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
PA Ed Policy Roundup August 1, 2019
Taxpayers in Senate Majority Caucus Secretary Ryan Aument’s
school districts had to send over $9.1 million to chronically underperforming
cyber charter schools for 2017-18.
Taxpayers in Senate Majority
Caucus Secretary Ryan Aument’s school districts had to send over $9.1 million
to chronically underperforming cyber charter schools for 2017-18.
The table below lists the school district
name, total 2017-18 cyber tuition paid and the percent of the district’s budget
that was spent on cyber tuition.
Data Source: PDE via PSBA.
|
Cocalico SD
|
$712,374.78
|
1.5%
|
|
Columbia Borough SD
|
$792,580.84
|
3.5%
|
|
Conestoga Valley SD
|
$461,277.00
|
0.7%
|
|
Conrad Weiser Area SD
|
$627,542.33
|
1.4%
|
|
Donegal SD
|
$1,198,635.71
|
2.9%
|
|
Eastern Lancaster County SD
|
$983,589.98
|
2.0%
|
|
Elizabethtown Area SD
|
$1,127,806.81
|
2.0%
|
|
Ephrata Area SD
|
$761,594.35
|
1.3%
|
|
Hempfield SD
|
$1,318,447.04
|
1.2%
|
|
Manheim Central SD
|
$725,678.83
|
1.6%
|
|
Warwick SD
|
$466,313.55
|
0.8%
|
|
|
$9,175,841.22
|
|
DISCONNECTED
On the farm,
spotty internet means trouble selling milk, slow downloads, constant
frustration
Post-Gazette by Kris
B. Mamula KMAMULA@POST-GAZETTE.COM and Jessie Wardarski
JWARDARSKI@POST-GAZETTE.COM July 29, 2019
JWARDARSKI@POST-GAZETTE.COM July 29, 2019
Spring Mills, Pa. -
A passing storm can be enough to knock out the credit card processor at
Martin’s Feed Mill in Coburn, population 236, in eastern Centre County. Still,
the store’s owner, Eliza Walton, wasn’t prepared for what happened when she
went to update the business accounting software for her store, which carries a
line of feed and other products for cattle, chickens and other animals. “I
actually thought we had high-speed internet, but it took three days to download
the latest QuickBooks update,” said Ms. Walton, 33. It turns out that online
connection speeds are like garden hoses: The bigger the hose, the faster data
flows and webpages load. And in Centre County — home to a thriving Amish
community in the center of Pennsylvania — the garden hose is pinched off, or
missing entirely, according to a new study. The study by the Center
for Rural Pennsylvania found
median broadband speeds in Pennsylvania’s urban centers were slower than the
FCC standard. Yet they were much faster than rural parts of the state: 17.1
megabits per second of data in Allegheny County versus 6.8 megabits per second
in Centre County, for example.
“We have no quarrel with the president
disagreeing with his critics. It's been done by every resident of the White
House. It is the invective he uses, and the target he invariably chooses
– women, minorities, those of color.”
Editorial: The
infestation is in the White House
Delco Times
Editorial August 1, 2019
It would be easy to
simply ignore the divisive bile that consistently spews from the White House
and its current resident, President Donald Trump. It also would be wrong. We
tried. We tried really hard. It's been awhile since we wrote about President
Trump. And there are those who would ask why a local newspaper in Delaware
County is writing about the antics emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Our
critics – and they are legion – will say we are merely holding true to our
Democratic leanings, and taking one more opportunity to knock the president. The
truth is this is not about politics; it’s about decency. We made the decision
awhile back to avoid writing about the president in this space. It brings back
that old saying: “Never wrestle with a pig. You get all dirty and the pig likes
it.” This is what Donald Trump wants; it’s what he thrives on. It feeds his
narcissism and his No. 1 craving: Attention. But there comes a time when voices
need to be raised. This is one of those times.
