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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 3, 2015:
Acting Ed Sec'y Rivera: Equitable, adequate school funding important; Budget update
COMMUNITY MEETING: PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING
IN BERKS COUNTY
Berks County IU June 23, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Come to Harrisburg on June 23rd for an All for
Education Day Rally!
Education Voters PA website June 1, 2015
Equitable, adequate school
funding important
Lancaster Online Opinion by PEDRO RIVERA | Commentary Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:52 pm
Pedro Rivera is
Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of education, and former superintendent of the School District of Lancaster
For Pennsylvania
school students, the year is winding down: class trips, field days and
graduations fill the calendar. But while students are counting down to summer
camp or summer jobs, school administrators, school boards and teachers are
already considering what next year’s classrooms will look like. It is widely agreed that Pennsylvania’s
children are our state’s greatest asset and that without an educated and
career-ready workforce the commonwealth’s future is dim. But according to the latest federal data, Pennsylvania ranks 50th
in the nation when it comes to equitable school funding between wealthy and
low-income districts. U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan made
the announcement this spring while visiting a school in our state.
Gov. Wolf holds Facebook
Town Hall
Lancaster Online By
TIM STUHLDREHER | Staff Writer
Posted: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 4:06 pm | Updated: 6:40 pm, Tue Jun 2, 2015.
Gov. Tom Wolf
touched on his key budget goals as he answered Pennsylvanians' questions during
a "Facebook Town Hall" Tuesday evening. The first-term governor said he expects
"a few fireworks but mostly good conversations" as he and the
Republican-dominated legislaturespar over
the 2015-16 budget, which is due by the July 1 start of the fiscal
year.
Here's a link to Governor Wolf's Facebook Town Hall video
- runtime 33:17
State budget: Wolf, GOP
leaders talks begin to lay a foundation
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on June 02,
2015 at 4:44 PM
A day after House
Republicans sent a message to Gov. Tom Wolf that they are not on board with
his $29.9 billion spending plan or the tax
package he proposed to support it, GOP leaders from both
legislative chambers met behind closed doors at the budget table with the
governor. The budget-related drama that
played out on the House floor on Monday was "brought up briefly"
during the hourlong talks held in a conference room in the governor's office
suite, said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County, afterward.
"But it wasn't a big part of the meeting." Corman said the time that the GOP leaders
spent with the governor in the Tuesday talks was mainly focused on "trying
to set the foundation to build toward an agreement."
House Majority Leader Reed
details “serious discussion” with governor during working meeting
The PLS Reporter
Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, June 2,
2015
Republican leaders
met with Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday morning to discuss the budget and related major
topics including pension and liquor reform.
The PLS Reporter spoke with House Majority Leader Dave Reed
(R-Indiana) about how that discussion went following Monday’s unanimous
repudiation by the House of Gov. Wolf’s revenue plan. “I think we had a serious discussion today,
about not just the budget, but about pension reform and liquor privatization,”
he said. “I think there was a commitment by all three parties involved that,
look, we need to get down to details now and start making some decisions and
get on about getting a budget done by June 30th.” He called the
meeting “productive” and said it would be followed up by additional staff
meetings later in the week with leadership starting to meet again with the
governor next week with the possibility of several meetings.
Three takeaways from state
House hearing on pension system reforms
Penn Live By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on June 02,
2015 at 5:52 PM
The Pennsylvania
House's State Government Committee held the first of two days of scheduled
hearings on the Senate-authored public employee pension reform bill Tuesday. The sessions are significant mostly because
there were no such hearings in the Senate, which fast-tracked the
bill last month in an effort to get it passed before the
primary election recess. The bill,
Senate Bill 1, is projected to save
about $18 billion in future costs to Pennsylvania's two major
public employee pension systems through a mix of plan changes for future hires,
and changes in future benefits earned by existing workers.
Pension reform likely
before end of June
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, June 2,
2015
The House took its
first look at the Senate pension reform bill Tuesday and two House Republicans
in charge of making sure the legislation gets passed prognosticated that a
major pension reform bill will likely pass within the confines of the budget
cycle. “I think ultimately we’re going
to get pension reform done as part of this budget,” said House Majority Leader
Dave Reed (R-Indiana). “Whether that occurs in mid-June, late-June, who knows,
that’s yet to be determined.” Noting the
House held its first hearing on Senate Bill 1 Tuesday and has another hearing
scheduled for Thursday, Rep. Reed said following the hearings it will be up to
legislative leadership and the governor to come to terms on a final product.
