Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 3600 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, 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 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 for May 13, 2015:
Roebuck to introduce Wolf blueprint for school
changes; Property Tax and Pension bills move in the Legislature
Education Voters PA: Join our Call to Action on
Thursday, May 14th
Join others across Pennsylvania and take 5-10 minutes on May 14th to
call our state legislators to tell them that Harrisburg’s top priority this year must be enacting a new system that
provides adequate and fair funding for public schools.
Roebuck to introduce Wolf blueprint for school changes
Rep. Roebuck Press Release May 12, 2014
HARRISBURG, May 12 – State
Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila., Democratic chairman of the House Education
Committee, will introduce legislation to carry out Gov. Tom Wolf's proposed
changes to the state school code. "After
four years of cuts and underfunding of K-12 and higher education,
Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly elected Governor Wolf to put us back on the right
track in education. I'm proud to work with the governor and House leadership to
introduce this blueprint of necessary changes to the school code to help our kids,"
Roebuck said.
Wolf has proposed a
$400 million increase in the basic education subsidy to K-12 schools -- the
largest in Pennsylvania history – to restore Accountability Block Grant and
Educational Assistance Program funds cut under the Corbett administration.
Under this plan, school districts would receive reimbursement for about 10
percent of their mandatory charter school tuition payments. Also, more
resources would be made available to help close the funding gap that resulted
from cuts in the basic education subsidy dating to the 2010-11 school year.
House property tax reform
plan passes key House floor vote
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, May 12,
2015
Tuesday, the House
approved a measure by Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York) that would raise Pennsylvania’s
income and sales tax while providing dollar-for-dollar property tax reduction.
The proposal was
adopted as an amendment to Rep. Matt Gabler’s (R-Elk) House Bill 504 by a 109
to 86 vote that crossed party lines.
The proposal calls for increasing Pennsylvania’s personal income tax by
0.63 percent to 3.7 percent while raising the sales and use tax a full
percentage point to seven percent in order to earn an estimated $5 billion in
additional revenue to be dedicated to property tax relief.
Pa. House set to approve
property tax-relief plan
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON MAY 13, 2015
Pennsylvania House
lawmakers are expected to take a final vote Wednesday approving a property tax
relief plan similar to what Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed. Like the governor's plan, it would seek
higher sales and personal income taxes in order to give Pennsylvanians a break
on property taxes. But it would not target extra relief to cities and poor
school districts – something Wolf wants to do.
The measure attracted Democratic leaders, including caucus whip Rep.
Mike Hanna, D-Clinton, and divided the chamber's Republican majority. "I am really shocked that we would be
proposing a 16 percent increase in state spending on a billion dollar structural
state deficit," said Rep. Bill Adolph, R-Delaware, chairman of the
powerful House Appropriations Committee.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/81845-pa-house-set-to-approve-property-tax-relief-plan
House poised to vote on
property tax reform on Wednesday
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on May 12,
2015 at 9:11 PM, updated May 12, 2015 at 10:00 PM
In what some
described as the most significant property tax vote in decades if not longer,
the state House on Tuesday approved a proposal that
would shift $4.2 billion of the school funding burden that
property owners now bear on to wage earners and consumers. The tax-shifting measure, which passed by
a 109-86 vote,
was amended to a tax code bill exempting timbering operations from the sales
tax. The legislation now is expected to be considered for final passage by the
House on Wednesday, sending it to the Senate for anticipated further
refinement. The House plan, offered by
Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion, proposes to raise the state's 3.07 percent
personal income tax to 3.7 percent. It also would increase the state's 6
percent sales tax to 7 percent but would not expand the base of items that are
subject to the tax. In return, property
owners, residential and commercial alike, would reap the benefit of lower
school property taxes. It also adds $125 million more to the state's property
tax and rent rebate program that benefits low- to low-middle income senior
citizens and people with disabilities.
Changes to Pa. property taxes advance in House
Morning Call By Mark Scolforo Associated Press May 13, 2015
Pennsylvania House passes property tax
amendment that would increase income, sales taxes
Republican-drafted property tax amendmentl
OK'd by Pa House
HARRISBURG — A plan
to replace nearly $5 billion in property taxes that are used to fund public
education in Pennsylvania with higher sales and income taxes passed the state
House on Tuesday, placing the issue squarely before lawmakers at the start of
peak dealmaking season. The House voted
109-86 for a Republican-drafted plan that would raise the sales tax rate in
most of the state from 6 percent to 7 percent and increase the personal income
tax rate from 3.07 percent to 3.7 percent.
