Thursday, May 28, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for May 28, 2020 Casino shutdown cuts by $300 million the statewide amount for homestead exemptions to provide relief from school taxes.


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PA Ed Policy Roundup for May 28, 2020

The U.S. death toll has reached 100,000.
Washington Post By Marc Fisher May 27, 2020
One hundred thousand Americans dead in less than four months.
It’s as if every person in Edison, N.J., or Kenosha, Wis., died. It’s half the population of Salt Lake City or Grand Rapids, Mich. It’s about 20 times the number of people killed in homicides in that length of time, about twice the number who die of strokes. The death toll from the coronavirus passed that hard-to-fathom marker on Wednesday, which slipped by like so many other days in this dark spring, one more spin of the Earth, one more headline in a numbing cascade of grim news. Nearly three months into the brunt of the epidemic, 14 percent of Americans say they know someone who has succumbed to the virus. These 100,000 are not nameless numbers, nor are they mostly famous people. They are, overwhelmingly, elderly — in some states, nearly two-thirds of the dead were 80 or older. They are disproportionately poor and black and Latino. Among the younger victims, many did work that allowed others to stay at home, out of the virus’s reach.

Blogger note: this budget tracking spreadsheet provides more detail than the one we published yesterday.
2020-21 Interim Budget State General Fund Appropriations
House Democratic Appropriations Committee May 26, 2020
This spreadsheet provides detail regarding General Fund Appropriations in House Bill 2387, Amendment A05886, State and Federal Appropriations.
Education Budget Lines on Pages 5 and 6

“In the Erie School District, the increase could be as much as $172 for each of the 17,294 property owners approved for homestead exemptions, according to the Erie School District and state records. Polito said an increase of $172 would be the equivalent of the district raising taxes by 11% for the owner of a home assessed at $100,000.”
Loss of gaming revenue threatens Erie taxpayers
GoErie By Ed Palattella @etnpalattella Posted at 12:03 AM
Erie School District Superintendent Brian Polito is asking the Erie School Board not to increase property taxes for 2020-21, but a tax hike of as much as $172 per household might be coming no matter what the board decides. The reason is a precipitous drop in statewide gaming revenue due to the pandemic. The casino shutdown has cut in half the proceeds that the state uses every year to fund the homestead exemption program, enacted in 2006 to provide relief from school taxes statewide. The loss in revenue means a lower amount for homestead and farmstead exemptions. Without intervention from Harrisburg, the drop would translate into larger school tax bills. The unanticipated hike would come as school districts are getting ready to pass their 2020-21 budgets by the June 30 deadline while they struggle with the loss of revenue from earned income taxes, property taxes and other sources as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. “It is very unfortunate,” Polito said in the potential drop in funding for homestead exemptions. “And bad timing.”

Schools relieved as Pa. budget poised to avoid education cuts, for now
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent May 27, 2020
It appears Pennsylvania’s public schools will get at least a one-year reprieve from any large-scale, state budget cuts. In a budget bill that squeaked through the State House on Tuesday, lawmakers decided to hold all major education spending even for the next twelve months. If that bill is ultimately signed, money for Pre-K, K-12, and state universities will be identical to what it was this year. That’s notable because most of the state budget will be revisited five months from now — after the election and after state officials have a better sense of the fiscal damage wrought by the coronavirus. But school boards, child care operators, and university presidents won’t have to worry about substantial state cuts until at least 2021. Mike Straub, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, said schools needed to know where they stood financially before the academic year began. The prospect of a cut in five months — during the middle of the school year — is something parents, teachers, and students “shouldn’t be faced with right now,” he said. Republicans who control the State Senate expect the proposal to clear their chamber, as well. “We wanted to be sure to send the message that education was important,” said Jennifer Kocher, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre). “We wanted to provide a little bit of stability.”

