May 23, 2012 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

School Choice Toolkit

Children at Pennsylvania’s worst-performing schools are frequently subjected to acts of violence. In the worst 140+ schools alone, with some 80,000 children, students faced nearly 10,000 acts of violence in 2008-10, including robberies, rapes, riots, bomb threats and assaults. That’s a violent act every 17 minutes. In the bottom 5 percent of schools in the 2010-11 school year, only 32 percent of students were proficient in reading and 38 percent proficient in math on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).

The solution? School choice saves. View the full School Choice Toolkit to find out how.

November 2, 2011 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Fall 2011 Legislative Priorities

Fall 2011 Legislative Priorities.

August 17, 2011 | Policy Brief by ANDREW LEFEVRE

A Decade of Success: Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit

The EITC creates partnerships between parents, businesses, and scholarship organizations. These partnerships allow funding to follow students, giving children and their families choices of schools that best fit their needs. The success of the EITC program is demonstrated not just in the millions it has saved taxpayers and relief to high-growth school districts, but parental satisfaction with education outcomes. Demand for EITC scholarships far outweighs what is available from participating Scholarship Organizations across the commonwealth. For example, the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia had 95,000 applications for 7,700 scholarships awarded over the last decade.  The EITC provides choices parents demand and offers better outcomes for children.

July 27, 2011 | Policy Brief by PAUL CHESSER, MARK NEWGENT

The Great Frack Attack: The War on Natural Gas

Much attention has been paid to the efforts of gas companies to influence the political debate through campaign contributions and lobbying efforts.  But anti-drilling activists—while claiming gas companies use their vast financial resources to weaken regulatory structures and silence poorly funded environmental groups—influence politicians through their own lobbying efforts and by spreading myths about drilling. Among the myths alleged about "Big Gas" is that drillers are flocking to Pennsylvania's rich Marcellus Shale reserves, engaging in dangerous and highly polluting drilling activities, and shirking responsibility for damages while successfully avoiding paying taxes.

June 2, 2011 | Policy Brief by NICHOLAS FETT

Pennsylvania's State Union Contracts

On June 30, 2011, 15 of the state's 19 government union contracts expire, with two more expiring in August. These 19 public sector unions represent 62,271 state employees, whose compensation from taxpayers exceeds $4.6 billion.  Here are some of the main provisions concerning wages, benefits, and key provisions in the contracts include.

March 7, 2011 | Policy Brief by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Understanding the Pennsylvania State Budget

Taxing, Borrowing, & Spending

Pennsylvania's total state operating budget for FY 2010-11 is approximately $65.4 billion-or $5,193 for every man, woman and child in the commonwealth.  This policy brief looks at the entire state operating budget in order to give policymakers and interested citizens a better understanding of how Pennsylvania's total operating budget is constructed in order to build a better one.

March 7, 2011 | Policy Brief by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Reality-Based Budgeting

Prioritizing Pennsylvania’s Spending Plans

Pennsylvania state government will tax and spend more than $65 billion this fiscal year.  With the loss of federal stimulus money and the exhaustion of all one-time expenditures, the legislature and new governor will soon be forced to reconcile a budget shortfall that could be as large as $5 billion. 

February 17, 2011 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

School Choice: Questions & Answers

The Pennsylvania School Board Association is circulating "Questions about vouchers your legislator should be asking." Others have legitimate questions and concerns.  This Policy Brief answers them all.

February 16, 2011 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

15 School Choice Myths

Expelled by 46 Facts

In an attempt to thwart efforts to give children better educational opportunities, the public school establishment is trying to divert the attention of policymakers through a series of oft-repeated myths and half-truths. What follows are the top 15 school choice myths, expelled by 46 facts.

January 24, 2011 | Policy Brief by ELIZABETH STELLE, KATRINA CURRIE

Citizen's Guide to Electric Choice & Competition 2011

In the late 1990s, Pennsylvania's electricity rates were 15% above the national average, despite the abundance of low-cost coal generation in the Commonwealth. At that time, electricity was sold by a monopoly utility provider in each designated region. Federal regulations then changed to allow electricity markets to develop. The state legislature responded with the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act, signed in December 1996, promising lower prices and better service through consumer choice and generation competition.