From the Erie Times News
Suit: Swap cost district $1M
Erie school system claims excessive fees, fraud in financial deal
BY ED PALATTELLA Published: September 03. 2008 12:50AM
The Erie School District is claiming that a huge investment bank, an Erie broker and a Philadelphia-area investment adviser colluded to defraud the district of more than $1 million in a financial transaction in 2003.
The disputed deal is known as an interest-rate swap. The district is suing to try to force JPMorgan Chase & Co. and others to repay what the district believes are excessive fees that JPMorgan collected.
The other defendants are David DiCarlo, JPMorgan's local broker at the time; and Investment Management Advisory Group Inc., or I.M.A.G.E., which the school district paid $60,000 to provide independent advice on the swap, or "swaption."
The district is alleging in the suit that JPMorgan, through DiCarlo, recommended that the school district retain I.M.A.G.E., and that JPMorgan and I.M.A.G.E. "were involved in a collusive arrangement in the market for Swaptions" at the time of the district's deal. The district claims collusion and "anti-competitive conduct" allowed JPMorgan to procure "excessive transaction fees."
"I.M.A.G.E. and the individual Defendants had knowledge of the ... anti-competitive collusive conduct and participated in it," the district claims in the suit.
As part of the swap -- a form of bond refinancing -- the district received $755,000, which the district plugged into its budget in 2003. Based on its calculations, the district said in the suit, JPMorgan should have received no more than $128,000 in fees for handling the swap. The district claimed JPMorgan instead received $1,227,415 in fees.
The Erie School District, according to the suit, "has been damaged in the amount of $1,099,415, representing the difference between what it should have received under a properly structured swap transaction ... and what was received as a result of the School District being fraudulently induced to enter into the transaction."
The suit does not itemize how much DiCarlo might have collected in fees or commissions.
A spokeswoman for the New York-based JPMorgan said the bank would have no comment on the suit, though the bank previously said the swap was handled properly. A representative from I.M.A.G.E., which is based in Pottstown, did not immediately return a phone call on Tuesday, though that firm has previously defended the handling of the swap.
DiCarlo, reached Tuesday, said JPMorgan has advised him not to comment on the school district's claims.
DiCarlo said he stopped working for JPMorgan as of July 31. He said he retired from JPMorgan because the Erie office was closed.
A spokesman for the bank, Brian Marchiony, confirmed DiCarlo's departure and declined, through an e-mail, to comment on the reasons DiCarlo left.
A national issue
The Erie School District's suit, docketed in U.S. District Court in Erie on Tuesday, culminates months of research that the school district conducted on the swap. The district said in the suit that school officials in October learned through Bloomberg Markets, a national magazine, that the fees might have been excessive.
The suit also represents the Erie School District's legal plunge into the nationwide dispute over swaps, which are unregulated by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, and which the school district claims were not legal in Pennsylvania until September 2003. The Erie School Board approved the swap with JPMorgan on Sept. 4, 2003.
Other municipalities across the United States are also claiming they were victimized in swap deals, and in March, they filed a class-action suit against JPMorgan and others in federal court in Washington. The case has been moved to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which includes Wall Street.
In addition, the FBI, SEC and Internal Revenue Service are investigating swaps and similar transactions nationwide. No one has been charged, though a federal grand jury in New York City has been empaneled in the probe, according to public records.
Erie schools Superintendent James Barker, the head of the district for 15 years, has said the district will aggressively pursue any money it believes it is owed in the swap deal. The district hired a Harrisburg law firm, McNees, Wallace & Nurick, to handle the suit, and the lawyers on the case, James DeAngelo and Delano Lantz, commented through a brief statement Tuesday.
The lawyers said the district is seeking to recover damages from the conduct of the defendants.
The eight-count suit claims securities fraud, two other types of fraud and civil conspiracy against all the defendants; breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against JPMorgan and I.M.A.G.E.; and breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence against I.M.A.G.E.