We cringed when the president attacked four new Democratic congresswomen
who have been critical of his policies, urging them to go "back where they
came from." The president said that if these lawmakers "hate our
country," they can go back to their "broken and crime-infested"
countries. A few nights later an adoring crowd chanted "Send Them
Back," while Trump stood smugly at the podium, never once offering an
opposing point of view or possibly a teaching moment, informing the crowd that
in America this is not what we do. He simply smiled and soaked in the
adulation, feeding his enormous ego.
Should Pennsylvania trade the Keystone Exams for the SAT?
Pro/Con | Opinion
Inquirer Staff Reports Updated: July 19, 2019 - 7:30 AM
A decade has passed
since Pennsylvania first pitched the Keystone Exams as one more hurdle students
must clear to graduate. The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act required states to
administer standardized tests, which students had to pass to prove that schools
were teaching fundamental skills. Pennsylvania’s answer was the Keystones, and
the state announced that a passing grade on these assessments would become
a graduation
requirement for
the class of 2015. That never happened. Amid criticism that strict testing
pushed educators to “teach to the test" and unfairly branded underfunded
or otherwise struggling schools as “failing," the federal government replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015 with a new law that rolled back the requirement for
state-specific tests. Even so, Pennsylvania has stuck with the Keystones — and
with the state government funding them. On July 10, the Office of the Auditor
General Eugene DePasquale released
a report noting
that the state has paid a Minnesota company $425 million over the last decade
for the Keystones, as well as a separate test for third through eighth graders,
the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment Exams (PSSA). DePasquale, who is planning a run for Congress, has a
new pitch: Ditch the Keystones in favor of the SAT and ACT, tests commonly used
for college admission. Funding high school students to take those tests, his
report argues, will be cheaper than keeping the Keystones. But some state
educators have reservations — including that the SATs, unlike the Keystones,
skip science testing, and evidence that SAT performance is closely tied to
wealth, a concern the College Board recently tried to address by proposing an “adversity
score” component
for the SAT. To hear from both sides of the debate, The Inquirer reached out to
DePasquale and public school educators to hear their takes on what the future
of standardized testing should look like in Pennsylvania.
Gov. Wolf announces millions in funding to fix
environmental hazards in Philly schools
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: July 31, 2019- 5:49 PM
Standing in the
library of an Overbrook elementary school, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced
the state would spend $4.3 million to help remove lead paint from Philadelphia
public schools. Including the
millions the state paid last year to complete such projects, that means Pennsylvania has allocated
almost $12 million to fixing environmental hazards in the Philadelphia School
District. “No parent should have to
worry about the health risk of sending their child to school, and no student
should be at risk from lead paint,” said Wolf, who was flanked by city and
state lawmakers. The governor said the spending was spurred by Toxic
City, The
Inquirer series that detailed health threats posed to children by lead paint,
asbestos, and other issues present inside many Philadelphia schools. Toxic City
“shone a spotlight on conditions that exist in many of the public schools right
here in Philadelphia. We feel an even greater sense of urgency than we did last
year,” Wolf said, calling The Inquirer’s work “a remarkable series” and “a call
to action.” To date, the school system has invested $18.6 million on lead-paint
stabilization projects, said chief operating officer Danielle Floyd. The new
state funds would be in addition to that spending. By the time school starts on
Sept. 3, 32 elementary schools will have had lead-paint stabilization projects
completed, Floyd said. That’s a fraction of the 200 schools that must be
remediated. The new state money will pay for lead abatement at an additional
four to five schools, Floyd said.
