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The
New York Times Front Page June 6th, 1944
"Every
dollar that we draw out is less money for those [public] schools, and those
dollars should be spent in a transparent and accountable way," she said.
"We don't know what's happening with it." ….The GOP-controlled House already passed the measure,
which is sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai. Having now passed the Senate
Education Committee, it is bound for consideration by the full chamber. However,
it's likely the bill will become a piece of a larger budget measure, and as
such could be subject to the horse-trading budget negotiations typically entail.”
HB800: More tax credits? More spending? Lawmakers
continue to clash on education.
WITF Written
by Katie Meyer,
Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun
5, 2019 3:16 PM
(Harrisburg) -- Republicans in the state House
and Senate are briskly moving a bill they say helps low-income students, and that Democrats say is unfairly
routing money away from struggling public schools. The proposed increase to the
Educational Improvement Tax Credit will likely to be used as a bargaining chip
in ongoing budget negotiations. The tax credit goes to people and businesses that donate to private school
scholarships or run related programs. It lets them deduct most of that money
from their state taxes. The available credits have grown incrementally and
substantially since the program started in 2001--often with bipartisan support.
This bill goes further than past iterations, however. It would nearly double
the amount of credit available and escalate it automatically if at least 90
percent gets used. It would also raise the income cap for eligible families,
from $85,000 to $95,000. Chester County Democrat Andy Dinniman, minority chair of
the Senate Education Committee, has long supported the program. But he said
this is too much. "My concern is that we have students sitting in
classrooms in some of our schools that have asbestos and lead in those classrooms,"
Dinniman said. "We need to make sure some money is
given there." Fellow
Democratic Senator Lindsey Williams, of Allegheny County, noted she is
concerned there isn't enough oversight involved with the program.
HB800: Expansion of private-school tax credits advances
in state Senate
WITF Written by The
Associated Press | Jun 5, 2019 12:57 PM
(Harrisburg) -- Legislation to substantially
expand taxpayer support for private and religious schools is taking another
step in Pennsylvania. The Senate Education Committee approved the bill
Wednesday over the protests of Democrats. It's sponsored by House Speaker Mike
Turzai and passed the Republican-controlled House last month on a near-party
line basis. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is critical of it, saying it boosts
business tax credits at the expense of public school funding. But Turzai is
expected to make it part of June's budget negotiations for the fiscal year
starting July 1. It would nearly double the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
to $210 million annually, add automatic 10% increases and lift the family
income eligibility limit to $95,000. The program reimburses corporations for
donating to school groups, which primarily offer private school scholarships.
HB800: Pa. Senate Advances Expansion Of Private School
Tax Credits
KDKA CBS Pittsburgh
June 5, 2019 at 12:43 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa.
(AP) — Legislation to substantially expand taxpayer support for private and
religious schools is taking another step in Pennsylvania. The Senate Education
Committee approved the bill Wednesday over the protests of Democrats. It’s
sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai and passed the Republican-controlled
House last month on a near-party line basis. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is
critical of it, saying it boosts business tax credits at the expense of public
school funding. But Turzai is expected to make it part of June’s budget
negotiations for the fiscal year starting July 1. It would nearly double the
Educational Improvement Tax Credit to $210 million annually, add automatic 10%
increases and lift the family income eligibility limit to $95,000.
The program
reimburses corporations for donating to school groups, which primarily offer
private school scholarships.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/05/private-school-tax-credits-expansion-pennsylvania-senate/
Senate Education Committee Roll Call Vote on HB800 Tax
Credit Bill
Letter: PUBLIC MONEY SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR PRIVATE
SCHOOLS
Centre Daily Times
Letter by Kirk Whitaker, Boalsburg June 5, 2019
The May 29 opinion
by Rob Thomas on using public money for private schools is deceptive on a
number of levels. While I applaud the excellent work they have done to
establish St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, public money should not be used for
private schools. Whether an individual receives a tax credit or a check is
written from the state treasury, the result is the same. The rest of us will be
taxed a little more to make up the revenue shortfall. There is no public
accounting on the use of these funds. Our public schools are not “one size fits
all.” I submit that our local public schools offer not only a dizzying amount
of choice in academics, instructional formats, extracurricular programs, and
sports; they do so at a level that cannot possibly be matched at any regional
private school. And it’s free for the asking. He is, however, correct in saying
that the public schools are lacking in religious instruction; it’s a
Constitutional thing. On the contrary, I would expect the moniker of “one size
fits all” to apply far more to the private school than the public. They will
all wear the same uniform. All will have prescribed hair styles. All will study
the same religion. All academic instruction will be filtered though the same
thick lens of an institutional censor. I welcome the presence of private
schools in our community – just don’t ask for my tax dollars to fund it.
