Address
Governor Wolf’s website February 07, 2017
Transcript and 22 minute video
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana offers his take on Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal.
WHYY Newsworks BY DAVE HELLER FEBRUARY 7, 2017 Audio Runtime 3:46
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday unveiled his
proposed budget for the next fiscal year. He named increases in education and
senior care funding as among his priorities, while proposing to pay for those
increases by closing corporate tax loopholes and by streamlining state
government. The Democrat stressed that his budget includes no
broad-based tax increases. He also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead
for the approval process with a majority Republican Legislature. House Majority Leader Dave Reed reviewed the
governor's budget proposal with NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller. Listen to their conversation below.
Wolf calls
education 'first priority' in budget, boosts funding by $209 million
Jacqueline Palochko Contact ReporterOf The
Morning Call February 7, 2017
If the spending plan Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled Tuesday is
passed, he will have increased basic education funding by $500 million since he
took office. In this third budget
proposal, Wolf once again prioritized education spending, which was a campaign
promise he made after his predecessor Gov. Tom Corbett slashed it
amid the Great Recession. Wolf's planned
$32.3 billion budget for 2017-18 calls for a $100 million increase in basic
education. It also calls for $75 million more in early childhood education, $25
million more for special education and $8.9 million more for the 14 state-owned
universities. Early childhood and
special education have received boosts from Wolf before. Last year, the budget
increased early childhood education by $30 million and special education by $20
million. Basic education funding increased by $200 million last year. Wolf's planned budget also calls for a $50 million
cut in transportation costs for school districts, although local
superintendents weren't sure Tuesday how that would impact Lehigh
Valley districts.
“In
addition to this funding increase, PSBA encourages the General
Assembly and the governor to pass pension reform, support
a charter school funding commission, apply the special
education formula to charter schools, and implement property tax
reform that diversifies the tax structure, provides relief to
taxpayers and meets the financial needs of our
students. “For years, school
directors have been asking for unfunded mandate relief,” Mains said. “Coupled
with increased funding, mandate relief would keep more money in our schools to
allow resources to go where they belong – in the classroom.”
Statement: PSBA applauds governor’s budget
for continued investment in public education
The
Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) is pleased that Gov. Tom Wolf is
again promoting an increased investment in education by proposing a more than
$200 million increase in spending for the 2017-18 fiscal year. “Few
things are as important as the investment we make in our
children’s education,” said PSBA Executive Director Nathan
Mains. “The fiscal challenges of the state are real and projected revenue
is falling short, which makes this proposal so significant. Education is the
key to keeping Pennsylvania competitive, and this
funding will continue moving the state forward in the right
direction.” The governor’s proposal would put $100 million into basic
education, $25 million into special education and $75 million into early
childhood education.
Trib
Live JAMIE
MARTINES | Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, 12:41 a.m.
Members
of the education community are pleased to see that Gov. Tom Wolf hopes to
increase education funding next year. But some worries remain about how
lawmakers will move forward with addressing mandated costs — expenses related
to pensions, employee benefits, special education and charter schools, for
example — that keep climbing. “That's something that really needs to be solved
so that districts don't have to put so much of their funding that they do get
into those kinds of costs,” said Steve Robinson, spokesman for the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association. He hoped the General Assembly will look for ways to
address this issue.
Wolf touts 'largest cuts ' to state
bureaucracy in history
Inquirer by Karen
Langley & Angela
Couloumbis - Staff Writers Updated: FEBRUARY 7, 2017 — 7:06 PM EST
HARRISBURG — Gov. Wolf on
Tuesday unveiled a $32.3 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year that
would close Pennsylvania's daunting deficit largely through cuts and agency
consolidation, while shying away from the large-scale tax hikes that helped
doom his past budget proposals. Wolf’s
latest plan would use new taxes and fees to help raise nearly $1 billion to
increase funding for public schools, drug addiction prevention, and other state
programs. It does so in part through a new tax on natural gas drilling and a
likely controversial $25-per-person fee in towns that rely on the state police
for local coverage. But gone this year
were proposals for hikes in the state income or sales taxes. Instead, the
first-term Democratic governor touted what he called "the largest cuts to,
and consolidations of, government bureaucracy” in state history.
Trib Live KEVIN
ZWICK | Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, 11:33 a.m.
