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Thursday, March 21, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 21, 2019 SB34/HB526: Legislation would put an end to cyber charter waste


Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 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, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

SB34/HB526: Legislation would put an end to cyber charter waste


More evidence of a profit motive: 25 percent of former Quakertown regular education students who withdraw from the district to attend a cyber charter “become” special education students after they transfer. These are outrageous costs, especially given that it only costs Quakertown $2,000 per student to enroll in our own cyber/online program. That is why cyber charters in PA have exorbitant fund balances. On average their reserves are 21 percent of their total operating budgets. PA Cyber Charter has a 37 percent fund balance. What would a cyber school be needing with $48 million from taxpayers sitting in a bank? To sustain their for-profit business model!
Intelligencer Opinion By Dr. Bill Harner Posted at 5:15 AM March 20, 2019
Dr. Bill Harner, superintendent of the Quakertown Community School District, is former Acting Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The gasoline for America’s economic engine and national security is the quality of its workforce. When the vast majority of workers are the product of K12 public schools, the quality of public education is the linchpin to sustaining our way of life. In Pennsylvania, more than $30 billion is spent on K12 public education annually to create a future ready workforce. Though nearly $17 billion comes from local taxpayers, many decisions on how that $30 billion must be spent is made in Harrisburg through unfunded mandates! Where money is involved, politics and self-interest interferes with developing the ultimate education model that is both effective and efficient for students and taxpayers. It also compromises the creation of a future-ready workforce. This is the case in the funding of cyber charter schools. Pennsylvania makes up more than 20 percent of the total cyber charter school student population in America. This year, PA school districts will send more than $500 million to 14 cyber charter schools that have no accountability to an elective body or taxpayer oversight. Funding for the 33,857 students attending a cyber charter school in PA depends on the per-student cost of the sending school district. For example, for a Quakertown student attending a cyber charter, we send $14,745 per regular education student, and $30,424 per special education student. If a Lower Merion student attended the same cyber charter, their cost would be significantly higher — $20,358 per regular education and $53,756 per student with a disability.

Has your state senator cosponsored SB34?

Has your state representative cosponsored HB526?

Blogger note: Total cyber charter tuition paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 was over $1.6 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million, $436.1 million and $454.7 million respectively. Over the next several days we will continue rolling out cyber charter tuition expenses for taxpayers in education committee members, legislative leadership and various other districts.
In 2016-17, .@SenLangerholc’s school districts had to send over $10.5 million to chronically underperforming cybers that they never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could change that.
Links to additional bill information and several resources have been moved to the end of today’s postings
Data Source: PDE via PSBA

Bedford Area SD
$195,903.70
Blacklick Valley SD
$172,928.49
Cambria Heights SD
$171,102.13
Central Cambria SD
$147,481.76
Chestnut Ridge SD
$334,862.00
Claysburg-Kimmel SD
$108,164.64
Clearfield Area SD
$847,317.65
Conemaugh Valley SD
$277,810.82
Curwensville Area SD
$165,465.87
Dubois Area SD
$781,498.59
Everett Area SD
$352,172.57
Ferndale Area SD
$231,971.23
Forest Hills SD
$248,609.94
Glendale SD
$157,426.86
Greater Johnstown SD
$2,532,971.00
Harmony Area SD
$127,540.41
Moshannon Valley SD
$200,674.93
Northern Bedford County SD
$225,181.66
Northern Cambria SD
$251,658.09
Penn Cambria SD
$428,637.20
Philipsburg-Osceola Area SD
$697,580.57
Portage Area SD
$182,599.03
Purchase Line SD
$358,211.18
Richland SD
$264,415.85
Tussey Mountain SD
$253,595.93
West Branch Area SD
$323,061.45
Westmont Hilltop SD
$0.00
Windber Area SD
$467,326.78