Senator Corman, are you listening?
HB800: Guest column: Raise the limits on tax credit scholarships
Pottstown Mercury By Jocelyn Maddox Guest columnist June 5, 2019
It was the middle
of Wednesday and I had 30 minutes — 30 minutes and a choice. I could either eat
my lunch in peace after a hectic morning of work, or I could use that half hour
to fill out scholarship applications for my son, Myles. It was a no-brainer,
and I’ll tell you why. We live in Steelton, just outside Harrisburg, with my
other two children, Myles’ older brother and sister. I grew up there and
attended Steelton-Highspire High School. But not Myles. In fact, none of my
kids have attended our local school district. I know my kids better than anyone
else, and I knew the district school would not be able to meet their needs.
Myles has an eye condition called Nystagmus, which causes his eyes to stay in a
constant motion. It takes him longer than usual to adjust his depth perception
as his field of view changes. After sustained periods of reading Myles gets eye
fatigue and has trouble concentrating. So, I chose to send him to St. Stephen’s
Episcopal School for K-8, then to Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg. It
was my choice, and I’m grateful for it. But it hasn’t been easy. After
scratching and scraping to put my older two through private school, and now
college, there wasn’t much left for Myles. I was faced with a cold, hard
reality: I couldn’t afford to keep Myles at Bishop McDevitt. But I knew it was
the environment he needed to succeed. I had to do something. Our lifeline
turned out to be a scholarship through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement
Tax Credit program.
HB800: PROFITING OFF THE BACKS OF PA’S CHILDREN: COMMONWEALTH
KIDS LLC EXPOSED
PA Spotlight JUN 4,
2019 | Featured, Stories | No byline
The Education
Income Tax Credit (EITC) has long drained resources from public schools to
benefit the rich in Pennsylvania. It has been a constant source of grief for
communities, parents, and our public schools and many education advocates have
spoken out against the program. To no surprise, one of the tax scheme’s biggest
backers is the Koch-funded Commonwealth Foundation. Pennsylvania’s EITC is one
of the most generous tax giveaways in the country dressed up as education
reform. In reality, these type of programs allow corporations and the rich to
profit at the expense of children in public schools. A study in recent years
described programs like the ETIC as a “get-rich scheme for shrewd taxpayers.”
In Pennsylvania, corporations can literally profit from this. Privatized
schools that have taken money from these type of schemes have went as far to
highlight to funders they can “profit up 29 percent” off their contribution.
With this in mind,
PA Spotlight would like to introduce you to the Commonwealth Kids LLC. If that
name seems a little too close to the Commonwealth Foundation for comfort, your
suspicions would be correct. In the same way they do for their billionaire
funders, the Commonwealth Foundation have hidden their true intentions behind
pushing for an expanded EITC in Pennsylvania. It’s no surprise given how their
agenda has failed in Harrisburg.
“Cumulatively,
costs of pensions, charter schools, and special education rose by $4.67 billion
between 2010 and 2018, according to the group’s analysis of Pennsylvania
Department of Education data. State funding increased by only $2.24 billion
over the same period, forcing local taxpayers to make up the difference.”
To help balance the books, school officials ask Pa.
lawmakers to boost basic ed funding, reform charter school law
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth
Hardison June 5,
2019
Administrators who
balance budgets for Pennsylvania’s school districts are calling on lawmakers to
increase state aid for education, saying that compulsory spending hikes have
led to tax increases and staff cuts in public school systems across the state. Members
of two organizations representing Pennsylvania’s school administrators said Tuesday
that state education spending has failed to keep pace with the rising costs of
charter schools, employee pensions, and special education. Those three areas
generated a 7.8 percent spending increase for the average Pennsylvania school
district in the 2017-18 school year, according to an annual survey of school district budgets conducted by the Pennsylvania
Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) and Pennsylvania Association
of School Administrators (PASA). School districts don’t have any authority to
lower these “mandated costs,” the administrators said. They must cut programs
or increase taxes to balance their budgets. “Managing a school district budget
is a formidable challenge,” Jay Himes, PASBO executive director, said during a
Capitol press conference Tuesday. “Costs go up every year, and unfortunately
[districts have] only limited options to address those increases.”
