Education
Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocates
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer After a more than eight-year slog, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed what the Pennsylvania Constitution has said all…
Read More: Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocatesEducation is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.
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Education
Fact Check: Pennsylvania State and Local Education Spending
Today the Pennsylvania Department of Education is on day 3 of their “Tax You More” bus tour. While the administration continues their taxpayer funded lobbying effort, Commonwealth Foundation President…
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Read More: Fact Check: Pennsylvania State and Local Education SpendingEducation
Fact Check: PA Cannot Spend Its Way to Educational Success
Today the Pennsylvania Department of Education begins day 2 of their “Tax You More” bus tour. Education officials continue to call for more spending when in…
Media
Read More: Fact Check: PA Cannot Spend Its Way to Educational SuccessEducation
Bob Casey Still Needs to Read the Stimulus Bill
Sen. Bob Casey – in remarks designed to counter the facts laid out by the Commonwealth Foundation, namely that Pennsylvania school districts will get a dramatic increase in…
Media
Read More: Bob Casey Still Needs to Read the Stimulus BillEducation
Bonus Fact Check: Government Preschool
One point that has been raised during the Rendell administration’s taxpayer funding lobbying campaign for higher taxes was the benefits of the Pre-K Counts programs. On this, we…
Media
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Brouillette to Counter Rendell’s “Tax You More” Bus Tour
Harrisburg, PA — Gov. Rendell’s week-long, state-wide bus tour to scare and mislead Pennsylvanians into thinking they pay too little in taxes and don’t spend enough on public education will…
Press Release
Read More: Brouillette to Counter Rendell’s “Tax You More” Bus TourEducation
Fact Check: K-12 Education Support Increase Under SB 850
While the Rendell administration is burning your tax dollars funding a bus tour across Pennsylvania to ask for more education spending (and the higher taxes needed to pay for…
Media
Read More: Fact Check: K-12 Education Support Increase Under SB 850Education
Budget Facts 2009: Spending Increases by Department
Pennsylvania faces a $3 billion tax revenue shortfall in the state’s General Fund Budget. Competing proposals from Gov. Ed Rendell and the Republican-led Senate differ on raising taxes and reducing/reprioritizing…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Budget Facts 2009: Spending Increases by DepartmentEducation
Budget Facts 2009: State Education Spending
Pennsylvania faces a $3 billion tax revenue shortfall in the state’s General Fund Budget. Competing proposals from Gov. Ed Rendell and the Republican-led Senate differ on raising taxes and reducing/reprioritizing…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Budget Facts 2009: State Education SpendingEducation
Will Government-Run Preschool Help Fight Al-Qaeda?
The Patriot News has a blurb about former generals saying that government-run preschool will help improve the military, and that if the Pennsylvania Senate budget passes, the terrorists…
Media
Read More: Will Government-Run Preschool Help Fight Al-Qaeda?Education
Teachers Union vs. Taxpayers and Students (Draft)
The Blackhawk Education Association sparked ligation costing taxpayers in the Blackhawk School District over $160,000. The district was paying tutors the rate of substitute teachers, but the union had…
Media
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Philadelphia Limits Choices for School Children
Brad Vasoli has a troubling article in The Bulletin about how the Philadelphia School District is trying to limit the enrollment of charter schools in the district. District officials…
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Private Funding for Public Schools
Several Pennsylvania school districts, such as Upper Moreland, are considering proposals to sell advertising space on district school buses as a means to raise additional revenue. Rather than turning…
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Get the Quarter Back
There is an old joke, with many variations that goes something like this: a foreigner came to visit a friend in America, and they went to watch a Pittsburgh Steelers…
Commentary
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Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning?
The Heritage Foundation has a new backgrounder asking, “Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning?” The short answer is NO. For the long answer, they examine universal preschool programs…
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PA School Districts to Get 12% Increase in Support
Despite all the whining about budget cuts from the Rendell Administration (even though Rendell demanded there be “no whining”), Pennsylvania school districts are set to get substantially more…
Media
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Saving School Choice (and Savings of School Choice)
Great new video from ReasonTV on the DC Voucher program, and the threats to eliminate it, despite a US Department of Education report that it helps improves student learning…
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Weighted Student Funding Formula
Reason Foundation has a new yearbook and resources on weighted student funding. Weighted student funding is a way for school districts, and states, to fund students instead of school…
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Rethinking Financial Aid for Higher Ed
Andrew Gillen of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity has an interesting analysis of the effects of federal and state financial aid programs for colleges and universities. Namely,…
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Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?
Several state lawmakers and parents are protesting Governor Rendell’s proposed closing of Scotland School (HT GrassrootsPA) – a school ostensibly for children of veterans – claiming we must…
Media
Read More: Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?Education
Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?
Several state lawmakers and parents are protesting Governor Rendell’s proposed closing of Scotland School (HT GrassrootsPA) – a school ostensibly for children of veterans – claiming we must…
Media
Read More: Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?Education
Charter Schools Always Face a Financial Struggle
Kevin Ferris has a piece in the Wall Street Journal on the difficulty that charter schools face funding their facilities. Ferris uses as his case study First Philadelphia Charter…
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Read More: Charter Schools Always Face a Financial Struggle