Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
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administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition
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leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders,
faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
SB2 ESA Vouchers could take $500 million from Pennsylvania
public schools, which educate 90% of our kids, and give it to unaccountable
private and religious schools. Voucher bill SB2 is anticipated to move out of
the Senate Ed Committee as soon as next week.
Estimated per student amount of proposed ESA vouchers:
$5,770 per regular education student
$8,714 per Category 1 special education student
$21,756 per Category 2 special education student
$43,051 Category 3
special education student
Even though vouchers are funded with public money,
when a parent switches their child from public to private school, they waive
crucial special education rights granted to them under federal law.
Contact your state senator here:
Contact your state representatives here:
GIVE KIDS A SMILE 1-17-18 Update: WE'RE SO CLOSE. 80 people over
the next 5 days would get us to our funding goal! Help make free dental
care for kids in need possible by making a donation today.
Pa.
Supreme Court considers ordering new congressional map before 2018 elections
Inquirer by Liz Navratil, HARRISBURG
BUREAU Updated: JANUARY 17, 2018 — 5:50 PM EST
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Supreme Court
justices on Wednesday interrogated lawyers defending the way the state’s
congressional districts were drawn, a map opponents have challenged as
illegally shaped to benefit Republicans, who hold a majority of its seats in
the U.S. House. Based on the tenor of their questions, a majority of the court,
which has five Democrats and two Republicans, appeared open to the argument that
Pennsylvania’s congressional districts are illegally gerrymandered. A group of
Democratic voters has asked the court to overturn the map and order a new one
drawn before the 2018 elections, in one of several such lawsuits nationwide. The
justices, while acknowledging that politics played a role in the
boundary-drawing, must decide whether those political concerns crossed the line
and deprived Democratic voters of their constitutional rights. “A test has, I
think, eluded every court that has tried to grapple with this,” Justice Max
Baer, who ran as a Democrat, said at one point during the 2½-hour hearing. Over
and over, justices asked attorneys for the 18 Democratic voters who brought the
suit and the leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature what the test
should be.
Pa.
Supreme Court takes on Pennsylvania's Congressional maps case
Penn Live By Charles Thompson cthompson@pennlive.com Updated Jan
17, 9:26 PM; Posted Jan 17, 3:46 PM
Members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court didn't
bother concealing their split views over the state's current map of U.S. House
districts in the climax of a key redistricting case Wednesday. But loving or hating that map was really beside the
point in Wednesday's two-and-a-half hours of argument at the State Capitol. The
real key, both for the grassroots activists who are battling the status quo and
the legislative leaders seeking to defend it, is whether the court can reach a
consensus that the map's skewed lines violate state constitutional guarantees
to free speech, and free and fair elections. Petitioners seeking new districts
for this year's election cycle - initially including the state League of Women
Voters and 18 Democratic voters - argued it's time for the court to set a
standard that permits political considerations in redistricting, but only so
long as they don't obliterate all other standards like contiguity and
preserving communities of interest.
Pennsylvania
Supreme Court hears congressional gerrymandering case
Morning Call by Steve Esack Contact Reporter January 17, 2018
For three straight election cycles, Republicans have
won more than two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional seats. Now, in a
closely watched gerrymandering lawsuit, it’s up to the Democrat-majority state
Supreme Court to determine if those outcomes were the result of voters’
preferences or pre-determined by GOP map-making so partisan it violated the
state constitution. The justices voiced concern about going farther than
other courts to prohibit partisanship, and pressed lawyers about where the line
might be drawn between fair partisanship and constitutional violations. “A test
has eluded every court that's grappled with it,” said Justice Max Baer, one of
five Democrats on the elected, seven-person court. The justices could
dramatically redraw the state's political landscape months before the scheduled
primary and make changes to the coming year's election calendar. They also
could follow a lower court's recommendation last month and uphold the map, or
they could delay implementation of any changes until 2020.
