PA Ed Policy Roundup Dec. 10: A select few PA school districts get special deals and millions in bonus funding

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PA Ed Policy Roundup Dec. 10, 2018

A select few PA school districts get special deals and millions in bonus funding


“The campaign called for annual increases in each of the next four years of $400 million in basic education, $100 in special education and $10 million in career and technical education.”
PA Schools Work urges Governor Wolf to continue investing in Pennsylvania’s students in next state budget
Calls for $510 million state increase for basic, special, and career and technical education
PA Schools Work HARRISBURG (December 6, 2018) – The statewide education advocacy campaign PA Schools Work today delivered a letter to Governor Tom Wolf urging him to increase state funding for public education in his 2019-20 budget proposal. While thanking Gov. Wolf for his continued commitment to Pennsylvania students, including his restoration of past state funding cuts, PA Schools Work noted that the “work has just begun” to achieve an adequate and equitable school funding system in the state. Even with recent increases under the Wolf Administration, Pennsylvania ranks 46^th in the country in state share for K-12 education. The campaign called for annual increases in each of the next four years of $400 million in basic education, $100 in special education and $10 million in career and technical education. These annual investments would enable students more opportunities for academic success and a smooth transition to college or a career.
http://paschoolswork.org/pa-schools-work-urges-governor-wolf-to-continue-investing-in-pennsylvanias-students-in-next-state-budget/

“In 2016, the state implemented a new basic-education funding formula that was meant to remedy what critics say are massive inequities in school funding across the state. Currently, though, only new funding is distributed through the formula. Of the state’s nearly $6.1 billion basic-education allotment this year, only 8.8 percent, or $539 million, is flowing through the new formula. Critics also say that funding increases in recent years have not kept pace with rising costs — such as pension reimbursements and inflation — that are out of school districts’ control.”
School District of Lancaster's school funding case headed to trial in 2020
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer Dec 7, 2018
A landmark legal case in which School District of Lancaster and others are arguing for fairness in state education funding is heading to trial. Commonwealth Court documents released Thursday show that the trial is tentatively scheduled for summer 2020, following discovery proceedings in 2019. “We are pleased to hear the funding case is moving forward,” Lancaster Superintendent Damaris Rau said in an email Thursday. “There are more than 250 school districts in Pennsylvania that receive more state funding per student than we do, despite the many challenges our students confront every day,” she added. “We will continue to advocate for our kids, our local taxpayers, and a system that is fair to them.” The suit was filed in 2014 by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center on behalf of School District of Lancaster and five other school districts, as well as parents, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference. It argues that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional and shortchanges students in districts with a high percentage of low-income students.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/school-district-of-lancaster-s-school-funding-case-headed-to/article_83874834-f9a3-11e8-98f3-bb587e83f7de.html

William Penn funding suit goes to trial in 2020
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com December 10, 2018
HARRISBURG —The public school funding lawsuit against the state will go trial in the Commonwealth Court in the summer of 2020. Commonwealth Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer released an order Thursday afternoon tentatively scheduling trial for two summers from now is the first big news for the case since the court dismissed a motion of mootness brought by Pennsylvania Senate Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-25, and Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, R-28, back in August. This will be the first trial on the issue of how the state funds public education in its 500 school districts since the court originally dismissed the case in April 2015. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed that decision in September 2017. The order released a timeline of events that the parties in William Penn School District et al. v. PA Department of Education et al. must follow before going to trial: discovery completed by Oct. 4, 2019; primary expert reports served by Nov. 4, 2019 with rebuttal expert reports exactly one month after that; motions for summary judgment and briefs in support due Feb. 4, 2020 with responses due March 4, 2020; reply briefs field by March 18, 2020.
https://www.delcotimes.com/news/william-penn-funding-suit-goes-to-trial-in/article_da7f48ea-f9b1-11e8-a4ae-e35dc1bd7c20.html

Trial Set for 2020 in Long-Running Pennsylvania School Funding Lawsuit
Education Week District Dossier Blog By Denisa R. Superville on December 6, 2018 7:07 PM
A 2014 lawsuit challenging the way the state of Pennsylvania funds its schools may head to trial in the summer of 2020—nearly six years after it was first filed in state court. In a Dec. 6 order, Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer set a tentative trial date of summer 2020, with discovery in the case scheduled to be completed by October next year. The lawsuit could radically alter the way Pennsylvania pays for K-12 schooling. It was first filed in November 2014, on behalf of six school districts—the William Penn, Panther Valley,  Lancaster, Greater Johnstown, Wilkes-Barre Area, and Shenandoah Valley—seven parents, including some whose children were enrolled in Philadelphia public schools; the Pennsylvania Association of Small and Rural Schools; and the Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP.  The plaintiffs alleged that the state General Assembly and then-Republican Governor Tom Corbett had not lived up to their constitutional obligation of sufficiently funding schools so that students could receive a thorough and efficient public education. While the state adopted new standards, it did not provide the districts with the tools—or funds—to meet those standards, the lawsuit argues. And the inadequate funding has forced districts to rely more heavily on property taxes and disadvantaged students in districts that did not have a large tax base to tap into, they maintain.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2018/12/trial_set_for_2020_in_Pennsylvania_funding_dispute.html

