Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
Merry XMAS Mr.
Gureghian! Looks like Santa Already Came to CSMI
New raft
of data sets stage for debate over school property tax elimination in Pa.
WHYY/Keystone
Crossroads By Avi
Wolfman-Arent December 21, 2017
In the past month
and a half, Harrisburg’s nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office has released
four research briefs or special reports. Three of those four have been about
property taxes, and they may soon factor into a major policy debate. In
November, Pennsylvania voters approved a constitutional amendment that could
make it easier for the state to eliminate property taxes on individual
homeowners. But that ballot measure in and of itself does nothing to change
state law. It merely paves the way for state lawmakers to pass new legislation
that could achieve that end. These new reports — heavy with charts and
computations — will likely inform arguments made for and against property tax
abolition. The most recent report took a county-by-county look at the
proportion of property tax revenue generated by homesteads. In 22 counties, the
majority of this revenue comes from commercial properties.
Re-districting Trial / Libraries in 2018
Written by Rich Copeland - Producer, WITF's Smart Talk | Dec 20, 2017 8:00 PM
On the Thursday December 21st, 2017 edition of WITF's Smart Talk:
The case before the State Supreme Court regarding the re-districting of Pennsylvania's congressional districts has been adjourned and Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson is expected to issue an opinion in January. Another Pennsylvania re-districting case is being heard before a federal court. At stake is the integrity of the district lines as drawn by Republican lawmakers in 2011; critics argue that the state has 807,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans and the fact that 13 of 18 congressional delegates are Republican points to malfeasence in the last district drawing process; that Republicans drew district lines to their favor.
“CSMI’s founder and CEO is Vahan H. Gureghian of
Gladwyne, a lawyer, entrepreneur and major Republican donor –the largest
individual contributor to former Gov. Tom Corbett. And though CSMI’s books
are not public – the for-profit firm has never disclosed its profits and
won’t discuss its management fee – running the school appears to be a
lucrative business. State records show that Gureghian’s company collected
nearly $17 million in taxpayer funds just in 2014-15, when only 2,900
students were enrolled.”
How
Chester Community Charter School got a 9-year deal
Inquirer by Martha Woodall, Staff
Writer @marwooda | martha.woodall@phillynews.com Updated: DECEMBER
21, 2017 — 3:01 AM EST
For years, charter school proponents have been
trying to change Pennsylvania law so that operating agreement renewals could be
extended from five years to 10. They haven’t
succeeded in Harrisburg. But that didn’t deter Chester Community Charter
School. One year into Chester Community’s latest five-year agreement, Peter R.
Barsz, the court-appointed receiver who oversees the financially distressed
Chester Upland School District and wields nearly all the powers of a school
board, took the unprecedented step of extending the Delaware County school’s
terms for five more years to 2026. Barsz contends that the move was designed to
protect Chester High School: In return, Chester Community, which already
enrolls about 70 percent of the primary grade students in the struggling
district, agreed not to open a high school. The decision means staff and parents at the state’s
largest bricks-and-mortar charter – already slated to receive more than $55
million in taxpayer funds this school year – won’t have to worry about its
fate for nearly a decade, even if its test scores continue to fall far short of
state benchmarks. It also guarantees that CSMI LLC, a for-profit education
management company that operates the K-8 school with 4,200 students, will
receive millions of dollars in revenue for nine more years.
Santa
Claus Is Coming to Chester Community Charter School (CCCS)
Kindergarten-through-First-Grade StudentsThe Gureghian Charitable Foundation to
Donate Funds for CCCS Annual Santa Brigade Gifts
PRESS RELEASE GlobeNewswire Dec. 19,
2017, 01:38 PM|
Chester, PA, Dec. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At
9 a.m., on Wednesday, December 20, 2017, Santa Claus will hand-deliver gifts
to students, in grades kindergarten through first, at Chester Community Charter School (CCCS), as part of the
school’s annual “Santa Brigade.” The event will take place at CCCS’s East
campus, 225 E. 5th Street, in Chester, PA.
|
The Gureghian Foundation, founded by Vahan
Gureghian, CEO of CSMI, the school’s management company, and his wife,
Danielle, CSMI’s General Counsel, donated the funds that purchased this year’s
gifts. Mr. and Mrs. Gureghian have donated more than $480,000 for Santa Brigade
gifts, for the charter school’s students, since the program’s inception. The
Santa Brigade program was established to ensure that each CCCS student in the
participating grades would receive a gift for the holiday, regardless of his or
her family’s financial standing.
