Career Training Schools Speak Out about School Funding Inequities
When the state fails to provide adequate funding for school districts, it creates a competition for limited resources that discourages school districts from sending students to regional technical training. This week, half a dozen superintendents of Career and Technical Schools from across Pennsylvania told the Basic Education Funding Commission that the school districts they depend on for students have trouble covering their own costs and are not inclined to pay out additional costs to send a student to their schools.
Walt Slauch, Director of Central Montco Technical High School, said that school districts have to pay about $12,000 per student to send students to attend his school on a part-time basis. That figure is on top of the cost borne by the district to educate the student the other half of the day. “Essentially it costs home districts almost twice as much to educate a student if s/he chooses to attend this technical school. This cost is a significant burden on our sending schools. And, if you play it out further, it actually creates a disincentive to send students to a technical school.”
A significant share of students flourish in technical training schools. Pitting these schools against traditional schools is no way to run an education system and it is certainly not fair to students who could benefit from an education at a career/technical high school. As a result of Slauch’s testimony, the Commission may need to include recommendations for a new school funding system that addresses the competition for resources between districts and technical schools.
PCCY asked parents to speak out at the hearing about the need for the state to increase funding for schools. Shirlee Howe, a parent from Lower Merion, said “Residents in my school district are picking up too much of the tab for our school district because the state is not providing its fair share of funding for schools. Lower Merion has increased property taxes for our school district, three out of the last four years for a 13.7 percent increase.”
PCCY is organizing action days in Harrisburg to call on the legislature to adopt a fair and adequate funding formula in this year’s budget. Click on the dates below to sign up. PCCY is also a member of the Basic Education Funding Commission. Click here to get involved.
School Reform Commission Must Follow Its Own Rules to Answer the Question of Charter Costs
This week the Philadelphia School Partnership offered the Philadelphia School District a grant of $25 million to pay for charter school expansion. The organization hoped the funds would enable 11,000 additional students to attend charter schools. Unfortunately their calculations significantly underestimated the cost of each new charter school seat. PCCY was first to point out, that both the Boston Consulting Group and the School Reform Commission pegged the stranded costs to be $7000 per seat. Philadelphia School Partnership disagrees that the costs are that high. Before accepting the offer from the Partnership or approving any new charter schools the public has a right to know what the costs are.
Last April the School Reform Commission adopted a thorough, balanced and widely supported process for reviewing charter applications known as the Authorizing Quality Initiative (AQI). AQI requires “that prior to the public hearing, the Charter School Office, with input from the District’s Chief Financial Officer or his/her designee, shall prepare a written report analyzing the financial impact of each application to the Commission in each of the next five years and evaluating alternative ways to reduce the cost of charter’s expansion.” With only two days left for the public comment period, none of the required fiscal analysis is publicly available.
In addition to knowing the costs, the track record of the applicants matters. PCCY’s in-depth review, “The Legal, Fiscal and Oversight Challenges of Charter Expansion,” shows that the vast majority of applicants have not demonstrated that they can deliver a quality education and most operators have insufficient experience teaching in schools that fit the profile of the average district school, where eight out of ten students live in poverty and nearly 20% have special education needs. There are, however, a few strong operators who can point to real results. But until the state steps to the table and puts a fair and adequate funding system in place, they must wait, just like all the children in the district must wait, for the road to improvement to open.
Moms Make Trip to Harrisburg to Push for Pre-K
PA Rep. Tim Hennessey meets with mothers who delivered 253 Pre-K for PA education kits to legislators.
Parents and Pre-K for PA supporters hit the halls of the state Capitol this week to deliver education kits on the benefits of pre-k to every member of the state legislature and urge them to expand access to high-quality pre-k for 3-and 4-year-old children in Pennsylvania. PCCY and other Pre-K for PA member organizations are leading “Capitol Caravans” to Harrisburg over the next 5 months to make sure legislators make pre-k a top priority in the next state budget. To join the next local Caravan to Harrisburg on February 23rd, email Anne Gemmell at anneg@childrenfirstpa.org.
Add your name to the “10K for Pre-K” petition. Take 5 seconds today to sign the petition calling on City Council to add a question to the May primary ballot asking voters if the city should create a task force charged with developing a plan to implement and fund universal pre-k in the City.
Click here to sign the petition.
How to get a Warm Blast During This Cold Snap
It’s cold outside but you can feel warm on the inside by buying your tickets today for the celebration of the 2015 Public Citizen of the Year. Join PCCY on April 29th to see live performances from talented local children, mingle with local political leaders and take part in a robust silent auction as we honor Greg Redden, Regional President of Wells Fargo. All proceeds from the event will benefit PCCY’s research, advocacy and direct services for children in southeastern Pennsylvania. Click here to buy your tickets.
Check out the video below. You WON’T want to miss this great night of fun to benefit southeastern Pennsylvania’s children!
