Friday, August 26, 2016

PA Ed Policy Roundup Aug 26: Cyber tuitions too high? When they sell the Florida condo, the plane, the farm, the houses for his mother & girlfriend - do we get our tax dollars back?

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup August 26, 2016:
Cyber tuitions too high? When they sell the Florida condo, the plane, the farm, the houses for his mother & girlfriend - do we get our tax dollars back?



Southeastern PA Regional 2016 Legislative Roundtable: William Tennent High School (Bucks Co.) SEP 22, 2016 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM



Online public school founder admits to $8M in tax fraud
WBAL News Radio Associated Press Wednesday, August 24 2016
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The founder and former CEO of an online public school that educates thousands of Pennsylvania students pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal tax fraud, acknowledging he siphoned more than $8 million from The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School through for-profit and nonprofit companies he controlled.  In entering his plea, Nicholas Trombetta, 61, who headed the school, acknowledged using the money to buy, among other things, a Bonita Springs, Florida, condominium for $933,000, pay $180,000 for houses for his mother and girlfriend in Ohio, and spend $990,000 more on groceries and other items.  He manipulated companies he created and controlled to draw the money from the school, also spending it on a $300,000 plane, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said.  Trombetta was making $127,000 to $144,000 annually at PA Cyber when he ran the illegal tax evasion scheme from 2006 to 2012. He faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced Dec. 20.  By running the money through the companies or their straw owners, Trombetta avoided income taxes, though prosecutors haven't said how much. Most of the siphoned money was squirreled away in Avanti Management Group, which functioned as Trombetta's retirement savings account, Kaufman said.

“The sad fact is that all of that money could have been put to educating children,” Hickton said. “That’s why we allow people in charge of school districts to gather money, and superintendents of charter schools have to live to the same standard as superintendents of brick and mortar schools.”
Trombetta Guilty Plea Sparks Cyber School Funding Questions
KDKA Pittsburgh August 25, 2016 7:49 PM By Andy Sheehan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pa. Cyber Charter School founder Nick Trombetta‘s guilty plea may prompt a closer look at the operation of charter schools across the state and cyber charters in particular.  State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has already launched an audit of Pa. Cyber to determine if it’s operating above board after Trombetta.  “There’s no question that what has happened in Midland is a lot of money, and it’s coming from somewhere and we’re going to find out where it’s going to,” DePasquale said.  The question of where the money to fund cyber charters comes from is easy to answer. It’s from school property taxes, but bigger question is, are we paying too much?  When a child opts out of your local brick and mortar school for an online education, your local school district pays an average of about $10,000 a year to the cyber school.
But DePasquale says that’s about $5,000 or $6,000 more than what’s required since cyber schools have no grounds to maintain or secure and no athletic teams to field.
U.S. Attorney David Hickton said that excess led to corruption in Midland.
“It’s obviously cheaper to educate these children on a charter platform that these sums are going to build up,” Hickton said.  The feds contend that Pa. Cyber was awash in excess cash that spread to other entities created by Trombetta, who was accused of syphoning off $8 million in cash, even buying a corporate plane, a Florida condo and expansive real estate holdings.

Charter school funding disputes stuck in limbo: See your district's appeals
Penn Live By Wallace McKelvey | WMckelvey@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on August 25, 2016 at 2:01 PM, updated August 25, 2016 at 3:24 PM
Over a two-year period between 2012 and 2013, the York City School District disputed more than $3 million in fees from the New Hope Academy Charter School.  Pennsylvania's Department of Education, the same agency that declared York's schools financially distressed in 2012, was responsible for ensuring those disputes were resolved in a timely fashion.  But the York district's appeals remain open and unresolved to this day, even as New Hope closed and its operator moved on to open a new charter school in Delaware.  Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that it's unlikely York — now under the supervision of a recovery officer — will ever recoup those millions of dollars, even if the department ruled in its favor.  "The consequences of that are disastrous," he said, as he detailed the failings of the state's system for funding charter schools and handling appeals.