“Only $700
million of the $6.54 billion dollars budgeted for Basic Education, about 11
percent, will be distributed to school districts pursuant to the new formula.
The remaining $5.8 billion is set to be distributed based on the allocation
used prior to the 2014 budget everyone acknowledges is woefully inadequate.
Essentially, 11 percent of our budgeted education dollars get where they are
needed.”
Sen. Boscola: Antiquated basic education funding formula
is hurting homeowners, students
Delco Times Opinion
By Sen. Lisa Boscola Guest columnist Jun 5, 2019
State Sen. Lisa
Boscola is a Democrat who represents Northampton County in the Pennsylvania
Senate.
The Basic Education
Funding Formula is the single largest education funding stream in
Pennsylvania’s budget. Until 2014, each year when the General Assembly passed a
budget it distributed basic education funding dollars to our school districts
based on what they received the year before — regardless of whether the
student population grew or shrank. This led to large disparities throughout the
state when it came to where money went versus where it was needed. Some school
districts received over 70 percent of their funding for their school programs
from the state while other school districts received as low as 30 percent. As
you can imagine this led to significant inequality in property tax burdens for
homeowners. In 2016, the Legislature adopted a Basic Education Funding Formula
to more equitably distribute state resources according to actual needs. The new
formula includes factors reflecting student and community differences such as
poverty, local effort and capacity, and rural and small district conditions. While
the funding formula was met with universal praise, its implementation has been
remarkably disappointing especially to areas like the Lehigh Valley. The
formula was not applied to the dollars that the state was already spending on
schools, but only to new additional dollars allocated after the formula was
adopted. Last year only 8 percent of our basic education dollars were
distributed through the formula. As a result, Lehigh Valley homeowners continue
to be overburdened and our students shortchanged. This year’s proposed budget
isn’t much better.
Cyber charters in Pa. are wildly ineffective, and 3 other
takeaways from new Stanford study
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent June 5, 2019
Pennsylvania’s charter
school debate attracts a lot of heated rhetoric.
But this week, the
conversation got some cold, hard numbers.
The Center for
Research on Education Outcomes, a group based at Stanford University, released
a deep dive into Pennsylvania’s charter schools, which now serve roughly
140,000 students. Debates about the quality of the growing sector can be
especially fraught because comparing schools is rarely an apples-to-apples exercise.
A charter school serving many low-income students might not post top results on
state tests, but may actually do a better job serving disadvantaged students
than a nearby traditional public school. On the flip side, some studies show charters sidestep the toughest-to-serve students, like those with
extreme special needs or those who are learning English. These skeptics worry
that traditional public schools end up with these cast-aside students, and
thus, lower test scores. CREDO’s analysis is an attempt to control for these
variables. The researchers — who have done similar analyses in cities and
states across the country — look at charter school students and try to find students in
nearby traditional public schools who are their “virtual twins.” They create
these “twins” by looking at a student’s age, gender, race, socioeconomic status,
English language ability, and special education status. Then the CREDO
researchers compare the test-score growth of charter school students with their
“twins” to see if the charter school is making a difference.
This latest
Pennsylvania study covered the years 2013-17.
So what did CREDO
find?
Cyber Charter
Funding: This morning there are more than 70 bipartisan cosponsors on this
bill; has your state representative cosponsored HB526?
Blogger note: as we roll into the heart of budget season and this year’s
episode of Pennsylvania Charter School Reform, it is worth remembering the
power politics and money involved in that process. As noted in Martha Woodall’s
Inky article below, running the (Chester Community Charter) school appears to
be a lucrative business. State records show that Gureghian's company collected
nearly $17 million in taxpayer funds just in 2014-15, when only 2,900
students were enrolled.”
