This email was forwarded to me. Please read and respond.
Contact Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R-PA 10th) and Representative John T. Galloway (D-PA 140th)
CALL TO ACTION!
Your Help Needed Immediately!
More Info
Budget, Mandate Waiver, Tax Collection Issues
June 17, 2008
Call Your Senator Today
Late Monday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-10 to report Senate Bill 1389, an alternative to Gov. Rendell's proposed budget. SB 1389 proposes to cut education funding by $118 million or 41% -less than 2 weeks before school districts have to approve their own budgets for 2008-09. As reported last week, it was becoming apparent that some type of re-distribution of funds was imminent; however massive cuts of this nature are a different story and would cause chaos in the budgeting process for scores of school districts.
The message to your Senator is to vote against SB 1389 when it comes to the floor and to restore education funding to the $291 million level that has been proposed by the governor. A vote on this bill could come this afternoon, so your calls are needed today.
Efforts to weaken the mandate waiver program underway in Senate
Efforts to water down the current mandate waiver provisions of the School Code are indeed underway. In an effort to move SB 1412, a bill amending the Keystone Opportunity Zone Act to allow municipalities and school districts to extend the tax abatement benefits to those who develop unoccupied or blighted parcels of land, the Senate is considering an amendment that would remove the most important mandate waiver available to school districts.
Specifically, in a "deal" to keep them from offering an amendment to the bill to require prevailing wage provisions to cover projects that take place inside a KOZ, some trade unions have sought to have Section 751, the section of the School Code dealing with the separate prime contract requirement, added to the list of mandates that cannot be waived. The vote is said to be very close at this point and it appears that the deal may be approved.
School board members, particularly those who have applied for and received waivers from the separate prime contract mandate under the mandate waiver program, need to call their Senators immediately and ask them not to vote for any amendment to the bill that would make add this mandate to the list of items that cannot be waived.
Since the mandate waiver program began under Act 16 of 2000, school districts that have received a waiver from the separate prime contract mandate have realized savings of over $80 million. If this waiver were to be taken away, the entire mandate waiver program would be rendered meaningless since the only things left to waive are those things that could only result in marginal savings to school districts.
For years, PSBA has asked the state Legislature to help school districts reduce costs by lowering the cost of state mandates. The mandate waiver was a major accomplishment and a major step towards this goal. Ask your Senator to reject this "trade-off" because it will only harm school districts, particularly growing districts, and taxpayers.
House to vote on SB 1063 - Earned Income Tax collection
The House is set to call up Senate Bill 1063, the consolidated earned income tax sometime within the next few session days. This bill requires that local governments and school districts to form countywide tax collection committees for the collection of earned income taxes. Each municipality and school district will have representation on the tax collection committee. While the House Finance Committee approved several of the changes PSBA sought, the costs of the tax collection committee continue to be based on revenues collected, meaning that school districts will likely absorb most of those costs.
Members are asked to call their state Representatives and ask them to support an amendment that would more fairly allocate the costs of the tax collection committee amount all its members.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Chester-Upland School District in distress
Here's an article from the Philadelphia Daily News about the Chester-Upland School District. Declining enrollment and charter school competition are combining for a "perfect storm" of education.
Chester-Upland School District in distress
By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News
WHEN THE morning bells ring in the Chester-Upland School District, more students in kindergarten through eighth grade are sitting in charter-school classrooms than in all other district schools combined, according to district Superintendent Gregory Thornton.
State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, a charter-school proponent who represents Delaware and Chester counties, says, "It should be a wake-up call to school administrators that when parents are allowed choice, they're choosing another education provider over what the district is providing."
Charter schools are offering choices to parents in the city of Chester who have long been disappointed or discouraged by the school district. But the charter schools also present a challenge to a district that is trying to reform under new leadership.
Established by the state in 1997, charter schools are "self-managed public schools," according to the state Department of Education. They offer an alternative in public education for parents who can't afford private schooling.
The district is required to pay a per-pupil allocation from state funds for each child who opts to attend a charter school instead of a district school. Right now, that amounts to about one-third, or about $31 million, of the district's budget, Thornton said.
"I support charter schools," he said. "I believe communities need choice. But when you have a small pie it's very difficult to take that large of a slice out and still have a good meal for the kids who are left."
For a new superintendent who is trying to overhaul a district facing monetary, intellectual, human-capital and building-capacity problems, the rate at which charter schools drain district resources can be daunting.
In 2007, the Chester-Upland Empowerment Board, a state committee established to oversee the academic and fiscal recovery of the school district, passed a resolution to place enrollment caps on Chester's three charter schools.
Even after a Commonwealth Court ruling in January knocked down the resolution, the board continues to appeal the decision, said Widener University President James T. Harris.
"Widener Partnership Charter School had no choice but to enter into the lawsuit, which is a real shame because the children lose in the end," Harris said.
Annette Anderson, principal of the charter school, said that it's important for her charter and the district to support one another because the school serves students in kindergarten through second grade only. The charter plans to add 50 more students a year in each grade until it maxes out at fifth grade in 2011. After that, students will head into regular district schools.
"We have a vested interest in the success of the Chester-Upland School District," she said. "That's why it's not a good thing for us to be considered separate. We have to come together."
Thornton, formerly chief academic officer of the Philadelphia School District, said that constant leadership changes - he is the 13th superintendent in the last 12 years - haven't helped the district.
"There have been a lot of false starts over the years - so many that people don't believe in what could potentially happen," he said.
Changes in leadership and policy at the district caused Widener, which had wanted to partner with the district on a lab school, to instead form its own charter school, Harris said.