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf's new
spending proposal is only the start of the frenzied budget negotiating season
in the state Capitol. Republican leaders lauded parts of the governor's
proposal, but indicated more expansive changes to public pension systems would
be necessary before they'd approve parts of his proposal. Wolf on Tuesday
revealed a $32.3 billion spending package built on a combination of $2 billion
in funding cuts and tax increases for next year's budget. “In my proposed
budget, there are no broad-based taxes,” Wolf said during an address before the
combined houses of the Legislature. He said the proposal “contains the largest
cuts to, and consolidations of, government bureaucracy in our history.”
Pa. budget winner: Public schools would
see another funding boost
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 07, 2017 at 11:42 AM,
updated February 07, 2017 at 11:56 AM
At a glance: Building on Gov. Tom Wolf's
commitment to increase the state's investment in education, his 2017-18 budget
unveiled on Tuesday provides for a $100 million boost for basic education (the
bread and butter of state funding for school districts), $25 million more for
special education, and $75 million more for preschool.
What it means: School districts that are
struggling to cope with higher pension, health care and special education costs
would have some more money to cover those bills and possibly leave some to
avoid increasing class sizes and maybe spare some academic programs. The boost
in preschool funding will allow more than 8,400 additional children to enroll
in Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs. Combined with money for other
education lines in the budget, the state investment in education under the
governor's proposal would reach a record high topping $9 billion.
Verdict: It's a win for the Department of
Education on all the major funding lines for public schools, and reflective of
the high priority Wolf has put on the educating Pennsylvania's children.
Editorial: A good start, but governor’s
budget needs work
Reading Eagle Wednesday February
8, 2017 12:01 AM
THE ISSUE:
Gov. Tom Wolf’s spending plan is
not balanced and fails to address pensions.
OUR OPINION:
In this non-election year, it’s
time to tackle the big issues in a serious way.
It's too bad Gov. Tom Wolf has
offered his election-year budget a year early.
That being said, in a
lot of ways, the third-year Democratic governor's spending plan for the coming
year does just what it should, setting priorities, and seeking efficiencies and
new revenues to offset increases. In one
key area, however, Wolf's budget falls short. According to his own budget
secretary, his plan includes $605 million in deficit carryover. The biggest applause line in the governor's
budget address Tuesday before a Republican-dominated state Legislature was that
he was seeking no increase in the state's income or sales taxes.
“The
pension bubble, now some $70 billion in counting, is the beast that's consuming
state government. And the administration and General Assembly will have to rein
it in if they ever want to get the state back onto sound financial footing. Wolf's
spokesman, J.J. Abbott said his boss is open to working with lawmakers in
getting a pension bill onto the books. One proposal last session fell just
three votes shy of winning House approval.”
Wolf's budget suggests some radical
surgery, but leaves key problems behind: John L. Micek
Penn Live By John
L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 07, 2017 at 1:08 PM,
updated February 07, 2017 at 3:17 PM
When people want to know what
it's like to live in Pennsylvania, just ask them to picture feudal
England. With some 2,500 municipalities, at least half as many police
departments, 500 school districts, 67 county governments, and countless local
boards and authorities, the Keystone State resembles nothing so much as a
collection of Medieval fiefdoms, ripe with competing interests, who jealously
guard their prerogatives even as they suspiciously eye the village over the
next hill.
So into this breach steps Gov.
Tom Wolf, rolling out a budget plan that doesn't exactly do away with all those
fiefdoms (because now you're just talking crazy talk), but at least seeks to
nominally reduce the number of feudal lords royally overseeing the duplicative
services that have been hoovering money out of the treasury for, lo, these last
many years.
Inquirer Editorial: Wolf has given
Republicans a budget they can work with
Updated: FEBRUARY 8, 2017 — 3:01
AM EST
Gov. Wolf's proposed $32.3
billion budget isn't just a spending plan, it's an admission of defeat in
getting the Republican-led legislature to raise income and sales taxes. With
the state facing a grim $3 billion deficit through next year, however, the governor
is rightly asking for a severance tax on natural gas, a reasonable 6.5 percent.
The budget presented Tuesday doesn't address pension reform and escalating
Medicaid costs, which Republican leaders were quick to point out. But Wolf's
plan provides a much better starting point for negotiations that avoid the
destructive and humiliating stalemates over the past two years that forced the
state to borrow money.
Wolf has no choice but to find
Republicans who will work with him. Given that reality, he could have consulted
with GOP leaders prior to presenting his budget. Getting early leadership
support for some ideas might pave the way for their passage later, unless the
Republicans insist on being obstructionists.
