PSEA President: Corbett plan is no solution for financially distressed schools

(HARRISBURG, May 22, 2012) – A proposal backed by Gov. Tom Corbett to place Harrisburg bureaucrats in control of financially distressed districts will do nothing to address the financial situations facing these districts, according to the president of Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union.

Mike Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said that as implications of Gov. Corbett’s budget cuts continue to grow, along with the number of financially distressed school districts, legislators should be seeking real solutions for these struggling school districts and properly funding them.

He urged legislators to vote “no” on House Bill 1307, which now includes Gov. Corbett’s distressed school district proposal. The bill is expected to be voted out of the Senate Education Committee today.

“There is a serious funding crisis in a growing number of our schools,” Crossey said. “But this bill isn’t a solution.  The problem was manufactured largely by state underfunding in the first place. This bill is a bureaucratic power grab masquerading as a fix, and it leaves these struggling schools guessing about how to balance their budgets and educate their students.”

Crossey pointed out that nearly $1 billion in state funding cuts have contributed significantly to the funding crisis in Pennsylvania’s schools. Across the state, the crisis is growing worse, as school districts deplete their reserve funds and continue to cut staff and programs that work for their students.

“If their state funding hadn’t been cut, these school districts wouldn’t be in crisis,” Crossey added. “Restoring these funding cuts is the solution. Putting state bureaucrats in charge isn’t.”

Initially, the distressed school district proposal would target the Chester Upland, Duquesne City, Harrisburg, and York City School Districts. However, in future years, the State Board of Education would be left with sole discretion to determine which districts are financially distressed. In these districts, state-appointed bureaucrats would be required to fashion response plans, and a state receiver could be put in place to run the districts if their budget crises continue. The bill would also allow these officials to cancel contracts, convert community schools into charter schools, and attack school employees’ collective bargaining rights.

“Some of our school districts are in financial crisis, and we need to find real solutions,” Crossey said. “This bill wouldn’t do anything to solve their problems. It would take away local decision-making and give local parents and taxpayers no voice in how to run their schools.”

Crossey pointed out that the need to restore state funding cuts to the public schools is urgent. “Sounding the Alarm,” a PSEA research report, points out that the financial viability of a significant number of school districts will be threatened by 2014. It shows that a combination of nearly $1 billion in cuts and a toxic mixture of bad state education laws is forcing dramatic cuts to student programs.

Learn more at www.psea.org/soundingthealarm.

“In the next few weeks, legislators have an opportunity to address the school funding crisis,” Crossey said. “The way to do it is to craft a budget that invests in our students. We are looking forward to working with legislators to do just that.”

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents approximately 187,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

PSEA President: block grant plan will shortchange students and schools

(HARRISBURG, April 30, 2012) – Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to fund Pennsylvania’s public schools with “block grants” will shortchange students, let political deals drive state funding, and force local school districts and communities to solve the $1 billion crisis that state funding cuts have caused, according to the president of Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union.

Michael Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, warned that block grants will end up shortchanging school districts, since block grants would erase the laws and formulas that account for schools’ real costs and students’ real needs. Instead, block grants would base state funding on arbitrary numbers and political backroom deals. 

“The governor’s plan to ‘block grant’ public school funding is just another way to pass the buck on the school funding crisis,” Crossey said.  “It’s a dramatic reversal, a 180-degree turn away from a fair and predictable system. Instead of solving the crisis in our schools, these block grants will make it worse.”

Gov. Corbett’s block grant proposal would create a single line item in the FY 2012-13 state budget by lumping together line items for employee Social Security payments, school busing, non-public school busing, and classroom instruction. Social Security payments are mandated, and busing is necessary to keep students safe and attending school regularly.

Most significantly, the governor’s proposal, if approved by the General Assembly, would set the stage for political backroom deals on how much to give public schools in future state budgets, Crossey said. State funding for classroom instruction was cut by $860 million in the FY 2011-12 budget. 

“The governor’s block grant proposal would combine four programs that work into one that doesn’t,” Crossey added. “It’s another part of the shell game he is playing with his budget. Fair and equitable funding will go out the window, and political deals will decide how much we invest in our students.”