Claims against DiCarlo
As the local broker for the 2003 swap, David DiCarlo is the subject of claims throughout the suit. The suit claims DiCarlo, then an Erie-based vice president for JPMorgan Securities, used his years of experience as a local broker to help persuade the Erie School District to agree to a swap that, unbeknownst to the district, would lead to the large fees for JPMorgan. The suit said DiCarlo never disclosed the size of the fees to the Erie School Board, and that I.M.A.G.E. never raised concerns about the fees.
DiCarlo, a former state representative and currently a member of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, worked with the Erie School District and other local municipalities for decades on bond refinancings and other large-scale financial transactions. DiCarlo was a registered broker with RRZ Public Markets, based in the Pittsburgh area, from 1983 to 2003, and a registered broker with JPMorgan Securities, a part of JPMorgan Chase, from May 2003 through August. JPMorgan acquired RRZ Public Markets in February 2003.
The Erie School District claims that, as part of the fraud, JPMorgan "exploited" its expertise on swaps and "the trust engendered by Defendant DiCarlo's history of dealings with the Erie School District."
DiCarlo, the district claims, "held himself out to be a trusted adviser to the Erie School District and had for 20 years represented the Erie School District on multiple refunding issues."
Details Of The Swap
Interest-rate swap deals are often called "swaptions."
In a swap, two parties agree to exchange payments at different rates. One party typically pays a fixed rate, and the other pays a rate tied to a commodity or security.
In the case of the Erie School District, the district in 2003 agreed to exchange payments with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in connection with $37.3 million in bonds the district issued in 2000 for building projects.
As part of the swap, the district received $755,000, which it plugged into its budget, according to the district's lawsuit, filed Tuesday. The district previously put the figure at $785,000.
JPMorgan, in turn, got an option to take over as the district's bond holder on the 2000 issue in 2011. If JPMorgan took the option, the district would have made its bond payments directly to JPMorgan and not the current investors.
JPMorgan in the swap deal also got money from fees -- the amount of money that is at the center of the school district's suit. JPMorgan has never publicly disclosed the fees. The district, in its suit, claims JPMorgan received $1,227,415 in fees, based on the district's calculations.
The district claims JPMorgan should have received no more than $128,000 in fees for handling the swap. The district wants JPMorgan to repay the difference -- $1,099,415. Bloomberg News, including Bloomberg Markets, which reported extensively on the Erie School District swap, had estimated the fees at $3.9 million.
The Erie School Board approved the swap in a 6-0 vote on Sept. 4, 2003. Three of the directors, including Richard Szychowski, a board member since November 2002, were not present. Of the six directors who voted for the swap, three are still on the board -- Jim Herdzik, Mary Frances Schenley and Eva Tucker Jr.
The swap with JP Morgan has since expired. The district restructured it with PNC Bank in 2006.
Nationwide Concerns
As the Erie School District goes to court over its interest-rate swap, similar financial transactions have raised concern nationwide from other municipalities, as well as law-enforcement officials.
The FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission and Internal Revenue Service are investigating swaps. No one has been charged, though a federal grand jury in New York City has been empaneled in the probe, according to public records.
The deals under scrutiny, according to public records, include those involving JPMorgan and the Investment Management Advisory Group, or I.M.A.G.E., the Philadelphia-area business that acted as the Erie School District's adviser in the district's disputed 2003 bond swap.
A class-action suit filed in federal court in Washington has also raised questions about the propriety of swaps and similar investment vehicles known as municipal derivatives.
The suit, filed March 12, claims JPMorgan Chase, I.M.A.G.E. and more than 30 other financial institutions conspired -- through kickbacks and other activities -- to fix prices and rig bids for swaps and similar municipal derivatives throughout the United States from Jan. 1, 1992, to the date the suit was filed.
The suit in June was transferred to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which includes Wall Street.
What's Next
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the other defendants have 20 days from the time they are served to respond to the lawsuit the Erie School District filed in U.S. District Court in Erie. The case has been assigned to Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter.
The school district filed the suit in federal court because it involves claims under federal antitrust and securities law, according to court records.
