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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
AG DePasquale
investigating $110 million in taxpayer dollars paid to Lincoln Learning
Solutions by PA Cyber Charter School
Why, yes, spending more money on school does yield better
results | Thursday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star
Commentary By John L. Micek April 18, 2019
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
It’s an eternal
argument: If you spend more money on public education, will you necessarily get
better results? Progressives have long argued that this is the case. If you
don’t give districts adequate funding and adequate tools, then it doesn’t
matter how dedicated the teacher, or how committed the parent or administrator,
children will inevitably fall behind. Conservatives, meanwhile, have argued
that more cash is useless without baked-in accountability measures for that
spending — along with parental and community engagement. In a new op-Ed,
exclusive to The Capital-Star, Michael Churchill of The Public Interest Law Center says there’s no escaping it: “Pennsylvania districts with more
resources are higher achieving.” Well, yeah. But read on: “Every year around
state budget time, there is a fair amount of nonsense that attends the decision
of how much money the state will give to our public schools. This obscures the
central fact that a bold state funding investment is needed to make sure all Pennsylvania
students can thrive. I hope this essay will provide a bit of clarity both for
public officials and for the public at large.
AG begins probe into Lincoln Learning Solutions
Beaver County Times
By Daveen Rae
Kurutz Posted
at 4:47 PM Updated at 4:47 PM
According to
an audit of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, more than $110 million of taxpayer
dollars was paid to Lincoln Learning Solutions.
ROCHESTER — The
state auditor general has ordered an investigation into public education
funding being sent to Lincoln Learning Solutions. Eugene DePasquale said full
accounting is needed for the millions of dollars of taxpayer money that is
being paid to the Rochester-based nonprofit through cyber charter schools. “My
audit of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School found that more than $110
million of taxpayer money the school received was going directly to Lincoln
Learning Solutions for curriculum services which were repeatedly delayed,”
DePasquale said in a release Wednesday. “I want to see how much public funding
this nonprofit receives, how much of it is spent on helping students, and how
much goes to salaries and administrative costs.” Based on recent IRS forms, a
substantial amount of Lincoln Learning Solutions’ revenues are from PA Cyber,
DePasquale said. “Taxpayers deserve a full accounting of every education dollar
going to this nonprofit corporation,” he said, noting that his office is
requesting documents from Lincoln Learning. “I want to ensure that every
available taxpayer dollar is going into the classroom, where it can most help
students.” Lincoln Learning Solutions, which was formed in 2005, develops
online curriculum for institutions such as the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School. It was formerly known as the National Network of Digital School and was
founded by former PA Cyber head Nick Trombetta.
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. We
will continue rolling out cyber charter tuition expenses for taxpayers in
education committee members, legislative leadership and various other
districts.
In 2016-17, taxpayers
in House Majority Caucus Secretary Rep. Mike Reese’s school districts in Westmoreland
& Somerset Counties had to send over $5.8 million to chronically underperforming
cybers that they never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could
change that. Data source: PDE via .@PSBA
Links to additional bill information and several resources have been
moved to the end of today’s postings
|
Conemaugh
Township Area SD
|
$288,716.57
|
|
Greater
Latrobe SD
|
$810,985.74
|
|
Hempfield
Area SD
|
$1,782,875.00
|
|
Ligonier
Valley SD
|
$1,467,647.04
|
|
Mount
Pleasant Area SD
|
$973,980.02
|
|
North
Star SD
|
$502,342.94
|
|
|
$5,826,547.31
|
Has your state
senator cosponsored SB34?
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
Has your state representative
cosponsored HB526?
