Monday, June 22, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 22, 2020: Reopening – 10 Weeks Until School Starts


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PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 22, 2020
Reopening – 10 Weeks Until School Starts
   

Wonder where some of that cyber charter tuition goes?
Morningstar: K12 Inc. Executive Compensation 2015-2019

  
Your View by Bethlehem school superintendent: How we will teach students to be ‘anti-racist’
By JOSEPH ROY THE MORNING CALL | JUN 19, 2020 | 9:00 AM
When we talk about racism, we tend to avoid actually using the word race. This is a perfect example of the advantages and power of primarily White leaders to choose the words we use. We talk about training for multicultural awareness, tolerance, diversity, equity, inclusion ― but we avoid the words race and racism. We ended this sad legacy in the Bethlehem Area School District last August, when I challenged our teachers to be “anti-racists” and not just “not racist.” Anti-racists actively look for and work to end policies and practices that have a disparate impact on black and Latino people. “Not racist” implies a bystander approach to racism. Anti-racism requires us to do something. BASD is involved in powerful anti-racist work in early literacy, closing racial opportunity gaps and moving black and Latino students to higher levels of reading proficiency. Early reading proficiency is highly correlated with high school and college graduation and more successful life outcomes.

We can’t address racial injustice in Pa. without fixing our unfair public school funding system | Opinion
By Jordan Harris, Matt Bradford, and Frank Dermody  Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor June 19, 2020
State Rep. Jordan Harris, of Philadelphia, is the Democratic whip in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Rep. Matthew Bradford, of Montgomery County, is the ranking Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Frank Dermody, of Allegheny County, is the Democratic floor leader in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
For the last three weeks, many in our country have had their consciousness awakened to long-standing fundamental inequities disproportionately impacting communities and people of color. In the wake of the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, and in the midst of a global pandemic, we have all been called to acknowledge and confront systemic racism. In Pennsylvania, the Legislative Black Caucus courageously advanced the policy conversation by demanding votes on languished police reforms, but the conversation cannot end there. We must have an open and honest conversation to address the racial and socioeconomic inequities and injustices in our public school system. It has been more than 66 years since the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, based upon the belief that separate schools provided for unequal access to education and opportunity. Despite this ruling, racial and economic segregation persist in public education throughout the nation. Pennsylvania is no exception.

“The shape and form of instruction when schools reopen in the fall is one of the greatest unknowns school districts are facing in preparing for next year,” said Dr. Art Levinowitz, an Upper Dublin School District board member and president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
Districts expect higher costs when schools reopen
Altoona Mirror by ROBERT SWIFT JUN 20, 2020
HARRISBURG — Local educators told a House committee Wednesday they will be dealing with unknowns, the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher operating costs as they reopen schools this fall. The Education Committee heard testimony from educators representing both public schools and non-public schools about the efforts underway to start the 2020-2021 academic year. The meeting came two weeks after the state Education Department announced that elementary and secondary public schools in Pennsylvania can reopen starting July 1 provided they have health and safety plans in place. The plans are to address issues ranging from social distancing, wearing masks, protecting high-risk students and employees and restricting large assemblies. Schools have been closed since Gov. Tom Wolf declared a statewide disaster emergency in early March, although some have provided remote learning to students. House Education Committee Majority Chairman Curt Sonney, R-Erie, plans a second meeting to hear from more educators. The educators asked lawmakers for specific types of assistance and warned of higher costs as schools implement hybrid weekly schedules split between in-person classes andinternet learning, change pupil transportation arrangements and bridge a “digital divide” in internet access available to students. The $25.1 billion stopgap state budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21 adopted earlier this month provides level state funding for secondary and higher education.