School board calls for drastic measure to highlight
pension crisis
PSBA website June 1,
2015
The Quakertown
Community School Board (Bucks Co.) recently called for all school boards to
participate in an act of civil disobedience by violating state law and
withholding their September pension payment to the Public School Employees’
Retirement System (PSERS). PSBA understands the frustration Quakertown
Community and all other school entities are experiencing with the gridlock in
solving the pension crisis. Below is a link to a letter from PSBA
President William LaCoff and Executive Director Nathan Mains explaining why
PSBA cannot support such actions and outlining the ramifications of doing so.
VIDEO: Costa shows support
for Shale tax to fund education
The PLS
Reporter Author: Alanna Koll/Tuesday, June 2, 2015
video runtime 2:34
Senate Minority
Leader Jay Costa was joined by democratic leaders and other democratic
lawmakers to highlight and push legislation that would create a new $1 billion
natural gas extraction tax for education in Pennsylvania.
Invest in early education
now, or expect higher costs later
Philly.com opinion
by JOHN WETZEL POSTED: Monday, June 1, 2015, 1:08 AM
John Wetzel is Pennsylvania's acting secretary of
corrections.
At a recent budget hearing, a state senator asked, "If you were to advise us as to an investment that we should be making in another agency, in another part of government, that would impact what you do, change the outcome of what you do, what would you recommend?" My answer was easy: early-childhood education programs. As I see it, every time we talk about corrections reform, it really must begin with the realization that improving the chances for children, especially those in our most disadvantaged communities, is not just a great investment financially, but our responsibility and the true answer to improving criminal justice in America. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nonprofit, bipartisan, national anti-crime organization, recently released a report documenting how Gov. Wolf's proposed $120 million increase for prekindergarten programs could boost high school graduation rates and, ultimately, reduce the number of people incarcerated in Pennsylvania. Further, the report says that investing in Pre-K now could save taxpayers more than $350 million.
At a recent budget hearing, a state senator asked, "If you were to advise us as to an investment that we should be making in another agency, in another part of government, that would impact what you do, change the outcome of what you do, what would you recommend?" My answer was easy: early-childhood education programs. As I see it, every time we talk about corrections reform, it really must begin with the realization that improving the chances for children, especially those in our most disadvantaged communities, is not just a great investment financially, but our responsibility and the true answer to improving criminal justice in America. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nonprofit, bipartisan, national anti-crime organization, recently released a report documenting how Gov. Wolf's proposed $120 million increase for prekindergarten programs could boost high school graduation rates and, ultimately, reduce the number of people incarcerated in Pennsylvania. Further, the report says that investing in Pre-K now could save taxpayers more than $350 million.
Nutter, Kenney join
education leaders to unveil 'early childhood-learning plan'
WHYY Newsworks by NINETYNINE A BLOG
BY BRIAN HICKEY JUNE 2,
2015 NINETYNINE
In a Children's Village classroom
packed to the hilt with likeminded adults, Mayor Michael Nutter, Executive
Director Eva Gladstein and mayoral candidate Jim Kenney joined with
early-education leaders to unveil the city's "A Running Start
Philadelphia: For Every Child, Birth to Five" plan. The nascent, citywide
early-learning plan aims to lay "the foundation for a coherent
system to provide high-quality early learning for all children from birth to
age five" via a public/private partnership. It calls on the mayor and city council to
appoint a 17-member commission which will present the city's mayor with an
"implementation plan and funding proposals" for consideration by
April 2016, four months after Nutter's successor takes office.
Philly SRC answers
questions about itself, its decisions, in townhall-style meeting
WHYY Newsworks BY LAURA BENSHOFF JUNE 2, 2015
Trying to get
answers from a large bureaucracy can feel banging your head against a wall.
Last night, the
Philadelphia School Reform Commission tried to break down some of its own
barriers to communication in a largely unprecedented meeting devoted entirely
to questions from the public. The
two hour meeting was moderated by WHYY's own Kevin McCorry, who injected his
own follow-up questions on such topics as the contract with the teacher's
union. The meeting drew
about 30 people who aren't journalists and don't work for the school district.
People watching via livestream from home could also submit questions,
which then appeared in real time on a screen that dominated one wall of the
auditorium.
East Falls resident opens
'Little Free Library' outside home as part of mission to increase access to
books
WHYY Newsworks BY GRETA IVERSON JUNE 2, 2015 EAST
FALLS
Award-winning
filmmaker Ron Kanter set up a Little
Free Library in front of his East Falls
YDR Editorial: Sen. Scott
'Chopper' Wagner says schools have plenty of funding (YDR opinion)
York Daily Record editorial UPDATED: 06/02/2015 09:43:39 AM EDT
State Sen. Scott
Wagner went for a helicopter ride last week.