Justices
ponder throwing out Pennsylvania congressional map
AP State Wire by Mark Scolforo January 17, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court
may soon decide how much partisan gerrymandering is too much, at least in terms
of the state constitution. A challenge by Democratic voters to Pennsylvania’s
Republican-crafted 2011 congressional district map landed before the state
Supreme Court on Wednesday, with a ruling expected in the coming weeks. The map
includes a suburban Philadelphia district that has been compared to one Disney
cartoon character kicking another, a district that at times is as narrow as a
single building. The result has been a durable 13-5 GOP advantage over three
election cycles despite a large Democratic voter registration edge and
Democrats holding the governorship and three row offices. The justices voiced
concern about going farther than other courts to prohibit partisanship, and
pressed lawyers about where the line might be drawn between fair partisanship
and constitutional violations. “A test has eluded every court that’s grappled
with it,” said Justice Max Baer, one of five Democrats on the elected,
seven-person court. The justices could dramatically redraw the state’s political
landscape months before the scheduled primary and make changes to the coming
year’s election calendar. They also could follow a lower court’s recommendation last month
and uphold the map, or they could delay implementation of any changes until
2020.
UPDATE: PA. SUPREME COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENT IN
REDISTRICTING LAWSUIT
Public Interest Law Center Website January 17,
2018On January 17, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held oral argument in Pennsylvania’s political redistricting lawsuit, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania et al., v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. More than 150 people attended, filling the Supreme Court courtroom and an overflow room. The seven justices were very engaged in the argument, which lasted for almost three hours. The petitioners in the case – the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and 18 voters, one from each congressional district – are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to rule the 2011 U.S. Congressional map unconstitutional and order it be redrawn. The Court showed interest in possible standards for determining when partisanship and intent to discriminate against voters go too far and violate the constitution. “Today we heard the legislative respondents admit that the mapmakers identified Democratic voters and deliberately sorted them in particular districts to mute their voice in the political process,” said David Gersch, Senior Counsel with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. Mr. Gersch argued first, on behalf of the petitioners. “This historically extreme partisan gerrymander violates Pennsylvania’s Constitution, and Commonwealth voters should not have to endure one more election under a discriminatory and unconstitutional map.”
“A report released Wednesday by Pre-K
for PA said that only 36 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania receive
high quality, publicly funded pre-K. That means 112,900 children are not
getting it, the report said.”
Former
governors Rendell, Schweiker urge more funding for pre-kindergarten
Intelligencer By Chris English Posted
Jan 17, 2018 at 5:30 PM Updated
Jan 17, 2018 at 7:26 PM
The two former Pennsylvania chief executives spoke
during a press conference at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit in Doylestown
Township. Former Pennsylvania governors Ed Rendell and Mark Schweiker lent
their voices to the call for more state funding for quality pre-kindergarten
during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Bucks County Intermediate
Unit in Doylestown Township. During the event organized by the Pennsylvania
Partnerships for Children and Pre-K for PA, both Rendell and
Schweiker said they placed high priorities on pre-K spending during their
administrations but were often thwarted by their legislatures. The
administration of Gov. Tom Wolf is making good progress, both former governors
said. In 2017-18, state funding for pre-K is $226 million — a $30 million
increase from last fiscal year and a $90 million hike over the last three
years, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children President and CEO Joan Benso
said. But more needs to be done, Rendell and Schweiker said. “The private
sector has stepped up to make contributions to pre-K, but it’s not the private
sector’s job,” Rendell said. “The education of our children is one of the core
responsibilities of state government. There should not be one child in
Pennsylvania not receiving a high quality pre-K education. Our children do
better if we lay a foundation of pre-K education and full-day kindergarten.”
“Chairmen of the House and Senate
education committees also expressed
disappointment in the plan for that and other reasons. They
communicated their dissatisfaction to the federal department, which is why when
Senate Education Committee Chairman John Eichelberger, R-Blair County, heard it
had been approved, said, "I'm not happy about it."