“The property is owned by a trust linked
to the Gureghians, who are both attorneys.”
Priciest
house listing drops $5 million to $64.9 million
Palm Beach Daily News By Darrell
Hofheinz - Daily News Real Estate Writer Posted: 11:42
a.m. Friday, May 12, 2017
Even
with a new $5 million price cut, a beachfront house at 1071 N. Ocean Blvd.
remains the priciest property for sale in the Palm Beach Board of Realtors
Multiple Listing Service. Its new price is $64.9 million.
End-of-the-season price drops aren’t uncommon
in Palm Beach real estate. But when the
price is slashed by $5 million and the mansion is new and on the ocean, it
still draws attention. For two years, the never-lived-in house at 1071 North Ocean Blvd. has been the
priciest house in Palm Beach’s multiple listing service — and it just saw its
price tag drop from $69.9 million to $64.9 million, according to an online
search today. That price is nearly $20 million less than the one it carried
when it entered the market in March 2015. The
French Chateau-inspired house — with a bowling alley among its features — was
first listed for sale while it was still in construction. It underwent
subsequent price reductions after failing to attract a buyer. With its stylized
H-shape, the house occupies a 2-acre double lot with 242 feet. Even with the
price cut, the eight-bedroom, 35,993-square-foot house still leads the entries
in the Palm
Beach Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, the search showed.
It is also the most-expensive MLS-listed property in Palm Beach County.
Montco
school district resumes canceled middle school project
Inquirer by Kathy Boccella, Staff
Writer @Kathy_Boccella | kboccella@phillynews.com Updated: DECEMBER
20, 2017 — 11:05 AM EST
After a controversial vote this month to halt
construction on a new middle school, the Upper Perkiomen school board reversed
course Tuesday night and agreed to resume the $58 million project. The 5-4
vote upended a tax revolt led by three new members of the board, who voted to pull the plug on the school
three hours after being sworn into office Dec. 4. James Glackin, one of the
newcomers who earlier vowed to cancel the project, which foes said would send taxes soaring, switched sides,
saying the district already had invested too much taxpayer money in the
building to stop. Voting with Glackin were Joan Smith, Mike Elliott, John
Farris, and Judith Maginnis. Dissenting were Kerry Drake, Raeann Hofkin, and
Melanie Cunningham and her son Steve Cunningham — who both won election to the
board in November along with Glackin.
Pennsylvania Board of Education chairman resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations
Inquirer by Tricia L. Nadolny, Staff Writer @TriciaNadolny | tnadolny@phillynews.com Updated: DECEMBER 21, 2017 — 3:29 PM EST
Gov. Wolf accepted the resignation of the chairman of the state Board of Education on Thursday after the Inquirer and Daily News reported that a number of women said he had pursued sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was years their senior. The chairman, Larry Wittig, had joined the board in 2001. “The alleged behavior that has come to light is reprehensible,” J.J. Abbott, Wolf’s spokesman, said in a statement. “The administration is in the process of identifying potential replacements for Mr. Wittig’s seat on the state board and will be designating a new chair in the very near future.” Wittig on Thursday was also removed from the president’s leadership council at Drexel University, his alma mater. Officials at Philadelphia University-Thomas Jefferson University requested his resignation from their board of trustees, on which he has served since 2005, according to a school spokeswoman. Wittig, 68, on Tuesday said he “categorically” denied the allegations.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/larry-wittig-sexual-misconduct-tom-wolf-resignation-pennsylvania-board-of-education-20171221.html
Philly Pre-K effort performing well despite 'missteps,' according to audit
The city controller's report found some overbilling and a lack of quality enforcement.
The notebook by Greg Windle December 20, 2017 — 6:17pm
Updated at 4 p.m. Dec. 21, 2017 with comments from the Mayor's Office of Education.
