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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
“Statewide,
charter school tuition for regular (non-special) education ranges from about
$7,300 per student to upwards of $18,000 per student. Charter school tuition
for special education runs from about $14,900 to well over $40,000 per student.
However, in cyber charter schools, regular education students can be educated
for about $5,000 each. The Radnor resolution calls on the state legislature to
reform the law, saying it is based on what a brick-and-mortar district pays to
educate a student, so that charges for cyber charters are in line with actual
costs.”
The Radnor Township School Board calls for cyber school
funding reform
Delco Times By
Linda Stein lstein@21st-centurymedia.com @lstein on Twitter May 29, 2019
RADNOR — The Radnor
Township School Board joined many other school boards across Pennsylvania,
including many in Delaware County, in adopting a resolution demanding reform of
how cyber charter schools are funded. Currently, public school districts and
local taxpayers must shoulder the costs of cyber charter schools however cyber
charters bill districts for costs much higher than the actual expense of
educating a student via computer, according to the nonprofit Education Voters
PA. Charter school tuition rates are not based on what it costs a charter
school to educate its students, but on the per student expenditure of the
school district where the students come from, that group said. Statewide,
charter school tuition for regular (non-special) education ranges from about
$7,300 per student to upwards of $18,000 per student. Charter school tuition
for special education runs from about $14,900 to well over $40,000 per student.
However, in cyber charter schools, regular education students can be educated
for about $5,000 each. The Radnor resolution calls on the state legislature to
reform the law, saying it is based on what a brick-and-mortar district pays to
educate a student, so that charges for cyber charters are in line with actual
costs. In the 2017-18 school year, RTSD had 10 regular education students in
cyber charter schools and four special education students. The district paid
$16,620 for each regular education student and $39,225 for each special
education student, totaling $215,708, according to officials. The state spends
$500,000 on cyber charter schools, with school districts in Delaware County
spending $11 million.
The Inquirer
Editorial Board | opinion@philly.com Updated: May 30, 2019 - 5:24 AM
Twenty-two years
should be enough time to get something right. But that has not been long enough
for state lawmakers who, on creating
a law that allowed charter schools to open in the state in 1997, have done very little to take
honest stock of how the law could be improved so that students in all schools
would benefit. Instead, they seem fixed on giving the charters less
accountability and more independence from the public education system without
evidence that their performance warrants it. Today, 267,000 students in the
state attend 180 brick and mortar and cyber charter schools; 87 of those
schools are in Philadelphia. Their effectiveness as viable academic
alternatives that could help inform improvements in public education as a whole
is at best a mixed bag. Their effectiveness as charming lawmakers is
unquestioned. No robust reforms to the original law have succeeded since it
passed in 1997. Most attempts have centered on taking away control from local
school districts’ oversight. The latest series
of bills being
considered in Harrisburg are no exception. And since nearly half of the charter
schools are in Philadelphia, that could undermine the structure and process
that the School District has established and refined over many years to oversee
the schools. For example, one provision would replace locally crafted charter
applications with a standardized application. That means that the school
districts would be limited in the kind of information they require for charter
applicants, such as past performance of charter operators, or evidence of
community support.
Finance experts call for charter school funding reforms
Trib Live by DEB ERDLEY | Wednesday, May 29, 2019 4:24 p.m.
Echoing complaints
of school superintendents across Western Pennsylvania, public school finance
experts Wednesday warned that charter school costs are reaching a breaking
point for many of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts. Finance experts with the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) said lawmakers
must change the way charter costs are assessed to local school districts or
accept that some school districts are not going to be able to continue to bear
the cost of paying hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of
dollars in charter school tuition. The call for change comes as the General
Assembly weighs a variety of bills aimed at altering the way the state
regulates and finances charter and cyber charter schools that now enroll about
140,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Hannah Barrick, of the
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officers, said charter school
costs, which are borne almost entirely by local school districts, totaled $1.8
billion last year and accounted for 37 cents of every new dollar raised in
local property taxes.
In some school
districts, the costs are even higher.
“For years,
Pennsylvania has earned failing grades for its failure to live up to its
mandate when it comes to funding education. The state funds only 37 percent of
education costs. That puts it in lowly 46th place when it comes to funding
education in the Keystone State.”
Editorial: Southeast Delco knows all about Pa. education
funding woes
Delco Times
Editorial by Phil Heron May 30, 2019
Taxes
continue to go up in the Southeast Delco School District. This year they likely
will be accompanied by program and job cuts.
It’s the sound of
the season.
Cha-Ching! That’s
not the cash registers roaring to life at the Jersey shore. It’s local school
districts telling home owners to dig deeper into their wallets. Property taxes
are going up. Three percent in Radnor Township; another $55 bucks from the pocket
of the average home owner in Ridley School District; another 2.25 percent
increase looming in Springfield. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association
reports that 75% of school districts across the Commonwealth intend to raise
taxes this year. Yes, they will adhere to state mandates under Act 1 that limit
how much they can raise taxes. The alternative is to put the school district
budget to a public referendum. How many people do you know who would vote to
increase their own taxes. So instead it’s a yearly drip, drip, drip, a constant
drain on residents pocketbooks. This is nothing new. It’s basic arithmetic, as
any student in local school districts could tell you. When you spend more money
than you take in, you have a problem. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania’s case,
too often the burden to make up for that shortfall falls on the shoulders of
taxpayers, not the state.
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 Ed Committee
member Rep. Mike Tobash’s school districts in Dauphin and Schuylkill Counties
had to send over $2.8 million to chronically underperforming cybers that they
never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could
change that.
|
Data Source: PDE via PSBA
|
|
|
Blue Mountain SD
|
$807,330.45
|
|
Pine Grove Area SD
|
$270,267.62
|
|
Schuylkill Haven Area SD
|
$414,991.06
|
|
Tri-Valley SD
|
$204,270.74
|
|
Upper Dauphin Area SD
|
$666,597.06
|
|
Williams Valley SD
|
$502,100.89
|
|
|
$2,865,557.82
|
This morning there
are 67 bipartisan cosponsors on this bill; has your state representative
cosponsored HB526?
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
Citing ‘emergency’ repair needs, Democrats call for $125M
for Pa. schools
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent May 29, 2019
A handful of
Democratic state lawmakers from Southeastern Pennsylvania are calling for a
$125 million infusion to make “emergency” repairs in public schools, with more
than half going to Philadelphia. State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia),
minority chair of the powerful appropriations committee, unveiled a pair of
bills Wednesday, either of which, he says, could be used to fund the measure. “I
believe we have the political muscle to make something like this come to
fruition,” Hughes said during a press event held at Richard Wright School in
North Philadelphia. Both bills would establish what Hughes dubbed the “School
Emergency Repair Program,” a one-time cash subsidy intended to remediate the
worst conditions in Pennsylvania’s public schools. Of the $125 million, $85
million would go to Philadelphia, where a recent investigation revealed
environmental hazards such as lead and asbestos in city schools. The city and
state recently set aside $15 million to remove lead and mold from Philly schools. A
coalition of politicians and labor leaders say it would cost$170 million to fix all of the urgent facilities problems in
Pennsylvania’s largest school district. Another $30 million would be split
among 134 school districts “with a significant number of students experiencing
poverty.” The final $10 million would address urgent needs in the state’s other
365 school districts.
Lawmakers to propose bill that they say could bring $85
million to Philly schools
Inquirer by TyLisa C. Johnson, Updated: May 29, 2019- 3:29 PM
Driven by health,
safety, and facility repairs urgently needed for Philadelphia district schools,
labor leaders and state and local lawmakers on Wednesday announced proposed
legislation that would provide about $125 million to repair and improve schools
locally and statewide.
