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
If any of your colleagues would
like to be added to the email list please have them send their name, title and
affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Feb 24, 2020
Join PA Schools Work for a Career &
Technical Education Funding Webinar on Tuesday, February 25th from 12 PM -
12:30 PM
PA Schools Work Webinar on Career
& Technical Education
If you're curious about how career and
technical education funding works in PA, and want to learn more, please join us
for our next webinar on Tuesday, February
25 from 12 PM - 12:30 PM.
Here's what you need to know about School District of
Lancaster's school funding lawsuit against the state
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer February
21, 2020
With a trial expected later this year in the
landmark school funding lawsuit lodged against the state by School District of
Lancaster and others, an attorney with the Philadelphia nonprofit Public
Interest Law Center on Tuesday gave an update on the case. Speaking at
Tuesday’s Lancaster school board meeting, attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg
shared when the trial might start, why the quarrel exists in the first place
and how the case — now six years old — could transform the way schools are
funded in Pennsylvania. Here are the highlights from the conversation and other
essential facts about the lawsuit pending in the state’s Commonwealth Court.
Who is suing whom? The lawsuit
was filed in 2014 by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law
Center on behalf of School District of Lancaster and William Penn, Panther
Valley, Greater Johnstown, Wilkes-Barre Area and Shenandoah Valley school
districts, parents, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools the
NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference. Defending the lawsuit are Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf, Sen. Joe Scarnati, president pro tempore of the Senate; Rep.
Mike Turzai, speaker of the House; and Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera. Ironically,
Rivera was SDL’s superintendent when the lawsuit was filed. He became a
defendant when he took the job as education secretary in 2015.
“Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez said that if
Pennsylvania's fair funding formula were in place for all education funding,
Pottstown would be receiving an additional $13 million a year in state aid. That
money could be used to undertake facility repairs, program improvements and cut
taxes rather than raise them, he said.”
$67M Pottstown schools budget draft has $2.6M deficit
Pottstown Mercury by Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com
@PottstownNews on Twitter Feb 21, 2020
POTTSTOWN — The Pottstown School Board's
first look at a preliminary $66.7 million budget shows a $2.6 million gap
between revenues and expenditures and the school board has indicated it is
willing to enact the maximum tax increase permitted to help close it. A
presentation on the spending plan was first made to the school board's finance
committee on Feb. 13. Business Manager Maureen Jampo said part of that deficit
is driven by rising charter school tuition costs, something Jampo briefed Pennsylvania
Education Secretary Pedro Rivera about during his visit Feb. 14. According to her presentation, Pottstown's charter school
tuition costs have risen 44 percent in just two years, from $2.5
million to $3.2 million. Pottstown school officials have joined a statewide effort to
lobby for reform to Pennsylvania's 20-year-old charter school law,
specifically how tuition is calculated. But without a change in Harrisburg,
that tuition cost is expected to continue to rise.
Philly schools
overpaying charters millions of dollars for special-education students,
district says
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna and Kristen A. Graham, Updated: February
20, 2020- 7:10 PM
The Philadelphia School District overpays
charter schools by millions of dollars because of a state formula that forces
artificially high rates for special-education services, according to a new
analysis by the district. The rate is inflated, according to the analysis,
because the city’s charters are serving a smaller share of students with severe
disabilities but are compensated based on the district’s average costs to
educate its larger population of needier, more expensive special-education
students. Because of the formula, "the really painful part of this is the
inaccuracy grows exponentially over time,” Uri Monson, the district’s chief
financial officer, told the school board’s finance and facilities committee
Thursday. Monson said special-education costs have been driving the growth in
district payments to charters: Of the nearly $700 million in new revenue the
district has netted since 2015, it has paid more than half to charters, even
though charters enroll only 37% of Philadelphia public school students. The
district would be sending millions less to charters if legislation backed by
Gov. Tom Wolf passes changing the charter
funding formula — including how the schools are
compensated for special-education students. The governor’s office says next
year the district would be able to retain $90 million that would otherwise be
sent to charter schools under the current formula.