The district said it filed the suit within the five-year statute of limitations for claims involving the swap, which the Erie School Board approved Sept. 4, 2003.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Strike shuts down classes at Duquesne
From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Strike shuts down classes at Duquesne
By Daveen Rae Kurutz
TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Teachers in the Duquesne City School District will put down picket signs and return to work if school officials begin negotiating toward a higher raise, union officials said Tuesday. But district officials believe the union is looking for money the district doesn't have.
The district's 49 teachers went on strike yesterday after one week of school, delaying a return for students after the Labor Day weekend. Duquesne is one of three districts in the state where teachers are striking and the first in Western Pennsylvania.
Tom Sturm, communication coordinator for the Duquesne Education Association, said teachers want to get back into classrooms but are tired of being paid lower wages than any other district in Allegheny County.
"We have to have hope," said Sturm, a school counselor in the district for 36 years and a class of 1967 alumnus. "Our teachers don't want to be on that picket line. They want to be in there teaching. We're willing to negotiate."
According to state Education Department records, teachers in Duquesne are the lowest paid in the county and a 19 percent raise requested by the union would make the average teaching salary there equal to the average in Clairton, which has the second-lowest paid teachers.
Duquesne has seen a lot of changes since being put under state control in 2000 for financial troubles, including a one-year stint under Pittsburgh Public Schools' control. Sturm said the district had 10 different superintendents and 34 elementary school principals in the past 30 years.
With an average salary of about $40,000, Duquesne teachers make in excess of $14,000 more than the average family in the city. The district tax office reports that the average household income in the distressed city is $25,898.
"I just don't know how a district such as Duquesne can do this," district Solicitor Bill Andrews said. The district, with 520 students, has a $15 million annual budget.
Sturm contends a 19 percent increase for teachers would cost the district about $400,000. The district proposed a 3 percent increase for the second consecutive year after a two-year wage freeze.
The strike means a state mediator must step in to restart negotiations.
One point of contention is the amount of money available in the distressed district. Sturm said the district's subsidy from the Pennsylvania Department of Education increased by $700,000 this year, but Andrews said the subsidy went up just $398,000.
Michael Race, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, could not verify either number. Race said the district's basic subsidy was increased by $298,000 this school year, but other programs have different increases. Each increase can be used only for certain programs and not necessarily teacher salaries, Race said.
The money is split among charter school reimbursements, special education programs, a 3 percent salary increase totaling $72,000 and the addition of extracurricular activities. Andrews said this year brought the reintroduction of instrumental music programs and middle school athletics.
"It doesn't even scratch what students in other districts have," Andrews said. "If this district is ever going to turn around to compete with other districts in the county, we've got to start introducing other things."
Lisa Collins moved to Duquesne about five years ago and enrolled her daughter, Tracey, in the district. She's not satisfied with the district's offerings and is considering sending her eighth-grader to a charter school.
"My daughter needs to be in school," Collins said from the porch of her Fourth Street home while watching 38 teachers picket just down the street. "They've got all these hurdles to get over, and they keep changing things. They need to shut it down."
Strike shuts down classes at Duquesne
By Daveen Rae Kurutz
TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Teachers in the Duquesne City School District will put down picket signs and return to work if school officials begin negotiating toward a higher raise, union officials said Tuesday. But district officials believe the union is looking for money the district doesn't have.
The district's 49 teachers went on strike yesterday after one week of school, delaying a return for students after the Labor Day weekend. Duquesne is one of three districts in the state where teachers are striking and the first in Western Pennsylvania.
Tom Sturm, communication coordinator for the Duquesne Education Association, said teachers want to get back into classrooms but are tired of being paid lower wages than any other district in Allegheny County.
"We have to have hope," said Sturm, a school counselor in the district for 36 years and a class of 1967 alumnus. "Our teachers don't want to be on that picket line. They want to be in there teaching. We're willing to negotiate."
According to state Education Department records, teachers in Duquesne are the lowest paid in the county and a 19 percent raise requested by the union would make the average teaching salary there equal to the average in Clairton, which has the second-lowest paid teachers.
