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Friday, June 28, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 28: Surprise! Still waiting on a school code bill….


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


House votes down school code - HB1615 by a vote of 77 yes to 121 no votes; will reconvene today.

Pa. budget deal still in limbo amid last-minute brinksmanship
Delco Times By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press June 28, 2019
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Legislature inserted some pet policy objectives into hundreds of pages of just-unveiled budget legislation with the annual fiscal-year deadline days away, forcing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to make hard choices at the 11th-hour. Amid the deadline brinksmanship, measures approved by lawmakers Thursday included a $34 billion budget package and changes to laws that govern elections, public schools and human services. A key budget-related bill that guides education policy hit opposition Thursday night in the House of Representatives, and remained in limbo. The 2019-20 fiscal year begins Monday. Wolf's office said the governor would not take action on bills before Friday, and Wolf has not said how he'll handle bills that include provisions hotly opposed by his Democratic allies in the Legislature. One GOP-backed provision in a bill on Wolf's desk is making the governor decide between eliminating a decades-old cash assistance program for the poor and continuing state subsidies for Philadelphia hospitals. Not one single Democratic lawmaker voted for it, and a fight in the Senate over the bill on Wednesday devolved into shouting, name-calling and bare-knuckled procedural tactics. Another three-paragraph provision inserted Wednesday night into a sprawling, 69-page budget-related bill would stall any move by Philadelphia to ban plastic bags or impose a fee on reusable bags that many stores provide. Wolf in 2017 vetoed a bill that sought to prevent counties and municipalities from taxing or banning plastic bags.

“But an interesting alchemy had emerged. A number of the Republicans' most conservative members voted against the bill--in large part because of a separate provision that would lower the compulsory age of school attendance from eight to six and increase the age a student can leave school from 17 to 18. Mark Gillen, a Republican from Berks County, said on the chamber floor that the late addition of that provision had blindsided him and other like-minded members. "I'm concerned from the perspective of religious freedom," he said, "I think it's perfectly consistent to embrace religious freedom and educational freedom and freedom of choice in the commonwealth and then meet our constitutional responsibility to public education."
Inches from finish line, House budget talks falter over education
WITF Written by Katie Meyer, Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun 28, 2019 5:08 AM
 (Harrisburg) - House lawmakers were one bill away from sending Governor Tom Wolf a complete budget package Thursday night when negotiations abruptly broke down. The issue? Two components of the measure that would have, among other things, authorized $6.7 billion in basic education funding. Before the Senate approved it, they adjusted some provisions related to career and technical education, or CTE. They had been part of a bill package that unanimously passed the House in March. House Democrats said they only realized late Thursday that the Senate had omitted the initiatives their caucus favored--among them, an online career resource center, a requirement to inventory workforce development programsadvisory committees for CTE programs, and a grant program designed to encourage apprenticeships. "We wanted to send a message," House Minority Leader Frank Dermody said of the bill's crash-and-burn. "Look, you made a commitment. We heard that in the House. It should have been done."  Dermody and the rest of the Democrats registered their unhappiness in a committee meeting ahead of the final vote. At first, they agreed to put their concerns aside and moved the bill through unanimously.

PA budget passed, school spending plan up in the air
Johnstown Tribune Democrat By John Finnerty jfinnerty@cnhi.com June 28, 2019
HARRISBURG – The state Senate sent Gov. Tom Wolf a $34 billion state budget Thursday night, but lawmakers in the state House will return to the Capitol on Friday to take up a budget measure dealing with school law. In a late Thursday vote, the House refused to concur on changes made by the state Senate. Democrats balked at supporting the measure, and a smaller group of Republicans refused to back it over changes to the state’s required school age. The measure would have required students to enroll at age 6 and remain in school until 18. Current law uses 8 and 17 as the upper and lower age requirements. Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, had urged the members to back the school plan despite the concerns about the changes made by the Senate. But by a 121-77, House members refused to agree to the school law plan. Lawmakers were huddling behind closed doors late Thursday after the session. Wolf put off signing the overall budget bill Thursday night in light of the House vote, J.J. Abbott, a spokesman for Wolf said. The state House approved the overall spending plan earlier this week. The plan would increase basic education funding for schools by $160 million and increases funding for special education by $50 million. The plan also would allow for another $25 million in tax credits for donors who give to scholarship programs that cover tuition for private schools. Wolf vetoed a bill that would have boosted that tax credit program by $100 million. The budget would provide schools with another $60 million to boost security in the wake of ongoing concerns over safety in light of shooting incidents across the country. But in debate before rejecting the school bill, lawmakers raised concerns about a move to change the ages of compulsory attendance, as well as the career and technical education changes.

With deadline looming, the Pa. Budget stalls in the state House over education
PA Capital Star By  Stephen Caruso June 28, 2019
Some last minute additions — and surprising missing pieces — derailed final approval of the state budget late Thursday night. The House balked at passing one final part of the budget in a 77-121 vote on the school code — an omnibus bill of that directs how the state’s $6.7 billion education budget will be spent. All but one Democrat voted with 31 Republicans to vote the legislation down. It was a surprise end to what seemed a triumphant march to an early signing of the state’s $34 billion budget, which ran into limited hiccups — amid some fiery debate — over the past week. The coalition seemed out of place considered the provisions in the school code bill. From a safe harbor rule to encourage underage college students out drinking to report sexual violence to a $25 million expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, there seemed to be something to keep everybody happy. But the plan started to fall apart around 7:30 p.m.. Among House Republicans, at issue was a proposal to expand the compulsory school age from the current range of age eight to 17 to age six to 18. More socially conservative Republicans saw the proposal as taking away the rights of parents to decide what’s best for their kids. Pennsylvania is one of 14 states that has a compulsory attendance age above 6 year old, and is tied with Washington for the oldest.

Pa. Senate sends $34 billion budget bill to Gov. Tom Wolf but last-minute glitch delays signing
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jun 27, 10:57 PM; Posted Jun 27, 3:59 PM
$34 billion state budget bill is before Gov. Tom Wolf but some unexpected drama in the Capitol kept him from signing the spending plan Thursday night. The state Senate Thursday approved a budget bill that provides hundreds of millions more for schools, makes another investment in school security, provides help to the state’s sputtering agricultural industry, and all without a tax increase. The Senate voted 42-8 to approve the spending bill; the House passed it by a 140-62 vote on Tuesday. The spending package does not include an increase in the state’s minimum wage, a key goal for Democrats. Wolf has indicated he would sign the spending plan legislation once he received the entire package of budget-related bills. Assuming Wolf does it before Monday, it would mean for the second consecutive year – and the second time since he first moved into the governor’s office – that Pennsylvania has had a budget done on time. He was prepared to hold a public signing ceremony on Thursday evening once the House passed a bill that directs school funding to pay for the budget. However, an eleventh-hour hiccup arose in the House’s consideration of that bill that delayed the governor’s ceremony. The Senate changed parts of the school code bill that drew objections from both House Republicans and Democrats. House GOP members disliked the inclusion of a change in the compulsory school age from 6 to 18 years old or upon graduation from the current 8 to 17 years of age. House Democrats objected to the omission of some career and technical education programs that they wanted and felt they had the House Republicans’ word would be included.

Winners and losers in Pa.’s $34 billion state budget package
The General Assembly sent the main funding bill to the governor Thursday. But a key education bill failed to pass.
PA Post by Ed Mahon and Katie Meyer JUNE 27, 2019 | 9:03 PM
Three days ahead of their June 30 deadline, state lawmakers failed to finalize a roughly $34 billion budget package. Wolf’s office said the main spending plan, which includes no tax increases, meets his objectives. But some lawmakers in Wolf’s own party have criticized the plan, and the governor himself strongly opposes parts of related funding bills — in particular, a measure that repeals a small cash assistance program for the poor.  Then at around 9:20 p.m. Thursday, the House failed to pass an education bill — throwing a wrench into the entire process. A spokesperson for the governor said Wolf won’t be signing any budget bills Thursday evening. The House plans to return to session on Friday morning. Below is a look at who stands to win and lose from the budget package, if it gets back on track.

“But before the school board could vote on the sale, Board President Joyce Wilkerson pulled the proposal from the agenda.
She said new language embedded in a state bill could be problematic, and that the board wanted more time to review the bill before voting on Belmont’s fate.
“Today we learned that the state is considering House Bill 1615 which would codify a designation where Belmont Charter School could be exempt from all state and local oversight,” Wilkerson said.  “For this reason, I have withdrawn the sale of the Belmont facility until we understand the outcome of this legislation”
House Bill 1615, an omnibus bill that would make several changes to the state’s school code, now contains a section entitled “Innovation Schools Program.”
That section allows for the creation of Innovation Schools, using specific language that appears to single out Belmont Charter School. To be eligible for this designation, a school would have to serve a certain percentage of low-income students, be located in a federal Promise Zone, and “partnered with behavioral health specialists” — all of which apply to Belmont Charter School.
June 27 — 9:08 pm, 2019”
Penn Alexander 2.0? Two Philly schools to move into building owned by Drexel
Plan to sell Belmont Charter to its management organization is postponed due to concerns about a new state law.
WHYY NEWS Avi Wolfman-Arent and Makoto Manheim June 27, 2019 9:08 pm
Two West Philadelphia public schools are officially on the move, with plans to relocate in a building owned by Drexel University. Powel Elementary, a K-4 neighborhood school, and Science Leadership Academy Middle School (SLAMS), a 5-8 school focused on project-based learning, will open the 2020-21 school year in a new facility located at 36th and Filbert Streets in Powelton Village. The School District will pay $7 million of the projected $38 million construction cost, and then pay Drexel a nominal rent of $12 a year after that. The agreement will last 35 years, according to a resolution approved Thursday night by the School District of Philadelphia’s Board of Education. The unusual arrangement comes with an unusual, and circular, back story. This prime parcel of real estate once housed University City High School, which the district closed in 2013. The district then sold the property to Drexel, which will now build a school used by two district schools. The arrangement is reminiscent of the partnership the School District of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania forged in 2001, when Penn agreed to provide guidance and extra money for students at the newly created Sadie Alexander School, just beyond its campus.