Pottstown, Other Districts Pleading For State Help
A Call to
Action from Pennsylvania’s Urban School Superintendents
Sanatoga Post by Joe Zlomek | April 18, 2019
POTTSTOWN PA –
Pennsylvania’s “school funding system is badly in need of repair” that must
occur quickly to ensure the state’s workforce of the future receives a high-quality
education now and in coming years, according to an opinion-editorial essay
signed by Pottstown School District Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez and 11
colleagues. Titled “A Call to Action from Pennsylvania’s
Urban School Superintendents,” the op-ed piece in part pleads for the state
Legislature to solve school district funding inequities, address immediate
hazards in aging school buildings that include lead, mold, and asbestos;
restore state financial assistance for new school construction, and work on
charter school funding reform. It was distributed Wednesday (April 17, 2019) to
media outlets for publication. Here’s the superintendents’ statement in its
entirety:
‘A People’s Budget:’ Activists rally at the Capitol for a
higher minimum wage, free college, and better school funding
PA Capital Star By John L. Micek April 17, 2019
A coalition of
progressive activist groups rallied on the state Capitol steps on Wednesday
afternoon to call for, among other things, a $15/hr minimum wage; free and
affordable college; increased funding for K-12 public education, and assurances
that Pennsylvania’s communities of color are counted accurately in the 2020
Census. The advocates represented Wednesday included the pro-immigrant groups
CASA and Make the Road Pa., as well as ONE PA.
State Education Secretary visits Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Sentinel
Staff Reports4/17/2019
SHENANDOAH -
Shenandoah Valley students, officials, and staff had the opportunity to
participate in a roundtable discussion with PA Department of Education
Secretary Pedro A. Rivera earlier today, as he visited the school as part of
the "Schools that Teach" tour. In the roundtable discussion, which
included Superintendent Brian Waite, both building principals, school board
members, and students, Rivera highlighted a new program: the Statewide
Workforce, Education, and Accountability program. "The plan calls for
lowering the compulsory age for school attendance from 8 years to 6 years,
raising the age at which students can drop out of school from 17 to 18, and
increasing the minimum salary for teachers to $45,000," says a media
release." “We know that children who start formal schooling by age 6
benefit in terms of language and literacy skills and are less likely to need
remedial help in later years,” said Secretary Rivera, who was visiting the
school as part of the governor’s Schools That Teach Tour. “They also learn
critical social and emotional skills to help them interact in healthy ways with
their fellow students.” “For students in
high school, a diploma is a prerequisite for success,” he added. “Governor Wolf
understands that if we can keep kids in school and prevent them from dropping
out early, they will develop the skills and credentials they need to succeed.” The program was introduced in this year's
budget proposal, and also focuses on recruiting and retaining qualified
teachers by increasing the state minimum salary from $18,500 to $45,000, which
is $5,000 short of Shenandoah Valley's median teacher salary as of 2015-16. The
lowest paid teacher at Shenandoah makes $35,000, according to
www.openpagov.org.
Tamaqua parents shocked that armed teacher policy has
been quietly reinstated
WHYY/Keystone
Crossroads By Jen Kinney April 18, 2019
Before Tamaqua School
District Sophomore Madelyn Jones went to school on Wednesday, she asked her mom
a question. “Is it really possible that teachers will be carrying guns in
school tomorrow?” she said. When her mom said, ‘Yes,’ Jones hatched a plan. “I
was like, ‘Just so you know, if I find out there is a gun in my classroom with
my teacher, I am going to ask to leave that room immediately because I do not
feel safe.’” Jones was referring to Tamaqua’s school security plan to arm
teachers anonymously. Tamaqua was the first school district in Pennsylvania to
pass a policy to let teachers carry guns, but the school board put the idea on
hold in January pending the outcome of separate lawsuits from parents and
teachers. But in the course of a school board meeting this week, board
president Larry Wittig revealed that the policy is back in effect — and has
been for several weeks, without public announcement. The news came after parent
Cheryl Tennant-Humes, who splits her time between Schuylkill County and New
Jersey and is running for the Tamaqua School Board, asked the board what she
thought was an innocuous question: If contested policy is suspended, what is
governing school security now? Wittig replied, “We suspended it pending the
outcome of the litigation. Considering that both lawsuits are thrown out, we
don’t consider it suspended anymore.”
NRA seeks injunction to stop Pittsburgh from enforcing
gun regulations
Trib Live by BOB BAUDER | Wednesday, April 17, 2019 4:53 p.m.
The National Rifle
Association has joined two other groups in seeking a preliminary court
injunction in an attempt to stop Pittsburgh from enforcing a gun ban until the
conclusion of lawsuits filed against the city by all three organizations. Four
city residents with assistance from the NRA, along with Firearm Owners Against
Crime and The Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League, filed suit last week in
Allegheny County Common Pleas Court following Pittsburgh’s passage of three
bills regulating the use of guns within city limits. They contend the
legislation violates Pennsylvania law prohibiting municipalities from
regulating firearms and the constitutional rights of gun owners. The NRA lawsuit
sought a permanent injunction, which would prevent Pittsburgh from enforcing
the ban after the court cases are settled. On Wednesday, the NRA filed a court
motion for a preliminary injunction. All three lawsuits ask the court to
declare the ban illegal. Firearm Owners Against Crime and the sportsmen’s
league also sought preliminary injunctions.
