Tuesday, November 28, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Nov. 28: Have you read PublicSource’s in-depth series on charter schools?

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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Nov. 28, 2017:
Have you read PublicSource’s in-depth series on charter schools?




“And I can tell you what no other CEO wants to tell you: Casey is right when he says that a half-trillion dollars of corporate tax giveaways proposed by the GOP aren’t going to do a thing for the middle class, or create a single job.
Because what every CEO knows but won’t tell you is this: A tax break for their company simply means a fatter bottom line.
Not jobs. Not investment. Just more money in the pockets of the folks like me.”
La Colombe founder: What every CEO knows but won't tell you about the proposed tax bill | Opinion
Opinion by Todd Carmichael, For Philly.com Updated: NOVEMBER 28, 2017 5:32 AM EST
Todd Carmichael is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters.
Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) is right about the tax bill currently working its way through Congress when he says, “Congressional Republicans have taken great pains to spin their tax scheme as great for the middle class, but a few marginal changes don’t change the fact that their plan is fundamentally a massive giveaway to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.” And every CEO knows he’s right. How do I know what CEOs are thinking? I’m one of them. I’ve grown a Philadelphia-based small business into a business with cafes and industrial facilities in six states and the District of Columbia. I’ve placed canned draft lattes on market shelves in every corner of the country. And I employ hundreds of people in almost every income tax bracket. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to grow a profitable business that values the people at its core and the communities where we do business. http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/gop-republican-tax-reform-bill-la-colombe-todd-carmichael-20171128.html

“According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will add $1.7 trillion to our national debt over a decade, in addition to making it harder to afford college or pay for health care. All to drastically cut taxes, one more time, for big corporations and the richest Americans. America currently has the highest level of income and wealth inequality in almost a century. The three wealthiest Americans are now wealthier than the bottom half of our entire population. Is eliminating deductions that working families rely on in order to give the richest people yet another massive tax cut really our highest priority? There are many better alternatives. It’s probably not a good idea to add $1.7 trillion dollars to the national debt. But if we are going to do that, why not use that money to invest in repairing our infrastructure, which would help our economy grow and create millions of good-paying jobs? We could also use the money to make higher education more affordable or close tax loopholes that pay corporations to move jobs overseas. Is giving more money to the Koch brothers the best use of national resources?”
Guest Column: GOP tax cut plan will help richest Americans, not middle class
Delco Times Opinion By Rep. Daylin Leach, Times Guest Columnist 1/27/17, 9:12 PM EST 
Recently, Gov. Tom Wolf sent a letter to Representative Pat Meehan urging him to oppose the federal tax overhaul proposed by Congressional Republicans. In rejecting this advice, Mr. Meehan’s office said that the “average middle-class” taxpayer in the 7th district would see a $5,100 tax cut under the bill. This would be a compelling argument if it were in any sense true. Sadly, it’s not. Mr. Meehan cited no source for his $5,100 figure, an unfortunate omission given that I could find no source for it. There is no support for this assertion from any reputable, historically neutral source. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center (TPC) says that the plan would give the top 1 percent a tax cut of $207,000, but a middle-class family would receive an average cut of $300, about 92 percent less than what Mr. Meehan claims. Congress’s non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation says the average tax cut for a family earning $60,000 would be $720, while a family earning $10,000,000 each year would get a cut of over $260,000.

Why the Republicans' magical tax plan needs to disappear | Editorial
by The Inquirer Editorial Board Updated: NOVEMBER 28, 2017 — 5:31 AM EST
Washington politics has become a theatrical performance by an assortment of magicians who rarely say what they mean and even less seldom mean what they say. In their slippery hands is the fate of a nation too distracted by sideshows starring President Trump to pay proper attention to what the politicians are trying to hide. The latest legerdemain has put before Congress a tax reform bill drafted by so-called fiscal conservatives that in five years would increase the national debt to almost 100 percent of the gross national product. Not to worry, say the bill’s Republican crafters, who promise that proposed corporate tax cuts will pay for themselves by creating jobs to boost the economy. That assertion is disputed by one of the country’s leading conservative economists, Harvard professor Nicholas Gregory Mankiw, a registered Republican. “Tax cuts rarely pay for themselves,” Mankiw said. “My reading of academic literature leads me to believe that about one-third of the cost of a typical tax cut is recouped with faster economic growth.”

Senators consider automatic tax hikes if revenue falls short
Inquirer by STEPHEN OHLEMACHER & MARCY GORDON, The Associated Press Updated: NOVEMBER 27, 2017 — 6:40 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republicans are considering a trigger that would automatically increase taxes if their sweeping legislation fails to generate as much revenue as they expect. It's an effort to mollify deficit hawks who worry that tax cuts for businesses and individuals will add to the nation's already mounting debt. The effort comes as a second Republican senator, Steve Daines of Montana, announced Monday that he opposes the tax bill in its current form. Previously, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he opposed the bill, leaving Senate Republicans no room for error as they hope to vote on the bill this week. Both senators complained that the tax bill favors large corporations over small businesses. Republicans have only two votes to spare in the Senate, where they hold a 52-48 edge and anticipate Vice President Mike Pence breaking a tie.

