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
School Tax Hikes in Allegheny County
Interesting article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about property tax hikes. Twenty of 43 school districts in Allegheny are planning to raise tax rates. Their justification is that the county…
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Arrogant PHEAA: More stonewalling
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial review on how the public agency PHEAA refuses to disclose how they spend their money. Hence we propose privatizing PHEAA in our Pennsylvania Piglet…
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Cut the Fat
While Gov. Ed Rendell claims that his administration is “squeezing every nickel out of government,” an analysis of state spending released by the Commonwealth Foundation and Citizens Against Government Waste…
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Property Tax Relief through School Choice
Pennsylvanians deserve property tax reform and relief—not a shift and a sham. But the only way to relieve all homeowners while not burdening other taxpayers is to reduce public school…
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New York Times Editorial Uses Faulty Data To Slam Charter Schools
News release from the Center for Education Reform… New York Times Editorial Uses Faulty Data To Slam Charter Schools Washington, D.C., May 10, 2006 – The New York Times in…
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Substitute teaching goes private
In Michigan, the Grand Rapids Public Schools have figured out a way to save the taxpayers money–contract out for substitute teachers. It saves $$$ from having to be socked…
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Lawmakers must cure loan agency’s identity crisis
My PHEAA commentary in the Harrisburg Patriot-News.
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65% Solution? Reduce School District Size
Analysis of school district spending by size by in the EIA Communique. The finding is that larger districts spend a lower percentage on classroom instruction (and more in adminstrative…
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Philly Schools Need Improvement
Jay Greene in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.
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PHEAAs Split Personality
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) has a split personality complex, complete with an uncanny ability to assume different identities at a moment’s notice. One day, the student loan…
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Scholarships as tax relief
Read Matt Brouillette’s commentary in today’s York Dispatch.
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Educating From the Bench
Judges order legislators to spend more on schools, and taxpayers see less in return. Dr. Jay P. Greene in today’s Wall Street Journal.
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New Report on High School Graduation
A new report from the Manhattan Institute, released today, attempts to calculate real (as opposed to reported) high school graduation rates, using a consistent methodology across states. They found…
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Philly quadruples number of teachers fired for lack of performance
Before you think there is a major focus on teacher quality in the Philadelphia School District, the quadrupling of the number of teacher fired for performance was from 2 in…
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PHEAA says receipts would reveal secrets
PHEAA refuses to disclose what they are spending their money on, the Patriot News reports, citing “trade secrets.” Far be it from me to suggest that taxpayers and…
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PSBA takes issue with my referendum commentary
Equal time was given to Tim Allwein of the PA School Boards Association to offer a rebutal to my commentary in last Sunday’s Patriot-News. Fair game. It should…
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Let Common Sense Prevail on School Construction Projects
In the current debate over school property tax reform in Pennsylvania, all of the plans under consideration in Harrisburg focus solely on the revenue side of the school finance equation…
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School Vouchers are Improving Education in Milwaukee
Summary by National Center for Policy Analysis of a article in the New York Times.
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Cyberschools have districts edgy
Times-Tribune article on the growth of Pennsylvanias’ Cyberschools. The bottom line: students do better when parents are able to choose which school is best for them.
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Black Flight
Excellent Wall Street Journal article on what is happening in Minneaopolis where African-American families in the city’s poorest neighborhoods are choosing to leave their assigned public schools in large…
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How schools lock themselves into raising taxes
Article on USATODAY.com explores how health care and other benefits promised to public teachers’ unions will cost school districts a fortune over the coming years. Anyone who thinks…
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