Combining these payments makes it appear as though the Corbett administration has increased school funding, even though the governor’s budget proposal contains another $100 million in state funding cuts.

"The governor claims his plan gives schools more flexibility, but all it offers is the flexibility to make even more cuts that harm students,” Crossey said.

 Crossey pointed out that the need to restore state funding cuts to the public schools is urgent. “Sounding The Alarm,” a PSEA research report, shows that a combination of nearly $1 billion in cuts and a toxic mixture of bad state education laws is forcing dramatic cuts to student programs and pushing a growing number of school districts to the financial brink.

Learn more at www.psea.org/soundingthealarm.

“The school funding crisis is real, and it’s hurting Pennsylvania’s students every day,” Crossey said. “Shell games and accounting tricks won’t solve it. We need to fund the schools, stop these cuts, and invest in Pennsylvania’s students.”

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents approximately 187,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

Sign the Petition to Close Corporate Tax Loopholes and Stand Up for the Middle Class!

Please sign the following petition from our friends at the National Education Association:

Dear Elected Officials,

I urge you to stand up for the middle class and support closing corporate tax loopholes at the federal and state level, so that additional resources can be invested in public education and other services that build our communities.

Corporate tax loopholes are costing our schools and communities resources that would help the next generation achieve the American Dream. At a time when middle class Americans and small businesses are suffering, large, multi-national corporations are earning record profits and paying little to no money in taxes that are intended to support the communities where they do business.

Instead of robbing children of opportunities and services they need to succeed, corporations must invest in future generations by paying their fair share.

• At the federal level, support revenue positive corporate tax reform by closing the seven largest corporate tax loopholes, which would provide an estimated $1.487 trillion in additional revenues over the next ten-years.
• At the state level, support legislation that keeps corporations from shifting profits to low-tax burden states and require full disclosure of state and local incentives to corporations to ensure they pay their fair share to the states and communities where they do business. 

http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/loopholes/

PSEA Files Federal Complaint To Protect the Civil Rights of Special Education Students in Chester Upland

 

 (HARRISBURG, Mar. 9, 2012) – A toxic mixture of state special education and charter school laws and more than $23 million in funding cuts are violating the civil rights of Chester Upland School District’s 700 special needs students, according to a federal complaint Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union and two other public interest groups have filed with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mike Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, explained that PSEA, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed a civil rights complaint with the federal Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights in order to protect the interests of Chester Upland’s special needs students.

“The crisis in Chester Upland is so severe that it could become a full-blown tragedy for students with special needs,” Crossey said. “The civil rights of these students are at stake and we need to stand up for them.”

Crossey explained that state laws forcing Chester Upland to make artificially inflated payments to charter schools are draining the district’s resources.

Chester Upland is forced to pay $24,528 for each special education student who attends local charter schools, an amount nearly twice the $13,458 per student special education subsidy the district receives for its own students. Enrollment numbers in at least one local charter school indicate that the charter school is identifying an unusually high number of students with mild disabilities and experiencing a payment windfall.

“These laws are fundamentally unfair, they favor charter schools over traditional public schools, and they are draining Chester Upland’s resources,” Crossey said. “This bizarre payment scheme is among the root causes of the district’s financial distress.”

The school district is on the brink of closing its doors because of these crushing payments to charter schools and unprecedented state funding cuts, which have hit poorer school districts even harder than their wealthier neighbors.

Even though Gov. Tom Corbett publicly committed to providing the school district with funding to keep its doors open for the rest of the school year, only a fraction of the crucial state funds the district needs have arrived.

“This is a legal issue, but it’s also a moral issue. The Commonwealth can’t allow students with special needs to lose their education because of funding cuts,” Crossey said. “Promises don’t pay for the services these students have a right to receive.”

The complaint cites four specific problems with the state special education subsidy and the charter school law:

(1) Under the state charter school law, the per student special education payment Chester Upland

is required to make to charter schools is nearly twice as high as the per student special education reimbursement the district receives from the Commonwealth.

(2) The Commonwealth’s special education formula caps state support at 16 percent of the school district’s students. As a result, the school district receives $13,458 per student through the state formula, even though Chester Upland is required to pay $24,528 for 100 percent of special education students charter schools identify. No cap applies to the payments Chester Upland is required to make to the charter schools.