Tax Bills' Changes to Debt Could Shrink School Spending, Education Officials Say
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on November 27, 2017 7:51 AM
A provision of the House and Senate tax bills could increase how much schools pay for long-term debt, and subsequently shrink resources for students and teachers. That's the view of the Association of School Business Officials International, which represents officials who oversee budgets, capital costs, and maintenance in K-12 and in higher education. Their beef is that the bill would no longer allow districts to get a tax exemption for certain bonds that helps them pay off outstanding debt at lower interest rates.  ASBO's worries deal with "advance refunding bonds." The group say these bonds allow districts more flexibility when refinancing debt and, the group says, ultimately allows more district funding to be spent elsewhere. Under the House and Senate bills, those bonds could still be issued, but they wouldn't be tax-exempt. 

Protesters gather to oppose GOP tax plan, calling it 'simply not fair'
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Nov 27, 8:55 PM
With the U.S. Senate Republicans determined to vote on their tax overhaul plan before the week is out, Cumberland County residents rallied on the Square in Carlisle to voice their opposition to the legislation that they see as harmful to low- and middle-income Americans. athered outside the old county courthouse in Carlisle during evening rush hour on Monday, an orderly, mild-mannered group of about 50 people from teenagers to senior citizens held signs and cheered as cars and trucks passed by flashing their lights and honking horns in support of their "Stop the Middle Class Tax Hikes" message.
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/11/protesters_gather_to_oppose_go.html

School districts experiment with later start times
Inquirer by JAMIE MARTINES, Tribune-Review, The Associated Press Updated: NOVEMBER 27, 2017 — 6:52 PM EST
PITTSBURGH (AP) - As darkness faded just after 7 a.m. Friday, sleepy high school students across Allegheny and Westmoreland counties stood at bus stops or steered vehicles to school. Others already were inside on the way to breakfast or study halls, while others were beginning their first academic classes of the day. Districts in and around Pittsburgh, including some whose first bell rings at 7 a.m., are evaluating daily schedules as research and day-to-day experience make it increasingly clear that later start times could benefit students' mental health and academic success. "What we're worried about is when you really start to look at the stress, it leads to things like depression, it leads to things like suicide, it leads to risk-taking behaviors," said Robert Scherrer, superintendent in the North Allegheny School District. "And some of those are tied directly to sleep, in some cases, but they're also mental health concerns." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m., along with 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night for adolescents.

Environmental Charter School at Frick Park eyes expansion
MOLLY BORN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mborn@post-gazette.com 7:00 AM NOV 27, 2017
Another generation of students may again walk through the halls of the old Rogers school building in Garfield. As early as next month, Environmental Charter School at Frick Park could sign a lease with the developer that now owns the largely gutted former Pittsburgh Public school, with plans to begin construction in April. One of the city's fastest-growing charters, Environmental Charter was founded in 2008 and currently operates a K-8 school in two buildings: a lower school for grades K-3 in the former Park Place school and an upper school for grades 4-8 in the former Regent Square school on Milton Street. The Rogers space would accommodate 300 students in grades 6-8 and 75 ninth-graders in the fall of 2019 and make Park Place a K-2 school and Milton Street a 3-5 school. ECS plans to add an additional 25 students per grade level in each school.

The Growing Influence of Jounce Partners
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by Lisa Haver and Lynda Rubin November 24, 2017
It would be safe to say that no public school teacher in Philadelphia has seen or heard any colleague forcing a student to face the wall and repeat the same phrase 25 or 30 times. Any principal who witnessed such an occurrence would be within his or her rights to formally reprimand that teacher.
Wall Practice:
1. After giving feedback and monitoring to the point of automaticity, have teacher(s) turn toward a wall in the room to practice the skill 10-20 more times (primarily used for multi-teacher PD sessions).
2. Frame as optimal practice because greatest number of reps can be achieved this way.

3. Emphasize the importance of every rep being executed perfectly and with exaggeration of nuances.
Incredibly, that is precisely what teachers in some district schools are being forced to do. It is but one of the tactics developed by Jounce Partners as part of its intensive coaching and professional development plan, already in use at McDaniel Elementary, one of the eleven schools designated last year as “Priority Schools”. The district has approved Jounce as a partner for principal and teacher training in schools that have been included in its “System of Great Schools”.

“Appropriations for the House, Senate and various legislative agencies increased a combined 5.2 percent to $362 million this year. On top of that, the Legislature is sitting on $141.3 million in reserves, 33 percent of which is earmarked for post-employment pension and health care costs.”
Pennsylvania House leaders tout, then ignore, bill to cut its size
Morning Call by Steve Esack Contact Reporter Call Harrisburg Bureau November 27, 2017
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
The Pennsylvania House’s vast Republican majority talks a good game about reducing the size, scope and cost of state government. But when it comes to trimming its own chamber, the GOP caucus has been silent despite a looming deadline. For nearly a year, the majority has sat on House Bill 153. It would allow voters to shrink the 203-member chamber to 151 lawmakers, or by 26 percent, through a constitutional amendment on an election ballot. Doing so would save taxpayers up to $15 million annually in salaries, benefits and expenses, a House report says. If voters support the bill, as polls suggest they would, the state would be carved into 151 House districts after the 2020 U.S. Census.

