Daily
postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1900
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent
advocates, teacher leaders, 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 and Twitter.
The Keystone State Education Coalition is
pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public
Education. Are you a
member?
These daily
emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
The PA House GOP budget proposal is
slated to be unveiled at 11:30 am
this morning
Delay the
cut in the capital stock and franchise tax
We urge the legislature to delay
planned tax cuts rather than making additional budget cuts to schools, health
care, and human services.
Help spread the message of the Pennsylvania School
Funding Campaign for the 2013-2014 State Budget
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/03/help-spread-message-of-pennsylvania.html
The PA House GOP budget proposal is
slated to be unveiled at 11:30 am
this morning.
Tune in live on http://PAHouseGOP.com & http://PABudget.com
House Democratic Policy Committee to
hold public hearing on state budget education funding Wednesday May 29 in Drexel Hill
HARRISBURG, May 24
– House Democratic Policy
Committee Chairman Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, announced today that the committee
will hold a public hearing on education funding in the 2013-14 state budget
from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29 in Bonner-Prendergast High
School’s Performing Arts Center, 403 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill.
State Rep. Margo Davidson, D-Delaware, requested the hearing and will
serve as co-chairwoman. Legislators will hear about the challenges faced by
school administrators in managing recurring cuts to education funding for the
past two years, and from policy experts on the overall impact on the
Commonwealth.
The current hearing agenda is:
- 10 a.m. – Welcome and
opening remarks
- 10:10 a.m. – Panel of
local school districts:
- Louis DeVlieger,
superintendent,
- Joseph Bruni,
superintendent,
- 10:50 a.m. – Panel of
local parents
- 11:20 a.m. – Panel of
policy experts:
- Sharon Ward, executive
director, Pennsylvania Budget and
- Rhonda Brownstein,
executive director,
- 12 p.m. – Ashley
DeMauro,
- 12:20 p.m. – Closing
remarks
The hearing is open to
the public and media coverage is invited.
The AEI Note: May 28, 2013
Arts and Education News from the Education Policy and Leadership Center
Neshaminy school board, teachers
union reach tentative deal
PhillyBurbs.com By Christian Menno Staff writer Posted on May 28, 2013
It's a deal. Finally.
After nearly five years of intense negotiations, harsh words and two
strikes, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers and the school board have put
together a tentative contract settlement.
“I am very pleased to report there is a tentative settlement,” school
board President Ritchie Webb said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
NFT President Louise Boyd called the impasse “a long and challenging
process.”
The details of the proposal weren't released Tuesday, but are expected to
be made available to the public soon. Webb said it is “essentially the same
proposal that has been on the table since December.”
Area school districts save money
with their own cyber school option
By Travis
Kellar, The Sentinel May 27, 2013
In the constant battle to balance budgets, school district officials
often identify one particular cost they believe should be addressed through
reform — cyber school funding.
School districts pick up the cost of education for students who are a
part of the cyber charter programs. Depending on the number of students who
live in the school district and opt for a cyber school, that can be a costly
part of the district's annual budget.
How Commonsense
Cyber School
Funding Reform will Save
Cumberland County
Education Matters in the Cumberland
Valley
(Updated with January
31, 2013 PDE-363 recalculation)
“Seven of 11 cyber charter schools that reported special education data
to the Department of Education had rates of special needs students higher than
the state average.”
IUs could control special ed funding
for cybers, rep says
Sharon Herald By John Finnerty CNHI
Harrisburg Correspondent May 25, 2013
The move is intended to assure that all students receive the services they need and allay fears that cyber schools are inflating the number of students identified as requiring special education services to get more money.
McCarter Unveils Legislation Aimed to Curb School
District
Citizens
Call Blog Posted on May 25, 2013 3
Comments
Perhaps
adding a little muscle to the cries of public school advocates that PA’s
charter schools – especially cyber charters – are needlessly sapping the
funding base of school districts across the state, Rep. Steve McCarter (D-154) unveiled
legislation Thursday at a press event at Cheltenham High School’s Stretton Hall
seeking to address those alleged inequities.
The
bill would essentially bring the primary costs of cyber charters, now paid for
by local school districts using the same per pupil funding formula as
bricks-and-mortar charter schools, under the state umbrella. It would also
restructure and reduce the cost of cyber special needs/special education
services and limit other charter costs.
Support Our Schools Rally - Shippensburg June
4 at 6:30 pm
Education
Matters in the Cumberland
Valley
at
The Thought Lot in Shippensburg (Corner of Orange
Join
us and Invite your friends
Click here for
more information
New Pa.
MARTHA
WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Wednesday,
May 29, 2013 ,
3:01 AM
As
the Philadelphia School Reform Commission prepares to vote on a doomsday budget
with massive cuts, a state senator Tuesday announced legislation that would
funnel more funds to the schools by giving the city new powers to crack down on
delinquent taxpayers.
State
Sen. Mike Stack (D., Phila.) said the legislative package he will introduce
this week in Harrisburg - with support from Mayor Nutter - would require the
city to garnish up to 10 percent of the wages of delinquent taxpayers, give
local governments authority to attach bank accounts to collect unpaid taxes
without going to court, and allow municipalities to put liens on property
anywhere in the state that is owned by delinquent taxpayers.
Read
more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130529_New_Pa__bills_for_city_school_shortfall.html#D1ihFimRKOR78CrB.99
By Precious
Petty | The Express-Times on May 29, 2013 at 5:00 AM
Two Northampton County
high schools and one Lehigh
County
Gov. Tom
Corbett on Tuesday announced $633,000 for 50 schools statewide.Bethlehem
Catholic High School, Parkland
School District and Pius
X High School are on the list, according to a news release.
