Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education
policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors,
principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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If any of your colleagues would
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PA Ed Policy Roundup for April 30, 2020
“It’s not as though our boards can place any restrictions
on the unfunded mandates coming out of Harrisburg.”
School
Leaders: If you were previously registered for Advocacy Day at the Capitol,
please register and join us for our first ever Virtual Advocacy Day
on Monday, May 11, 2020, via Zoom. Register now at no
cost on myPSBA.
Did you sign up to vote by mail-in ballot for the June
2nd primary election? Track the progress of your mail ballot here:
Tweet from .@SenatorMensch
“Morrisville’s plight sums up why we do not support an effort by
House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, to freeze school property
taxes for 2020-21 to help those who have taken a financial hit due to
coronavirus-related stay-at-home and business closure orders. We’re not saying
that residents, particularly small-business owners and those in the retail,
entertainment, transportation and hospitality sectors, haven’t taken it on the
chin this spring. But we believe any real estate tax controls beyond those
provided by Act 1 of 2006 infringe on school boards’ ability to lead their
districts. It’s not as though our boards can place any restrictions on the
unfunded mandates coming out of Harrisburg.”
Editorial: Pa. needs to buck up for Morrisville, other
needy districts
Doylestown Intelligencer Posted Apr 29, 2020
at 3:37 PM
To the Morrisville School District,
implementing a Continuity of Education Plan is feeling more and more like
another unfunded mandate. The Morrisville School District needs help. That help
needs to come from the state, and it needs to come fast. Last week, the school
board voted to back out of a $217,000 order of about 650 Chromebooks and a
$5,000 contract for internet hot spots. Both were needed to keep all of
Morrisville’s 1,059 students learning for the remainder of the school year. But
both were canceled after the district failed to land a state grant to help
cover the cost. The state is requiring every one of its public school districts
to draft, publish and follow a Continuity of Education Plan outlining how they
would offer relevant, engaging and measurable home-based instruction to
students for the rest of an academic year truncated by COVID-19-prompted school
closures. Putting those plans into practice first means making sure all
students have internet access and the devices they need to connect with their
teachers, complete their assignments, and submit their work for evaluation. The
Pennsylvania Department of Education launched a Continuity of Education and
Equity Grant program to help districts pay for technology, instructional
materials, supplies and training. The state indicated money would be awarded to
districts where a relatively high percentage of students are unable to learn
remotely. We believe the grant program is underfunded if it’s not able to help
a small working-class school district in suburban Philadelphia with a median
household income of less than $69,000. We’re sure Morrisville isn’t the only
district the grant program left out in the cold.
“If there is a quick turnaround in the economy, the PASBO data
suggests the reduction in total local revenue will be more than $850 million
for 2020-21. If the economic recovery lags, however, PASBO projects a loss in
total local revenue of $1.07 billion. Currently, school districts collect about
$18 billion in total local revenue so the PASBO projected decline represents a
loss of 4-5% in total local revenue. This projected loss in local revenue for
school districts comes as the state faces its own financial challenges,
creating unprecedented uncertainty for school districts on all revenue fronts
for 2020-21. Adding to the financial challenges and uncertainty, there is no
relief for school district mandated cost increases next year.”
Report: Pa. Schools Could See $1 Billion Revenue Loss
Explore Venango by Aly Delp | April
29, 2020
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) is reporting
Pennsylvania school districts are facing a major projected loss from local
taxes as coronavirus pandemic shutdowns take a heavy toll on the economy. PASBO
released it’s projection of the drop in local revenues for school districts
next year the day after the House State Government Committee approved a bill to
freeze school district property taxes next year. PASBO’s estimate of the loss
of local revenue is based on a study of the effect of school taxes during the
Great Recession and a projection that the COVID-19 economy will create deeper
and much more immediate cuts. “Every school district tax source and other
non-tax revenue will suffer a precipitous decline for the upcoming school
year,” said Dr. Timothy J. Shrom, PASBO director of research, who developed the
PASBO projection with Dr. Andrew Armagost, PASBO research and advocacy manager.
“In an economic downturn we know that unemployment goes up, thereby reducing
our local income tax revenue, and we know that the real estate market will be
affected resulting in a reduction of our real estate transfer tax We also know
that our taxpayers will need more time to pay, thus reducing property tax
revenues, and with the significant cuts in the rates, interest earnings will
take a hit as well.”
