PA Fair Funding Updates

There is a fair funding workshop for PA teachers who are interested in fair funding advocacy. Topic: Fair Funding Workshop for Teachers Time: Jul 13, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84321652655?pwd=OXp3Z0tkc3JCcnJqdCtzenIzRlFRUT09 Meeting ID: 843 2165 2655 Password: 6djY2D Education Voters just put out an important report highlighting charter schools’…

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PSBA Charter Info

Interested in joining the call for charter change? In order to understand why charter schools have such a profound impact on public education funding in Pennsylvania, the first step is to learn more about charter schools and how they work. Check out this great site by the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA)  pacharterchange.org It helps answer…

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Wolf Administration Takes Next Step in Updating Charter School Regulations

Gantdaily.com posted an article today outlining how the reform to Pennsylvania’s “flawed and outdated” charter school law is moving forward with the process of developing regulations by opening a public comment period to gather information on the need for charter school reform, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. Read the full article here: https://gantdaily.com/2019/08/27/wolf-administration-takes-next-step-in-updating-charter-school-regulations/   BASD Proud Parents is…

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ICYMI – PA Republicans pass massive charter school & school voucher expansion

Form our friends at Education Voters of PA: Last week in the House, Republicans passed four charter school bills. One bill in the package, HB 357, is the Holy Grail expansion bill that the charter industry has been seeking for years. If HB 357 becomes law, charter school expansion will be turbocharged throughout the commonwealth.…

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A Call to Action from Pennsylvania’s Urban School Superintendents

“Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, one thing is clear: For Pennsylvania to prosper, its largest cities must thrive.” Read this great Op-Ed from lehighvalleylive.com co-authored by 12 school superintendents, including Dr. Joseph Roy of Bethlehem and Thomas Parker of Allentown. You can read it here: A Call to Action from Pennsylvania’s Urban School Superintendents…

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Yet Another Reason for Adequate Funding for Public Schools

Neighborhood schools strengthen communities and our state’s current education funding schemes play a role in that, for better or for worse. Here is a great article on delcotimes.com on a new report released Friday enforcing the notion that property values are contingent on student achievement in local schools. You can read the entire article here:  Report: Good schools…

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Cyber Charter Funding Reform Needed Now

Recently, our friends at Education Voters of PA issued a report that examines Pennsylvania’s flawed cyber school funding system and provides recommendations for a new system that will more closely match the funding sent to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of providing students with an online education. This proposal would help control property tax…

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How Much Would Your School District Receive in Gov. Wolf’s Proposal?

Recently, Governor Wolf gave his budget address and proposed the following increases in K-12 funding in the 2019-2020 state budget: $10 million for career and technical education funding $50 million for special education funding $168 million for Basic Education Funding that will be distributed to school districts through the formula* $45 million in grant funding…

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Getting Involved – Advocating for Fair Funding 101

Pennsylvania currently ranks 46th in the country in state contributions to local school funding. The US average is around 47%  while Bethlehem’s current state share of basic education is around 20% resulting in the BASD being underfunded by around $45 million dollars! The State’s failure to fully fund our local schools pushes this burden of…

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Resolution No. 2019 – in Support of Fair Funding Formula for Pennsylvania Schools

How bad is Pennsylvania in the area of equitable education funding? A 2015 Washington Post study found that Pennsylvania’s state and local per-pupil spending in its poorest school districts is 33 percent lower than per-pupil spending in the state’s most affluent school districts, nearly double that of the next worse state and the highest differential…

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