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, 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.
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for January 20, 2021
Follow the Money:
Jeff Yass/Students First PAC
”Pennsylvania politicians are familiar
with Susquehanna founder Jeff Yass’ past support for Philadelphia mayoral candidates and state officials,
particularly for those who support private and charter schools, one of his
favorite causes. In 2015 Yass and partners Arthur Dantchik and Joel Greenberg
wasted $7 million on State Rep. Anthony Williams (D-Phila.)’s run for Mayor of
Philadelphia; he was trounced by future Mayor Jim Kenney in the Democratic
primary by a margin of more than 2 to 1. Kenney enjoyed the support of the
city’s well-organized public-school teachers, whose union leaders have long
criticized charter-school expansion and public aid to private-school students,
which Yass and Williams supported.”
Bala Cynwyd
billionaire Jeff Yass feels betrayed by GOP stars he funded in Congress,
including some who denied Biden won
"Sometimes
politicians deceive their donors." A ranking by a campaign-finance group
placed Jeff Yass and his wife, Janine, as the ninth largest givers in the U.S.
for the last election cycle.
Inquirer by Joseph
N. DiStefano Published Jan 19, 2021
Jeff Yass, the billionaire financial trader in Bala Cynwyd, is showing some buyer’s remorse over his
massive financial support for Republican politicians who have decried the
presidential election as stolen. In the last six years, Yass has given $43
million to Republican candidates nationwide and GOP-oriented political action
committees. One such PAC, called the Club for Growth, spent $3
million to help U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, the firebrand from Missouri who was a
leader among Republicans contesting the election. Now, a former stockbroker who
is a longtime acquaintance of Yass has made public emails in which the investor
denounced Hawley. “Do you think anyone knew Hawley was going to do that?” Yass
wrote. “Sometimes politicians deceive their donors.” The emails were released
by Laura Goldman, a former investment adviser turned freelance television producer
in Philadelphia. In them, she said in Twitter postings, Yass also wrote: “To be
clear – I don’t think the election was stolen.” Yass, 65, rarely, if ever,
speaks to the media, and he had no comment for this article. He keeps a very
low profile, but is one of America’s biggest donors. A ranking by the
campaign-finance watchdog, the Center for Responsive Politics, placed Yass and
his wife, Janine, as the ninth-largest givers in the United States in the last
federal election cycle.
https://fusion.inquirer.com/news/yass-susquehanna-trump-hawley-toomey-contributions-20210119.html
Reprise October 2016:
PA Ed Policy Roundup for October 30, 2016
Follow the Money: Students First PAC
Spends to Privatize Democratically Governed Public Education In PA
Blogger
note: Not familiar with Students First PAC? Here's a little background:
“But the political landscape shifted two
years ago, when three executives at the Susquehanna International Group —
Arthur Dantchik, Joel Greenberg and Jeffrey Yass — spent more than $5 million
trying to elect Anthony Williams governor. Williams, a Democratic state Senator
from Philadelphia, had made vouchers the centerpiece of his quixotic campaign.
He finished an undistinguished third in the Democratic primary, but his
campaign signaled a turning point for voucher backers. "When you've got
millions of dollars, even if you lose, it puts a certain spring in your
step," says Larry Feinberg, a voucher opponent and founder of the Keystone
State Education Coalition.”
Reprise Nov. 2012: Want
to privatize schools? You might want to buy up an election cycle or two first.
"If
people follow the money trail, they'd learn a lot about what's really going
on."
By Chris
Potter Pittsburgh CityPaper November 21, 2012
State Rep.
James Roebuck has been in politics for a quarter-century, but he'd never before
faced the kind of primary fight he had this spring. His challenger, Fatimah
Muhammad, was a political upstart with little history in the district. Yet she
was able to raise more than $230,000 for her campaign, seemingly overnight.
"I felt like the money was being poured on my head," recalls Roebuck,
a Philadelphia Democrat. Muhammad "put up billboards all across the
district, and had six or seven people working at every polling place." And
then there were the mailings, like the one blaring, "James Roebuck has
sold out our children to special interests." Finally, Roebuck says,
"My wife said, ‘I hate coming home, because I'm tired of always finding
mail about you in the door slot.'" Roebuck couldn't even tell where the
money was coming from. The "special interests" mailer — which blasted
Roebuck for the sorry state of Philadelphia's public schools — was sent by a
group billing itself as "Public Education Excellence." Roebuck had
never heard of the group, which state records show was created just weeks
before the election. Still, it contributed $7,500 directly to Muhammad's
campaign, while spending $4,000 on its own mailings.
