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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for July
25, 2014:
State commission on basic
education funding begins its work
"Republican members of the commission
from the Senate are Browne, the co-chair; Lloyd Smucker of Lancaster, and Mike
Folmer, whose district covers parts of Dauphin, Lebanon and York counties.
Democratic senators are Andrew Dinniman of Chester
County , Matthew Smith of Allegheny County
and Robert Teplitz, whose district covers parts of Dauphin and York counties
including Harrisburg
House members are Republicans Paul Clymer
of Bucks County, who designated O'Neill as his representative; Donna Oberlander
of Clarion County, and Mike Vereb, the co-chair, from Montgomery County Mercer
County and Mike Sturla of Lancaster
In addition to Zogby, Education Secretary
Carolyn Dumaresq and Deputy Education Secretary Nichole Duffy are also on the
commission."
State commission on basic
education funding begins its work
By Dale Mezzacappa on Jul 24, 2014 09:12 PM
The state legislature's Basic Education Funding Commission held
its first meeting Thursday, with the goal of creating a school funding formula
that one member said would be "focused on children and their best
interests."
Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states that do not
have a predictable education funding formula based on student enrollment and
characteristics.The distribution of more than $5 billion in state aid has some
relationship to a district's size and wealth, but does not account for
enrollment fluctuations or what is needed to insure at least basic adequacy of
services for all students.
Recent, modest increases in state aid have often been doled
out based on politics -- a situation that has left Philadelphia unable to provide students with
basics like counselors and librarians in its schools.
As a result, the state's 500 districts, including Philadelphia,
have a hard time planning for the future without a solid handle on what revenue
they can expect year to year. Wealthier districts get very little state aid,
but poorer
ones like Philadelphia depend on it.
Reforming Pa.
By Jan Murphy |
jmurphy@pennlive.com on July 24, 2014 at 4:45 PM
A commission tasked with coming up with a recommendation for
overhauling the funding system that provides key state support to Pennsylvania 's public
schools is now operational.
The Basic Education Funding Commission members met on Thursday
for its organizational meeting and reminded its 15 members of their charge:
develop a fair distribution formula for the basic education dollars that flow
to the state's 500 school districts and charter schools.
The commission, co-chaired by Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery,
and Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh
County
Basic Education Funding
Commission Organizes and Begins Work
PA Senate Republican website July 24, 2014
The Basic Education Funding Commission held its inaugural and
organizational meeting today (July 24) and is now ready to begin its work
developing an adequate and fair system for distributing state money to local
school districts, according to Senator Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) and Representative
Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery). During the
commission’s first meeting, Senator Browne and Representative Vereb were
elected to co-chair the commission. The commission also set its next meeting
for August 20, 2014 at 11:30 a.m. in the North
Office Building ,
Hearing Room 1 in the State Capitol in Harrisburg .
This meeting will mark the first time the commission will hear testimony
related to funding of basic education in the Commonwealth.
“We expect to undertake a comprehensive study of a number of
factors and listen to a wide-range of testimony over the upcoming months,”
Senator Browne said. “We are looking to develop realistic parameters that will
ensure that every school district receives the funding required to properly
provide a high-quality education to its students. I look forward to working
with Rep. Vereb and the rest of the commission to accomplish that goal.” The 15-member Basic Education Funding
Commission is tasked with developing and recommending to the General Assembly a
new formula for distributing state funding for basic education to Pennsylvania school
districts. The new formula will take into account relative wealth, local tax
effort, geographic price differences, enrollment levels, local support as well
as other factors.
Longietti named to Basic
Education Funding Commission tasked with finding fair and adequate funding for Pa.
BY PRESS RELEASE - PUBLISHED:
07/25/2014 - SECTION: CRAWFORD COUNTY NEWS, LAWRENCE COUNTY, MERCER COUNTY NEWS
State Rep. Mark Longietti has been appointed to the Basic
Education Funding Commission, which held its first meeting Thursday. “Providing
quality education for all Pennsylvania
children is one of my legislative priorities,” said Longietti, D-Mercer. “I am
thankful for the opportunity to have a seat at the table to discuss ways to
provide fair and adequate funding for all of our schools.”
The bipartisan,
bicameral 15-member commission was created by Act 51 of 2014. It is charged
with developing a basic education funding formula, and identifying factors that
may be used to determine how to distribute basic education funding among Pennsylvania schools.
