Big Man Gets $800G And PSU Wants More From Taxpayers

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that the total cost of employment to Penn State University for President Graham  Spanier is $800,592.  The figure comes from adding  salary– which in Spanier’s case is $620,000 — to things like housing, bonuses, deferred compensation, retirement set aside, car allowances, tuition assistance and related spousal pay.

On the basis of salary, Spanier does not rank in the top 10 of public college compensation. When everything is included he jumps to number five.

Number one in both categories is Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee who has a $1.322 million salary and $1.818  million total cost of employment.

Penn State, like Temple, Pitt and Lincoln, is a “state-related” school in that while it gets public money, its governance is independent of the state.

The budget  passed May 24 by the State House would give PSU $252 million in tax dollars this year, which is $81 million less than last year. Spanier is upset about this but he is not as upset about this as he was about Gov. Corbett’s proposed budget which sought to cut $168.76 million in tax funds from the institution.

It should be noted the state contribution has traditionally made up about 10 percent of Penn State’s budget.

There is nothing wrong with someone earning $800 thousand in compensation despite what some, such as Philadelphia Inquirer cartoonist Tony Auth, might think. There is a lot wrong, however, with someone getting that money when some of it is obtained through the threat of force which is how taxes are obviously obtained.

If Spanier wants to be among the filthy rich his school should not get a penny in state subsides.

And yes, that applies to Joe Paterno, about whom you can actually make a case that he objectively earns his paycheck, too.

For the record, the House budget provides subsidizes of

  • $125 million to Pitt, which is a cut of $42 million
  • $129 million to Temple, which is a cut $43 million
  • $10.3 million to Lincoln, which is a cut of $3.4 million.

Hat tip to Tea Party activist Bob Guzzardi.

Adolph Says Vote Likely On Pa. NoBamaCare Bill

The man accused of bottling up a bill that would make much of Obamacare hard to enforce in Pennsylvania told the Delaware County Patriots, Thursday, May 19, that it will likely come up for a vote this year.

State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee has been accused of sitting on HB 42 by Tea Party activists. The bill has been tied up in Adolph’s committee since Feb. 8.

HB 42, introduced by Matthew Baker (R-68) on Jan. 19, says A law
or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or
indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to
participate in any health care system.

It also specifically
says that an individual or employer may pay directly for lawful health
care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for
doing so; and specifically allows  health care providers to accept
direct payments without penalties.
It also prohibits state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from
participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy”
that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any
resident of the state.

Adolph told the group, which met at Knights of Columbus hall in Newtown Square, that the biggest budget problem facing the state was the expiration of federal stimulus money. He said  last year’s $28 billion budget contained $3.1 billion of the fed dollars.

The $27.3 billion budget proposed by Gov. Corbett places a heavier burden on the state taxpayers despite it being smaller. House Republicans have tweaked the budget by easing some of the cuts the Governor had made to education while adding cuts to welfare. Adolph said the House budget gives state higher education 75 percent of what it had gotten last year, while Corbett would have cut the outlay in half.

Adolph said that the House budget actually ends up being few hundred thousand dollars less than the Governors.

Concerning the questions fielded by Adolph — and HB 42 was one — he said:

— He supported in principle privatizing the state-owned liquor stores but would not commit to any specific legislation as the “devil was in the details”.

— He supported giving school boards the power to furlough teachers for economic reasons. He, however, ducked the other half regarding his position on ending the requirement that school districts and municipalities pay prevailing wage for renovation and construction projects.

–He is not familiar with the First Suburbs issue which is starting to be discussed in Tea Party groups and appears to be an attempt to use government programs such as Section 8 housing to economically “diversify” Philadelphia’s older suburbs in accordance with the preferences of academics and activists.

–He supported abolishing the inheritance tax.

–He voted for and supports HB 1330, which expands the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit, and that he was only aware of the highlights of SB 1, the school choice bill bottled up in the Senate. He said he supports school choice in principle.

–That teachers should not be allowed to strike.

— He supports voter ID.

— He believes in state sovereignty.

— He supports cutting the size of the state legislature.

The only matter on which he incurred the crowd’s wrath concerned state pensions, and his unwillingness to condemn former State Sen. Bob Mellow’s $300,000 pension in significantly vociferous terms. He said Mellow’s pension plan had been grandfathered from before 1974, and that he should get it. He did not seem to get that it may fairer and more just to change the terms of an old poorly conceived contract rather than make a widow who was not party to it lose her home trying to fulfill it.

Insurgents Fall In GOP State Races; Dem Battle Close

The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judges who actively sought Tea Party support fell handily  to the endorsed candidates in the Republican Primary state judicial races.

With 97 percent of the returns tallied, Paula Patrick was trailing Harrisburg attorney Vic Stabile  361,772 votes  to 190,231 in the Superior Court race, while Paul Panepinto had 167,455 votes to Anne Covey’s 386,751 in the Commonwealth Court race.