Supporters called it a rare opportunity to act on something with wide
support in their districts, while opponents warned the plan lacked a mechanism
to prevent school boards from eventually returning property taxes to current
levels or higher. "This is not the
amendment I would write, but I'm not in the majority," said Rep. Bryan Barbin, D-Cambria. "What I believe is more
important is that we reach some compromise that helps our oldest citizens stay
in their houses."
Tax relief, and school
funding
Lancaster Online
Editorial posted: Wednesday, May
13, 2015 6:00
School district property tax rates have increased an average of 26.5 percent across Lancaster
County since Act 1 took effect seven years ago — well above the
inflation rate of 17.4 percent for the same time span. The state House
passed property tax reform Tuesday that, as in Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget, would
increase Pennsylvania’s personal income tax to 3.7 percent. The House proposal
also would raise the state sales tax to 7 percent — a bit more than the 6.6
percent sought by Wolf but without expanding the range of items and services
taxed, as the governor has proposed. No doubt frustrated by Act 1’s failure to
reduce their property taxes, many Lancaster County residents have a pretty
simple opinion about the school property tax: Don’t mend it, end it.
State Rep. Stan
Saylor, a York County Republican who chairs the House Education Committee,
understands that. “We’ve tried total
elimination,” Saylor said Tuesday. “It’s always failed. I’ve proposed something
to try to get the ball moving.” (Saylor said he believes the governor’s plan
has no chance of House passage.) We’re
with Saylor and Wolf and, for that matter, the lawmakers who have resisted the
elimination of property taxes. Property
taxes provide a safety net for school districts during economic downturns —
when they must continue to pay their utility bills, teachers’ existing
contracts, and for special education and other services we rightly expect of
them in educating our children.
“There hasn’t been a hearing
on it, there hasn’t been a lot of deliberation on it, there hasn’t been a lot
of stakeholder input,” he said, further pointing out one of the actuaries
studying the bill said time constraints prohibited them from reading the bill. “We are disclosing that the time available
for preparing this letter as insufficient to perform a complete review and
thus, this letter should be considered preliminary in nature,” read part of the
cover letter for the actuarial report delivered by Milliman, an actuarial firm
contracted by PERC."
House and Senate advance
defined contribution pension bills
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Tuesday, May 12,
2015
Though different in
substance, both the House and Senate were active Tuesday in moving bills
designed to dramatically reform Pennsylvania’s state-run public employee
pension systems. Furthest along in
the process is Senate Bill 1, the Senate Republican caucus’s pension reform
plan that would move new employees to a 401(k)-like pension plan and alter the
future benefits of current employees by requiring a higher employee
contribution or rolling their defined benefit plan structure back to that of
pre-Act 9-levels. After making its way
through the Senate Finance Committee yesterday,
the legislation was considered Tuesday morning by the Public Employee
Retirement Commission. There, an
actuarial note to the legislation was approved that showed the bill could save
anywhere between $8 billion and $18 billion depending on which analysis is
used. Voting against the actuarial note,
commission member Sen. John Blake (D-Lackawanna) reiterated process concerns he
made during Monday’s Senate Finance Committee meeting.
Democrats dispute savings in GOP’s state pensions bill
By Karen Langley /
Post-Gazette Harrisburg
Bureau May 13, 2015 12:10 AM
Five takeaways from the
Senate Republicans' proposed reform of Pennsylvania
By Charles Thompson |
cthompson@pennlive.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on May 12, 2015 at 6:32 PM, updated May 12, 2015 at 11:25 PM
on May 12, 2015 at 6:32 PM, updated May 12, 2015 at 11:25 PM
Here's some early
observations from the preliminary analyses of Senate Republicans'
effort to reform Pennsylvania's two statewide public pension systems. 1. It appears to save more for taxpayers faster than most of the
other legislative initiatives introduced to date. The plan built by Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, would save about
$18 billion to taxpayers from current obligations through the next 30 years. That's a little higher target than we've seen
from two pension reform alternatives advanced by House members last session,
but the main benefit to Browne's plan is more of these savings can be enjoyed
in the near-term.
Key PSERS Provisions of Senate Bill 1
PSBA website May 12,
2015
The following is
PSBA’s initial summary of key provisions of Senate Bill 1, as of May 12.