Duquesne has seen a lot of changes since being put under state control in 2000 for financial troubles, including a one-year stint under Pittsburgh Public Schools' control. Sturm said the district had 10 different superintendents and 34 elementary school principals in the past 30 years.
With an average salary of about $40,000, Duquesne teachers make in excess of $14,000 more than the average family in the city. The district tax office reports that the average household income in the distressed city is $25,898.
"I just don't know how a district such as Duquesne can do this," district Solicitor Bill Andrews said. The district, with 520 students, has a $15 million annual budget.
Sturm contends a 19 percent increase for teachers would cost the district about $400,000. The district proposed a 3 percent increase for the second consecutive year after a two-year wage freeze.
The strike means a state mediator must step in to restart negotiations.
One point of contention is the amount of money available in the distressed district. Sturm said the district's subsidy from the Pennsylvania Department of Education increased by $700,000 this year, but Andrews said the subsidy went up just $398,000.
Michael Race, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, could not verify either number. Race said the district's basic subsidy was increased by $298,000 this school year, but other programs have different increases. Each increase can be used only for certain programs and not necessarily teacher salaries, Race said.
The money is split among charter school reimbursements, special education programs, a 3 percent salary increase totaling $72,000 and the addition of extracurricular activities. Andrews said this year brought the reintroduction of instrumental music programs and middle school athletics.
"It doesn't even scratch what students in other districts have," Andrews said. "If this district is ever going to turn around to compete with other districts in the county, we've got to start introducing other things."
Lisa Collins moved to Duquesne about five years ago and enrolled her daughter, Tracey, in the district. She's not satisfied with the district's offerings and is considering sending her eighth-grader to a charter school.
"My daughter needs to be in school," Collins said from the porch of her Fourth Street home while watching 38 teachers picket just down the street. "They've got all these hurdles to get over, and they keep changing things. They need to shut it down."
Non-union teachers still have to pay dues
From the BCCT.
Non-union teachers still have to pay dues
By MANASEE WAGH
Some non-union members of Pennsbury's teaching staff have just been absorbed into the union's collective bargaining agreement.
If a collective bargaining agreement with teachers exists in a Pennsylvania district, then teachers have to join the bargaining unit, according to the state collective bargaining law for school employees.
In a district of more than 800 teachers, roughly 30 or so Title I and Pupil Achievement teachers were apparently overlooked until now, said George Miller, president of the Pennsbury Education Association, the district's teachers union.
“We weren't aware that they weren't in the bargaining unit,” he said.
The district and the union will be negotiating teacher contracts this year. That's why it's important to put all teachers together under one contract system as soon as possible, said Miller.
Under the umbrella of the union's bargaining power, those teachers won't be left floundering when it comes time for negotiations of their contracts, he said.
The benefit of having their salaries and benefits linked to the education association contract doesn't come free.
Though an individual can choose whether to belong to a union and pay union dues, everyone under the collective bargaining agreement has to pay the union's “fair share” fees.
The fees amount to roughly 75 percent of union membership dues, which range from about $500 to $1,000 annually, said Miller.
The amount varies from individual to individual, depending on the number of hours worked, the pay scale, benefits and job title.
“Because non-union members benefit from the bargaining of the unit, they are charged for the representation,” said Miller.
While that amount is less than the fees that union members pay, Pupil Achievement and Title I teachers did not volunteer to take advantage of the union's collective bargaining. They generally provide extra educational services part time, said Gregory Lucidi, president of the Pennsbury School Board.
However, the state labor relations board determined that the teachers had to join the bargaining unit, so the district had to agree to it, said Lucidi.
“Back in early spring, the board and the PEA agreed that these people had to come in to a bargaining agreement. It cleans up the situation of who these people are represented by,” said Miller.
As part of the agreement, the teachers also get an insurance policy against any sort of malpractice, he added.
“This first minor round of negotiations has turned out positively for the PEA and the district. It's a good sign going in to full-fledged negotiations,” he said.