The city controller's audit of the mayor’s new preschool programs – released Wednesday – found the program to be generally successful, although it has not fully expanded and lacks enforcement of the state’s quality standards. The universal pre-K effort provides free preschool to students, 81 percent of which come from low-income families according to the Mayor's office. It's funded by part of the soda tax, which has raised less revenue than anticipated. Previously, the city has suggested that the shortfall may be due to retailers stocking up before the tax went into effect. "Actually, revenue collections are doing quite well – about 15 percent short of original estimates," said Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the city, in an email. "Economists have reported that’s well within the normal range for a brand new tax. Additionally, $66 million dollars in the first 10 months of collections still represents a significant sum in a city where more than a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. And, most importantly, it’s still going to allow us to support three programs – pre-K, Community Schools and Rebuild for parks, rec centers and libraries – that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to fund."
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/12/20/pre-k-effort-performing-well-despite-missteps-according-to-audit
First hearings held for nine proposed new Philly charters
The notebook by Greg Windle December 19, 2017 — 6:44pm
Eight management companies seeking to open nine new charter schools in Philadelphia made their initial pitches on Monday to a hearing officer for the School Reform Commission.
Among the companies was ASPIRA. Just last week, the SRC voted to close two of ASPIRA's charter schools — Olney High and Stetson Middle. ASPIRA wants to open two new charter schools, despite evidence that it has been unable to operate its existing charter schools without running deficits. The Charter Schools Office has found, among other irregularities, that ASPIRA uses money meant for the education of students at Stetson Middle and Olney High —both of which are former District-run schools— to guarantee loans that the organization took out to purchase other buildings offering different services. The SRC voted 4-1 on Thursday not to renew those charters, and it is making plans to return the schools to District control.
http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/12/19/first-hearings-held-for-nine-proposed-new-charters
U.S. House passes bills to prop up CHIP through March; aid Valley schools with displaced students
Morning Call by Laura Olson Contact Reporter Call Washington Bureau December 21, 2017
As lawmakers rushed off Capitol Hill for winter break, a pair of bills passed the U.S. House Thursday that include money to keep Pennsylvania’s state-run children’s health insurance program operating through March, as well as aid for Lehigh Valley schools that have taken in students displaced by the Puerto Rican hurricane. But only one of the measures — a short-term spending bill to keep the federal government operating through Jan. 19 — cleared the U.S. Senate later Thursday evening, leaving the $81 billion disaster relief bill and its schools funding lingering until next year. The spending bill offers some limited assurances to families of the 180,000 children — including 11,000 in Lehigh and Northampton counties — who are enrolled in Pennsylvania’s children’s health insurance program, known as CHIP. CHIP provides health insurance to 9 million children nationally whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford private insurance. It covers doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care and other services, at no cost for some and a low cost for others, depending on household size and income.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-government-shutdown-local-priorities-20171221-story.html
Congress Refuses to Do Right by Children’s Health Care
New York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD DEC. 20, 2017
As Republican lawmakers celebrate the passage of a tax bill that will make the wealthiest Americans richer, many lower-income families are faced with the real possibility that their children will soon lose their health insurance because Congress didn’t care enough to renew funding for it. The Children’s Health Insurance Program has enjoyed bipartisan support since its creation in 1997. It covers about nine million kids from families who are not affluent by any stretch of the imagination but happen to earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. In the past, the program was typically reauthorized for five years with little controversy. Not this time. Republican leaders in Congress have been unwilling or unable to make CHIP, as the program is known, a priority since funding lapsed nearly three months ago. The situation has gotten so bad that families with young children who benefit from the program visited Capitol Hill this week to beg lawmakers to fund CHIP.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/opinion/congress-childrens-healthcare.html?_r=0
West York school board eyeing no tax increase in budget
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez, 505-5439/@EducationYD Published 4:39 p.m. ET Dec. 21, 2017
With a reorganized school board and new district superintendent, the West York Area School District is planning to provide tax relief for residents. The district is eyeing no tax increase for the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to business manager Sheri Schlemmer. The West York school board unanimously approved a resolution on Dec. 19 to not raise property taxes above the 3.1 percent increase assigned by the Department of Education. During a finance meeting on Dec. 12, in lieu of a preliminary budget presentation, Schlemmer presented the board with information on estimated figures for the 2018-19 budget. Early figures estimate expenditures at $60.2 million and revenues at $55.7 million, leaving a budget deficit of about $4.5 million. The district would need to dip into its unassigned fund balance to cover any deficit amount and not increase taxes, according to Schlemmer. Expected revenue increases in basic education and special education funding as well as increases in the district’s transportation subsidy are the reason administrators are proposing no tax increase.