The 15-member Superior Court is the intermediate appellate court for civil and criminal cases from county Common Pleas Courts. The nine-member Commonwealth Court is the
intermediate appellate court for issues involving taxation, banking,
insurance, utility regulation, eminent domain, election, labor
practices, elections, Department of Transportation matters, and liquor
licenses
.

On the Democrat side, party-endorsed Kathryn Boockvar, a private attorney known for her work with activist groups, was leading Barbara Behrend Ernsberger 300,389 votes to 297,635 to be the Commonwealth Court candidate.

On some local notes, incumbent Springfield (Delco) 6th Ward Commissioner Bob Layden appears to have held off a challenge from former commissioner Jim Devenney, who resigned after a minor scandal involving family memberships to the township swim club. The unofficial tally is 437 to 396.

And Tea Party activists Lisa Esler and John Dougherty 3rd will be on both party ballots in this November’s Penn Delco School Board race. Elections are being held for five seats. Cross filing is allowed in Pennsylvania school board races which means that in this fall’s race ticket totals will be combined to determine the winners.

Mrs. Esler had the most votes of six candidates on the Democrat side with 424, and had the third highest tally out of seven candidates on the GOP side with 1,239.

Dougherty had the most votes on the GOP side with 1,534 and the second highest total on the Democrat side with 377.

The candidates who won on both tickets — additionally Kevin Tinsley and Kimberly Robinson — while having a significant advantage do not have a guaranteed victory. Lewis Boughner appears to have failed to win on the Democrat ticket while James S. Porter 2nd appears to have failed to win on the Republican one, so there will be six people seeking five seats. It is in the realm of possibility that a person appearing on just one ballot will be among the top five votegetters.

In Newtown, embattled supervisor Linda Houldin was crushed 1,732 votes to 480 votes  in her GOP primary by former Marple Newtown School Director Edward C. Partridge. Partridge had sought Tea Party support.

SB1 Middle Class Vouchers Addition Seems A Small Bone Thrown

SB 1, the school choice bill pending in the Pennsylvania legislature, was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, yesterday, April 11, on a 15-11 vote with the  addition of it now providing vouchers to “middle class” students starting in the 2014-2015 school year. These “middle class” vouchers, however, would be funded by part of an excess scholarship fund so it seems a rather small bone to be thrown to the Tea Party groups looking out for the middle class.

And the latest version of the bill, PN 1031, also now limits the aggregate amount of all opportunity scholarships awarded to low-income children  starting in the 2013-2014 school year to $250 million

The vote was generally party-line although Democrats Lisa Boscola and Lawrence Farnese voted for it and Republicans Lisa Baker and Stewart Greenleaf voted against it.

Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, whose 9th District includes large parts of Delaware and Chester counties and is an ex-officio member of the committee, voted for it.

The latest version, also among other things, changes  the methodology for defining the lowest performing five percent of schools; changes some of the reporting requirements; removes specific dates on the timeline;  penalties for misuse of scholarships, which includes disqualification from future eligibility for an opportunity scholarship; and requires participating non-public schools to  annually a standardized achievement test.

The new version also would create a “public school choice demonstration grant program”, which would let a school district establish a program of tuition grants for resident students who wish to attend a nonresident public school.

Pa Leadership Panel Provokes Tea Partyers On SB1

Statements made regarding conservative skeptics of SB 1, the pending school choice legislation in the Pennsylvania legislature, at the 2011 Pa. Leadership Conference has those skeptics seeing blue.

An email blast sent by Lisa Esler of the Delaware County Patriots notes that critics of SB1 were not represented on a panel aimed at discussing the bill and that those on the panel were insulting to the critics and painted a false picture of their motives.

Mrs. Esler, in her email, said that Matt Kibbe of Freedomworks called the critics “bedwetters” while State Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-15), who is one of the authors of the bill, implied that racism was what was driving them.

The truth is that the Tea Party groups who are criticizing SB1 are for the most part strong supporters of school choice. Their objections to the bill are not that it helps kids from destitute families in failing school districts but that it fails to help struggling families in overrated suburban districts who may have a child stuck for a year with one of the many incompetent, union-protected teachers that fill those districts.

These Tea Party groups are filled with people who strongly supported helping destitute “inner-city” kids escape bad schools when it “wasn’t cool” so it is a rather serious smear to accuse them of racism.

Mrs. Esler also noted that unlike other panels, questions regarding SB1 were  pre-screened.

The conference, held April 9, brought A-list conservative speakers to the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Conference Center in Camp Hill including Dr. Charles Krauthammer, Sen. Pat Toomey, columnist John Fund and activist Herman Cain.

Public School Budgeting Burdens Revealed

Public School Budgeting Burdens Revealed — The Springfield School Board’s Finance and Audit Committee gave, tonight, April 7, a detailed update of the district’s preliminary budget to a dozen or so persons most of whom were part of a Tea Party contingent led by Regina Scheerer. Public School Budgeting Burdens Revealed

The budget  now calls for spending $62,479, 521 for 2011-2012 which is $544,000 less than the initial budget proposed in February but still $2,192,822 more than the budget approved last year.