Philly’s proposed plastic bag ban could get derailed after last-minute budget move by GOP lawmakers
Inquirer by Sean Walsh, Updated: June 27, 2019- 6:42 PM
Republican legislators in Harrisburg on Thursday added a last-minute amendment to the state budget package that could delay and potentially derail a proposal to ban Philadelphia stores from using plastic bags, a maneuver one City Council member called an unfair power grab. The provision would prohibit the state and local governments from passing new regulations on plastic bags for one year, while directing two state offices to study the economic and environmental impact of regulating plastic bags. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre) said he pushed for the provision because his district includes players on both sides of the issue: a plastics manufacturer, Milesburg-based Hilex Poly, and Ferguson Township, which is considering a fee on plastic bags. “In my own district, I have a municipality that’s looking at an impact fee, and also I have a manufacturer that makes plastic bags. So you hear from both sides," Corman said. “So we thought the best thing to do to help everyone move forward was to study it.” But by adding it as an amendment to the fiscal code, which must be approved for the state to enact its spending plan for next year, its backers essentially ensured its passage. Gov. Tom Wolf cannot veto the plastics language without rejecting the entire code, which would derail a $34 billion budget deal the Democrat spent weeks negotiating with the Republican-controlled legislature.

Armed teachers in Pa.’s schools? Groups on both sides of the gun debate say Senate bill would allow it
PA Capital Star By  Elizabeth Hardison June 27, 2019
Shira Goodman and Kim Stolfer may not agree on much, but they recently found common ground on a school safety bill now before the state Senate. Goodman, leader of the gun control group CeaseFire PA, and Stolfer, president of the pro-gun Firearms Owners Against Crime, both say that a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Regan, R-York, would grant schools more discretion in arming trained employees. That could mean deputizing teachers to carry firearms. “Could a teacher be able to carry a firearm if they met qualifications [under the bill]? We believe if a school board wanted that, the bill would enable it,” Stolfer said. That’s welcome news to Stolfer, who thinks Pennsylvania should arm its teachers to prevent deadly mass shootings. Goodman, on the other hand, argues that the proliferation of guns in schools will only endanger students. And she’s troubled that two groups with opposite philosophies on gun safety share the same interpretation of Regan’s bill.

Keeping ‘the lights on’: Pennsylvania’s libraries poised to get first state funding boost in a decade
PA Capital Star By  Elizabeth Hardison June 28, 2019
A bipartisan effort among Pennsylvania lawmakers to bolster career readiness and workforce skills could be a boon to public libraries, which are due to get their first state funding increase in nearly a decade. The 2019-20 spending plan that Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to sign this week includes a $59 million allocation for Pennsylvania’s public library subsidy — a 9 percent bump from the current fiscal year that ends July 1, and the fund’s first increase since 2010. Advocates say it’s a crucial victory for public libraries, which provide thousands of Pennsylvanians with internet access to search for jobs or enroll in government services.  “[State funding] is a significant portion of our operating income,” Karen Cullings, interim executive director of the Dauphin County Library System, said. “It really keeps the doors open and the lights on in a lot of ways.” Libraries across the state are still reeling from deep cuts sustained in 2003, when the General Assembly slashed the library subsidy. Many libraries reduced their hours or programs to trim costs.

Harrisburg School District receiver cleans house, ousts superintendent, solicitor, a dozen more jobs
By Christine Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.com Updated 6:38 AM; Posted Jun 27, 7:30 PM
The newly-appointed receiver of the Harrisburg School District cleaned house on Thursday, eliminating the positions of more than a dozen employees, including the entire business office and Human Resources Department on the same day the superintendent departed. The receiver confirmed Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney’s position was eliminated and that Knight-Burney had been collecting paychecks over the past year when she didn’t have a written contract. Pennsylvania state law requires all working superintendents to have written contracts. Also terminated was recently hired Solicitor James Ellison, the interim Business Manager Bilal Hasan and acting Human Resources Director Lance Freeman. The eliminations become effective at the end of the month. Ellison did not attend the meeting, but Hasan and Freeman were in attendance.
Receiver Janet Samuels made the announcement at a special school board meeting Thursday night, just hours after Knight-Burney sent an email to some staff members saying her time as district leader had “come to an end.”