The York County Republican took a TV reporter along for the ride. It looked like it was a lot of fun. Too bad it seemed like a pointless stunt. Sen.
Wagner took WHTM's Dennis Owens for a ride, figuratively.
The senator flew
over three central Pennsylvania schools hoping to illustrate that schools are
not hurting for funding. In the report that aired, he flew over Cumberland
Valley, Northeastern and Central York, showing that those high schools indeed
looked impressive from the air. That's about all it
showed. For one thing, Cumberland Valley
has to be among the more affluent school districts in the state. Northeastern
has one of the highest property tax rates in the county. And Central
York , well, its educators aren't exactly sitting by the side of
the road holding "Will Teach Your Kids For Food" signs. Sen. Wagner told Mr. Owens that the flyover
was intended to show that these school districts weren't "decimated,"
a word that he claimed was used by Gov. Tom Wolf's campaign to argue for
increased state spending for education, or even hurting for money because they
have football fields and tennis courts.
What it showed,
instead, is that Sen. Wagner seems to have some simplistic views on education
and the way it is funded in Pennsylvania.
Lawmakers Mull Putting a
Hold on Keystone Exams
WNEP POSTED 9:22 PM,
MAY 28, 2015, BY JIM HAMILL,
West Chester school
district mobilizes against Keystone Exams
JUSTINE
MCDANIEL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST
UPDATED: June 1, 2015, 1:08 AM
A Chester County
school district is ramping up the fight against the Keystone Exams, while more
than half of Pennsylvania's state senators have signed on to a bill that would
put a moratorium on using the tests as a high school graduation requirement. This week, a widely shared letter by Jim
Scanlon, superintendent of the West
Chester Area School District
"Monday's budget
discussion was accompanied by a presentation by Roxy Woloszyn of Public Citizens
for Children and Youth, a children's advocacy organization that is working with
the Campaign for Fair Education Funding.
"With this campaign, all different parts of the state have come
together and said, 'The way we're funding our schools is not fair. It's not
right and we need to change it.' " Woloszyn said. She said Pennsylvania
Pottstown school board not
looking at tax increase
Reading Eagle By Paige Cooperstein Tuesday June 2, 2015 12:01 AM
For the first time
in recent memory, there are no plans for a tax increase in the Pottstown School
District. The district's $57.1 million
tentative budget for 2015-16 would keep millage at 39.25. A property assessed
at $100,000 would pay about $3,925 in school property taxes. Board President Judyth Zahora, who has been
on the board for 24 years, said she could not recall a budget that did not
require a tax increase. The tentative
budget, which the board approved last month, anticipates a $500,000 increase in
state funding.
Hite pitches suits for
city schools
KRISTEN A.
GRAHAM, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 5:56 PM POSTED: Tuesday, June 2,
2015, 5:37 PM
Superintendent
William R. Hite Jr. looked out over the sea of suits and made his pitch for
Philadelphia schools. "With your
support, your assistance, your passion to help the children of Philadelphia, we
will get there," Hite told the audience of lawyers and businesspeople. The pep talk came Tuesday at a "Support
Our Schools" corporate partnership breakfast at the Center City law firm
Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy, P.C.
After several years of cuts, Hite and the Philadelphia School
District
Philly Has Boosted School Funding By a Staggering
Amount Since 2011
Plus, Tony Williams talks about his defeat.
Phillymag Citified BY HOLLY OTTERBEIN | JUNE
1, 2015 AT 7:23 AM
1. Philadelphia has significantly
increased funding for the city’s schools since 2011, while money from the
state and federal government has dried up.
The gist: It’s
that maddening time of year in Philadelphia when school district
officials go hat in hand to City Council to ask for more money.
Perhaps you’ve wondered why the district requests additional
funding every single year — and if there’s any end in sight to their
begging. Or maybe you see it from the other side, and would like to
know why Council is so irritable about a simple request to fund one of the most
important functions of government. Patrick
Kerkstra has answers to both questions in a must-read story from
the weekend. In short, the city has significantly increased funding for
the school district over the last few years, while federal dollars have
decreased and state support has barely moved an inch.
Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/06/01/philly-school-funding/#pT8kz5rIJYPvdfvi.99
Free test-preparation
program for revamped SAT goes online
Philly.com by LISA
LEFF, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POSTED: Tuesday, June 2, 2015,
2:55 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -
The nonprofit organization behind the SAT college entrance exam has teamed up
with a Silicon Valley pioneer in online education to make test preparation
materials available for free starting Tuesday, a move aimed at making the
college admissions race less stressful and more fair. The College Board gave unprecedented access
to the revamped SAT it plans to introduce next spring to Khan Academy, which
has developed diagnostic quizzes and interactive practice tests that will be
accessible to anyone with Internet access. Khan Academy, based in Mountain
View, is known for its free web-based library of instructional videos and
academic exercises. College Board
President David Coleman said the partnership aims to level the college
admissions playing field by putting high-quality training within easy reach of
students without the funds for commercial test-prep services or the family
support often needed to stick with a self-paced practice book.
