Town and Country Newspaper

News Article

The Pennsylvania School District

Written by Larry Roeder, Editor
2015-04-23

We are fortunate to live in an area where none of our school districts have schools in the bottom 5 percent of the Pennsylvania Department of Education's latest list of low achieving schools.

There are many reasons and many people to credit, but consider the plight of Philadelphia schools and what they may soon face.

According to reports, a bill crafted by State Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster) will soon be been introduced that could delegate Pennsylvania's lowest-performing schools to a new, state-run district.

Better performing schools should be on everybody's radar but is a state-run

school district the answer? Everybody wants accountability; will a state-run school

district provide that? Governor Tom Wolf wants substantially more money earmarked for education, and supporters of the state-run school district concept think the new bill may pass because more money could be agreed upon if there is more accountability.

The proposed legislation would have the lowest-performing 5 percent of public and charter schools, as determined by the state-calculated school performance profile score, be directed to transform themselves. According to an article that appeared in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer, districts would use tools such as contracting with outside providers or converting to charters. They would be exempt from union seniority rules, and parents could also force changes with a majority vote.

Those schools would have three years to turn things around or they could be placed into a new "Achievement School District" (ASD) that would be run by the state. The lowest 1 percent of the schools would have two years to accomplish change or be put in the state ASD.

Coming from Harrisburg would be mandates that could have latitude to close schools and authorize new charters. Those relegated to the state system would be funded the way charters are now, with a set per-pupil allocation.

The upcoming battle over this bill will answer many questions. But now is the time for the people of Pennsylvania to ask the questions of their state senators and representatives. Let them know what you're thinking about the issue.

After all, we may not be in the bottom 5 percent today, but what will keep the state's benchmark from becoming 10, 25, or 50 percent in the future? You will lways have schools in the bottom 1 or 5 percent. What will the cutoff be? If all schools are performing at or above the mid-range of the "success level," will the lowest 1 or 5 percent be relegated to the ASD?

Will this bill, if it becomes law, force underachieving schools to fix themselves? Is there a better way to get the funding into the classroom with accountability to the taxpayers?

The hope is that our governor and legislature can work together to find the right answers to serve the students properly and make all schools successful – preferably in their existing districts and not one that is run by the Commonwealth.

Because we all need to ask:

In the case of a state takeover, does changing schools' governance change student outcomes?

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