“The district wanted the board to approve a $342 million budget with a 3.5% tax hike. By raising taxes that much, a taxpayer with a home valued at $110,000 would pay an extra $76 annually in property taxes. That budget also included an assumption that the charter schools would agree to a reduction in tuition payments that would erase the remaining $6 million deficit. The district has not yet asked charters to take a reduction, and Parker said they can say no.”
After several votes, Allentown School Board finally passes budget with 1.75% tax hike and plea for charter schools to take tuition reduction
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO | THE MORNING CALL | JUN 28, 2019 | 1:00 AM
It took hours of contentious discussions, a plea to charter schools to help and a compromise among some school directors after several votes, but in the end, the Allentown School District finally passed a 2019-20 budget before its June 30 deadline. In a more than five-hour meeting Thursday night, the Allentown School Board approved a 2019-20 budget that calls for a 1.75% tax hike, and a request that the 24 charter and cyber charter schools Allentown students attend take a 10% reduction in tuition costs to help Allentown pass its budget. After multiple budget proposals being shot down by the board, directors eventually voted 5-3 to pass a budget. Directors Lisa Conover, Phoebe Harris and Cheryl Johnson Watts voted against it. Board Vice President Elizabeth Martinez was absent, meaning the board had only eight members and kept ending in a tie vote.

SE Delco raises taxes, holds off on staff cuts in budget
FOLCROFT — The 2019-20 budget for the Southeast Delco School District was looking grim since introduced in late May with a slew of staff and program cuts on the chopping block to make up for a $2 million shortfall — this after a projected 3.4 percent tax increase. What was ultimately approved by a 7-1 vote of the school board Thursday night was a $85.6 million budget that includes a 3 percent tax increase that will bring the millage rate to 44.3467. The use of $1.9 million in fund balance was included in the budget to potentially offset the cuts that were being eyed to makeup for the shortfall. An additional $200,000 is anticipated from the state budget passed by the state House of Representatives earlier this week to fill in whatever shortfall may still remain. Board member Sheree Monroe cast the sole "no" vote. Tammi Forbes was not present. However, as Schools Superintendent Stephen Butz mentioned, if substantial state revenues don’t come in – a definitive figure will be seen when Gov. Tom Wolf signs the budget into law by the end of the week - the fund balance will be depleted at the end of the year and the district will have to look in July and August at what positions it will cut.

No room to grow: Crowded suburban Philly schools struggle to secure new land to build
WHYY By Robby Brod June 28, 2019
Thousands of people move to suburban Philadelphia every year, which means thousands of new students enrolled in public school systems. However, many of these school districts are already crowded, facing budget deficits, and in desperate need of more space to build new schools. And in heavily developed areas, finding space to build new classrooms has become a bigger challenge than paying for it. The Upper Darby School District in Delaware County says 108 middle school classes have more than 30 students in them, and many of them attend class in basements or trailers. Last year, a study by Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based educational research organization said the district is underfunded by 22%, and also noted that members of the community felt the school was even worse off than that. At the district’s Drexel Hill Middle School, students have been attending class for the past 15 years in trailers that were initially designed to be used for just five years.

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Clash Over Busing, Segregated Schools in Democratic Debate
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on June 27, 2019 11:53 PM
An intense dispute between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris about segregation in education and how Washington should address it highlighted the second night of the first debate among Democratic candidates for president. In the second hour of Thursday's 10-candidate debate, the California senator challenged Biden for what she called his opposition in the 1970s to busing as a strategy to help desegregated schools, a charge Biden rejected. The subsequent exchange underscored how racial segregation in education, as well as Biden's ongoing defense of his relationship with segregationists in Congress decades ago, could prove to be a potent issue in the Democratic Party primary. The Democratic candidates also stressed their support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a 2012 executive order signed by President Barack Obama that provides legal protections for nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants, including thousands of public school students and teachers.  Otherwise, they mostly brushed lightly over K-12 policy topics. Biden did emphasize his support for additional school aid. And a few candidates also used gun violence at schools to push for additional restrictions on firearms. 