The district’s actual expenditures for this year are projected to be $59,172,082 which is expected to leave the district with a $1.09 million surplus, which is a good thing since as of now revenue is  $206,000 less than expenses.

Real estate taxes are expected to provide $46,456,313 of the new budget, which would be an increase of $2.033 million from the last one and translate to a tax hike of $128 for the average homeowner.

Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget would cut $750,000 in assistance to Springfield noted Don Mooney, the district’s executive director of operations although the state is still expected to provide $8,635,330 to the district. Mooney pointed out, however, that pending legislation may result in another $847,000 being cut to the district.

The meeting before the small group lasted over two hours, and Mooney and Committee Chairman Doug Carney described the ways that the board is trying to save money and the ways in which their hands are tied.

Carney said that the biggest constraints facing the district, in descending order, were special education mandates, contributions to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), and employee contracts.

It was noted that there was one special education student for whom the district was paying $125,000 annual tuition to an outside facility as per a court order.

One way the Committee said the district was fighting to keep taxes down for homeowners was by  using innovative ways of keeping non-residents from using its services
and that these have resulted in the removal of 10 students from classes
so far this year.

It also said the District was aggressive and generally successful in fighting real estate tax assessments — it was pointed out that the Springfield Mall is trying to lower its valuation from $84.7 million to $64.96 million despite the addition of the successful new Target store.

Claude de Botton, the township’s biggest landowner, was singled out for praise as being someone who never fought his assessments.

The Committee also noted that the District was considering increasing walking radius by a half-mile, which would still be within the mandated guidelines, and that this would greatly curtail the use of buses. It noted that it had eliminated early dismissals which meant that it was no longer required to provide buses for early dismissal at Cardinal O’Hara and other schools. The Committee said the District will be eliminating three crossing guards next year, and will begin charging for the summer wood shop program.

The Committee expressed specific concern over SB 911 now pending in the state legislature that would remove existing exemptions from the calculation as to when a proposed tax increase triggers the requirement for a referendum. Those exemptions, Mooney explained, were for Special Education obligations, PSERS contributions and contracted obligations. Since the obligations would remain it was expected that  just about every budget would end up being decided by referendum and be invariably voted down leaving the district no choice but to end unprotected programs like music and shop, and jamming students into classrooms of 40.

Carney expressed opposition to the referendum plan noting that the nation was founded as a representative republic. He said people will always vote to cut taxes and increase services.

Major looming expenses unveiled at the meeting were the replacement of the District’s six-year-old bus fleet, and, hold onto your hats, the replacement of the high school.

And of course the District’s PSERS contribution is going to increase from $2.3 million this year to $6 million in 2014-2015. It was $1.075 million in 2005-2006.

Springfield School District has 23 administrators — whose combined salaries are $2.1 million; 260 certified staff which is expected to increase by two next year; 217 other staff, which is expected to decrease by four; and 3,684 pupils which is expected increase by 116.

Public School Budgeting Burdens Revealed

Springfield SB Seeks $3 M In New Spending

The Springfield School Board is considering a $3 million spending hike paid for in part by a $2 million real estate tax increase, according to taxpayer watchdog Regina Scheerer.

Ms. Scheerer is seeking $1 million in spending cuts and a $1 million reduction in the proposed tax hike. She notes that $1.7 million of that increase is contractual for salaries and benefits.

The school board has a budget meeting 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 7, at the McLaughlin Education Center on Leamy Avenue next to the high school.

This meeting and a meeting scheduled for May 5 will determine the budget.
 

 

SB1 Tea Party Support Claim Disputed

A claim of support for SB1, the  pending school choice bill in the Pennsylvania Senate, is causing consternation among some Tea Party activists.

The Facebook page of  Ana Luiza Lannes Puig, who is a prominent Bucks County Tea Partyist,  says that “18 local Tea Party groups came together in Pittsburgh  to support SB1” at Tuesday’s Freedom Works event.

A screenshot of the page is being circulated among other prominent Tea Partyists, with other emails saying that SB1 was not the focus of the event and that many of the groups have yet to decide where they stand on it.

The Tea Partyists who are objecting to SB1 generally want a much more comprehensive bill with the state aid following all students, not just those  below a certain level of income or in particularly bad school districts.

For those who want to bandy about the word “racism”, please note that those who fall below a certain level of income or are in particularly bad school districts would not be left out by the changes these Tea Partyists seek.

Philly School District Caves

This article by Chris Freind is republished with his permission.

What’s wrong with this picture?
Teacher doesn’t like a possible school district decision. Teacher gives students SEPTA tokens, ostensibly allowing them to attend a protest rally at District headquarters — during the school day. Teacher doesn’t notify principal or parents that students were leaving school. