SVI ISSUE: ACT 1 2006, (June 2006) inadequate for property tax relief or equitable funding for Pennsylvania Schools.

JOIN NOW | DONATE NOW | EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS

November 21, 2007

The Results of the Costing-Out Study Are In... What's Next?

After months of anticipation, the results of Pennsylvania’s first education costing-out study were revealed last week. The results finally provided an answer to the question of what it takes to ensure that all students in the Commonwealth receive a high quality education. We said the study was an historic opportunity to reform Pennsylvania’s broken system of financing public education. Legislators, school officials and the media agreed.

New developments
Senator Pat Browne (R-16) answered the call for action by introducing Senate Resolution 210, a proposal to create a Joint Legislative Commission on Public School Finance. Sen. Browne’s proposal is similar to House Resolution 460, introduced by Representatives John Siptroth (D-189) and Beverly Mackereth (R-196) in October. During the announcement of his proposal, Sen. Browne said, “We can’t expect our students to meet the standards that we have mandated if we’re not willing to invest the capital to get there.”

What they’re saying
Lawmakers and government officials embraced the costing-out study and sounded off on what it might mean for the future of education in Pennsylvania.

          Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak said that the costing-out study should serve as a wake-up call for lawmakers and the administration. “Now that the costing-out study has been completed, it is time to work together on a school funding formula that adequately and equitably funds public education in Pennsylvania.”

          “We need to equalize the state and local share and come up with a quality education for all. We would be making a huge mistake to have the information we have now and not do something with it,” Rep. Mackereth said.

          The chairman of the House Education committee Rep. James Roebuck (D-188) said the report “sets a course to take over the next few years” and added that it points up funding shortfalls that should have been addressed long ago.

          Rep. Sam Smith (R-66) told the Philadelphia Inquirer that for Republicans to support any increases in spending, they would have to be assured that districts could spend the money as they saw fit as long as they were also held accountable.

          “We need to make sure every child has the same opportunity to succeed," Rep. Eugene DePasquale (D-95) said. "We need funding on the state level based on actual population and factoring in actual education, now as opposed to 1991."

Statewide newspapers and media also weighed in on the costing-out study. The release received coverage from Erie to Scranton, Towanda to Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.

          “The Pennsylvania Board of Education and the Legislature released a landmark document on Wednesday. For the first time, the state has numbers with which to answer the question: Do schools and districts have the resources they need to meet state performance expectations? The short answer is ''no,'' and the next question is what are we going to do about it? The answer is in the hands of the Legislature.”
-- Allentown Morning Call

          “The headlines on the release of the state Department of Education costing-out study last week emphasized the gaps in funding necessary to adequately educate Pennsylvania students for the future. But the importance of the study is much more complex. This study is a first step — a useful tool — that can be used to guide the state into better funding of public education.”
--- Pottstown Mercury

          “Lawmakers who commissioned the study — by wide margins in both houses — should use the results to meet the state constitution’s guarantee of adequate public education. They should commit to a greater state contribution to public education as a percentage of the total. That means not just substituting the state’s share of casino revenue for local property taxes. The state government should increase overall educational spending, and direct it where it is needed most.”
--- Scranton Times Tribune

Taking the show on the road
Did you miss the release of the costing-out study in Harrisburg last week? You have another opportunity to learn about it because the costing-out study is coming to you. The State Board of Education and study consultants Augenblick, Palaich & Associates will conduct a series of six public hearings beginning later this month. Be sure to attend one to learn more about the costing-out study and what it means to you, your local schools and your community.

Learn more, then do more
Visit our webpage devoted to the costing-out study to read backgrounders, fact sheets, school district data and our press release. You can also follow our link to the costing-out study summary, the full report and powerpoint presentation on the State Board of Education’s website.

You can then use our online email tool to contact your legislators. Tell them that the costing-out study is an important and necessary step in reforming Pennsylvania’s system of funding public education. Urge them to continue on the road to reform by supporting HR 460 or SR 210. Your voice has never been more important.

Support our work
During this season of giving, remember Good Schools Pennsylvania. During this year in which we saw the release of the costing-out study and saw our network grow in numbers and influence, your support has helped us to spread our important message that every child in Pennsylvania should have access to a high quality education. But we still need your help - use our secure online donation tool to make a tax-deductible donation. We are closer than ever to achieving our goal and we can't stop now.