The union and the district have to meet by Jan. 10 as they enter contract negotiations this year. The education association is already prepared to meet with the district, said Miller.
Non-union teachers still have to pay dues
By MANASEE WAGH
Some non-union members of Pennsbury's teaching staff have just been absorbed into the union's collective bargaining agreement.
If a collective bargaining agreement with teachers exists in a Pennsylvania district, then teachers have to join the bargaining unit, according to the state collective bargaining law for school employees.
In a district of more than 800 teachers, roughly 30 or so Title I and Pupil Achievement teachers were apparently overlooked until now, said George Miller, president of the Pennsbury Education Association, the district's teachers union.
“We weren't aware that they weren't in the bargaining unit,” he said.
The district and the union will be negotiating teacher contracts this year. That's why it's important to put all teachers together under one contract system as soon as possible, said Miller.
Under the umbrella of the union's bargaining power, those teachers won't be left floundering when it comes time for negotiations of their contracts, he said.
The benefit of having their salaries and benefits linked to the education association contract doesn't come free.
Though an individual can choose whether to belong to a union and pay union dues, everyone under the collective bargaining agreement has to pay the union's “fair share” fees.
The fees amount to roughly 75 percent of union membership dues, which range from about $500 to $1,000 annually, said Miller.
The amount varies from individual to individual, depending on the number of hours worked, the pay scale, benefits and job title.
“Because non-union members benefit from the bargaining of the unit, they are charged for the representation,” said Miller.
While that amount is less than the fees that union members pay, Pupil Achievement and Title I teachers did not volunteer to take advantage of the union's collective bargaining. They generally provide extra educational services part time, said Gregory Lucidi, president of the Pennsbury School Board.
However, the state labor relations board determined that the teachers had to join the bargaining unit, so the district had to agree to it, said Lucidi.
“Back in early spring, the board and the PEA agreed that these people had to come in to a bargaining agreement. It cleans up the situation of who these people are represented by,” said Miller.
As part of the agreement, the teachers also get an insurance policy against any sort of malpractice, he added.
“This first minor round of negotiations has turned out positively for the PEA and the district. It's a good sign going in to full-fledged negotiations,” he said.
The union and the district have to meet by Jan. 10 as they enter contract negotiations this year. The education association is already prepared to meet with the district, said Miller.
180 Days and Increasing
An article from the Inquirer on how the school year is getting longer in Pennsylvania.
Some school years go beyond state-required 180 days
By Dan Hardy
Inquirer Staff Writer Posted on Mon, Sep. 1, 2008
By tradition, Labor Day marks the great divide between an 11-week summer vacation and the start of school for most students.
For a small but growing number of children in the Philadelphia area and around the country, however, it's just another three-day holiday weekend.
Students at the KIPP Philadelphia Charter School have been in class since Aug. 11. The school's 340 students, in grades five to eight, get 193 days of instruction, far more than the state-required 180 days. It also has a longer school day and students come in on Saturdays for extracurricular activities.
School CEO Marc Mannella said the added time was needed because many students were years behind academically when they enter fifth grade. "As far as I know, there's no pixie dust that I can sprinkle over a child's head to make up for years of wasted educational opportunity. It simply takes more time to catch them up," he said.
Students buy into the idea. "The long hours are so they can actually teach you and help you achieve your goals and do good in class," said fifth grader Alissa Smith. "They want to help us learn and help us get a better education so we can go to a good high school and college."
Others say all American students need more time in class to compete with students from other countries who often get more instructional time and score higher on standardized tests.
The United States ties at 28th out of 29 countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development at 22.2 hours of instruction per week. South Korea ranks first at 30.2 hours.
"We believe that the extra time in school in other countries has had a significant impact" on their achievement, said Jennifer Davis, who heads the National Center on Time and Learning in Boston, which advocates more time in school.
Strong American Schools, an education reform group, advocates more school time to increase America's ability to compete in the global economy. Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and other nations have school days that are on average as much as 25 percent longer than in the United States, the group said.