“Charter schools are compensated at a higher rate for special
education students than they are for regular education students. First
Philadelphia’s budget documents show that the school expected to receive
$30,033 for each special education student and $9,328 for each regular
education student. Those rates are set by a state formula. Reclassifying 30
special education students as regular education students would cost First
Philadelphia roughly $620,000. Based on comments from the board meeting, it
appears possible the school over-identified special education students and lost
money after correcting that error.”
Budget turmoil at Philly’s second-largest charter school
— but officials keep quiet about why
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent February 24, 2020
Philadelphia’s second-largest charter school
has a large budget deficit, a CEO on leave, and some sort of problem related to
the identification of special education students. It’s the kind of financial
and administrative turmoil that would draw major headlines at a large,
traditional school district. But the K-12 school at the center of the tumult
refuses to say much of anything — and only recently published a six-sentence
letter on its website explaining that it had made a personnel change. Despite
repeated requests for comment, First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School in
Bridesburg has declined to explain why or how it found itself in, what one
official called, a “difficult time of transition.” Here’s what we know.
School district officials from Bradford, Kane,
Otto-Eldred, Port Allegany and Smethport hope to see cyber charter funding
reform become reality
Bradford Era By JOELLEN WANKEL jwankel@bradfordera.com Feb 20,
2020
Education is necessary and freedom of choice
is an important aspect of education. While the importance of choice is
recognized, local school district officials have expressed hope for a more
level playing field when it comes to funding for state-approved cyber charter
schools. Superintendents from Bradford, Kane,
Otto-Eldred, Port Allegany and Smethport school districts sat down with The
Era recently to discuss some of the biggest concerns the districts face when
local students attend state-approved cyber charters. The list of cyber charter
schools for the 2019-20 school year as posted to the Pennsylvania Department of
Education’s website includes 14 schools. These schools, while approved by the
PDE, are not affiliated with any local school district. “And there’s an
important role for charter schools to play in offering parents choice and
providing a source of competition and innovation that can benefit all students,
no matter what school they attend,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in his speech on the
budget for 2020, given Feb. 4. “But, as you know, too many charter schools here
in the Commonwealth have strayed from that purpose. Some are little more than
fronts for private management companies, and the only innovations they’re
coming up with involve finding new ways to take money out of the pockets of
property taxpayers — like setting up sham online schools or exploiting a
loophole in special education funding.”
NORWIN SCHOOL DISTRICT ADVOCATES FOR CHARTER SCHOOL
FUNDING REFORM
Superintendent Notes that Charter School
Tuition Costs Norwin More than $1 Million a Year
Norwin School District News Release February 19, 2020
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Norwin School
District leaders are urging lawmakers to make the state’s charter school
funding system more fair and balanced. Charter school payments are calculated
in a manner that requires districts to send more money to charter schools than
is needed to operate their programs. This places a significant financial burden
on Norwin School District resources and taxpayers. Superintendent Dr. Jeff
Taylor, in a presentation at the Norwin Board of Education’s February
Legislative meeting, noted that the School District’s annual required payments
to charter schools cost more than $1 million. For that amount of money, Norwin
School District could hire an additional 10 teachers, which would greatly
improve educational quality for Norwin’s 5,289 students who are enrolled in
grades K-12. The Board of Education approved a resolution urging the
Pennsylvania General Assembly to revise the existing charter school funding
system for regular and special education. The resolution has been mailed to
several Pennsylvania elected officials, including the Speaker of the House,
President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the House and Senate Majority and Minority
Leaders, the House and Senate Education Committee Chairs, and Governor Wolf. In
addition, the resolution was shared with Norwin’s state legislators State
Senator Kim Ward and State Representative George Dunbar.
Peters Township supports funding reform for charter
schools
Washington PA Observer-Reporter February 23,
2020
Peters Township School Board approved a
resolution supporting some type of state funding reform with regard to charter
and cyber schools that operate independently. Tuesday’s unanimous vote came at
the request of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, which provided a
model resolution stating in part: “School districts are struggling to keep up
with growing charter costs and are forced to raise taxes and cut staffing,
programs and services for their own students in order to pay millions of
dollars to charter schools.” Lisa Anderson, Peters Township’s PSBA
representative, said the district paid $756,000 in mandated tuition in 2018-19.
