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
Just a heads up that with
schools out for summer and things quiet at the Capitol we may not strive to
publish the PA Ed Policy Roundup every day.
In an effort to gain a better understanding
of the dynamics in Harrisburg, from time to time over the years we have
published “Follow the Money” charts using data from the PA Department of State’s
Campaign Finance Reporting website:
We’ll leave it up to our readers to draw
their own conclusions regarding how such contributions may or may not influence
policymakers as they go about the people’s business in Harrisburg.
Michael Karp is the founder and board
chair of the Belmont Academy and Belmont Elementary Charter Schools in West
Philly. He is also the principal at
University Housing Company (UCH), which owns and manages 4000+ apartment units.
The chart below lists over $600,000 in campaign
contributions made by Mr. Karp and UCH for PA state offices from 2016 through
2019.
Highlights include $280,000 to the House
Republican Campaign Committee, $160,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee,
$100,000 to House Speaker Mike Turzai, $25,000 to Senate Majority Leader Jake
Corman’s Build PA PAC, $25,000 to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati,
$25,000 to House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, $10,000 to Senate Appropriations
Majority Chairman Pat Browne and, for good measure, $10,000 to Senate Appropriations
Minority Chairman Vincent Hughes, $10,000 to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee
and $2500 to Governor Wolf’s Wolf PAC.
|
Contributor/Recipient
|
Date
|
Amount
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / SENATE REP CAMPAIGN COM
|
10/27/2016
|
50,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / HOUSE REP CAMPAIGN COM 2004, INC
|
6/19/2017
|
50,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / HOUSE REP CAMPAIGN COM 2004, INC
|
11/9/2017
|
10,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / SENATE REP CAMPAIGN COM
|
8/16/2017
|
10,000
|
|
Michael
Karp / BROWNE, PATRICK CITIZENS FOR
|
4/30/2018
|
10,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / HOUSE REP CAMPAIGN COM 2004, INC
|
4/30/2018
|
15,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / HOUSE REP CAMPAIGN COM 2004, INC
|
10/19/2018
|
200,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / HOUSE REP CAMPAIGN COM 2004, INC
|
1/16/2018
|
5,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / SCARNATI, JOSEPH FRIENDS OF
|
7/17/2018
|
25,000
|
|
MICHAEL
KARP / SENATE REP CAMPAIGN COM
|
10/29/2018
|
100,000
|
|
University
City Housing / BUILD PA PAC
|
11/2/2018
|
25,000
|
|
UNIVERSITY
CITY HOUSING/TURZAI, MIKE FRIENDS OF
|
2/22/2018
|
100,000
|
|
UNIVERSITY
CITY HOUSING/HUGHES, VINCENT CITIZENS FOR
|
6/15/2018
|
10,000
|
|
University
City Housing/SENATE DEM CAMPAIGN COM
|
6/15/2018
|
10,000
|
|
University
City Housing Company / WOLF PAC
|
10/3/2018
|
2,500
|
|
UNIVERSITY
CITY HOUSING/CUTLER, BRYAN FRIENDS OF
|
4/3/2019
|
25,000
|
|
|
|
647,500
|
Blogger note: over the past year we have
been publishing 2016-2017 cyber charter tuition data. We just received the
2017-2018 data set and will be pushing it out during the summer.
If the state would take on the cost of
cyber charter school tuition since the state is responsible for authorizing and
overseeing cyber charter schools, it would save school districts $520 million.
(PASBO)
If we adopted single, statewide tuition
rates for both regular and special education students that were tied to the
actual costs of providing cyber education we could save taxpayers $250 million
each year. (Education Voters PA)
|
Jay
Costa
|
D
|
Allegheny
|
$20,862,112.14
|
|
Anthony
Williams
|
D
|
Delaware
|
$86,439,981.36
|
|
Wayne
Fontana
|
D
|
Allegheny
|
$19,301,361.90
|
|
Lawrence
Farnese
|
D
|
Philadelphia
|
$81,411,675.51
|
|
Vincent
Hughes
|
D
|
Montgomery
|
$82,633,433.65
|
|
Judith
Schwank
|
D
|
Berks
|
$14,592,086.78
|
|
John
Blake
|
D
|
Lackawanna
|
$21,686,065.05
|
|
Lisa
Boscola
|
D
|
Lehigh
|
$17,798,355.05
|
Data Source PDE via
PSBA
…And you may ask yourself, "Well...
how did I get here?"
