Showing posts with label ESEA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESEA. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup March 29: Should PA Legislature be required to pass tax increases by a 2/3 vote? SB406 would require that of school boards.

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup March 29, 2017:
Should PA Legislature be required to pass tax increases by a 2/3 vote?  SB406 would require that of school boards.



Keystone Crossroads: Education Equity – Video Runtime 26:46
Every child in Pennsylvania is offered an education through their local school district, but not every district is able to provide the same opportunities. A lot depends on the where the student lives.  http://video.witf.org/video/2365980015/



Over the past seven years, school boards have managed their budgets by decreasing staff salaries by over 4% and controlling nonmandated costs to a minimal increase of 5% over the same period.  School districts have been dealing with extraordinary pressure from an over 257% mandated increase in pension payments and an over 40% increase in mandated special education costs.
Senate Ed Committee scheduled to vote today on SB406 which would require a 2/3 majority vote for school board to raise taxes

Blogger Commentary:
Is your state senator on the Education Committee?  Ask them to lead by example by first passing legislation requiring a 2/3 vote of the General Assembly to increase state-wide taxes

PP4C Report: A Rural Perspective
Spending Impact on Student Performance - A Rural Perspective
PA Partnerships for Children Report March 2017
View the Report | Sources & Methodology | School District Table
Every child should have an equal opportunity to attend a local public school that has adequate resources to ensure that he or she can learn and meet state academic standards. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many children living in Pennsylvania and is far too often not the case for children living in rural communities. More than half of the rural school districts in Pennsylvania are spending less educating their children than their estimated adequacy target or the amount expected to ensure that children can reach the state's rigorous academic standards.
http://www.papartnerships.org/work/k12/k12-reports

Education Law Center: Money Matters in Education Justice
Education Law Center Report March 2017
Addressing Racial and Class Inequities in Pennsylvania’s School Funding System
The Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees that children across the state have access to a “thorough and efficient” system of public education, one that enables them to meet comprehensive state academic standards and graduation requirements. Despite this constitutional mandate, hundreds of thousands of children—particularly children of color and children in poorer communities—are denied the school resources they need to be successful in school and beyond. We have a broken school funding system that further entrenches inequities and fails to support Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable students. School districts in Pennsylvania are confronted with two interconnected challenges: the state is not appropriating adequate funding to basic education, and the majority of the funding it does provide is distributed inequitably. • Inadequate funding.
http://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Education-Justice-Report-1.pdf

Center on Regional Politics Report: Hard Choices Ahead for PA School Districts
Temple University Center on Regional Politics Report March 9, 2017
A recent policy brief from the Center on Regional Politics, “Hard Choices Still Ahead,” forecasts the fiscal future for all 500 school districts in PA for the period 2015-16 through 2019-20. The brief and supporting interactive graphics and maps (below) project budget shortfalls that will require program cuts, higher taxes, or a combination of the two for the vast majority of Pennsylvania school districts. In short, the hard choices most districts have faced in the recent past will continue, making a decade of fiscal stress “the new normal” for public schools, teachers, students, and their families.  Based on conservative assumptions, total revenues are projected to increase at $700 to $750 million per year at an increasing rate. However, expenditures are projected to increase at $750 to $800 million per year, although at a decreasing rate. What results are continuing shortfalls for most school districts although a net statewide shortfall would be substantially reduced. See the figure “School District Projections” below.

Breakfast programs help students start the day in the right frame of mind: PennLive letters
Penn Live Letters to the Editor on March 28, 2017 at 2:00 PM
By DAVID LLOYD, youth programs manager, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Susquehanna Township
In his 2017-18 budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed $2 million to help Pennsylvania schools launch or expand school breakfast programs. It's a wise investment. Breakfast programs help students start the day in the right frame of mind: they are calm, attentive, and ready to learn.  I spent 32 years as food services director at the Harrisburg City School District. Working hand in hand with faculty and administrators, I've seen firsthand how school breakfast programs help students. When children start the day with the nutrition they need, they grow up smarter, healthier and stronger.

“The biggest increase in spending is a $740,000 boost in debt payments, reflecting about $10 million borrowed in November and another $10 million the district expects to borrow this spring for the elementary school construction and renovation project. The district also expects to pay $416,000 more for health care, $392,000 more to the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) pension fund and $226,500 for outside placement of students in specialized education programs. The budget shows a $743,000 reduction in salaries — much of that represented by elimination of five full-time jobs and one part-time position by not hiring replacements for retiring teachers.”
Indiana board looks to make up $1 million deficit
Indiana Gazette by CHAUNCEY ROSS on March 28, 2017 10:59 AM  Indiana, PA
The Indiana Area school administration has closed much of a projected $1.7 million deficit for the 2017-18 school year, according to a budget review that calls for raising the real estate tax by 3 percent, the maximum allowed under the local economic index set by the state.  The plan outlined Monday for the school board by district Business Manager Jared Cronauer shows a gap of slightly more than $1 million, with $54.055 million of revenue and $55.060 million of expenses. The district has three months to come up with a final budget.  A month ago, a draft budget showed $54.3 million of income and $56 million of costs for the coming year. Since Feb. 23, the income figures have been revised to show a $230,000 decrease in expected state funding and $19,000 less in federal funding.  In all, the district expects revenue to increase $420,000 over the 2016-17 budget.  Expenses are forecast at $1.159 million more than 2016-17.

