Author: Mark Despotakis

2017 PMEA Music Education Advocacy Day Press Conference

PMEA held a press conference on March 20, 2017 celebrating Music In Our Schools Month and discussing PMEA’s 2017 policy asks.

Speakers Include:

Mark Despotakis, PMEA Advocacy Council Chair Pennsylvania
Representative Eddie Day Pashinski
Dr. John Molnar, Superintendent, Southmoreland School District
Amanda Kan, Plymouth Whitemarsh (Colonial School District) High School Student
Benjamin Wightman, Plymouth Whitemarsh (Colonial School District) High School Student
Tooshar Swain, NAfME Legislative Policy Advisor
Henry Pearlberg, PMEA President

Advocacy Action Alert: Provide Your ESSA Feedback to PDE

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is working on drafting the Every Student Succeeds Act state plan.  Following a series of stakeholder sessions over the past few months, PDE is now asking for feedback from the general public.  We’re asking you to help provide feedback directly to PDE.

PDE is considering some very broad topics for inclusion in the state plan.  At this point, PMEA is not staking a postion on any of these suggestions because they are vague and not part of the state plan yet.  However, we’re asking for you to provide feedback directly to PDE on your thoughts on these topics.

Below you will see several topics PDE is considering.  We’d like you to review these topics and think about the value of each suggestion as well as how the suggestion could be implemented.  You can email your responses directly to PDE at RA-edESSA@pa.gov They have assured us they are reading these emails and taking all feedback into account.

AREAS FOR FEEDBACK

Assessments

•Can we reduce the amount of time students spend on statewide PSSA testing (grades 3-8)?
•Is it feasible to test students at multiple times across the school year instead of only once?
•Can we eliminate double testing for middle school Algebra I students (would need to add adv math test in high school for those students)
Accountability – Measures
Future Ready PA Index – a proposed tool to measure school success
•Increased weight on growth in test scores  versus point-in-time achievement
•Local options for additional assessments
•Career ready indicators and meaningful postsecondary student engagement
•More holistic measures of student success
•Measures of both inputs (i.e., course offerings) and outcomes (achievement scores)
Accountability – Interventions
•Tailored to local context and school based needs assessment.
•Intervention for lowest performing schools to include BOTH academic and holistic strategies
•Level of state intervention to be responsive to student progress over time.
Educator Preperation and Evaluation
•What are the best strategies to ensure effective, diverse educators and school leaders for all students?
•What changes in teacher preparation do we need to consider to improve the readiness of new teachers?
•How to promote alternative pathways to teacher certification?
You don’t have to respond to every suggestion, but please feel free to respond to those you can provide opinions and feedback on.  You can submit you comments to PDE at RA-edESSA@pa.gov
Feel free to submit your feedback to PMEA as well so we can monitor the view of our members.  You can email, Mark Despotakis, chair of the PMEA Advacement of Music Education Concil at mark.despotakis@progrmusic.com

Hear from Pennsylvania Senatorial Candidates on Music Education Issues

View PMEA’s Interview with Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera

To all of our valued music educators in Pennsylvania, we welcome you back to another school year!
This school year promises to be a transition to a major change in the education world as we all transition to the new federal education law – The Every Student Succeeds Act.
This month, PMEA Advancement of Music Education Council Chair, Mark Despotakis, sat down with Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera to talk about the transition to ESSA, music education in Pennsylvania and his message to PMEA members.
Please take some time to watch this interview done specifically with you, PMEA members, in mind.
Thanks for all you do for music education in Pennsylvania and we hope you have a fantastic school year!

Advocacy Update

As we’re at about the midpoint of the summer, we wanted to provide you with an update on current public policy news.
Pennsylvania Budget
A state budget, spending plan and school code are all law in Pennsylvania.  The state budget adds $200 million to the Basic Education Subsidy going to school districts. That’s in addition to the $150 in new money that went into the 15-16 budget.  So $350 million in funding will go through the new basic education funding formula for the 16-17 school year.  (PDE provides a breakdown of how much money each school district will receive.) That’s still a relatively small portion of the entire basic education subsidy.  While it is very encouraging to see this $200 million increase to the basic education subsidy, we have two major concerns.  1) Close to $600 million of the $1.3 billion added to the overall budget is not recurring income. That means, next year’s budget will start with that much of a deficit and 2) An increase of $200 million to the basic education subsidy is a good start but a recent study from the Public Interest Law Center shows that Pennsylvania is $3.2 billion short of providing an adequate education to all students.

