Where PA stands – One Year After the Release of the BEFC Report…

It's that time of year – kids are just out of school and school boards voting on tough decisions for next year’s school budgets. This week, the news was riddled with articles of school boards voting for tax hikes, program cuts, teacher reductions staff eliminations, and ending kindergarten classes! * Hazleton Area SD in Luzerne County voted to cut all kindergarten to half days, and eliminate 30 teaching positions.  They even voted to reduce school weeks to four days in the months of December, January and February to offset expenses.  And, they still would have ...

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Rep. David Parker Issues Statement

Recently, two statewide organizations with missions pledged to support the highest ideals of Pennsylvania K-12 education, took an opportunity to widely misrepresent my proposed legislation, House Bill 2111, and Equity First, the noble effort to help 900,000 children get fair Basic Education funding faster than 25 years from now. It's deeply disappointing to learn statewide organizations are spending time, energy and resources to prevent 900,000 students from receiving their fair share of the state's $5.8 Billion distribution of Basic Education Funding. Since 1991, too ...

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PENNSYLVANIA KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS PUNISHED

June 10, 2016 (Harrisburg, PA) - With the Governor's swift pen 900,000 students, most in the poorest, struggling school districts in the nation will remain underfunded for more than twenty-five (25) years. For Kindergarten students at 150 school districts statewide, they will remain underfunded for their entire K-12 education, punishment by their zip codes. While 350 over-funded school districts have celebrated the recent passage of House Bill 1552, the Basic Education Funding formula, Kindergarten students in more than 100 school districts won’t experience fair-fun...

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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Posted: June 1, 2016 03:30 PM From: Representative David Parker and Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone To: All House members Subject: Basic Education Funding Equity After a year of testimony, the 2014/15 bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission reviewed the distribution of $5.5 Billion in state Basic Education Funding and unanimously reported 180 school districts were underfunded by “approximately $1 billion” annually. This massive underfunding severely impacts over 600,000 schoolchildren, 80,000 educators & staff, ...

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Views on ‘equity’ clash in new PA school funding formula

Read the full story at Keystone Crossroads: http://crossroads.newsworks.org/index.php/keystone-crossroads/latest/item/94111-views-on-equity-clash-in-new-pa-school-funding-formula?l=dt

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Basic ed funding bill on its way to the governor

Read the full story at pawork.org: http://www.pawork.org/basic-ed-funding-formula-bill-way-governor-capitolwire/

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Pottstown Mayor Endorses Equity First

(Pottstown, PA) – Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas today announced her personal endorsement of Equity First, the initiative to fix 25 years of Basic Education underfunding.  The June 2015 Basic Education Funding Commission Report identified 180 school districts underfunded by $937 Million, annually. Pottstown School District is underfunded by $11.9 Million, Annually “If Pottstown School District and the other underfunded districts do not receive additional Basic Education budget allocations,” stated Mayor Thomas, “we will remain severely underfunded for another ...

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Equity First Hosting Capitol Rotunda Rally

Citizens for Fair School Funding “Support Equity First” Media Contact: Equity First Info@SupportEquityFirst.org | @EquityFirst FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2016 Equity-First Hosting Capitol Rotunda Rally 11:30 am Thursday April 28th in State Capitol Rotunda Group Wants $300 Million in New Basic Education Funding to go to 180 Underfunded School Districts FIRST   HARRISBURG – The Citizens for Fair School Funding announced they are hosting a Capitol Rotunda Rally at 11:30 am on Thursday, April 28th in the Pennsylvania State Capitol.  Taxpayers, ...

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Stop Crying Wolf

Recently, my colleague from Philadelphia, state Sen. Art Haywood, joined Gov. Tom Wolf in his opinion piece calling for "Restoring Education Cuts First" before applying the new education funding formula unanimously recommended last year by a vote of the bipartisan Basic Education Funding (BEF) Commission – a vote which included three “yes” votes by Gov. Wolf’s own cabinet members. Their motto would be better stated as, "Philadelphia-First." For 12 months, the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission reviewed every aspect of school funding and concluded ...

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