Elanco school board's new restroom policy for transgender
students is an invitation to be sued
Lancaster Online by
THE LNP EDITORIAL
BOARD April 18, 2019
THE ISSUE: The Eastern Lancaster
County school board approved a new policy Monday
night that calls for “what will most likely be a multimillion-dollar project
replacing the boys and girls restrooms and locker rooms with secure, single-user,
gender-neutral facilities districtwide,”
LNP’s Alex Geli reported. But it also approved an addendum to that policy that
reads: “We recommend that (wherever) we cannot provide private (single-user)
facilities when changing or using the bathroom facilities, the students are to
use the facilities based on their biological sex. Anywhere within the district
that our system has not caught up with the renovations this will be in effect.”
The vote came after several months of
debate about how to accommodate a
transgender student who identifies as male. Some district residents
expressed dismay that the student had been
permitted to use the boys’ restrooms and locker room at Garden Spot High
School. And just like that,
the Elanco school board invited a lawsuit. Its decision was so glaringly an
invitation to litigation it should have come with an RSVP card. School board
President Glenn Yoder said he is comfortable with the new policy. We can’t
imagine he’ll be comfortable for long. Because while the board’s plan to install private changing and restroom facilities is sound, that addendum is not just awful, but unlawful. And Yoder must know it.
Two rejected charters submit revised applications to Philly
Board of Education amid push for more oversight
In a
February report, the Education Law Center found civil rights violations in
several charters.
The notebook by Greg Windle April 17 — 4:29 pm, 2019
The Philadelphia
Board of Education has received revised applications from two of the three
charter schools whose applications it voted down earlier this year. Board
members encouraged one, Joan Myers Brown Academy, to revise its application and
reapply. That school would focus on dance. The other to try again is
Tacony Academy at St. Vincent’s. Both of these charters would be operated by
charter organizations that already run schools in the city. The board will vote
on String Theory’s Brown Academy at its June meeting. It will consider American
Paradigm’s Tacony Academy at its meeting in May. And at its April 25
meeting, the board will vote to finalize the charter of Hebrew Public, which
was revised and resubmitted last year, as well as vote on amendments submitted
by other charter schools. One of those amendments would allow Laboratory
Charter, which now has three campuses in Overbrook and Northern Liberties, to
relocate at one site in East Falls. That application is expected to run into
opposition from local residents. The flurry of activity is typical for
Philadelphia, where one-third of students attend more than 80 charter schools.
It shows that although the new board rejected the first three charter
applications that it received, further charter expansion in the city is not off
the table. But the state’s charter law has created what some legislators refer
to as the “Wild West” of charter school
regulation. Other
school boards around the state have viewed Philadelphia as being on the cutting
edge of thorough oversight of charter schools. In recent years, the District
has expanded its oversight, developing an annual evaluation and new frameworks
for renewing charters. Half the charters in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia.
Whether charter school oversight goes far enough in the city depends on who you
ask.
Pennsylvania: Court Rules that Charter Is Not Tax-Exempt
Diane Ravitch’s
Blog By dianeravitch April 17, 2019 //
A judge in Berks
County, Pennsylvania, ruled
that a charter school’s property was not tax-exempt, prompted by some unusual
financial arrangements.
Judge Madelyn S.
Fudeman upheld a ruling by the Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals denying
I-LEAD Inc. an exemption from property taxes.
The building at 401
Penn St., which houses the I-LEAD Charter School, is assessed at $9.7 million,
according to Berks County property records.
The property was
placed on Berks County’s September upset tax sale for four years of unpaid
property taxes totaling $2.8 million; the unpaid years spanned 2014-17.
The property’s
owner, I-LEAD Inc., Philadelphia, was ordered to pay a bond of $500,000 to be removed from the tax sale list, which it did in December…
In her ruling,
Fudeman takes I-LEAD Inc. to task, saying it appears to be more of a for-profit
operation.