Charter School Reform – HB530
We’re happy to see the legislature looking at Pennsylvania’s charter school law.  HB530 takes up a wide variety of issues related to charter school reform.  Under the bill, a panel would be created to explore the costs of cyber charter schools as well as brick and mortar charter schools.   We agree there is a wide variety of reform needed in the ways charter schools are funded and operated.  While there are some provision in HB530 we are encouraged by, including the possibility of an estimated $26 million in savings to local school districts, there are a wide variety of concerns.  Among the concerns we have are:
1) Teacher evaluations in charters would not be the same as required of public school teachers.  Evaluations are required but different from a public school and there are no requirements for evaluation of principals.
2) Charters can expand enrollment, add grade levels, and permit out of district students to enroll without local school district approval. This could be an economic disaster for schools districts across the state, many of which are already struggling to make ends meet.  There is a risk of accountability.  This part of the legislation could make it difficult to compare local charters to local school districts.
3) The issue of where charter school growth is regulated is explored in HB530.  It could be a state agency, local school districts or charters themselves. If local school districts are not regulating the growth of charter schools, charter schools could grow and local school districts could be forced to raise taxes.
There are many other issues in the charter school legislation and we will continue to follow it.  Initially, there was a possibility of HB530 being discussed in budget talks. However, it has been delayed until at least the fall.
School Code – HB1606
Some highlights of the school code signed into law include the creation of SchoolWATCH.  PDE will be required to post some financial information related to public school entities.  Total expenditures by category, per student expenditures, charter school tuition rates, average daily membership, average teacher salary, total revenue, general fund balance and other financial information will be posted along with the School Performance Profile.
In response to the substitute teacher shortage, the school code also will allow college students who have completed 60 credit hours and who are enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a four-year college in Pennsylvania to substitute for 20 days per school year.  For every year after the first year of substituting, college students would be required to obtain additional credits to remain a substitute.  The program sunsets in 5 years. PMEA is concerned about this substitute teacher provision.  We will monitor implementation of this portion of the law.
Governor’s Schools
Representative Karen Boback has introduced legislation to reinstate the Governor’s Schools of Excellence including the possibility of the Governor’s Schools for the Arts. Under Boback’s proposal, PDE would have to find a host site for each school and each host site would have to cover at least 50% cost of the school with the state covering the other 50%. The proposal also would require no tuition for attending students.  We’re encouraged to see continued momentum for the reinstatement of the Governor’s Schools.

Pennsylvania Public Policy Update

THE BUDGET
Governor Wolf has asked for additional funds for education but Republicans in the Legislature aren’t ready to sign off on that just yet.  While specific details of any budget details haven’t been released, here are some of the rumors circulating around Harrisburg.
– Republicans members of the General Assembly are looking for places to make cuts in Pennsylvania government before considering other forms of new revenue
– Republicans were not pleased that Governor Wolf vetoed H.B. 805 which would have eliminated seniority based furloughs for public school teachers.  That veto may make it tougher for Governor Wolf to get extra money into education as Republican leaders have threatened to make the furlough legislation a bargaining issue in the additional funding discussion
– There seems to be more optimism that a budget will be enacted on time or at least far sooner than last year for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons: it’s an election year and Governor Wolf and legislative leaders have keep negotiations quiet this year and have not put their budget talks on public display… yet.
Your voice is extremely important in getting a budget enacted that will include an increase in funding to the basic education subsidy. We’re asking you to take action and send an email to your representatives in the legislature.  It’s takes only minutes for your voice to be heard! (As always we encourage you to use your home address and email address.)
A FAIR FUNDING FORMULA
As we shared last week, we have great news that the Pennsylvania Legislature sent Governor Wolf H.B. 1552 which will enact a Fair Funding Formula for Pennsylvania’s schools. The General Assembly came to an agreement on a new formula that will count actual enrollment, plus a number of other factors including student poverty, local tax effort, district sparsity, and the number of students learning English.  As the formula stands, only new state education funds will be run through this formula.  Of course, a funding formula is only as good as the money going through it which is why it’s so important for you to join us in contacting state legislators urging them to put more money into education: We’re asking you to take action and send an email to your representatives in the legislature.
PA JAZZ COUNCIL
Legislation has been introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate to create a Pennsylvania Council on Jazz.  Under SB 1234, the five-member Council on Jazz would mirror the PA Council on the Arts. Council members would be appointed by the governor and the General Assembly. It would be responsible for promoting, marketing, encouraging, educating, protecting and preserving jazz in the commonwealth.  The council would award grants that fulfill the responsibilities of the council, and it would get administrative support from the Council on the Arts.

School Funding Formula Close to Becoming Law

We have some exciting news out of Harrisburg!  The Pennsylvania House voted 188-3 on Wednesday to institute a new funding formula for which PMEA and other education organizations have been advocating.  This law will help ensure equity among school districts as state funding is distributed.  This is a victory for PMEA members as your voice in the process has been very helpful to make this happen!
Here is an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlining more details.
Thanks,
Mark Despotakis
Chair, PMEA Advancement of Music Education Council

School funding formula clears final Harrisburg hurdle

By Karen Langley / Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania legislators on Wednesday approved taking a key school funding decision out from behind closed doors and instead run it through a bipartisan-supported formula.

The House voted overwhelmingly to require Pennsylvania to distribute increases in the state’s main K-12 education funding line through a formula recommended nearly a year ago by a commission of Republican and Democratic legislators and the Wolf administration. The Senate passed the same bill last week.

The measure now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf, whose spokesman said he will sign it into law.

Education groups said the law will be a welcome change from a system in which the distribution of money among Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts has been decided each year in private negotiations over the state budget.

This process would be fairer, they said.