Senate Bill 1 is the
Senate version of pension reform that seeks to change the Public School
Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System
(SERS) for both long- and short-term cost savings. Preliminary Public Employee
Retirement Commission (PERC) analysis suggests (download
the PERC Actuarial Note)this legislation could save
approximately $16.2 billion for PSERS through 2048. It is intended to stabilize
the system for future years and begin to fix the insurmountable unfunded
liability.
Pa. and New Jersey
graduation rates among top in nation
Sara K. Satullo |
For lehighvalleylive.com May 13, 2015
The truth about cyber
charter schools
Trib Live Letter By Michael
J. Conti Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 9:00 p.m.
Michael J. Conti is CEO of The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School
Your recent article “Jeannette joins the call for cyberschool funding change” begs a rebuttal. The rationale the district relies upon is tired and flawed. Alarmingly, in presenting an entirely one-sided story, your editorial team and reporter did not strive to meet a basic journalistic principle: balance. Superintendent Hutchinson says, “The cyber charter school funding formula has no basis in the actual price to educate (those students).” What he fails to admit is that the existing formula for traditional school districts lacks equity, as well. Furthermore, all school districts pay a per-pupil payment minus all per-pupil expenditures for each student attending a cyber school, which is about 80 percent of what they pay to educate that student.
Your recent article “Jeannette joins the call for cyberschool funding change” begs a rebuttal. The rationale the district relies upon is tired and flawed. Alarmingly, in presenting an entirely one-sided story, your editorial team and reporter did not strive to meet a basic journalistic principle: balance. Superintendent Hutchinson says, “The cyber charter school funding formula has no basis in the actual price to educate (those students).” What he fails to admit is that the existing formula for traditional school districts lacks equity, as well. Furthermore, all school districts pay a per-pupil payment minus all per-pupil expenditures for each student attending a cyber school, which is about 80 percent of what they pay to educate that student.
Read more: http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/8344666-74/cyber-schools-charter#ixzz3a0mLnjBB
East Penn School Board defends budget that calls for
3.8 percent tax hike
By Margie Peterson Special
to The Morning Call May 12, 2015
East Penn school
board defends 2015-16 budget which calls for 3.8 percent tax hike
See how much East Penn
School District
Whitehall-Coplay eyeing 3 percent tax hike
By Kevin Duffy Special
to The Morning Call May 12, 2015
The Whitehall-Coplay School District
Taxes would rise to
15.8673 mills, an increase of 0.4487. The spending plan represents a 3.59
percent increase over the current outlay.
"In previous meetings,
McHale-Small said the biggest cost increases for the district are
state-mandated retirement contributions, which will increase by $900,000 going
into the 2015-16 year. Health care benefits will see the next biggest increase,
going up by about $375,000."
Saucon Valley School Board cites surplus, won't raise
taxes
By Christy Potter Special
to The Morning Call May 13, 2015
The Saucon Valley
School Board wants to tap the district's surplus, not raise taxes, to balance
the 2015-16 budget. The board voted 8-1
Tuesday night to pass the $42.9 million proposed final budget and draw on the
district's $15.2 million fund balance to close a $478,725 gap. Director Ed Inghrim,
who made the motion to approve the spending plan with no tax increase, said he
didn't want to increase property taxes when the district is running a surplus.
6 Lancaster County high
schools named among state's best in U.S. News & World Report rankings
Lancaster Online By
KARA NEWHOUSE | Staff Writer
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 8:09 am | Updated: 10:48 pm, Tue May 12, 2015.
In 2008, Penn Manor
High School was in trouble. It hadn't met the state's academic targets for two
years in a row, and was required to come up with an improvement plan. Seven years later, the school has been recognized as one of the state's best by U.S. News &
World Report. The magazine's
annual Best High Schools list awards gold, silver and bronze medals to public
schools it deems best at preparing students for college. Six Lancaster County
high schools made this year's list. Rankings were calculated using standardized test scores in math
and reading, as well as participation and success on Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate exams.
Philly Chief Financial
Officer Matt Stanski to leave District at the end of June
the notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on May 12, 2015 06:19 PM
School District
Chief Financial Officer Matthew Stanski is leaving at the end of June to take a
similar position in the Montgomery County, Maryland, school district. Stanski came to Philadelphia to manage
District finances in November 2012 from Prince George's County, Maryland, where
he had worked with Superintendent William Hite.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said that the Montgomery County
Board of Education voted Tuesday on Stanski's appointment to be their
supervisor for management, budget and planning.