Readers React: Schools will need more federal money
THE MORNING CALL | Letter by David J. Hein JUN 21, 2020 | 8:30 AM
The writer is vice president of Parkland School Board and vice president of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Governing Board.
An article, “School budget deadlines are looming. Here’s what Lehigh Valley school districts are proposing, including tax hikes, in wake of coronavirus” (June 8), outlines the way school districts in the area are dealing with financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, districts state-wide are dealing with these challenges as they finalize their budgets. The article outlines how revenue shortfalls and cost increases are forcing districts to put projects on hold, enact pay freezes, leave open positions unfilled, cut technology and curriculum budgets, and furlough teachers and staff. Pennsylvania’s school districts are projected to lose up to $1 billion in local revenue for the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19. Getting students through this crisis will be a struggle. Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a budget that protects schools from state funding cuts, but that will not address the local funding shortfall. That’s why Congress needs to provide additional money to local schools. Especially now, it is critical that we support public school students. Congress has the power to provide more certainty to districts for next school year by allocating them more federal dollars.

Coronavirus changed everything for Class of 2020
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: June 21, 2020- 5:00 AM
They are a class unlike any other: high school seniors coming of age during a pandemic, against a backdrop of a clamor for racial justice and a recalibration of the way the world works. Whether they attend public school or private, come from the city or the suburbs, the members of the Class of 2020 have been forged by circumstances they never could have imagined. Here are some of their stories, their hopes, their dreams, and the lessons they have taken from a most unusual senior year:

Ten Weeks Until School Starts—What Now?
Education Week By Rick Hess on June 16, 2020 9:00 AM
More than a few school leaders are publicly insisting that, absent a huge new influx of federal dollars, they can't afford to open schools. A fifth of teachers are saying they won't go back in the fall, and plenty more are expressing discomfort. A sizable number of parents currently say they don't want to send kids back to school until there's a vaccine. In short, it seems like there's a vocal, influential constituency inclined to justify continued school closures in the fall.  At the same time, for those of us who believe that education matters, this spring's remote learning experiment was a mess—a shoddy stopgap that addressed, at best, a piece of what we want schools to do. Even worse, it wasn't clear that things got a lot better over time. The Center for Reinventing Public Education has looked at 477 school districts and reports that just 1 in 3 expected all teachers to deliver instruction and that less than half communicated an expectation that teachers would either take attendance or check in with students regularly. My AEI colleague Nat Malkus tracked a national sample of hundreds of districts and found that, even as the school year ground to an end, less than half of districts offered even a little bit of real-time instruction. For most of the rest, "remote instruction" meant some combination of websites with links, downloadable worksheets, and canned resources. Education Week has reported that teachers say more than 1 in 5 students went absent without a trace when schools closed. And parents report that kids' work is less rigorous and that there seems to be less of it.
So, where does that leave us?

Pennsylvania School Reopening Task Force Report June 18, 2020
This report represents a compilation of insights and considerations from the following organizations: the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA), the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU), the PA Principals Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Career & Technical Administrators (PACTA) and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS). Knowing the magnitude of the work ahead as school leaders, educators and administration plan for the 2020-21 academic year, these eight public education associations came together as the 2020 Back to School Task Force to generate considerations and information in support of their decision-making.

Berks County IU, superintendents create 'roadmap' for school re-entry
WFMZ by Jim Vasil June 18, 2020
MUHLENBERG TWP., Pa. - Like the rest of us, the Berks County Intermediate Unit doesn't have all the answers on what life will be like for Berks County's 70,000 students when they eventually return to the classroom. "We have to be flexible. We have to adapt," said Jill Hackman, the BCIU's executive director. "We know we're going to learn more information." But the agency has created, what you might call, a study guide on how each department inside each school should prepare. It's called the "Workplace Readiness Essentials Roadmap." "It will be customized by each of the school districts based on feedback from their stakeholders, which will include parents, students, community members, and ultimately, their plan will be approved by their board of directors," said Hackman. Each of the county's 18 public school superintendents collaborated to make the roadmap, including the Reading School District's Khalid Mumin, who plans on presenting his re-entry plan to the school board next week. The Reading School District wouldn't share any details of the plan, but BCIU officials said it should have influence from the framework.

GUIDANCE FOR BUCKS COUNTY SCHOOL REOPENINGS
Bucks County Health Department June 15, 2020
Dear Chief School Administrators, The COVID-19 pandemic has been a tremendous challenge for our community in many different ways. Our schools were put in the unenviable position of having to close suddenly and deal with a situation no one had ever encountered. Both your partnership with the Health Department and your enduring dedication to prioritize the health and safety of all school stakeholders during these trying times have been greatly appreciated. The County, from the start, has put into place strong measures to contain and track the virus over time, allowing us to understand how and where infections were likely originating. Bucks County has achieved a consistent pattern of low levels of baseline pure community spread, defined as those cases whose source of infection cannot be determined. If we continue on the same course, the Governor is expected to move the County to the “green” status no later than June 26. We now face the task of planning for a safe, and reasonably normal, return to school in just a few short months. With the support of everyone involved, including students, their families, and district staff, this can be accomplished effectively.

CHOP Policy Lab: Health and Safety Considerations for Reopening K-12 Schools
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Policy Lab Webinar Jun 2020 Video Runtime 1:11
ith schools in the U.S. developing strategies to reopen following their closures for the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many important health and safety concerns that we must consider to protect students, teachers and staff. What will physical distancing look like within classrooms and in transportation to school? How will school health services change? What are the best methods for surveillance and testing? Will everyone need to wear masks? On June 2, 2020, PolicyLab hosted a virtual conversation titled, “Health & Safety Considerations for Reopening K-12 Schools,” with educators, administrators and public health experts who shared their perspectives on these issues. The discussion was informed by PolicyLab’s comprehensive policy review of interventions to guide local jurisdictions and school administrators in their planning to safely reopen schools.
Panelists included:
  • David Rubin, MD, MSCE, director of PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (moderator)
  • Susan Coffin, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and attending physician at CHOP
  • William Hite, Jr., EdD, superintendent, School District of Philadelphia
  • Molly Ticknor, MA, ATR, LPC, executive director, Show-Me School-Based Health Alliance of Missouri
  • Matthew Stem, deputy secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education

American Association of School Administrators Releases Guidelines For Reopening Schools
Guidance Generated from AASA COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
Alexandria, Va. – June 19, 2020 –AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the nation’s premier organization representing and supporting superintendents and other public school district leaders, is pleased to release today a consensus-driven set of guidelines for reopening schools effectively in the COVID-19 environment. The AASA COVID-19 Recovery Task Force Guidelines for Reopening Schools: An Opportunity to Transform Public Education is comprised of recommendations by superintendents throughout the U.S. who shared their leadership experiences and insights throughout the pandemic. “Perhaps the most striking outcome of the task force discussions is a universal commitment to transform the crisis we are facing into the opportunity to transform public education as we know it,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “We will continue to update this report as changes occur at federal, state and local levels. As part of this process, we invite superintendents and staff to share their success stories and updates on emerging issues confronting them in this process of reopening and transforming public education.” The task force was created in April to recommend solutions for our nation’s more than 13,000 school districts on how schools will reopen and what they will look like in the aftermath of the outbreak. As the group moved toward consensus, the following recurrent issues and concerns were evident among participants: 

State school officials hold call on reopening plans
Daily American by MATTHEW TOTH mtoth@dailyamerican.com Jun 17, 2020
State officials are asking a similar question about schools reopening this fall: “Are we trying to bite off more than we can chew?” The House Education Committee held a hearing with school officials on Wednesday discussing potential pitfalls with trying to reopen schools in the fall amid COVID-19 concerns. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all school buildings to close for the rest of the 2019-20 school year because of the crisis earlier this year. Joe Scheuermann, a math teacher from Hempfield Area High school, told the committee that he could see his advance placement calculus students struggling when using online formats. “The most common thing I read on tests from students was that they missed their friends,” he said. “They missed sitting down next to a human person and speaking with them.” According the the state Department of Education, school buildings can be reopened as early as July 1, but only after school boards pass reopening plans.

