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
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“Take, for
example, a fight over school funding in 2013. In the budget negotiated that
year, 21 of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts split an additional $30 million
in funding distributed through the school code. As LancasterOnline reported, districts weren’t named; instead, the language was
crafted so narrowly it could only apply to one place. The vast majority of the lawmakers whose districts benefited were in leadership
positions at the time, WHYY reported. The practice has continued.
LancasterOnline reported last year on millions of extra state dollars that went to school districts in Erie, Scranton,
Allentown, and other systems across the state through the budget.”
Cracking the Code: These budget bills are where the deals
get made
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso June 19, 2019
Normally, it’s the
big numbers of Pennsylvania’s annual budget debate — whether increasing public
school dollars or decreasing business tax rates — that attract the most
attention. But with no new taxes or big spending hikes on the table, many
Capitol veterans believe the drama this year could lie in an obscure, but no
less critical, part of getting an on-time spending plan onto Gov Tom Wolf’s
desk: code bills. The bills are a package of budget-enabling legislation that
effectively serves as the instruction manual for spending the money in the
state’s General Fund budget. Lawmakers amend all sorts of state codes — tax,
education, and human services, to name a few — during the June budget season.
At times, these bills are used as depositories for lawmaker priorities that
have failed to move through the regular legislative process. Each edit an
existing part of state law that govern spending in their given area. If, for
example, lawmakers launch a new workforce development program in high schools,
the education code must tell the Department of Education how to fund it.
A proposal to change Pa.’s teacher evaluation system is
moving forward — without support from Philly’s unions
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison June 19, 2019
A proposal to make
Pennsylvania’s teacher evaluation system fairer to educators in high-poverty
schools passed a key Senate committee hurdle on Tuesday without the support of
the state’s most impoverished school district. The legislation, sponsored by
Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, would change how Pennsylvania grades its public
school teachers to better acknowledge how poverty affects student achievement.
But the Philadelphia school district, which educates more children living in
poverty than any other district in the state, said it needs more time to review
the bill. “We haven’t taken a position on it,” Sharon Ward, a policy advisor to
Philadelphia public school system, said after a Tuesday meeting of the Senate
Education Committee, where members voted 9-2 to approve the bill. “We need time
to fully assess the impact, and we would love to see it delayed until the fall
so everyone can be at the table.” Aument helped design the state’s current
evaluation system in 2012, when he was a member of the House. Seven years
later, he says its outsized emphasis on student test scores has unfairly
penalized teachers in high-poverty school districts. “What we have seen
is the current evaluation system absolutely serves as a barrier for high
quality students wanting to serve our most vulnerable students,” Aument said
Tuesday. Under his new bill, the evaluations will rely more heavily on a
teacher’s classroom observations, which school administrators conduct using a
nationally recognized methodology. Teachers would still be accountable for
their students’ standardized test scores. But a formula Aument developed with
the Department of Education would adjust those test scores based, in part,
on a school’s aggregate poverty level.
Governor Wolf Vetoes House Bill 800
Governor Wolf’s
Websiste June 18, 2019
Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Tom Wolf vetoed House
Bill 800.
“Education is the
cornerstone of democracy, and it is my job as the leader of this commonwealth
to ensure fairness and accountability in our classrooms. House Bill 800 would
pour funding into a program that lacks these two critical aspects,” said Gov.
Wolf. “We have an accountable public education system in place that is
underfunded. I have and I will continue to fight to fully fund Pennsylvania’s
public schools. The governor’s full veto message:
“Despite Wolf’s
veto, funding for the EITC program is expected to be a part of budget talks in
the coming weeks. Last year, Wolf signed a budget that included a $25 million increase
for the program.”
Wolf vetoes increase in tax credits for Pa.
private-school scholarships
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, June 18, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf on
Tuesday vetoed a dramatic expansion of a program that would give businesses tax
credits for donating to scholarships for Pennsylvania students to attend
private schools.
"It is my job
as the leader of this commonwealth to ensure fairness and accountability in our
classrooms. House Bill 800 would pour funding into a program that lacks these
two critical aspects,” Wolf said in a statement. Backed by top lawmakers, the
bill would have nearly doubled Pennsylvania’s
Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, adding $100 million in credits. It also would have allowed automatic
increases to the program in the future, and raised the income limit for
participating families. Under the bill, a family of four could earn $126,216 a
year and qualify. In his veto message, Wolf said the proposed program expansion
“strays from the original stated intent of the program — to lift people out of
poverty — and fails to provide any additional accountability or oversight for
the tax dollars being expended.”