Feds
approve Pa.'s education plan despite state lawmakers' disappointment with it
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Jan
17, 3:57 PM; Posted Jan 17, 12:01 PM
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has put
a stamp of approval on Pennsylvania's
blueprint for improving education over the next 13 years and complying with the
requirements of the No Child Left Behind successor law. Gov. Tom Wolf announced
the approval of the state's plan to
comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act on Wednesday and
hailed it as a "historic moment for public education in the
commonwealth." The plan calls for cutting the length of the
state exams given to third-
through eighth-graders later and delaying the
administration of those tests until later in the school year, increasing
graduation rates, reducing chronic absenteeism, and emphasizing academic growth
and assessing postsecondary readiness. It also includes changing the school
report card to use a dashboard approach to display a school's performance on a
variety of indicators.
Philly school
board nominating panel getting down to work
The first meeting, on Friday morning, is open
to the public.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa and Greg Windle January
17, 2018 — 7:00pm
The 13-member nominating panel charged with
proposing candidates for the new Board of Education will start its work Friday
morning, convening in City Hall for a session that is open to the public. Chosen
by Mayor Kenney, the members of the group range from parents and
educators to members of the Chamber of Commerce, the head of the local
AFL-CIO, and several nonprofit directors. Some are affiliated with charter
school advocacy groups, have been on charter boards, or have worked for charter
organizations. About a third of the students in the city now attend charter
schools, each of which has its own board but all of which are authorized by the
District’s governing body. The City Charter specifies that the nominating
panel must include representatives from various sectors, including labor,
business, and higher education. The panel is charged with providing Kenney with
27 names by the end of February, from which he will choose nine people to serve
on the school board. It will begin governing the District on July 1 after
16 years of state control through the School Reform Commission.
What's at
stake as first day of new Philly school board begins | Editorial
by The Inquirer Editorial Board Updated: JANUARY
17, 2018 — 6:13 PM EST
When Mayor Kenney took the bold step to dissolve the
School Reform Commission in favor of a locally appointed school board, he told
City Council last Nov. 2 that he was accepting “accountability” going forward for
the Philadelphia School District. The importance of that step can’t be
underestimated. He also made clear that in having the city take responsibility
for the district’s deficit, we’ll all be accountable, since we’re all going to
pay for it. That process takes a big step Friday at the first meeting of a
13-member panel Kenney named
Wednesday to recommend nominees for the Philadelphia
Board of Education, which will return July 1 after a 16-year hiatus to take
control from the SRC. There is much at stake here — the education of more than
200,000 children, a $1 billion deficit over the next five years, and a planned
pitch from Kenney in March for more city taxes to pay for it all.
B-A School
Board recommends not raising taxes
Altoona Mirror by WALT FRANK Staff Writer wfrank@altoonamirror.com
JAN 18, 2018
BELLWOOD — Bellwood-Antis School District
Superintendent Thomas McInroy has good news for district taxpayers. “It will
be our recommendation not to raise taxes for the next year. We are doing well,” McInroy
said at Tuesday’s school board meeting. In December, board members approved a
resolution to certify that the district would not increase any school district
tax for the 2018-19 school year at a rate that exceeds the index of 3.4 percent
as calculated by the state Department of Education. Kimberly VanGorder,
business manager and board secretary, said that meant the highest the board
could increase taxes would be 0.31 mills. Board members Tuesday received their
annual audit report Tuesday from Young, Oakes, Brown and Co. “We had a clean
audit,” VanGorder said. This would mark the second consecutive year
for board members to hold the line on taxes after increasing the real estate
tax in 11 of the previous 12 years. “Now that our audit has no findings, we
feel we can do it with the existing money that we have. When I came here, I
made a promise to leave no stone unturned. The administration and staff have
been very good at being responsible. We have streamlined how we do business and
how we manage our resources,” said McInroy, who arrived at
Bellwood-Antis in October 2014.