Millions in York charter school payment disputes mostly settled
York Daily Record by  Angie Mason, amason@ydr.com5:15 p.m. EDT August 25, 2016
A state audit concluded the process to dispute payments to charter schools is too lengthy and confusing.
A state audit found the York City School District had millions in contested charter school payments waiting for state action, but the district said it's resolved most of the issues directly with the charter schools involved.  State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale recently reviewed the process by which districts can dispute payments to charter schools and found that of 857 appeals filed during the five-year audit period, 74 percent remained open as of December.  The audit notes that some of the matters might have been settled locally,  but the state hasn't followed up and closed the cases.  Among them were nine York City School District appeals related to payments to New Hope Academy Charter School, now closed, and Lincoln and Thackston charter schools. The disputed amounts totaled more than $5 million dating back to 2012.

“The division is expected to conduct comprehensive audits and reviews that will precede the cyber charter renewal process.”
PA Charter Schools To Get More Support And Scrutiny With New State Oversight Group
WESA 90.5 By MARK NOOTBAAR • 14 HOURS AGO
The Gov. Tom Wolf administration announced the Division of Charter Schools within the state Department of Education on Wednesday. Its four staffers will be tasked with providing additional support and supervision of Pennsylvania's more than 150 charter schools statewide.
Gov. Tom Wolf created a new charter school oversight body through the state Department of Education on Wednesday, nearly two years after his gubernatorial campaign promised charter reform.  The Division of Charter Schools will be composed of a director, who has yet to be hired, plus three staffers. They're tasked with making sure the laws, processes and information already in place are followed, and that the data charter schools submit to the department is accurate and timely, Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said.  “To this point, there really has not been any oversight to ensure that that is happening,” Sheridan said.  The division is also responsible for posting financial and other data online, monitoring student achievement and increasing site visits. Sheridan said the governor will also continue to work with the legislature to implement reforms to the system but the division will have some policy goals regarding education programming and achievement and growth measures.  “Student participation and attendance, and review and monitor compliance when it comes to school improvement plans,” Sheridan said.

Pa. Department of Education enhancing oversight of charter schools
WHYY Newsworks by Kevin McCorry August 25, 2016 — 12:09pm
Gov. Wolf of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday that he's beefing up the state's oversight of charter schools by creating a new division within the Department of Education that is devoted solely to the sector.  "Charter schools play an important role in our education system, but that role must be accompanied by sufficient oversight," Wolf said in a statement. "Establishing this new division within the Department of Education will allow us to maximize our resources to not only ensure charters are being properly supported, but that they are being held accountable to taxpayers."  The Wolf administration says the new division will more rigorously monitor the fiscal and academic integrity of charters.  "Establishing a division within the Department is the next step to further streamline communication with charter schools, help ensure they receive needed technical assistance from the Department, and ensuring that all public schools in the commonwealth are held to the same high-quality standards," said state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera in a statement.  Wolf spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan said the move would simply bring the charter sector oversight in line with the oversight that the department gives the state's 500 traditional districts.

“Atiyeh, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, has become one of the greatest advocates of local charter schools.  He owns three buildings used by charter schools in the Lehigh Valley – Innovative Arts, Arts Academy Elementary Charter School at 601 Union St., Allentown, and Arts Academy Charter School at 1610 Emmaus Ave. in Salisbury. Medical Academy Charter School was housed in his Howertown Road property before closing in June amid discipline and academic issues.  In May 2014, Atiyeh told The Morning Call he has shelled out "a couple hundred thousand bucks" for each proposed charter.”
Innovative Arts Academy Charter CEO cites concerns over 'unethical' financial practices in decision to leave
Sarah M. Wojcik and Jacqueline Palochko Contact Reporters The Morning Call August 25, 2016
CATASAUQUA — The CEO of Innovative Arts Academy Charter School, announcing her immediate departure Thursday, accused the charter school of engaging in "unethical" practices, including the unauthorized use of her Social Security number.  In an email exchange between her and board of trustee members viewed by The Morning Call, Loraine Petrillo also blasted the school's financial association with the building's landlord and his companies.  Petrillo does not identify the landlord in the emails. But the building at 330 Howertown Road, Catasauqua, is owned by a limited liability corporation associated with developer Abe Atiyeh.  "For the life of me, I don't understand why the board is still seeking the landlord or associated company's involvement in our financing after this past weekend. It might be 'legal' but certainly, in my humble opinion, unethical," Petrillo wrote.  Petrillo's emails, sent Thursday morning, come in the wake of a controversial, unauthorized mailer that painted Bethlehem's Liberty High School as a drug-addled place to entice students to attend the charter school slated to open Sept. 6.