A select few Pennsylvania school districts get special deals and millions in bonus funding
Lancaster Online by JEFF HAWKES | Staff Writer December 9, 2018
Like other school superintendents, William Jones must make tough choices to balance tight budgets. This year that meant raising taxes and cutting staff to close a $5.5 million deficit at the 2,000-student district he runs in northeastern Pennsylvania. But then Jones got good news. An email this summer from a state senator representing Luzerne County said the state was sending Hanover Area School District an extra half-million dollars above the standard $7.9-million subsidy. It was like a gift, “a complete surprise,” Jones said. The superintendent hadn’t asked for the money or submitted a grant application. In getting the funds, the district wasn’t required to say how they’d be spent. The money came, Jones said, with “no strings attached.” Other superintendents can only envy Jones’ good fortune. As Pennsylvania showered Hanover Area and about two dozen other districts with bonus funds, the vast majority of the state’s 500 school districts — including those in Lancaster County — have gotten nothing above their usual allocation or even been told bonus funds are available.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/a-select-few-pennsylvania-school-districts-get-special-deals-and/article_ad30dc58-fa7b-11e8-a64f-cbe7f57d7e50.html

Pat Howard: Hard choices remain at Erie School District
GoErie Posted at 2:00 AM
An additional $14 million in annual funding from Harrisburg in 2017 put the Erie School District on a tenuous path to solvency. Now the state is pulling on the strings attached. There was a sense of elation in the air when the Legislature cut loose that cash. Things had been so dire that getting a fair shot at recovery was thrilling. But the $14 million wasn’t enough to erase the district’s financial challenges while it tackles an enormous backlog of neglected needs in its physical plant and curriculum. Now things are getting real again. While the Erie School Board and Superintendent Brian Polito have a bit more financial room to maneuver, they’re also on a leash. Its pull is starting to pinch. The legislation that delivered the additional funding also mandated the appointment of an outside fiscal administrator, who on paper has sweeping powers and answers to state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera and ultimately Gov. Tom Wolf. The administrator, Harrisburg veteran Charles Zogby, is still working with Polito on a financial recovery plan for the coming years, but he has started putting cards on the table.
http://www.goerie.com/opinion/20181209/pat-howard-hard-choices-remain-at-erie-school-district
law

Erie Rise charter school and its low scores face big test
GoErie By Ed Palattella Posted at 12:01 AM Updated at 6:15 AM December 9, 2018
Erie School District is taking a hard look as Erie Rise’s charter comes up for renewal. PSSA tests show only 6.9 percent of Erie Rise students are proficient or advanced in math. Terry Lang knows he is working a difficult job. As CEO of the Erie Rise Leadership Academy Charter School, he is again dealing with standardized test scores that are among the worst for all traditional public and charter schools in the city of Erie. Only 6.9 percent of Erie Rise’s 430 students, for example, are proficient or advanced in mathematics, according to new state Department of Education data on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests for 2018. That is nearly 14 percentage points lower than the average PSSA score in math for students in the 11,000 student Erie School District, where most schools are also performing poorly.
http://www.goerie.com/news/20181209/erie-rise-charter-school-and-its-low-scores-face-big-test

“Since the initiative began, the arrest numbers have plummeted. The effect was immediate; in 2014-15, the first full year of implementation, arrests dropped by more than half to 724. In 2017- 18 they stood at 456, a 71 percent drop in the first four years of full implementation – well beyond the program’s original goal to cut the rate by 50 percent.”
With police diversion, Philly student arrests plummet
When an offense is relatively minor, the child goes into a diversion program, receiving extra supports. Recidivism is also much lower.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa December 9 — 10:39 am, 2018
Jaden wasn’t thinking. Or, at least, he wasn’t thinking ahead.
The 14-year-old’s tall and sturdy body seems oversized for his baby face. He is a baseball player, a powerful third baseman on a travel team. Asked whether he can hit the long ball, he says, “Oh, yeah,” and flashes a smile that conveys both shyness and pride. “I also pitch.” Asked another question, the words don’t come so easily. Why was he carrying a pocket knife in his backpack? “The way I walk home, it was dangerous,” he stammers. “A lot of crackheads. I don’t know how to explain it. There are always people outside.” This was the route from his South Philadelphia home to Preparatory Charter High School, where he was a freshman. “My dad was like, it’s a bad way to walk home, down that street.” He didn’t listen. This route was shorter. Plus, “the corner store is on my way. I always go to that corner store.” Hence the pocket knife; it made him feel safer. He never used it, in or out of school. He knew he could be caught, but he wasn’t that worried. Day after day, his bag went through the metal detector and school officials never found it.
https://thenotebook.org/articles/2018/12/09/with-police-diversion-student-arrests-plummet/

