NEWS
Participating in the May 24th Call to Action Day for Education is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Estimates show that Pennsylvania will have an accumulated surplus and unspent funds available of more than $12 billion by the end of June, thanks to a strong economy and higher-than expected tax collections combined with unspent federal dollars. Wealthy special...
Harrisburg’s latest voucher scheme passed the PA House
The PA House passed HB 2169, Harrisburg's latest school voucher bill, by a vote of 104-98. And it is a doozy. Click HERE to see how PA House members voted on HB 2169. HB 2169 would remove $144 million from school districts and give the money to parents in an...
How much $$ did a cyber charter waste on a parade?
It took many hours of work, many months of waiting, and untold tax dollars wasted on high-priced lawyers paid for by Commonwealth Charter Academy, but we finally are as close as we’ll ever be to knowing how much CCA paid for students to march in the 6abc Dunkin’...
Look who passed a resolution in support of PA’s school funding lawsuit!
Advocates throughout the commonwealth have attended meetings of school boards, municipal governments, and other organizations to ask them to pass a resolution in support of Pennsyvlania's school funding lawsuit. They have raised awareness in their communities of...
What’s in your budget? Five Resources for School Board Members and Advocates
This year we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take a huge step toward closing Pennsylvania’s $4.6 billion adequacy gap that harms children and puts at risk the future prosperity of the commonwealth. The trial for Pennsylvania’s historic school funding...
Tired of extremists trying to ruin your local schools? Join us!!
This week I joined a group of ladies in our town who were fed up with extremists attacking our kids’ teachers and schools. It was great. We prepared our comments in support of our schools and our kids’ teachers and brought our crochet projects to the...
The legislature is considering VOUCHERS. Again.
Every few years, a few people in the legislature try to bring back the idea of vouchers, which give public dollars to pay tuition for private/religious schools. HB 2169 is the latest attempt to establish an education voucher program in the Commonwealth. It was voted...
Don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t discriminate against students : PA charter school regulations are approved!
On Monday, March 21, with a 3-2 vote, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved regulations for charter and cyber charter schools. These regulations, which were promulgated by the Wolf Administration, clarify Pennsylvania's 25-year-old Charter...
Shining a Light on Education Justice!
On Tuesday, March 15th, Pennsylvanians showed up to mark the close of the education funding lawsuit and to speak up for the school funding that Pennsylvania's students need and deserve. The education justice movement in Pennsylvania continues to grow and gain...
Join a statewide action to support education justice on March 15th
After more than three months, witness testimony in the Pennsylvania school funding trial concluded on Tuesday, February 22. Closing arguments will take place on Thursday, March 10th and then the judge will spend months reviewing testimony and evidence before...
A Plagiarist, a Cyber Charter CEO, and two “Experts” Walk into a Courtroom. It Wasn’t Pretty.
PA’s school funding lawsuit trial has reached the phase where lawyers representing Republican leadership are bringing their witnesses to the stand to testify in defense of Pennsylvania’s current (unconstitutional) school funding system. Below we will highlight a...
Governor Wolf’s Budget Proposal for Education is ????????
On Tuesday, February 8, Governor Wolf gave his final budget address. His education budget proposal is what PA students, families, and communities deserve. AND–WE HAVE THE MONEY to make these investments. Estimates show that Pennsylvania will have an accumulated...
PA Students, Families, and Taxpayers Need and Deserve Gov. Wolf’s Historic Public Education Budget Proposal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Susan Spicka sspicka@educationvoterspa.org HARRISBURG, PA (Feb. 8, 2022) – Following Governor Tom Wolf’s 2022-23 Executive Budget Address Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of PA, issued the following statement:...
Right to Know Requests Reveal $35 Million Spent on Advertising by Cyber Charter Schools Over a Two Year Period; Absence of State Oversight
In the 2020-2021 school year, school districts paid more than $1 billion in student tuition payments to cyber charter schools. The state no longer provides funding to help districts pay for charter school tuition, so charter tuition bills are paid for primarily...
UPDATE on Jerold the Bookworm & cyber charter waste
Just after Thanksgiving, we spotted an image on social media of Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) students marching in the 6abc Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia with a Gerald the Bookworm parade balloon. CCA appears in the parade at 1:12:38 in...
What use would someone on the McDonald’s career track have for Algebra I?
If you haven’t already read about recent comments made during PA’s school funding lawsuit, brace yourself. Before breaking for the holidays, John Krill, attorney for Senator Jake Corman, had a doozy of a soliloquy during his questioning of Matthew Splain,...
Advisory Committe Member Spotlight : Dani Gross
A few weeks ago I sat down over zoom with Dani Gross—a member of Ed Voters' advisory committee, public education advocate, and parent who lives in the West Shore School District—to learn more about her advocacy strategies, how she works with her school board, and her...
Thank you for making all of this happen!
Why we brought a toilet to the steps of the PA Capitol
We started with a question: How can we help people understand what students experience in the commonwealth’s most underfunded schools? Our answer: Bring an old toilet to the steps of the PA Capitol! Why? With the trial in Commonwealth Court challenging the state’s...
How much did this cyber charter spend on a parade balloon?
When Commonwealth Charter Academy marched in the 6abc Dunkin Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia this year, they did not show up with a homemade float on a tractor trailer bed. Instead, they walked with this Jerold the Bookworm Macy's-Parade quality ballon. Since CCA...