Local schools pleased - mostly - with
Wolf's budget proposal
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham & Kathy
Boccella - Staff Writers Updated: FEBRUARY 7, 2017 — 5:40 PM EST
Given Pennsylvania’s current
fiscal and political climate, a proposed budget with millions of dollars in new
money for school districts is a win, officials - and some education watchers -
say.
Gov. Wolf on Tuesday said he
wants to provide $100 million in new basic education funding to the state’s
school districts for the 2018 fiscal year, plus $25 million more for special
education, $75 million in new early childhood funds, and $8.9 million more for
the universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Superintendents said the money would help,
but many are concerned that the aid from Harrisburg will not keep pace with
their rising pension costs.
“You’d always like to invest and
provide more for our kids,” Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera. “Given the
revenue, the fact that the governor was able to provide more than $100 million
more for schools - it’s a good day.”
Richman moves one step closer to SRC, says
she's in no hurry to dissolve Philly board
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI
WOLFMAN-ARENT FEBRUARY
8, 2017
At her Tuesday confirmation
hearing, Estelle Richman, Gov. Tom Wolf's pick for the School Reform
Commission, reiterated her support for school choice — and indicated she does
not want to dissolve the SRC. After the hearing, the Pennsylvania Senate
Education Committee unanimously approved Richman's nomination. Her nomination
now heads to the full State Senate for a final vote that could come as soon as
Wednesday. Tuesday's vote was something of a formality. Lawmakers struck a
congenial tone with Richman, a longtime civil servant with years of experience
in Harrisburg. The former head of what was formerly the state's Department of
Public Welfare reciprocated the pleasantries during a largely drama-free hearing.
But Richman did reaffirm and reveal positions on key issues that will likely
interest Philadelphia observers.
Will Richman join SRC in charter-school
vote?
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham, Staff
Writer @newskag | kgraham@phillynews.com Updated: FEBRUARY 7, 2017 — 7:29 PM EST
Will Estelle B. Richman be a
member of the School Reform Commission on Wednesday, when the panel meets to
consider three new charter-school applications? Probably. But whether she’ll
vote on the applications is up in the air. Richman, nominated to the board by Gov. Wolf,
appeared before the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. Her nomination was
voted out of committee Tuesday night. In the best-case scenario, the full
Senate will vote her onto the SRC on Wednesday. Richman said SRC staff members
had been asked to have a notary lined up so she can be sworn in before the 4
p.m. SRC meeting.
Betsy DeVos
Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie
New
York Times By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN and YAMICHE ALCINDOR FEB. 7, 2017
WASHINGTON — Betsy
DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor with almost no experience in
public education, was confirmed by the Senate as the nation’s education
secretary on Tuesday, but only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote
from Vice President Mike Pence after weeks of protests and two defections
within her own party. The 51-to-50 vote capped an all-night vigil on the Senate
floor, where, one by one, Democrats denounced Ms. DeVos to a mostly empty
chamber. But they did not get a third Republican defection that would have
stopped Ms. DeVos — a billionaire who has devoted much of her life to promoting charter schools and vouchers — from becoming the
steward of the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools. It was the first time a vice president has
been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination.
NYT
Editorial: Betsy DeVos Teaches the Value of Ignorance
New
York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD FEB. 7, 2017
“Government really sucks.” This belief,
expressed by the just-confirmed education secretary, Betsy DeVos, in
a 2015 speech to
educators, may be the only qualification she needed for President Trump. Ms. DeVos is the perfect cabinet member for a
president determined to appoint officials eager to destroy the agencies they
run and weigh the fate of policies and programs based on ideological
considerations. She has never run,
taught in, attended or sent a child to an American public school, and her
confirmation hearings laid bare her
ignorance of education policy and
scorn for public education itself. She has donated millions to, and helped
direct, groups that want to replace traditional public schools with charter schools and convert taxpayer dollars into
vouchers to help parents send children to private and religious schools. While her nomination gave exposure to an
honest and passionate debate about charter schools as an alternative to
traditional public schools, her hard-line opposition to any real accountability
for these publicly funded, privately run schools undermined their founding
principle as well as her support. Even champions of charters, like the
philanthropist Eli Broad and the Massachusetts Charter
Public School Association, opposed her nomination.
Pa's two U.S. Senators had very different
reactions to the Betsy DeVos vote.
Penn Live By John
L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 07, 2017 at 2:37 PM,
updated February 07, 2017 at 2:45 PM
Now that Veep Mike Pence has cast a historic
tie-breaking vote to confirm new Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos, here's what Pennsylvania's two United States senators had to say about
it. In a statement, U.S. Sen. Pat
Toomey, R-Pa., said Devos, a forceful charter schools advocate,
"understands that reform should begin with parents and communities." The
Lehigh Valley lawmaker was the subject of an intense lobbying campaign to get
him to vote against the Trump administration's pick. The protest group
"Tuesdays with Toomey" picketed his offices statewide, while
opponents of Devos blasted his offices with phone calls, emails and faxes.