Teachers receive 3.2 percent average pay raise under
Donegal's new collective bargaining agreement
Lancaster Online ALEX GELI | Staff Writer and NICOLE MATTHEWS | LNP
Correspondent January 18, 2018
Teachers in the Donegal School District will receive an average salary hike of 3.2
percent under a new collective bargaining agreement approved last week. The
four-year contract was unanimously approved by the school board on Jan. 11
after four months of negotiations between school district officials and the
Donegal Education Association. It takes effect July 1. “When you think of
negotiations, sometimes you think of tenuous, difficult fighting, those types
of things,” Donegal Superintendent Michael Lausch said. “It truly was not that.
It was cordial, respectful and we appreciated the process.” Under the new
contract, the annual pay scale for teachers in the 2018-19 school year ranges
from $50,114 to $87,494, depending on years of experience and level of
education. By 2021, that range would expand to $50,974 to $91,638,
respectively. In addition to salary increases, teachers gained an
additional professional development day, increasing staff contractual days to
190. Some changes were also made to health care under the new agreement.
Employees gained a wellness plan and family vision coverage. However,
deductibles, copays and spousal contributions will all increase.
Larry
Wittig, ousted as state education honcho over sexual misconduct claims, still
in charge in Tamaqua
Inquirer by Tricia L. Nadolny, Staff
Writer @TriciaNadolny | tnadolny@phillynews.com Updated: JANUARY
17, 2018 — 1:26 PM EST
TAMAQUA, Pa. — Within 24 hours of being accused of
past sexual misconduct, Larry Wittig resigned as
president of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education,
was removed from the president’s leadership council at Drexel University, and
was asked to give up his seat on the board of trustees at Philadelphia
University-Thomas Jefferson University. But in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County,
where Wittig has been president of the school board for 23 years, it is
business as usual. At a Tuesday night board meeting presided over by Wittig,
there was no discussion from board members or the public of the women who say
Wittig pursued sexual relationships with them when they were teens and he was
their coach. After adjourning the meeting, Wittig said no one has asked him to
resign, and he has no plans to. “Absolutely not,” a visibly agitated Wittig
said. “And that’s it. End of conversation.”
Surprise
Democratic winner of Wisconsin special election is a school board member
Washington Post Answer
Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss January 17 at
5:36 PM
News reports of
Democrat Patty Schachtner’s surprise special election win against a Republican
for a state Senate seat in Wisconsin’s rural 10th District have said this:
·
She won big in a county that elected Donald
Trump as president by 17 points last year.
·
The victory is a huge “wakeup” call to Republicans,
according to Gov. Scott Walker, a conservative Republican.
·
She is the St. Croix County medical examiner.
Here’s what they don’t say: She is a former member
of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters’ Association, a gun-safety advocate, and a member
of the Board of Education in the School District of Somerset who talked about
public education while she was campaigning. In fact, the issue of public
education is front and center to Schachtner, and local issues were what helped
her win the election, commentators said. An interest in education issues could
affect elections later this year in a state where public education advocates
have accused the Walker administration of cutting K-12 funding (even though Walker says he is spending more than
ever in the state), stripping teachers of collective bargaining
rights and attempting to change the long-standing mission of the University of
Wisconsin system.