Gov. Wolf vetoes bill to expand tax credits for private,
parochial school scholarships
PA Capital Star By Sarah Anne Hughes June 18, 2019
Gov. Tom Wolf on
Tuesday vetoed a bill that would nearly double the size of a tax credit program
for private and parochial school scholarships. Wolf told the Capital-Star last
week he planned to veto the
bill, introduced
by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny. “Education is the cornerstone of
democracy, and it is my job as the leader of this commonwealth to ensure
fairness and accountability in our classrooms,” Wolf said in a statement.
“House Bill 800 would pour funding into a program that lacks these two critical
aspects. We have an accountable public education system in place that is
underfunded. I have and I will continue to fight to fully fund Pennsylvania’s
public schools.” Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit
program provides up to $110 million per year in tax credits to businesses that
donate to K-12 scholarship funds. Under the current program guidelines, a family
that makes $100,608 per year can receive an EITC scholarship for their child.
“One of the
defining elements of Democratic politics under President Donald Trump has been
their opposition to publicly administered programs that support private school
choice. Beltway Democrats, including some of those seeking the party's
presidential nomination in 2020, have relentlessly attacked U.S. Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos for her support for vouchers in particular, although
vouchers work differently than tax-credit scholarships. DeVos has frequently
been accused of seeking to privatize
public education; her
argument is that students should have access to the educational settings that
suit them best regardless of where it takes place and who delivers instruction.”
Democratic Governor Captures National Party's Mood in
Vetoing School Choice Expansion
Education Week
Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on June 18, 2019 3:44 PM
Gov. Tom Wolf of
Pennsylvania has vetoed
a bill that would expand the state's private school choice program, a move that in part reflects increasing opposition in the Democratic
Party to programs that grassroots activists and voters believe divert funding
away from traditional public schools. Wolf, a Democrat, vetoed House Bill 800, which would have doubled money available
for the Educational
Improvement Tax Creditto an annual
amount of $210 million. The program provides tax credits for donations to
organizations that provide scholarships to private schools. The money can also
be used to support prekindergarten programs. In
his veto message, Wolf said
the current tax-credit scholarship program "lacks accountability and
oversight." He also rhetorically questioned why the state would increase
its funding when there are bigger priorities for K-12 in Pennsylvania. "We
have public schools that are structurally deteriorating, contaminated by lead,
and staffed by teachers who are not appropriately paid and overstretched in
their responsibilities. Tackling these challenges, and others, should be our
collective priority," the governor said in his message.
Greater Johnstown School District's lawsuit against the
state continues
by WJAC STAFF Tuesday,
June 18th, 2019
JOHNSTOWN, Pa.
(WJAC) — The Greater Johnstown School District is providing an update on
the fair funding lawsuit they're part of. The district is one of six districts
that filed a lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania in 2014. The lawsuit
came about after there was a significant cut in school funding. The suit claims
that the state is not providing a thorough and efficient education as stated in
the state constitution, citing not enough money being given to school
districts. “We believe that that every child has the right to a quality
education," said Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, staff attorney at the Public
Interest Law Center. “And so what that means, the lawsuit, what fair funding
means is that the state allocates enough money and does it in a fair enough manner
that every child has the resources they need to give them a real chance to go
to college and to have a family sustaining career.” The Public Interest Law
Center staff attorney says he is grateful that the Greater Johnstown School
District is part of this lawsuit and fighting for themselves and for children
across the state. According to court documents, the trial is set for summer of
2020.
https://wjactv.com/news/local/greater-johnstown-school-districts-lawsuit-against-the-state-continues
Moo-ve over skim milk: These lawmakers are udderly
serious about bringing back whole milk
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso June 19, 2019
Surrounded by
sash-wearing dairy princesses, lawmakers gulping down chocolate milk, and a sea
of concerned farmers and their families, allies of Pennsylvania’s dairy
industry made a plea in the Capitol Tuesday on behalf of the country’s school
children — let them drink milk. Whole milk, that is. In 2010, the
Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress pushed through a measure to change school
nutrition standards — including removing higher fat, flavored milks from the
lunch tray — as part of an Obama administration effort to fight childhood
obesity. As part of a rollback to “make school meals
great again,” President
Donald Trump’s administration in 2017 started allowing kids to drink 1 percent
flavored milk again. U.S. Rep. Glenn William “G.T.” Thompson, R-15th District,
wants the feds to go even further. The congressman, whose sprawling, rural
northwestern district includes large agricultural interests, was in Harrisburg
Tuesday to promote his bill to put whole milk, flavored and unflavored, back into the nation’s
school cafeterias.