“Currently, our district sends $12,151 to a charter school for every
regular-education student who attends,” she said, citing that number at 44.
“More is charged if there is a special-education student.” According to the
PSBA, the latest data from the state Department of Education show in 2017-18,
total charter school tuition payments totaled more than $1.8 billion, with $519
million paid by districts for tuition to nonbrick-and-mortar cyber schools. “Further
analysis of PDE data shows that in 2014-15, school districts paid charter
schools more than $100 million for special education services in excess of what
charter schools reported spending on special education,” the resolution further
states.
“In the article, the business manager at West Perry, Stevie
Davis, channeled the struggles of administrators in districts across the state,
“We do what we can to control costs,” Davis said, “but the state doesn’t pay
its fair share of education costs.”
Schools are struggling to keep up with rising costs |
PennLive letters
PennLive
Letters to the Editor by Karen Anderson, Tyrone Township,
Perry County February 23, 2020
The concerns outlined in the recent article, “West Perry worries
over special education costs” are
indicative of anxieties that administrators and school board directors across
the state are feeling this time of year. Increases in mandated expenses for
school districts are estimated to top $455 million this year alone, and special
education costs are expected to continue to grow by more than $200 million per
year, topping $6 billion in 2020-21. Other mandated costs for charter school
enrollment – the amount school districts must pay charter schools – are
estimated to grow by more than $175 million in the upcoming budget year. In the
West Perry School District, the proposed $42 million budget included a tax
increase of 9.15 percent. In the article, the business manager at West Perry,
Stevie Davis, channeled the struggles of administrators in districts across the
state, “We do what we can to control costs,” Davis said, “but the state doesn’t
pay its fair share of education costs.” Schools are struggling to keep up with
rising costs and to head off program cuts. In order to help local districts
hold down property taxes and improve outcomes for students, the General
Assembly needs to do its part. Governor Wolf included an increase in funding
for Pennsylvania public schools of $405 million in his 2020-21 budget proposal.
The General Assembly must step up by working with the governor to ensure public
schools receive not a penny less than that proposed increase.
High School of Health Sciences Leadership Charter School:
New Application Report
Clearly Inadequate Application Should Result
in Board Rejection
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by
Lisa Haver, Deborah Grill, Lynda Rubin February 19, 2020 appsphilly.net
High School of Health Sciences leadership
Charter School (HS2L)
Proposed Location: 5210 North Broad Street
(former Holy Child School)
Neighborhood: Logan
Grades: 9—12
Enrollment: 150 students Year one; 600 students at scale, Year 5
Estimated cost to District for first 5-year term: $29, 111, 817.
Estimated stranded costs to District: $11, 524, 500.
Neighborhood: Logan
Grades: 9—12
Enrollment: 150 students Year one; 600 students at scale, Year 5
Estimated cost to District for first 5-year term: $29, 111, 817.
Estimated stranded costs to District: $11, 524, 500.
Founding Coalition Members
- Tim
Matheney, Charter School Consultant, CEO Spire Leadership Group
- Sharifa
Edwards, Manager of School Investments, Philadelphia School Partnership
- April
Gonzalez, [consultant] Spire Leadership Group
- Kenric
Chua, Creative Arts Director, Spire Leadership Group
- Geordie
Brackin, CEO, Brackin Placement Group
Proposed Board Members
- Laura
Siminoff, Dean, School of Public Health, Temple University
- Geordie
Brackin, CEO, Brackin Placement Group
- Janine
Yass, Vice-chair, Center on Education Reform
- Sharif
El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development, former Mastery
Charter administrator
- Candace
Kenyatta, Managing Partner, Grovider
- Tim
Matheney (ex-officio), CEO, HS2L
Does the District Need A Health Sciences
Charter School?