Charter school CEO quits over $100K loan from landlord Abe Atiyeh
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on August 25, 2016 at 10:42 AM, updated August 25, 2016 at 3:24 PM
The CEO of the new Catasauqua charter school embroiled in controversy over an unauthorized mailer quit Thursday morning amid concerns about the landlord's involvement in the school.  Innovative Arts Academy Charter School is set to open Sept. 6 at 330 Howertown Road in a building owned by developer Abe Atiyeh. About 330 students are enrolled in the grades 6-12 school.  On Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Loraine Petrilloannounced she planned to resign once a replacement was found due to concerns about outside forces undermining her efforts.  In e-mail messages obtained by lehighvalleylive.com Thursday morning, Petrillo announced her resignation was now effective immediately and raised major concerns about Atiyeh's involvement in the school and charter school board members' ties to him.

Why does an Atiyeh exec want to know about Liberty High arrests?
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on August 25, 2016 at 3:13 PM, updated August 25, 2016 at 3:28 PM
Days after a mysterious mailer sparked outrage by slamming Liberty High School, an employee of developer Abe Atiyeh filed a public records request seeking 10 years of student arrest records for the Bethlehem school.  The mailer promoting the new Innovative Arts Academy Charter School in Catasauqua references the 2015 drug arrest of a 17-year-old Liberty student accused of having more than $3,000 in heroin and cocaine in his backpack.  The charter school is leasing its building at 330 Howertown Road from Atiyeh, who also leases space to several Lehigh Valley charter schools and has helped some get up off the ground.  The mailer reprints a Morning Call headline after the arrest and asks "Why worry about this type of student at school? Come visit Arts Academy Charter School. Now enrolling grades 6-12."

Pa. senator says HBO's John Oliver 'went too far' with charter school rant
by Tommy Rowan, Staff Writer  @tommyrowan Updated: AUGUST 26, 2016 — 5:16 AM EDT
Apparently, as HBO's John Oliver was poking fun at Pennsylvania's charter school system, Pa. Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams wasn't laughing.  On Wednesday, Williams (D., Phila.) sent the Last Week Tonight host a "Dear John" letter, questioning an assertion on his Sunday show that Pennsylvania's "charter schools are terrible."  "I really do enjoy your wit and informative style," Williams wrote, "but you went too far with your segment on Pennsylvania's charter schools."  On his program Sunday, Oliver used Pennsylvania laws and Philadelphia schools as examples of why he believes charter schools are something of gamble when it comes to education.  “Charter schools unite both sides of the aisle more quickly than when a wedding DJ throws on ‘Hey Ya,’ ” Oliver said to kick off his piece, further noting that the first charters emerged 25 years ago as a way to explore new approaches to education.  Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the state has “the worst charter school law in the United States."  Oliver agreed.

“None of Oliver’s critics seriously refuted the crux of his argument that there might be something fundamentally wrong by design, rather than by implementation or intent, with the idea that  a “free market” of privately operated and essentially unregulated schools is a surefire way to improve education opportunities for all students.”
John Oliver Slams Charter Schools And His Critics Totally Miss The Point
Common Dreams By Jeff Bryant Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016 by Education Opportunity Network
Sometimes it takes a funnyman to make sense.  Earlier this week, British comedian John Oliver devoted a “Back to School” segment on his HBO program Last Week Tonight to examining the rapidly growing charter school industry and what these schools are doing with our tax dollars.  The Washington Post’s education blogger Valerie Strauss watched the segment and reports that while Oliver declined to address whether or not charters provide high quality education, he focused mostly on how often these schools are “terribly – and sometimes criminally – operated.” (You can see Oliver’s entire sketch here.)  Editors at Rolling Stone watched Oliver’s broadcast as well and report Oliver focused much of his attention on three states – Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio – that have “especially depressing charter track records – including negligence in the approval process and school executives embezzling funds.”