If we weren’t spending over $500 million
per year on cyber charters this vintage 2002 Inquirer piece might seem quaint. In
between his tenure as Secretary of Education under Governor Ridge and his
reprise as Budget Secretary under Governor Corbett, Charles Zogby took a six
figure administrative jobs at K12 , Inc. Along with Commonwealth Connections,
K12 wrote the cyber charter legislation and lobbied heavily to get it enacted.
“Zogby, a strong proponent of
alternatives to public schools, has backed cyber schools while working in the
Ridge and Schweiker administrations. Last year, Zogby withheld state education
money from public school districts that refused to pay tuition for students who
transferred to cyber schools. And Zogby lobbied the General Assembly this year
to transfer oversight of cyber charters from local school districts to his
department. The changes Zogby pushed for were incorporated into a state
education budget signed by Gov. Schweiker in June.”
Archive 2002: Zogby said to be in line for job at
for-profit schools firm
Inquirer by CHRIS BRENNAN,
brennac@phillynews.com, Posted: November 27, 2002
Article Publication
Date: Nov 27, 2002
Charles Zogby, the
state secretary of education and an avowed fan of Edison Schools Inc., is
rumored to be joining a private education company when he leaves public office
next month. No, it's not an Edison job. Zogby will work for K12 Inc., a
for-profit company that operates "home-based public schools" on the
Internet, several sources told the Daily News. Zogby 's spokeswoman, Beth
Williams, said yesterday that he was not ready to announce where he would work
after Harrisburg. "There will be an announcement coming toward the middle
or end of December," Williams said. As of now, we really can't confirm or
deny anything. " Last week Zogby told the Associated Press that his next
job might mean a move out of Pennsylvania. "I want to stay in education.
If something comes along in Pennsylvania, that would be great. I'm not
necessarily limiting myself to Pennsylvania," he said. Virginia-based K12
was founded in 1999 by former U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett, and
is a subsidiary of the Knowledge Universe Learning Group, an education
conglomerate founded by former junk-bond financier Michael Milken. K12 runs the
Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, one of seven "cyber schools" in
the state. Based in Norristown, the school has 1,800 students in kindergarten
through fifth grade from as far away as Erie.
PA Capital Star By Elizabeth Hardison July 9, 2019
By the time Pennsylvania wrapped up another fiscal year on June 30, the
state had generated a surplus of more than $800 million — the result, officials
say, of strong corporate tax revenues and record-low unemployment. Some
of that money had to cover costs that the state budget hadn’t anticipated. But
$317million went into the state’s Rainy Day Fund, the Wolf
administration announced on Tuesday, which is used to keep government
operations funded in the event of an economic downturn. “No one knows what the
future holds for the American economy, and even with the best decision making
there is always a risk we will have another recession,” Wolf, a Democrat,
said at a Capitol press conference Tuesday. “We need to build up reserves when
times are good, like they are now.” Wolf authorized the deposit two weeks ago,
when he signed a $34 billion balanced budget passed by the Republican-controlled
General Assembly. It’s 25 percent higher than the $250 million deposit that
lawmakers initially expected to make.
Gov. Wolf: PAsmart is
Creating the Skilled Workforce that Businesses Need
Governor Wolf Press
Release July 09, 2019
Harrisburg, PA – After delivering on his bold budget plan to invest in education
and job training for Pennsylvania workers, Governor Tom Wolf today visited
Phoenix Contact USA near Harrisburg to highlight how his PAsmart initiative is
expanding apprenticeships and other job training opportunities. “PAsmart is investing
in training people to have the skills and experience that growing businesses
need to thrive,” said Governor Wolf. “By closing the training gap, we can
ensure workers can compete for good, well-paying jobs and every employer can
find the talented people it needs to succeed and grow our economy.” The
governor launched the innovative PAsmart initiative last year and secured a $10
million increase to $40 million for the program this year. PAsmart provides $20
million for science and technology education, $10 million for apprenticeships
and job training, and new this year, an additional $10 million for career and
technical education. “Pennsylvania businesses are hiring, but they can’t find
enough skilled workers for all of the open jobs,” said Governor Wolf. “PAsmart
recognizes that a four-year college isn’t for everyone, but people need the job
training that apprenticeships and career and technical education provide.” In
the first year of PAsmart, the Department of Labor & Industry awarded
grants to more than 100 pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship
programs serving over 2,600 workers. Apprenticeships give workers the
opportunity to earn a paycheck while learning and gaining on-the-job training
with an employer.