Lancaster schools settle lawsuit over refugee enrollment policies
WHYY Newsworks BY EMILY PREVITI, WITF MARCH 29, 2017
The suit alleged the school’s practices violated the Equal Education Opportunity Act. A federal judge agreed, as did an appellate panel.  So what were the practices?  The district had been sending refugees over the age of 16 to an accelerated credit program at the privately-run Phoenix Academy, a magnet school for students at risk for dropping or aging out before earning a diploma.  The six refugee students (and a few others who ultimately opted out of the case) wanted to go to the former International School program for first-year ESL students at the district’s mainstream McCaskey High School.  A preliminary injunction issued last summer allowed the plaintiffs to choose which school to attend.  Going forward, all students with the lowest levels of English-level proficiency will start out at the International School program, recently renamed the Newcomer School.  “The biggest difference is they’ll all come together in the beginning, which we’re not against,” said Superintendent Damaris Rau. “But we’re talking about maybe 25 kids who come to us as 17-to-21-year-old nonnative English speakers. [Fighting lawsuit] was just taking up an inordinate amount of time."

In suburban Pa., district chooses to defend suit over transgender policy
WHYY Newsworks BY AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT MARCH 29, 2017
A suburban Philadelphia school district has opted to defend its policy on transgender students in the face of a recent lawsuit.  Though it does not have an official written protocol, the Boyertown Area School District near Pottstown, Pennsylvania permits students to use the bathroom and locker room that matches their gender identity.  Earlier this month, an anonymous student, backed by a conservative group, sued the district claiming this practice violates his right to privacy and constitutes sexual harassment. The student is represented by the organization Alliance Defending Freedom, that has filed similar lawsuits in other states.  The Alliance and the student offered to settle the case if Boyertown Area officials would reverse their position.  After a charged public meeting Tuesday night, the district's school board rejected that settlement agreement by a vote of 6-to-3.  This headline-grabbing case will now move forward, joining a raft of similar suits that will eventually help determine the rights of transgender students in public schools.

School board won't change transgender policy to stop suit
By Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on March 29, 2017 at 6:29 AM
A Berks County school board didn't back down when offered an exit from a federal lawsuit by attorneys for a student who said he was sexually harassed and his privacy violated when a transgender student born female was allowed to change in the same locker room, a published report says.  The Boyertown Area School District board voted 6-3 after a period of public comment to not force transgender students to use locker rooms that apply to their anatomy rather than their gender identification, the Reading Eagles reports.  If the board had changed the gender-identification policy, attorneys for the Boyertown Area Senior High School student known as Joel Doe said they would drop the lawsuitfiled March 21, the newspaper said.  The back-and-forth was harsh during the meeting, with the parent of a 16-year-old hollering "my child is not a social experiment" when a school board member suggested that's what the district policy boiled down to, the newspaper said.

Wyoming Area School Board approves teachers contract
Citizens’ Voice by MICHAEL P. BUFFER / PUBLISHED: MARCH 29, 2017
EXETER — The Wyoming Area School Board voted 6-2 Tuesday night for a new three-year agreement with the district’s teachers union.  The agreement includes “a true wage freeze” for the current school year, in which teachers will not advance a step on the salary matrix, solicitor Jarrett Ferentino said. The district will save around $200,000 this year because teachers will not advance a step, Business Manager Tom Melone said.  Teachers will advance steps in 2017-18 and 2018-19. But salaries on the matrix will not increase, other than a $550 increase to the top step in 2017-18, union President Melissa Dolman said.  The maximum salary on the top step is $81,892, and the lowest starting salary is around $40,000, Dolman said.

Pennsylvania school board files labor charges against union
Inquirer by The Associated Press Updated: MARCH 28, 2017 — 7:39 AM EDT
DALLAS, Pa. (AP) - A northeastern Pennsylvania school board accuses teachers of mounting an illegal strike and refusing to submit to mandatory arbitration.  Dallas School Board filed a state unfair labor practice charge against the teachers union. The board also alleges teachers have set a date for a second unlawful strike.  The district hopes to save $500,000 in what it says are salaries and benefits that union members will not have earned because they failed to work the required 185 days.  The union's chief negotiator, John Holland, says the district's complaints are "without merit." The union contends the district illegally changed the school calendar.  Teachers in the district outside Wilkes-Barre have been working without a contract since 2015.