Now that the Michigan billionaire is confirmed — barely — educators hope her inexperience doesn’t become a liability.
By Elizabeth Behrman / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette February 7, 2017 3:57 PM
Some Pennsylvania education
advocates are disappointed that Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos is officially
the U.S. Secretary of Education, but many said today they will continue to
press her to protect public education. "I
congratulate Ms. DeVos," said Lawrence Feinberg, co-chair of the Keystone
State Education Coalition. "I wish her the best of luck getting up to
speed. I would strongly invite her to come visit our schools and to learn what
public education is actually about."
The Senate confirmed Ms. DeVos, a
school choice advocate and longtime Republican donor, in a 50-50 vote today,
with Vice President Mike Pence voting to break the tie in a historic vote.
Mr. Feinberg's organization
opposed Ms. DeVos' appointment and urged U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a
Pennsylvania Republican, to vote against her last week. "I just hope she gets out in the field
and gets to see the good work that public schools are doing and isn’t just
looking at education through a filter of school choice," Mr. Feinberg
said. Sen. Toomey, who voted in her
favor, released a statement last week praising Ms. DeVos for her work to
provide quality school options to all children.
Despite weeks of opposition, DeVos is
confirmed – barely
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa February 7, 2017 — 12:50pm
The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos
as U.S. secretary of education Tuesday. The vote was tied, 50-50, and Vice
President Mike Pence then cast the tie-breaking vote. It was the first time in
history that a vice president needed to step in to tip the balance for a
Cabinet appointee. Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
and Susan Collins of Maine, broke with their colleagues and voted
against the Michigan billionaire, who is a prolific Republican campaign
donor and a proponent of vouchers and charter school expansion. They cited
her shaky performance in her confirmation hearing before the Senate
HELP Committee, of which they are members, and said their offices had been
inundated with thousands of calls, faxes, and emails.
Philadelphia education community blasts
Betsy DeVos confirmation
Inquirer by Emily
Babay , Staff Writer @emilybabay | ebabay@philly.com Updated: FEBRUARY 7, 2017 — 6:19 PM EST
The Philadelphia education
community has been quick to condemn school choice activist Betsy DeVos'
confirmation as secretary of education. The
Senate confirmed DeVos on Tuesday, with Vice President
Pence breaking a 50-50 tie, the first time a vice president has had to cast
such a vote on a cabinet nomination. Pennsylvania's
senators were split on the nomination: Democrat Bob Casey has been among those vocally
opposing President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Education, while
Republican Pat Toomey backed DeVos. Her nomination had
been divisive in the Senate and among the public, with critics citing the
wealthy Republican donor's lack of public school experience and financial ties
to charter-school groups. In
Philadelphia, reaction to the confirmation was swift and largely negative.
DeVos confirmed as U.S. Secretary of
Education: Here's what she can, can't do
Keystone Crossroads/WHYY
Newsworks BY AVI
WOLFMAN-ARENT FEBRUARY
7, 2017
Despite surprisingly robust
opposition, Betsy DeVos became U.S. secretary of education Tuesday, thanks to a
tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. The opposition was, in part,
surprising because the secretary of education doesn't wield all that much
power. In broad terms, education is largely a local issue. States and school
districts provide most of the money and make most of the rules. That, however,
doesn't mean the federal government is powerless. The Obama administration used
financial incentives and the bully pulpit to endorse school turnaround models,
ramp up teacher evaluation, and advance civil rights issues. So what can Betsy
DeVos actually do in her cabinet post? And how might those actions trickle down
to local schools? Or, to put it another way, after all of that impassioned
debate, what happens next?
We surveyed a handful of experts
from around the country to produce this primer on what the secretary of
Education can do; what she can't do; and what she may do.
Reaction — pro, con and otherwise — to
DeVos confirmation
Washington Post Answer Sheet
Blog By Valerie Strauss February 7 at 2:40 PM
From
right and left and in between are coming scores of reactions to the historic
Senate vote to confirm Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos as education secretary,
revealing the Mariana Trench-sized divide in opinion about her and the state of
the debate about public education in the United States. The Senate confirmed
DeVos on Tuesday after Mike Pence became the first vice president in history to
break a tie for a Cabinet nominee, a 50-50 vote among senators.