"As CFO, Matt navigated the District through a crippling financial
crisis and created the conditions for financial stability," Gallard said
in a statement. "In FY 2014, the District faced a $304 million shortfall.
The District is expected to end this fiscal year with a small surplus."
SRC votes not to renew one
of its initial Renaissance charters
A
dozen other schools had charters renewed at a special meeting Monday.
By Laura Benshoff for NewsWorks on May 12,
2015 09:37 AM
The Philadelphia
School Reform Commission voted not to renew two charter schools, including, for
the first time, one of its own hand-picked Renaissance charters Monday night. Delaware Valley Charter High School (DVCHS)
and Universal Bluford both received notices of nonrenewal. DVCHS CEO Ernest
Holiday pushed back on the numbers gathered as a part of the Charter School
Office's evaluation process, including math proficiency of less than 30 percent
for the last three years.
http://thenotebook.org/blog/158558/src-renaissance-charter-school-non-renewal-vote-universal-bluford
More questions than
answers on funding for Philly schools
SOLOMON
LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF
WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM,
215-854-5903 POSTED: Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 12:16 AM
THE CITY'S public
school system is once again stuck in no man's land, otherwise known as a new
budget cycle. The city charter requires
the school district to adopt its budget by May 30, but funding from the city
and state are a giant question mark at this point, leading to the possibility
that the district might violate the charter and go past its deadline for the
second straight year. "I can't see
how the district would conceive of passing a budget by May 30," Bill
Green, a member of the School Reform Commission, the district's governing body,
said in a recent interview.
Philly Daily News has
endorsed Helen Gym, long time public education advocate, for at-large city
council seat.
DN Editorial - For
At-Large: New faces
To foster progress & cooperation, our
selections are a needed sea change
Philly Daily News Editorial POSTED: Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 12:16
AM
IN PAST City
Finance reports give
insight to Philly at-large council race
WHYY Newsworks NINETYNINE A BLOG
BY KEVIN MCCORRY MAY 12,
2015
There's only a few
days remaining until Pennsylvania's May 19 primary — when Philadelphia voters will
choose a new mayor and may elect to dramatically shake up City Council. Council's seven at-large seats are up for
grabs and at least one will be taken by a newcomer. According to the city charter, at least two
of these seats go to Republicans as the minority party. Historically, based on
the city's political demographics, Philly's at-large council members typically
split five for Democrats and two for the GOP.
To focus on the Democrats: on primary day, voters can choose five
candidates from a list of both incumbents and newcomers.
Neshaminy superintendent
leaves for Lower Merion
Philly.com by Kathy Bocella Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 1:08 AM
LANGHORNE Neshaminy
School District's superintendent, Robert Copeland, has resigned to take the
same job at the Lower Merion School District, effective July 1. Copeland announced his resignation in a
letter to the school community on Tuesday, the same day that Lower Merion's
school board said he was being hired in the Montgomery County district. Before going to Neshaminy three years ago,
Copeland was a longtime superintendent in Piscataway Township, N.J., and was
named 2007 New Jersey Superintendent of the Year by the Association of School
Administrators, according to a news release.
Nicholas Kristof: Peace in our schools
Let’s call a truce in the
education wars and focus on pre-K
Post Gazette Opinion
By Nicholas Kristof May 13, 2015 12:00 AM
For the last dozen
years, waves of idealistic Americans have campaigned to reform and improve K-12
education. Armies of college graduates
joined Teach for America. Zillionaires invested in charter schools. Liberals
and conservatives, holding their noses and agreeing on nothing else, cooperated
to proclaim education the civil rights issue of our time. Yet I wonder if the education reform movement
hasn’t peaked. The zillionaires are
bruised. The idealists are dispirited. The number of young people applying for
Teach for America, after 15 years of growth, has dropped for the last two years.
The Common Core curriculum is now an orphan, with politicians vigorously
denying paternity. K-12 education is an
exhausted, bloodsoaked battlefield. It’s Agincourt, the day after. So, a
suggestion: Refocus some reformist passions on early childhood.
Testing Resistance & Reform News: May 6 - 12, 2015
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on May 12, 2015 - 1:37pm
As standardized exam
season winds down, heavy pressure from the grassroots testing resistance
movement is posting multiple policy reform victories. Just this week, Texas
essentially eliminated graduation testing requirements for most high school
seniors. Backed by a powerful movement of parents and educators, the Colorado
legislature overwhelmingly voted to send the governor a package that cuts
state-mandated testing hours by more than 30%, supports parental out-out
rights, and allows districts to pilot alternative assessments. Bills
strengthening opt-out provisions are also moving in Delaware and Wisconsin. In
New York, the incoming State Senate Majority Leader is the primary sponsor of legislation
to limit state exams.