Ivanka Trump, Education Secretary DeVos promote STEM careers
ABC News By MARIA DANILOVA, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Mar 28, 2017, 4:30 PM ET
Ivanka Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday exhorted young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, saying those fields will provide the jobs and innovation for the future.  Their tour of the National Air and Space Museum with a group of middle school students came as the Trump administration proposed further cuts to education and science, drawing harsh criticism from teachers' unions and others.  Ivanka Trump, a successful entrepreneur who considers herself as a women's rights activist, lamented that women make up 48 percent of America's work force but only 24 percent of STEM professionals.  This statistic is showing that we are sadly moving in the wrong direction. Women are increasingly underrepresented in important fields of science, technology, engineering and math," Trump said. "But I dare you to beat these statistics and advance the role of women in STEM fields."

“The Trump budget seeks to wipe out NASA’s education office, which oversees efforts to support women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, operates camps and enrichment programs, and provides internships and scholarships for young scientists.”
The irony in Ivanka Trump’s and Betsy DeVos’s push for STEM education
Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss March 28 at 1:30 PM 
This belongs in the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff category.
On Tuesday, presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. According to the Education Department, they were there to “highlight the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education” and to discuss “empowering young women to pursue STEM-related careers.” They also introduced a viewing of “Hidden Figures,” a film about a team of African American women who had a vital, unseen role at NASA when it was first launching men into space.  The event came just a short time after President Trump, Ivanka’s father, advanced his first federal budget, which included some revealing proposals for NASA, the country’s space agency. The Trump budget seeks to wipe out NASA’s education office, which oversees efforts to support women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, operates camps and enrichment programs, and provides internships and scholarships for young scientists.

How Will Peer Review for ESSA Plans Work Under the Trump Administration?
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on March 28, 2017 4:50 PM
Next Monday, states will begin officially submitting their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act to the U.S. Department of Education. And then comes the, umm ... fun part. Those plans will be examined through a wonky-but-important process known as "peer review," in which a team of educators and experts essentially takes a close look at a state's vision, to see if it complies with the law.   On Tuesday, the Education Department—now controlled by Team Trump—released guidance spelling out exactly what those reviewers should be looking for. File this under technical-but-good-to-know: The guidance only covers "Title I" (the main section of the law that includes accountablity, school improvement, testing, and more), Title III (the portion of the law that deals with English-language learners), and the portion that deals with homeless students. The other programs in the law, including Title II (which governs many of the teacher portions of the law) will be reviewed by the department. 

Reports Say Trump Seeks Teacher Development Cuts for Coming School Year
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on March 28, 2017 4:32 PM
You might already have read about President Donald Trump's proposed budget for fiscal 2018 that would eliminate $2.3 billion in Title II spending on professional development for teachers and after-school programs, while boosting school choice efforts. But that budget wouldn't kick in until October, and would impact the 2018-19 school year. What about the fiscal 2017 budget that would fund the 2017-18 school year?   It looks like Trump's fiscal 2017 blueprint shares at least one big thing in common with his plans for fiscal 2018: The administration wants a roughly 50 percent cut to Title II grants to states to $1.1 billion, as well as the elimination of a $52 million school counseling program and the $152 million Math Science Partnerships, according to reports in both Congressional Quarterly and Politico. These K-12 cuts would add up to around $1.6 billion. Combined with proposed cuts to Pell Grants, the cuts to the Education Department budget would total $3 billion.   In addition, the fiscal 2017 budget proposal would eliminate funding for Striving Readers ($147 million), a literacy program, $47 million in physical education funding, and $28 million for Advanced Placement, the reports say. Striving Readers was retooled in the Every Student Succeeds Act, but several other programs, like the counseling and math and science programs, were consolidated into the big Title IV block grant of ESSA.

“Many schools have chosen to stock Narcan because they can get it for free. A partnership between Narcan’s producer, Adapt Pharma, and the Clinton Foundation, offers any high school in the country two free doses of Narcan. Adapt Pharma covers the cost of the medication, and the Clinton Foundation does outreach to schools and districts. In an indication of the reach of the epidemic, President Clinton said last year that three of his friends had lost children to opioid overdoses.  An Adapt Pharma spokesman said about 1,300 units have been distributed so far to schools in 15 states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Delaware and New Hampshire. After the free supply runs out, schools can buy more for $75 a carton, which contains two doses. The list price for that amount is $125, Adapt said.”
In School Nurse’s Room: Tylenol, Band-Aids and an Antidote to Heroin
New York Times By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS MARCH 29, 2017
At every school in New Rochelle, just north of the Bronx, in Westchester, there is a locked medicine cabinet in the nurse’s office, stocked with things like EpiPens for allergic reactions, inhalers for asthma, Tylenol for aches and pains.  Now, those cabinets also include naloxone, an antidote for people who are overdosing on opioids like heroin. Given as an injection or a nasal spray, naloxone can quickly revive someone who is not breathing. The city keeps it in every nurse’s office, including in its elementary schools.  “We have it the same way we have defibrillators and EpiPens, the way we have oxygen in our schools,” said Adrienne Weiss-Harrison, the school district’s medical director. “Rarely do we pull a defibrillator off the wall, but it’s there if we need it, and that’s how we approach this opportunity to have naloxone.”  There is no comprehensive data on how often students overdose while at school, but it happens. Renee Rider, assistant commissioner at the New York State Education Department, said the department has heard anecdotally of two schools where a student overdosed and was saved by E.M.S. workers using naloxone.