Muhammad
could not be reached for comment. But a City Paper review of
campaign activity suggests that roughly half of her money came from a network
of political committees sharing a small group of contributors — and a common
goal: expanding the use of school vouchers.
Blogger note: For several years, Jeff
Yass’ Students First PAC has been one of
the top contributors to Pennsylvania candidates, primarily GOP, in support of
school privatization. Here’s a prior PA Ed Policy Roundup covering the recent
election cycle. It should be noted that
recipient Senators DiSanto and Martin are now serving on the PA Senate Ed Committee.
Reprise Oct. 2020: PA Ed Policy Roundup for October 29, 2020
Follow the Money: How
much of the $3.8 million in Students First PAC money have candidates received
leading into this election?
Blogger note: in an October 27th Spotlight PA article Matt Brouillette, treasurer for the Commonwealth Leaders
Fund – funded primarily by donations from the Students First PAC (Yass,
Dantchik, Greenburg) said that the group decides to get involved in races where
there’s the greatest opportunity to elect someone who will support expanded
charter schools and more tax credits that fund tuition at private schools.
Here’ s list of candidates that have received significant contributions from
the group and/or its other related PAC, the Commonwealth Children’s Choice
Fund:
Heidelbaugh
for Atty
General $1,182,646
John
DiSanto $440,027
Chris
Dush $378,596
Scott
MartÃn $271,560
Andrew
Lewis
$269,927
Carrie Lewis
Delrosso $259,129
Devlin
Robinson $212,067
Rob
Mercuri $203,964
Milou
Mackenzie $155,000
Jason
Silvis $132,180
Larry
Yost $94,661
Valerie
Gaydos
$66,224
Nicole
Ziccarelli $50,000
Craig
Williams
$47,000
Andrew
Holter
$26,682
Howard
Terndrup $23,897
Doug
Mastriano
$10,000
Source: https://www.campaignfinanceonline.pa.gov/Pages/CampaignFinanceHome.aspx
Blogger note: Jeff and Janine Yass are
listed as donors contributing $5 million and above on the PSP website.
Mark Gleason, head of
the influential Philadelphia School Partnership, is leaving
“I would say
we’ve created better seats, we’ve created better access to information, but
better is not good enough,” said Michael O’Neill, PSP board chair.
Inquirer by Kristen
A. Graham Published Jan 19, 2021
Mark
Gleason, who helped shape a group that has raised millions for Philadelphia
charter, private, and public schools in the last decade, will leave his post
this year, he said Tuesday. Gleason arrived in Philadelphia in 2011, recruited
to lead the new Philadelphia School Partnership, an organization with an
audacious goal: to raise $100 million to expand high-performing schools,
regardless of sector. The goal was to “transform the educational landscape of
our city, especially for low-income students and students of color,” organizers
said. Since then, Gleason has exerted influence in ways large and small,
largely through the power of deep pockets at a time when public-education
funding was scarce. After a decade, it was time to transition leadership of
PSP, Gleason and PSP board chair Michael O’Neill said Tuesday.
https://fusion.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-partnership-mark-gleason-20210119.html
Philadelphia School
Partnership – Who We Are – Our Investors
https://philaschoolpartnership.org/who-we-are/our-investors/
The SAT is dropping
its optional essay and subject tests
College
Board officials said the pandemic has "accelerated a process already
underway at the College Board to simplify our work and reduce demands on
students."
Inquirer by Nick
Anderson, Washington Post Published Jan 19, 2021
Two major
stress points in the grueling rituals of college admission testing are
vanishing this year: the optional essay-writing section of the SAT and the
supplementary exams in various fields known as SAT subject tests. The College
Board announced Tuesday it will discontinue those assessments. Citing the
coronavirus crisis, officials said the pandemic has "accelerated a process
already underway at the College Board to simplify our work and reduce demands
on students." The testing organization, based in New York, also revealed
the launch of a process to revise the main SAT, aiming to make the admission
test "more flexible" and "streamlined" and enable students
to take the exam digitally instead of with pencil and paper. There were no
further details available on how the main SAT might be changed. David Coleman,
chief executive of the College Board, said more information would be coming in
April.