Math error in Harrisburg may raise school tax bills
LOWER POTTSGROVE — Despite the fact that the Pottsgrove School Board has adopted a budget that doesn't raise taxes, property taxes may go up anyway due to a screw up in Harrisburg. If the error turns out to be confirmed, it will affect all school property tax bills in Pennsylvania, not just in Pottsgrove. Business Manager David Nester informed the board that he is hearing there is an error made by the Pennsylvania budget secretary in calculating casino revenues. That funding provides tax relief by cutting the tax bill of every registered homestead and farmstead in the district by about $299, Nester said. Since the homestead exemption was first created as part of the Act 1 tax reform in 2006, the district has received a constant amount of $1.5 million. As happens every year, Nester said his office was notified May 1 that the revenues from casino gambling had been certified at $621 million. "Last week we were notified that the Pennsylvania budget secretary was going to re-certify the amount," Nester told the Pottsgrove School Board Tuesday night. "Now I'm hearing that it may be reduced by $300 million, which would mean we would lose about $770,000 and that works out to about $150 per house," Nester said. None of this has been confirmed yet, said Nester, observing, "I'm having a hard time believing they made a $300 million calculation error." "This information is moving fast and I think I'll be getting a day-by-day or even hour-by-hour update, he said. Unlike property taxes, the homestead exemption doles out tax relief equally among homesteads and farmsteads, no matter what the property assessment is.

Blogger note: as of yesterday, 246 of Pennsylvania’s 500 school boards have passed resolutions calling for charter school funding reform. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform. Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions of dollars to charter schools. The locally elected, volunteer school boards from the following districts have adopted resolutions calling for charter funding reform. 
Lehighton calls for charter school reform
Lehighton Times News BY JARRAD HEDES JMHEDES@TNONLINE.COM Published May 27. 2020 02:45PM
In one of many split votes during last week’s school board meeting, Lehighton Area School District joined hundreds of others across the state in adopting a resolution calling for charter school funding reform. The resolution, drafted by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, calls for state lawmakers to “meaningfully revise” charter school law, which has not been altered in 23 years. “The average Pennsylvania school district spends millions of dollars in taxpayer money annually in mandatory payments to brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools,” the resolution states. “These payments are calculated in a manner which requires districts to send more money to charter schools than is needed to operate their programs and places a significant financial burden on districts’ resources and taxpayers.” Lehighton board member Joy Beers urged her colleagues to vote against the resolution, calling it “anti-education reform.” “Charter schools do a lot of good, especially in urban areas for poor children and non-white children,” Beers said. “This would hurt that and take this away from children who don’t have other options.” Beers joined Dave Bradley and Gail Maholick in voting against the resolution, while Larry Stern, Rita Spinelli, Wayne Wentz, Stephen Holland and Nathan Foeller voted in favor of it. “This is not an attack on charter schools, it is attacking the funding model that is completely inadequate,” Stern said. “They are allowed to advertise and use public funds inappropriately instead of on their students.”

