PA lawmakers dancing around school funding issues
By Evan Grossman | Watchdog.org Pennsylvania House Democrats are out of touch and, using an awkward dance video as evidence, out of step, too. The video, which has been removed from their YouTube page,...
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Lawmakers plan to take on ‘ghost teachers’
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers want to exorcise public school districts of so-called “ghost teachers,” who do union work on school time. Reps. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, and Jim Christiana, R-Beaver,...
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Reformers want to close bad Philly charter schools
By Evan Grossman | Watchdog.org PHILADELPHIA — A pair of school advocacy groups wants the city’s worst charter schools to close. A position paper, co-authored by Philadelphia School Advocacy Partners...
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Why is it so hard to find substitute teachers in Philly?
PHILADELPHIA — Source4Teachers has become a source of aggravation for the School District of Philadelphia. The company was hired by the district to get more substitute teacher vacancies filled, but...
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Budget impasse puts pressure on charter schools
Pennsylvania charter schools are being “strangled” by the state budget impasse that’s dragged on for three months and has cut off funding to school districts, says one charter school advocate. MONEY...
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Auditor General says budget impasse is killing schools
Pennsylvania’s budget impasse, which has frozen state spending for three months, is hurting public schools. State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the stalemate has already led 17 school...
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Philadelphia teachers to challenge union leadership
PHILADELPHIA — A faction within the city’s largest teachers union is planning to challenge incumbent officers in next year’s elections because they feel their interests are not being adequately...
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Gov. Tom Wolf still trying to cut special ed funds for charters
Gov. Tom Wolf is still trying to turn around the cash-strapped Chester Upland School District and charter school advocates still want him to back off. Wolf is calling for a decrease in special...
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Philly charter schools getting by during budget impasse — for now
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania schools, if the budget impasse lingers on, could be forced to close until lawmakers pass a new plan. CONSPIRACY THEORIST: State Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, thinks the...
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How the budget impasse is freezing out private schools, too
It’s not just Pennsylvania public schools that are being squeezed by the ongoing budget impasse. The challenges of operating without state funding extends to private schools, too. Recipients of...
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Pennsylvania lawmakers introduce a bill to bust ‘ghost teachers’
PHILADELPHIA — City schools are struggling to find teachers, but the district and local teachers union have an agreement that permits dozens of them to abandon their classrooms to go work for the union...
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Charter school funding completely cut off amid budget impasse
While state funding to Pennsylvania’s school districts is frozen as part of a budget impasse approaching five months, charter schools have now been cut off, too, because politicians think depriving...
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Phillly union heads raided teacher health care fund to pay for offices
HOUSE CALL: Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union heads borrowed more than $6 million out of a teacher healthcare fund to pay for building expenses at 1816 Chestnut Street with no indication the...
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For new charter schools, Philadelphia’s political climate isn’t warm
PHILADELPHIA — A steep decline in the number of charter school applications this year may indicate a change in the political climate. CHOICE CUTS: The School District of Philadelphia saw a significant...
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Where are Philadelphia teachers union dues being spent?
PHILADELPHIA — Every two weeks, local teachers have money taken out of their paychecks for union representation in collective bargaining. But the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the city school...
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Killing ‘pass the trash’ helps keep sex offenders out of schools
A proposal pushed by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey and based on a state law enacted last year puts “pass the trash” in the dumpster. The recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces No...
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Politics trumps poor kids in Keystone budget impasse
Private, philanthropic dollars that fund private school scholarships for poor children are being held hostage by Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. NO CREDIT: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has refused to...
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Pennsylvania budget impasse may close Philly schools
The School District of Philadelphia will run out of money if lawmakers fail to pass a state budget by January, district officials say. LOOMING SHUTDOWN: If the Pennsylvania budget impasse continues...
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