“The legislation, which is backed by the state teachers union and opposed by the State Board of Education, sets up an accountability system for rating schools and prohibits the state school board from using vouchers and charters as a way to fix failing schools.”
Controversial schools bill passes Md. legislature despite Hogan veto threat
Washington Post By Ovetta Wiggins and Josh Hicks March 28 at 6:26 PM 
An education bill that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has promised to veto received final approval in the ­Democratic-controlled legislature Tuesday, despite Hogan’s warning that it is “designed to hide the failures of school leaders and administrators.”  The bill, which passed each chamber with a veto-proof majority, now heads to the governor’s desk.  The legislation, which is backed by the state teachers union and opposed by the State Board of Education, sets up an accountability system for rating schools and prohibits the state school board from using vouchers and charters as a way to fix failing schools.  It was created in response to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which gives the state board the authority to create a new accountability system for school performance.

New Resistance and Reform Tools
National Center for Fair and Open Testing Submitted by fairtest on March 27, 2017 - 4:18pm 
New and Updated Fact Sheets:
Here are new and updated tools that parents, teachers, students and their allies can use to battle the overuse and misuse of standardized tests.
http://www.fairtest.org/new-and-updated-fact-sheets


The 2017 PenSPRA Symposium  Keeping Current: What’s New in School Communications April 7th Shippensburg
Join PenSPRA Friday, April 7, 2017 in Shippensburg, PA    9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with evening social events on Thursday, April 6th from 5 - 8 p.m. at the Shippensburg University Conference Center
The agenda is as follows: Supporting transgender students in our schools (9 am), Evaluating School Communications to Inform Your Effectiveness (10:30 am), and Cool Graphics Tools Hands-on Workshop (1:15 pm).
The $150 registration fee also includes breakfast, lunch and Thursday’s social!   You can find more details on the agenda and register for the Symposium here:

PSBA Advocacy Forum and Day on the Hill APR 24, 2017 • 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Join PSBA and your fellow school directors for the fourth annual Advocacy Forum on April 24, 2017, at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. Hear from legislators on how advocacy makes a difference in the legislative process and the importance of public education advocacy. Government Affairs will take a deeper dive into the legislative priorities and will provide tips on how to be an effective public education advocate. There will be dedicated time for you and your fellow advocates to hit the halls to meet with your legislators on public education. This is your chance to share the importance of policy supporting public education and make your voice heard on the Hill.
“Nothing has more impact for legislators than hearing directly from constituents through events like PSBA’s Advocacy Forum.”
— Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), Senate Appropriations Committee chair
Registration:

SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June 1-4, 2017
Join the League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful Inn at Pocono Manor!
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/SAVE-THE-DATE--LWVPA-Convention-June-1-4--2017.html?soid=1102026610927&aid=sie1JiXCxws

Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township,  PA


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Friday, February 3, 2017

PA Ed Policy Roundup Feb 3: Facing a deficit of $3 Billion, HB250 would divert another $75 Million to Unaccountable Private & Religious Schools

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 4000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors, principals, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations, education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup Feb 3, 2017
Facing a deficit of $3 Billion, HB250 would divert another $75 Million to Unaccountable Private & Religious Schools


Blogger note: The PA House Education Committee will be considering HB250 during their 11 am meeting this morning. On top of the $175 million already going to the EITC and OSTC programs, HB250 would divert an additional $75 million in tax dollars to private and religious schools that have virtually no fiscal or student performance accountability.
Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Increases
Majority Leader TurzaI’s Cosponsorship Memo December 8, 2016
I am preparing to introduce legislation that will increase the amount of tax credits available under the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program by $50 million (to $175 million) and the amount of tax credits available under the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program by $25 million (to $75 million), to grow school choice opportunities and help more students escape from failing schools.  As you know, strengthening school choice opportunities, especially for those students who would not otherwise be able to attend a school of their choice, has been a priority for the General Assembly, through both the EITC and OSTC programs. This past July, the General Assembly increased the amount of available EITC tax credits by $25 million, expanding the EITC program from $100 million available in 2015-2016 to $125 million available in 2016-2017. This boosts the availability of scholarships for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, as well as funding for innovative educational programs.   To follow up on our important work last summer, my proposed legislation will increase the amount of tax credits available under both the EITC and OSTC programs. First, my proposal will further expand the amount of available EITC tax credits by $50 million, with the increase allocated proportionally among scholarship organizations, educational improvement organizations, and pre-kindergarten scholarship programs. Second, my bill will increase the amount of available OSTC tax credits by $25 million. The OSTC program, which was created by the General Assembly in 2012, is different from the EITC program in that the OSTC program dedicates tax credits toward businesses that contribute to scholarship programs aimed specifically at students trapped in underperforming schools. While the General Assembly constantly seeks to improve academic outcomes for all children, the OSTC program provides critical educational opportunities for kids who desperately need the chance to succeed.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20170&cosponId=21219