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/education/2017/12/21/west-york-school-board-eyeing-no-tax-increase-budget/974036001/
“That takes us to today. A 2017 assessment by the National Education Association sums up the problem: Civics education in America is skin deep, seldom reinforced and altogether inadequate. Inexcusably, our schools have largely abandoned a crucial mission: producing functional, responsible citizens, the lifeblood of democracy.”
OPED: We urgently need civics education
York Dispatch by Christopher Dale, Tribune News Service Published 7:34 a.m. ET Dec. 21, 2017
A recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania found that only one in four Americans can name all three branches of government. One in three can't name any. And while President Donald Trump retweets anti-Muslim videos of questionable veracity and muses that news outlets critical of him should be banned, 37 percent of Americans can't name any of the rights protected by the First Amendment, the survey found. (Hint: These include freedom of religion and freedom of speech.) A functioning democracy depends on an informed citizenry, including baseline knowledge of societal laws and institutions. Bafflingly, many schools no longer teach children how our government works, and what basic rights Americans are guaranteed. Between 2001 and 2007, 36 percent of American school districts decreased focus on social studies and civics, according to a study by George Washington University's Center on Education Policy. By 2006, just 27 percent of 12th graders were proficient in civics and government, said the National Center for Education Statistics. In 2011, all federal funding for civics was eliminated. By 2012, only nine states tested students for basic civics understanding as a prerequisite for high school diplomas.
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/opinion/2017/12/21/oped-we-urgently-need-civics-education/968892001/
Toomey: Passage of tax bill 'a very big deal for me'
Post-Gazette by JONATHAN TAMARI Philadelphia Inquirer 5:26 PM DEC 21, 2017
WASHINGTON — This is why Sen. Pat Toomey came to Washington.
With the final passage of his party’s tax bill, the Pennsylvania Republican scored a landmark personal achievement -- sharply cutting taxes in the aim of spurring economic growth, a goal that has driven his work in public life. “This is a very big deal for me,” Mr. Toomey said in his Senate office Wednesday morning, wearing a crisp blue suit and pink tie. “I’ve wanted to do this for 20 years, and I’m really grateful to have this opportunity. This comes along less than once a generation.” Mr. Toomey had a front-line role on the controversial plan, helping to write it, sell it in public, and defend it on the Senate floor. It was the culmination of work he has pursued since joining the House in 1999, in leading the conservative Club for Growth, and in his seven years in the Senate. President Donald Trump called out Mr. Toomey at a White House celebration, saying, “He knows his business.” A former derivatives trader and owner of a small chain of sports bars near Allentown, Mr. Toomey made regular trips to White House talks and was one of four GOP senators charged with explaining the bill to colleagues at lunch meetings. When the first Senate version passed earlier this month, Mr. Toomey spent hours on the chamber’s floor, papers stacked on his desk as he jousted with Bernie Sanders, Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, and numerous other Democrats who arrived to criticize it.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2017/12/21/pat-Toomey-sen-pennsylvania-republican-passage-tax-bill/stories/201712210120?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1513895778
Casey criticizes GOP for prioritizing corporate tax breaks over children's health program
CHRIS POTTER Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cpotter@post-gazette.com 12:02 PM DEC 18, 2017
U.S. Senator Bob Casey came Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC with a tough diagnosis of the Republican Party: The party was so focused on its tax-cut plan that it was neglecting the health needs of children in struggling households. If the party was willing to expend so much effort giving "permanent tax breaks to corporations ... which will cost us over $1 trillion," he asked, "why can't you spend the time, Mr. Republican Party, getting the job done for children's health insurance?" The Republican-controlled Congress has yet to reauthorize funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, which nationwide covers roughly 9 million children. The program serves families that can't afford private insurance but make too much money to take advantage of government programs like Medicaid. But while it enjoys broad support in both parties, funding for the program lapsed in September.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2017/12/18/Bob-Casey-criticizes-GOP-Congress-corporate-tax-breaks-children-health-program-CHIP/stories/201712180112
Yes, there are high-poverty public schools that operate at a high level. Here’s how they succeed.
