NEWS
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...
Five ways to support PA’s school funding lawsuit
Students learning in a cinder block supply closet with no ventilation. Two reading specialists for 1200 students. Seventy-five kindergartners and one toilet. One guidance counselor for 400 students. These are just a few bits of testimony from school leaders who have...
75:1 We can’t hold it much longer!
75 students : 1 toilet. That's the kindergarten student to toilet ratio in a public elementary school in Pennsylvania. Hard to imagine? We will bring it to life for lawmakers, in the shadow of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court trial testing the...
Help Build PA’s Big, Beautiful Movement to Fund Our Schools!
Our #GivingTuesday request this year is for your continued support as we continue to build the statewide movement we need to get the school funding system our kids deserve. Click HERE to make a donation. We have had an incredible year! I am so proud of all that...
CYBER–charter school–MONDAY?
Air fryers? Yes!
Smart watch–yes please!
New collar for Chloe the Yorkie?
Absolutely!
Cyber charter school education? What?! No…just..no.
Ask your school board to pass a resolution in support of Pennsylvania’s school funding lawsuit
UPDATE 2-21-2022: The trial for the school funding lawsuit is expected to conclude in early March. Then the judge will deliberate on her decision for months before issuing a decision. This is the perfect time for advocates to be raising awareness of Pennsylvania's...
75 kindergartners and one toilet: PA’s school funding system is on trial
After years of fighting for fair education funding and seven years after the lawsuit was filed, Pennsylvania’s students and families are finally getting their day in court. Click HERE to watch a livestream of the lawsuit proceedings. There is real value in...
As PA’s school funding lawsuit goes to trial, learn how underfunded your school district is.
On Friday, the trial for Pennsylvania’s school funding lawsuit will start. And we, the public schools community across Pennsylvania, will have our day in court. Adequacy is at the heart of this case. In Pennsylvania, there’s a gap between the resources...