“Sitting Republican senators have received $115,000 from Betsy DeVos herself, and more than $950,000 from the full DeVos clan since 1980. In the past two election cycles alone, her family has donated $8.3 million to Republican Party super PACs.”
Here’s How Much Betsy DeVos And Her Family Paid To Back GOP Senators Who Will Support Her
It’s good to be a donor.
Paul Blumenthal Money in Politics Reporter, The Huffington Post 02/02/2017 07:22 pm ET | Updated 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON ― The nomination of billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos to head the Department of Education is one vote shy of failing in the Republican-controlled Senate. One thing that could come to her aid is that she and the entire DeVos family are massive Republican Party donors who helped fund the election of the remaining senators who will decide her fate. Big donors often get positions in government, ambassadorships or ceremonial titles, but rarely do they come as big as DeVos. Sitting Republican senators have received $115,000 from Betsy DeVos herself, and more than $950,000 from the full DeVos clan since 1980. In the past two election cycles alone, her family has donated $8.3 million to Republican Party super PACs.

So here's how you can tell it's going to be a big bucks Guv race: Thursday Morning Coffee
Penn Live By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 02, 2017 at 8:07 AM, updated February 02, 2017 at 8:13 AM
THE MORNING COFFEE
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
The dust has barely settled on President Donald Trump's inauguration and we're already elbows deep in the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and one thing is already abundantly clear:
It's going to be a hugely expensive contest pitting Democratic incumbent Gov. Tom Wolfagainst whoever emerges from a likely demolition derby of a Republican primary.  As PennLive's Wallace McKelvey reported on Wednesday, Wolf enters the very young 2018 cycle with $1.7 million in his campaign account. He's already shifted key staffers, including former press secretary Jeff Sheridan and ex-Chief of Staff Mary Isenhour over to the campaign operation.

Proposal to change school funding in Fox Chapel rapped
Post Gazette By Rita Michael February 3, 2017 12:00 AM
Calling it a “money grab” by the state, a loss of local control of schools and the end of quality public education, officials at a standing-room-only crowd at Fox Chapel Area High School Tuesday night said a proposal to change how Pennsylvania schools are funded is a bad idea. The proposal in the Legislature, which would significantly reduce school property taxes while raising other levies, also got a frosty reception in Peters on Monday night.  At an emergency public meeting called by Fox Chapel District Forum, letters, phone numbers and websites were distributed so taxpayers could let their state representatives know they are opposed to legislation that would fund Pennsylvania schools by adding 1 percent to the state sales tax (as well as adding taxes to food, clothing and other goods and services) and raising the state income tax 4.95 percent, from 3.07 percent, according to the Associated Press.  The forum is an organization obligated to act in the best interests of children, said Elizabeth Klamut, president of the group. “This legislation is obviously not,” she said. “Hence the calls, emails and texts inviting you to this emergency meeting.” A vote could come as early as February or March, so parents were encouraged to contact their senators and representatives right away.

Local school administrators question whether potential tax change would help
By Mike Crowley Meadville Tribune
Area school districts are beginning to prepare for the possibility of a major shift in how the commonwealth funds its schools.  Discussions in Harrisburg have raised the possibility of eliminating the school property tax and replacing it with an increased sales tax, leaving local officials wondering what the future holds. Some have gone so far as to begin planning two budgets, one for each method of collecting taxes.  Districts in Crawford County are monitoring the situation and agree that it’s hard to make plans at this point because of several uncertainties. At this point, they say the state’s budget deficit is unclear and the details of possible changes to the tax plan are still up in the air.  “It’s saying it’s eliminating a tax, but if it’s really just shifting the tax, then what’s the goal?” asked Tom Washington, superintendent of Crawford Central School District.  “Obviously, the property tax over the course of time has not adequately funded schools,” said Michael Healey, PENNCREST superintendent. “I’m not sure shifting the burden to sales tax alleviates that burden.  “The public only has so much money,” he said.  “People hear property tax elimination and they think of it as a tax cut, but it’s not really a tax cut,” said Greg Mayle, the business manager for Conneaut School District. “It’s a tax shift.”