Tamaqua Area says teachers have no legal right to sue over armed staff policy
Kayla Dwyer Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call December 7, 2018
The Tamaqua Area School District filed preliminary objections in court this week to a lawsuit waged by its teachers’ union against the school’s new policy allowing staff to carry guns in school. Policy 705 passed unanimously in September, but it drew ire from the Tamaqua Area Education Association, which filed a lawsuit in Schuylkill County Court in November, claiming the measure is a violation of the Pennsylvania School Code. The school district, in its filing, questions this claim and argues that the union does not have the legal standing to sue, nor has it established the district committed a “manifest wrong.” The Pennsylvania School Code allows trained law enforcement to carry firearms in school. The teachers’ lawsuit alleges that Tamaqua’s Policy 705, adopted Sept. 18, ignores “state law and allows school employees who do not have state-required training or experience to carry and use firearms.” The new policy requires staff who volunteer to participate to receive training as outlined by Act 235, the Lethal Weapons Training Act.
https://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nws-tamaqua-guns-district-objectiions-filing-20181207-story.html

In Pa., 381K more people voted for a Democrat for state House. But GOP kept the majority
A redistricting fight looms in the state
PA Post by Ed Mahon DECEMBER 10, 2018 | 04:00 AM
In November, 381,000 more Pennsylvania voters picked a Democrat than a Republican to represent them in the state House. But Republicans will keep their majority. Why?
You could blame geography — the idea being that Democrats are more likely to live in dense urban areas and so run up higher vote totals in uncompetitive races. You could point to the number of uncontested races in which Republicans didn’t field a candidate. You could dismiss this type of statewide comparison, reasoning that it’s the individual candidates, not a party, who voters chose to represent them in the General Assembly. Or you could blame gerrymandering — the drawing of districts to favor one party. Carol Kuniholm, co-founder of Fair Districts PA, does. “There’s gerrymandered state legislative districts. We’ve known that. It’s becoming more obvious and needs to be changed,” Kuniholm said. She said Pennsylvania ranks high for the disparity in legislative votes received vs. legislative seats won.
https://papost.org/2018/12/10/in-pa-381k-more-people-voted-for-a-democrat-for-state-house-but-gop-kept-the-majority/

Editorial: Pa. has opportunity to create a 'representative' government
Delco Times Editorial December 9, 2018
When the U.S. House of Representatives convenes for its new session after the first of the year, it will look dramatically different than the one sitting in those seats today. It will be more diverse. There will be more women. There will be more people of color. All of that is a good thing. After all, shouldn’t the House of “Representatives” actually represent all the people, not just white males? Leading this charge was southeastern Pennsylvania, where four women captured seats in Congress as Democrats regained control of the House. Before November’s midterm election, Pennsylvania had zero women in Washington. Come January there will be four. This was not an accident. There were several factors, including a dramatic backlash against President Donald Trump, and the fallout from the #MeToo movement and the simmering issue of sexual harassment in our society. But there was another important factor in play in Pennsylvania. Voters were selecting their representatives according to new boundaries drawn up by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The move came as a result of a lawsuit filed by several citizen groups against the old districts. They argued the misshapen districts were a classic example of partisan gerryrmandering. The high court agreed. Not only that, but they threw out the old boundaries and drew up new ones after the state Legislature and Gov. Wolf failed to reach agreement.
https://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/editorial-pa-has-opportunity-to-create-a-representative-government/article_5963a5fa-1edd-5993-a040-7035b354e098.html

Charter school teachers to return to work Monday after tentative agreement reached
Hundreds of educators at the city’s Acero charter school network walked off the job Dec. 4, 2018, halting classes for 7,500 predominantly Latino students and launching the nation’s first strike over a contract at the publicly funded schools. 
Elyssa Cherney Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune December 8, 2018
Hundreds of elated Acero charter school educators decked out in union red cheered, chanted and danced at a Sunday afternoon rally to celebrate their historic victory: a tentative contract agreement with management that ended the nation’s first charter school strike. More than 500 teachers and support staff will return to 15 Acero campuses across the city Monday after walking off the job and missing four days of school last week. The workers will vote in the coming weeks to approve the contract, which promises better pay and hours for teachers as well as smaller class sizes and sanctuary school protections for the majority Latino student body. “Today, our students and our families have won — bottom line,” Andy Crooks, an Acero staffer and one of the bargaining unit’s lead negotiators, told a jubilant crowd that filed into the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters Sunday. The tentative agreement was reached about 5 a.m. Sunday after nearly a week of staff picketing. Acero management has also dropped a complaint it filed against the union with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, a spokeswoman said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-acero-strike-agreement-20181209-story.html