The deadline to submit a cover letter, resume and application is August 19, 2019.
Become a 2019-2020 PSBA Advocacy Ambassador
PSBA is seeking applications for two open Advocacy Ambassador positions. Candidates should have experience in day-to-day functions of a school district, on the school board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement of local school directors and public education stakeholders through the advocacy leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will be responsible for assisting PSBA in achieving its advocacy goals. To achieve their mission, ambassadors will be kept up to date on current legislation and PSBA positions on legislation. The current open positions will cover PSBA Sections 3 and 4, and Section 7.
PSBA Advocacy Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA and serve as liaisons between PSBA and their local elected officials. Advocacy Ambassadors also commit to building strong relationships with PSBA members with the purpose of engaging the designated members to be active and committed grassroots advocates for PSBA’s legislative priorities. 

PSBA: Nominations for The Allwein Society are open!
This award program recognizes school directors who are outstanding leaders & advocates on behalf of public schools & students. Nominations are accepted year-round with selections announced early fall: http://ow.ly/CchG50uDoxq 

EPLC is accepting applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy & community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org 

2019 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October 16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference to grow!

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

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.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 27: Still waiting on a school code bill….


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




HR1878: Glide path for full 40% funding of IDEA now has 103 cosponsors in Congress. Is your PA member of Congress on the list?



Blogger note: we’re still waiting for the latest update on a pending school code bill, which had been rumored last evening to include the charter reform package. That no longer seems to be the case, but it ain’t over ‘til it’s over….You might consider staying in touch with your state legislators until such time as they go home for the summer.

Here’s what Pennsylvania’s public education advocates think of this year’s budget plan
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison June 26, 2019
A $34 billion budget plan approved by the state House Tuesday boosts basic education spending by $160 million, but public school advocates say Pennsylvania’s school districts need even more to cover ever-increasing expenses. The House-approved appropriation is 20 percent, or $40 million, less than what Gov. Tom Wolf first proposed to lawmakers back in February. “This lets districts tread water,” said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of PA, a nonprofit public education advocacy group. “I’m hoping that next year, we will see a much bigger ask so we can really start to make progress toward building the schools our kids need.” Spicka said that state funding isn’t keeping pace with the mounting costs of special education, charter school tuition payments, and employee benefits — mandated costs that districts can’t cut without violating state or federal law. Spending on those three areas grew by a combined 7.8 percent for the average Pennsylvania school district last year, according to an annual survey of school district budgets from the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials and the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.  Seventy-four percent of the districts they surveyed said they planned to levy a tax hike to make up the difference.

Why the General Assistance floor fight was an inflection point in state politics | Thursday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star By  John L. Micek June 27, 2019
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Take a good, long look at that image up there. That’s freshman Sen. Katie Muth offering her floor remarks during Wednesday’s Senate vote to eliminate Pennsylvania’s cash assistance program for thousands of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, including the disabled, and those struggling with addiction. You’re probably going to be seeing a lot of that image in next year’s state Senate re-election campaigns, as Democrats look to tip the balance of power in the 50-member chamber. In just a year, Republicans have seen a veto-proof 34-16 majority whittled down to a far more slender 26-22 advantage. If you’ve seen this image, blasted out in a tweet by the progressive advocacy group Keystone Progress, then you heard Muth, D-Berks, offering arguments on behalf of the program. In the background, you’ll hear the voice of Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, bellowing that her remarks are out of order. That’s because Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who presides over the Senate, took a parliamentary left turn, calling on Muth over Corman, even though, under the chamber’s operating rules, an action the Centre County Republican was making was supposed to get procedural preference. His voice rising in anger, Corman accuses Fetterman of breaking “the rules that we all voted on unanimously,” the Capital-Star’s Sarah Anne Hughes reported Wednesday. Corman adds that Fetterman’s job is “to enforce the rules of the Senate, not to be a partisan hack.”

Some board members question proposed sale of Philly school district building to charter operator
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: June 26, 2019- 3:47 PM
The roof at Belmont Charter School leaks, the building doesn’t have air-conditioning, and the playground — deemed unsafe by an inspector — is fenced off from students. The West Philadelphia school can’t fix those problems, it says, because it doesn’t own the building. The Philadelphia School District does. To make the repairs, the charter operator wants to buy the building from the district. “We see it as the only way forward at this point,” said Jennifer Faustman, Belmont’s CEO. District officials have recommended the sale, with a provision that would enable the district to buy the building back. Still, some school board members have expressed reservations about selling. The school has a catchment giving students in the surrounding area the right to attend it — stoking concern that the district is turning over not just a building, but its presence in the neighborhood. “Any number of charter schools could come before us and make the same kind of demand,” Joyce Wilkerson, the school board’s president, said at a meeting last month. “Going forward," she said, the board will “need to consider a policy that would clearly state we will not sell district buildings” with catchments. The sale — which the school board is scheduled to vote on Thursday — is an example of the complex relationship between charters and school districts. While charters are independently run, in Pennsylvania they are funded by districts, which don’t provide facilities. Charters must rent or buy space. But in some cases, Philadelphia has turned over the management of struggling district schools to charter operators. The district owns those buildings. In total, 27 charter schools are located in district buildings, said district spokesperson Megan Lello. Philadelphia has 87 charters that educate about one-third, or 70,000, of the city’s public school students.