Reopening schools in the fall is ‘a puzzle to be put together’
Beaver County Times By J.D. Prose @jdprose Posted at 12:05 AM May 28, 2020
Local school district superintendents and administrators have an endless list of questions to address as they prepare for schools to reopen in the fall. With the Pennsylvania Department of Education planning on schools reopening to students in the fall, local districts are trying to figure out exactly how classes in the age of COVID-19 will work. “It’s certainly going to be a puzzle to be put together,” said Robert Postupac, the superintendent of both Western Beaver and Blackhawk school districts. Postupac said superintendents in the region will be meeting online with state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera within the next few weeks to discuss the myriad issues facing districts when it comes to welcoming back students. “We will be very interested in what the expectations will be and how we can work with the state to continue to provide our high-quality educational programs,” Postupac said. On May 12, Rivera told the Senate Education Committee, “We fully expect to come back to school in the fall,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which also reported that Rivera told lawmakers that his department would be providing more guidance to local officials in coming weeks to prepare for classes. The Education Department, Rivera said, would not require districts to reopen in any particular way, but, instead, would “allow school districts to choose from multiple strategies,” the Inquirer’s Maddie Hanna reported. Central Valley Superintendent Nick Perry said his Beaver County colleagues have been working collaboratively on the impact of COVID-19 on schools and now meet weekly.
POST-PANDEMIC POSSIBILITIES
Information may be a mouse-click away, but the ability to learn doesn’t always come with it. Educators will need to rethink how to teach future generations in a post-pandemic world. Earlier this month, the CDC issued guidelines for reopening schools this fall. They aren’t mandates, but recommendations for districts. The Pennsylvania Department of Education will ultimately have the final say.
• Face masks for all. The CDC recommends that students wear masks at school, though it’s understood that will be a challenge for younger students. Older students and staff are “most essential” in times where physical distancing is difficult.
• Brown bag lunches are strongly encouraged. The cafeteria line — and eating in a cafeteria — is likely to be banished, as schools are encouraged to serve a prepackaged lunch that can be eaten in a classroom.
• Desks are suggested to be 6 feet apart and facing the same way.
• One student per row on school buses, with an empty seat between students.
• Plastic barriers between sinks in school bathrooms, or between desks if they can’t be placed 6 feet apart.
• Small groups of students and teachers stay together all day, rather than moving from classroom to classroom.
Also, a statewide task force of eight education associations will be studying how districts can reopen safely in the fall. “We’re going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Perry said.

Is CDC guidance for schools feasible? Lancaster County educators say it raises more questions than answers
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer May 28, 2020
To reopen schools in the fall, Lancaster County school officials say they’ll need more than just a list of recommendations. Closed since mid-March because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, schools are expected to reopen in August. But with limited guidance, including a list of suggestions released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19, school officials here say they need more information to make the important decisions that lie ahead this summer. While it’s only June, time is running out for both the state and federal governments to issue more concrete reopening guidance, they say. “School districts need more than recommendations and need ample time to plan, prepare and communicate next steps to our community,” Hempfield School District Superintendent Mike Bromirski said. Last week, the CDC issued interim guidance including three steps: first, schools remain closed but offer online learning opportunities; second, schools reopen only to students who live in the local geographic areas and with enhanced social-distancing measures; and third, reopen with social-distancing measures but restrict attendance to those from "limited transmission areas." Those recommended measures include students, particularly older students, and staff wearing face masks when feasible, situating desks in the same direction and spacing them 6 feet apart, closing cafeterias and letting students eat in their classrooms, providing virtual learning and work options for students and staff who are more at risk of infection, and closing schools when someone tests positive for COVID-19.

Special needs children become the unintended victims of COVID-19
CBS21 by Talia Kirkland Wednesday, May 27th 2020
The state’s COVID-19 shutdown has hit families of special needs children hard: first schools were canceled, and then at-home therapy services discontinued. While telehealth services were provided, many parents stressed they are not effective for children with learning disabilities. For Wendy Hammaker’s daughter, Alexa, virtual school is nearly impossible, and daily therapy is essential, but since the onset of the pandemic she's received neither and now she pledging for help. “We just want the best for our kids and when you feel helpless, and when you feel like you can't give that it is the worse feeling for a parent," explained Hammaker. Hammaker wasn’t alone today as she delivered her letter to Governor Tom Wolf, detailing the challenges her non-verbal 10-year-old daughter is facing.

Pandemic creates funding crisis for Scranton schools, as leaders look at scenarios for fall
Scranton Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: MAY 28, 2020
Faced with a potential revenue loss of $6.4 million through the end of 2020, the Scranton School District must make drastic cuts as officials determine what education may look like this fall. During Wednesday’s Financial Recovery Advisory Committee meeting, leaders revealed a dire situation — one that could lead to job losses and major changes in how teachers deliver instruction. District leaders will continue to develop plans for students’ returns this fall, whether in a physical classroom or at home on a computer. As the coronavirus pandemic continues and guidelines evolve, scenarios include making Scranton High School an elementary center where younger students could have more space to safely spread out, while moving instruction for older students fully online. Or special education students may be the only students with in-person instruction. “The priority right now is to make sure our kids are safe,” Superintendent Melissa McTiernan said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever go back to that ‘normal’ everyone talks about.”