Though the attention being paid to the issue is growing, the topic is not new: 25 years ago, the Nation at Risk study of American education called for seven hours of classroom instruction each day and 200 to 220 days in school.
In most schools, not much has changed. A recent survey by the National Center on Time and Learning had 28 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, requiring 180 days of instruction, 12 with fewer days and only four - Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio - with more. Six states set only total hours of instruction or leave it to school boards to decide.
Still, an increasing number of states, districts and charters have extended-time programs. In Massachusetts, 26 schools, most of them low-performing, will begin this year with students spending at least 30 percent more time in school. The state pays $1,300 more per student.
That initiative inspired Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to introduce the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Act in August; it calls for $350 million in federal funding to set up similar programs.
In New Orleans, former Philadelphia schools CEO Paul Vallas extended the school day until 4:30 p.m. for the 12,500 students in the Recovery School District. He seeks to extend the school year by 20 days.
In Florida's Miami-Dade district, students in 39 struggling schools have an hour a day more in school and five more school days a year.
In Pittsburgh, eight low-achieving schools added 45 minutes to the school day and 10 days to the school year.
Charter schools around the country often feature longer school days and years. "There are no shortcuts for success. If we want our students' scores to grow academically, we have to put in a lot more time and effort," said Jeremy Esposito, the head of Freedom Academy Charter in Camden, a KIPP school in session since Aug. 11.
In Pennsylvania, 254 districts reported an average school year of 181 days, up one day from four years ago. New Jersey does not keep student year statistics, but Department of Education spokesman Richard Vespucci said that most have 180-day schedules.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey require students to spend less than six hours per day in class: five hours and 53 minutes in New Jersey and five and a half hours a day in Pennsylvania.
Central Bucks Superintendent Robert Laws favors a shorter summer vacation and increasing the school calendar to around 200 days. His district now has 184. "If education is to be valued in this country, we should look at the calendar," Laws said. "I don't think it's an urban issue, and I don't think it's just for the low-achieving. If we compare ourselves with other countries, we've got fewer days."
The cost of extending school time works against change, because teachers unions say they want their members to be paid for more school time.
In Pennsylvania, 31 out of 501 districts have gotten state funding to expand school time, including Unionville Chadds Ford in Chester County and Jenkintown in Montgomery County. Jenkintown added 15 minutes to the school day, eliminated some half-days and plans to add two days, going from from 183 to 185, during the next two years.
"It's simple: Kids learn more when we have more time to teach them," said Tim Wade, superintendent.
Arlene Ackerman, Philadelphia's new superintendent, says lagging students in particular need more time. "We have to give them more time if they need more time," Ackerman said. She's put the issue on her wish list for teacher negotiations.
Unions say they are not opposed to longer days but caution that more time in school is not the only solution to low achievement. "Everyone wants to find one silver bullet to close the achievement gap. There isn't one," said James Testerman, head of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Nicholas Ignatuk, Ridley superintendent, says extending the school year is not possible without federal funding.
"If it means raising local taxes, it is not going to happen," he said.
Ignatuk said districts already extend the day and year with after-school tutoring and summer school. "The question is: do all students need it? If the vast majority of our seniors are graduating, getting good jobs and going on to good colleges, it may not be necessary for everybody."
Some school years go beyond state-required 180 days
By Dan Hardy
Inquirer Staff Writer Posted on Mon, Sep. 1, 2008
By tradition, Labor Day marks the great divide between an 11-week summer vacation and the start of school for most students.
For a small but growing number of children in the Philadelphia area and around the country, however, it's just another three-day holiday weekend.
Students at the KIPP Philadelphia Charter School have been in class since Aug. 11. The school's 340 students, in grades five to eight, get 193 days of instruction, far more than the state-required 180 days. It also has a longer school day and students come in on Saturdays for extracurricular activities.
School CEO Marc Mannella said the added time was needed because many students were years behind academically when they enter fifth grade. "As far as I know, there's no pixie dust that I can sprinkle over a child's head to make up for years of wasted educational opportunity. It simply takes more time to catch them up," he said.