$10,506,170.33

PA Redistricting Reform Commission Announces 9 Public Meetings To Gather Input
PA Capitol News Wednesday, March 20, 2019
On March 20, the new Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Commission announced it is inviting the public to a series of 9 regional meetings to talk about making the redistricting process fairer and nonpartisan. Gov. Tom Wolf created the 15-member bipartisan Commission by executive order in November and appointed David Thornburgh, president and CEO of the nonprofit Committee of Seventy, as its chairman. The Commission will study best practices in other states and submit a report to the governor and legislature later this year with recommendations for a nonpartisan redistricting process that safeguards election integrity and fairness.
The meetings will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on the following dates--
The dates and locations of eight public meetings will be:
-- April 4: Williamsport, First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania, 201 W. 4th St., Williamsport, PA 17701
-- April 18: Erie, Erie County Public Library, 160 E Front St., Erie, PA 16507
-- May 2: Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University's Simmons Auditorium, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
-- May 9: Reading, Penn State Berks Perkins Student Center, 1801 Broadcasting Rd., Reading, PA 19610
-- May 16: Altoona, PSU-Altoona Devorris Downtown Center, 1431 12th Ave, Altoona, PA 16601
-- May 28: Philadelphia, Tindley Temple United Methodist, 750 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19146
-- May 29: Bethlehem, Northampton Community College Alumni Hall, 3835 Green Pond Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18020
-- June 6: Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes University Henry Student Center, 84 W. South St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
A Harrisburg date will be announced soon.
The Commission also invites Pennsylvanians to provide their comments online.
https://pacapitolnews.blogspot.com/2019/03/pa-redistricting-reform-commission.html

Have an opinion about gerrymandering and redistricting? Sound off at these public meetings
PA Capital Star By  Sarah Anne Hughes March 20, 2019
It’s not a 67-county tour, but the public will have an opportunity to sound off on how Pennsylvania should draw its political boundaries at meetings across the state. Through an executive order, Gov. Tom Wolf in November created a 15-member commission that will study redistricting and make recommendations to the Legislature. Republican lawmakers were not happy. GOP leaders from the state House and Senate called the commission a “spectacle [that] only serves as a distraction to the work the Legislature has been doing” and said they would refuse to appoint members. Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly are already moving ahead with their own proposals. Despite the blowback, the commission is hosting nine meetings over the next few months “to talk about making the redistricting process fairer and nonpartisan,” according to a press release from the Department of State. Members of the commission include David Thornburgh, president of the good government organization Committee of Seventy, and former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican. People who can’t attend a meeting can provide feedback online by answering questions including “Who do you believe should draw, change, or approve the maps in Pennsylvania?”
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/have-an-opinion-about-gerrymandering-and-redistricting-sound-off-at-these-public-meetings/

Casey comes to Pottstown to push child care bills
Pottstown Mercury by Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter March 21, 2019
POTTSTOWN — Charneesha Queen has to be careful about making more money. If she makes too much, the cost of her child care goes up. "Instead of celebrating a promotion, I find myself asking if I can still afford the cost of care?" she said. Ashley Faison has an 8-year-old son on the autism spectrum, who has thrived in the YWCA Tri-County Area's childcare program. She would like him to have a sibling, but she isn't sure she can afford child care for a second child. "It weighs on me," she said. Lewis Baker is a full-time student and also works. His wife has two jobs. "We're looking to buy a house, but the cost of child care in most places is cost-prohibitive," said Baker. Those were just some of the stories told to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who visited Pottstown's YWCA Wednesday to talk about two bills in Congress that could make some of those obstacles easier to face.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/casey-comes-to-pottstown-to-push-child-care-bills/article_8bd4f026-4b43-11e9-ae1a-ef77b0a58f89.html