New report gives Pa. a ‘D-Minus’ for its reliance on
one-time budget gimmicks| Monday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star By John L. Micek February
24, 2020
Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
With another week of budget hearings upon us,
now seemed like a good time to zoom out from the micro-details of each agency’s
funding request and take a broader look at the way Pennsylvania manages the
seeming miracle of getting an approved spending plan over the goal line by
… err … June 30ish every year. And to aid us in that task,
we’re turning to the folks at the Volcker Alliance, the New
York City-based think-tank founded by former Federal Reserve Board
Chairman Paul Volcker, dedicated to “[ensuring] that government is
accountable and delivers with excellence.” And this being Pennsylvania and all,
that’s a tall order on the best of days. Volcker, more astute readers
will recall, was appointed to the Fed by President Jimmy Carter and
stayed on through most of President Ronald Reagan’s two terms.
He’s credited for helping to end the inflation that marked the 1970s and
1980s. He died in 2019 at the
age of 92.
In that context then, we’re not exactly
talking about a fire-breathing socialist, which makes the criticisms to come
all the more pointed.
'It’s a rigged game, and you are paying for it’:
Salisbury superintendent blasts LVHN for possible closure of elementary school
By PETER BLANCHARD THE MORNING CALL |
FEB 20, 2020 | 5:12 PM
If finances force the Salisbury Township
School District to close one of its two elementary schools, Lehigh Valley
Health Network is partly to blame, the superintendent told a packed house at a
school board meeting Wednesday. “We think they should pay taxes in today’s
health care system,” Superintendent Randy Ziegenfuss told an audience of about
150 people, many of them parents who don’t want the school to close. “They are
no longer a purely charitable organization. We need that money.” The nonprofit
network is headquartered in the township, where it owns three large tax-exempt
parcels, including its main hospital campus on Cedar Crest Boulevard. The
school district filed a legal challenge to LVHN’s tax-exempt status with the
Lehigh County Board of Assessment Appeals in 2018. When that board upheld the
tax exemption, the district filed a complaint in Lehigh County Court, arguing
the hospital is no longer a “purely public charity” and should be contributing
more than $5 million a year in property taxes. “They’re doing everything
legally,” Ziegenfuss acknowledged. “It’s a law; it’s a rigged game, and you are
paying for it.”
“Gov. Tom Wolf mentioned
Parker prominently during his budget speech this
month, citing him as an example of the state’s “brilliant future.” Wolf also
painted a bleak picture of the difficult situation that Parker faces in
Allentown. Ancient school buildings. Inadequate state funding. Crushing charter
school costs. The governor didn’t mention Allentown’s weak tax base. Or how
Pennsylvania’s inequitable education funding system disregards the realities of
urban districts such as Allentown, where students are overwhelmingly poor and
often don’t speak English well. They may require more services, which add to
district expenses. The district regularly faces budget deficits. It has no
savings to dip into. It’s still short by $6 million this year.”
Paul Muschick: Why I don’t blame Allentown Superintendent
Thomas Parker for seeking another job
Opinion By PAUL MUSCHICK THE MORNING
CALL | FEB 21, 2020 | 8:00 AM
Don’t be surprised that Superintendent Thomas
Parker is considering moving on. He’s been here only a few years, but that’s
long enough to realize how dire of a situation the Allentown School District is
in. It’s difficult for him to make an impact under such circumstances, even for
someone with a reputation for turning schools around. Parker is one of 19
applicants for the schools director position in Nashville, Tennessee, according to The Tennessean newspaper. Parker told Morning Call reporter
Jacqueline Palochko this week that he isn’t actively
seeking a new job, but applied because someone invited him to. He’s playing
with words. He applied, which means he’d consider leaving for the right
opportunity. He could have turned down the invitation. Parker described the
Nashville job as “intriguing" and said he’d “investigate and explore.” When
he became Allentown superintendent in 2017, Parker said he would
"be here for the long haul.” Now halfway through a five-year contract that
pays him about $175,000 a year, Parker is at least open to checking out other
options. I’ve criticized him at times, but I’m not going to judge him for that.
Parker is Allentown’s fourth superintendent in 10 years, and the first
African-American to hold the job. He’s young. He’s energetic. He’s shown a
willingness to speak up for students.
Ephrata Area school board expected to vote tonight on
later school start times
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer February
24, 2020
The Ephrata Area school board is expected to
vote tonight on whether to delay school start times at every grade level in the
2020-21 school year. The proposal, nearly a
year in the making, would shift school start times by five minutes at
elementary schools, 30 at the intermediate school, 45 at the middle school and
40 at the high school. If it passes, Ephrata would become the first Lancaster
County school district to significantly delay school start times, joining
a growing trend nationwide
aligning school start times with mounting sleep research. Many leading health
organizations advise bumping start times to 8:30 a.m. or later to match
adolescents’ sleep onset and wake times. Waking up too early could cause
increased anxiety, irritability and other mental and physical health issues
among teenagers, research says.
Ephrata’s proposal would shift times as follows:
“We take a look at
year-to-date data in the following Northampton and Lehigh county school
districts, focusing on January 2020 new listing and inventory levels. We’ll
also tell you about pending sales, closed sales, and the average price of a
home currently on the market.”
Seller’s market: How many properties are for sale in each
Lehigh Valley school district?
By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For
lehighvalleylive.com February 24, 2020
Here’s some good news for home sellers in
the Lehigh Valley. National
Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts national median
home prices will rise 4% compared to last year despite inventory shortages. Yun
also expects sales of newly-built homes to increase by 10% nationally. Buyers
have faced a lack of homes to choose from since 2015. This year inventory could
reach new historic lows, according to realtor.com’s 2020 National Housing
Forecast. Real estate experts say although
single-family home construction is expected to rise, it still won’t be enough
to keep up with demand.
Superintendents' forum: College isn't only path to career
workplace and life readiness
Delco Times By Dr. Brett A. Cooper Daniel
Boone School District Feb 20, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has,
in recent years, shifted focus to The Future Ready PA Index, which is designed
to identify student and school success based on academic performance, student
progress and college and career readiness. This index has been developed to
provide the public with an accurate and comprehensive view of how Pennsylvania
schools are educating students throughout the commonwealth. As a well-educated
college graduate having earned three post-secondary/post-graduate degrees — one
undergraduate and two advanced graduate — I find it worrisome that there is
continued focus on the value of the college experience in preparing our
students to be college and career ready. The focus in preparing our future
workforce for the jobs of tomorrow, of which many we do not even know will
exist, has much more to offer than just the college experience. Traditional
societal norms have been consistent and pervasive in identifying post-secondary
opportunities for our students that primarily focus on college. It is
imperative that our focus adjusts so that we equally identify post-secondary
career/workplace/life readiness programming that includes more contemporary
identifiable opportunities such as career and technology education programs,
pre-apprenticeship/apprenticeship programs, certification programs,
trade-school programs and internship opportunities for all students.
Full slate of candidates in primary for Chesco voters
Pottstown Mercury By Michael P. Rellahan
Staff Writer mrellahan@dailylocal.com On Twitter @ChescoCourtNews Feb 21, 2020
The April 28 primary promises to be a lively
one for Chester County voters, with a total of six contested races for the
General Assembly on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to
file their nominating petitions in Harrisburg, and a total of 24 candidates for
10 seats turned their documents into the Department of State. The marquee match
up in the county most certainly will be the race to find the candidates who
will run to replace retiring state Sen. Andy Dinniman in the 19th state Senate
District, which encompasses the eastern and southern portions of the county. Five candidates filed to run for the office,
three Democrats and two Republicans. Dinniman, of West Whiteland, announced
earlier this month that he would not seek a fourth term in the Legislature,
intending to spend more time with his wife, who has health problems. The
candidates for his office on the Democratic ballot are Kyle Boyer of
Tredyffrin, a member of the Tredyffrin-Easttown School Board and president of
the West Chester NAACP; state Rep. Carolyn Comitta of West Chester, who will
also run for re-election to her 156th Legislative District seat in the House of
Representatives; and Dinniman’s longtime aide, Don Vymazal of Phoenixville,
where he serves on the borough’s Planning Commission.
California students sued because they were such poor
readers. They just won $53 million to help them
Los Angeles Times By SONALI KOHLI, IRIS
LEE FEB. 20, 2020
Two years ago, a group of students and their
teachers sued the state of
California for doing a poor job teaching
kids how to read — 53% of California third-graders did not meet state test
standards that year, and scores have increased only incrementally since. On
Thursday they won $53 million so that the state’s lowest-performing schools
have the resources to do better. Under the settlement with the state, most of
the funding will be awarded over three years to 75 public elementary schools,
including charters, with the poorest third-grade reading scores in California
over the last two years. The agreement comes after the novel lawsuit contended
that the students’ low literacy levels violated California’s constitutional
mandate to provide all children with equal access to an education, said
attorney Mark Rosenbaum at the pro bono law firm Public Counsel. “We shouldn’t have to be filing lawsuits to
establish a right to read,” Rosenbaum said.