Reopening is tricky for York County schools
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York Dispatch Published 10:44 a.m. ET June 15, 2020 | Updated 3:00 p.m. ET June 16, 2020
York County districts are beginning to formulate their reopening plans, and as it was for remote learning, there's an emphasis on flexibility. West York Area Superintendent Todd Davies said that though the fall of 2020-21 would not look the same as a normal year — and might even include a hybrid of distance and in-person instruction — he's committed to finding whatever works best for everyone. "We’re going to work with families to make that option best for students," he said. "It’s the families that are going to have to help us make those decisions." The Pennsylvania Department of Education on June 3 announced schools would be permitted to reopen beginning July 1, provided districts post a health and safety plan online, approved by their boards. These should include, for example, in counties in the governor's green phase — for which York County was cleared to enter  June 12:
  • guidelines for hygiene practices and the use of face coverings
  • protocols that allow for 6 feet of separation among students and staff when appropriate;
  • methods to limit classroom numbers, interaction between groups and sharing of materials
“It can often be a very big issue when you’re talking about school cafeterias,” said Chris Lillienthal, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

With eyes on the fall, some schools to bring in students for summer instruction
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUN 21, 2020
Now that all of southwestern Pennsylvania has entered the “green phase” of the state’s reopening plan, schools in the region soon will have the green light to reopen.  The state Department of Education this month said schools in counties where some of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted can resume in-person instruction and other activities at brick-and-mortar locations in July.  But just because schools can open their doors does not mean they will. Schools throughout the area, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, decided weeks ago to shift summer educational programming online. At the same time, many school leaders have already turned their attention toward the upcoming academic year.    “We’re in the process of trying to figure out what reopening is going to look like in the fall,” said Jeffrey Fuller, superintendent of the Freedom Area School District. “That’s our primary focus.”

COVID-19 rules drive Erie schools to revamp busing
GoErie By Ed Palattella @etnpalattella Posted at 12:03 AM Updated at 6:14 AM
Erie School District, other school systems scrambling to figure out how to get students to school with social distancing,
On a typical day during this past school year, the Erie School District relied on Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority buses traveling 28 routes to get 3,264 students to and from school on time. But typical days will not return to the district for an extended period — and neither will the usual bus patterns. The pandemic has the Erie School District scrambling to assemble a transportation plan that could include staggered start times for schools or even caps on the number of middle school and high school students who attend school each day. The plan is meant to accommodate as many students as possible while the district abides by social distancing requirements that will severely limit the number of riders on each bus, particularly those that EMTA operates. The numbers — and the number of needed adjustments — are staggering. For the district to get all the 3,264 EMTA passengers to school on time and abide by social distancing guidelines, the number of EMTA routes would have to increase from 28 to 272, which is clearly an impossibility. The alternative is not much better. By following social distancing guidelines, in which students would have to sit as much as 6 feet apart, EMTA’s fleet would be able to transport only 600 students per day to and from school, far fewer than the 3,264 students its buses transported under regular circumstances in 2019-20, the district said.

Blogger comment: I’d love to see these folks do a similar piece on school choice.
Top Pa. GOP lawmaker fast-tracking a lucrative gambling expansion that would benefit a major campaign donor
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus June 19, 2020
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/The Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.
HARRISBURG — Last fall, more than 2,300 miles from Pennsylvania’s Capitol, the top lobbyist for a gaming company seeking a lucrative gambling expansion helped host a fundraiser in Las Vegas for the leading Republican in the state Senate, Joe Scarnati. The elaborate event was held at the famed Bellagio Hotel and Casino, records show. For tickets ranging in price from $7,500 to $25,000, donors gained access to rounds of golf, a hockey game, and a cocktail hour and dinner at a glitzy restaurant overlooking the Vegas strip. Several months later, executives from the gaming company, Golden Entertainment, poured thousands of dollars into a campaign committee controlled by Scarnati and close associates. Now, Scarnati and other top Republicans are working feverishly behind closed doors to whip up votes for a bill that would help Golden and others like it cash in on the next frontier of expanded gambling, potentially worth millions of dollars: video-gaming terminals, known better as VGTs. In recent days, lobbyists and top Republican leaders have mounted a full-court press to convince rank-and-file senators to vote for ushering in thousands more of the slots-like terminals, according to two legislative sources familiar with the effort. The behind-the-scenes push, expected to culminate in a Senate vote as soon as Monday, comes as the legislature faces massive challenges, most notably the fallout from a pandemic that has killed 6,361 Pennsylvanians and ravaged the economy, as well as the largest civil rights protests of a generation and demands for systemic overhauls of the police.