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.
In 2016-17, taxpayers in House Ed Cmte Majority Chairman Curt Sonney’s districts had to send over $2.6 million to chronically underperforming cybers that their locally elected school boards never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could change that. 
Data source: PDE via PSBA

Corry Area SD
$595,396.25
Fort LeBoeuf SD
$462,487.81
Harbor Creek SD
$313,550.38
North East SD
$304,210.87
Union City Area SD
$459,621.60
Wattsburg Area SD
$538,068.68

$2,673,335.59

Has your state senator cosponsored bipartisan SB34?

Is your state representative one of the over 70 bipartisan cosponsors of HB526?

Lawmakers, Wolf need to reject this backdoor attempt to arm teachers | Opinion
By Shira Goodman and Deborah Gordon Klehr  Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributors June 26, 2019
You have to keep your eyes wide open during budget season – things get hidden in code bills, deals get made, and bills that are supposed to do one thing all of sudden become vehicles to do something else. This is happening right now as the Pennsylvania House and Senate take up legislation (SB621) sponsored by Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland. It’s a measure focused on school security that has now become a vehicle to arm teachers. We all want our schools to be safe places for students to learn and teachers to teach.  And for the most part, they are. Despite what we see in the news and the growing focus on school shootings, schools are some of the safest places for our children, with only a very small percentage of homicides of school-age children occurring on school grounds, on the way to or from school or during school-sponsored events. We also know that the way to keep our schools safe is to focus on investment in services our students need, to prevent any incidents of violence.

“The Educational Improvement Tax Credit will rise
Earlier this month, Wolf vetoed legislation that would have expanded a program that helps fund scholarships at private schools by giving tax credits to businesses. House Bill 800 would have increased the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program by $100 million -- and would have created a mechanism for automatic increases in the future. Wolf said the program "lacks proper accountability and oversight." But the budget agreement includes a smaller increase -- $25 million -- for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarships.
The program has grown since it was first created. 
The Pa. budget deal explained in 5 maps and charts
WITF Written by Ed Mahon/PA Post | Jun 26, 2019 10:40 AM
 (Harrisburg) -- The state House on Tuesday moved forward with a $34 billion general spending plan for the state. The House passed a general appropriations bill with a 140-62 vote, sending it to the state Senate. While Gov. Tom Wolf's administration is on board with the plan, many Democratic lawmakers in the minority have objected. Here are five maps and charts to explain the budget deal -- and the debate around it.

Private schools benefit from Pa. tax credits, report zero low-income students
WITF Written by Avi Wolfman-Arent/Keystone Crossroads | Jun 26, 2019 6:48 AM
 (Undated) -- Any debate over the tax-credit programs that subsidize private-school education in Pennsylvania could begin here: There is very little public data on the students who benefit. Backers often say that scholarship money raised through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) goes to poor families who'd be "trapped" in "failing" public schools if they didn't have tuition assistance. Skeptics paint another picture. Because the scholarship programs have income limits nearly twice the state median, they say the state is foregoing tax revenue in order to fund private schools for families who have other quality options. Based on an analysis of right-to-know records and other state data, Keystone Crossroads found muddled evidence to support both claims. The analysis comes with caveats and strong indications that private schools and scholarship organizations regularly report incomplete or incorrect information. We looked at 151 schools that administer their own tax credit scholarship programs, and then examined demographic data those same schools report separately to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Of those schools, 57 -- more than a third -- report enrolling zero low-income students or said they couldn't determine how many low-income students they have. Another 15 schools told the state that less than five percent of their student body was low-income. Many of these schools are located in the state's wealthiest suburbs, where students have access to some of Pennsylvania's highest-rated public schools.

“Small daily or weekly newspapers, focusing on a single town or handful of municipalities have traditionally supplied hyperlocal news. But these outlets now produce less journalism as hedge fund-backed media companies have brought a slash-and-burn approach to pulling revenue out of papers in Philadelphia’s collar counties. Meanwhile, dozens of new media startups like More Than The Curve have cropped up in Pennsylvania to try to fill gaps in coverage, either by topic or geography, while also battling the same financial challenges that have undercut the newspaper business.”
How media startups in the Philly suburbs are trying to fill the local news ‘void’
WHYY By Laura Benshoff June 27, 2019  Listen 4:48
On a cloudless Saturday in Conshohocken, groups of people in red t-shirts roam the streets of the Montgomery County borough, in search of tacos. It’s the first ever Tacohocken, a Mexican food-themed bar crawl held by the hyperlocal news site More Than The Curve. While journalism is not the focus of the event, each $20 ticket helps support the site, which is owned by Burb Media, LLC and named for the 90-degree turn on the Schuylkill Expressway on the way to the borough. “It’s fun to read the comments on the posts and get some local news,” said communications specialist Patricia Powell, who lives in Conshohocken. “I really don’t know any other way I would get it.”