Should All Children Learn to Code by the End of High
School?
Wall Street Journal February 23, 2020
Supporters say coding know-how is good for
students in an increasingly digital world. Opponents say public schools
shouldn’t serve as job-training sites for tech companies.
At every high school, students are required
to show proficiency in certain subjects to graduate. Now there’s a push to
include computer coding as one of those subjects. The idea is that such a skill
will be invaluable in a world that increasingly runs on computer technology.
What’s more, many companies report shortages of workers with programming
skills. Nearly 20 states have already passed legislation requiring public
schools to make computer-science classes accessible to high-school students,
according to Code.org, a
nonprofit founded by tech investors that says coding and other computer skills
should be seen as essential in the 21st century.
Why Warren’s ardent defense of the teachers union
monopoly hurts students
Washington Post By George F. Will Columnist
Feb. 21, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EST
ERIE, Pa. — Two women — one black and not
affluent; one white, wealthy and famous — are contrasting faces of America’s
debate about equal educational opportunity in grades K through 12. Porschia
Anderson, a mother with daughters in kindergarten, fourth and 10th grades here,
and parents like her have an enormous stake in Pennsylvania expanding charter
schools and supporting other avenues to educational choices. The aim of such
measures is for parents of modest, or negligible, means to have alternatives
that affluent parents take for granted. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is
ardent for equality as an abstraction but is even more ardent for the support
of public school teachers unions. They are tenacious in defense of their
semi-monopoly in primary and secondary education: Just 6 percent of the
nation’s pupils are in charter schools, and only 218,000 (0.39
percent) of the 56.6 million pupils received vouchers.
In Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, there is a
wearying constant, a simmering conflict. On one side are parents seeking
charter schools — public schools granted more administrative and instruction
discretion than enjoyed by unionized public schools. These parents also seek
tax credits for privately funded scholarships that low-income families can use
to pay tuition at private schools. On the other side are teachers unions
characterizing such programs as “attacks” on public education funding. The Commonwealth
Foundation is a tireless advocate for more Pennsylvania charter schools and for
tax credits for scholarships. This
school year the foundation, prevailing
against labor’s big battalions, expanded scholarship
access to 15,000 more children. Unfortunately, Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who attended
a prestigious and pricey prep school, the Hill
School, has issued executive actions to
restrict enrollments in charter schools. And to cut funding for charters. And
to force charters to
pay the government to perform its duty of compelling reluctant school districts
to obey the law: Pandering to teachers unions, some districts refuse to provide
charters with legally required per-pupil funding. Charter funds are distributed
by school districts that often are running the underperforming schools that
make parents desperate for the alternative of charter schools.
Last year, Philadelphia, where 34,000
students recently applied for
7,500 available charter spaces, refused all
three applications for new charters. Demand does not elicit supply when
monopolists use politics to restrict supply.
Blogger note: support Governor Wolf’s proposed charter reforms:
Reprise: PA Ed Policy Roundup for Feb 10, 2020
1. Adopt resolution for charter funding
reform
2. Ask your legislators to cosponsor HB2261
or SB1024
3. Register for Advocacy Day on March 23rd
Adopt: the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding
reform
PSBA Website POSTED ON FEBRUARY 3,
2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
In this legislative session, PSBA has been
leading the charge with the Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor’s
Administration to push for positive charter reform. We’re now asking you to
join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re asking all school
boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school funding reform at your
next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and to PSBA.
Cosponsor: A 120-page
charter reform proposal is being introduced as House Bill
2261 by Rep. Joseph Ciresi (D-Montgomery), and Senate Bill 1024,
introduced by Senators Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) and James Brewster
(D-Allegheny). Ask your legislator to sign on as a cosponsor to House Bill
2261 or Senate Bill 1024.