12 area districts get $87,900 in STEAM-related grants
Observer-Reporter
by Rick Shrum Jun 18, 2019
Twelve school
districts in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties will share $87,900 in
grants aimed at enhancing STEAM-education opportunities. Those grants are part
of a quarter-million-dollar package that will benefit 43 school districts in
Southwestern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio. The funding
is through a partnership of Chevron, EQT and the Claude Worthington Benedum
Foundation. This is the third year of this partnership program, through which
these “Innovation Grants” are awarded to districts, mostly in rural areas, to
help them step up education in science, technology, engineering, arts and
mathematics. Funding for the Pennsylvania schools is going toward coding,
robotics and music as well as STEAM subjects. There are 13 projects in the 12
districts, with two going to Connellsville Area. Here is a breakdown by county:
“Charter school
and pension obligations are two of the biggest cost-drivers for the district.
Charter school tuition is expected to be more than $30 million, while the
district will pay more than $37 million in pension obligations. This is the
first time in about 25 years that Bethlehem Area has passed a budget with no
tax hike.”
Bethlehem Area teachers guaranteed more than 3% raises
each year in new four-year contract
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO | THE MORNING CALL | JUN 18, 2019 | 11:01 AM
Bethlehem Area
School District teachers have a new contract that will guarantee them more than
3% raises each of the next four years. In an 8-0 vote Monday night, the school
board approved a contract that starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2023. It gives
teachers 3.5% raises each of the first three years and 3.25% raise in the final
year. The union, which represents slightly more than 1,000 teachers in the
district, has approved the contract. For the 2019-20 school year, starting pay
for teachers will be $48,987. Top pay for teachers with a master’s degree will
be $88,428. Teachers with a doctorate can earn up to $91,737. In the final year
of the contract, starting pay for a first-year teacher will be $51,254, while
top salaries for teachers with a master’s and doctorate degrees are $92,521 and
$95,981, respectively.
“At the meeting,
school directors voted 8-0 to raise property taxes for the 2019-20 school year.
School Director Gregg Lindner absent. The $90.2 million budget calls for real
estate taxes in Chester County municipalities to be 29.16 mills 25.71 mills in
Delaware County.”
Unionville to outfit its school buses with stop-arm
cameras
Daily Local by Fran Maye fmaye@21st-centurymedia.com June 19, 2019
EAST
MARLBOROUGH—Pass a Unionville-Chadds Ford School Bus loading or unloading
students this fall and you can expect a hefty fine and five points on your
driver’s license. And a police officer doesn’t even need to be in the vicinity.
Unionville School Board directors this week voted to authorize $55,000 in
funding for stop-arm cameras on 45 of the district’s school buses. “I’m very
pleased that we have this technology available,” School Director Jeff Hellrung
said. “This will give us the capacity to take photos of vehicles that pass
stopped school buses. It will get photos of license plates of the cars.” Hellrung
said vehicles illegally passing school buses as students board buses is common.
“This is a not uncommon occurrence, according to our district bus drivers, and
one that could become fatal to students in our school district,” Hellrung said.
Here’s how it
works: Once a vehicle illegally passes a bus, a sensor installed directly below
the stop-arm will trigger a marked alarm on the video recording each time it
senses a vehicle passing the stopped bug. A high-definition digital video
recorder captures views of the event from both directions. The DVR recording is
tagged with stop-arm violation and information such s date, time and GPS
coordinates. When the bus returns to the yard, the video tagged as a stop-arm
violation is automatically downloaded over WIFI to a central server for review,
and police processing.
The vote was 8-0.
“Expenses are
largely mandated with 76 percent of costs a combination of salaries, healthcare
and the retirement system (PSERS). While the rate of PSERS increases has
somewhat slowed, the coming year’s net increase is still just over $512,000.”