‘We need a tax
increase’: Bethlehem school district staring down $10.7M budget hole
By Sara K. Satullo | For
lehighvalleylive.com Updated 6:30 AM; Today 6:30 AM
The Bethlehem Area School District is starting its 2021-22 budget process
with a $10.7 million funding gap that will likely require a tax hike. But
the school board indicated Tuesday night it does not
plan to ask the state for an exception to exceed the district’s 3.7% cap on
annual property tax increases. The board is scheduled to vote next week to
commit to staying below its Act 1 Index, a move that gives the district more
time to fine tune its budget before voting on it later this spring. School
board President Michael Faccinetto said the district is going to have to trim
down that $10 million as much as it can in the coming weeks. “We need a tax
increase this year. We discussed the 1% last year and ultimately didn’t do it,
which I still think was a mistake, because ... we find ourselves in a very
difficult situation,” Faccinetto said. “I think economically people in the area
are going to be in worse shape for an increase this year than they would have
been last year.” The district has passed a no tax increase budget for the past
two years, relying on its savings to close budget holes.
Lawsuit to reopen
schools dismissed impacting Unionville, Downingtown, West Chester
Pottstown
Mercury by Fran Maye
fmaye@21st-centurymedia.com Jan 20,
2021
WEST CHESTER
— The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has dismissed a petition filed on
behalf of parents of students in the Unionville-Chadds Ford, Downingtown, West
Chester school districts and others by Open PA Schools to reopen schools. Open
PA Schools is an unincorporated association consisting of over 100 parents of
children attending public schools throughout Pennsylvania. The association
filed the lawsuit on Sept. 8, 2020, against the Pennsylvania Department of
Education, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera, Central
Bucks School District, Downingtown Area School District, Oley Valley School
District, Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, Perkiomen Valley School District,
Great Valley School District, and West Chester Area School District,
challenging the decision not to open schools to in-person learning five days a
week for all students. Oral arguments were presented virtually this past
November. The court dismissed the petition late last week, upholding arguments
made by the Department of Education and the school districts that Open PA
Schools parents did not have "standing" to sue. The court concluded
the petitioners did not state sufficient facts from which the court could
conclude that they had sustained any harm or were aggrieved by the actions of
the school districts' and the Department of Education.
It may be weeks until
Philadelphia teachers can get vaccine
Chalkbeat
Philly By Johann Calhoun Jan 19, 2021, 6:26pm EST
Philadelphia’s
health commissioner warned Tuesday that teachers might have to wait longer than
expected to get vaccinated. City officials said last week that they anticipated
teachers would get access to the vaccine beginning on Jan. 25. But Dr. Thomas
Farley cautioned Tuesday that the city has a limited number of doses and a
large number of people who qualify for vaccination during Phase 1B of the
city’s plan. “We are going to be gradually working down that list of frontline
workers,” he said. “I know people want to know what date we are going to get to
them [teachers]. I would love to give them a date, but unfortunately I can’t
because we don’t know how many of the people above them are going to want to be
vaccinated.” Teachers are considered frontline workers, but will have to wait
until others in the 1B group receive vaccinations. Those include first
responders, employees who work in corrections, service providers working with
vulnerable populations, and public transit employees. These groups will take
weeks to be vaccinated, at which point, additional prioritized groups will
start receiving invitations to schedule appointments.
Prior to COVID-19,
states cut $600B in ed funding since Great Recession
K12 Dive by AUTHOR
Roger Riddell@K12DiveRoger PUBLISHED Jan. 15, 2021
Dive Brief:
- A pair of reports released Thursday by
the Education Law Center — "Making
the Grade 2020" and
"$600
Billion Lost: State
Disinvestment in Education Following the Great Recession" — add
deeper context to the financial turmoil facing the nation's public schools
and further highlight the adverse impact states' education funding cuts
were already having prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- According to "$600 Billion
Lost," public schools lost a total of $598 billion in state and local
revenue in the years following the Great Recession, with PK-12 funding in
all but four states in 2018 representing a smaller portion of economic
activity than before the crisis. The report graded how equitably
states funded public schools based on three metrics: funding level,
funding distribution and funding effort.
- Meanwhile, "Making the Grade"
shows dramatic variations in school funding levels from state to state,
with those in the Northeast and Midwest generally trending toward higher
funding levels than the South and West. In the top states, funding
provided as much as 50% more than the national average of $14,548 per
pupil, while the bottom states were as low as 30% less.
McConnell says Trump
‘provoked’ Capitol siege, and ‘fed lies’ to mob
Ahead of
Trump’s second impeachment trial, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's
remarks were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing president.
Inquirer by Lisa
Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press Updated Jan 20, 2021
WASHINGTON —
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly blamed President
Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies”
and the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat
Joe Biden’s election. Ahead of Trump’s historic second impeachment trial,
McConnell’s remarks were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing
president. The GOP leader is setting a tone as Republicans weigh whether to
convict Trump on the impeachment charge that will soon be sent over from the
House: “incitement of insurrection.” “The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said.
