Daily postings
from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1500
Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators,
legislators, members of the press and a broad array of education advocacy
organizations via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.
Follow us
on Twitter at @lfeinberg
March 8, 7 pm Lehigh County
Thursday, March 8th,
7:00 pm at Lehigh Carbon
Community College , Community Services
Center
All public education stakeholders are
invited to this special event. Join us on Thursday, March 8th at Lehigh Carbon
Community College at 7PM for an evening with several key
state legislators from Lehigh
County
State Representatives and Senators
representing surrounding school districts have been invited to attend and
discuss their positions on public education as they head into negotiations over
next year’s budget. This event will be
moderated by the League of Women Voters.
No letup seen as Pa.
By Dan Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer, Posted: Mon, Mar. 5, 2012 , 3:01 AM
Passage of Pennsylvania's education budget for 2012-13 is months away and
the legislature likely will make significant changes to the spending plan Gov.
Corbett proposed Feb. 7.
But it's almost certain that one very sizable proposed expense won't
change: contributions to the Public School Employees' Retirement System
(PSERS). Payments for 2012-13 from the state and school districts will rise
steeply, by about 45 percent.
http://www.philly.com/philly/insights/in_education/20120305_No_letup_seen_as_Pa__school_pension_costs_soar.html
Legislature,
state education secretary spar over Corbett's budget
Governor
accused of using 'budgetary gimmicks' that obscure $100 million in cuts to
school districts.
By Steve Esack, Of The Morning
Call 6:35 p.m. EST, March
5, 2012
Budgetary semantics and spiraling
pension obligations.
Those topics denominated a
three-hour-and-15-minute House hearing Monday on Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed
$8.2 billion spending plan for public education for next year.
The Republicans and Democrats on
the House Appropriations Committee agreed that Corbett's proposal reduced
2012-13 spending by $100 million over current levels.
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis
disagreed.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-house-education-hearing-20120305,0,1234625.story
“Rep. Steve Samuelson,
D-Northampton, said, “I might want to suggest that if any of us are confused
about whether or not education funding has gone up or down since Governor
Corbett took office, we could just ask the students ..., the citizens, ... the
school districts of Pennsylvania.”
Disagreement exists over whether Pa.
Gov. Tom Corbett's budget increases or decreases funding for schools
By Published: Monday, March 05, 2012 , 4:14 PM
There’s a disagreement over whether Gov. Tom
Corbett’s 2012-13 state budget proposal includes an increase or decrease in spending
for public schools.
State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis told the
House Appropriations Committee that it essentially comes down to what gets
counted.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/disagreement_exists_over_wheth.html
Education funding skews toward wealthy districts long
term
ebrandt@pottsmerc.com Posted: 03/04/12 12:01
am
Since 2008, school districts with a low income population and high
property tax rate, like Pottstown, have absorbed up to 10 times more of the
$1.5 billion in cuts to state education funding than wealthier districts,
according to a study released in the shadow of a state budget proposal which
proposes even more cuts for Pottstown .
Budget numbers often depend on whose numbers they are
Pottstown Mercury By Evan Brandt ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
Legislator Agrees Cyber Funding Formula is Flawed
Milton Standard Journal By Tammy Burke, March 5th, 2012
Mifflinburg – It isn’t just school superintendents who are troubled by
the idea of taxpayers footing for-profit enterprises to educate the
Commonwealth’s children as it seems to be occurring with cyber charter schools.
“To meet the progress benchmark this year,
81 percent of students must score proficient or advanced in reading, a 9
percent increase over last year's target. In math, 78 percent must score
proficient or advanced in math, an 11 percent increase.”
Program is
aimed at boosting standardized test scores
By Melinda
Rizzo, Special to The Morning Call 10:29
a.m. EST, March 5, 2012
Southern Lehigh School District
has developed a "boot camp" for high school juniors in an effort to
increase Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores.
The reading and math PSSA boot camp begins this week ahead of the tests, which run from March 12-23.
The reading and math PSSA boot camp begins this week ahead of the tests, which run from March 12-23.
Cyber charter school to
change name, focus
By Rachel Weaver,
PITTSBURGH March 6, 2012
The Allegheny
Intermediate Unit's cyber charter school is changing its name and focus to put
greater emphasis on relevant subjects. Educators
are scheduled to announce today that STREAM
Academy
Read
more: Cyber charter school to change name, focus - Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_785004.html#ixzz1oKSn4QXa
Black Students Face More Discipline, Data Suggests
New York Times By TAMAR LEWIN Published: March 6, 2012
Black students, especially boys, face much harsher discipline in public
schools than other students, according to new data from the Department of
Education.
Although black students made up only 18 percent of those enrolled in the
schools sampled, they accounted for 35 percent of those suspended once, 46
percent of those suspended more than once and 39 percent of all expulsions,
according to the Civil Rights Data Collection’s 2009-10 statistics from 72,000 schools
in 7,000 districts, serving about 85 percent of the nation’s students. The data
covered students from kindergarten age through high school.
Panel: Unpacking the PA School Budget: What
Does This Mean for Me?
March 29, 2012 from 5:30pm
to 8pm at Arcadia University
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Website or Map: http://www.arcadia.edu/direct…
Join us for a panel discussion that
will delve into details of the Commonwealth's School Budget as announced by the
Governor in February 2012. This event
will tell you how the budget will affect your schools, community, and children.
Host: Dr. Bruce Campbell,
Coordinator, Educational Leadership Master's Program, Arcadia University
Moderator: Baruch Kintisch, Director
of Policy Advocacy and Senior Staff Attorney, Education Law
Center
Panelists:
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent,Lower Merion
School District
Christopher McGinley, Superintendent,
Art Haywood, President, Board of
Commissioners, Cheltenham Township
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu
Nofre Vaquer, Director, ARC of Philadelphia
Hiram Rivera, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union
Dale Mezzacappa, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Dan Hardy, Contributing Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Please RSVP by March 12 to dressm@arcadia.edu
The
Education Committee of the League of Women Voters of Chester County
March 19th LWV Chester
County
PA Auditor
General Jack Wagner
Monday
March 19th 6:30 pm
at Stetson Middle
School , West Chester
Location: Stetson Middle School Auditorium
The Auditor General will speak to the public followed by Q & A Session.
The Auditor General will speak to the public followed by Q & A Session.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
March 26th: Last day to register to vote in the
April 24th PA Primary Election
You do have the power to change the direction of
education policy in Pennsylvania
The
last day to REGISTER before the primary is March 26 , 2012. Make sure that you, your family, friends,
neighbors and co-workers are all registered to vote in the April 24th
Pennsylvania Primary. Ask your incumbent
state representative and state senator for their positions on public
education. Let them know how important
these issues are to you. Forward this
reminder to any and all public education stakeholders.
Education Voters PA –
Take action on the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposal starts the process,
but it isn’t all decided: our legislators can play an important role in
standing up for our priorities. Last year, public outcry helped prevent
nearly $300 million in additional cuts. We heard from the Governor, and
we know where he stands. Now,
we need to ask our legislators: what is your position on supporting our
schools?
PSBA Sample Board
Resolution regarding the budget
Please consider bringing this sample resolution to
the members of your board.
http://www.psba.org/issues-advocacy/issues-research/state-budget/Budget_resolution-02212012.doc
PA House Democratic
Caucus Website
UPDATED DAILY –
STATEWIDE PRESS COVERAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUDGETS
As districts consider their preliminary budgets and we await the
Governor’s February 7th budget
announcement, the PA House Democratic Caucus has begun daily tracking of press
coverage on school district budgets statewide:
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