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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PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 1, 2020
Your View by two former secretaries of education: Why Pennsylvania
must not cut school funding
Not only did the coronavirus pandemic put a
strain on less wealthy school districts such as Allentown to provide online
learning and other help, the resulting economic downturn will mean less revenue
for those same districts, the authors contend.
By WILLIAM E. HARNER and GERALD
ZAHORCHAK THE MORNING CALL | MAY 31, 2020 | 11:00 AM
William E. Harner is the Quakertown Community
School District superintendent and a former Pennsylvania secretary of
education. Gerald Zahorchak is a former school superintendent and Pennsylvania
secretary of education.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have
surged through all aspects of our society since it began its spread across
Pennsylvania two months ago. Public school children have been among the major
casualties. The crisis hit our schools with a stunning swiftness. Within days
of the first confirmed coronavirus case in the state, all school facilities
were closed, first temporarily and then for the rest of the school year. All
were tasked to develop a Continuity of Education Plan. In school districts that
had the resources, administrators, teachers and staff rushed to deliver online
instruction to minimize the academic slide, implement grab-and-go meal
distribution to students to keep them nourished and provide counseling and
other support for students dealing with an unprecedented disruption to their
education and their lives. These dramatic and abrupt changes threw open the
door to vast disparities throughout our state’s education system. It confirmed
that our public schools are anchors for families and communities but were
wholly unequal. It highlighted the commitment teachers and other school staff
have to their students and the obstacles they encountered to teaching and
learning. Sadly, the crisis further exposed the financial disparities across
school districts. Well-off districts transitioned quickly and easily to virtual
learning while poorer districts struggled without technology resources to
connect with their students.
Uncertainty reigns as schools look ahead to new year
The Phoenix by Evan Brandt
ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com @PottstownNews on Twitter May 31, 2020
Graduation season is a time of reflection,
both on the reaching of a milestone and on what comes next. But as this
strangest of graduation seasons starts to wind down, it's increasingly clear
that when it comes to public education, the answer to what comes next seems to
be one giant question mark. With hybrid graduations, on-the-fly-online classes,
budget chaos and ever-shifting health guidelines, education leaders may
rightfully feel that just reaching the finish line this year has been an
exhausting accomplishment. But health experts are now preparing the nation for
the fact that COVID-19 isn't going away any time soon, and so far, there is
little hope for certainty in the school year to come. No matter who you
ask — teachers, students, legislators, parents, administrators, school
board members — the path forward and what the first day of the 2020-2021
school year looks like remains anybody's guess. "We're feeling our way
through a dark room filled with sharp knives," Pottsgrove School Board
member Charles Nippert said at a May 26 school board meeting. "Our
administration has been working feverishly to figure out how we re-open in the
fall," Pottstown School Board member Laura Johnson said during a May 26
Zoom meeting on school funding hosted by the Public Citizens for Children and
Youth advocacy group. "Things are changing daily, we're trying to hit a
moving target," Spring-Ford Superintendent David Goodin told his board
during the May 26 meeting. "We hope to have an idea of what opening looks
like by mid-July," he said. "Our economy has suffered a lot of job
loss, a lot of lost revenue for school districts," Montgomery County
Commissioners Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence said during the PCCY webinar. "We
still have a long road to go."
Excerpts from PSBA’s May 29, 2020 Special Report: State
Budget, Fiscal Code, School Code Bills Final
PSBA Website May 29, 2020
Education budget: The general
appropriations budget under House Bill 2387 recognizes the importance of public
education in these difficult times by providing full-year funding for schools
and maintaining investments without reductions in critical state subsidies.
This includes level funding of the basic education funding (BEF) subsidy at
$6.74 billion and the special education subsidy at $1.186 billion. The Ready to
Learn Block Grant remains at $268 million, career and technical education at
$99 million, and $5.5 million for career and technical education grants. Pupil
transportation is being funded at $612 million under House Bill 2387, and while
this may appear to be a reduction, a supplemental appropriation for the 2019-20
fiscal year brought the allocation in line with costs and now represents level
funding.