Good Schools Pennsylvania is a statewide network of citizens who are informed and mobilized in support of public education. We believe that we can improve our schools when we join together in calling for adequate funds that are equitably distributed, proven educational practices to meet a standard of excellence, and effective accountability measures. We invite you to become part of the movement for educational justice in Pennsylvania!

A New Public Dialogue on Public Education

Pennsylvania took another step forward this week in determining what our public schools need to prepare all students to meet the state’s academic standards. On Oct. 10, after getting the necessary approval from the General Assembly, the State Board of Education released a Request for Proposals to conduct a statewide education costing-out study.

Good Schools Pennsylvania and our partners advocated hard for this statewide “costing out” study, which will serve as a necessary counterbalance to some of the initiatives included in Act 1, the property tax relief plan that was enacted in June.

According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, a sound school funding formula must address multiple principles, including equity, adequacy, accountability, efficiency and predictability.

Act 1, with its endorsement of voter referendums on school budgets and creation of a task force on cost containment, is exclusively focused on the principle of efficiency. “Adequacy,” on the other hand, is an inadequate word to describe the issue most pressing to children – namely, are there sufficient resources available to all students in all schools to support the attainment of specific educational goals.

Public education advocates have long known that Pennsylvania has an enormous school funding equity gap – where the lowest spending school district spends about $7,000 per student, and the highest spending district is able to spend $18,000. But what has been missing from the dialogue is an honest conversation about what it takes for schools and students to meet the state academic standards – particularly schools with extraordinary high levels of students with special needs stemming from poverty, limited English or disability.

More than 30 other states have performed costing out studies to determine how to align funding with the high standards that students are expected to meet. Recently, a group of Lehigh Valley business and community leaders undertook a similar study to examine the capacity of the Allentown School District to meet the educational needs of its students. Until now, however, Pennsylvania has dodged the question.

Good Schools Pennsylvania gratefully acknowledges the legislative interest that emerged this past spring with key support from Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), Rep. Mike Veon (D-Beaver) and Rep. Jennifer Mann (D-Lehigh) – all of whom introduced resolutions (SR274, HR696, and HR760) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to undertake a costing out study. Additional support materialized from the State Board of Education, ultimately resulting in an agreement to have the State Board of Education steer the process, with reports due to the General Assembly in 6 and 12 months time.

This partnership between the State Board of Education and the General Assembly speaks to their respective roles and responsibilities in regard to public education: The State Board of Education established the academic standards to which students and schools are now held accountable, so providing Pennsylvanians with credible information about what it takes to meet those standards is the next critical piece. Ultimately, however, it is the General Assembly that is charged with providing a ‘thorough and efficient” education in Pennsylvania, and balancing the multiple principles of equity, adequacy, accountability, efficiency and predictability.

The coming year presents a rare window of opportunity for Pennsylvanians to have a new kind of dialogue, one in which we get to share our hopes and dreams for how our public schools may best serve our children and our communities. In too many of our communities, discussions around public education only take place between a “rock and a hard place,” as school boards deliberate between the unpopular choices of raising property taxes or making budget cuts that threaten to weaken the curriculum. Alternatively, in cash-strapped districts where parents rally to secure essential resources for their neighborhood school, they are often left with the unsettling feeling that they have just “robbed Peter to pay Paul.”

In contrast, a costing out study guides us first in naming our aspirations for public education, then defining the educational resources that are needed to truly make sure no child is left behind, and only then ascribing a price tag.

Of course, the information gleaned from a costing-out study is just the first step on the road toward a sound school funding formula. Courageous decisions will have to be made about how Pennsylvania raises taxes and distributes revenues, and our legislators will need a lot of encouragement from their constituents to take these steps. Good Schools Pennsylvania is committed to using this period to inform and mobilize citizens around the fundamental right of all children to receive a high quality public education. To learn more about Good Schools Pennsylvania and how you can get involved in campaigning for educational excellence in our state, call our toll free number at 1-866-720-4086 or info@goodschoolspa.org. Please visit our website at www.goodschoolspa.org.


Good Schools Pennsylvania To remove yourself from further mailings, click here.