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EPLC Education Notebook
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 |
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The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC web site at http://www.eplc.org/publications-reports/weekly-policy-notebook/
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PENNSYLVANIA POLICYMAKERS
On September 12, the Senate Appropriations Committee held the second in a series of public hearings on the role of the Commonwealth's state-related universities and the impact of the state budget on their operations at the University of Pittsburgh. Testifying before the Committee were: University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg; Jared Cohon, President of Carnegie Mellon University; Graham Hatfull, Eberly Family Professor and Howard Hughes Institute Professor in Pitt's Department of Biological Sciences; Molly Steiber, President of Pitt's Student Government Board; D. Lansing Taylor, Director of Pitt's Drug Discovery Institute and the Allegheny Foundation Professor in the University's Department of Computational and Systems Biology; Steven Tritch, Chair of the Pitt Board of Trustees; and Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
Chancellor Nordenberg testified to the recent history of eroding state support and what that has meant to Pitt. As part of his remarks, Nordenberg recalled Governor Corbett's original budget proposal calling for a 50% reduction in Pitt's general appropriation. Once the budget was approved, Nordenberg noted that "Pitt suffered an overall 22 percent cut to its state support, the highest percentage reduction of any of the state-related universities. That left us (Pitt) with a $70 million budget gap-$40 million of it tied to cuts in state support and $30 million tied to unavoidable increases in the cost of doing business." He outlined several actions that the university has taken to close the gap.
He went on to express his concern about what those numbers mean in terms of direction of state funding, He said, "...the numbers represent a retreat from the collective commitment to the education of the next generation of Pennsylvanians that was so visibly on display when Pitt was made a state-related university. They represent a dramatic reduction in support for institutions that are among the Commonwealth's most significant generators of new ideas and technologies, even as we move further into a highly competitive century in which success will largely be defined by innovation. And at a time when the entire country has become increasingly desperate for employment growth, they represent a retreat from the very institutions that have proven to be most effective in generating 21st -century jobs."
To read Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg's prepared remarks click here.
Also, the prepared remarks of the other witnesses listed above are available by clicking here.
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Last week, the State Board of Education conducted roundtable discussions (Allentown and Harrisburg areas) on school libraries pursuant toHouse Resolution 987. The Board will hold a third meeting on September 20 in Erie, PA. The purpose of the roundtables is to provide an opportunity for citizens to dialog with members of the State Board on the draft study and recommendations. A draft of the School Library Study is available by clicking here. |
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PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
On September 12, the PDE announced that Pennsylvania has received more than $3.9 million from the federally funded College Access Challenge Grant Program(CACGP). These grants are designed to encourage government entities and philanthropic organizations to form partnerships to increase the number of low-income high school students applying, enrolling in, and completing a post-secondary program. Pennsylvania has earned CACGP grants since 2008. According to PDE, last year Pennsylvania received $4.1 million from CACGP and in partnership with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and Project GRAD USA (a national nonprofit organization focused on ensuring quality education for economically disadvantaged students) was able to provide direct services to more than 7,000 students.
For more information, click here.
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US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
On September 16, the US Department of Education announced "Digital Promise," a new national center created by Congress to advance technologies to transform teaching and learning. Start-up funds for "Digital Promise" will come from the USDE, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. "Digital Promise" will work with educators and researchers, technology firms and entrepreneurs on the following challenges: Identifying Breakthrough Technologies; Learning faster what's working and what's not; and Transforming the market for learning technologies. For more information, click here.
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ARTS AND EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM
Join arts and education leaders from across the state and nation to participate in discussions about public policy issues related to the arts in Pennsylvania's schools and communities at the Arts and Education Symposium on Thursday, October 13 from 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.
The Symposium is sponsored by the Education Policy Leadership Center and:
- Citizens for Arts in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
- Pennsylvania School Boards Association
- Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations
- Pennsylvania Art Education Association
- Pennsylvania Music Educators Association
Symposium discussions will inform the work of EPLC's Arts and Education Initiative (AEI), which is generating a report including actionable policy recommendations for legislators and other audiences to be released in February of 2012.
