Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Fiscal ramifications of charter schools and inadequate deliquent tax collection blamed for money woes, business manager says.
Wilkinsburg School Board met last night to discuss a plan to borrow $3 million to help the cash-strapped school district to meet its financial obligations through the end of the school year. The Post-Gazette reports that Bruce Dakin, business manager, said the fiscal ramifications of charter school payments has resulted in the district's financial woes. The district spends between $3.5 and $4.5 million on charter school payments, a number that has increased in the past five years. Superintendent Archie Perrin added that there has not been an aggressive effort to collect about $20 million in delinquent taxes. To see the full Post-Gazette story, click here. _______________________ Forest Hills-Regent Square Patch is on Facebook and on …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Not one cyber charter school in the state and fewer than one-third of 'brick-and-mortar' charter schools made Adequate Yearly Progress last year.
Charter schools have been touted as a way for students to escape underperforming local public schools ever since Pennsylvania passed legislation in 1997 establishing them as a independent public schools. Cyber charter schools followed in 2002. One of the key selling points used by charter schools has been that their students outperform their public school counterparts. But according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, historical data indicate that a consistently lower percentage of charter schools make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) than traditional public schools. Last fall, the state Department of Education implemented a new way of determining whether charter schools have met student achievement milestones for AYP under the …
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Competition from charter and private schools are forcing districts to get creative.
Joe Lafferty wears his pride for Woodland Hills School District on his sleeve and he looks forward to telling people exactly why he thinks the district deserves the chance to educate the area's children. Lafferty gave a presentation during Wednesday’s school board meeting outlining how and why the district could and should market itself to parents of potential students. With charter schools opening in many school districts across Pennsylvania, competition between public and private schools are in a new realm of consumerism. More and more school districts, like McKeesport, now advertise within their communities. Woodland Hills budgeted $25,000 to be used for marketing, and Lafferty, who is a football coach in the district and a 1990 …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The school board and administrators face an uphill battle in reaching a balanced budget before June 30.
In a school district that has lost more than $9 million in state funds over the course of two years, Woodland Hills Substitute Superintendent Al Johnson said the next budget’s proposed cuts are already down to the bone—and about to dig into the marrow. “We’re fighting for our lives here,” Johnson said. Couple Gov. Tom Corbett’s education cuts with the district’s yearly cost of paying for charter school tuitions and more—$13.5 million—and the situation at Woodland Hills becomes clear. The school board is examining programs, transportation and jobs line by line in an effort to cut $2.4 million to balance the proposed budget by June 30—the final state deadline. Johnson is filling in for Superintendent Walter Calinger, who is on leave and …
mike
3:08 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
that is unbelievable that they've got $20 million in unpaid taxes to the school... and are complaining about charter schools requesting $4.5 million in payments. how about make those who owe taxes PAY UP instead of making excuses and shifting blame. more ›