East Penn teachers, administrators take pay freeze to help district through coronavirus financial strain
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | MAY 27, 2020 | 8:54 PM
The teachers and administrators in East Penn School District opted to take a pay freeze next year to help the district cope with the financial strain of the coronavirus. District officials for weeks have been trying to shave about $6 million from next year’s budget. They anticipate less revenue than originally expected because of COVID-19-related job losses reducing the amount of taxes the district will receive. The pay freezes will save the district about $1.6 million, according to a presentation at a board meeting Tuesday. “We are incredibly fortunate to be part of an educational community in which our professional staff as well as our administrators truly have joined us as partners in education,” Superintendent Kristen Campbell said. “They care about the quality of the services they offer our students, and equally as important, they’re committed to preserving those high-quality programs through all means that are available.”

New Kensington-Arnold School Board proposes tax increase, warns of bleak financial future
Trib Live by BRIAN C. RITTMEYER   | Wednesday, May 27, 2020 1:35 p.m.
New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved a $37.9 million proposed final budget on Tuesday that includes a 3 mill increase in property taxes. The board went back and forth before the vote on whether to propose an increase of 2 or 3 mills, but opted for the higher increase to provide the cash-strapped district with more of a financial cushion. “We’re doing everything we possibly can to do what’s right for this (district) and get it right without taxing people out of their homes,” board member Bob Pallone said. “We’re in a tough spot here.” The proposed increase would raise the district’s tax rate to 88.27 mills. At that rate, the owner of a property assessed at $20,000 would owe $1,765 in taxes, or $60 more than this year. Superintendent John Pallone said administrators will meet with the teachers’ union leaders to discuss offering an early retirement incentive as a way to cut costs. He anticipates two or three positions could be eliminated through incentives.

Proposed Greensburg Salem budget cuts staff instead of raising taxes
Trib Live by JACOB TIERNEY   | Wednesday, May 27, 2020 9:24 p.m.
Greensburg Salem’s School District’s proposed budget would furlough two teachers and eliminate several positions through attrition to keep taxes flat while making up for the projected loss of revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The school board held a special meeting via videoconferencing service Zoom Wednesday after failing to agree on a budget proposal last week. The new proposal includes more cuts, and members approved it with a 6-3 vote. The proposed budget is not final — the board will vote one more time next month, and can make changes in the meantime. The proposal keeps all the cuts suggested last week, saving more than $500,000. These include eliminating the middle school and elementary school library positions, the elementary school band teacher, tech ed teacher and community liaison.

Philly teachers wary of opening schools without contact tracing and a vaccine
More than 6,000 teachers participated in the PFT survey. They expressed worries that it would be nearly impossible to enforce social distancing or teach with masks on.
The notebook by Dale Mezzacappa May 27 — 9:42 am, 2020
Most Philadelphia teachers don’t think school buildings should open in September until the infrastructure exists to test, trace, and isolate new cases of COVID-19, according to a survey by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and four out of five respondents are strongly in favor of limiting enrollment based on physical space in classrooms. More than half said they are “extremely concerned” about opening schools before there is a vaccine. Nearly all are at least “very concerned” about the School District’s ability to properly prepare its buildings for reopening and to maintain safe and sanitary conditions. More than 90% say it is crucial for the union to be heavily involved in developing and carrying out any reopening plan. The PFT survey was conducted between May 12 and May 18, with more than 6,300 members responding. “It is clear from reading the results that our membership is, rightfully, deeply concerned about the health and safety of their students, themselves, and their families,” said PFT president Jerry Jordan in a statement. He said the results provide “important starting points” for any safety protocols that will be necessary before schools can reopen.