“Local taxpayers have also been made to provide excess funding
to the state’s charter schools for special education costs that are far out of
line for the services provided. In Pennsylvania, the current charter school law
requires public schools to send a “per pupil allocation” to the charter schools
that their students attend. That rate is calculated through a complex state
formula. When a charter school identifies a student as requiring special
education services, public schools are required to send that flat special
education rate to that charter school, regardless of the services needed.”
Guest Opinion: Support Wolf’s plan to reform special
education funding for charters
Doylestown Intelligencer By Frank T.
Gallagher Posted at 5:31 AM April 30, 2020
Frank T. Gallagher, Ed.D. is the
superintendent of the Souderton Area School District.
The Souderton Area School District joins with
hundreds of public school districts statewide to support PA Governor Wolf’s
proposal to modify the way special education funding is allocated to the
state’s charter schools.
As schools across our nation are grappling
with mandatory closures and quarantines, concerns about school funding remain
in the forefront of our discussions. For some, these issues are even more
important as we experience a financial crisis resulting from this pandemic. The
Souderton Area School District joins with hundreds of public school districts
statewide to support PA Governor Wolf’s proposal to modify the way special
education funding is allocated to the state’s charter schools. A recent (April 20) opinion
piece in The Intelligencer, written by the director of a charter school located
in Souderton, criticized the proposal. Taxpayers should be aware, however, that
the proposal is one that would bring some equity for public schools. In
Pennsylvania, each school district is provided a modest federal and state
reimbursement to be used for special education. Federal education law states
that the federal government should give school districts 40 percent of the
funding needed to provide the mandated adequate services for special education
students. Unfortunately, the federal funding has fallen far short of this, with
reimbursement rates at just 15% or less. This shortfall leaves the local
taxpayers to pick up the slack.
Lancaster County schools could lose $46 million in local
revenue next year: report
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer April 30,
2020
Lancaster County school districts could lose
more than $46 million in local revenue next year due to the economic fallout
from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statewide public schools group. In
a report published
Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials projected
about $850 million to $1 billion in local revenue losses for Pennsylvania’s 500
school districts in 2020-21 as unemployment spikes and interest rates plummet. The
losses – 4% to 5% of the $18 billion in local revenue districts across the
state collect now – are expected to come from sources such as school property,
local income and real estate transfer tax revenues, as well as a dip in interest
earnings. With millions in potential losses, school officials here are
scrambling to find ways to balance budgets despite not knowing what, if any,
funding increase they’ll get from the state. “School districts probably have
more uncertainty in their budget developments than in any time in my 40-year
career,” said Tim Shrom, PASBO’s director of research and a former longtime
business manager for Solanco School District. Shrom developed the projections
with Andrew Armagost, PASBO’s research and advocacy manager.
COVID-19 will take toll on school revenues
GoErie By Valerie
Myers @etnmyers Posted
Apr 28, 2020 at 9:54 AM
Statewide association projects Erie School
District tax revenue losses as high as $4.6 million for 2020-21.
Public school districts will lose millions of
dollars in local revenues in the COVID-19 economy, according to projections by
the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials. The association
projects statewide revenue declines between $850 million and $1.07 billion and
Erie School District losses of $3.6 million to $4.6 million in 2020-21,
depending on whether economic recovery is quick or slow. Other local school
districts also will see dramatic losses, according to the projections released
Tuesday. The numbers are based on the district financial information, the Great
Recession’s effect on school taxes and the supposition that the COVID-19
economy will cause deeper and more immediate losses. “Every school district tax
source and other non-tax revenue will suffer a precipitous decline for the
upcoming school year,” said Timothy Shrom, PASBO director of research.
According to the projections:
‒ Staggering unemployment will significantly
reduce local income tax revenue.
‒ A decline in home buying will reduce real
estate transfer taxes.
2020-21 revenue loss projections
‒ Erie School District: $3.6 million to $4.6
million
‒ Millcreek Township School District: $3.3
million to $3.9 million
‒ Fort LeBoeuf School District: $1 million to
$1.2 million
‒ Harbor Creek School District: $962,655 to
$1.1 million
‒ Fairview School District: $920,048 to $1.1
million
‒ General McLane School District: $914,410 to
$1 million
‒ North East School District: $631,007 to
$759,959
‒ Corry Area School District: $607,283 to
$777,035
‒ Wattsburg Area School District: $595,306 to
$709,700
‒ Girard School District: $574,276 to
$688,216
‒ Northwestern School District: $528,557 to
$608,222
‒ Iroquois School District: $368,686 to
$437,351
‒ Union City Area School District: $332,185
to $404,088
‒ Taxpayers will need more time to pay, thus
reducing property tax revenues.