“The performance-based budgeting bill does not cover $720.6 million in expenditures by the General Assembly or the Judiciary.”
PA Republican Senators To Introduce Zero-Based Budgeting Bill
PA Capitol Digest by Crisci Associates November 27, 2017
Senators Scott Wagner (R-York), Scott Martin (R-Lancaster), Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon), Guy Reschenthaler (R-Allegheny), Mike Regan (R-Cumberland), and Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) announced Monday they intend to introduce a zero-based budget reform bill that would require every state agency to build its budget from a starting point of zero dollars. Known as zero-based budgeting, the bill will require state agencies to justify every dollar of spending. These reform-minded senators believe this budgeting method will find unrealized savings and efficiencies that can save taxpayers millions of dollars. “Instead of doing the heavy lifting of finding savings and managing state agencies, Governor Wolf wants to raise taxes on hardworking Pennsylvanians,” Sen. Wagner said. “If we implement zero-based budgeting, state government can be responsible stewards of taxpayer money. We could balance our budget and start cutting waste.” This bill would be a significant departure from traditional budgeting, whereby agencies base their projections on the prior year’s figures.


Confused By Your Public School Choices? Hire A Coach
NPR by HEIDI GLENN November 27, 20176:19 AM ET
Erin Roth faced a tough choice in 2015. She needed to select a school for one of her two daughters. And in Washington, D.C., where she lives, she faced a dizzying array of traditional and charter schools from which to choose. It's a familiar problem for parents in areas with a lot of school choice: charter, magnet, traditional, progressive, project-based, Montessori, STEM, STEAM, immersion ... the list goes on. So in her search for a public school, Roth did what parents seeking to get into the best private schools have done for years: She hired a consultant. It's a relatively new job title in the public school realm. But there are now — in a growing number of cities and districts as school choice has expanded nationwide — people who've made it their business, literally, to help parents find the right fit. They offer a range of services at a wide range of prices, but basically they're offering to coach confused and overwhelmed parents through the options.

Supreme Court Declines to Take Up Prayers at School Board Meetings
Education Week By Mark Walsh on November 27, 2017 11:20 AM
Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case about prayers before school board meetings, leaving continuing uncertainty over the constitutionality of the practice. The justices declined without comment to hear the appeal in American Humanist Association v.Birdville Independent School District (No. 17-178). In another case, the court declined to take up a challenge to the Mississippi state flag, which encompasses the Confederate battle flag, and state laws requiring that it be flown near schools and that students be taught respect for it. I wrote separately about that case. In the prayer case, a former student from the Texas district and the Washington-based humanists' group sought review of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, which upheld the district's policy of permitting students to lead prayers before board meetings. The appeals court had said in its March decision that the key question was "whether this case is essentially more a legislative-prayer case or a school-prayer matter."



Register for New School Director Training in December and January
PSBA Website October 2017
You’ve started a challenging and exciting new role as a school director. Let us help you narrow the learning curve! PSBA’s New School Director Training provides school directors with foundational knowledge about their role, responsibilities and ethical obligations. At this live workshop, participants will learn about key laws, policies, and processes that guide school board governance and leadership, and develop skills for becoming strong advocates in their community. Get the tools you need from experts during this visually engaging and interactive event.
Choose from any of these 11 locations and dates (note: all sessions are held 8 a.m.-4 p.m., unless specified otherwise.):
·         Dec. 8, Bedford CTC
·         Dec. 8, Montoursville Area High School
·         Dec. 9, Upper St. Clair High School
·         Dec. 9, West Side CTC
·         Dec. 15, Crawford County CTC
·         Dec. 15, Upper Merion MS (8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m)
·         Dec. 16, PSBA Mechanicsburg
·         Dec. 16, Seneca Highlands IU 9
·         Jan. 6, Haverford Middle School
·         Jan. 13, A W Beattie Career Center
·         Jan. 13, Parkland HS
Fees: Complimentary to All-Access members or $170 per person for standard membership. All registrations will be billed to the listed district, IU or CTC. To request billing to an individual, please contact Michelle Kunkel at michelle.kunkel@psba.org. Registration also includes a box lunch on site and printed resources.

NSBA 2018 Advocacy Institute February 4 - 6, 2018 Marriott Marquis, Washington D.C.
Register Now
Come a day early and attend the Equity Symposium!
Join hundreds of public education advocates on Capitol Hill and help shape the decisions made in Washington D.C. that directly impact our students. At the 2018 Advocacy Institute, you’ll gain insight into the most critical issues affecting public education, sharpen your advocacy skills, and prepare for effective meetings with your representatives. Whether you are an expert advocator or a novice, attend and experience inspirational keynote speakers and education sessions featuring policymakers, legal experts and policy influencers. All designed to help you advocate for your students and communities.


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