Pa. again pledges extra help to remove lead paint from
Philly schools
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent July 31, 2019
For the second time
in as many summers, Pennsylvania will pitch in extra money to remove lead paint
from Philadelphia schools. The state will set aside $4.3 million for lead paint
stabilization in Philly, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday. A year ago, Pennsylvania
pledged $7.6 million to remove lead paint, with the city adding $7.9 million to
make other emergency repairs. So far, the district says, its remediated 32
elementary schools serving about 18,000 students. “This is a good start, but we
need to make sure we give the city of Philadelphia’s school district all the
resources they need to make sure every single child and every single teacher in
every single school in the school district can come to school free of any
concerns over their health,” said Wolf during a press conference at Edward
Heston School in West Philadelphia. Local lawmakers and advocates continue to
press for more money, citing an investigation from The Philadelphia Inquirer that showed serious environmental
hazards in the city’s aging school buildings. A coalition of legislators and
union officials estimate it would cost $170 million to make all “urgent” repairs. State Sen.
Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) and State Rep. Elizabeth Fielder
(D-Philadelphia) introduced legislation earlier this year that would have sent
$85 million to Philadelphia for school repairs, but that proposal did not make
it into the final state budget.
Gov. Tom Wolf orders state overhaul after abuses at Glen
Mills Schools
Inquirer by Lisa Gartner, Updated: July 31, 2019- 3:51 PM
Citing revelations
of violence against children at the Glen Mills Schools, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday ordered the state to overhaul its oversight
of Pennsylvania’s juvenile residential programs. Wolf signed an executive order
creating an Office of Advocacy and Reform, with a new Child Advocate position.
The advocate will act as an ombudsman for youth in the state’s facilities. The
order also establishes a Council on Reform to provide recommendations for
further action. Additionally, the governor directed state agencies to reduce
the number of children in institutional placements; strengthen oversight of the
programs in their purview; and increase accountability for these institutions. “Today
is a day of reckoning,” Wolf said shortly before signing the executive order.
“Today, we are being honest that the decades-in-making, outdated, rigid,
convoluted system is not working for too many Pennsylvanians.”
Blogger opinion: Senator Folmer has run
this or similar pieces periodically in other press outlets around the state.
And while his emphasis is on how much money is being spent, he does not consider
the distribution of those funds. Pennsylvania continues to have the most
inequitable funding between wealthy and poor districts of any state in the
country, and our legislative leadership seems comfortable with that despite the
findings of their own basic education funding commission.
Yes, Pa. can afford
to spend that money. The bigger question: Should it? | Opinion
By Mike Folmer Capital-Star Op-Ed
Contributor August 1,
2019
State Sen. Mike Folmer, a Republican,
represents the 48th Senate District, which includes parts of Dauphin, Lebanon,
and York counties. He writes from Harrisburg.
Snap your
fingers. Snap them again, again, and again. Now, imagine having a fistful
of $1,000 bills in your other hand. Under the 2019–2020 General Fund
budget, Pennsylvania will spend over $1,000 ($1,078.05 to be exact) each
second. Imagine spending those $1,000 bills you’re holding each and every
second for the next year. Total, approved General Fund spending for the new
fiscal year that began July 1 is $33,997,395,000, or $93,143,547.95 a day;
$3,880,981.16 an hour; $64,683.02 each minute, and $1,078.05 every second. However,
General Fund expenditures are just one piece of overall state spending.
When you add federal and specially designated funding, total spending tops $80
Billion. These additional outlays are covered by a host of special funds,
including: Motor License Fund, Lottery, Horse Racing Fund, Capital
Budget, debt service funds, and various other stewardship and singular-purpose
funds. Education remains the largest element of the General Fund budget:
$13,127,581,000, or 38.6 percent of the total state budget. This is in addition
to federal and local tax moneys (mostly school property taxes – another big
issue for another time). Under the state’s current basic education funding
formula (yet another big issue for another time), appropriations to school
districts total $6,255,078,997, or an average of $12,510,158 per each of the
500 school districts.