School districts use a variety of tactics to keep learning on track
Educators say districts should seize the opportunity to create a new, better system for students and families.
The notebook by Connie Langland May 27 — 8:35 am, 2020
In Los Angeles, the plan is to offer summer courses to any student who wants to sign up. In Austin, more than 100 school buses with WiFi capabilities were deployed to apartment complexes and neighborhoods with clusters of families lacking internet access. Charlotte-Mecklesburg and San Francisco, among other districts, opted to keep learning nondigital for children in the early grades, instead sending home printed materials. And multiple districts began partnering with local television stations to offer educational programming. In recent weeks, urban districts responding to the COVID-19 crisis scrambled to salvage the school year and at the same time began imagining how to serve students across typically dormant summer months and into the fall. Adaptability seemed to be the mantra as the spring semester limped to a close, and school leaders began mulling options for delivering instruction in – or out – of school come fall. “We have to have a recovery plan for education,” Eric Gordon, chief executive for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, told the Washington Post. “I’m really worried that people think schools and colleges just flipped to digital and everything’s fine and we can just return to normal. That’s simply not the case.” All districts were focused on keeping students engaged with their teachers, schools, and academics. But educators debated what should be expected of students and how to track their participation and evaluate the work they produced.  Multiple districts, including Philadelphia, adopted a “do no harm” approach to grading. 

PSBA seeks to fill PIAA District representative vacancies
POSTED ON MAY 27, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS
PSBA seeks members who are interested in serving on Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Districts 4 and 7 (see map) for the current term that began on July 1, 2019. The appointment will be effective upon the PSBA Board of Directors' approval and run through June 30, 2021. The PIAA Board of Directors established procedures for appointing or reappointing local school directors to serve on the 12 district committees of the PIAA who, in turn, provide for the governance of scholastic athletics in their various geographic regions. PIAA Bylaws require that a school board representative for each PIAA committee be appointed by the PSBA Board of Directors. The representatives are full voting members of their respective district committees. School directors can click here to submit a Statement of Interest form. The form must be submitted/received at PSBA no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 5. Please contact Sherri Houck at (717) 590-5624 with any questions. 

A Looming Financial Meltdown For America's Schools
NPR by CORY TURNER Heard on Morning Edition May 26, 20205:00 AM ET
Austin Beutner looked haggard, his face a curtain of worry lines. The superintendent of the second-largest school district in the nation sat at a desk last week delivering a video address to Los Angeles families. But he began with a stark message clearly meant for another audience: Lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. "Cuts to funding at schools will forever impact the lives of children," Beutner said less than a week after California's governor called for emergency cuts in education spending. The harm children face from these cuts, Beutner warned, "is just as real a threat to them as is the coronavirus." Similar alarms are sounding in districts across the country. With the nation's attention still fixed on the COVID-19 health crisis, school leaders are warning of a financial meltdown that could devastate many districts and set back an entire generation of students. "I think we're about to see a school funding crisis unlike anything we have ever seen in modern history," warns Rebecca Sibilia, the CEO of EdBuild, a school finance advocacy organization. "We are looking at devastation that we could not have imagined ... a year ago."

How The Science Of Vaccination Is Taught (Or Not) In U.S. Schools
As scientists race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, teachers say teaching about the issue has become increasingly tricky
Huffington Post By Rebecca Klein and Caroline Preston 05/23/2020 08:00 am
This story about climate change and education was produced as part of the nine-part series “Are We Ready? How Schools Are Preparing — and Not Preparing — Children for Climate Change,” reported by HuffPost and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
When Rebecca Brewer started teaching high school biology 20 years ago, it seemed like everyone trusted science. Teaching topics like the science of vaccinations elicited little controversy. But in the past few years, she’s seen a shift. Now, every year, she reliably has a few students who push back against the topic.  “Their parents’ opinions make their way into the classroom,” said Brewer, who teaches in Troy, Michigan. “Of course, some students will bring up the idea they’ve heard that there’s a connection between vaccinations and autism.” The issue, teachers said, feels not only especially urgent now but also comes with increasingly high stakes: In a recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll, nearly 20%t of respondents said they wouldn’t get a coronavirus vaccine if and when it becomes available. It’s an attitude that some teachers said is reflected in their classrooms, passed down to students from their parents at early ages.