(3) The state charter school reimbursement program was eliminated in 2011. It was enacted in 2001 to help school districts cover at least a portion of these extraordinary charter school costs.

(4) The Commonwealth is not carefully monitoring charter schools to ensure they are not over-identifying special education students with mild disabilities and experiencing a windfall in per student payments from the school district, at the expense of other special education students in the district.

“This is unfair on its face,” Crossey said. “In Chester Upland, these long-standing inequities are a huge part of the problem. Add this to unprecedented state budget cuts to the district, and you understand why this school district is having a hard time keeping the doors open.

“Someone needs to speak out for the special needs students who will suffer if this school district is forced to close its doors. We are proud to join with parents, educators, and advocates in Chester Upland and say enough is enough.”

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents more than 193,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

View on PSEA.org

Tomalis testimony ignores impact of nearly $1 billion in public school cuts

HARRISBURG (Mar. 5, 2012) – The president of the state’s largest school employee union said that Education Secretary Ron Tomalis’ testimony before the House Appropriations Committee today ignored the fact that school districts across Pennsylvania are cutting programs that work for their students because of nearly $1 billion in state funding cuts.

Mike Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, pointed out that school districts across the state are increasing class sizes and cutting programs that work for students in response to Gov. Tom Corbett’s unprecedented public school funding cuts, a reality that stands in stark contrast to the Corbett administration’s claim that these cuts are really historic increases.

“It is time to stop ignoring the problem and start fixing it,” Crossey said. “How can you say that the state increased funding for Pennsylvania’s students when school districts are being forced to eliminate programs left and right? It just doesn’t add up.

“Pennsylvanians are seeing through the rhetoric. They know what’s happening in their schools and they know why.”

To help Pennsylvanians understand how these cuts impact the school districts where they live, PSEA launched an online School Funding Cuts Calculator on Feb. 15. The calculator is available at www.savepaschools.org andwww.psea.org/schoolcuts.

“Instead of admitting that there is a funding crisis in the public schools, the secretary seems to want to cover it up,” Crossey said. “His shell game isn’t working. All you need to do to find out the truth is pick up your local newspaper. I read about more cuts every day.”

Crossey pointed out that Gov. Corbett has eliminated a menu of long-standing state programs to support the public schools, including the charter school reimbursement program, accountability block grant program, education assistance tutoring program, and dual enrollment program. 

“These programs were created to help students learn,” Crossey said. “They’re gone now, and students are the ones paying the price. This budget is a shell game for public education. We can do better.”

Crossey pointed out how critical it is to focus on providing the funding schools need to pay for programs that are proven to work for their students, like those outlined in PSEA’s Solutions That Work proposal. These Solutions That Work include early childhood education, smaller class sizes, additional learning time for struggling students, and parental involvement.

Learn more about Solutions That Work at www.solutionsthatworkpa.org.

“These program cuts are real, and the impact they are having on students is real,” Crossey said. “Pennsylvania can do better. We can resolve this crisis if we all work together as the adults in the room.”

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents more than 193,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

View on PSEA.org

PSEA PRESIDENT SAYS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS NEED STATE SUPPORT, NOT ACCOUNTING TRICKS

HARRISBURG (Feb. 7, 2012) – Using a complicated fiscal shell game to “redesign school and district” basic education funding, the state budget proposal Gov. Tom Corbett unveiled today represents an unwise experiment that will cause chaos in the public schools and eliminate research-tested, classroom-proven programs, the president of Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union said today.

Michael Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said that the governor’s budget proposal would do nothing to avert the growing financial crisis in Pennsylvania’s school districts.

“This proposal is an unwise experiment with the education of 1.8 million public school students,” Crossey said. “It leaves school officials and property taxpayers to figure out how to close a two-year, nearly $1 billion funding gap.”

Crossey said the governor’s budget proposal uses an accounting gimmick, combining line items for employee Social Security contributions and transportation costs in an attempt to create the appearance of an increase in the state’s main basic education subsidy to public schools. As a result, school districts could receive $94 million less in state funding that will actually go to support students in the classroom. (See chart below.)