Harrisburg School
District expects to lose up to $1.5 million because of missing financial
records
Penn Live By
Christine Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.com Updated 5:56 AM; Today 5:35 AM
The Harrisburg
School District is facing the loss of up to $1.5 million from federal grants
because of poor record-keeping and financial records that vanished amid a mass
firing of top administrators. The loss of funding comes after the district
raised local property taxes and while it already has a nearly $5 million hole
in its $150 million budget for 2019-20. While the district is prepared to lose
up to $1.5 million in federal reimbursements, it could potentially reduce its
losses, depending on how many records administrators can piece together, said
John George, the district’s new Financial Recovery Plan Service Director. He
and his team from the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit were brought in by
the recently appointed receiver to take over operations of the troubled school
district.
America’s New School Lunch Policy: Punishing Hungry
Students for Their Parents’ Poverty
Gadfly on the Wall Blog by Steven M. Singer July 24, 2019 stevenmsinger
There are few
things as bad as a hungry child. Hunched over an aching stomach as the school
day creeps toward its end, one in six children
go hungry in America today. It’s harder to learn when you’re malnourished and in pain – especially for children. It should be harder
for adults to let them go hungry. Yet for many policymakers, nothing is as bad
as feeding children and letting their parents avoid the bill. About 75% of US school
districts report
students who end the year owing large sums for lunches, according to the School Nutrition Association. And of those districts, 40.2% said the number of students without
adequate funds increased last school year. In fact, that has become the central
issue – not child hunger but lunch debt. Policymakers at the federal, state and
school district level are finding new ways to force impoverished parents to pay
for their children’s meals even if doing so means penalizing the children. Just
yesterday the Trump
administration announced a plan to tighten eligibility requirements for the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could result in hundreds of thousands of the poorest
children losing automatic eligibility for free school lunches. In my home state
of Pennsylvania, a district made headlines by threatening to send
kids to foster care if their parents didn’t pay up.
Kristen DeGregorio prepares her special ed students for
life after school
She teaches
high school students with disabilities. “I can improve the reading level, but
what is the purpose if they cannot use it in a real-world context?”
The notebook by Makoto
Manheim July 31 — 11:55 am, 2019
Each week, Kristen
DeGregorio tries to teach her students a new skill, such as teamwork and
positive body language. She calls them “employability skills,” and this is how
she prepares them for the real world. DeGregorio teaches 18- to 21-year old
students with intellectual disabilities at Frankford High School and is one of
the 60 people to win Lindback Awards this year for distinguished
teaching. When she was a student herself, DeGregorio struggled in
Souderton Area High School in Montgomery County. But one class that she really
connected with during high school was an elective course in which students
could earn credits by working in special education. She did much better in
college, attending Montgomery County Community College before transferring to
Temple and earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special
education. DeGregorio taught middle school for three years at James
R. Ludlow Elementary, a K-8 school, where she worked with Need in Deed, a
nonprofit organization that helps teachers use service learning in their
curriculum. “Service learning is life-changing for me in the classroom,”
she said. She has worked at Frankford High for the last seven years. In
her current assignment, DeGregorio helps her students transition out of high
school. About 70% of adults with intellectual disabilities are unemployed, and
registering for available support services, such as recreational activities and
day programs, is very difficult.
Delay in tax bills due to cyber attack leads to WVW
taking out short term loan
Times Leader By Mark Guydish - mguydish@timesleader.com July 31, 2019
KINGSTON — The school
district impact from delays in sending out property tax bills— caused by a
cyber attack on Luzerne County computers — continues to grow. Wyoming Valley
West School Board President Joe Mazur said the board will hold a brief special
meeting Tuesday for the sole agenda item of borrowing money through a short
term loan known as a tax anticipation note, or TAN. “In order for us to operate
for the remainder of the year, we need to float a tax note,” Mazur said
Wednesday. “This is going to be an extra burden for the Wyoming Valley West
School District and for every other district.” The county suffered a cyber
attack Memorial Day Weekend that infected the real estate assessment database
and prompted officials to shut down the county courthouse network May 28 to
prevent the virus from spreading. The county has been struggling to unlock the
database backup since, so it can assemble a real estate file that can be used
to generate school tax bills. The county initially said the delay would take
until Aug. 1, but on Tuesday county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz
sent letters to school district officials pushing the date to Aug. 19.