What Happened - State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) said he will sponsor two bills in
an attempt to establish a program that would direct $85 million to the School
District of Philadelphia — nearly half the estimated funding needed to cleanup
schools; $30 million to 134 poverty-stricken school districts throughout the
state dealing with similar building concerns; and $10 million for other needed
repairs. “On too many occasions, on too many days, we send our kids to schools
that are toxic,” Hughes said, as he stood below a mural at Richard Wright
Elementary in Strawberry Mansion, during a news conference called by the Fund
Our Facilities Coalition . “They’re filled with lead, they’re filled with
asbestos, rodent infestations, all kinds of things like that, and we send our
children to schools in that kind of condition." The Fund Our Facilities
Coalition, a group
made of union leaders, state and local lawmakers, estimated in March that it
would cost about
$170 million to make district schools safe, clean and healthy. The proposed money would be used to alleviate lead and asbestos
problems illuminated
by The Inquirer’s reporting on
toxic schools, replace leaky windows and roofs, install new heating systems, upgrade
bathrooms, upgrade electrical service, pay for more exterminators and address
other issues that plague many city schools. The Democratic-led coalition’s
proposal, announced as legislators in Harrisburg enter the home stretch in
their annual budget negotiations, faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled
House and Senate.
Lehigh Valley Academy now looking in Bethlehem Township
to put its $50 million school
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING CALL | MAY 29, 2019 | 7:54 PM
Lehigh Valley
Academy Regional Charter School has abandoned plans to build a $50 million
school on Jaindl-owned land in Hanover Township and instead is eyeing property
in Bethlehem Township. School officials told The Morning Call on Wednesday they
now are looking at roughly 55 acres east of Butztown Road in Bethlehem
Township. The cost of the land is about $5.4 million, and the building
construction still would run $45 million to $50 million. Shea Ace, the charter
school’s community relations coordinator, said the new site also is owned by
the estate of Fred Jaindl. Months ago, LVA had said it was looking at 31 acres
near Route 512 in Hanover Township, Northampton County for a proposed
200,000-square-foot school. The charter school was slated to pay $10.9 million
for the land. But LVA said in a statement it has opted out of of that agreement
of sale because of “insurmountable zoning issues.” In its statement, LVA said
the new property does not have zoning issues. LVA previously said it was
looking to build a new school that would open in fall 2023 — when its current
lease is up — because it was economically better to own than rent. The charter
school needs the permission of both the Bethlehem Area and Saucon Valley school
boards to change locations because it is a regional charter school. It serves
grades kindergarten through 12th.
Pennsylvania’s kindergarten teachers ask state lawmakers
for more pre-K funding
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison -May 29, 2019
The fight to secure
more funding for high-quality early education in Pennsylvania has a new ally:
the state’s kindergarten teachers. A survey by the Pennsylvania State Education
Association found nearly unanimous support for publicly funded pre-kindergarten
education among the union’s members who teach children that age. The results
were released Tuesday by Pre-K for PA, a coalition of educators and education
advocates that seeks to expand access to early education programs for
Pennsylvania’s preschool-age children. Members of the campaign appeared at
Hamilton Elementary School in Carlisle, Cumberland County on Tuesday to tout
the findings of the survey and call for additional funding for early education
programs. Ninety-six percent of the teachers surveyed by PSEA agree that
students who attend pre-K are more prepared for kindergarten, they said. In
addition, 98 percent said that high-quality, publicly funded pre-K is an
important tool for preparing at-risk children for kindergarten.
SCOTUS decision furthers debate over Elanco's policy on
transgender students
Lancaster Online by
ALEX GELI | Staff
Writer May 29,
2019
School districts in
Lancaster County and beyond have clearer guidelines for serving transgender
students after a U.S. Supreme Court decision Tuesday. The court declined to
hear a case against Boyertown Area School District, which was sued by a group
of students who argued that allowing their transgender peers to use restrooms
that align with their gender identity was unconstitutional. Tuesday’s action
lets stand an earlier decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which
ruled in favor of the school district. It prompted praise from legal experts
who say it’s a major victory for transgender students and the schools that
accommodate them. “Thankfully, today’s announcement allows schools to move
forward with policies that support transgender students,” Ria Tabacco Mar,
senior staff attorney with the ACLU, said in a statement. The Supreme Court’s action furthers the debate over the the legality of
a controversial student privacy policy recently approved by the Eastern
Lancaster County school board. The policy favors separation by biological sex
over gender identity.