In addition to nine concurrent workshops, keynote speakers for this event will be:
· Dr. Jonathan Katz, Chief Executive Office of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
· Dr. Mary Ann Stankiewicz, Professor of Art Education, the Pennsylvania State University.
For additional information and to register, please click here.
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EPLC NEWS
· EPLC will host a Community Forum about the arts and education at the Allentown Art
Museum of the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, September 27. Attendance is free and all are
encouraged to attend, but RSVP to reserve a seat by emailing crosby@eplc.org. Registration
and refreshments begin at 6:00 p.m. and programs run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
· Please save these dates for upcoming EPLC events:
Annual EPLC Awards Luncheon - Thursday, October 27 in Harrisburg.
Annual Education Finance Symposium - Thursday, November 17 in Harrisburg.
More details will be available soon for each of these events. |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
· The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has announced its appointment of Beth L.
Winters, Esq. to the position of Assistant Executive Direct of Governmental and Member
Relations. Winters has been serving as acting head of the department since February. She
previously served the association as director of legislative services, a position she held since
January 2005. Winters has more than 25 years experience in legislative and legal affairs.
· On Wednesday, October 5, the Pennsylvania Parent Information and Resource Center
(PA PIRC) will celebrate October as "Parent Involvement Month" in Pennsylvania. The
annual event, held at the state capitol, will underscore the important role that parents play in
their children's educational success. For more information, please visit the PIRC website at
http://www.center-school.org/pa-pirc/ |
REPORTS
Last week, the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials and the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators released a follow up survey highlighting the impact of enacted state cuts to basic education funding and the loss of federal stimulus programs. According to the findings, "the results of state budget cuts and the elimination of federal stimulus programs this year have caused school districts to increase the number of students per classroom, reduce teachers and other school staff, shrink course offerings, impose additional fees for extracurricular activities, and place restrictions on field trips."
Specifically, the data indicates that schools have laid-off school employees or left vacant positions unfilled to reduce expenses. Respondents the survey (almost 60% of the Commonwealth's school districts) reported a reduction of 8,365 instructional and non-instructional positions, which would project to an estimated total of more than 14,000 positions statewide. Many districts avoided lay-offs by implementing salary freezes for 2011-2012.
The report also shows that more than 7 in 10 districts will rely on reserve funds to balance their budgets this year. More than a third of the districts in the survey indicated they did not increase property taxes this year.
For a copy of the survey report, visit http://www.pasbo.org or http://www.pasa-net.org.
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DATEBOOK
· The State Board of Education meets September 20-21 in Erie, PA. Click here to view the
agenda.
· The Senate Education Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 1225 (Library
Code Reform) on Wednesday, September 21 at 10:30 AM in Harrisburg, PA.
· The Pennsylvania Parent Information and Resource Center will hold a kickoff event at the
state capitol on October 5 to celebrate October as "Parent Involvement Month" in
Pennsylvania. For details, click here.
· The 37th Annual Family Involvement Conference will be held at the Lancaster-Host
Resort and Conference Center on October 16-19. Complete conference information, including
session descriptions and registration forms is available online. Please click here for detailed
information.
· The Senate Education Committee will hold a public hearing to receive testimony from
Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis on the results of the Pennsylvania Department of
Education's investigation and analysis of 2009 PSSA testing anomalies on Wednesday,
October 19 at10:30 AM.
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| For information on upcoming events, please visit www.eplc.org and click on "Events Calendar". |
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EPLC Education Notebook is published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). Permission to reprint or electronically redistribute the Notebook in whole or in part is granted provided attribution to EPLC is provided. The Education Policy and Leadership Center is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit organization. The Mission of the Education Policy and Leadership Center is to encourage and support the development and implementation of effective state-level education policies to improve student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities for citizens of all ages. |
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