"Universities have tried to create relationships, but that becomes so discouraging when everything is constantly changing," he said.
Thornton said that he's also reminded daily of changes that the district has failed to make.
"Every conversation I start with a businessman or a vendor or whoever, they take great pains to remind me of our inability to make changes," he said.
Still, Thornton looks forward to partnerships with area colleges and with Chester's charter schools.
One impending partnership is the merger into the school district of the Village Charter School of Chester-Upland. The school is slated to be brought into the district in the fall as its charter expires, Thornton said.
Thornton also wants to divide the district's high school into three, use the city's soccer stadium and Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack as learning laboratories and start a class on Chester's history.
"We've just started the journey," he said. "We don't know where it's going, but it's one we must take or we will continue to lose generation after generation in this city."
In 2000, the district had an enrollment of 6,471 kids. Eight years later, enrollment has dropped to 3,947 students, Thornton said. In another eight years, projections show, it will have declined to 2,013, he said.
As charter schools continue to challenge the district for public-school students, each institution must vie to be the most attractive panel on what Thornton calls the "new American educational fabric."
"I believe, at the end of the day, when people look fairly at the comparison, we will be competitive," Thornton said. "This is an entrepreneurial experiment in competition."
Chester-Upland School District in distress
By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News
WHEN THE morning bells ring in the Chester-Upland School District, more students in kindergarten through eighth grade are sitting in charter-school classrooms than in all other district schools combined, according to district Superintendent Gregory Thornton.
State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, a charter-school proponent who represents Delaware and Chester counties, says, "It should be a wake-up call to school administrators that when parents are allowed choice, they're choosing another education provider over what the district is providing."
Charter schools are offering choices to parents in the city of Chester who have long been disappointed or discouraged by the school district. But the charter schools also present a challenge to a district that is trying to reform under new leadership.
Established by the state in 1997, charter schools are "self-managed public schools," according to the state Department of Education. They offer an alternative in public education for parents who can't afford private schooling.
The district is required to pay a per-pupil allocation from state funds for each child who opts to attend a charter school instead of a district school. Right now, that amounts to about one-third, or about $31 million, of the district's budget, Thornton said.
"I support charter schools," he said. "I believe communities need choice. But when you have a small pie it's very difficult to take that large of a slice out and still have a good meal for the kids who are left."
For a new superintendent who is trying to overhaul a district facing monetary, intellectual, human-capital and building-capacity problems, the rate at which charter schools drain district resources can be daunting.
In 2007, the Chester-Upland Empowerment Board, a state committee established to oversee the academic and fiscal recovery of the school district, passed a resolution to place enrollment caps on Chester's three charter schools.
Even after a Commonwealth Court ruling in January knocked down the resolution, the board continues to appeal the decision, said Widener University President James T. Harris.
"Widener Partnership Charter School had no choice but to enter into the lawsuit, which is a real shame because the children lose in the end," Harris said.
Annette Anderson, principal of the charter school, said that it's important for her charter and the district to support one another because the school serves students in kindergarten through second grade only. The charter plans to add 50 more students a year in each grade until it maxes out at fifth grade in 2011. After that, students will head into regular district schools.
"We have a vested interest in the success of the Chester-Upland School District," she said. "That's why it's not a good thing for us to be considered separate. We have to come together."
Thornton, formerly chief academic officer of the Philadelphia School District, said that constant leadership changes - he is the 13th superintendent in the last 12 years - haven't helped the district.
"There have been a lot of false starts over the years - so many that people don't believe in what could potentially happen," he said.
Changes in leadership and policy at the district caused Widener, which had wanted to partner with the district on a lab school, to instead form its own charter school, Harris said.
"Universities have tried to create relationships, but that becomes so discouraging when everything is constantly changing," he said.
Thornton said that he's also reminded daily of changes that the district has failed to make.
"Every conversation I start with a businessman or a vendor or whoever, they take great pains to remind me of our inability to make changes," he said.
Still, Thornton looks forward to partnerships with area colleges and with Chester's charter schools.
One impending partnership is the merger into the school district of the Village Charter School of Chester-Upland. The school is slated to be brought into the district in the fall as its charter expires, Thornton said.
Thornton also wants to divide the district's high school into three, use the city's soccer stadium and Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack as learning laboratories and start a class on Chester's history.
"We've just started the journey," he said. "We don't know where it's going, but it's one we must take or we will continue to lose generation after generation in this city."
In 2000, the district had an enrollment of 6,471 kids. Eight years later, enrollment has dropped to 3,947 students, Thornton said. In another eight years, projections show, it will have declined to 2,013, he said.
As charter schools continue to challenge the district for public-school students, each institution must vie to be the most attractive panel on what Thornton calls the "new American educational fabric."
"I believe, at the end of the day, when people look fairly at the comparison, we will be competitive," Thornton said. "This is an entrepreneurial experiment in competition."
President of School Board Attends Graduation!!
Imagine that...a school board president who 1) has a child in the schools, 2) has the audacity to not only attend the graduation ceremonies, but, 3) SPEAK! during the ceremonies.
Here's the link to Classroom Reflecting Pool, a blog from George Drake, the president of the neighboring Kennett School District.
The writer is a professor a special education and has some great insights into that segment of education policy.
Here's the link to Classroom Reflecting Pool, a blog from George Drake, the president of the neighboring Kennett School District.
The writer is a professor a special education and has some great insights into that segment of education policy.
New Member Activities
As jon posted earlier, reminder that Ed Frankenfield's successor will be identified and seated this Thursday, June 19. The 15 minute interviews and voting are open to the public.
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