Supreme Court decision means Elanco school board needs to
face reality, accommodate transgender students
Lancaster Online
Editorial by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD May 30, 2019
THE ISSUE: The U.S. Supreme Court
declined Tuesday to review a case involving Boyertown
Area School District (near Pottstown) that could have had negative implications
for transgender students in public schools across the country. In 2016,
Boyertown began allowing transgender students to use the restrooms and locker
rooms that aligned with their gender identity. A group of students sued the
school district, claiming that the policy violated their constitutional right
to bodily privacy. They lost in federal district court, and then in the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, which ruled last Julythat the
presence of transgender students in school restrooms and locker rooms does not
offend “constitutional or Pennsylvania-law privacy interests,” and that the
school district “clearly had a compelling state interest” in shielding
transgender students from discrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to let
that ruling stand.
If the members of
the Eastern Lancaster County school board were hoping for an assist from the
U.S. Supreme Court, their hopes have been dashed. If the board implements
its policy recommending that
transgender students use restrooms and locker rooms based on the gender they
were assigned at birth, it might as well start saving for the lawsuits now. Because
the district’s probability
of being sued just
got even higher. And board members won’t be able to say they weren’t warned. To
recap: In early April, the school
board unveiled a proposal to
renovate district restrooms and locker rooms to ensure the privacy of students
— all students. It
was a very sound plan.
“Many education
activists see Gym’s resounding victory as a call for City Council to be more
aggressive in influencing the District’s priorities and direction. Its official
role in that area is limited by the City Charter.”
What does Helen Gym’s resounding vote total mean for Council
and education?
Blackwell's
loss leaves Education and Finance Committees up for grabs.
The notebook by Greg Windle May 29 — 3:00 pm, 2019
After topping the
Democratic slate of City Council candidates in last week’s primary by a record
margin –40,000 more votes than her nearest competitor – Helen Gym is in a
position to expand her power on Council as a committee chairperson. In an
unprecedented field of 30 candidates for five at-large seats, Gym received
106,000 votes. The second-highest vote count was 65,000 for Council member
Allan Domb, whose campaign spending was triple the amount Gym spent. Longtime
Council member Jannie Blackwell’s primary loss leaves open the top leadership
position on two key committees, Education and Finance. Gym, who is seeking her
second term, launched her political career as an education advocate. As a
lawmaker, she has continued to champion the needs of the Philadelphia School
District and its students. Committee chairs are appointed by the Council
president. The City Council that is seated after the November election will
choose the Council president. The current president is Darrell Clarke, who
represents the Fourth District in North Philadelphia. As the composition of
Council changes, it’s hard to predict whether he would be re-elected. Consequently,
the chances that Gym will be tapped to head the Education or Finance Committee,
or both, are subject to several “ifs.” Gym said she earned the most votes of
any City Council candidate “in decades” and called this “a mandate for real
movement-building, centered in justice and equity.”
‘This was not an easy decision’: Harrisburg teachers
prepare for one-day strike
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison May 29, 2019
Saying that their
district is “in the midst of a crisis” and unable to provide satisfactory
working conditions to its employees, teachers in Harrisburg’s public school
system are planning a one-day strike on Friday. In a press release issued late
Tuesday night, representatives for the city’s public teachers’ union said the
one-day strike will call attention to the district’s alleged unwillingness to
meet with their negotiators for collective bargaining sessions. The call comes
shortly after Harrisburg voters ousted four incumbent school board members in the city’s municipal primary
elections. That election was seen by many as a recrimination of the sitting
board and the district’s administration. But the announcement of Friday’s
strike shows that the election was not a panacea for the struggling district,
which could be put under state control if its elected officials get their way. It’s
unclear whether or not Friday’s strike will disrupt classes for the 5,000
students across the district. Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney will decide by
Thursday whether to cancel classes, according to a statement her administration
released late Tuesday.