Click here to see the district-by-district subsidies for basic and special education and estimated Ready to Learn Block Grant, and School Safety and Security eligibility amounts
Omnibus Fiscal Code amendments (property tax relief/school safety): Also passed by the General Assembly and on its way to the governor is House Bill 1083 which amends the state Fiscal Code to make various changes. Of interest to school districts is language authorizing transfer of up to $300 million in federal funding from the CARES Act to the state Property Tax Relief Fund (under Act 1 of 2006), which is normally funded by state gaming revenues, enabling the state to restore up to $621 million to provide property tax relief to homestead and farmstead properties.
Click here to see the district-by-district subsidies for basic and special education and estimated Ready to Learn Block Grant, and School Safety and Security eligibility amounts
Omnibus Fiscal Code amendments (property tax relief/school safety): Also passed by the General Assembly and on its way to the governor is House Bill 1083 which amends the state Fiscal Code to make various changes. Of interest to school districts is language authorizing transfer of up to $300 million in federal funding from the CARES Act to the state Property Tax Relief Fund (under Act 1 of 2006), which is normally funded by state gaming revenues, enabling the state to restore up to $621 million to provide property tax relief to homestead and farmstead properties.
Wolf: Pennsylvania school districts will reopen for fall
2020
Trib Live by JAMIE MARTINES | Friday, May
29, 2020 4:32 p.m.
There’s “no question” that Pennsylvania
school districts will physically reopen this fall, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday. “Schooling
will look different,” Wolf said. “You’ll probably have more online learning and
maybe less classroom learning, there might be fewer students in each
classroom.” The Pennsylvania Department of Education is expected to release
specific guidance early next week that will address issues like online
learning, classroom capacity, operating school buses, sports and
extracurricular activities, as well as other logistics, Wolf said. Wolf announced Friday that
Allegheny, Westmoreland and 14 other Southwestern Pennsylvania counties will
transition to the green phase of the state’s three-phase reopening plan on June
5. Schools will remain closed through the end of the 2019-20 school year, but
summer camps, child care and other summer recreation activities are allowed to
resume as coronavirus mitigation efforts gradually lift. “Each of the local
education authorities have a lot to say about what school is going to look
like,” Wolf said. “We’re providing guidelines.” Specific start dates in August
or September will be determined by local school officials, Wolf said.
Educators face task of helping students cope with turmoil
gripping city, nation
Board member Mallory Fix-Lopez wants District
to offer resources for teachers.
The notebook by Dale
Mezzacappa May 31 — 8:39 pm, 2020
As school resumes this week after a
distressing weekend that saw violence break out in Philadelphia and elsewhere
as communities responded to police killings of African Americans, teachers and
education leaders are working on how to best discuss the issues and help
students process what has been happening. Superintendent William Hite said
Sunday night that teachers will receive materials to guide them in talking to
students Monday about the death of George Floyd and others, something that will
undoubtedly be made more difficult since all classes and communication are done
remotely. According to teachers, he sent an email to staff at 8:36 p.m. that
includes some resources. The topics are big ones — social justice,
institutional racism, nonviolent and violent protest. They are always
important, but the events of the past weeks and weekend have made them
impossible to ignore in much the same way that the limits of online learning have
thrust systemic educational inequity to the forefront. Board of Education
member Mallory Fix Lopez took to Twitter to take the District to task for not
being more proactive in responding to the crisis.
Lincoln Learning Solutions cuts 122 jobs, including 43 in
Beaver County
Ellwood City Ledger By Daveen
Rae Kurutz @DK_NewsData and @DKreports Posted
May 29, 2020 at 3:21 PM
Lincoln Learning Solutions laid off 122
full-time, part-time and temporary employees Friday, equaling one-third of its
workforce after losing a “multi-million dollar source of revenue.”