PROPOSED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT EDUCATION BLOCK GRANTS
ARE $94 MILLION LESS THAN THE 2011-12 TOTAL
FOR THE COMBINED LINE ITEMS
	in $ thousands
	2011-12	2012-13
Student Achievement Education Block Grants		6,516,087
Basic Education Funding	5,354,328	0
Accountability Block Grants	100,000	0
Pupil Transportation	537,958	0
Nonpublic Pupil Transportation	76,640	0
School Employees Social Security	541,560	0
Total (Combined Lines)	6,610,486	6,516,087
Change from 2011-12		-94,399

                                                                                                                                              

“Public schools are facing the second year of dramatic state funding cuts,” Crossey said. “Public school students need state support for programs that work, not accounting tricks.”

Gov. Corbett suggested that school districts “adjust” to meet their own needs. Unfortunately his budget once again leaves them with fewer resources, and the only “adjustments” are likely to be even larger classes, elimination of additional programs, and fewer opportunities for children, Crossey said.

Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal did not even mention, much less address, the plight facing districts in fiscal crisis like Chester Upland and York City – districts which may not be able to pay their bills in the current academic year.

Crossey pointed out that Gov. Corbett’s budget cuts have so far eliminated more than half a billion dollars in state support for programs that have helped to increase student achievement over the past decade. This does not include cuts to the basic education subsidy. (See chart below.) As a result, school districts now have no state help to cover growing charter school payments and will lose all accountability block grant funds, which pay for full-day kindergarten and class size reduction initiatives.

	FY 2010-2011	FY 2011-2012	FY 2012-2013 (Gov. Proposed)
Charter School Reimbursement Program	$219,825,000	$0	$0
Accountability Block Grant Program	$254,526,000	$100,000,000	$0
Education Assistance (Tutoring) Program	$46,701,000	$0	$0
Dual Enrollment Program	$6,827,000	$0	$0
Basic Education Subsidy (for classroom instruction)	$5,774,685,000	$5,354,629,000	$5,354,629,000

“For the second year in a row, the governor wants to reverse course on smart public school investments that work for our students,” Crossey said. “So far, his public education track record is all about cutting effective programs.”

According to Crossey, school districts across the state have already cut programs and staff. In the wake of this proposal, public schools will be forced to raise taxes or cut even more. A study released by the Pennsylvania School Administrators Association and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials in September indicated that:

·         70 percent of school districts increased class sizes.

·         44 percent of school districts reduced course offerings.

·         35 percent of school districts reduced or eliminated tutoring programs.

·         14,159 school district positions were eliminated or left vacant.

“Public school students need their elected state officials to be the responsible adults who will provide for their education, instead of hiding behind accounting tricks to paper over that responsibility,” Crossey said. “Public school students deserve a great education. It’s up to all of us – teachers, school administrators, citizens, and elected state officials – to assume some responsibility, and make sure they get a quality education.”

“Gov. Corbett’s massive budget cuts are hurting students across the Commonwealth,” Crossey said. “The students can’t afford another year of devastating cuts, especially when there are better options to balance the budget.”

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents more than 193,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

PA Opposes Vouchers

View this simple and clear chart to see what Pennsylvanians want for solutions in our our schools. Hint: It's not vouchers.

Educators urge Gov. Corbett to provide resources for all students, not just a few

HARRISBURG (Oct. 11, 2011) – Teachers, taxpayers and parents want real education reforms that are proven to work for all of Pennsylvania’s students, not initiatives to drain more tax dollars from public schools, the president of Pennsylvania’s largest school employee union said today. Michael J. Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said research-backed education reforms, coupled with adequate and equitable resources, will do more to improve student achievement than the initiatives outlined by Gov. Tom Corbett at a news conference today in York.

“The governor didn’t provide many details,” Crossey said. “But I know for certain that the $860 million in state funding cuts have forced the public schools to increase class sizes and cut programs. We need to restore those cuts, not spend more money on initiatives that don’t work.”