It’s not either or: Philly needs more jobs and better schools. | Opinion
Mark Gleason, For the Inquirer Updated: March 20, 2019 - 7:00 AM
Mark Gleason is executive director of the Philadelphia School Partnership, a nonprofit that makes grants to support the launch and expansion of charter, district, and Catholic schools.
Chicken or egg? Education or economic growth? It’s essentially the same question, with the same answer: It doesn’t matter which comes first. To move Philadelphia — and Pennsylvania — forward, we need higher-achieving schools and more economic prosperity. We need both. When it comes to preparing our children to become productive citizens in a world-class city, we cannot afford to pit these issues against one another in a zero-sum game where supporting growth is seen as being against public schools. What we need is an achievable plan that helps attract and expand jobs while also incorporating long-term support for public education and workforce development. Ideally, the state and the city should work together to enact a pro-growth agenda that lowers tax rates, eases regulations, and invests in infrastructure. Expanding Philadelphia’s tax base through higher employment is the only sustainable, long-term means of funding our schools. It would also make Philadelphia a more powerful economic engine for the entire state. The reality is that Pennsylvania ranks 10th among states in total K-12 school spending on a per-pupil basis. Yet Pennsylvania ranks only 26th in economic growth since 2008, and our average annual growth rate is below the national average. We must do better.
https://www.philly.com/opinion/commentary/philadelphia-schools-jobs-kenney-budget-20190320.html

Education Law Center Criticizes Equity Practices in Philadelphia Charter Sector
Diane Ravitch’s Blog By dianeravitch March 20, 2019 //
The Education Law Center is one of the nation’s leading legal organizations defending the civil rights of students. In this important new report, it presents a critical analysis of Philadelphia’s charter sector and its indifference to the civil rights of students. I urge you to read the report in full. When charters take the students who are least challenging to educate, the traditional public schools are overburdened with the neediest students but stripped of the resources required to educate them. It is neither efficient nor wise to maintain two publicly funded school systems, one of which can choose its students, leaving the other with the students it doesn’t want. Once again, we are reminded that charter schools ignore equity concerns in their pursuit of test scores, that they enroll proportionately few of the neediest students, and that they intensify segregation even in cities that are already segregated. Here is a summary of its findings:
https://dianeravitch.net/2019/03/20/education-law-center-criticizes-equity-practices-in-philadelphia-charter-sector/

“Proceeds from marijuana sales would be distributed to schools and criminal justice initiatives. Street estimates that the annual revenue from the program would be close to $600. (The state’s Auditor General put the figure at $581 million in an analysis last year.) That figure reflects tax revenue, minus the cost of the program’s administration, and doesn’t include potential savings from lower prosecution and incarceration of marijuana users, Street said. The bulk of the tax revenue would come from an excise tax. Mahjoubian said the tax rate “still has to be worked out,” but would be less than 25 percent. Street and Leach want to direct the revenue back to schools. Their proposal calls for the proceeds of the program to be funneled through the state’s fair funding formula, which would particularly benefit rapidly growing suburban districts and urban districts that have been traditionally underfunded, Street said. Street said districts could use the new revenue to provide property tax relief to their residents.”
Three things to know about Pa.’s latest legal cannabis proposal
By  Elizabeth Hardison March 20, 2019
Pennsylvanians over the age of 21 would be able to legally use recreational cannabis under a bill expected to be introduced soon in the Pennsylvania state Senate. But the bill has a long way to go — and a lot of Republican opposition to overcome — before it can land on Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. Senators Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, and Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, announced the bill Monday in a memo to their colleagues, where they said that legalizing recreational cannabis would remedy the injustices of the War on Drugs and generate revenue for Pennsylvania’s communities and public schools. “Cannabis is still widely available to purchase illegally, and yet we disproportionately arrest, prosecute, monitor, and incarcerate thousands of nonviolent Pennsylvanians who are poor and people of color,” the memo reads. “Cannabis prohibition is an immoral and expensive failure of public policy.” They’ve introduced similar bills in the past with no luck. This time around, though, they’re operating in a different climate. Wolf said last year that it was time for Pennsylvania to take a “serious look” at legalizing marijuana. The same month, public polls showed that 59 percent of Pennsylvanians support legalization — up from 22 percent in 2006.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/featured/three-things-to-know-about-pa-s-latest-legal-cannabis-proposal/