The commission must consider potential consequences of a funding formula that
does not provide the same level or proportion of state funding as school
districts received in the prior year.
The commission is
required to issue a report on its findings and recommendations by June 10, 2015
and to draft proposed regulations and legislation based upon its findings.
Legislation would have to be enacted to adopt a new funding formula.
Longietti said he was
encouraged by comments from Budget Secretary Charles Zogby, who recommended
commission members read “Educational Economics” by University of Washington
Here's more info on the book that Secretary
Zogby referenced at yesterday's organizational meeting of the Basic Education
Funding Commission:
Educational Economics: Where
Do School Funds Go?
Review: A provocative
look at school finance and the need for better data and accounting systems
California Association of School Business Officials website
When Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, made his appearance at
the venerable Technology, Education and Design (TED) forum, he quoted from a
red-covered book, and the mere mention of it gave its content widespread
authority. The book was Educational
Economics: Where Do School Funds Go? by Marguerite Roza (ISBN
978-0877667643).
School business administrators who read it will be on a
roller-coaster ride, sometimes agreeing and often disagreeing. Roza clearly spells out her theses in the
introduction, saying, "School spending, whether adequate or not, is
anything but efficient, and there is simply no way to pinpoint those
responsible for the sum of parts in place today.” Above all, she points out
lack of correlation between spending and outcomes, between accounting and
accountability.
She is not shy about making recommendations. Ever hear of
weighted student funding? It is impossible to read the book and not think that
California Governor Jerry Brown and other state executives have not been
influenced somewhat by the ideas resting among her 128 pages.
PA House Bill 1738 (O'Neill)
Providing for Basic Education Funding Commission
"John Callahan, senior director of government affairs
for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, told the state House Education
Committee in March that school districts that haven‘t gotten their anticipated
reimbursements are struggling to balance their budgets. “Districts that have carefully planned for
financing school construction and renovation projects have had to throw their
plans out the window and use up their reserves waiting for reimbursements,
cancel needed repair projects, increase taxes, cut programs and services and
borrow additional money to cover the state‘s share of their debt payments,”
Mr. Callahan told legislators."
Many Pennsylvania
Some construction
projects continue to wait
By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette July 24, 2014 12:00 AM
It appears the 200 school districts across the state, including
13 from Allegheny County, that are awaiting millions of dollars in state
reimbursements for construction projects will continue to wait.
The reason: Legislators included only a modest increase to the
reimbursement fund of the PlanCon program that since 1973 has provided partial
reimbursements to districts for new construction or renovation of buildings. The $10 million increase to the $296 million
annual PlanCon fund for distribution is not expected to have much effect on the
backlog of payments that has existed for several years, given that Allegheny County
Corbett brings his pension
plan plea to Bucks
By Chris Palmer,
Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: July 24, 2014
Gov. Corbett on Wednesday made a Bucks County senior center the
latest stop on his weeks-long campaign to rally support for a bill addressing
rising pension costs.
With tie loosened and sleeves rolled up inside the Neshaminy
Senior Activities Center in Trevose, Corbett listened to a group of county
residents discuss their concerns about rising property taxes, then told them
that overhauling the pension system could be a solution.
While local school boards determine property taxes based on a
number of factors, Corbett contends cutting pension costs could reduce pressure
on districts to raise taxes to pay for them.
Gov. Corbett pushes pension
reform in Delco
By John Kopp, Delaware County Daily
Gov. Tom Corbett
continued his ongoing push for pension reform Thursday, calling Pennsylvania ’s
escalating public pension costs the state’s most important fiscal challenge.
The Republican urged
state lawmakers to address pension reform during a visit to Campbell ’s
Boathouse Restaurant in Upper Providence .
Corbett has traversed Pennsylvania
this month trying to rally support among a state Legislature that failed to
pass a pension reform bill during June’s budget negotiations. Corbett, who faces a tough re-election bid
against Democrat Tom Wolf, tied increases in school property taxes to the
state’s ballooning pension liabilities. To cover “out-of-control pension
costs,” Corbett said, school districts have raised taxes.
Corbett gambles on pension
issue to turn race around
WHYY Newsworks DAVE DAVIES OFF MIC A BLOG BY DAVE DAVIES JULY 24, 2014
Seeing Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett drawing a line in the sand this summer over public employee
pension reform reminds me a little of Pappy O'Daniel, the rotund governor in
the Coen brothers film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" played by Charles
Durning. When his son suggests that Pappy
try and catch up in his re-election bid by embracing "re-form,"
the guv whacks him with his hat and yells, "How we gonna run re-form when
we're the damn incumbent?"