Former state Rep. Bernie O’Neill tapped for Centennial BOE seat
Bucks County Courier Times By James Boyle Posted Jun 25, 2019 at 11:01 PM Updated Jun 26, 2019 at 12:06 AM
Bernie O’Neill highlighted his 25 years as a teacher at Centennial’s William Tennent High School, five years as a Warminster supervisor and 15 years in Harrisburg as a state representative for the 29th district while speaking with the board prior to his selection. Former state Rep. Bernie O’Neill ended his short retirement from elected office Tuesday night when the Centennial School Board appointed the Warminster resident to fill a recently vacated seat. He was sworn in immediately by District Judge Dan Finello and joined the board for the remainder of Tuesday’s meeting. “A lot of people contacted me and asked if I would consider doing this,” O’Neill said following the board meeting. “Right now I’m going to get a feel for everything. There’s a lot of tension on the board, and in the past I’ve always played a bit of a peacemaker. I have a long history of working on both sides of the aisle.” O’Neill replaces Tara Pellegrino in the district’s Region II, which covers residents in Ivyland and part of Warminster between York and Davisville roads. Pellegrino is moving out of the district and resigned about 18 months into her first term.

Still facing a $12 million deficit, Allentown School District to hold special finance meeting before budget vote
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO | THE MORNING CALL | JUN 26, 2019 | 9:20 AM
Still facing a $12 million deficit with just days until it must pass a balanced budget, the Allentown School District will have special finance and education meetings Thursday night — hours before voting on a final budget. The district will start its special finance meeting, which is to discuss the proposed 2019-20 budget, at 5:30 p.m., according to the district’s website. The special education meeting, which is to discuss charter school renewal, will begin after the finance meeting. Then after education, the board will have another meeting and vote on the 2019-20 budget. By law, school districts must pass a balanced budget by June 30. Last month, district officials said it had reduced its $21 million deficit to $12 million by anticipating a 3.5% tax hike and not filling positions, including 28 paraprofessionals, five teachers and three psychologists. By raising taxes by 3.5%, a taxpayer with a home valued at $110,000 would pay an extra $76 annually in property taxes.

Chartiers Valley School Board approves tax increase
Post-Gazette by DEANA CARPENTER JUN 26, 2019 1:05 PM
Chartiers Valley school directors voted 6-2 June 25 to approve $67.4 million budget that includes a tax increase of 0.4885 mills. The millage increase would mean a $48.85 increase in taxes per every $100,000 of assessed property value and bring the total millage to 17.5595, or about $1,756 on every $100,000 of assessed property value.  The tax increase is expected to generate about $1.1 million Board members Mark Kuzinski, Darren Mariano, Robert Kearney, Eric Kraemer, Tony Mazzarini and Julie Murphy, voted for the budget. Brian Kopec and Jeff Choura voted no. Sandy Zeleznik was absent. The district is using $602,253 from its risk management and $934,591 from debt service fund balances to balance the budget and is not using any of its unassigned fund balance to do so.

Bethel Park school board votes to decrease tax rate
Teacher's union sharply critical of decision
Post-Gazette by DEANA CARPENTER JUN 26, 2019 12:09 PM
Taxpayers in the Bethel Park School District will be getting a bit of a break on their 2019-20 school taxes as the school board voted 6-3 on an $89 million budget that decreases the district’s millage rate from 22.8763 mills to 21 mills. Board members David Amaditz, Donna Cook, Connie Ruhl, Cynthia Buckley, Ron Werkmeister and Jim Means voted for the decrease at the board’s June 25 meeting. Board members Ken Nagel, Pamela Dobos and Barry Christenson voted no. At a previous meeting, the board approved the millage rate to stay at 22.8763, but at the June 25 meeting, Mr. Werkmeister made a motion to amend the agenda to decrease the millage rate. The new millage rate of 21, which nets a reduction 1.87 mills, will mean that taxpayers will pay about $2,100 per every $100,000 of assessed property value instead of the $2,287 per every $100,000 for the 2018-19 school year. To make up for the millage reduction, the district will be using between $4.5 million and $5 million in fund balance to balance the budget, leaving Bethel Park with a fund balance of about $15 million. The union representing Bethel Park teachers was sharply critical of the decision to decrease the tax rate, calling it “short-sighted” and “irresponsible.” The Bethel Park Federation of Teachers said in a statement issued Thursday that the decision went against the recommendation of the superintendent and took action without any public discussion.