Palm Beach mansion
that once asked $85M is under contract
Nearly 36K sf home was once
the most expensive listing in Palm Beach
The Real Deal June 05, 2019 10:30AM
An oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach that once asked
$84.5 million is reportedly under contract. The property, a never-occupied estate at 1071 North
Ocean Boulevard, was first listed for $84.5
million in March 2015. The owners lowered the
asking price several times since then, taking it down to about $60 million. It
was the most expensive home listing in Palm Beach for about two years. Philadelphia
lawyer and charter-school entrepreneur Vahan Gureghian and his wife, Danielle,
a lawyer, own the seven-bedroom, nearly 36,000-square-foot home. It’s now
under contract, according to the Palm Beach Daily News, citing Multiple Listing
Service data. Agents Ashley McIntosh, Gary Pohrer and Vince
Spadea of Douglas Elliman are the listing agents. They took over the listing in
late February. It had been on the market before with Christian Angle of
Christian Angle Real Estate. The mansion sits on a 2-acre double lot with 242
feet of beach frontage with two oceanfront balconies, a massage room, home
theater, library, staff quarters and more.
“It also guarantees that CSMI LLC, a for-profit education management
company that operates the K-8 school with 4,200 students, will receive millions
of dollars in revenue for nine more years. Chester Community's extension comes
as school districts across the commonwealth and nation are wrestling with the
growth of charter schools, more privatization in education and the impact on
traditional public schools. It also renews lingering questions about the
intersection of politics, government and schools. CSMI's founder and CEO
is Vahan H. Gureghian of Gladwyne, a lawyer, entrepreneur and
major Republican donor –the largest individual contributor to former Gov. Tom
Corbett. And though CSMI's books are not public – the for-profit firm
has never disclosed its profits and won't discuss its management fee – running the school appears to be a lucrative business.
State records show that Gureghian's company collected nearly $17 million in
taxpayer funds just in 2014-15, when only 2,900 students were enrolled.”
Reprise 2017: How Chester
Community Charter School got a 9-year deal
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Posted: December
22, 2017
For years, charter school proponents have been
trying to change Pennsylvania law so that operating agreement renewals could be
extended from five
years to 10. They haven't succeeded in Harrisburg. But
that didn't deter Chester Community Charter School.
One year into Chester Community's latest five-year
agreement, Peter R. Barsz, the court-appointed receiver who oversees the
financially distressed Chester Upland School District and wields nearly all the
powers of a school board, took the unprecedented step of extending the Delaware
County school's term for five more years to 2026. Barsz contends that the move
was designed to protect Chester High School: In return, Chester Community,
which already enrolls about 70 percent of the primary grade students in the
struggling district, agreed not to open a high school. The decision means staff
and parents at the state's largest bricks-and-mortar charter – already slated
to receive more than $55 million in taxpayer funds this school year –
won't have to worry about its fate for nearly a decade, even if its test scores
continue to fall far short of state benchmarks.
Lehigh Valley
districts fielded hundreds of tips through new Safe2Say app to protect students
THE MORNING CALL By PETER HALL , SARAH M. WOJCIK and ASHLEY
STALNECKER JUN 06, 2019 | 6:03 AM
It was 10 minutes to 8 a.m. on a Friday in March
when Bethlehem Area School District officials received a chilling tip. A
student was walking into Liberty High School with what looked like a shotgun. The
anonymous tip on March 19 came through the Safe2Say Something app ― a statewide
system designed to stop school threats. District officials believe it came from
a student at a bus stop with a view of the school. Todd Repsher, district
coordinator of school safety and emergency management, said the school
mobilized immediately to investigate, initiating a school-wide lock-in that
kept students in classrooms as authorities searched. Within 30 minutes, the
tipster logged back into the Safe2Say Something app and saw that authorities
were seeking additional information. The student gave them more to go on. “We
were able to discern a time and an entrance,” Rephsher said. “And then lo and
behold, we got it all on the camera. It turned out to be a student with a prop.”
The tip that helped investigators determine there was no threat at Liberty High
School is one of nearly 21,000 received statewide through the Safe2Say
Something system as of May 10. School administrators and law enforcement officials
say the system, which launched on Jan. 14, has changed the way they receive and
respond to school threats. While it has made more work for school officials,
the system appears to be working.