Transgender students — and indeed all students — deserve privacy at school
Lancaster Online by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD March 21, 2019
THE ISSUE: At its meeting Monday, the Eastern Lancaster County school board discussed “two interim policy options to allay the community’s concerns over accommodations the board has made for a transgender high school student,” LNP’s Alex Geli reported. “The first option: Allow students to use only the restrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological gender. The second: Discontinue showering and changing for gym classes at the high school, and decommission the urinals in boys’ restrooms.” In the end, the board punted, agreeing to revisit the issue next month, when a four-member committee established in February will have completed a monthlong review of student privacy districtwide. It’s never a bad idea, when facing a thorny issue, to take time to make an informed and thoughtful decision. That seems to be the Elanco school board’s aim here. As we did last month, we laud the board and the district’s administrators for their measured approach to this highly emotive matter. We understand that some district residents weren’t happy that the board put off making a decision. But we think Elanco Superintendent Bob Hollister was right when he said, after Monday’s meeting, “It just shows the board is taking their time and processing everyone’s concerns and processing the volume of data that they have us collecting for them.” We stand with district officials in their support for improving the privacy of all students. The other option — permitting students to use only the restrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological gender — is simply not viable in 2019. It would be, noted school board President Glenn Yoder, “a gamble with very high stakes,” one Elanco likely would lose.
https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/transgender-students-and-indeed-all-students-deserve-privacy-at-school/article_bb4f25a0-4b5d-11e9-ad75-874b2386f2fc.html


THE REAL SCANDAL OVER BUYING AN EDUCATION
Cloaking Inequity Blog Posted on March 20, 2019 by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig
The recent college admissions scandal reaffirms that in the United States you can buy better education—legally and illegally. While financial resources and a better education share an obvious connection, for decades a small but powerful cadre of researchers has argued that money doesn’t matter for educational success. This trope has been music to the fiscal conservatives’ ears. The usual suspects pulled in to testify against funding increases for public education include Eric Hanushek from the conservative Hoover Institute at Stanford. Hanushek has served as an expert witness in state school finance lawsuits, for example, arguing that money makes no difference in improving outcomes and opportunities. But momentum is growing to change the conversation about school finance in American education. A recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that protests by teachers and others last year helped lead to substantial increases in school funding, although that funding increases may be short lived, and are still well below 2008 spending levels. In Texas, which leads the nation in the post-recession school finance spending gap, general education funding is a full 20 percent below where it stood in 2008. Predominantly white school districts receive $23 billion more than predominantly non-white districts—an average of $2,200 per student. Research is catching up to what is not exactly a well-kept secret: the nicer house an American family can buy, the better public school that family will have access to. While conservative politicians and a group of influential researchers were claiming that money didn’t matter for educational success, in practice, states spent less on the education of poor and minority students on purpose, while the wealthy enjoyed better-funded schools.
https://cloakinginequity.com/2019/03/20/the-real-scandal-over-buying-an-education/

“Ms. Ardern’s plan for immediate gun policy changes, announced six days after a mass shooting, stands in stark contrast to the stalemate and resistance to change that has stymied similar calls for restrictions on firearms in the United States.”
New Zealand to Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Guns, Jacinda Ardern Says
New York Times By Damien Cave and Charlotte Graham-McLay March 20, 2019
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand on Thursday announced a national ban on all military-style semiautomatic weapons, all high-capacity ammunition magazines and all parts that allow weapons to be modified into the kinds of guns used to kill 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch last week. “What we’re banning today are the things used in last Friday’s attack,” she said, adding: “It’s about all of us, it’s in the national interest and it’s about safety.” Ms. Ardern is expected to encounter little resistance to the weapons ban in Parliament; the largest opposition party quickly said it supported the measures. Ms. Ardern said her goal was to eliminate from New Zealand the weapons that the killer used in Christchurch. She emphasized that it would require a buyback of banned weapons in circulation now, plus regulation around firearms and ammunition. “The guns used in these terrorist attacks had important distinguishing features,” she said at a news conference at Parliament in Wellington, the capital. “First, big capacity, and also their delivery. They had the power to shoot continuously, but they also had large capacity magazines.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/world/asia/new-zealand-semiautomatic-ban-ardern-.html