School meal debt in Lancaster County has skyrocketed since passage of 'lunch shaming' la
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer June 27, 2019
Pennsylvania's “lunch shaming” ban, while widely supported, might be costing school districts more money. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, parents still owed Lancaster County districts $118,501 on their children's cafeteria accounts. That's seven times more than in 2017, when Pennsylvania passed a law that banned serving students alternate meals if their accounts were in the negative. And the sharp increase doesn’t even include figures from two districts — Hempfield and Manheim Central — that did not provide data for this school year. Schools here had only $16,180 in debt after the 2016-17 school year, LNP records show.

An Inaccurate Census Count Jeopardizes Educational Opportunities
NSBA Website by Tom Gentzel, Executive Director June 25, 2019
The profound mission of public schools to ensure that all children have access to education is extraordinary not only as a bedrock principle of American society, but more importantly for its far-reaching positive impact on the lives of children.
When it comes to the fundamental right to access education, it doesn’t matter how children got here. Whether they were born in the United States or arrived with parents or without, with documents or without, seeking political asylum or pursuing economic opportunity — the inviolate duty of public schools to educate all children in our country remains steadfast and essential.  The ability of public schools to carry out their mission is severely undermined when the federal government undertakes measures such as the inclusion of a question on citizenship in the Decennial Census, which U.S. Census Bureau and survey experts predict will undercount the The Census Bureau projects conservatively that the inclusion of a citizenship question on the census will lead to an estimated 5.8 percent decline in the number of noncitizen responses. Some independent researchers anticipate the decline would be much higher, with nearly one in 10 households and 45 million people “at risk for not being counted.”
https://www.nsba.org/News/2019/Gentzel-census-op-ed

Teach For America's Defenders and Detractors Are Both Wrong
Recent news coverage has sparked a resurgent—and deeply divisive—debate over TFA
Education Week By Jeffrey R. Henig June 25, 2019
On June 18th, ProPublica published a news story with the headline "How Teach For America Evolved Into an Arm of the Charter School Movement." Some sensibilities were bruised. The story was about the evolution of Teach For America away from its founding mission "to tap idealistic graduates of elite universities to teach at traditional public schools in high-poverty areas" into "an informal but vital ally of the charter school movement." (Disclosure: I was briefly quoted in this article.) As evidence of this shift, ProPublica reporter Annie Waldman described the many ways TFA connects to the education reform movement, including naming its wealthy donors who have also been prominent funders of charter schools. Waldman's revelation concerns the Walton Family Foundation. In 2013, Walton gave a grant to TFA, reimbursing the organization for every teacher it placed in a charter school 50 percent more than it paid for a teacher placed in a traditional public school. Reactions to the story were immediate, strong, and deeply divided. Some celebrated the article for unmasking a destructive alliance between TFA and forces angling to replace traditional public schools with more privatized alternatives. "Damn, ProPublica has become invaluable in a short space of time," declared Charles Pierce, a left-of-center pundit. Diane Ravitch, arguably the nation's foremost critic of the contemporary education reform movement, blogged that it was "an eye-popping article, an exemplar of investigative reporting."

Testing Resistance & Reform News: June 19 - 25, 2019
FairTest Submitted by fairtest on June 25, 2019 - 3:18pm 
As the last classrooms close for summer break, it's a good time to look back -- the past year has been among the best ever for the testing reform movement: more states eliminating exit exams; successful campaigns to rollback test-driven school grading schemes and the fastest ACT/SAT-optional growth rate in history.

The deadline to submit a cover letter, resume and application is August 19, 2019.
Become a 2019-2020 PSBA Advocacy Ambassador
PSBA is seeking applications for two open Advocacy Ambassador positions. Candidates should have experience in day-to-day functions of a school district, on the school board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement of local school directors and public education stakeholders through the advocacy leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will be responsible for assisting PSBA in achieving its advocacy goals. To achieve their mission, ambassadors will be kept up to date on current legislation and PSBA positions on legislation. The current open positions will cover PSBA Sections 3 and 4, and Section 7.
PSBA Advocacy Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA and serve as liaisons between PSBA and their local elected officials. Advocacy Ambassadors also commit to building strong relationships with PSBA members with the purpose of engaging the designated members to be active and committed grassroots advocates for PSBA’s legislative priorities. 

PSBA: Nominations for The Allwein Society are open!
This award program recognizes school directors who are outstanding leaders & advocates on behalf of public schools & students. Nominations are accepted year-round with selections announced early fall: http://ow.ly/CchG50uDoxq 

EPLC is accepting applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy & community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org 

2019 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October 16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference to grow!

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

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.