Pennsylvania schools work – for students, communities and the economy when adequate resources are available to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed.
Join A Movement that Supports our Schools & Communities
PA Schools Work website
Our students are in classrooms that are underfunded and overcrowded. Teachers are paying out of pocket and picking up the slack. And public education is suffering. Each child in Pennsylvania has a right to an excellent public education. Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves access to a full curriculum, art and music classes, technical opportunities and a safe, clean, stable environment. All children must be provided a level chance to succeed. PA Schools Work is fighting for equitable, adequate funding necessary to support educational excellence. Investing in public education excellence is the path to thriving communities, a stable economy and successful students.
http://paschoolswork.org/

Build on finance, policy, board culture skills at PSBA’s Applied School Director Training
Four convenient locations in December and January
Take the next step in your professional development with Applied School Director Training. Building upon topics broadly covered in New School Director Training, this new, interactive evening event asks district leaders to dive deeper into three areas of school governance: school finance, board policy and working collaboratively as a governance team. Prepare for future leadership positions and committee work in this workshop-style training led by experts and practitioners. Learn how to:

·         Evaluate key finance documents such as budget and audit materials

·         Review and analyze board policies and administrative regulations

·         Build positive board culture by developing strong collaboration skills

Locations and Dates:
Dec.11, 2018 — Seneca Valley SD
Dec. 12, 2018 — Selinsgrove, Selinsgrove Area Middle School
Jan. 10, 2019 — Bethlehem, Nitschmann Middle School
Jan. 17, 2019 — State College
Cost: This event is complimentary for All-Access members or $75 per person with standard membership and $150 per person for nonmembers. Register online by logging in to myPSBA.
https://www.psba.org/2018/11/applied-school-director-training-state-college/

PASBO is looking for leaders! The deadline for board seats is Dec 31st, 2018.
PASBO members who desire to seek election as Director or Vice President should send a letter of intent with a current resume and picture to the Immediate Past President Edward G. Poprik, PCSBO, who is chair of the PASBO Nominations and Elections Committee.
More info: https://www.pasbo.org/election

NSBA 2019 Advocacy Institute January 27-29 Washington Hilton, Washington D.C.
Register now
The upcoming midterm elections will usher in the 116th Congress at a critical time in public education. Join us at the 2019 NSBA Advocacy Institute for insight into what the new Congress will mean for your school district. And, of course, learn about techniques and tools to sharpen your advocacy skills, and prepare for effective meetings with your representatives. Save the date to join school board members from across the country on Capitol Hill to influence the new legislative agenda and shape the decisions made inside the Beltway that directly impact our students. For more information contact federaladvocacy@nsba.org. 

PSBA Board Presidents’ Panel
Nine locations around the state running Jan 29, 30 and 31^st.
Share your leadership experience and learn from others in your area at this event designed for board presidents, superintendents and board members with interest in pursuing leadership roles. Workshop real solutions to the specific challenges you face with a PSBA-moderated panel of school leaders. Discussion will address the most pressing challenges facing PA public schools.
https://www.psba.org/2018/11/board-presidents-panel-2/

Annual PenSPRA Symposium set for March 28-29, 2019
Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association Website
Once again, PenSPRA will hold its annual symposium with nationally-recognized speakers on hot topics for school communicators. The symposium, held at the Conference Center at Shippensburg University, promises to provide time for collegial sharing and networking opportunities. Mark you calendars now!
We hope you can join us. Plans are underway, so check back for more information.
http://www.penspra.org/

2019 NSBA Annual Conference Philadelphia March 30 - April 1, 2019
Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Registration Questions or Assistance: 1-800-950-6722
The NSBA Annual Conference & Exposition is the one national event that brings together education leaders at a time when domestic policies and global trends are combining to shape the future of the students. Join us in Philadelphia for a robust offering of over 250 educational programs, including three inspirational general sessions that will give you new ideas and tools to help drive your district forward.
https://www.nsba.org/conference

Save the Date:  PARSS Annual Conference May 1-3, 2019
Wyndham Garden Hotel, Mountainview Country Club
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools
https://www.parss.org/Annual_Conference

Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization that I may be affiliated with.