“The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will hold an election on Monday for a speaker to preside over the GOP-controlled chamber. House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster County, is the hands-down expected winner for that seat, but his ascension would create an opening for majority leader. House Majority Whip Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County (bottom left) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor of York County are said to be the top contenders for that spot.”
Electing a new Pa. House speaker expected to lead toward leadership shake-up in GOP caucus
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Today 5:30 AM
A shake-up in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is expected to take shape Monday within the Republican Caucus. By the end of the day, at least two people from central Pennsylvania could move into top leadership positions. All of this is triggered by last Monday’s resignation of Mike Turzai, who vacated his House seat and the Speaker’s chair to take a position as general counsel at Peoples, a Pittsburgh-based gas utility. That leaves the speaker’s seat in the GOP-controlled chamber up for grabs. The candidate most likely to ascend into that most powerful position in the House is Majority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County.

Retirements, resignations and more: These are all the Pa. lawmakers who won’t be back in 2021
By Capital-Star Staff June 18, 2020
A million years ago —okay, last fall — the Capital-Star started tracking what seemed like a plethora of retirements in the state House and Senate ahead of the 2020 election season.
Months later, with a primary, some resignations, and not least of all, the COVID-19 pandemic, changing the state’s political topography, we’ve updated our map to include primary losers and some recent departures from the General Assembly. Many thanks to Capital-Star Staff Reporter Stephen Caruso who did the work. You can mouse over the map below for fully updated information. All told, 25 lawmakers are leaving office in both chambers. They include both House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. Turzai, after announcing plans to retire this winter, resigned from office on June 15. Of them, six lost in the June 2 primary, all Democrats. Two of the lawmakers leaving aren’t going far for their new jobs, though. Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-Chester, and Rep. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, each won their respective primaries to represent open Senate seats. Comitta will run to replace Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-Chester in a suburban Philly district. Dush will likely replace Scarnati in a deep red north-central Pennsylvania district. Open seats, particularly in the suburbs, will likely be battlegrounds in fall between Republicans hoping to defend and expand their majorities, and Democrats hoping to wrest control of the General Assembly.

Calls increase to remove police officers from Pittsburgh Public Schools; rally planned today
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com JUN 22, 2020 5:21 AM
In her work as a juvenile public defender in Allegheny County and at the Youth Advocacy Clinic at Duquesne University, Tiffany Sizemore said she has seen some questionable arrests by school police officers. A couple of years ago, an 18-year-old girl was arrested on charges of bringing a bag of marijuana to school. The girl, a Pittsburgh Public Schools senior, spent the night in the Allegheny County Jail. In 2017, an 18-year-old boy who was a senior in the district was arrested after officers accused him of taking a fighting stance and acting aggressively toward them. He spent the night in county lockup. Security camera footage showed that the police lied. One arrest that sticks in Ms. Sizemore’s memory was that of a 10-year-old girl who drew her name on a school file cabinet with a Sharpie. The girl had to go before a magistrate. “These types of things are not things that should be handled in court systems and by police systems,” Ms. Sizemore said in a video interview last week. “These are things that should be handled at a school building level with an after-school detention or a few hours of community service.” 

Educators look to beef up Pennsylvania school science curriculum on climate change
Morning Call By LINDSAY C VANASDALAN ASSOCIATED PRESS | JUN 20, 2020 | 12:00 PM
A group of educators from throughout the state aims to overhaul some of the country’s oldest standards for science education, all while avoiding a protracted political dispute over climate change and evolution. Pennsylvania’s science standards haven’t changed since 2002, and repeated efforts in the past to overhaul them stalled during the review process — which involves an independent commission with input from the Legislature. The state has different hurdles than some others, as its standards are not approved directly by the Legislature, though that body can veto them if it disapproves. “We want to make sure we’re pushing the students,” said Eric Wilson, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Red Lion Area School District in York County. Wilson is one of two educators from Red Lion on a 60-member committee tasked with the rewrite. This summer's review will include a look at the Next Generation Science Standards — a 2013 effort at national standards developed by 26 states out of a framework from the National Research Council.

