Day: July 1, 2009

The Sound Of Inevitability, Mr. Anderson

The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee, yesterday, gave its stamp of approval, with an 18-6  vote, to a bill letting state and local governments put legal notices on website rather than pay for newspaper advertising.

If the HB1757 becomes law it would save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and put just about every newspaper in the state out of business — a little sooner than otherwise anyway.

The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee.

The bill is sponsored by Tom C. Creighton, a Republican from Lancaster County.

There are several similar bills being pondered by the State House.

For information about HB1757 see: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2009

Also, see How To Find Dollars In Tough Times.

Agora Cyber Charter School

The Agora Cyber Charter School based in Devon is fighting in three different judicial arenas to keep its charter that the Pennsylvania Department of Education is trying to revoke. Agora Cyber Charter School

It has filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg and Chester County Common Pleas Court to stop the state, which is accusing the school of hanky-panky by contracting management services in violation of its charter including $2.8 million to Cynwyd Group LLC which is controlled by the school’s founder,  Dorothy June Brown.

The school, which opened in 2005,  serves 4,400 students statewide on a $41 million budget.

Even if the hanky-panky turns out to be true that $9,318 per student price will still beat Marple Newtown at $17,142 ($60 million for 3,500 students); Garnet Valley at $17,021 ($80 million for 4,700 students); William Penn at $15,716 ($86 million for 5,472 students) and every other public school in the area.

 Agora Cyber Charter School