Crossey noted that the public supports education initiatives proven to work in Pennsylvania’s schools. A recent public opinion poll from Terry Madonna Opinion Research showed extraordinarily strong support for programs that provide more individualized attention and tutoring (89 percent), reduced class sizes (88 percent), safety initiatives (85 percent), full-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten (83 percent).

None of those popular and effective ideas were included in Corbett’s reform outline.

“Tutoring programs, small class sizes, and full-day kindergarten are programs that we know work for Pennsylvania’s students,” Crossey said. “People across the state know it, too. These are the reform ideas that Pennsylvanians want and that our students need.”

The programs supported by the respondents to the Madonna poll are all included in PSEA’s school reform agenda, “Solutions That Work.” Read more about “Solutions That Work” at

www.solutionsthatwork.org.

The same public opinion poll noted that support for tuition voucher plans has eroded further in the past six months. Sixty-five percent of Pennsylvanians oppose voucher plans. When asked if they supported using any education funding restorations for vouchers, 59 percent opposed it.

This marks the third public opinion poll in less than 12 months in which Pennsylvanians expressed their opposition to vouchers.

“I think Pennsylvanians oppose vouchers because they know voucher programs don’t work and they know that the public schools are hurting because of these unprecedented funding cuts,” Crossey said. “It looks like the only person who really wants vouchers is the governor.”

The governor’s focus on rapid expansion of Pennsylvania’s charter schools, with little accountability or oversight, also makes no sense, Crossey said.

“At a time when Pennsylvania’s public schools are forced to cope with unprecedented cuts in state aid, rapid expansion of charter schools without even considering the fiscal impact is irresponsible,” Crossey said.

“Quality charter schools can be a valuable component of the Commonwealth’s education system, but significant questions about accountability and funding should be addressed in a careful manner,” Crossey said. “Creation of a statewide commission to approve charter schools would also take away the decision-making and voices of local taxpayers.”

A study released by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes in April 2011 shows that students in Pennsylvania charter schools on average make smaller learning gains in reading and math than their traditional public school counterparts. The Stanford study notes that strong examples of quality charters do exist in the state, but policymakers need to "drive quality throughout the sector.”

Crossey responded to the governor’s comments on teacher evaluations. "We agree with the governor that teacher evaluations need to be improved," Crossey said. "We support use of multiple objective measures of performance, and a streamlined dismissal procedure for teachers who fail to meet performance standards."

Crossey added that policymakers who suggest that Pennsylvania’s public schools are failing are wrong.

Students who took the state's standardized tests in the spring delivered improved scores in math, science, writing and reading tests over last year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The percentage of students who tested as advanced or proficient increased in all four categories on the state-administered Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests.

Public schools are an investment in the future of our nation, our state, and our communities,” Crossey added. “If we want our students to continue to succeed, we need to continue to make these investments, not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that don’t work.”

Poll Shows PA Doesn't Want Vouchers or Corbett's Education Cuts

PUBLIC OPINION POLL FINDS WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR PROVEN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES, OPPOSITION TO STATE FUNDING CUTS FOR PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

HARRISBURG (Oct. 5, 2011) – By a wide margin, Pennsylvanians oppose recent state funding cuts to public education and support investments in programs that work, according to a new public opinion poll.

Pennsylvanians strongly support investing in tutoring students, reducing class sizes and making schools safer. By a similarly wide margin, Pennsylvanians oppose creating a taxpayer-funded voucher system for private and religious schools.

Those are the findings of the latest Terry Madonna Opinion Research survey, released today by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). The results are available today on PSEA’s website, www.psea.org.

“By a nearly two-to-one margin, Pennsylvanians oppose the recent funding cuts to the Commonwealth’s public schools,” said PSEA President Michael J. Crossey. “They overwhelmingly support recommendations in Solutions That Work, PSEA’s blueprint for education reform. And it is clear they don’t support tuition vouchers.”

The Madonna poll asked Pennsylvanians for their views regarding the $860 million cut from public schools as part of the state budget Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law last June. Sixty-nine percent said they oppose or strongly oppose these cuts, while only 27 percent said they favor or strongly favor the action.

The Madonna poll then asked survey respondents to give their opinion on how state funds for education should be used if the cuts were restored.