Locked out in East Penn, Zoom bombed in Bethlehem Township: Virtual meetings raise Sunshine Act issues
By MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING CALL | JUN 20, 2020 | 6:08 PM
There was a lot of interest this month in the East Penn School Board meeting, where the agenda included plans for reopening in the fall, a new high school schedule and a vote on next year’s budget. More than 100 people tried to join it. But some were virtually locked out. Once 100 participants entered the online Zoom room, anyone else trying to get in got a message saying the meeting had reached capacity and they should try to log on later. The meeting continued without them. That raised compliance issues with the state’s Sunshine Act, which requires public bodies to conduct business in public and allow residents and taxpayers to comment. The law was not suspended during the coronavirus pandemic. Inherent in that law is the public’s ability to be present during the proceedings, said Erik Arneson, executive director of the state’s Office of Open Records. School board members should have responded as they would during a regular public meeting, he said, by figuring out a way to accommodate the overflow or postponing the meeting. The way the board handled the situation is problematic, added Melissa Melewsky, counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. “It raises Sunshine Act compliance issues and exposes them to liability,” she said. “Just as importantly, it actively harms the relationship with some of their constituents.”

In this era of protest, students win approval for historical marker of 1967 walkout
The Masterman students want to honor their predecessors in student activism.
The notebook by Shayleah Jenkins June 19 — 3:47 pm, 2020
Allison Fortenbery and Aden Gonzales were among the students who urged an end to school police at the Board of Education hearing Thursday night. They did so with some historical perspective: They are two of five students from Julia R. Masterman Laboratory & Demonstration School who have secured approval for the installation of a state marker to commemorate the 1967 Philadelphia school walkout, during which student protesters were beaten by police.  The walkout is an example of student-led civil rights activism. With protests and police violence now in the news, the recognition is especially timely. Fortenbery and Gonzales were joined by Tatiana Bennett, Taryn Flaherty, and Nia Weeks, all rising Masterman seniors, in submitting the application to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the marker. The students came together in the summer of 2019 to organize their proposal for the marker after all five of them won the 2019 National History Day competition at both the city and statewide levels. Applying the research skills they had developed, the students were able to shine a light on an often-overlooked aspect of Philadelphia’s history.

Concerns over unknowns accompany vote to approve Carlisle school budget
Reading Eagle by Joseph Cress - The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pa. (TNS) Jun 20, 2020
With all the uncertainty, Carlisle Area School District could use a new fortune-telling device. “Our crystal ball is nearly broken,” school board member Brian Guillaume said Thursday. “If anybody has a warranty for said crystal ball, please let us know.” His comment was a lighter moment during a serious discussion held after board members voted unanimously to adopt a nearly $87 million budget for 2020-21 that includes a 3% real estate tax increase. Under the hike, property owners would pay $1,535.28 on every $100,000 of assessed property value or $44.71 more than in 2019-20. The tax rate will go from 14.9057 mills to 15.3528 mills. Projecting revenues and expenditures can be a challenge during a normal budget cycle, but that is nothing compared to the dicey scenario school districts face this year in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. State law requires school boards to adopt their final budgets by June 30, the day before the official July 1 start of the new fiscal year. This year, districts are working with incomplete information in a fluid situation while planning for the reopening of schools following a pandemic shutdown.