Harrisburg teachers say they no longer plan to strike
Penn Live By Becky Metrick |
bmetrick@pennlive.com Updated
6:39 AM; Posted May 29, 10:24 PM
Editor’s note: This
story was updated at 6:09 a.m. to include information from the Harrisburg
School District and its superintendent.
A day after
announcing a one-day teacher’s strike in the Harrisburg School District, the
Harrisburg Education Association says it will no longer strike on Friday. The
Harrisburg Education Association, which represents teachers in the district,
said in a news release issued late Friday that it had reached an agreement with
the district that resolve a “major bargaining issue." The union had
announced plans
for a one-day strike Tuesday night, citing issues with teacher contract negotiations and ongoing problems
within the school district. The teachers have been without a contract for
nearly a year. The teachers union said the district “withdraw its attempt to
circumnavigate the collective bargaining process” by withdrawing its request
that the state-appointed chief recovery offer include 17 bargainable issues in
the district’s amended recovery plan. The district, in a news release issued
shortly after 3 a.m. affirmed that it has agreed to withdraw its requests for
prioritized issues to include in the recover plan -- with the understanding
that district not control what the chief recovery officer will consider in
developing an amended plan.
“He noted the
state has been increasing its basic education funding by less than 2% annually,
creating a shortage that the district has been making up with annual property
tax hikes of 2% to 3%. “We must find better ways to meet students’ needs,”
Carney said. “It is obvious that the Pennsylvania state legislature really does
not care enough about our children’s education. Neither do they care about the
increasing tax burden they are placing on homeowners.”
School District of Lancaster board approves $230.3M
proposed budget with 2.83% tax increase
Lancaster Online by
KIMBERLY MARSELAS | LNP CORRESPONDENT May 30, 2019
Officials in the
School District of Lancaster have approved a preliminary budget that includes a
2.83% tax increase and retains two cultural programs parents rallied to protect
from elimination. The board approved the $230.3 million budget on a 7-1 vote
May 28 after hearing nearly an hour of public comment. While the plan calls for
$1.7 million in new spending, it was two relatively minor cuts that drew major
interest from the community. More than a dozen parents whose children attend
the district’s dual-language immersion, or DLI, program spoke about its
importance to the roughly 130 participating elementary schoolers. District
officials had proposed eliminating next year’s kindergarten class to save about
$142,000. “In order for DLI to have the greatest impact and possibility for
success, it must begin when children first enter the school system, in
kindergarten,” said Megan Flinchbaugh, a world language teacher whose daughter,
Clara, is in the program.
Pottsgrove seems ready to settle for .7% tax hike
Pottstown Mercury
by Evan Brandt
ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter May 30, 2019
LOWER POTTSGROVE —
By the time the talking was done Tuesday night, Pottsgrove School Board
President Robert Lindgren said his sense of the school board is that it will support
a tax hike of seven-tenths of a percent (or .7%) in June when the board votes
on the final 2019-2020 budget. But the vote will not come before Business
Manager David Nester made a plea Tuesday for inching the tax hike up a little
higher to begin to sock away money for the remaining $10 million in capital
needs the district will have in the next few years. "We've had a good
budget this year," Nester said during a review of the numbers. "We
started low and we've had the ability to trim the budget down to a workable
level." That trimming involved coming up with ways to deal with an
increase in expenses of $2.3 million that has a variety of sources — $1.2
million in personnel costs "just to maintain the people we have here
now;" a $588,000 increase in charter school tuition in the coming year;
$240,000 to add a third language to the curriculum and the hiring of a
"crisis counselor to deal with the mental health issues we're seeing on
the secondary level," among other things. Bill Parker asks that whenever
new programs proposed, like new foreign language, which was a huge expense, are
proposed, that Board keep these considerations in mind. Offsetting that is the retirement of 12 teachers, health care savings and
more revenue than was expected, needing just .7 percent more in taxes to close
a $240,000 budget gap. But Nester suggested a little bit more might be wise,
either going to 1 percent, 1.25 or even 1.5 percent, to prepare for known
capital needs, as well as the unknown.