“They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried
to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of
the federal government which they did not like.” The Republican leader vowed a
“safe and successful” inauguration of Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, where
final preparations were underway amid heavy security.
After the longest
four years, America is going to have a president again — a real one | Opinion
Centre Daily
Times BY
LEONARD PITTS JR. JANUARY 19, 2021 04:51 PM, UPDATED
JANUARY 19, 2021 05:03 PM
And so we
reach the end of an unpresidented era.
The
reference is, of course, to one of Donald Trump’s many Twitter misspellings,
this one found in his 2016 description of the seizure of a US. navy drone. He
meant to call it “unprecedented.” But Trump’s mistake gave us a coinage perfect
for this moment. For four years, America has been an unpresidented nation — in
some fundamental sense, a nation without a president. Yes, I know. Trump was in
the Oval Office, duly elected and sworn. When not golfing or tweeting, he even
performed some presidential duties. He attended summits. He signed documents.
He gave speeches. But those are not the only things a president does. A
president sets the tone. He ennobles and emboldens. He calls us up from the
minutiae of individual lives to the stirring vistas of national mission.
They’ve all done this, Republicans and Democrats alike, those you admired and those
you could not stand. Through war, scandal and economic disaster, they exhorted
us to vision and courage.
Think
Franklin Roosevelt telling us “the only thing we have to fear.”
Think John
Kennedy admonishing us to “ask not.”
Think Ronald
Reagan calling us to “a shining city upon a hill” and George H.W. Bush showing
us “a thousand points of light.”
Think
Lincoln appealing to “the better angels of our nature.”
Maybe, after
you’ve heard it often enough, you take for granted that this is just What
Presidents Do. Maybe you stop hearing it altogether. Maybe it becomes cliche. Then
one sudden day, it’s gone, all the high-flown language grounded, all the ideals
replaced by whatever is the opposite of ideals, replaced by that which is
coarse, mean, transactional, cynical, narcissistic and untrue. And that’s all
you get. No entreaties to higher ground. No paeans to higher purpose. That’s it
for four years. Four long, unpresidented years.
https://www.centredaily.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article248610300.html#storylink=mainstage_lead
This one was a request for today….
Sam Cooke - A Change
Is Gonna Come (Official Lyric Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4
PSBA: Upcoming PA budget
recap webinar Feb. 3rd
POSTED
ON JANUARY 15, 2021 IN PSBA NEWS
On Tuesday,
February 2, Gov. Tom Wolf will present his 2021-22 state budget proposal before
a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives. Following the
governor’s budget address, the Senate and House appropriations committees will
convene hearings beginning March 15 on specific components of the proposal. The
PSBA Government Affairs team will be providing members with complete coverage
of the governor’s budget proposal, budget details and resources for school
boards on February 3 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Claim your spot for the budget
recap here.
https://www.psba.org/2021/01/gov-wolf-to-present-budget-address-february-2/
PA SCHOOLS WORK: New
Tools for Public Education Advocates in PA
Thu, Jan 21, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
PA Schools
Work partner Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials will hold a
digital workshop to roll out their new suite of tools on their Data Dive
website to show parents, educators, and public education advocates how they can
use the site (including interactive data maps and graphic visualizations) when
talking to other members of their community, legislators, media, etc. Don't
miss this first-look at these innovative tools for PA public school advocates!
Register here:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register
Attend the NSBA 2021
Online Experience April 8-10
NSBA is
pleased to announce the transformation of its in-person NSBA 2021 Annual
Conference & Exposition to the NSBA 2021 Online Experience. This experience
will bring world-class programming, inspirational keynotes, top education
solution providers, and plentiful networking opportunities. Join us on April
8-10, 2021, for a fully transformed and memorable event!
https://www.nsba.org/Events/NSBA-2021-Online-Experience
PSBA Spring Virtual Advocacy Day - MAR 22, 2021
PSBA Website January 2021
All public school leaders are invited to join
us for our spring Virtual Advocacy Day on Monday, March 22, 2021, via Zoom. We
need all of you to help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center
around contacting legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public
education. Registrants will receive the meeting invitation with a link to our
spring Virtual Advocacy Day website that contains talking points, a link to
locate contact information for your legislator and additional information to
help you have a successful day.
Cost: Complimentary
for members
Registration: Registration
is available under Event Registration on myPSBA.org.
https://www.psba.org/event/psba-spring-virtual-advocacy-day/
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.
Resolution for charter funding reform (pdf)
Link
to submit your adopted resolution to PSBA
341 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 330 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.
https://www.psba.org/2020/03/adopted-charter-reform-resolutions/
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
https://www.pacharterchange.org/
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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