Want to Know Where 2020 Democratic Contenders Stand on Education? Don't Look at Their Websites
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on March 20, 2019 10:54 AM
If you're looking for information on the education visions of 2020 Democratic candidates for president, you probably won't find it on their campaign websites. More than half the announced candidates don't bother to include anything about education in the "issues" section of their official campaign websites. The candidates who left out education include:
·         Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
·         Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont
·         Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
In fact, Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, Gabbard, Kloubachar, O'Rourke, and Sanders don't even appear to have an "issues" section on their websites. Other candidates do talk about K-12 in some way, but they don't share a lot of detail about their positions. On her website, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York calls for small class sizes, paying teachers a "living wage" and making sure schools get the support they need. But she doesn't have any details on what she means beyond that or or how she'd make it happen. The site for Sen. Kamala Harris of California doesn't have much either. She points to her record, noting that she helped fight elementary school truancy as attorney general of California.  But she doesn't spell out her vision for the future of K-12 schools. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper also took this approach.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/03/2020-democratic-websites-education.html

How The Very Hungry Caterpillar Became a Classic
Eric Carle’s colorful story about metamorphosis remains a staple of baby showers and classroom bookshelves 50 years after its release.
The Atlantic by ASHLEY FETTERS MAR 20, 2019
It happens pretty much the same way every time. The day after I’ve partaken in some sort of weekend or holiday eating-and-drinking binge—i.e., the Monday after the Super Bowl, the fifth of July, the first week of January after the entire Thanksgiving-through-New Year’s season officially comes to a close—I engage in the same detoxifying, repenting ritual: the consumption of a fresh, nutrient-rich salad. Somehow, in my mind, the more vividly green the leaves in the salad, the more purifying the ritual will feel, and with that first crunch on a crisp piece of greenery, I hear a tiny voice in my head, murmuring, “The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better.” A pivotal line from a formative piece of literature that I, like many thousands of other now-adults, first encountered in childhood: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar—in which a caterpillar hatches out of an egg on a Sunday, proceeds to eat vibrantly colored fruits it finds in escalating quantities from Monday to Friday, goes on a junk-food-eating rampage on Saturday, eats a nice green leaf on Sunday, and then nestles into a cocoon for two weeks and emerges a beautiful butterfly—was released 50 years ago, on March 20, 1969. In the years since, it has sold almost 50 million copies around the world, in more than 62 languages; today, according to the book’s publisher, Penguin Random House, a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold somewhere in the world every 30 seconds. And its enduring appeal, according to librarians and children’s-literature experts, can be attributed to its effortless fusion of story and educational concepts, its striking visual style, and the timelessness of both its aesthetic and its content.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/very-hungry-caterpillar-50th-anniversary/585271/?utm_source=feed


Delco Students for Education Meeting Sat, March 30, 2019 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: William Penn School District - Administration Building, 100 Green Avenue – Annex, Lansdowne, PA 19050
Sponsored by Rafi Cave, Yeadon Borough Councilman, The Urban League of Philadelphia & PA Schools Work, the nonpartisan statewide campaign to support equitable public education funding in Pennsylvania.
It's no secret Delco schools are underfunded. Join your peers and education advocates to learn what you can do to work for change in your school community. Ask questions, hear from experts, and meet State Representative Joanna McClinton. Includes breakfast & giveaways!! Don't miss out.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/delco-students-for-education-tickets-58603126529

The League of Women Voters of Delaware County and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit present: EPLC 2019 Regional Training Workshop for PA School Board Candidates (and Incumbents) April 27th 8am – 4:30pm at DCIU
Ron Cowell of The Pennsylvania Education Policy and Leadership Center will conduct a regional full day workshop for 2019 Pennsylvania School Board Candidates.
Date & Time: Saturday, April 27, 2019, 8am to 4:30pm
Location: Delaware County Intermediate Unit, 200 Yale Ave. Morton, PA
Incumbents, non-incumbents, campaign supporters and all interested voters are invited to participate in this workshop. Registration is $75 (payable by credit card) and includes coffee and pastries, lunch, and materials. For questions contact Adriene Irving at 610-938-9000 ext. 2061.
To register, please visit http://tinyurl.com/CandidatesWksp