Some Pa. superintendents have been quietly armed in
schools — and parents probably don’t know it
WHYY/Keystone Crossroads
By Jen Kinney July 10, 2019
Amid ongoing debate
about who can carry guns in Pennsylvania schools, some school administrators
have been quietly armed for nearly a year, a Keystone Crossroads investigation
has found. According to a lawyer whose firm represents about 50 Pa. school
districts, a handful of superintendents have gained permission from county law
enforcement officials to carry concealed firearms in their schools without the
public’s knowledge. Attorney Ronald Repak, of the Altoona-based Beard Legal
Group, gave a presentation at a school safety
conference earlier
this year, in which he said that his firm had petitioned district attorneys on
behalf of administrators who wished to carry firearms in their official
capacity. Based on ambiguity in state statute, district attorneys in different
counties arrive at different interpretations of the law. Repak recently
confirmed that fewer than six of those petitions were successful, and
that administrators in those districts now carry guns. He would not
disclose details about which districts or staffers. There could be
other armed staff at districts represented by different firms. ”I will tell
you, you probably don’t know who these individuals are, but they are carrying
concealed weapons within the school districts because of our petition,” Repak
said. The news came as a shock to some education advocates. “I haven’t heard
one thing at all about anyone carrying guns,” said Edward Albert, executive
director of the Pennsylvania Association for Rural and Small Schools.
Editorial: Pennsylvania
takes step backward in protecting against lunch shaming [opinion]
Lancaster Online by
THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD July 10, 2019
THE ISSUE - A provision in Pennsylvania’s
2019-20 budget, which was passed and signed by Gov. Tom Wolf late last month,
“allows schools to serve students alternative meals if they have an unpaid
balance of $50 or more,” LNP’s Alex Geli
reported July 5. State lawmakers approved this update
of the school code despite banning “lunch shaming” less than two years ago.
Meanwhile, a June 27 article by
Geli notes the ban on lunch shaming
appears to be costing local 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,” Geli reported. It’s frustrating that we must revisit the issue of lunch shaming so soon
after we thought it was settled in Pennsylvania. Some background: In autumn
2016, there was national coverage of the lunch policy of Canon-McMillan School
District in western Pennsylvania. Cafeteria workers there were barred from
serving a hot meal to students who owed more than $25 on their accounts.
Instead, those students received a sandwich with a single slice of cold cheese.
Cafeteria worker Stacy Koltiska resigned in protest over the policy, telling
The Washington Post, “As a
Christian, I have an issue with this. It’s sinful and shameful is what it is.” It
took a year — which is quick by Harrisburg’s standards — for the state to amend
its school code to ban lunch shaming. Pennsylvania forbade forcing students to
do chores to pay for lunch and the stigmatization of students (for example,
having those on reduced-cost programs wear wristbands). In summer 2017, a few
months prior to that legislation, we
wrote: “Whatever
the reason a student can’t afford to pay for lunch, we can all agree that the
child shouldn’t be singled out or publicly humiliated for it. ... We can all
agree that every child should get through his school day with at least two
things — something to eat and his dignity.”
We still hold that
view.
Blogger note: Modernization! The good
news is that you will no longer need to keep your microfiche viewers…..
Schools praise new
state measure
Sharon Herald By
MELISSA KLARIC Herald Staff Writer Jul 8, 2019
The Pennsylvania
School Boards Association (PSBA) praises the recent passage of legislation
to update and improve the process for state reimbursement of public school
construction projects. The PSBA is urging Gov. Tom Wolf to sign Senate
Bill 700 into law. The legislation incorporates the recommendations of the
Public School Building Construction and Reconstruction Advisory Committee to
address concerns over the approval process known as PlanCon. The Grove City
School District is in the midst of a $37.6 million construction project that
will enable grades Kindergarten through fifth to be in the same
building. The district is building an addition onto an existing school and
renovating it as well. The project has just about reached its half-way mark. Superintendent
Jeffrey Finch said the new legislation would not affect their current
construction as it was approved under the old PlanCon system. “It’s a good
thing if you’re coming from the mindset of the past couple years when they were
unsure if they were going to offer funding,” Finch said. Finch had other
reasons why the new PlanCon system could be advantageous to schools. “Some of
its intent is to make it less cumbersome,” he said. “Helping schools target
smaller projects so they could be eligible for efficient growth. Categorizing
funds to support school safety and school security.”
National teacher
shortage affects Pennsylvania
Observer Reporter
by Karen Mansfield Jul 7, 2019 Updated Jul 8, 2019
The United States,
including Pennsylvania, is dealing with a teacher shortage.
Since 1996, the
number of undergraduate education majors has declined 55%.