He’s out. Easton Arts Academy charter school announces
‘departure’ of controversial administrator
Rudy Miller | For
lehighvalleylive.com Updated 10:00 AM; Today 9:21 AM
An
administrator accused in a lawsuit of
rigging grades and criticized by teachers for creating a toxic work environment no longer works at Easton
Area Academy, according to an email sent to parents. The email sent Tuesday
afternoon to parents of the charter school says Chief Administrative Officer
Shawn Ferrara has left the school. “It is with regret that we announce the
departure of Mr. Shawn Ferrara effective June 3, 2019. Shawn has contributed a
great deal to the successful start-up and daily operations of Easton Arts
Academy. We thank him for his unconditional commitment and dedication to the
education of our students. We wish Shawn the best of success in all his future
endeavors,” says the email from school CEO Joanna Hughes. Messages left for
Hughes, for school attorney Brian
Leinhauser and
for school board president Michelle Zattoni weren’t returned Wednesday. Hughes
confirmed on April 2 that Ferrara had been placed on leave, although
she didn’t comment at the time on the reason for the leave. Ferrara was accused
by former school principal Susan Bostian of rigging grades and
rewriting employee evaluations. Bostian made the allegations in a lawsuit filed
in December. The lawsuit says safety protocols weren’t followed when students
threw chairs and desks, that students didn’t receive services required through
their Individualized Education Programs and that administrators didn’t report truancies
to parents. The lawsuit remains pending in Northampton County.
“Action is needed
— and needed quickly. A 2018 study found that over 75 percent of Philadelphia
school district buildings were built prior to 1969, with the average building
age being 66 years. This number is particularly striking when compared to the
national average of 42 years.”
Guest Opinion: Infrastructure package must address our
public schools
Bucks County Courier
Times By Brian Fitzpatrick and Mary Gay Scanlon Posted May 30, 2019 at 5:12 AM
Brian Fitzpatrick,
a Republican, represents Pennsylvania’s First Congressional district, which
covers Bucks County. He sits on the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, represents Pennsylvania’s Fifth
Congressional district, which includes Delaware County and parts of
Philadelphia and Montgomery counties.
In an era of harsh
political polarization, there are few policy issues that garner significant support
on both sides of the aisle from lawmakers across the United States.
Infrastructure is one of those areas, and the greater Philadelphia region will
greatly benefit if we are able to deliver a comprehensive infrastructure
package. Infrastructure affects nearly all aspects of our lives, from our daily
commute to our ability to access the internet. Unfortunately, a lack of
investment in the upkeep of our nation’s infrastructure has put America at a
competitive disadvantage with other nations. Not only this, but we have
continually missed out on high paying jobs and safer, more efficient means of
transportation as a result. The American people have taken notice. A poll conducted by Politico and Harvard University showed that 79 percent of Americans believe that “increasing
spending on our nation’s infrastructure” is “extremely important.” Notably, the
poll, released in January, was in regard to the public’s priorities for this
Congress.
Bill that would create curriculum standards for CPR
education for PA high school students heading to Gov. Wolf’s desk
POSTED 10:46 PM,
JUNE 4, 2019, BY FOX43 NEWSROOM, UPDATED AT 07:31AM, JUNE 5, 2019
HARRISBURG -- A
bill that would ensure all Pennsylvania high school students are trained in
Hands-Only CPR has passed the state Senate and is heading to Gov. Tom Wolf's
desk for his signature. To do this, up-to-date curriculum standards for CPR
education would be created, making Pennsylvania one of 39 states that would
provide guidelines. "It's important to note my legislation includes no
mandate. CPR instruction is already part of Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
My bill ensures all schools are providing the most current method of
administering CPR, the hands-only technique, and affords schools flexibility in
how their students are taught, such as working with community organizations like
the American Heart Association to facilitate the training," said Sen. Tom
Killion (Chester and Delaware counties), the bill's sponsor. "Medical
emergencies can befall any of us without forewarning. Correctly performed, CPR
saves countless lives every year." he added. "My legislation will
ensure our high school students receive hands-only, state-of-the-art CPR
training and education. “The news release states that numerous organizations
participated in the crafting of Senate Bill 115, including the Pennsylvania
State Education Association (PSEA), PA Athletic Trainers’ Society, Independence
Blue Cross, PA Medical Society, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), The
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, the American College of Cardiology, and the
Foundation for Delaware County.