The respondents favored or strongly favored “more individualized student attention and tutoring” (89 percent),reduced class sizes (88 percent), and “programs to help make schools safer” (85 percent). They also favored: alternative placement for disruptive/violent students (85 percent); “pre- and full-day kindergarten” (73 percent); and “programs to coordinate school, community and law enforcement programs”(79 percent).At the same time, the poll results establish Pennsylvanians oppose “a voucher plan to send students to private, religious and parochial schools.” Fifty-nine percent said they were “strongly opposed or somewhat opposed” to vouchers, while only 38 percent were in favor of such plans.

The programs supported by the respondents, tutoring, smaller classes, safe school and alternative student placement pre- and full-day kindergarten, and coordinated school/community strategies are all included in PSEA’s school reform agenda, “Solutions That Work.” Read more about “Solutions That Work” at www.solutionsthatwork.org.

Crossey said, “These findings show the public backs common-sense, research-based strategies to improve education, and providing schools with adequate, equitable resources.”

A report released last month from two groups representing school administrators and business managers detailed how state funding cuts to Pennsylvania’s public schools have resulted in larger classes, reduced course offerings and tutoring opportunities, as the school year began this fall.

“The Madonna poll is yet the latest indication that Pennsylvanians believe the governor and state lawmakers need to change direction when it comes to education priorities,” said Crossey.

The poll presents the findings of a survey of 801 Pennsylvania adults designed by Terry Madonna Opinion Research and conducted September 2011. The sample error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Crossey is a special education teacher in the Keystone Oaks School District. A state affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents approximately 193,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.

New study finds NYC charter schools not underfunded compared with traditional public schools

Rutgers report dispels many myths about charters' funding and performance

Contact:
Bruce Baker: (732) 932-7496 ext. 8232 or bruce.baker@gse.rutgers.edu
Teri Battaglieri: (517) 203-2940 or greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org

EAST LANSING, Mich. (Jan. 27, 2011) — In a blow to conventional wisdom, New York City charter schools are not outperforming traditional public schools and are not inadequately funded, according to a new study out of Rutgers University.

New York City charter schools are often held up as an example of how charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools and doing it with less money, which in turn is used to justify increased public funding for charters. Such assumptions do not hold water, according to the study, "Adding Up the Spending: Fiscal Disparities and Philanthropy among New York City Charter Schools," authored by Rutgers education professor Bruce Baker and Rutgers doctoral student Richard Ferris.

The study was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education, with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The study shows that New York City charter schools are not underfunded compared with traditional public schools. One reason for this is because the city's charter schools serve a much smaller percentage of students who are very poor or still learning English. These populations require far more resources, and they must be accounted for when making comparisons between charters and non-charters, Baker and Ferris noted.

"The assumption that these charter schools should receive support equal to traditional public schools is incorrect, because they do not serve similar populations," Baker and Ferris wrote.

Baker and Ferris also found significant funding disparities among New York City charter schools. While some charters receive almost no private funding, the most endowed charter schools receive in excess of $10,000 more per-pupil compared with traditional schools.

The study also found that on average, charter schools are not outperforming traditional public schools. After controlling for population and environmental factors, there is no statistically significant difference between charters and non-charters in performance for grades 4, 6 and 7. Meanwhile, 5th-grade charter school students underperformed their peers enrolled in traditional public schools, according to the study.

Based on their research, Baker and Ferris recommend that public funding be more tightly linked to the needs to students attending all schools, whether they're traditional public schools or charter schools. The researchers also suggest policymakers conduct annual audits of school funding levels and perhaps consider sanctioning schools that fail to adequately serve students with greater needs.

To read Baker and Ferris' full report, go to: www.greatlakescenter.org.

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/greatlakescent.

The report is also available on the National Education Policy Center's website at http://nepc.colorado.edu.

12 organization enthusiastically endorsing progressive candidates

The Pennsylvania Progressive Voters Guide. Your one stop for progressive endorsements:




















These 12 leading progressive groups are working together to assure victory for progressive candidates. Check out the endorsements of over 200 candidates across PA.
www.paprogressivevotersguide.org