Pittsburgh schools able, seeking to improve
Trib Live by REGINA B. HOLLEY | Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, 4:24 p.m.
Regina B. Holley is president of the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board.
It was disheartening to read the suburban Allegheny Institute of Public Policy's assessment of the Council of the Great City Schools review of Pittsburgh Public Schools ( “Saving Pittsburgh Public Schools” ). The district is cognizant of frustrations expressed over the years by community organizations, foundations, parents and others. As the report states, some reform strategies have panned out and others have not — but the district has continued to seek approaches to improve. It's unfortunate that neither the newspaper nor the institute attended the Jan. 10 board meeting when the council's executive director, Mike Casserly, presented the report. He praised the board and Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, who requested this review, for “taking a sharp look at the work that preceded them, examining results, asking hard questions and rethinking what needs to be done” to educate children. In fact, rather than concluding the district is in “such academic and administrative disarray” that state oversight or control is necessary — as the institute suggests — Casserly emphasized that PPS has the “talent, the will and the determination” to improve under current leadership.

How Saucon Valley avoided a legal feud with charter school
By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 02, 2017 at 3:49 PM, updated February 02, 2017 at 4:38 PM
The Saucon Valley School District and Lehigh Valley Academy have agreed to a five-year charter extension without enrollment caps for the charter school. 
Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School's board voted to approve the new charter Tuesday night. Saucon's school board passed the new agreement without an enrollment cap at its Jan. 24 school board meeting.  And the charter school board unanimously voted to drop Saucon Valley from its lawsuit filed in Northampton County Court and with the state's Charter Appeals Board.

School District of Philadelphia Charter Schools Office
2016-17 Cycle New Charter Application Evaluation Reports
The following charter application evaluation reports were presented by the Charter Schools Office during the January 2017 new charter application hearings.  In accordance with the Charter School Law and the new charter application process established by the SRC, the evaluation reports are dated the date of the hearing and were based on the application submitted by the applicant in November of 2016. The evaluation reports are the CSO's initial review of the charter applications, and by the nature of the charter application process, do not include any information provided by the applicant at the hearings or in the applicant's post-hearing statement.  An addendum is posted for any new charter applicant that currently operates one or more brick and mortar charter schools in Philadelphia.


Former Fordham, AFC Staffers Join Education Dept., Memo Says
Education Week Pollitics K12 Blog By Alyson Klein on February 3, 2017 6:50 AM
Three new staffers with backgrounds in education policy have joined a growing list of political aides smoothing the way for President Donald Trump's administration to take over the U.S. Department of Education, according to a memo sent to department employees Thursday and obtained by Education Week.  They include Michael Brickman, who until recently served as a senior project director at Luntz Global Partners, a GOP political strategy organization. Before that, he worked as a national policy director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank in Washington that supports high expectations for students and state flexibility. Brickman was also a policy adviser to Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican from Wisconsin, from 2011 to 2013. Also joining the team: Matt Frendewey, who previously worked on communications for the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy organization that education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos chaired until recently. He's also worked in Michigan politics, including for the Michigan Republican Party.   And the list includes Jana Toner, who served as a White House liaison for the U.S. Department of Education during President George W. Bush's administration.

A gift to private schools with no accountability
By Phyllis Bush for The News-Sentinel Thursday, February 02, 2017 8:01 AM
Every January the education reform takeover artists orchestrate countless “school choice” events, presenting us with quasi-infomercials about their miraculous successes. That said, nothing says well-financed and effective marketing like 21,392 events across all 50 states and photo ops with mayors and elected officials as they issue proclamation after proclamation about the importance of school choice.  Nothing says instructional and fiscal irresponsibility as the school choice promoters who push optics over substance. Nothing says access to legislators like the bright yellow scarves (readily available in “choice” kits), which open doors of access for the scarf-wearers ahead of us non-scarf-wearing citizens who are sent to the end of the legislators’ access lines. These “reformers” are dynamic salespeople who never mention that there are negative consequences to school choice.  Accordingly, the school choice rhetoric is so hypnotic that unless a person digs into the details, it is nigh on impossible to cut through all of the jargon to understand what is really meant by “school choice.” In fact, some ideas which look good on the surface often morph into some not such great realities.

House Republicans Move to Scrap Rules on ESSA, Teacher Preparation
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on February 2, 2017 12:33 PM
Republican lawmakers in Congress are moving to do away with regulations from the Obama administration regarding accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act and teacher preparation.  The resolutions of disapproval for those two sets of rules were announced Thursday in the House. They were filed under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn regulations set out by executive branch. Senate versions of these resolutions are expected some time next week.   If these regulations are overturned, President Donald Trump's administration would be prohibited from issuing "substantially similar" regulations on these two issues if there isn't a new law signed. Just what that would mean in practice, however, is unclear.  "We are sending a signal that we are unhappy with these regs," said Tyler Hernandez, a spokesman for the House education committee.   If both sets of regulations are overturned, it could have far-reaching consequences. States have been crafting their ESSA accountability plans for several months, and were doing so even before Trump won the election, with the Obama ESSA accountability rules in mind. The Trump administration has already paused the final implementation of the accountability rules from Obama's Education Department, but without any regulations at all, states will be in limbo and uncertain how exactly to craft state plans that pass muster with a Trump Education Department. 