Pa. considers bill to get children to start their school
years earlier and stay longer
Lehigh Valley Live By
Sasha Hupka | For PennLive Today 7:15 AM
In Pennsylvania,
some children enter kindergarten at 5-years-old. Some start school at 6 or 7.
And some wait until age 8 to begin their education. Currently, Pennsylvania
does not require children to attend school before age 8, and students can drop
out at age 17 without parental consent. But the state’s compulsory school
attendance age may soon be changing to get children in school earlier and keep them
there longer. Changing the compulsory attendance age is part of the state
budget proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf. His proposal would mandate that children be enrolled in some sort of
school — a public district, private institution, charter school or a homeschool
program — by age 6. It would also require students to attend school until age
18. The idea seems to have some support. The House Education Committee held a
hearing on legislation that would change the compulsory school age on Tuesday
morning. Afterwards, committee Chairman Curtis Sonney, R-Erie County, said he
expects to move the bills to the House floor at some point in the future —
although he couldn’t promise they would be part of the state budget agreement,
which has a rapidly-approaching June 30 deadline.
Grants to fund expansion of after-school programs
Johnstown
Tribune-Democrat By Jocelyn
Brumbaugh jbrumbaugh@tribdem.com Wednesday, Oct.3, 2018.
Federally funded
grants will support local nonprofits’ expansion of academic enrichment
after-school programs for students in Cambria and Somerset counties. State
Rep. Frank Burns said the grants, part of a package of 21st Century Community
Learning Center grants, are administered through the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. The funds will provide academic, artistic and cultural
enrichment opportunities for students in several local school districts. A
$600,000 grant was issued to Respective Solutions, a nonprofit group that works
closely with several Cambria County schools, to expand programming
at Central Cambria Elementary School, Central Cambria Middle School,
Cambria Heights Elementary School, Cambria Heights Middle School, Glendale
Elementary School, Glendale Junior/Senior High School, Jackson Elementary
School, Portage Elementary School and St. Michael Elementary School. In
addition, Greater Johnstown School District received a grant of $400,000, and
Somerset Area School District received $172,500 for its after-school
programming. Burns said the grants are meant “to reinforce core
concepts with students who are struggling academically, and also (to) provide
career and technical education opportunities and resources.” “This is a true
investment in our region’s future and ensures every child has a chance to
succeed,” Burns said in a press release. Burns said the competitive grants are
provided to community learning centers to fund these enrichment programs.
Bensalem schools get $800,000 in state grants
Bucks County Courier
Times By Chris English Posted Jun 5, 2019 at 3:00 PM Updated Jun
5, 2019 at 6:25 PM
The same
amount of funding will continue for five years, school district officials said.
Two state lawmakers
who represent and live in Bensalem have delivered some good news for public and
private schools in the township. State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, R-6 and state Rep.
Gene DiGirolamo, R-18, recently announced an $800,000 award from the state’s
21st Century Community Learning Center grant program. A news release from the
Bensalem School District said the $800,000 grant is actually in the form of two
$400,000 awards that will continue in those same amounts for five years and
will be used to operate 21st Century Community Learning Centers. One will be at
Bensalem High School in partnership with The Ivins Outreach Center and will be
for students in grades 9-12. Others will be at Robert K. Shafer Middle School
and St. Charles Borromeo and St. Ephrem Catholic schools in Bensalem in
partnership with Ivins, and will be for students in grades 7-8. The centers
will provide academic, artistic and cultural enrichment opportunities for
students and their families during non-school hours or periods when school is
not in session to help students meet state and local standards in core academic
subjects, the release said.
New contract sets foundation for future in West Jefferson
Hills
Trib Live by STEPHANIE
HACKE | Friday, May 31, 2019 3:30 p.m.
West Jefferson
Hills School District and its teachers union entered a new six-year agreement
on May 28 that leaders say reflects their vision for the district’s future. The
contract, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2025, clears the way for schedule
changes, personalized learning time and the launch of a cyber program. “We’ve
rethought how education is being offered here to incorporate research, best
practices and be progressive,” Superintendent Michael Ghilani said. “We want
this district to be the best, and I think this contract is a mutual agreement
that shows that we all want to be the best.” West Jefferson Hills School Board
members unanimously ratified the contract with the Jefferson Federation of
Teachers on May 28. There are 220 teachers represented by the federation. The
federation currently is working under a five-year contract with the district
that was set to run through June 30, 2020. With changes abounding in the
district, the early bird contract helps outline the vision leaders have to move
forward, they said.