“For many local school districts, they’re paying millions more into the school pension system than they were a few years ago. Some have been able to absorb those costs without repeatedly raising taxes while others have raised taxes and barely kept pace with rising costs.  In the past decade, property taxes in Allegheny County’s wealthiest school districts have increased moderate amounts — 7 to 13 percent — in some and upward of 20 to 45 percent in others.  Our analysis focuses on 25 of Allegheny County’s 43 school districts that are near or above the state’s median household income of about $53,000.  As PublicSource reported last week, wealthier school districts statewide were far more likelyto raise property taxes when compared to poorer districts.  They raised taxes, in part, because they could. Poorer school districts couldn’t raise much money from property taxes, even if they wanted to.”
Why some Pittsburgh-area school districts choose to raise property taxes and others don't
All school districts are feeling the pinch of rising pension costs. Some have responded by repeatedly raising property taxes while others spare residents with as few tax increases as possible.
By Eric Holmberg | PublicSource | Aug. 25, 2016
A nice home in a good school district. If that comes with high property taxes, well, it’s just part of the deal, right?  What if it didn’t have to be?  Over the past decade, some Pittsburgh-area school districts have raised property taxes every year, blaming rising pension costs, while others have tried to weather the storm with as few hikes as possible.  A school board’s budgeting philosophy could result in a homeowner paying thousands more in property taxes than a similarly-priced house in another school district.  That disparity has far-reaching consequences for long-time residents, young families and newcomers looking for a nice home in a quality school district.  Prospective homebuyers might not only want to know whether property taxes are low, but also whether the school district is willing or able to keep them low.  Take two area school districts: Mars and South Fayette. Both spent roughly $350,000 on pensions, after the state’s reimbursement, in the 2008-09 school year. That increased to about $1.8 million in the 2014-15 school year. That’s where the similarities end. 

Reading School District, teachers agree to new contract
Reading Eagle By David Mekeel Thursday August 25, 2016 12:01 AM
Teachers in the Reading School District will start the new school year with a contract.  That's something that couldn't be said for quite some time.  After working under an expired pact for 1,452 days — over four years — the Reading Education Association voted overwhelmingly Wednesday morning to approve a new contract.  The Reading School Board, in turn, voted unanimously at its meeting Wednesday night to do the same.  “I'm relieved,” said union President Mitch Hettinger. “It's been a long time coming.”  The new contract is a seven-year deal, but in practice is actually a three-year deal. It covers the past four years, and extends to Aug. 31, 2019.  The pact includes pay raises, which average 2.91 percent, for the 1,005 members of the teachers union.  It also includes step and column movement, which refer to advancement on the pay scale for years of experience or service to the district, based on the salary schedule.
In exchange, teachers will increase their contributions to their health care plan.

Garnet Valley reaches new, 4-year deal with support staff; custodial services to be outsourced
Delco Times By Susan L. Serbin, Times Correspondent POSTED: 08/25/16, 1:38 PM EDT 
CONCORD >> The Garnet Valley School Board and Garnet Valley Education Support Professionals (GVESP) have reached a tentative agreement on a new, four-year contract that will give the support staff raises each year, but calls for the outsourcing of the district’s custodial services. Details of the new deal will not be released until it is ratified by both sides.  However, it is known that employees will receive raises in each year of the contract. The increases begin in the 2016-17 school year. New hires after the effective date of the agreement will begin on a modified wage scale below the 2015-16 wage rates for employees. In combination with the wage modification, the parties have agreed to significant changes in healthcare plan designs, premium contributions, and the introduction of a Qualified High Deductible Plan.  Attorney Mark Fitzgerald, the school district’s labor counsel, issued a statement on the contract status.  “In an era of prolonged public sector labor negotiations, the parties have come together to create four years of labor peace in the district during continued difficult economic times, especially in light of the ongoing state pension obligations of public school employers,” Fitzgerald said.