Trump to
Pennsylvania, but don’t call it a campaign trip
AP State Wire by Bill Barrow January 18, 2018
President Donald Trump is tiptoeing around
the first congressional election of the new year as he heads to southwestern
Pennsylvania on Thursday to hail the Republican tax cuts he signed last year. Trump
will appear with the Republican nominee for a Pittsburgh-area House seat. But
the White House said Trump won’t mention Rick Saccone in his remarks. And the
event isn’t actually in the 18th Congressional District, which holds the
special election March 13. Democrats, meanwhile, aren’t necessarily any more
confident in the chances that lawyer and former Marine Conor Lamb can flip the
district to their side. The handling of the race shows both sides’ reluctance
to put too much emphasis on one contest amid the high stakes of this midterm
election year. Saccone, a, 59-year-old state lawmaker, is trying to
succeed Tim Murphy, who resigned after admitting to an extramarital
affair. Lamb, 33, is looking for an upset in a union-heavy district Trump won
by almost 20 points and where Murphy never got less than 58 percent of the vote
in eight tries. It’s not surprising that Trump, looking for wins after the embarrassment
of losing a Senate seat last month in conservative Alabama, might embrace a
favored Republican in Trump-friendly territory.
Betsy
DeVos: Nothing Presidents Barack Obama or George W. Bush did in education
reform really worked
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss January 16, 2018
at 5:09 PM
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos delivered her first
speech of 2018 and flatly declared that school reform efforts under Presidents
Barack Obama and George W. Bush had not worked — nor had any other reform
effort by any education secretary. She also said the establishment of the
Education Department by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 was essentially a “giant
nod to union bosses.” DeVos gave a keynote address at the American Enterprise
Institute’s conference titled “Bush-Obama School Reform: Lessons Learned,” and
then answered questions from Rick Hess, resident scholar and director of
Education Policy Studies at the conservative think tank. Here are some things
she said — and didn’t say — in her speech and in her conversation with Hess,
followed by the text of the speech:
Register now for PSBA Board Presidents Panel
PSBA Website January 2018
School board leaders, this one's for you! Join your colleagues at an evening of networking and learning in 10 convenient locations around the state at the end of January. Share your experience and leadership through a panel discussion moderated by PSBA Member Services team. Participate in roundtable conversations focused on the most pressing challenges and current issues affecting PA school districts. Bring your specific challenges and scenarios for small group discussion. Register online.
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 15PSBA Closer Look Series Public Briefings
The Closer Look Series Public Briefings will take a deeper dive into concepts contained in the proposed Pennsylvania State Budget and the State of Education Report. Sessions will harness the expertise of local business leaders, education advocates, government and local school leaders from across the state. Learn more about the fiscal health of schools, how workforce development and early education can be improved and what local schools are doing to improve the State of Education in Pennsylvania. All sessions are free and open to the public.
Connecting Student Success to Employment
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel – Pittsburgh Green Tree Feb. 27, 2018, 7-8:45 a.m.
More than eight out of 10 students taking one or more industry-specific assessments are achieving either at the competent or advanced level. How do we connect student success to jobs in the community? What does the connection between schools and the business community look like and how can it be improved? How do we increase public awareness of the growing demand for workers in the skilled trades and other employment trends in the commonwealth? Hear John Callahan, PSBA assistant executive director, and Matt Smith, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, give a free, public presentation on these topics followed by a Q&A period.
A Deeper Dive into the State of Education
Crowne Plaza Philadelphia – King of Prussia March 6, 2018, 7-8:45 a.m.
In the State of Education Report, 40% of schools stated that 16% to 30% of students joining schools at kindergarten or first grade are below the expected level of school readiness. Learn more about the impact of early education and what local schools are doing to improve the State of Education in Pennsylvania. A free, public presentation by local and legislative experts will be followed by a Q&A period.
Public Education Under Extreme Pressure
Hilton Harrisburg March 12, 2018, 7-8:45 a.m.
According to the State of Education Report, 84% of all school districts viewed budget pressures as the most difficult area to manage over the past year. With so many choices and pressures, school districts must make decisions to invest in priorities while managing their locally diverse budgets. How does the state budget impact these decisions? What investments does the business community need for the future growth of the economy and how do we improve the health, education and well-being of students who attend public schools in the commonwealth in this extreme environment? Hear local and legislative leaders in a free, public presentation on these topics followed by a Q&A period.
Registration for these public briefings: https://www.psba.org/2018/01/closer-look-series-public-briefings/
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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