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| Greetings! |
Pennsylvanians will gather this week with family and friends to give thanks for the people and things that mean the most to them. What will you celebrate on this Thanksgiving?
This month's E-Update focuses on the people, the public service and the advocacy efforts that make good policies a reality and make Pennsylvania a better place for all of us to live and work. We'll connect you to a group of advocates working to reform funding for special education, profiles of community groups that are helping their school districts make the most of the new school funding formula, a new report on what Pennsylvania's budget and tax policies mean to us, and, finally, to a school district in western Pennsylvania that received a surprise gift from an unlikely source.
So, on this Thanksgiving, we hope that in these stories you might just find a few more reasons to celebrate. | |
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| Special education coalition testifies on importance of funding |
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Pennsylvania's costing-out study outlined the importance of ensuring a high quality public education for every student, including those with disabilities, who are learning English or who live in poverty. When legislators implemented the new formula last summer, however, they chose to fund special education as a separate budget line item, not subject to the reforms and progress made in the new, more equitable system of funding basic education.
As lawmakers this year consider year two of a six-year commitment to close Pennsylvania's "adequacy gap," more than 25 members of the special education and disability advocacy community have joined to form the VALUE Coalition. The coalition is calling upon lawmakers to fund special education through a rational formula that takes into account enrollment and needs of students in every school district, as outlined by the state's costing-out study. Click here to read the principles outlined by the VALUE Coalition. Good Schools Pennsylvania has signed on to the coalition because failing to fix the special education formula will undermine the effectiveness of the new education finance system in alleviating the burden on local taxpayers to adequately fund our schools.
Members of the coalition testified at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Special Education on November 18. Baruch Kintisch, staff attorney for the Education Law Center, speaking for the coalition said that failing to fix the special education formula is "not fair to the students of Pennsylvania who depend on that line item for special education, and who depend on that being distributed based on their real need, not on the whims of the political climate each season." Click here to read coverage of the hearing from Capitolwire. |
| Leadership positions change hands in Harrisburg |
Leadership elections took place last week within the House and Senate caucuses. With Democrats gaining a 104-99 advantage in the House, they remain the majority party. Rep. Keith McCall (D-Carbon) was tapped as the new Speaker of the House, while Reps. Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne) and Sam Smith (R-Punxsutawney) are the majority and minority leaders, respectively. In the Senate, Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) will retain his majority leader title, while Sen. Robert Mellow (D-Lackawanna) remains minority leader. Click here to see the full list of party leaders in the House and Senate. Be sure to contact them and let them know that you look forward to working with them to continue the progress made in education finance reform last year.
Yet to be determined are leadership seats on the House and Senate Education Committees. Rep. James Roebuck (D-Philadelphia) will likely retain his majority chair, while the minority chair seat is open with the retirement of Rep. Jess Stairs (R-Fayette). In the Senate, the death of former majority chairman Sen. James Rhoades (R-Schuylkill) leaves his seat vacant, while Sen. Ray Musto (D-Luzerne) will likely remain minority chairman. Stay tuned for appointments to the Education Committee and others when the 189th General Assembly convenes in January. |
| Easton leader pioneers accountability advocacy |
When Jean Brown learned that Pennsylvania had just enacted a new school funding formula, she wondered how her school district in Easton fared. She starting asking questions and quickly realized that too few people had answers. And so an idea was born.
As an active member of the local NAACP chapter, Brown had a history of civic engagement and knew its value. She saw an opportunity: How could community members engage in a dialogue with the Easton School District to determine new state funding could be used to benefit the needs of students in the community?
"An education is the most important tool we can provide to our students," Brown said, "and the best partnership to provide that is one that involves students, parents, educators and the community." ... MORE |
| State of the state: New budget and tax primer released |
 Pennsylvania's ranking as 47th in the nation in the share of state funding for public education is just one of the statistics highlighted in a newly-released primer from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. The report finds that poor communities are not only shouldering the highest tax burdens, but also that the bottom fifth of wage earners contribute a larger share of their incomes to supporting public works than their more affluent counterparts. The report examines ways that lawmakers can make smart investments to support infrastructure improvements, adequately fund public schools and spur job creation -- all important tools to stimulate the economy and make it more sustainable. Read the full report on the center's website. |
| Schools in the news |
Parents ask Philadelphia School District for better language services
More than 200 parents involved in JUNTOS, a community center for recent immigrants in South Philadelphia, packed a church basement on November 10 to ask Philadelphia School District officials to provide translation services for non-English speaking families. As outlined in the costing-out study, English language learners must have more educational assistance if they are to reach proficiency on assessments. Officials from the school district agreed that to increase student achievement and parent involvement, and to provide better access to the school district, language barriers should be removed and more translators must be supplied. Click here to read the article from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Obama campaign donates supplies to Sto-Rox School District
When the Campaign for Change offices in western Pennsylvania were vacated after the victory on November 4, President-elect Barack Obama and his staff decided to donate supplies to a worthy cause: The Sto-Rox School District. Schools in Sto-Rox received computers, a fax machine and much more. As one of the highest taxed, yet most disadvantaged school districts in the commonwealth, Sto-Rox was especially in need of the supplies. One school district official commented that receiving the unexpected supplies is critically important in such a disadvantaged school district and will help to offset budget costs next year. Click here to read the article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
| Stay connected |
Our website is updated frequently with news, opportunities and links to keep you informed about our work to change public education funding in Pennsylvania. Be sure to add the Good Schools Pennsylvania homepage to your favorites and check back often.
If you're not on our mailing list, be sure to click the Join Our Mailing List! button in the top left column of this E-Update to receive all of our organization's communications. Be sure to fill in your name in the form. |
| Good Schools Pennsylvania |
Good Schools Pennsylvania is a statewide network of citizens who are informed and mobilized in support of public education. We believe that we can improve our schools when we join together in calling for adequate funds that are equitably distributed, proven educational practices to meet a standard of excellence, and effective accountability measures. Visit our website. |
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