“However, in 2007, Mylan Pharmaceuticals acquired the rights to the EpiPen and immediately started raising the price. After Heather Bresch, its former top lobbyist, successfully pushed for legislation in Congress that required all public schools to carry EpiPens for children with food allergies, its price hikes became more frequent and more severe, raising by at least 10 percent every other quarter from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2016. A score of U.S. Senators are calling for an investigation into the price hikes.
Bresch, who is the daughter of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va), eventually became Mylan’s CEO, and subsequently raised her own salary by 671 percent. And in 2014, Bresch reincorporated Mylan in the Netherlands, utilizing a controversial accounting tactic known as “inversion,” lowering the company’s effective tax rate while still maintaining its headquarters and manufacturing base in the US.”
EPIPEN MAKER’S STOCK VALUE DROPS NEARLY $3 BILLION IN 5 DAYS AS INVESTORS PANIC
US Uncut Tom Cahill | August 25, 2016
Mylan Pharmaceuticals — the company behind the price gouging of the EpiPen — is experiencing serious karmic retribution in the stock market.  In just five days, Mylan’s stock has tanked by 12.4 percent as outrage over its astronomical price increases of the life-saving EpiPen has reached a boiling point. Mylan’s stock price went from a high of $49.20 per share on August 19 to $43.11 on August 24, according to MarketWatch:  As the chart below from YCharts shows, Mylan’s market cap has been in virtual freefall since last Friday, falling by almost $3 billion. This crash coincides almost directly with the news of EpiPen’s price hike spreading nationally and attracting almost universal scorn, even from the likes of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, who famously hiked the price of AIDS treatment pill Daraprim last year.

In the eyes of the NLRB, charter schools are private, not public
Albany Times Union By Rick Karlin, Capitol bureau on August 25, 2016 at 5:14 PM
Here’s an interesting item that touches on the semantics as well as labor issues surrounding New York’s charter school movement.  A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), concludes that charter schools are private and efforts to start teachers unions in them should fall under their purview, rather than the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) which oversees the public sector.  The decision stemmed from efforts by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to unionize teachers at the Hyde Leadership charter school in Brooklyn.  PERB had asserted jurisdiction over the school, but the union ended up arguing that organizing efforts should be overseen by the NLRB which administers labor law in the private sector.  The NLRB in its decision, concluded that “Hyde was not established by a state or local government, and is not itself a public school.”

“On average, most spent nearly $500 last year, and one in 10 spent $1,000 or more. All told, a total of $1.6 billion in school supply costs is shifted from parents — or, increasingly, from cash-strapped districts — onto teachers themselves.”
Here’s How Much Your Kid’s Teacher Is Shelling Out for School Supplies
Time/Money by Martha C. White Aug. 3, 2016
And you thought what you had to pay was bad
Parents might be getting sticker shock when they see the list of required supplies their kids’ school mails out, but chances are, teachers are looking at even bigger bills for their classrooms right about now.  The Education Market Association says that virtually all teachers wind up paying out of pocket for supplies, and it’s not chump change, either. On average, most spent nearly $500 last year, and one in 10 spent $1,000 or more. All told, a total of $1.6 billion in school supply costs is shifted from parents — or, increasingly, from cash-strapped districts — onto teachers themselves.   “What we know from our site coordinators who work alongside teachers is that these educators are often digging into their own pockets to stock their classrooms with basic supplies,” said Gary Chapman, executive vice president for the national network of Communities in Schools, a nonprofit group that helps low-income kids stay in school. “Increasingly, it’s also including items that teachers themselves need to do their jobs, like cleaning supplies, trash bags, and poster boards,” he said.

New book: Obama’s Education Department and Gates Foundation were closer than you thought
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss August 25 at 1:52 PM 
Megan E. Tompkins-Stange is an assistant professor of public policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan who has written a highly revealing book about the power and influence of four major foundations in education-reform policy in recent years.  She researched “Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence” over several years, in which she was given access to officials in four foundations — Bill and Melinda Gates, Eli and Edythe Broad, Ford, and W.K. Kellogg—  as well as permission to quote people without attribution.  It would, of course, be better to know exactly who said what, but Tompkins-Stange is able nonetheless to give enough context so that the power of the words she recorded from 60 interviews contributes to the overall narrative. “Policy Patrons” looks at the effect of the unprecedented philanthropic engagement in public education reform during the Obama administration and raises questions about whether democracy is usurped when private individuals use their fortunes to bend public policy to their own priorities.