ROCHESTER — More than one-third of the staff
at Lincoln Learning Solutions were laid off Friday. The nonprofit education services company —
which has ties to Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and the
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School — laid off 122 employees, including 76
full-time, 12 part-time and 34 temporary workers, said Christina Zacek,
director of communications for the company. “It is with a heavy heart that
Lincoln Learning Solutions acknowledges the layoff of 122 employees,” Zacek
said. “After having lost a multi-million dollar contract, we closely reviewed
our budget and determined we could no longer afford to maintain a significant
number of our employees — even after initiating substantial cuts and
adjustments. Cutting jobs was a last and difficult choice.” Zacek called the
decision “a punch to the gut.” Lincoln Learning recently signed a new contract
with PA Cyber that resulted in a multi-million dollar loss of revenue, she
said. The company had been rearranging its finances and trimming its budget
after the loss of revenues. Parking contracts and leases were terminated, and
additional business contracts were added, but that wasn’t enough to make up the
difference she said. While based in Rochester, the majority of Lincoln
Learning’s employees are remote. In total, 84 of those laid off are from
western Pennsylvania, including 43 in Beaver County, 23 in Allegheny County, 14
in Butler County and one in Lawrence County. An additional 11 employees in
Ohio, just over the border from Midland, were laid off.
Kiski Area to continue remote learning in the fall but
devising hybrid plan for some in-person instruction
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Friday, May
29, 2020 5:46 p.m.
When it comes to in-person schooling amid a
pandemic, Kiski Area Superintendent Tim Scott said there are many factors to
consider — the seating arrangements, the mask requirements, how students will
be bused and dropped off, how athletics will function, how students will
operate in lunchrooms. He thought of the strict guidelines that restaurants
must follow even in the state’s green phase of reopening, restricting access to
shared condiments and using only disposable menus. The district has about 3,600
students. “You’re not even going to be able to put ketchup on your own
hamburger,” Scott said. “I have to figure out who can sharpen their own
pencils, how to hand out papers.” That is why Kiski Area School District will
continue remote learning next fall, Scott announced this week. The district is
the first in the area to release concrete plans for the next school year, while
most of its neighbors grapple with uncertainty and hold out hope that school
buildings will reopen.
WASD, public raise concerns over budget deficit
Herald Mail Media By Andrea Rose The Record
Herald May 29, 2020
WAYNESBORO, Pa. — An hourlong discussion by
the Waynesboro Area School Board last week presented multiple options for
making up a roughly $3 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2020-21, but the
final solution — including cuts to extracurricular activities and teacher
furloughs — remains to be seen. Despite schools being closed since March, the
district continues to lose money, primarily due to state mandates over which
the district has no control. A plan to cut costs: State law
mandates payment of all school employees and coaches for their regular pay for
this school year, as well as honoring transportation contracts, $8 million in
pension payments and cyber/charter school and special-education program costs. The
district also is losing revenue in food service, and costs have gone up for
software and technology for students to learn at home. The district also could
lose at least $370,000 in state funding, and the state legislature is
discussing prohibiting tax increases for 2020-21, meaning the district also
would lose that potential for income, as well as losses in real estate transfer
tax revenue, local service tax and earned income tax revenue because people are
not working. "If our collection rate for real estate goes down by just 1
percent, it's $250,000 of additional revenue reductions for us," Business
Administrator Eric Holtzman said. "We are one of the most frugal districts
in the state. We have very low fund balances. We don't have a lot of reserves."
Holtzman Defends $71.2 M Proposed Budget: ‘We Need Every
Dollar’
By Richard
Finch Jr. The Tube City Almanac May 29, 2020
McKeesport Area School Board has approved a $71.2 million preliminary budget that includes a 0.80-mill property tax increase. At Wednesday’s meeting, school directors voted 6-2 to approve the preliminary spending plan for the 2020-21 fiscal year. School board members James Brown and David Donato voted against the budget. The tax increase will take the district's millage from 20.16 mills to 20.96 mills and represents a $40 increase on a house assessed at $50,000. It will be the third year in a row that MASD has raised its property tax rate. School property taxes increased 2.11 mills in 2018 and increased 0.68 mills in 2019. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing increases in charter school tuition are among the reasons for the tax increase, school Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. said. “Every dollar is needed to make (us) whole as we get into the next school year,” Holtzman said, under questioning from school board President Joe Lopretto. The millage increase will be used for issues beyond the school district’s control, said Holtzman, pointing to a lack of any “dramatic” increase in basic education funding from the state, as well as flat funding in special education and increases in debt service costs.