It seems Corbett has
found a way: embrace pension re-form and run against the Harrisburg establishment. The governor says he wants an overhaul of the
public employee pension system because it's the right thing for Pennsylvania , and it's
true he's advocated for it for a long time. But he's taken his game to a whole
new level this summer.
Schools chief in Delco is
honored
KATHY BOCCELLA, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Thursday, July 24, 2014, 1:08 AM
Last year, Jim Capolupo was thrilled simply to be one of five
finalists competing for the title of national superintendent of the year. For
the lifelong Eagles fan, it was like playing in the Super Bowl - even though he
didn't get to experience the thrill of victory.
This year, however, the Springfield School District, Delaware County,
chief was back in the game and took home his profession's equivalent of the
Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"I thought it was, you get one shot," said Capolupo,
61, who was named the nation's top superintendent by the 500-member National
Association of School Superintendents last week. "From what I now
understand, you can have two." The
organization cited Capolupo's focus on literacy and college readiness, with Springfield guaranteeing
that 100 percent of fourth graders who started with the district in
kindergarten would be reading at grade level, and 100 percent of high school
seniors would be ready to go a two- or four-year college.
The district has hit its
mark, or come very close, every year since 2005.
School District of Philadelphia School
Through the School Redesign
Initiative, the School District
of Philadelphia
Schools still need nurses
Philly.com Opinion By
Ashlee Murray POSTED: Friday, July 25, 2014, 1:08 AM
As a pediatric emergency-medicine physician in Philadelphia , I am often
asked for advice on when children should return to school during or after an
illness. Until recently, I have always encouraged parents to send their
children back to school as quickly as possible, because school is an essential
part of every child's life. However, in
the wake of significant School District budget cuts, layoffs affecting many of Philadelphia 's school
nurses, and two student deaths due to illness at city schools, my advice has
changed dramatically.
By Colin McEvoy
| The Express-Times on July 24, 2014 at 9:28 PM
The Allentown
School District may have to halt its plans to hire additional full-day
kindergarten teachers after getting less state funding than originally
anticipated. Despite cutting
98 positions as part of their budget last month, the district had
planned to hire 11 new teachers as part of its initiative to expand its
offering of full-day kindergarten classes.
But the district received roughly $750,000 less than expected from the
Pennsylvania Budget, and Superintendent Russell
Mayo said it is now unclear whether those teachers can be hired.
Common Core: What it is, what
it isn't and why it's political
the notebook By Laura
Waters for NewsWorks on Jul 24, 2014 03:39 PM
What a week for
adversaries of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)!
On July 22, Glenn Beck, the radio and TV personality, hosted "a live
national night of action against the Common Core" called WE
WILL NOT CONFORM and told Fox
News' Sean Hannity that the Common Core was "creating millions of
slaves." Not to be outmatched, on
July 28, the Badass Teachers Association, a radical segment of the national
teacher unions, will hold a
rally in Washington , D.C.
Common Core-haters
unite! From union queen Diane Ravitch to the racist John Birch Society, from
Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis, contemplating a run against
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, to anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the
Eagle Forum, the Common Core is everyone's favorite whipping-boy. Maybe it's time to step back a bit and review
the Common Core, especially in light of the recent Fairleigh
Dickinson University poll that
found that a sizable portion of New Jerseyans "know nothing" about
it.
"Forgoing SATs and ACTs, advocates say, opens college
access to a wider population. Applicants who do not submit scores are more
likely to be minorities, women, the first in their family to attend college,
students with learning disabilities, and from low-income families, the study
said."
Bryn Mawr to drop SAT requirement for admission
Bryn Mawr to drop SAT requirement for admission
SUSAN SNYDER, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER LAST UPDATED: Friday, July 25, 2014, 1:08 AM
Bryn Mawr College, the small private women's school on the Main
Line, this week joined a growing number of schools around the country that no
longer require the SAT or other standardized test scores for admission. The college instead will rely on high school
grades, essays, and other factors - a move officials hope will attract a
broader applicant pool.