DeVos clears procedural hurdle in Senate, setting up tight final vote
Washington Post By Emma Brown February 3 at 7:29 AM 
President Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos for education secretary cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Friday, setting up what is shaping up to be a nail-biter for the confirmation vote.  At a rare early-morning session, senators voted along party lines, 52 to 48, to end debate on DeVos’s nomination. A final confirmation vote is expected early next week.  All 48 members of the Democratic caucus are expected to vote against DeVos’s confirmation, along with two Republicans who have expressed their opposition, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.  That would create a 50-50 tie, which would require a rare tiebreaking vote from the vice president.  The nomination of DeVos, a Michigan billionaire who has spent decades advocating for private-school vouchers, has unleashed a wave of opposition that is unprecedented for a prospective education secretary.  Anti-DeVos callers have been targeting Republican senators, overwhelming their phone lines and clogging their email inboxes. Phone lines in the office of Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) — who has said he intends to support DeVos — were so overwhelmed that frustrated constituents resorted to fax machines, sending more than 8,000 faxes to Toomey within a 24-hour period late this week, according to the online publication BillyPenn.

Schumer: DeVos 'unfit' for Education secretary
The Hill BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 02/02/17 12:13 PM EST 115
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday blasted Betsy Devos, saying the Education secretary nominee is an example of the issues that Democrats have with most of President Trump's picks.  "Many of the nominees have philosophies that cut against the very nature of the department to which they are nominated," he said. "We're in unchartered waters with this administration."   The New York Democrat said DeVos noting "didn't know basic facts about Education law" during her confirmation hearing.  "When you judge her in three areas — conflicts of interest, basic confidence and ideology, views on Education policy, it is clear that Betsy DeVos is unfit for the job of Education secretary," he said. "In all three areas... she ranks among the lowest of any cabinet nominee I have ever seen."   DeVos, a GOP mega-donor, has been the subject of fierce opposition from teachers unions and other liberal groups opposed to her support for charter schools and tuition vouchers using public funds.   Democrats also hounded Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, for limiting the amount of time senators had to ask questions of DeVos during her confirmation hearing. 

Wanted: One Republican With Integrity, to Defeat Betsy DeVos
New York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD FEB. 2, 2017
This country needs a few good Republicans — one more would do — to rescue it from Betsy DeVos, one of President Trump’s worst cabinet choices and his pick to run the Department of Education.  The vote to confirm Ms. DeVos is expected as soon as Monday, and the Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine now say they’ll vote against her, citing hundreds of calls they’ve received from furious voters. The result would be a tie that Vice President Mike Pence would break in Ms. DeVos’s favor. The extra Republican vote could come from one of several independent-minded senators; one candidate is Lamar Alexander, an expert on public schools who actually owes the country a good turn because of his failure as chairman of the committee vetting Ms. DeVos to question her closely and to give more time to her critics. There are few more telling examples of Mr. Trump’s disdain for the federal government’s critical role in lifting up America’s schoolchildren than his choice of Ms. DeVos. She has spent years funneling her inherited fortune into a campaign to replace the nation’s traditional public schools with federally funded charter schools, regardless of the latter’s performance, and supporting vouchers, which help families send children to private or parochial schools and drain funds from public schools that need more, not less, support.

Betsy DeVos, Pick for Secretary of Education, Is the Most Jeered
New York Times By DANA GOLDSTEIN FEB. 3, 2017
By most any measure, the secretary of education is one of the least powerful cabinet positions. The secretary is 16th in the line of succession to the presidency. Education accounts for a paltry 3 percent of the federal budget, compared with 24 percent for Social Security and 16 percent for defense. And the most recent major federal education law curtailed Washington’s role on testing, standards and accountability, turning much of the firepower in education policy back to states and school districts.  That is what has made the protest movement against Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of education, all the more remarkable.  After an underwhelming confirmation hearing in which Ms. DeVos seemed ignorant of major provisions of federal education law, such as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, some Senate offices reported receiving more calls opposing Ms. DeVos than any other Trump nominee.

How Alaskan Activists Got a Key Republican Senator to Oppose Betsy DeVos
Unions and education activists urged Lisa Murkowski to oppose Trump’s education pick. On Tuesday, in a testament to the power of grass-roots resistance, Murkowski switched.
Moyers & Company BY JOHN NICHOLS | FEBRUARY 2, 2017
This post originally appeared at The Nation.
Donald Trump’s most absurd Cabinet nominee, billionaire campaign donor Betsy DeVos, made the case against her selection to serve as secretary of education during her Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing. Ill-prepared, uninformed and by her own admission “confused,” DeVos confirmed the concern expressed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders when he asked: “Do you think, if you were not a multibillionaire, if your family had not made hundreds of millions of dollars of contributions to the Republican Party, that you would be sitting here today?”  The best response DeVos could muster was a tepid imagining that “I do think that there would be that possibility….”  Of course, she was wrong.  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she got “thousands, truly, thousands” of calls opposing the DeVos nomination. But that did not prevent the Republican-controlled committee to vote 12-11 to approve the DeVos nomination.  The committee vote on Tuesday broke along party lines. And the assumption was that the full Republican-controlled Senate would do the same — giving Trump another Cabinet pick, and giving a fierce critic of public schools a defining role in setting education policy. But on Wednesday the DeVos juggernaut was upset. Though she could still be confirmed, DeVos suddenly looked vulnerable.