Good School, Rich School; Bad School, Poor School
The inequality at the heart of America’s education system
The Atlantic by ALANA SEMUELS  AUG 25, 2016
HARTFORD, Conn.—This is one of the wealthiest states in the union. But thousands of children here attend schools that are among the worst in the country. While students in higher-income towns such as Greenwich and Darien have easy access to guidance counselors, school psychologists, personal laptops, and up-to-date textbooks, those in high-poverty areas like Bridgeport and New Britain don’t. Such districts tend to have more students in need of extra help, and yet they have fewer guidance counselors, tutors, and psychologists, lower-paid teachers, more dilapidated facilities and bigger class sizes than wealthier districts, according to an ongoing lawsuit. Greenwich spends $6,000 more per pupil per year than Bridgeport does, according to the State Department of Education.  The discrepancies occur largely because public school districts in Connecticut, and in much of America, are run by local cities and towns and are funded by local property taxes. High-poverty areas like Bridgeport and New Britain have lower home values and collect less taxes, and so can’t raise as much money as a place like Darien or Greenwich, where homes are worth millions of dollars. Plaintiffs in a decade-old lawsuit in Connecticut, which heard closing arguments earlier this month, argue that the state should be required to ameliorate these discrepancies. Filed by a coalition of parents, students, teachers, unions, and other residents in 2005, the lawsuit, Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF) v. Rell, will decide whether inequality in school funding violates the state’s constitution.


NEW: Southeastern PA Regional 2016 Legislative Roundtable: William Tennent High School (Bucks Co.) SEP 22, 2016 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
PSBA website August 25, 2016
Take a more active role in public education advocacy by joining our Legislative Roundtable
This is your opportunity for a seat at the table (literally) with fellow public education advocates to take an active role in educating each other and policymakers.  Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, along with regional legislators, will be in attendance to work with you to support public education in Pennsylvania.  Use the form below to send your registration information!

2016 National Anthem Sing-A-Long - September 9th
American Public Education Foundation Website 
The Star-Spangled Banner will be sung by school children nationwide on Friday, September 9, 2016 at 10:00am PST and 1:00pm EST. Students will learn about the words and meaning of the flag and sing the first stanza. This will be the third annual simultaneous sing-a-long event created by the APEF-9/12 Generation Project. The project aims to bring students together – as the world came together – on September 12, 2001.

PA Supreme Court sets Sept. 13 argument date for fair education funding lawsuit in Philly
Thorough and Efficient Blog JUNE 16, 2016 BARBGRIMALDI LEAVE A COMMENT
https://edfundinglawsuit.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/pa-supreme-court-sets-argument-date-for-fair-education-funding-lawsuit/

Registration for the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 13-15 is now open
The conference is your opportunity to learn, network and be inspired by peers and experts.
TO REGISTER: See https://www.psba.org/members-area/store-registration/   (you must be logged in to the Members Area to register). You can read more on How to Register for a PSBA Event here.   CONFERENCE WEBSITE: For all other program details, schedules, exhibits, etc., see the conference website:www.paschoolleaders.org.

REGISTER NOW for the 2016 PA Principals Association State Conference, October 30 - November 1, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College.
The Early Bird Discount Deadline has been Extended to Wednesday, August 31, 2016!
PA Principals Association website Tuesday, August 2, 2016 10:43 AM
To receive the Early Bird Discount, you must be registered by August 31, 2016:
Members: $300  Non-Members: $400
Featuring Three National Keynote Speakers: Eric Sheninger, Jill Jackson & Salome Thomas-EL

PSBA Officer Elections Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016: Slate of Candidates
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were required to submit a nomination form no later than April 30, 2016, to be considered. All candidates who properly completed applications by the deadline are included on the slate of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership Development Committee met on June 24 at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to interview candidates. According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee may determine candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is noted next to each person’s name with an asterisk (*).  Each school entity will have one vote for each officer. This will require boards of the various school entities to come to a consensus on each candidate and cast their vote electronically during the open voting period (Aug. 15-Oct. 3, 2016). Voting will be accomplished through a secure third-party, web-based voting site that will require a password login. One person from each member school entity will be authorized as the official person to cast the vote on behalf of his or her school entity. In the case of school districts, it will be the board secretary who will cast votes on behalf of the school board.
Special note: Boards should be sure to include discussion and voting on candidates to its agenda during one of its meetings in September.

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