Education Voters PA: Join our Call to Action on
Thursday, May 14th
Join others across
Pennsylvania and take 5-10 minutes on May 14th to call our state legislators to
tell them that Harrisburg’s top priority this year must be enacting a
new system that provides adequate and fair funding for public schools.
Our legislators must take
politics out of school funding and distribute state funding to school districts
using a formula that is based on real factors and the real costs of delivering
services.
• Support sufficient
funding for public schools that provides every student with the opportunity to
learn, to meet state standards, and to be self-sufficient adults, ready for
college and the workforce. Money
matters when it comes to providing programs and services.
• Drive out state
funding to districts using a formula that is based on real factors and the real
costs of delivering services, including student factors such as the number of
students who live in poverty, who are English language learners, and who are
homeless. It should also take into account district factors such as the
sparsity/size of the district, local tax effort, local wealth, and the number
of students attending charter schools.
• Please support a
long-term, student-driven, and equitable funding formula that provides adequate
resources for every student to be able to meet academic standards.
Want to share this
info? Here is our flyer:May_14_Call_to_Action_Flyer_2015.pdfMay_14_Call_to_Action_Flyer_2015.pdf
School directors, superintendents and
administrators are encouraged to register and attend this event.
Bucks / Lehigh /
Northampton Legislative Council
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Quakertown Community School District, 100 Commerce
Drive Quakertown, PA 18951
Welcome by Paul Stepanoff , Board President , QCSD
Introduction of Paul Clymer, State of State Education
Mr. Glenn Grell , PSERS Executive Director
Introduction by Dr. Bill Harner, Superintendent QCSD
Panel of Superintendents and Elected School Directors from Bucks / Lehigh
/ Northampton Counties
Introduction by Mark B. Miller, Board Vice President, Centennial SD
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:
1) The status of 2015-16 budget in their district (including proposed tax
increase)
2) PSERS impact on their budget
3) Proposed use of any new funding from Commonwealth
Larry Feinberg and Ron Williams
Benefit and need for County Wide Legislative Council in Delaware and
Montgomery Counties respectively
Dr. Tom Seidenberger (Retired Superintendent ) - Circuit Rider Update
SAVE The DATE: Northwestern PA School Funding Forum
May 28, 2015 7:00 PM Jefferson Educational
Society 3207 State St.
Erie , PA 16508
Panelists
Conneaut School
District
Mr. Jarrin
Sperry, Superintendent, Ms. Jody Sperry, Board President
Corry School
District
Mr. William Nichols,
Superintendent
Fort LeBoeuf
School District
Mr. Richard Emerick,
Assistant Superintendent
Girard School
District
Dr. James Tracy,
Superintendent
Harbor Creek
School District
Ms. Christine
Mitchell, Board President
Millcreek School
District
Mr. William Hall,
Superintendent Mr. Aaron O'Toole, Director of Finance and Accounting
Keynote Speaker
Mr. Jay Himes,
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials
CONFERENCE ON THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN PENNSYLVANIA
A CALL FOR ADEQUATE AND EQUITABLE SCHOOL FUNDING
Sponsored by Coatesville and Media Area
NAACPs
9:00 AM – 1:30 PM SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015
MARCUS FOSTER STUDENT UNION 2ND
FLOOR
CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA DELAWARE
COUNTY CAMPUS, CHEYNEY, PA
Our children have to
pass the state mandated tests in order to move on with life. SO - it is time
for the PA Assembly to provide adequate and equitable funding to the public
schools of Pennsylvania.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC. SPACE IS LIMITED.
COME AND ASK YOUR
PERSONAL QUESTIONS AND SHARE YOUR OPINIONS WITH PRESENTERS WHO ARE EXPERTS AND
POLICY MAKERS.
Pre-Registration is
required for meals. Deadline for Pre-registration is May 12, 2015
PRE-REGISTER
ON-LINE: HTTPS://www.surveymonkey.com/S/JTZB9F8
Additional Info: http://www.naacpmediabranch.org/cse.html
Spanish Version: http://www.naacpmediabranch.org/cse-spanish.html
PHILLY DISTRICT TO HOLD
COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS
Thursday,
May 14
Congreso, 216 West Somerset St .
Wednesday,
May 20
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.