Chartiers Valley approves proposed budget with tax
increase
Post-Gazette by DEANA
CARPENTER MAY 29, 2019 10:54 AM
Taxpayers in the
Chartiers Valley School District can expect to see their taxes increase for the
2019-20 school year. The school board approved a proposed $67.1 million budget
with a 0.4885 mill increase at its May 28 meeting. The increase would bring the
property tax rate to 17.5595 mills. The increase would amount to about $48 on
every $100,000 of assessed property value. “We are going to end the year at
more of a deficit than we anticipated,” said Emily Eckman, director of finance
for Chartiers Valley. Ms. Eckman said the district budgeted for a $467,000
deficit for the current school year, but the actual deficit is about $1.1
million. The district has an unassigned fund balance of $733,844, but is using
$660,833 of it to balance the 2019-20 budget, leaving $72,011 in its fund
balance. The state Department of Education recommends districts carry a minimum
unassigned fund balance of 8%, which in Chartiers Valley would be around $5.2
million.
Easton Area School Board approves 1.89% tax increase
By MICHELLE MERLIN | THE MORNING CALL | MAY 29, 2019 | 1:44 PM
The Easton Area School
Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a $162.7 million budget that calls for a
1.89% tax increase. The 1.19-mill hike amounts to an annual increase of $74 for
the owner of a home assessed at $62,000, the average home in the district. The
2019-20 budget also calls for four new high school teachers and five elementary
school teachers, as well as two technicians. The district’s fund balance will
be $8.3 million, said chief operating officer Mike Simonetta, or about 5%. Simonetta
said salaries, benefits, pension costs, charter schools and special education
costs are driving the increase. School board President George Chando praised
the budget. “I’m sure everybody would
love to see zero percent, but I think, especially within the last two years,
there’s been a great attempt to try and manage this within what still needs to
be done,” he said.
“These
conversations are tough and they are tough for a particular reason,” said Board
Member Amy Goldman. “We’re underfunded by our state. Pennsylvania ranks 46th
out of all 50 states in terms of what it commits to its share of paying for
public education. And that’s what makes these conversations challenging.”
Taxpayers should help the board lobby the state legislature for more money for
public education, she said.”
Radnor School Board eyes 3 percent tax hike
Delco Times By
Linda Stein lstein@21st-centurymedia.com @lsteinreporter on Twitter May 25,
2019 Updated May 25, 2019
RADNOR — After a
lengthy meeting, the Radnor Township School Board voted to approve a $100.9
million proposed final budget for the 2019-20 school year, with the final
budget slated to be adopted on June 18. The budget calls for a .7314 mill real
estate tax increase or 3 percent. If this budget is adopted, a homeowner whose
house is assessed at $274,000 would pay an additional $200 in real estate
taxes; an additional $342 would be added for a house assessed at $472,000: and
a homeowner with a house assessed at $700,000 would pay $512 more. Administrators
had presented the board with three options and, after much wrangling, the board
voted 6-2 for the one fell in the middle. Board members Julia Bohnenberger and Lydia
Solomon voted no and Board Member Patricia Booker was absent. The budget
includes raising taxes by half of the Act 1 exceptions that are available to
the district, as approved by the state. Michelle Diekow, district business
manager, pointed out various changes made since the budget was first introduced
in January, including information from the state about its contribution and a
$259,000 decrease in debt service from refinancing some bonds.
Research for Action report: Investing So Schools Work
Publication Date April 2019
Abstract: Recognizing the need for new estimates on how much school funding is
adequate for Pennsylvania school districts, Research for Action commissioned an
independent project based on the research of national school funding experts,
Picus Odden & Associates. Three Pennsylvania school districts and their
respective communities participated in the Investing So Schools Work study.
Picus Odden found evidence of inadequate state funding in each participating
district:
- Butler Area School District — 16% adequacy gap
- Chambersburg Area School District — 17%
adequacy gap
- Upper Darby School District — 22% adequacy gap
Picus Odden
concluded that “If such funds were provided and used as the [model] indicates,
the state could reasonably expect significant overall improvements in student
achievement and reductions in the achievement gaps linked to student
demographics.” The linked report provides a full description of the project and
detailed findings of the study. Also linked below is a four-page summary
of the project, including high-level findings for each participating school
district.