Governor Corbett Announces $633,000 in
Hybrid Learning Grants to 34 School Entities
PDE Press ReleaseMay 28, 2013
In keeping with his commitment to promote innovative educational programs for Pennsylvania students, Governor Tom Corbett today announced that $633,000 in federal funds has been awarded to accelerate the implementation of hybrid learning programs in 50 school buildings in 34 school entities. A new approach to provide cost-effective, personalized learning to K-12 students, hybrid learning employs frequent digital assessments to measure student performance and uses the results to identify students for differentiated instruction.
PDE Press Release
In keeping with his commitment to promote innovative educational programs for Pennsylvania students, Governor Tom Corbett today announced that $633,000 in federal funds has been awarded to accelerate the implementation of hybrid learning programs in 50 school buildings in 34 school entities. A new approach to provide cost-effective, personalized learning to K-12 students, hybrid learning employs frequent digital assessments to measure student performance and uses the results to identify students for differentiated instruction.
Check out where Governor Corbett is on this
list. Education policy have anything to
do with that?
Popular Governors, and Prospects for 2016
New
York Times By MICAH COHEN May 28, 2013 , 12:11 pm
Last
month, we examined the most
unpopular governors facing re-election in 2014. Many of the governors
with the poorest job approval ratings were Republicans in Democratic-leaning
and swing states. But the Republicans
also have a group of popular governors in swing states and blue states. With
broad bipartisan appeal, those governors — and a few Democratic counterparts —
will not only potentially find an easier path to re-election, but could also
make strong 2016
presidential prospects.
In
the early
stages of the 2016 race, top political operatives, fund-raisers and donors
may look to home state popularity as a measure of a candidate’s appeal and
political talent, particularly for governors in states that don’t automatically
and overwhelmingly support a chief executive of one party or the other.
Need to feel good about the Common Core and Keystone Exams?
What would it take for us to see similar events focusing on high quality
early childhood education and community
schools? Generous sponsors?
“The Pennsylvania Education Summit is
co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Business
Council Education Foundation, Pennsylvania Partnerships for
Children and Team Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Education Summit Pennsylvania
Agenda
and registration here: http://educsummit.eventbrite.com/
“What’s the least bad option going forward?
Who should bear the brunt of this legacy of fiscal irresponsibility? Current
retirees? Today’s teachers? New teachers? School districts? Taxpayers? The
students themselves?”
Live
or Webinar June 6, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. EDT
The
Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 1016
16th Street NW
America’s teacher-pension systems (with up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities according to some estimates) present a raging public-policy dilemma. Career teachers absolutely deserve a secure retirement, but lawmakers promised them benefits that the system cannot afford, as those promises were based on short-term political considerations and bad math. Now the bill is coming due, and someone’s going to get soaked.
America’s teacher-pension systems (with up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities according to some estimates) present a raging public-policy dilemma. Career teachers absolutely deserve a secure retirement, but lawmakers promised them benefits that the system cannot afford, as those promises were based on short-term political considerations and bad math. Now the bill is coming due, and someone’s going to get soaked.
Panelists:
- Sandi Jacobs, vice president
and managing director of state policy, National Council on Teacher Quality
- Josh B. McGee, vice president
of public accountability, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
- Charles Zogby, secretary of
the budget,
- Leo Casey, executive director,
Albert Shanker Institute
Moderator:
Chester
This event will be webcast.
Visit our website,www.edexcellence.net, at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday,
June 6, to watch the proceedings live.
Register
now to join the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the National Council on
Teacher Quality for a timely look at the teacher-pension crisis and various
state efforts to address it.
Info
and registration: http://www.edexcellence.net/events/no-way-out.html
EPLC Education Policy Fellowship Program –
Apply Now
Applications are
available now for the 2013-2014 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy
Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania
With more than 350
graduates in its first fourteen years, this Program is a premier professional
development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates,
and community leaders. State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available
to certified public accountants.
Past participants
include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals, school
business officers, school board members, education deans/chairs, statewide
association leaders, parent leaders, education advocates, and other education
and community leaders. Fellows are typically sponsored by their employer
or another organization.
The Fellowship Program
begins with a two-day retreat on September 12-13, 2013 and
continues to graduation in June 2014.
Search underway for PSBA Executive Director
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA)
is a nonprofit statewide association of public school boards, pledged to the
highest ideals of local lay leadership for the public schools of the
commonwealth. Founded in 1895, PSBA has a rich history as the first
school boards' association established in the United States Pennsylvania
Search
by Diversified Search, 1990 M St NW, Suite 570Washington , DC
Turning the Page for Change
celebration, June
11, 2013
Please join us for the Notebook’s annual Turning the Page for
Change celebration on June 11, 2013 , from 4:30 - 7 p.m. at the University of The Arts 320 S. Broad Street
Building One America 2013 National Summit July 18-19, 2013 Washington , DC
Brookings Institution to present
findings of their “Confronting Suburban Poverty” report
Building One America’s Second National Summit for
Inclusive Suburbs and Sustainable Regions will involve local leaders and federal
policy makers to seek bipartisan solutions to the unique but common challenges
around housing, schools and infrastructure facing America America
Information and registration: https://buildingoneamerica.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1
PA Charter Schools: $4 billion taxpayer dollars with no real
oversight Keystone State May 2,
2013 )
Charter schools - public funding without public scrutiny; Proposed
statewide authorization and direct payment would further diminish
accountability and oversight for public tax dollars