‒ Interest earnings on school investments
also will take a hit.
School districts collect about $18 billion in
total local revenue annually. The PASBO projections for 2020-21 represent a 4-
to 5 percent loss in local revenue.
The numbers projected for the Erie School
District are close to what the district has built into its worst-case
projections, Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito said.
U.S. economy shrank at 4.8% rate last quarter as
coronavirus struck
Inquirer by Martin Crutsinger, Associated
Press, Updated: April 29, 2020- 10:51 AM
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank at a
4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the
country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on
record. Yet the drop in the January-March quarter will be only a precursor of a
far grimmer report to come on the current April-June period, with business
shutdowns and layoffs striking with devastating force. With much of the economy
paralyzed, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that economic activity
will plunge this quarter at a 40% annual rate. That would be, by a breathtaking
margin, the bleakest quarter since such records were first compiled in 1947. It
would be four times the size of the worst quarterly contraction on record set
in 1958. The Commerce Department estimated Wednesday that the gross domestic
product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for
the first time in six years. And it was the sharpest fall since the economy
shrank at an 8.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the depths of
the Great Recession. “The longest U.S. economic expansion has ended,” said
Gregory Daco, chief economist at Oxford Economics.
Philly City Council to have hearing and vote on Board of
Ed nominees Friday
Mayor Kenney will also present his revised
budget proposal. Members of the public can register to speak at the virtual
hearing.
Dale
Mezzacappa April 29 — 8:26 am, 2020
Philadelphia’s City Council will hold a
virtual hearing Friday morning on Mayor Kenney’s nominations to the Board of
Education before voting on them at Council’s scheduled 11 a.m. meeting. The
mayor renominated eight of the current nine members and chose Ameen Akbar to
replace Board Vice President Wayne Walker, who is stepping down for personal
reasons. Under the City Charter, a new board must be seated on May 1. This year
marks the first time that City Council will have a chance to weigh in on the
mayor’s choices. That change was made when the local board was reconstituted in
2018 after the District spent nearly two decades being governed by the
state-dominated School Reform Commission. After the mayor selected Akbar, board
member Christopher McGinley announced that he also would step down on April 30.
Kenney has not yet chosen a replacement for McGinley and has asked the
Education Nominating Panel to reconvene and submit a new list of names. The panel
is charged with vetting candidates and giving the mayor three names for each
vacancy, which it did in February when
it submitted the names of the eight current members who wanted at that point to
return, including McGinley, plus 19 others. Sarah Peterson, communications
director for the city’s Office of Education, said the mayor was seeking new
names because the panel “did not know about Chris McGinley’s resignation when
they considered candidates and made their recommendations … and the mayor wants
to make sure they can select nominees with that knowledge by reconvening when
practical.” McGinley has said he will not stay on past April 30, so the board
will most likely operate for a time with a vacancy.
Charges of racism flare in proposal to relocate Philly’s Lab
Charter to East Falls
The controversy has erupted on the eve of the
Board of Education’s planned vote whether to approve the move.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa April 29 — 7:57 pm, 2020
The already contentious effort by Laboratory
Charter to move its middle school to East Falls has been roiled by a Facebook
post charging that some of the opposition to the move is due to racism. The
post said that school officials were told at a meeting with several community
leaders that “your school is a threat to our white community.” The controversy
has erupted on the eve of the Board of Education’s planned vote on Thursday
whether to approve the relocation. The Facebook post, which has since been
taken down, was written by Chris Quintanilla, whose LinkedIn profile describes
him as a locally based consultant who has held several government posts,
appointed by both Democratic and Republican officeholders. Quintanilla, who has
a consulting contract with Lab Charter, was not at the meeting himself, but
said he had statements from two participants. “I wouldn’t say that quote
without some sort of corroboration,” said Quintanilla, in a lengthy interview.
He would not give further details, saying that he is looking into the
possibility of filing a complaint.
Vote on remote grading guidelines prompts friction on PPS
board
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com APR 29,
2020 6:45 PM
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board Wednesday
adopted the grading guidelines the district administration put forward for the
fourth quarter of the academic year as students participate in remote learning
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines would not allow any student to fail
a fourth-quarter class, but the district said it expects all students to engage
in remote learning. The school board meeting in which the guidelines were approved
— held via video conference Wednesday afternoon — grew contentious when one
board member accused others of a dereliction of duty. This happened when a
resolution was put forward acknowledging the board only had the responsibility
to enforce grading guidelines, and it was up to the superintendent to create
them.