"We know there are students all around the country who,
when they see 'test scores,' they see it as a barrier to applying," said
Peaches Valdes, Bryn Mawr's director of admissions. The new policy will take effect for the
admissions cycle that begins this fall. "The Philadelphia
area has become a hotbed of test-optional schools," said Bob Schaeffer,
public education director of Fair Test: National Center
Evidence, Brown, and the
Civil Rights Act
Huffington Posdt by Robert E. Slavin,
Director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins
University
2014 is the anniversary of two great milestones in American
history: Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) and the Civil Rights Act (1964). I
was too young to remember the first, but I remember exactly where I was when I
heard that the Civil Rights Act had passed. I was 13, working as a volunteer in
a giant orphanage in Washington , DC , called Junior
Village
Many people are writing to commemorate these great events,
always with a question of how far we've really come toward the fairness and equality promised
both by Brown and by the Civil Rights Act. Anyone with eyes to see has to
acknowledge the progress that has taken place, but also the huge inequities
that still remain.
University
of Pennsylvania Graduate School
The National Writing Project's
resources for teachers\Inspiring Students to Write
The Philadelphia Writing project
(PhilWP), a renowned local site of the National Writing Project, teaches
writing and literacy as critical tools for learning. Penn GSE professor Dianne
Waff works with teachers to move them and their students toward
writing-intensive lives that connect learning, high student achievement, and
personal growth. The following tips come
from experienced PhilWP Teacher Consultants (TCs), who offer ideas to encourage
students to write and develop a love for words and creative expression.
BATS DC
Rally July 28 10 am
The Badass Teachers Association (BATs), an activist
organization of over 50,000 teachers will be holding a rally in Washington D.C.
to protest the devastating educational policies of the United States Department
of Education and Arne Duncan. The Rally will be held on July 28, 2014
at the USDOE Plaza beginning at 10 a.m. and will draw thousands of teachers,
parents, students, and educational activists from around the country.
BATs will demand such things as ending federal incentives to close and
privatize schools, promote equity and adequate funding for all public schools,
and ban all data sharing of children’s private information.
Bucks Lehigh
EduSummit Monday Aug 11th and Tuesday Aug 12th
Location: Southern Lehigh High School5800 Main Street , Center Valley , PA
18034
Time: 8 AM - 3 PM Each Day(Registration starts at 7:30 AM. Keynote starts at 8:00 AM.)
Location: Southern Lehigh High School
Time: 8 AM - 3 PM Each Day(Registration starts at 7:30 AM. Keynote starts at 8:00 AM.)
The Bucks Lehigh EduSummit is a
collaboratively organized and facilitated two day professional learning
experience coordinated by educators in the Quakertown Community School District , Palisades School District, Salisbury
Township School District, Southern Lehigh School District, Bucks County IU, and Carbon Lehigh IU, which are all located in
northern Bucks county and southern Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Teachers in
other neighboring districts are welcome to attend as well! The purpose of the
EduSummit is to collaborate, connect, share, and learn together for the benefit
of our kids. Focus areas include: Educational Technology, PA Core, Social
Media, Best Practices, etc.
http://buckslehighedusummit2014.wikispaces.com/Home
http://buckslehighedusummit2014.wikispaces.com/Home
Educational Collaborators
Pennsylvania Summit Aug. 13-14
The Educational Collaborators, in partnership with the Wilson School
District
Pre-K for PA has supporters
all over the greater Philadelphia region who want to help ensure all three and
four year-old children can access quality pre-K.
We need your help -- join an upcoming phone bank. Join
a fun gathering of like minds in Philadelphia and Conshohocken on
Wednesday evenings throughout the summer. We are calling fellow Pre-K for
PA supporters to build local volunteer teams.
Call a Pre-K Friend in Philly:
UnitedWay Building 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM
United
Wed July 30, 5-7 PM
Call a Pre-K Friend in Mont Co:
Anne's House 242 Barren Hill Road Conshohocken PA 19428
Wed July 30, 5-7pm
Anne's House 242 Barren Hill Road Conshohocken PA 19428
Wed July 30, 5-7pm
RSVP: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51084/c/10476/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9390
EPLC Education Issues
Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff, and Interested Voters -
Harrisburg July 31
Register Now! EPLC will again be hosting
an Education Issues Workshop for Legislative Candidates, Campaign Staff,
and Interested Voters. This nonpartisan, one-day program will take place
on Thursday, July 31 in Harrisburg. Space is limited. Click
here to learn more about workshop and to register.
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