Harrisburg School Board votes down resolution to comply
with state auditors
Penn Live By Christine
Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.com Today 5:30 AM
Three weeks after
the state Department of Education told Harrisburg School District officials
they needed to “fully cooperate,” with state-hired auditors “without delay,”
the district is still refusing to allow access to its electronic finance
system. A majority of the Harrisburg School Board on Monday voted against a
resolution to comply with the demands of a March 27 letter from the state
Department of Education signed by Secretary Pedro Rivera. Board member Judd
Pittman introduced the resolution and said he can’t figure out why the district
administration would refuse to cooperate with a firm hired by the state to
audit the district after a series of financial scandals. He noted previous
annual audits had revealed material weaknesses in the school district’s
practices that had not been corrected.
State lawmaker proposes reforms amid Penn Hills School
District's financial woes
MATT MCKINNEY Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette mmckinney@post-gazette.com APR 17, 2019 5:13 PM
Nearly three months
after a grand jury report detailed the causes of Penn Hills School District’s
crippling financial outlook, Democratic state Rep. Anthony DeLuca on Wednesday
proposed a package of bills aimed at preventing other school districts from
suffering the same fate. The six measures arose from recommendations in an
Allegheny County grand jury report released in February that found that former
Penn Hills school board and district officials showed poor leadership and
mismanagement in borrowing to build two new schools without sustainable plans
to repay the debt. Officials said the legislation would boost oversight and
tighten rules on school district borrowing. “Taxpayers should not be expected
to bail out any school district because of poor decisions of school board
members who only want to play politics and use it for their personal use,” Mr.
DeLuca, who represents Penn Hills, said during a news conference Wednesday
morning.
APPS Philly School Board Finance & Facilities
Committee Meeting Notes: April 11, 2019
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by Karel Kilimnik
Present: Co-chairs
Lee Huang and Leticia Egea-Hinton and Committee member/Board President Joyce
Wilkerson; Committee member Wayne Walker participated telephonically; Board
member Chris McGinley attended; Board members Julia Danzy and Maria McColgan
entered after the meeting began. Huang began by thanking community members for
their feedback. He invited the public to attend the District Budget meeting to
be held on Thursday April 25 at 4 PM prior to the regularly scheduled Board
Action Meeting. Huang stated that the Lump Sum Budget was posted on the website
after being approved at the March 28 Action meeting. (APPS contends that that
vote is not valid because it was taken in a private meeting from which the public
was excluded following a disruption of the Action Meeting in the auditorium.)
Global portal puts Philly students in the same room with
people from distant and troubled lands
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Updated: April 17, 2019- 4:03 PM
With her white
kitten scurrying around the room, Mira Bakri pulled up a chair and started
telling three high schoolers from Conshohocken’s AIM Academy about her life and work in conflict-torn Gaza City, where she teaches
high-tech coding skills to Palestinian youths amid their daily struggles for
fresh water or electricity. At times, though, the white kitten dominated the
conversation, especially after her feline-adverse student Ruba Akram entered
through a side door. The teacher tried to put her pet out through the same
door, but it kept coming back as an anxious Akram sheepishly told the
Philly-area teens that “it’s a phobia, … [the cat’s] very cute.” Akram, Bakri,
and her four-legged friend were 5,750 miles away, inside the Palestinian
territory — though it felt like they were in the room with the
Philadelphia-area students and their teacher, Amy Holt Cline. They met inside a
device called the Portal, a small inflatable room with a large video screen designed to foster
vivid face-to-face interactions among people who’d find it impossible to
connect in real life.
Philly’s Latinx girls need more mental health support |
Opinion
Angela Calderon,
For the Inquirer Updated: 17 minutes ago
Angela Calderón is
a senior at El Centro de Estudiantes.