Your View: Why we should do away with standardized tests
after coronavirus crisis
By JOHN MAYHER and MERLYN
CLARKE THE MORNING CALL | APR 29, 2020 | 8:00 AM
John Mayher is a Cresco, Monroe County
resident and a professor emeritus of education, New York University. Merlyn
Clarke is a Stroudsburg Area School District Board of Education member.
In addition to the heroic efforts of medical
and service personnel who are risking their lives caring for those afflicted
with COVID-19, and those serving and selling food, we must also applaud our
public school administrators and teachers. They are exerting extraordinary
efforts to salvage the school year for thousands of students. Many teachers
have become quick studies in providing online instruction and resources for
students — under the circumstances, a necessary response. Observers of the
education world can only marvel, however, at how quickly and easily many of the
seeming imperatives of conventional education have been declared nonessential:
180 days of instruction, precise numerical grading, strict requirements for
advancing to the next grade and even the loosening of graduation requirements.
And, perhaps most significant of all: standardized testing.
CONSTITUTIONALLY OBLIGATED: STATES CANNOT PASS THE BUCK
TO DISTRICTS AFTER CLOSING SCHOOLS
Education Law Center BY DAVID SCIARRA April
29, 2020
Governors in every state have ordered school
closures to stop the spread of COVID-19, many for the remainder of the school
year. States have also ordered students, like all citizens, to shelter at home.
It is unclear when and under what conditions schools across the country will
re-open. In the wake of states shuttering schools,
local districts are making efforts to continue educating students by remote and
digital means. Initial reports show many districts are unprepared and
under-resourced for the herculean task of transitioning their entire enrollment
from classrooms to home instruction through internet-connected, computer-based
learning platforms. These reports also show stark disparities between high
poverty and wealthier districts in the availability and effectiveness of remote
instruction and serving students with disabilities, English language learners,
and other students requiring additional supports. These disparities are
attributed to the “digital divide,” that is, the lack of internet connectivity
and devices in homes, often exacerbated by housing instability, food insecurity
and other barriers. Of course, states possess legal authority to order
physical school closures in response to a public health emergency, as has
occurred with COVID-19. But, after closing buildings, do states remain legally
obligated to continue providing education through alternate means? Or is it
permissible for states to let local districts decide whether, how and to what
extent students are educated during the lengthy period of COVID-19 school
closures?
For-profit online education company K12 Inc. to
investors: There’s “upside” in the pandemic
In the Public Interest 4/28/2020
Welcome to Cashing in on Kids, a
newsletter for people who think public education should be truly
public—produced by In the Public Interest. Not a
subscriber? Sign up. Make
sure to like us on Facebook and
follow us on Twitter.
K12 Inc. sees “upside” in coronavirus crisis. In an
earnings call to investors on Monday, Nathaniel Davis, CEO of the publicly
traded online education corporation K12 Inc., spoke about “the upside of the
pandemic on our business. As I’ve already said, it’s horribly unfortunate for
so many people all around the world. But we’re in the business that helps
schools and students in situations exactly like this.” Davis pocketed
$9,785,697 last year in executive compensation.
K12 Inc. has close ties to Wall Street and
conservative organizations, including the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC). Kevin P. Chavous, its president of academics, policy and schools,
has taken up a position on the
Heritage Foundation’s “National Coronavirus Recovery Commission,” which
has close ties with the Trump administration. Seeking Alpha
Betsy DeVos under fire. Rep.
Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) is demanding answers from the U.S. Education Department,
alleging three whistleblowers have complained to his office about political
interference in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar federal grant to the
controversial IDEA charter school network. The Washington Post
“This is someone who once said public
education was a ‘dead end.’” Education Secretary DeVos has
launched a new program with more than $300 million in discretionary federal
grant funding for online/virtual education that will in all likelihood
accelerate the privatization of public education. In the Public Interest
“But, since that vote, a local bookstore owner told
the news agency that copies of those books from flying off her
shelves. “People who had read the books years ago are buying them to read again
and to give away,” Mary Ann Cockle, who owns Fireside Books in Palmer, told the
outlet. “Our biggest outpouring of support are people buying the books
and donating them or leaving them to us to distribute for free,” she added.”