Additional school
districts that wish to participate in the study and use the Picus Odden model
to calculate whether they have funding gaps are encouraged to contact Research
for Action at research@researchforaction.org. This project was funded with generous support from the William Penn
Foundation. The opinions expressed in the reports are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the William Penn Foundation.
New report on virtual education: ‘It sure sounds good. As
it turns out, it’s too good to be true.’
Washington Post Answer
Sheet By Valerie Strauss May 29 at 12:35 PM
The future of
education, you might hear some enthusiasts say, is virtual: Online schools have
grown significantly over the past decade, as have traditional schools that use
online curriculum, and the promise of virtual education is boundless. Or not. Virtual
Schools in the U.S. 2019, a report
published annually by the National Education Policy Center at the University of
Colorado at Boulder, looks at the research on this form of education and
suggests that some brakes ought to be put on the virtual education revolution. Why?
The report says: Many argue that online curriculum can be tailored to
individual students more effectively than curriculum in traditional classrooms,
giving it the potential to promote greater student achievement than can be
realized in traditional brick-and-mortar schools. These claims are not
supported by the research evidence; nonetheless, the promise of lower costs
—primarily for instructional personnel and facilities—continues to make virtual
schools financially appealing to both policymakers and for-profit providers. The
report, the seventh annual look on virtual education by the NEPC, is in three
parts and has a number of authors: Alex Molnar, Gary Miron, Najat Elgeberi,
Michael K. Barbour, Luis Huerta, Sheryl Rankin Shafer and Jennifer King Rice.
Joe Biden Debuts Education
Plan, Then Touts It to Teachers’ Union
New York Times By Katie
Glueck May 28, 2019
HOUSTON — Joseph R.
Biden Jr. on Tuesday released the first major policy platform of his campaign,
a sweeping education proposal that urges federal investment in low-income
schools, supports universal prekindergarten and higher teacher pay, and, he
added in a public appearance later, opposes for-profit charter schools. But in
keeping with his more moderate tendencies, the education plan also focused on
priorities that are widely accepted in Democratic circles, appearing to stop
short of the bolder promises from some of his campaign rivals and skirting
entirely a number of the more controversial issues in education policy. Mr. Biden’s
campaign introduced the proposal ahead of a town hall event in Houston on
Tuesday evening with an influential teachers’ union, the American Federation of
Teachers, which represents an important Democratic-leaning constituency and a
coveted endorsement for Democratic presidential candidates.
Break Ground on PlanCon 2.0: Contact Your Senator!
PASBO Website
A year after the
PlanCon Advisory Committee issued it's final recommendations for moving forward
with a new PlanCon program, their recommendations have still not been
implemented. As a result, school districts with school construction needs have
no option for obtaining any state support for their projects, meaning that
needed projects will be deferred or property taxes will increase. Senator Pat
Browne (R-Lehigh)--co-chair of the PlanCon Advisory Committee--is reintroducing
legislation to implement the recommendation of the Committee. Those
recommendations include streamlining the PlanCon funding formula and making it
electronic, developing a small projects grant program targeted to maintenance
needs and requiring guidance on what constitutes a maintenance project for the
purposes of determining prevailing wage applicability.
Senator Browne’s Co-Sponsorship Memo: Plan Con -
Construction and Renovation of Buildings by School Entities and Establishing a
Grant Program for Maintenance Projects
Charter Reform: Pay close attention to House Bills 356
and 357. Tell your legislator charter legislation that removes local authority
and leaves out funding reform has missed the mark! Visit our website to send a
letter to your legislator:
PSBA Website May
14, 2019
Tell your legislator to vote NO on charter bills
fast-tracked for a House vote
Significant concerns, expansion without oversight
Monday the House Education Committee reported out a package of four bills addressing various charter school issues. The package is expected to be positioned on a fast track, with a vote on the House floor to occur as early as this Wednesday, May 15. Unlike attempts in previous sessions to move one omnibus charter “reform” bill, the plan now is to separate issues into a series of bills and push the package as a whole. While PSBA supports two of the bills in the package, the other two present significant concerns and are not supported by PSBA.