McKeesport Area School Board has approved a $71.2 million preliminary budget that includes a 0.80-mill property tax increase. At Wednesday’s meeting, school directors voted 6-2 to approve the preliminary spending plan for the 2020-21 fiscal year. School board members James Brown and David Donato voted against the budget. The tax increase will take the district's millage from 20.16 mills to 20.96 mills and represents a $40 increase on a house assessed at $50,000. It will be the third year in a row that MASD has raised its property tax rate. School property taxes increased 2.11 mills in 2018 and increased 0.68 mills in 2019. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing increases in charter school tuition are among the reasons for the tax increase, school Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. said. “Every dollar is needed to make (us) whole as we get into the next school year,” Holtzman said, under questioning from school board President Joe Lopretto. The millage increase will be used for issues beyond the school district’s control, said Holtzman, pointing to a lack of any “dramatic” increase in basic education funding from the state, as well as flat funding in special education and increases in debt service costs.
“We are faced with the possibility of not
receiving the same revenue after the budget is passed,” Holtzman said. …State
cuts in education funding dating back to the administration of former Gov. Tom
Corbett and “the way in which the state uses funding for our public-school
system,” contribute to the need for increased taxes, according to Holtzman.
These York County districts are planning summer
graduations, events
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 9:59 a.m. ET May 29, 2020 | Updated 2:35 p.m. ET May
31, 2020
Now that York County has moved to the yellow
phase of reopening, many school districts are preparing for summer
graduations or events in addition to — or instead of — virtual ceremonies. "As
this is an ever-changing situation, we now have the opportunity to provide a
more personalized experience," said Red Lion Area Superintendent Scott Deisley
in a May 21 board report. The district had previously announced plans
for a virtual ceremony, which were met with much outcry,
including 1,200 people signing a petition in protest of the plans. But now
that stay-at-home restrictions have lifted, officials are willing to allow
seniors a photo opportunity with diplomas, similar to neighboring districts. Other
districts are also finalizing plans for summer ceremonies or organizing
additional events to go along with their virtual recognition amid the
relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. An updated list of districts planning summer
events with confirmed dates are listed below. South Eastern, West Shore and
York Suburban are also considering summer events, but dates had not been
confirmed as of Thursday.
AT&T Hotspot plans for PA Public Schools
POSTED ON MAY 29, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
AT&T, in partnership and consultation
with the PSBA, has extended a number of offers to school districts
throughout the nation and here in Pennsylvania. These include unlimited and
mobile hotspot plans with content management for $59.99/month, WebEx meeting
services at ranging prices, Samsung tablets for $119.99, and MiFi devices as
low as $.99. In addition to these offers, AT&T has waived domestic wireless
plan overage charges for data, voice and text messages for residential and
small business customers through June 30. Those interested in waived overage
charges should log in to their account online and request assistance through
the chat function. For more details on these offers, please contact an AT&T
representative in your area.
South Korea closes schools again amid coronavirus spike,
days after reopening
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss May
30, 2020 at 2:21 a.m. EDT
South Korea closed hundreds of schools that
had reopened days earlier — and postponed the opening of many others — after a
spike in cases of the novel coronavirus. The
country had started to stage the opening of schools in the last week,
instituting social distancing and prevention measures in an attempt to prevent
the spread of the virus. But according to the Korea Times, hundreds
of schools were closed again because of high infection rates in their
communities. It cited the Ministry of Education as saying that 838 schools of
the 20,902 nationwide that were supposed to reopen on Wednesday did not,
including in Seoul, and hundreds closed on Thursday in Seoul, Bucheon and other
cities. School districts in the United States that have been closed for months
are now trying to figure out when and how they can reopen safely. Some are
watching how other countries are handling the reopening of schools, including
South Korea, which has been successful in containing the spread of the virus.
Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding
reform
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.
Over 245 PA school boards adopt charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 245 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution
calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law
to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality
and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from
school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform.
Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from
the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions
of dollars to charter schools.
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
The Network for Public Education Action Conference has
been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel
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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