“Following May’s budget proposal, Peggy Gillespie, assistant to the superintendent for finance and operations, said the district was expecting a financial hit in the next year due to the covid-19 pandemic. The district is anticipating a loss of between $1.7 million and $2 million, focused in areas of earned income, realty transfer taxes and interest earnings, she said.”
Kiski Area taxpayers will pay about 2% more in school property taxes next school year
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON   | Saturday, June 20, 2020 3:55 p.m.
The Kiski Area School Board approved a slight tax increase for the 2020-21 school year.
Westmoreland County residents will see an increase of 1.46 mills to 92.06 mills, or an equalized millage of 90.61. Under the state’s equalization process, the increase in payment will equate to about 2%. At the rate, the owner of a property assessed at $16,492 — the average assessed value in the county — would owe $1,518 in taxes, or $29.52 more than this year. Residents in Armstrong County’s Parks Township would see a 0.73-mill increase to 46.04 mills, or an equalized millage of 45.31. A Parks Township property with an assessment of $22,760 would owe $4.10 less in taxes if the budget is adopted. The state applies an equalization formula to calculate tax bills because property assessments differ among counties. The total budget for the 2020-21 school year is nearly $62.9 million.

The leaders of Pa.’s giant school pension plan are stumped by how to invest in this economy
Inquirer by Joseph N. DiStefano @PhillyJoeD | JoeD@inquirer.com Posted: June 20, 2020 - 5:01 AM
Pennsylvania’s largest pension plan, the $50 billion-plus Public School Employees’ Retirement System, didn’t bet big on the U.S. stock market before the March skid amid coronavirus shutdowns. But board and staff are still worried and seeking guidance amid volatile markets, its investment committee conference call on Friday made clear. The PSERS board, chaired by Chris Santa Maria, a history teacher in the Lower Merion public schools, has in recent years favored private equity, real estate, and hedge funds, and other exotic investments. The board has taken that direction over the objections of a minority of board members, including state Treasurer Joe Torsella and State Rep. Frank Ryan (R., Lebanon), who questioned whether high-priced private investment advisers are worth the extra fees they charge compared with cheap Vanguard-style index funds.

It looks like the beginning of the end of America’s obsession with student standardized tests
Washington Post By  Valerie Strauss  June 21, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
America has been obsessed with student standardized tests for nearly 20 years. Now it looks like the country is at the beginning of the end of our high-stakes testing mania — both for K-12 “accountability” purposes and in college admissions. When President George W. Bush signed the K-12 No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, the country began an experiment based on the belief that we could test our way to educational success and end the achievement gap. His successor, Barack Obama, ratcheted up the stakes of test scores under that same philosophy. It didn’t work, which came as no surprise to teachers and other critics. They had long pointed to extensive research showing standardized test scores are most strongly correlated to a student’s life circumstances. Real reform, they said, means addressing students’ social and emotional needs and the conditions in which they live, and making improvements in school buildings.

PSBA Fall Virtual Advocacy Day: OCT 8, 2020 • 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sign up now for PSBA’s Virtual Advocacy Day this fall!
All public school leaders are invited to join us for our fall Virtual Advocacy Day on Thursday, October 8, 2020, via Zoom. We need all of you to help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center around contacting legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education. Registrants will receive the meeting invitation with a link to our fall Virtual Advocacy Day website that contains talking points, a link to locate contact information for your legislator and additional information to help you have a successful day.
Cost: As a membership benefit, there is no cost to register.
Registration: School directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you have questions about Virtual Advocacy Day, or need additional information, contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org.

Apply Now for EPLC's 2020-2021 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program!
Applications are available now for the 2020-2021 Education Policy Fellowship Program
The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).  The 2020-2021 Program will be conducted in briefer, more frequent, and mostly online sessions, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The content will be substantially the same as the traditional Fellowship Program, with some changes necessitated by the new format and a desire to reduce costs to sponsors in these uncertain fiscal times.
The commitment of EPLC remains the same. The Fellowship Program will continue to be Pennsylvania's premier education policy leadership program for education, community, policy and advocacy leaders! The Fellowship Program begins with two 3-hour virtual sessions on September 17-18, and the Program ends with a graduation event in June 2021.
The application may be copied from the EPLC web site, but it must be submitted by mail or scanned and e-mailed, with the necessary signatures of applicant and sponsor.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Fellowship Program and its requirements, please contact EPLC Executive Director Ron Cowell at 412-298-4796 or COWELL@EPLC.ORG

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 250 PA school boards adopt charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be a concern as over 250 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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