Alaska school board removes 'The Great Gatsby,' 'I Know
Why the Caged Bird Sings' from curriculum over 'controversial' content
The Hill BY ARIS
FOLLEY - 04/28/20 08:41 PM EDT 549
A school board in Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska,
has voted to remove famous written works like Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why The
Caged Bird Sings” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” from the
curriculum for elective high school english courses, citing their
“controversial” content. According to CNN, the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board voted last week to axe those books and three
others –Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” Joseph Heller’s "Catch-22"
and Tim O'Brien’s “The Things They Carried” – from the reading list for the
local district’s High School English Elective Curriculum. The board
reportedly approved the removal of those books in 5-2 vote last week.
Mercury and Venus pair up at dusk,
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars brighten in the pre-dawn sky.
Night Words: Enjoy watching the night sky in May
Delco Times By Harry J. Augensen Professor of
Physics & Astronomy, Widener University April 30, 2020
Sunrise and Sunset Times from the U.S. Naval
Observatory (Eastern Daylight Time)
Sun rises at 6:02 am and sets at 7:55 pm on
the 1st
Sun rises at 5:36 am and sets at 8:23 pm on
the 31st
Moon’s Phases in May
Full “Flower” Moon on the 7th, New
Moon on the 22nd
Stars and Constellations
May is unquestionably one of the most
appealing months to observe the night sky. Not only are the evening
temperatures pleasantly cool, with just a light jacket required, but also the
air is perfumed with the scent of newly sprung blossoms of lilac and viburnum.
On the other hand, one needs to wait until around 8:30 pm to see the
first stars come out at the beginning of the month, and until about 9 pm by
month’s end. Soon to vanish are Aldebaran and the Pleiades star
cluster, Rigel and Betelgeuse, Pollux and Castor, and Sirius and Procyon.
These bright stars of winter are all fading into the twilight during early
evening, not to reappear in the night sky until next autumn. Yellow
Capella is setting in the northwest, but will still be visible through most of
June.
PSBA Board Presidents Panels (Zoom) April 27, 28, 29 and
30 (depending upon the size of your district)
This annual event supports current and
aspiring school board leaders through facilitated discussion with colleagues in
leadership. 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.
Due to current social distancing
requirements, this annual program will shift from a series of in-person
regional events to a digital platform using Zoom Meetings. Participants of each
of the four sessions will meet in small groups using virtual breakout rooms.
Experienced facilitators will guide discussions on attendees’ unique
challenges, solutions and experiences related to board leadership during the
COVID-19 school closures.
This year’s program will be organized to
group together leaders from schools of similar enrollment sizes for relevant
conversation. Members may register for one or two nights to participate in all
of the topics offered. If your district's average enrollment is above 3,500,
you are invited to join the sessions on Tuesday, April 28 and/or Thursday,
April 30. If your district's average enrollment is below 3,500, opt to join the
sessions on Monday, April 27 and/or Wednesday, April 29.
If you previously registered for this live event at the Capitol
please register for the virtual event.
PSBA Virtual
Advocacy Day 2020 MAY 11, 2020 • 9:00 AM - 4:30
PM
Now
more than ever before – Make your voice heard!
Join
us virtually to support public education!
All
public school leaders are invited to join us for our first ever Virtual
Advocacy Day on Monday, May 11, 2020 via Zoom. We need all of you to help
strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center around reaching out to your
legislators to discuss the steps you have taken to deal with the pandemic
crisis and the steps legislators can take to provide schools the flexibility
and creativity needed to weather the storm. Mandate relief, budgeting
flexibility, charter funding reform and other legislative changes need to be
considered to give school district flexibility.
Info
and Registration: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/
Register today for the 2020 PASA/PA Principals
Association PA Educational Leadership Summit, August 2-4, at the Lancaster
Marriott at Penn Square
(hosted by the PA Principals Association and
the PA Association of School Administrators). Participants can earn up to 80
PIL hours (40 hours for the Summit and - for an additional cost of $50 -
40 hours for EdCamp) for
attending the conference and completing program requirements. Register
early to reserve your seat! The deadline to take advantage of the Early Bird
Discount is April 24, 2020.
Click here to
register today!
Network for Public Education 2020 Conference in Philly Rescheduled
to November 21-22
NPE Website March 10, 2020 7:10 pm
We so wanted to see you in March, but we need
to wait until November!
Our conference will now take place on November
21 and 22 at the same location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please
read the important information below.
Registration: We will be rolling over our
registration information, so there is no reason to register again. You will
be automatically registered for the November dates. If you cannot attend in
November, we ask that you consider donating your registration to absorb some of
the costs associated with rescheduling the conference. If you feel you cannot
make such a donation, please contact: dcimarusti@networkforpubliceducation.org.
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.