“A formula goes a long way to help school entities develop their annual budgets,” said Nathan Mains, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. “Additionally, a formula will help with the equitable distribution of school funding to alleviate the current disparities in how state dollars are allocated.”

Pennsylvania has drawn national attention for the gap in spending between its poor and wealthy school districts. Last year, the U.S. secretary of education said the divide here was the largest of any state.

Once the bill becomes law, money the state adds to the main pot of money for K-12 schools will be distributed among school districts according to the formula. The current year’s increase was run through the formula, but the law would make that an ongoing practice for future years.

The formula considers the number of students in a school district and accounts for students living in poverty, still learning English or attending charter schools. A district’s ability to pay for its schools would be accounted for through measures of household income and tax effort.

As legislators and the administration head into June with hopes of avoiding last year’s budget impasse, at least one source of dispute appears to have been resolved.

“One of the major points of discussion last year was how are we going to distribute the new education dollars,” said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana. “That part of the discussion is over. So I think it takes one item off the table that we don’t have to reengage in negotiations with.”

But the question of how much total money the state will send schools — one of the major points of the last budget standoff — remains.

Mr. Wolf has called for large increases in school funding, while the Republican-led Legislature has resisted the tax increases the governor has said are needed to provide the education money and meet other state obligations.

“It certainly makes the distribution less political,” Bill Patton, spokesman for House Democrats, said of the funding formula. “But the overall question of how much of the state’s money is invested in education remains just as political as ever.”

Karen Langley: klangley@post-gazette.com, 717-787-2141, @karen_langley

Governor Wolf Presents 2016-2017 Budget Proposal

by Mark Despotakis, PMEA Advancement of Music Education Council Chair

On Tuesday, Februrary 9, 2016, Governor Wolf presented his budget proposal for 2016-2017.

It’s somewhat strange to see a budget proposal put out there for a new year when the budget for the current year hasn’t been fully signed.  It’s not something we’ve seen in recent years and the Shapp administration may be the last time two budgets were in the works at the same time.

It’s important to note that Wolf’s proposed budget is incumbent on the 15-16 budget being fully funded to the “framework” agreement.  You may recall at the end of December 2015, Governor Wolf signed into law parts of a non-“framework” budget agreed to by the general assembly.  However, Wolf vetoed parts of that budget and only provided for roughly six months of funding to schools in Pennsylvania.  The budget Wolf has presented for 2016-2017 assumes the passage of the full “framework” budget.  That “framework” agreement would have put $377 million additional dollars into education.  House and Senate leaders both say the “framework” deal is dead and off the table.  Also, the idea of compromise seems more distant than ever.  Wolf’s budget address was light on details but heavy on scolding members of the general assembly.  That probably won’t go far in trying to get both sides of the aisle to come together and compromise.
In addition to that, some have speculated there will be one compromise bringing together the 15-16 and 16-17 budgets.  After hearing both sides of the aisle react to Tuesday’s budget proposal, that doesn’t seem likely.
Here’s some of the highlights of proposals in Wolf’s 16-17 budget:
■ Boosting the personal income tax rate from 3.07 percent to 3.4 percent; this would yield an estimated $1.36 billion for the state next fiscal year
■ Applying the sales tax to basic cable television, movie theater tickets and digital downloads and limit a vendor discount, bringing in an estimated $414 million
■ Enacting a severance tax of 6.5 percent on the extraction of natural gas, raising an estimated $217 million
■ Adding $1 per pack to the cigarette tax, generating an estimated $468 million, and taxing the wholesale price of other tobacco products, generating an estimated $136 million

The governor’s budget proposal would make big increases to education spending. Wolf proposes:
■ Adding $377 million in the current fiscal year to the main funding line for K-12 education, then adding $200 million to the basic education subsidy for the fiscal year that begins July 1 (The $200 million 16-17 basic education subsidy would be distributed based on the bi-partisan Basic Education Funding Commission formula)
■ A $60 million increase this year for early childhood education, and a $60 million increase next year
■ Adding $50 million in special education funding for next fiscal year on top of additional funding he is still seeking for the current year
■ Five percent increases in the current fiscal year and next fiscal year for community colleges, the universities of the State System of Higher Education and the state-related universities

Other major initiatives included in Tuesday’s proposal:
■ An increase in the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.15 an hour
■The 2016-17 budget implements the recommendations of the Special Education Funding Commission by adjusting charter school reimbursements to better reflect actual costs of educating students with special needs
■The current School Performance Profile (SPP) system will be revised so that it does not too heavily rely on test scores
■The formula for funding cyber charter schools would be modified

There are many other initiatives in the budget proposal and I’ve outlined only some of them that are most relevant to music educators.
It’s also important to note that we’re in an election year where all 203 members of the House and 25 members of the Senate are up for election.  That makes a sticky situation for getting any major changes done – especially potential tax hikes.  It’s not likely we’ll see any serious action on the 16-17 budget (and possibly the remaining 15-16 budget) until after the primary election.
PMEA will continue to monitor the budget situation especially as we near PMEA’s Advocacy Day on March 30th.  We will provide more updates and ask for your assistance to get a state budget signed into law that funds education fairly which can lead to the expansion and/or restoration of student music opportunities in Pennsylvania’s schools.