Additionally, since
2009, the number of newly issued in-state instructional teaching certificates
has dropped by 71%, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Pennsylvania
used to issue licenses to more than 14,000 new teachers annually. In 2016-17,
the state issued 4,412. Dr. Diane Fine, a professor at California University of
Pennsylvania’s College of Education, has watched the decline in the ranks of
students seeking education degrees across all disciplines. Fall enrollment for
education majors at the university has dropped below 551 each year since 2014. In
the fall of 2018, 452 aspiring teachers enrolled in Cal’s education program,
almost 100 fewer than in 2014. “These are definitely challenging times, no
doubt, in education. I tell my students that they’re entering teaching at a
challenging time,” said Fine. “It is tougher to recruit students into education
programs.” The teacher shortage is most pronounced in math and science, with
graduates joining the corporate world – including STEM fields – where jobs
offer greater pay and stability.
“For almost twenty years (at least) the
profession has been insulted and downgraded. Reformy idea after reformy idea
has been based on the notion that teachers can't be trusted, that teachers
can't do their job, that teachers won't do their jobs unless threatened.
Teachers have been straining to lift the huge weight of education, and instead
of showing up to help, wave after wave of policy maker, politician and wealthy
dilettante have shown up to holler, "What's wrong with you, slacker! Let
me tell you how it's supposed to be done." And in the meantime, teachers
have seen their job defined down to Get These Kids Ready For A Bad Standardized
Test.”
Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Tuesday,
January 29, 2019
I've made this
point a dozen times in other contexts, but let me take a day to address it
directly.
There is no teacher shortage.
Oh, across the nation there are districts that are having trouble filling openings with fully-qualified certified teachers. But there is no teacher shortage. "Shortage" implies a supply problem. Like maybe people are born teachers and for some reasons, the gene pool has just stopped coughing out people with the special teacher genetic code. Or maybe the colleges and universities just aren't recruiting and educating enough proto-teachers. Or teachinmg is a "calling" and apparently there just aren't that many people being called. Or maybe all the teachers are falling through a black hole into that dimension where all the lost socks go.
There is no teacher shortage.
Oh, across the nation there are districts that are having trouble filling openings with fully-qualified certified teachers. But there is no teacher shortage. "Shortage" implies a supply problem. Like maybe people are born teachers and for some reasons, the gene pool has just stopped coughing out people with the special teacher genetic code. Or maybe the colleges and universities just aren't recruiting and educating enough proto-teachers. Or teachinmg is a "calling" and apparently there just aren't that many people being called. Or maybe all the teachers are falling through a black hole into that dimension where all the lost socks go.
“Last year, the Palm Beach County school
district enrolled 4,555 Guatemalan students in K through 12, nearly 50 percent
more than two years earlier. Many of the students come from the country’s
remote highlands and speak neither Spanish nor English. The number of
elementary school students in K through 5 more than doubled to 2,119 in that
same period.”
Schools Scramble to Handle Thousands of New Migrant
Families
New York Times By Miriam Jordan July 9, 2019
LAKE WORTH, Fla. —
Dayvin Mungia, 7, arrived from El Salvador at South Grade Elementary in South
Florida last year with, it seemed, no schooling at all. “He didn’t even
recognize the first letter of his name,” said Nicol Sakellarios, his
second-grade teacher, as the smiling boy gamely stumbled through his ABC’s in
summer school not long ago. “Good job, my love,” she said, prodding him on as
he faltered again and again. Laura Martin, 16, who attended school for only
three years in Guatemala and speaks an indigenous language, plans to enroll in
high school in Florida next month. “Illiterate” and “0” were scrawled on a math
work sheet that she tried and failed to complete after she made her way across
the border in May. Migrant children arriving in record numbers are creating
challenges for school districts across the country. Many of the newcomers have
disjointed or little schooling; their parents, often with limited reading and
writing skills themselves and no familiarity with the American education
system, are unable to help.
Schools in places
like Lake Worth, a city near President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort that has
become a favorite destination for Guatemalans, are scrambling to hire new staff
and add summer sessions to support the newcomers.
PCCY: 2 seconds for
$200,000 and a game-changing opportunity for kids
PCCY needs
your votes! We are in the running for a $200,000 Key to the Community
Grant from the Philadelphia Foundation! Our idea is simple – give more parents in the Greater Philadelphia
region tools, resources and networks to amplify their voices in advocacy and
policy impacting our children. To launch the Parent Advocacy Accelerator, we
need your help. The Philadelphia Foundation is running an on-line voting
contest. The idea that gets the most votes in a category, wins the grant. Voting
is quick and easy at https://www.philafound.org/vote/. Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and vote for the
project listed as the Parent Advocacy Accelerator under the “Community and
Civic Engagement" category, Every vote, every day counts. VOTE
EVERY DAY UNTIL JULY 26! Share with your networks in Pennsylvania, New York,
New Jersey, or Delaware and ask them to vote every day, too.
Thank you for your
votes and support!
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.
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