"The Louisiana Science
Education Act, passed by the state legislature in 2008, permits science
teachers to use supplemental materials to “critique” evolution, opening a
backdoor that these teachers are using, as intended, to teach
creationism. Such lessons are allowed under this Louisiana law, but they
are illegal under federal
law. All it will take is for
one Louisiana parent or student to sue the state for endorsing religion in
public school. “We know that one in
eight high school biology teachers advocate for creationism, even though it's
unconstitutional,” says Josh Rosenau of the National Center for Science
Education. “These emails make clear that many teachers are interpreting the
Louisiana Science Education Act as allowing such unconstitutional and
scientifically-misleading lessons.”
The Bible v. the
Constitution
Politicians, school boards, principals, and
teachers are pushing creationism on kids.
Slate by By Zack Kopplin June 2015
When a student in Louisiana opens her textbook in biology class, she
might not have the standard Miller and Levine
Biology with a
dragonfly on the cover, and she might not ever learn about evolution. For some
Louisiana public school students, their science textbook is the Bible, and in
biology class they read the Book of Genesis to learn the “creation point of view.” Through a public records
request, I obtained dozens of emails from the Bossier Parish school district
that specifically discuss teaching creationism. Shawna Creamer, a science
teacher at Airline High School, sent an email to the principal, Jason Rowland,
informing him of which class periods she would use to teach creationism. “We
will read in Genesis and them [sic] some supplemental material debunking
various aspects of evolution from which the students will present,” Creamer wrote. In another email exchange with Rowland, a
parent had complained that a different teacher, Cindy Tolliver, actually taught
that evolution was a “fact.” This parent complained that Tolliver was “pushing
her twisted religious beliefs onto the class.”Principal Rowland
responded, “I can assure you this will not happen again.” Another email was sent by Bossier High School
assistant principal Doug Scott to Michael Stacy, a biology teacher at that
school. “I enjoyed the visit to your class today as you discussed evolution and
creationism in a full spectrum of thought,” Scott wrote.
“Thank you for the rich content as you bring various sources to bear in your
curriculum.”
Three New York
Diane Ravitch's
Blog By dianeravitch May
31, 2015 //
In an article
in Long Island Business News, three members of the New York State Board of
Regents criticized the state tests, on which 70% of the state’s students failed
to meet “proficiency.” They said, the students didn’t fail, the tests failed.
The tests have questions that are above the students’ understanding, there is
not enough time to finish, they have questions that are confusing and intended
to lure students to the wrong answer.
Regent Kathleen
Cashin, an experienced educator, said the tests may be neither valid nor
reliable. Regent Judith Johnson, an experienced educator, said that students
are fearful that their teachers will be fired if they do poorly on the tests.
Testing Resistance & Reform News: May 27 - June 2,
2015
Fairtest Submitted
by fairtest on June 2, 2015 - 12:55pm
Across the U.S.,
there has been no let up in grassroots pressure for meaningful assessment
reforms at both the national, state and district levels as the final month of
the public school year gets underway.
Come to Harrisburg
Education Voters PA website June 1, 2015
On June 23 at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Education Voters will be
joining together with more than 50 organizations to send a clear message to
state lawmakers that we expect them to fund our schools in this year’s
budget. Click
HERE for more information and to register for the June 23 All for Education Day
in Harrisburg. Join us as we speak up for the importance of
funding our schools fairly and at sufficient levels, so that every student in
PA has an opportunity to learn. Community,
parent, education advocacy, faith, and labor organizations will join together
with school, municipal, and community officials to hold a press conference and
rally at 12:00 in the main rotunda and to make arrangements to meet with
legislators before and after the rally. We
must send a strong message to state lawmakers that we are watching them and
expect them to pass a state budget that will fund our schools this year. Please
come to Harrisburg on June 23 to show broad support for a fair budget for
education this year.
Shippensburg rally targets
education funding gap
Chambersburg Public Opinion Online By Dale Heberlig dheberlig@publicopinionnews.com @DaleHeberligPO
on Twitter UPDATED:
05/30/2015 06:13:24 PM EDT
Shippensburg >> A 6:30 p.m. rally
Wednesday at the Spring Lot Gazebo in the 100 block of West King Street (U.S.