Register: Five compelling reasons for .@PSBA .@PASA .@PAIU school leaders to come to the Capitol
for Advocacy Day on March 23rd:
Charter Reform
Cyber Charter Reform
Basic Ed Funding
Special Ed Funding
PLANCON
Register at http://mypsba.org
For more information: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/
Volunteer your time and talents.
Register Today to Help transform education in
Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Education Fund
Learn More at PEF's Information Session
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Philadelphia Education Fund, 718 Arch Street,
Suite 700N Philadelphia, PA 19106
Do you have a willingness to engage with the
students we serve through our college access and college persistence
programming? The Philadelphia Education Fund supports nearly 6,000 students and
serves 16 schools. As a result, we produce and host hundreds of sessions for
students on a range of topics that are intended to help our young people
navigate a successful journey through high school and college.
This Information Session will explain how you
can help!
Hear relevant content from statewide experts, district practitioners and
PSBA government affairs staff at PSBA’s annual membership gathering. PSBA
Sectional Advisors and Advocacy Ambassadors are on-site to connect with
district leaders in their region and share important information for you to
take back to your district.
Locations and dates
- Wednesday,
March 18, 2020 — Section 7, PSBA
Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Blvd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
- Tuesday,
March 24, 2020 — Section 1, General McLane
High School, 11761 Edinboro Rd, Edinboro, PA 16412
- Tuesday,
March 24, 2020 — Section 4, Abington
Heights School District, 200 East Grove Street, Clark Summit, PA 18411
- Wednesday,
March 25, 2020 — Section 3, Columbia-Montour
AVTS, 5050 Sweppenheiser Dr., Bloomsburg, PA 17815
- Wednesday,
March 25, 2020 — Section 6, Bedford County
Technical Center, 195 Pennknoll Road, Everett, PA 15537
- Thursday,
March 26, 2020 — Section 2, State College
Area High School, 650 Westerly Pkwy, State College, PA 16801
- Monday,
March 30, 2020 — Section 5, Forbes Road
Career & Technology Center, 607 Beatty Road, Monroeville, PA 15146
- Monday, March 30, 2020 — Section 8, East Penn School District, 800 Pine St, Emmaus,
PA 18049
- Tuesday, April 7, 2020 — Section 5, Washington School District, 311 Allison
Avenue, Washington, PA 15301
- Tuesday, April 7, 2020 — Section 8, School District of Haverford Twp, 50 East Eagle
Road, Havertown, PA 19083
Sectional Meetings are 6:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. (across all locations). Light
refreshments will be offered.
Cost: Complimentary for
PSBA member entities.
Registration: Registration is
now open. To register, please sign into myPSBA and look for
Store/Registration on the left.
Allegheny County Legislative Forum on Education March 12
by Allegheny Intermediate Unit Thu, March
12, 2020 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT
Join us on March 12 at 7:00 pm for the
Allegheny Intermediate Unit's annual Allegheny County Legislative Forum. The
event will feature a discussion with state lawmakers on a variety of issues
impacting public schools. We hope you will join us and be part of the
conversation about education in Allegheny County.
All school
leaders are invited to attend Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in
Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators (PASA) are partnering together to strengthen our advocacy
impact. The day will center around meetings with legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education. Click here for more information or register
at http://www.mypsba.org/
School
directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need assistance
logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data System
Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org
Register now for
Network for Public Education Action National Conference in Philadelphia March
28-29, 2020
Registration, hotel
information, keynote speakers and panels:
PSBA Board Presidents Panel April 27, 28 and 29; Multiple
Locations
Offered at 10 locations across the state,
this annual event supports current and aspiring school board leaders through
roundtable conversations with colleagues as well as a facilitated panel of
experienced regional and statewide board presidents and superintendents. Board
Presidents Panel is designed to equip new and veteran board presidents and vice
presidents as well as superintendents and other school directors who may pursue
a leadership position in the future.
PARSS Annual Conference April 29 – May 1, 2020 in State
College
The 2020 PARSS Conference is April 29 through
May 1, 2020, at Wyndham Garden Hotel at Mountain View Country Club in State
College. Please register as a member or a vendor by accessing the links below.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.