Students buy into the idea. "The long hours are so they can actually teach you and help you achieve your goals and do good in class," said fifth grader Alissa Smith. "They want to help us learn and help us get a better education so we can go to a good high school and college."
Others say all American students need more time in class to compete with students from other countries who often get more instructional time and score higher on standardized tests.
The United States ties at 28th out of 29 countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development at 22.2 hours of instruction per week. South Korea ranks first at 30.2 hours.
"We believe that the extra time in school in other countries has had a significant impact" on their achievement, said Jennifer Davis, who heads the National Center on Time and Learning in Boston, which advocates more time in school.
Strong American Schools, an education reform group, advocates more school time to increase America's ability to compete in the global economy. Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and other nations have school days that are on average as much as 25 percent longer than in the United States, the group said.
Though the attention being paid to the issue is growing, the topic is not new: 25 years ago, the Nation at Risk study of American education called for seven hours of classroom instruction each day and 200 to 220 days in school.
In most schools, not much has changed. A recent survey by the National Center on Time and Learning had 28 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, requiring 180 days of instruction, 12 with fewer days and only four - Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio - with more. Six states set only total hours of instruction or leave it to school boards to decide.
Still, an increasing number of states, districts and charters have extended-time programs. In Massachusetts, 26 schools, most of them low-performing, will begin this year with students spending at least 30 percent more time in school. The state pays $1,300 more per student.
That initiative inspired Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to introduce the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Act in August; it calls for $350 million in federal funding to set up similar programs.
In New Orleans, former Philadelphia schools CEO Paul Vallas extended the school day until 4:30 p.m. for the 12,500 students in the Recovery School District. He seeks to extend the school year by 20 days.
In Florida's Miami-Dade district, students in 39 struggling schools have an hour a day more in school and five more school days a year.
In Pittsburgh, eight low-achieving schools added 45 minutes to the school day and 10 days to the school year.
Charter schools around the country often feature longer school days and years. "There are no shortcuts for success. If we want our students' scores to grow academically, we have to put in a lot more time and effort," said Jeremy Esposito, the head of Freedom Academy Charter in Camden, a KIPP school in session since Aug. 11.
In Pennsylvania, 254 districts reported an average school year of 181 days, up one day from four years ago. New Jersey does not keep student year statistics, but Department of Education spokesman Richard Vespucci said that most have 180-day schedules.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey require students to spend less than six hours per day in class: five hours and 53 minutes in New Jersey and five and a half hours a day in Pennsylvania.
Central Bucks Superintendent Robert Laws favors a shorter summer vacation and increasing the school calendar to around 200 days. His district now has 184. "If education is to be valued in this country, we should look at the calendar," Laws said. "I don't think it's an urban issue, and I don't think it's just for the low-achieving. If we compare ourselves with other countries, we've got fewer days."
The cost of extending school time works against change, because teachers unions say they want their members to be paid for more school time.
In Pennsylvania, 31 out of 501 districts have gotten state funding to expand school time, including Unionville Chadds Ford in Chester County and Jenkintown in Montgomery County. Jenkintown added 15 minutes to the school day, eliminated some half-days and plans to add two days, going from from 183 to 185, during the next two years.
"It's simple: Kids learn more when we have more time to teach them," said Tim Wade, superintendent.
Arlene Ackerman, Philadelphia's new superintendent, says lagging students in particular need more time. "We have to give them more time if they need more time," Ackerman said. She's put the issue on her wish list for teacher negotiations.
Unions say they are not opposed to longer days but caution that more time in school is not the only solution to low achievement. "Everyone wants to find one silver bullet to close the achievement gap. There isn't one," said James Testerman, head of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Nicholas Ignatuk, Ridley superintendent, says extending the school year is not possible without federal funding.
"If it means raising local taxes, it is not going to happen," he said.
Ignatuk said districts already extend the day and year with after-school tutoring and summer school. "The question is: do all students need it? If the vast majority of our seniors are graduating, getting good jobs and going on to good colleges, it may not be necessary for everybody."
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