She and her family are likely just getting started trying to buy Republican support for their radical education agenda
Rolling Stone By Tessa
Stuart February 7, 2017
Betsy DeVos just bought
herself a nice little cabinet position. On Tuesday afternoon, most Senate
Republicans – all but Maine's Susan
Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski – voted to confirm the
billionaire Amway heiress as secretary of education. Cut through the noise and
the nonsense, and examine the fallout from Trump's opening blitz It
cost her $115,000 in personal donations to
sitting Republican senators; $950,000 more has flowed in from the DeVos family
over the last three-and-a-half decades. And another $8.3 million from the
DeVoses has gone to Republican super PACs in the last two election cycles
alone. Not cheap! But it got the job done.
And no one should expect her
family's financial manipulation of Republican senators to stop there. In fact,
if what the DeVoses have done in Michigan is any indication, she and her family
are likely just getting started trying to buy Republican support for their
radical agenda.
House overturns two Obama-era education
regulations
Washington Post By Emma Brown and Juliet Eilperin February 7 at 6:57 PM
The House of Representatives on
Tuesday overturned two key education regulations enacted under President Barack
Obama, a move that could change how state officials evaluate school performance
and roll back requirements for programs that train new K-12 teachers. The two votes under the Congressional Review
Act, a measure that allows lawmakers to repeal regulations within 60 days of
their enactment, aim to curtail the authority of federal officials over
educational decisions on the state and local level. To nullify the rules, the
Senate must also vote to overturn them and the president must sign the
resolutions into law. The
teacher-preparation rule, meant to ensure that new teachers are ready for the
nation’s classrooms, require each state to issue annual ratings for
teacher-prep programs within their borders, with poor-performing programs
losing eligibility for some federal student aid. It stemmed from the Higher
Education Act. It was overturned by a vote of 240 to 181. The school accountability rule — which lays
out how states should judge which schools are serving students well and which
are struggling and need help — stemmed from a bipartisan law, the Every Student
Succeeds Act. But many members argued that the previous administration
stretched the confines of the law in crafting their regulations.
The testing craze stripped
schools of a key mission: creating engaged citizens.
Mother Jones KRISTINA
RIZGAJAN/FEB 2017 ISSUE
When I
was about 10, a
classmate in my small-town school in Latvia liked to tell me in between classes
that he hated Jews. I was the only Jewish kid in school, and one day as I
walked home I heard steps behind me. My eyes caught his, and we stood there for
a moment. I still remember his face—hazel eyes, closely cropped blond hair—and
his navy uniform jacket over a white shirt. Suddenly, I heard a crunch as his
fist landed on my left cheekbone, and I fell backward on a sidewalk damp with
melting snow. I still remember the hollow ringing in my left ear. I looked
around to scream for help, but the streets were empty. I've never felt more
terrified and alone.
"There is nothing we can do
to change him," my father said in our garage the next day. He wore a large
black boxing glove on his left hand that he made me practice hitting late into
the night. "You have to throw the punch from your shoulder, and pack the
weight of your entire body into it," he said. "As soon as you show
any fear, you've already lost." My
mother and I eventually left Latvia, and bullying was a big reason for me. It's
been 22 years since I've thought about this particular incident—but the recent
surge of media reports about xenophobic language and harassment across the
United States brings those old fears roaring back. And now that we have an
administration that has welcomed into the White House advisers with a long history of promoting
Islamophobia and boosting white nationalists, I find myself wondering what that
means for today's bullies and their victims.
K12's
stock rallies after DeVos confirmed as Secretary of Education
Marketwatch By TOMIKILGORE REPORTER
AND EDITOR Published: Feb 7, 2017 2:36 p.m. ET
Shares of K12 Inc. LRN, +1.25% rallied 1% in afternoon trade Tuesday, after Vice President Pence broke a tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as the next
Secretary of Education. "While somewhat of a controversial choice, we
believe this appointment will be positive for the private sector (for-profit)
education sector, specifically in the K-12 segment where Ms. Devos has been a
strong proponent of school reform, particularly charter schools," Analyst
Jeffrey Silber at BMO Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients. "This
could be a positive for K12 Inc., which helps to manage virtual charter
schools."
Learn more and apply here: https://t.co/jMVOJ71xGI
Drexel
University Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day will be held on February 11 from
10:00AM-2:00PM at the ExCITe Center
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 15213Forum #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
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.
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.
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!
Save the Date
2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree
Hotel Cranberry Township, PA
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