11) in Shippensburg is intended to send a message to Harrisburg to highlight
the state's failure to fund public schools. Organizer Susan Spicka of
Education Matters in the Cumberland Valley points to the state's lack of an
allocation formula and the subsequent political deals that deprive poor school
districts of educational opportunities. She predicts a large turnout. "Pennsylvania
is one of only three states that does not use a formula to allocate state
taxpayer dollars to school districts," Spicka said. "Instead, the
current state funding system is based on political considerations and deals
lawmakers cut in Harrisburg. This must change. A child's ZIP code should not
determine opportunities school." According
to Spicka, some legislators may not "get it." She said, "I don't think they
(legislators) know how tough it is and how much people care about their
children's education."
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/ci_28221407/shippensburg-rally-targets-education-funding-gap
Register Now – PAESSP
State Conference – Oct. 18-20 – State College, PA
Registration is now
open for PAESSP's State Conference to be held October 18-20 at The
Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA! This year's
theme is @EVERYLEADER and features three nationally-known keynote
speakers (Dr. James Stronge, Justin Baeder and Dr. Mike Schmoker), professional
breakout sessions, a legal update, exhibits, Tech Learning Labs and many
opportunities to network with your colleagues (Monday evening event with Jay
Paterno). Once again, in conjunction
with its conference, PAESSP will offer two 30-hour Act 45 PIL-approved programs,
Linking Student Learning to Teacher Supervision and Evaluation
(pre-conference offering on 10/17/15); and Improving Student Learning
Through Research-Based Practices: The Power of an Effective Principal (held
during the conference, 10/18/15 -10/20/15). Register for either or both PIL
programs when you register for the Full Conference!
REGISTER TODAY for
the Conference and Act 45 PIL program/s at:
Apply
now for EPLC’s 2015-2016 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Applications are
available now for the 2015-2016
Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).
The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The
Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).
With more than 400 graduates in its first sixteen years, this
Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state
and local policymakers, advocates, and community leaders. State Board of
Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to certified public accountants. Past participants include state policymakers,
district superintendents and principals, charter school leaders, school
business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide
association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education
and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer
or another organization. The Fellowship
Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 17-18, 2015 and
continues to graduation in June 2016.
Click here to read about the Education Policy
Fellowship Program.
Sign up here to receive a weekly
email update on the status of efforts to have Pennsylvania adopt an adequate,
equitable, predictable and sustainable Basic Education Funding Formula by 2016
Sign up to support fair funding »
Campaign for Fair
Education Funding website
Our goal is to
ensure that every student has access to a quality education no matter where
they live. To make that happen, we need to fundamentally change how public
schools are funded. The current system is not fair to students or taxpayers and
our campaign partners – more than 50 organizations from across Pennsylvania -
agree that it has to be changed now. Student performance is stagnating. School
districts are in crisis. Lawmakers have the ability to change this formula but
they need to hear from you. You
can make a difference »
COMMUNITY MEETING: PUBLIC
SCHOOL FUNDING IN BERKS COUNTY
Berks County IU June 23,
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Time:7:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Registration begins
at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Berks County Intermediate Unit, 1111 Commons Boulevard,
Reading, PA 19605
Local school district leaders will discuss how state funding issues are
impacting our children’s education opportunities, our local taxes, and our
communities. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn how you
can support fair and adequate state funding for public schools in Berks County. State lawmakers who represent Berks County
have been invited to attend to learn about challenges facing area schools.
PILCOP: Adequately and
Fairly Funding Pennsylvania Schools: What are the Needs and Where Does the Money
Come From? (Live Webinar)
June 8, 2015, 12:00 — 2:00 P.M.
June 8, 2015, 12:00 — 2:00 P.M.
Acting Secretary of
Education Pedro Rivera and Wolf administration Budget Director Sharon Ward will
speak about What Schools Need and Where the Money Can Come From in a webinar on
June 8th. Other presenters will include PILCOP attorney Michael
Churchill and ELC interim executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr. Click here to register.
Governor Wolf has
proposed $500 million in new funding for public schools starting this July. He
has proposed as shale extraction tax and increases in personal income and sales
taxes to pay for this. This Philadelphia
Bar Association Education Law Section and PBI are hosting a webinar that will
focus on how much public schools need and differing proposals on how state
funds should be distributed this year and in the future. Other focuses will
include the current local tax burdens for public schools and issues concerning
how the state should raise revenues to pay for these programs. The program will also provide information
about the components of a good funding formula and look at the work of the
Basic Education Funding Commission and the state-wide Campaign for Fair
Education Funding, of which we are a leading member.