New PSBA Winter Town Hall Series coming to your area
Introducing a new and exciting way to get involved and stay connected in a location near you! Join your PSBA Town Hall meeting to hear the latest budget and political updates affecting public education. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and networking with fellow school directors. Locations have been selected to minimize travel time. Spend less time in the car and more time learning about issues impacting your schools.
Agenda
6-6:35 p.m.         Association update from PSBA Executive Director Nathan Mains
6:35 -7:15 p.m. Networking Reception
7:15-8 p.m.         Governor’s budget address recap
Dates/Locations
Monday, February 20     Forbes Road Career and Technology Center, Monroeville
Tuesday, February 21    Venango Technology Center, Oil City
Wednesday, Feb 22       Clearfield County Career and Technical Center, Clearfield
Thursday, February 23   Columbia Montour AVTS, Bloomsburg
Monday, February 27     Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Jamison
Tuesday, February 28    PSBA, Mechanicsburg
Wednesday, March 1     Bedford County Technical Center, Everett
Thursday, March 2         West Side CTC, Kingston
Registration
This is a complimentary PSBA member event – please register and complete the check-out process through the Store/Registration section of Members area of the website.

Ron Cowell at EPLC always does a great job with these policy forums.
RSVP Today for a Forum In Your Area! EPLC is Holding Five Education Policy Forums on Governor Wolf’s 2017-2018 State Budget Proposal
Forum #1 – Pittsburgh Thursday, February 23, 2017 – Wyndham University Center – 100 Lytton Avenue, Pittsburgh (Oakland), PA 15213
Forum #2 – Harrisburg Area (Enola, PA) Tuesday, February 28, 2017 – Capital Area Intermediate Unit – 55 Miller Street (Susquehanna Room), Enola, PA 17025
Forum #3 – Philadelphia Thursday, March 2, 2017 – Penn Center for Educational Leadership, University of Pennsylvania, 3440 Market Street (5th Floor), Philadelphia, PA 19104
Forum #4 – Indiana University of Pennsylvania Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 1011 South Drive (Stouffer Hall), Indiana, PA 15705
Forum #5 – Lehigh Valley Tuesday, March 28, 2017 – Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21, 4210 Independence Drive, Schnecksville, PA 18078
Governor Wolf will deliver his 2017-2018 state budget proposal to the General Assembly on February 7. These policy forums will be early opportunities to get up-to-date information about what is in the proposed education budget, the budget’s relative strengths and weaknesses, and key issues.  Each of the forums will take following basic format (please see below for regional presenter details at each of the three events). Ron Cowell of EPLC will provide an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget for early education, K-12 and higher education.  A representative of The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will provide an overview of the state’s fiscal situation and key issues that will affect this year’s budget discussion. The overviews will be followed by remarks from a panel representing statewide and regional perspectives concerning state funding for education and education related items. These speakers will discuss the impact of the Governor’s proposals and identify the key issues that will likely be considered during this year’s budget debate.
Although there is no registration fee, seating is limited and an RSVP is required.
Offered in partnership with PASA and the PA Department of Education March 29-30, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg - Camp Hill, PA .    Approved for 40 PIL/Act 48 (Act 45) hours for school administrators.  Register online at http://www.pasa-net.org/ev_calendar_day.asp?date=3/29/2017&eventid=63

PA Educational Technology Exposition & Conference (PETE&C), February 12-15, Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

PASBO 62nd Annual Conference, March 21-24, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh.
Register now for the 2017 NSBA Annual Conference March 25-27 Denver
Plan to join public education leaders for networking and learning at the 2017 NSBA Annual Conference, March 25-27 in Denver, CO. General registration is now open at https://www.nsba.org/conference/registration. A conference schedule, including pre-conference workshops, is available on the NSBA website.

Register for the 2017 PASA Education Congress, “Delving Deeper into the Every Student Succeeds Act.” March 29-30

SAVE THE DATE LWVPA Convention 2017 June 1-4, 2017
Join the League of Women Voters of PA for our 2017 Biennial Convention at the beautiful Inn at Pocono Manor!
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/SAVE-THE-DATE--LWVPA-Convention-June-1-4--2017.html?soid=1102026610927&aid=sie1JiXCxws

Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference October 14. 15, 16, 2017
Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township,  PA

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