“BACKPACK FULL OF CASH” DOCUMENTARY You Are Invited to A Free Screening presented by BASD Proud Parents and the Bethlehem Area School District MARCH 21, 6:30pm – 8:00pm  NITSCHMANN MIDDLE SCHOOL Discussion to Follow
“BACKPACK FULL OF CASH” DOCUMENTARY – Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, Matt Damon, BACKPACK explores the real cost of privatizing America’s public schools. Before the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the appointment of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, filmmakers Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow couldn’t have known that the new administration would dramatically shift the national debate about education to the very issues at the heart of their film: charter schools, vouchers and privatization. Now, this timely new documentary takes viewers into the world of market-based education “reform”.
BACKPACK FULL OF CASH follows the tumultuous 2013-14 school year in Philadelphia and other cities where public education – starved of resources and undermined by privatization – is at risk. The documentary also showcases a model for improving schools – a well-resourced public school system in Union City, New Jersey, where poor kids are getting a high-quality education without charters or vouchers. BACKPACK FULL OF CASH makes the case for public education as a basic civil right. The film features genuine heroes like the principals, teachers, activists, parents and most hearteningly, students who are fighting for their education. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, writer David Kirp and policy expert Linda Darling Hammond are among the national thought leaders who provide analysis in the film.

2019 State of Education report now online
PSBA Website February 19, 2019
The 2019 State of Education report is now available on PSBA.org in PDF format. The report is a barometer of not only the key indicators of public school performance, but also the challenges schools face and how they are coping with them. Data reported comes from publicly available sources and from a survey to chief school administrators, which had a 66% response rate. Print copies of the report will be mailed to members soon.

PSBA Members - Register for Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg Monday April 29, 2019
All PSBA-members are invited to attend Advocacy Day on Monday, April 29, 2019 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. In addition, this year PSBA will be partnering with the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) to strengthen our advocacy impact. The focus for the day will be meetings with legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. There is no cost to attend, and PSBA will assist in scheduling appointments with legislators once your registration is received. The day will begin with a continental breakfast and issue briefings prior to the legislator visits. Registrants will receive talking points, materials and leave-behinds to use with their meetings. PSBA staff will be stationed at a table in the main Rotunda during the day to answer questions and provide assistance. The day’s agenda and other details will be available soon. If you have questions about Advocacy Day, legislative appointments or need additional information, contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org  Register for Advocacy Day now at http://www.mypsba.org/
PSBA members can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need assistance logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data System Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org or call her at (717) 506-2450, ext. 3420

Board Presidents’ Panel
Learn, discuss, and practice problem solving with school leader peers facing similar or applicable challenges. Workshop-style discussions will be facilitated and guided by PSBA experts. With the enormous challenges facing schools today, effective and knowledgeable board leadership is essential to your productivity and performance as a team of ten.
Locations & Dates
Due to inclement weather, some dates have been rescheduled. The updated schedule is below.

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/

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


PSBA Tweet March 12, 2019 Video Runtime: 6:40
In this installment of #VideoEDition, learn about legislation introduced in the PA Senate & House of Representatives that would save millions of dollars for school districts that make tuition payments for their students to attend cyber charter schools.
http://ow.ly/RyIM50n1uHi 

PSBA Summaries of Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 526

PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Statewide Cyber Charter School Funding Reform

PSBA Sample Board Resolution in Support of Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 256

How much could your school district and taxpayers save if there were statewide flat tuition rates of $5000 for regular ed students and $8865 for special ed.? See the estimated savings by school district here.
Education Voters PA Website February 14, 2019


Has your state representative cosponsored HB526?

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.



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