Growing up in North
Philadelphia in a Latino household, we never talked about mental health. But I
knew something was off when, at age 15, I stopped wanting to go to school and
was feeling depressed. Like many kids, I turned to my mom first — telling her I
wanted to talk to somebody. But the Latino community faces a lot of stigmas
when it comes to our mental health. As a community, only 20 percent of us who
have symptoms of a psychological disorder will talk to a doctor about our
concerns and, even worse, only 10 percent of Latinos will contact a
mental-health specialist, according to
the National Alliance on Mental Health. That’s why it should come as no surprise that my mom’s response was,
“you’re just having a bad day. I have bad days, too.” But I wasn’t just having
a bad day. Soon enough, I was skipping school on a regular basis and feeling
sad all the time. At my school, Hispanic girls were treated as if we were crazy
or bipolar and that it was normal for us to be “spicy.” My school lacked
diversity and the counselor, who was a white lady, didn’t understand what I was
feeling and kept pushing me to determine the “problem” in my life, as if this
were my fault. But my childhood and home life were good; I just needed to talk
to somebody. Recently, I worked with the National Women’s Law Center on
its newly released
report to
figure out a way forward for Latinx students dealing with mental-health issues
because, unfortunately, the situation is dire. Currently, 46.8 percent of all
U.S. Latina high school girls felt persistently sad or hopeless to the point of
being unable to engage in usual life activities, according to a
2017 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Why it’s so hard to get playgrounds in Philly’s public
schools
WHYY; The Why - Air
Date: April 17, 2019 Listen 12:05
Two-thirds of
Philadelphia’s public schools don’t have playgrounds, many of them in neighborhoods
where lower-income kids of color live — although that’s slowly
changing. WHYY
health and science reporter Nina Feldman has spent months looking at why it can
be so difficult to build playgrounds in city schools, and why research says
these spaces are so beneficial to children and their neighborhoods. And it
turns out, the community has plenty to say on this issue. Nina joins us on this episode of The Why.
An open letter to Betsy DeVos, from two leading public education
advocates
Washington Post Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss Reporter April 17 at 3:35 PM
At a recent hearing
on Capitol Hill, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testified before the House
Education Committee and had a brief discussion with Rep. Haley Stevens
(D-Mich.) about charter schools. Here's how some of it went:
STEVENS: So your budget proposes to eliminate billions of dollars in K-12
programs, from professional development for teachers and principals, to after
school programming, to mental health services, and one of my personal
favorites: STEM education. And obviously, we’ve heard you talk about some of
the hard decisions that you’ve had to make. Yet, somehow, you found $60 million
for an increase in the federal charter school program. I just really wonder if
charter schools are the answer here, whereas it really should be the Title I
funding. A recent report by the Network for Public Education found that more
than $1 billion in charter school program funds have been given to support
charter schools that never opened or they’ve closed -- they kind of abandoned
the children and families. Since 2010, 25 schools in Michigan that have
received $1.7 million in charter school funding just never even opened. And the
Inspector General found waste, fraud, and abuse due to the frequency of school
closures in the charter school program. Can you just explain for me the mark of
effective programs here, and can you justify the proposed increase for the
charter school program, and on what measures or studies you have been using?
DeVOS: Let me first comment on the study you’re referring to. I’m not sure you
can even call it a study. We’re looking more closely at it of course, and
anything that is truly waste, fraud, or abuse we will certainly address. But
the reality is that the study was really funded by and promoted by those who
have a political agenda against charter schools. And the other reality is that
there are currently over one million students on wait lists for charter schools
in the country. So, we want to see more charter schools, not fewer. More
students that can access options that are right for them, not fewer.
The report to which
they refer is “Asleep at the
Wheel,” published
in March by the Network for Public Education, a group that advocates for
policies supporting publicly funded school districts. It says the U.S.
government has wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools that never opened, or
opened and then were closed because of mismanagement and other reasons. The
report said the U.S. Education Department has not adequately monitored how its
grant money has been spent by Republican and Democratic administrations.
Diane Ravitch Speaking at Penn State Harrisburg April 25th
at 7:00 p.m.
777 West Harrisburg Pike, Harrisburg, PA
Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre, Student
Enrichment Center
Join Diane Ravitch
as she presents "The End of the Faux Reform Movement." Ravitch is the
author of the national bestseller "Reign of Error The Hoax of the
Privatization Movement" and the "Danger to America’s Public
Schools." There will be a book signing opportunity after the event.
For more
information, contact Dr. Hannah Spector at hms22@psu.edu.