Please contact your legislators in the House and tell them to vote NO on the charter package.
Significant concerns, expansion without oversight
Monday the House Education Committee reported out a package of four bills addressing various charter school issues. The package is expected to be positioned on a fast track, with a vote on the House floor to occur as early as this Wednesday, May 15. Unlike attempts in previous sessions to move one omnibus charter “reform” bill, the plan now is to separate issues into a series of bills and push the package as a whole. While PSBA supports two of the bills in the package, the other two present significant concerns and are not supported by PSBA.
Please contact your legislators in the House and tell them to vote NO on the charter package.
Find your State Representative’s Contact Info Here:
Philadelphia Public School Notebook 25th Anniversary!
Please join us on June 4, 2019, at the National Museum of
American Jewish History in Philadelphia!
Teachers, families,
public education advocates – come celebrate with us on the last day of the
school year.
Every June, 400 public
school supporters gather in celebration at the end of the school year. This
festive event features awards for outstanding high school journalism, talented
local musicians, a silent auction, and the opportunity to speak with the most
influential voices in the local education community.
THE NOTEBOOK is
thrilled to celebrate our 25th Anniversary on the final day of the school year!
Our annual event will be a celebration of this exciting milestone for our
nonprofit news organization. Our amazing community has made our decades of
reporting possible, and we want to honor you this year: the parents, educators
and advocates striving together in support of equity and quality in our public
schools.
Our 25th Anniversary speakers will include:
• Stephen Flemming, English teacher and certified reading specialist at Martin Luther King High School, and an adjunct professor at Delaware County Community College
• Robin Roberts, Vocal advocate for high quality public education, public school parent and Director for Parents United for Public Education
• Dale Mezzacappa, Notebook contributing editor and veteran Philadelphia education reporter.
• Stephen Flemming, English teacher and certified reading specialist at Martin Luther King High School, and an adjunct professor at Delaware County Community College
• Robin Roberts, Vocal advocate for high quality public education, public school parent and Director for Parents United for Public Education
• Dale Mezzacappa, Notebook contributing editor and veteran Philadelphia education reporter.
PA League of Women Voters 2019 Convention Registration
Crowne Plaza in Reading June 21-23, 2019
DEADLINES
May 22, 2019 –
Deadline to get special room rates at Crowne
Plaza Hotel
Book Hotel
or call: 1 877 666 3243
May 31, 2019 –
Deadline to register as a delegate for the Convention
June 7, 2019 –
Deadline to register for the Convention
Registration: https://www.palwv.org/2019-convention-registration/
PA Schools Work Capitol Caravan Days Wed. June 5th
and Tues. June 18th
If you couldn’t
make it to Harrisburg last week, it’s not too late. We are getting down to the
wire. In a few short weeks, the budget will likely be passed. Collectively, our
voices have a larger impact to get more funding for Pennsylvania’s students.
Legislators need to hear from you!
Public Citizens for
Children and Youth (PCCY) will be at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 5th and
Tuesday, June 18th for our next PA Schools
Work caravan days. We’d love to have you join us on these
legislative visits. For more details about the caravans and to sign up, go
to: www.pccy.org/k12caravan . Please call Tomea Sippio-Smith at (O) 215-563-5848, ext. 36
or (C) 215-667-9421 or Shirlee Howe at (O) 215-563-5848, ext. 34 or (C)
215-888-8297 with any questions or specific requests for legislative
meetings.
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)
NPE Action National
Conference - Save the Date - March 28-29, 2020 in Philadelphia, PA.
The window is now open for workshop proposals for the Network for Public
Education conference, March 28-29, 2020, in Philadelphia. I hope you all sign
on to present on a panel and certainly we want all to attend. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBCNDKK
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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