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss December 21 at 12:41 PM
The drive in modern school reform to severely disrupt traditional public education is underpinned by the notion that educators in traditional public schools in high-poverty areas don’t know what they are doing. No doubt, some of them don’t, but many do, and in this post, author Karin Chenoweth talks about some that are successful — even if policymakers aren’t interested in finding out how they do it. Chenoweth is writer-in-residence at the Education Trust, a national nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes high academic achievement for students at all levels, particularly for students of color and low-income students. She is also the author of the newly published “Schools that Succeed,” which profiles Artesia High School in Los Angeles; and the creator of a new podcast ExtraOrdinary Districts, which profiles the Chicago school district.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/12/21/yes-there-are-high-poverty-public-schools-that-operate-at-a-high-level-heres-how-they-succeed/?utm_term=.947460416650
Republican
Tax Plan Opens Backdoor To Federally-Supported School Vouchers
So while wealthy parents get a double dipping
effect on their tax savings from this 529 extension, the rest of us bear the
full tax burden of funding public schools for the vast majority of children.
Common Dreams By Jeff
Bryant December 21, 2017
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has insisted that
her lifelong support for school vouchers and other forms of school
privatization does not mean the Trump administration will “mandate” these “school
choice” policies, but her Republican friends in Congress put into their tax
plan new provisions that will have essentially the same impact as a
federally-supported school voucher program and will redirect millions of
dollars from public treasuries to private schools. Republicans and DeVos know that school
vouchers are
generally unpopular with voters and have been voted
down at the ballot box every time they’ve been attempted through
referendum. Betsy DeVos and her husband blew millions in funding an
attempt to pass a school vouchers measure in their home state of Michigan, only
to see it go down to defeat. Nevertheless, Congress, with
DeVos’s blessing, is ramping up federal support for vouchers, with
the only difference being, whereas vouchers distribute public education funds
directly to parents to pay for private schools, these new schemes bring K-12
school vouchers in through the backdoor by using the tax code.
Education Week December 20, 2017
Numbers can sometimes explain an issue better even
than words. The charts, graphs, maps, and visualizations below all feature data
that were released this year and convey some big takeaways about U.S. schools,
students, and teachers in 2017.
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 remaining
locations and dates (note: all sessions are held 8 a.m.-4 p.m., unless
specified otherwise.):
·
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.
Local School Board Members to Advocate on Capitol Hill in 2018
NSBA's Advocacy Institute 2018 entitled, "Elected. Engaged. Empowered: Representing the Voice in Public Education," will be held on February 4-6, 2018 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. This conference will convene Members of Congress, national thought-leaders, state association executives and well-known political pundits to provide local school board members with an update on key policy and legal issues impacting public education, and tactics and strategies to enhance their ability to influence the policy-making process and national education debate during their year-round advocacy efforts.
WHAT'S NEW - ADVOCACY INSTITUTE '18?
·
Confirmed
National Speaker: Cokie Roberts, Political Commentator for NPR and ABC News
·
NSBA
will convene first ever National School Board Town Hall on School Choice
·
Includes
General Sessions featuring national policy experts, Members of Congress,
"DC Insiders" and local school board members
·
Offers
conference attendees "Beginner" and "Advanced" Advocacy
breakout sessions
·
NSBA
will host a Hill Day Wrap-Up Reception
Click here to register for the Advocacy Institute. The
hotel block will close on Monday, January 15.
Registration is now open for the 2018 PASA Education Congress! State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018
Don't miss this marquee event for Pennsylvania school leaders at the Nittany Lion Inn, State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018.
Learn more by visiting http://www.pasa-net.org/2018edcongress
SAVE THE DATE for the 2018
PA Educational Leadership Summit - July 29-31 - State College, PA sponsored by
the PA Principals Association, PASA, PAMLE and PASCD.
This year's Summit will be held from July 29-31, 2018 at the Penn Stater
Conference Center Hotel, State College, PA.
Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization
that I may be affiliated with.
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