Segregation, 'School-to-Prison Pipeline' Fire Up
Democratic Debate
Education Week By Evie Blad on July 31, 2019 11:30 PM
School segregation
and educational disparities for students of color aren't issues of the past,
Democratic presidential candidates stressed in a primary debate in Detroit
Wednesday that also touched on the the intersection of education and criminal
justice issues. The sometimes emotional exchanges renewed the spotlight on
former Vice President Joe Biden's support of bills that restricted
"busing" for purposes of desegregation in the 1970s. California Sen. Kamala Harris, citing her own childhood experience
under a voluntary school integration plan in Berkeley, had pressed him on the
issue in a Miami debate last month. When CNN moderators asked about the issue
again Wednesday, other candidates were quick to highlight the problems that
still exist in education: disproportionately high rates of discipline for black
students, poor academic outcomes for students from poor neighborhoods, and
yawning differences between adequately and inadequately funded schools. "Our
schools are as segregated today as they were 50 years ago," Colorado Sen.
Michael Bennet said in a portion of the debate that focused on race, education,
and criminal justice. "We need a conversation about what's happening
now."
Register for Federal Focus: Fully funding IDEA at William
Tennant HS Wednesday August 21st, 7-9 pm
PSBA News July 30, 2019
Join U.S. Representative Brian
Fitzpatrick (R-01) and other IDEA Act co-sponsors at this complimentary focus meeting to
talk about the critical need to modernize and fully fund the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Learn about bipartisan
efforts now in the U.S. Congress to ensure that special education funding is a
priority in the federal budget, and how you can help bring this important
legislation to the finish line. Bring your school district facts and questions.
This event will be held Aug. 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Centennial School District in
Bucks Co. There is no cost to attend, but you must register through myPSBA.org. Questions
can be directed to Megan McDonough at (717) 506-2450, ext. 3321. This
program is hosted by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and the
Centennial School District.
“Each member entity will have one vote
for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to
come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during
the open voting period (Aug. 23 – Oct. 11, 2019).”
PSBA Officer
Elections: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members
seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a
nomination form no later than June 1, 2019, to be considered. All candidates
who properly completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate
of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on
June 15th at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates.
According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine
candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to
each person’s name with an asterisk (*).
Take the four-week PSBA advocacy challenge
POSTED ON JULY
22, 2019 IN PSBA NEWS
Calling all public
education advocates! Even though students are out for the summer, we need you
to continue your efforts to share your district's story, and the needs of
public schools across the state, with your legislators. Follow the four easy
steps on the challenge to increase your engagement with lawmakers this summer
and you'll receive some PSBA swag as a thank-you. We've also included some
talking points to help inform you on the latest issues. Contact Advocacy Coordinator
Jamie Zuvich at jamie.zuvich@psba.org with questions. Click
here to see the challenge and talking points.
In November, many boards will be
preparing to welcome new directors to their governance Team of Ten. This event
will help attendees create a full year on-boarding schedule based on best
practices and thoughtful prioritization. Register now:
PSBA: Start Strong:
Developing a District On-Boarding Plan for New Directors
SEP 11, 2019 • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In November, many boards
will be faced with a significant transition as they prepare to welcome new
directors to their governance Team of Ten. This single-day program facilitated
by PSBA trainers and an experienced PA board president will guide attendees to
creating a strong, full year on-boarding schedule based on best practices and
thoughtful prioritization. Grounded in PSBA’s Principles for Governance and
Leadership, attendees will hear best practices from their colleagues and leave
with a full year’s schedule, a jump drive of resources, ideas for effective
local training, and a plan to start strong.
Register online at MyPSBA: www.psba.org and click on “MyPSBA” in the upper right corner.
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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