Proposed property tax increase in Penn Hills raises objections
Post-Gazette by JAKE
FLANNICK JUN 5, 2019 3:32 PM
A proposed property
tax increase in Penn Hills School District is raising objections from residents
and school district officials alike as the debt-laden district prepares to vote
on its 2019-20 budget and a comprehensive plan that is meant to help it regain
solvency. The proposed 6.7% tax hike, among several dozen measures recommended
under a financial recovery plan to help the district begin to emerge from more
than $170 million in debt, is unpopular with the nine-member school board. The
board is scheduled to vote on the 2019-20 budget as well as the recovery plan
on June 24 at Linton Middle School. “I hope that we can come to a conclusion,”
board member Bob Marra said of the tax increase. He pointed out the district is
seeking funding from the state Department of Education that could help reduce
the levy, which would raise the district’s millage rate to 30.58 mills from
28.66 mills. The proposed tax increase is nearly double that of the state
property tax threshold, part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006, which is based
on a formula including the statewide average weekly wage and the federal
employment cost index. It is adjusted for each school district.
Digital Notebook
Blog by Evan Brandt Wednesday, June 5, 2019
To "death and
taxes," the only thing a weary student might add to the list of things
that are sure in the world is "homework." But unlike when you and I
went to school, and any discussion of not doing it was a quick one, the entire
practice of homework is being re-examined now, both nationally and in the
Phoenixville Area School District. And like the sleep study and decision to
move to later start times which preceded it, the school board is approaching
the question through an appointed committee which gave its recommendations last month. The 60 pages of recommendations were reviewed by the full school board Tuesday night and generated
an interesting and spirited discussion. For example, the guidelines include suggestions
like no more than 10 minutes of reading per day for kindergarten students, plus
another 10 minutes of other assignments; up through 25 minutes of daily reading
for fifth graders. In middle school, it was recommended that 60 minutes of
homework should be the limit for sixth graders and 90 minutes for seventh and
eighth graders, with no assignments over fall, winter and spring breaks which
should be "reserved for family." No more than two hours of homework a
night was recommended for high school students. In both high school and middle
school levels, homework assigned over the weekend "shall be considered the
equivalent of a one-night daily assignment," according to the guidelines. The
board members all agreed that the homework committee had done a good job, with
many calling it "a step in the right direction," but they still had
many questions.
Boston Massively Expanded Its Charter Sector — Without
Sacrificing School Quality. New Research Sheds Light on How Education Reforms
Can Remain Effective While Applied at Scale
The74 By KEVIN MAHNKEN | June 4, 2019
How do you bring
success to scale?
It’s a question
that has tormented education experts — and, really, anyone designing public
policy — for years. Smart, successful investments in teacher
coaching, whole-school
reforms and new curricula have
attracted rapturous headlines and public interest, then faltered after being
brought to more classrooms. When education reforms are implemented in new
contexts, by teachers and school leaders who played no role in creating them,
their effects fade all too often. But new research offers evidence that
ambitious new policies can remain effective while applied at scale. The working paper, released earlier this month by the National Bureau of Economic
Research, finds that charter schools in Boston kept hitting high marks even
after replicating their model several times over. The city’s charter sector, ranked among the best for
systems across the country, saw no decline in its results.
PA Education Leaders to Hold Advocacy Day 2019 in
Harrisburg June 18th
PA Principals
Association Press Release June 5th, 2019
(Harrisburg, PA) —
A delegation of principals, education leaders and staff from the Pennsylvania
Principals Association, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
(PASA) and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS) will
participate in PA Education Leaders Advocacy Day 2019 (#paadvocacyday19) on
Tuesday, June 18 at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pa., to meet with
legislators to address several important issues that are at the forefront of education
in the commonwealth. These include: Increasing Basic Education Funding/Special
Education Funding/Early Childhood Funding; Revising Act 82: Principal and
Teacher Evaluations; Supporting Pre-K Education; Supporting Changes to
Pennsylvania’s Compulsory School Attendance Ages; and Supporting and Funding
Career and Technical Education.
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.
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
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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