DeVos Demands Public Schools Share Pandemic Aid With Private Institutions
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she will force public school superintendents to share coronavirus rescue funds with private schools, some of which are facing ruin.
New York Times By Erica L. Green May 27, 2020Updated 4:29 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, defiant amid criticism that she is using the coronavirus to pursue a long-sought agenda, said she would force public school districts to spend a large portion of federal rescue funding on private school students, regardless of income. Ms. DeVos announced the measure in a letter to the Council of Chief State School Officers, which represents state education chiefs, defending her position on how education funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, should be spent. “The CARES Act is a special, pandemic-related appropriation to benefit all American students, teachers and families,” she wrote in the letter on Friday. “There is nothing in the act suggesting Congress intended to discriminate between children based on public or nonpublic school attendance, as you seem to do. The virus affects everyone.” A range of education officials say Ms. DeVos’s guidance would divert millions of dollars from disadvantaged students and force districts starved of tax revenues during an economic crisis to support even the wealthiest private schools. The association representing the nation’s schools superintendents told districts to ignore the guidance, and at least two states — Indiana and Maine — said they would.

Pa. House Democrats say keeping GOP colleague’s exposure to COVID-19 private is ‘unacceptable’
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Posted May 27, 2020
House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody said he and other House members were shocked to learn that Republican Rep. Andrew Lewis found out he tested positive for COVID-19 on May 20 and they only learned about it on Wednesday. Lewis, 33, said he has completed his 14-day self-isolation dating to the time when the Dauphin County Republican believes he may have been exposed. He said he is now fully recovered from the mild flu-like symptoms he experienced from the coronavirus. “While we are pleased to learn that this House member seems to have recovered, it is simply unacceptable that some House Republicans knew about this for more than a week and sat on that knowledge,” said Dermody of Allegheny County. He said more than a week ago, with several other colleagues self-quarantining this week, no notice was provided to the people working closely with them at the Capitol. “Knowing how House members and staff work closely together at the Capitol, we should have been made aware of this much sooner. We should not have learned of it from a media report,” Dermody said. Two of those self-quarantining are Reps. Russ Diamond and Frank Ryan, both Lebanon County Republicans who regularly have attended House sessions in person rather than voting by proxy as temporary House rules permit.

Pa. House Democrats say they were in the dark for a week about Republican’s positive coronavirus test
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Julia Terruso of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Updated: May 27, 2020- 6:23 PM
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — A Republican state lawmaker from Central Pennsylvania confirmed Wednesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month, leading at least one of his House colleagues to self-quarantine. The admission immediately ignited outrage among Democrats in the chamber, who said they were recklessly left in the dark for nearly a week about the lawmaker’s condition. State Rep. Andrew Lewis (R., Dauphin) said in a statement that he received a positive COVID-19 result on May 20 and immediately began self-isolation. He said he informed House officials after he received the result, and that they have worked to identify anyone with whom he may have come into contact. Lewis said he was last in the Capitol on May 14.
One of Lewis’ House colleagues, Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Lebanon), confirmed he was contacted and asked to self-quarantine — although several Democrats said two other Republican lawmakers were also told to stay home for 14 days.


Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding reform
In this legislative session, PSBA has been leading the charge with the Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor’s Administration to push for positive charter reform. We’re now asking you to join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re asking all school boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school funding reform at your next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and to PSBA.

Over 245 PA school boards adopt charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be a concern as over 245 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform. Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions of dollars to charter schools.

Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:

The Network for Public Education Action Conference has been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel


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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