“When the CAB overrules these local
school board decisions, it is de facto, deciding the expenditure of local
school taxes and directing the payment of locally collected taxes to an entity
other than the school district over which the school board has very limited
control. Further the board is overriding decisions made by duly elected local
officials who are charged with ensuring the infrastructure of the public
education system and the welfare of Pennsylvania’s students.”
PCCY Calls for Moratorium on PA Charter School Advisory
Board Proceedings
PCCY calls for a
moratorium on proceedings of the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board (CAB)
until all board members are duly appointed and serving in four-year unexpired
terms. (sign the petition below) Pennsylvania’s constitution
gives school boards the power and obligation to impose taxes and oversee the
expenditure of those taxes for the purpose of providing a free and appropriate
education. State law circumscribed that constitutionally defined power in
1997 when the legislature created the CAB and empowered it to decide if a local
school board’s rejection of a charter application or renewal was appropriately
decided within the confines of the 1997 new Charter School Law. As such,
when the CAB decides that a school board has not appropriately rejected a
charter school applicant, it can override the local school board’s decision and
give the charter school a green light to open or continue to operate unless and
until the school district challenges the CAB decision in Commonwealth Court.
Support REAL cyber charter school funding reform to
protect Pennsylvania taxpayers & save at least $250 million
Education Voters PA Petition
TO GOVERNOR WOLF AND MEMBERS OF THE PA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Because of
Pennsylvania's broken funding system for cyber charter schools, home and
business owners in every corner of the commonwealth are paying higher school
property taxes in order to fund expensive advertising campaigns for cyber
charter schools, including billboards, radio and TV ads, mailers, and more.
They are paying higher property taxes to fund shareholder profits for private
cyber charter school management organizations, exorbitant salaries for their
administrators, and, in the case of a high-profile fraud case, a personal
airplane and vacation homes for a cyber charter CEO. State lawmakers and
Governor Wolf can end this wasteful spending by supporting REAL cyber charter
school funding reform that, at a minimum, will match the tuition school
districts pay to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of educating
students at home on a computer. Please sign and share this petition calling on
Governor Wolf and your state lawmakers to support REAL cyber charter school
funding reform that will save at least $250 million in taxpayer money each
year. It is time for them to stand up to the special interests that are
profiting off of our children.
Electing PSBA Officers – Application Deadline is May 31st
Do you have strong
communication and leadership skills and a vision for PSBA? Members interested
in becoming the next leaders of PSBA are encouraged to submit an Application for Nomination no later than May 31 to PSBA's Leadership Development
Committee (LDC).
The nomination process:
All persons seeking nomination for elected positions of the Association shall
file with the Leadership Development Committee chairperson an Application for Nomination (.PDF) on a form to be provided by the Association expressing interest in the
office sought. The Application for nomination shall be marked received at PSBA
Headquarters or mailed first class and postmarked no later than the application
deadline specified in the timeline established by the Governing Board to be
considered timely-filed.” (PSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 6.E.). Application Deadline: May 31, 2019
Open positions are:
- 2020 President-Elect (one-year term)
- 2020 Vice President (one-year term)
- 2020-22 Central At-Large
Representative – includes Sections 2, 3, 6, and 7 (three-year
term)
- 2020-21 Sectional Advisors – includes Sections
1, 3, 5 and 7 (two-year term)
Success Starts Here is a multi-year public awareness campaign
sharing positive news in PA public education.
.@PSBA .@PasaSupts .@PAIU .@PenSPRA1 .@PSEA .@PAPRINCIPALS .@SuccessStartsPA Read more stories and share your own on http://www.SuccessStartsHere.org .
Together we can harness the power of all to make a difference in our schools and communities! Hear from the experts and learn how to advocate! Free breakfast & givewaways. Don't miss out!
Sponsored by Norristown Men of Excellence, The Urban League of Philadelphia & PA Schools Work.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/norristown-parents-students-for-education-tickets-59590097586
PSBA: Nominations for
the Allwein Society are welcome!
The Allwein Society is an award program recognizing school directors who are
outstanding leaders and advocates on behalf of public schools and students.
This prestigious honor was created in 2011 in memory of Timothy M. Allwein, a
former PSBA staff member who exemplified the integrity and commitment to
advance political action for the benefit of public education. Nominations are
accepted year-round and inductees will be recognized at the PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference, among other honors.
PSBA: 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.
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
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/
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
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=34
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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