Garnet Valley OKs budget with small tax increase
Delco Times By
Susan L. Serbin Times Correspondent June 19, 2019
CONCORD —
There was no public comment, no board discussion and no changes since the
preliminary final budget was approved in May. The Garnet Valley School Board
approved and will send its 2019-2020 final general fund operating budget of
$112.6 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Business Director Chris
Wilson presented the budget to the board for the final time. The tax increase
of 1.80 percent is the lowest hike in six years. Using the average assessment
of $205,540, millage for Concord and Chester Heights is 33.0721, or just less
than $6,800. Bethel has an additional .3679 mills as a participant in Delaware
County Community College. The 33.44 mills equates to $6,873 in taxes. The
difference of the approximate $73-$75 for Bethel tax payers was particularly
relevant as DCCC representatives attended the board’s work session to discuss a
potential capital project and overall impact on the district. For Bethel
residents attending DCCC, the township’s sponsorship (for which the extra
millage pays) entitles them to a tuition rate which doubles for non-sponsorship
residents in the county including Chester Heights and Concord. With credits
transferrable to a number of four-year colleges, the savings for higher
education can be significant.
“When you talk to
people outside of here (the board room) they have no clue what’s going on in
Harrisburg. Their focus is solely on the school board; it’s not the school
board’s fault that this is happening,” he said. “No one seems to understand the
impact of underfunding coming from the legislators in Harrisburg.” Grant says
the district is underfunded by $16 million.”
U.D. school board approves $215 million budget, tax
increase
Delco Times By Kevin Tustin
ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com June 19, 2019
UPPER DARBY—
Expenditures are up, and the tax increase down, in the final 2019-20 school
year budget for the Upper Darby School District. The school board approved a
$215.1 million budget Tuesday night that looked slightly different than the
proposed final budget approved last month. The proposed final budget of $213
million included a 3 percent tax increase, but board members wanted a lower
figure, either 1.9 or 2.3 percent, and both options were on the table for a
vote. The board voted 6-3 to raise taxes 1.9 percent which will bring the
millage rate to 37.8452 mills. The tax increase will generate an additional
$1.92 million in property real estate taxes.
QUALITY COUNTS 2019: SCHOOL FINANCE
Education Week
Special Reports June 2019
How much does money
really matter in the quest for educational quality?
And if it matters
so much, as supporters of higher spending argue, why do taxpayers and the
public seem to flinch when they’re confronted with the tab? This second
installment of Quality Counts 2019 examines that question and more. The
Education Week Research Center and school finance reporter Daarel Burnette II
dig into the policy and political debates over K-12 funding, and tally how the
nation and the states stack up, complete with scores, rankings, A-F grades, and
expert analysis.
“Though teenagers
and privacy rights advocates might find it extreme, the new policy is legal
thanks to a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld an Oklahoma school district’s policy
of randomly drug testing students who participate in “competitive”
extracurricular activities such as cheerleading and choir. In 1997, the Supreme
Court had determined that testing high school athletes for illegal drugs was
constitutional.”
A school district is fed up with ‘epidemic’ vaping. Now
it will randomly test students for nicotine.
According to
the U.S. surgeon general, e-cigarette use among middle and high school students
increased by 900 percent between 2011 and 2015. (Bloomberg News)
Washington Post By Antonia Noori
Farzan June 18 at
6:11 AM
Virtually odorless
and smokeless, easily concealed in a pocket or sleeve, and frequently designed
to look like USB drives or other everyday items, e-cigarettes are not difficult
to hide. Perhaps not coincidentally, the number of teenagers who vape has skyrocketed in
recent years, bedeviling
school principals and prompting fears that a new generation will grow up hooked
on nicotine. So one small Nebraska school district is trying an aggressive new
approach: forcing students in grades seven through 12 to submit to random
nicotine testing if they want to take part in extracurricular activities such
as speech competitions and the National Honor Society. “Vaping and smoking in
our view is reaching epidemic proportions,” Fairbury Public Schools
Superintendent Stephen Grizzle told the Lincoln
Journal Star last
week, after the school board voted to approve the measure. “It’s just a way we can deter kids from
potentially being addicted to nicotine.”
Testing Resistance & Reform News: June 12 - 18, 2019
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on June 18, 2019 - 2:14pm
Though most public
schools across the U.S. have closed for the summer, there are still plenty of
stories about effective campaigns to roll back standardized exam misuse and
overuse. Encourage your friends and allies to sign up for these updates so they
can receive important news and tools
The deadline to
submit a cover letter, resume and application is July 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.
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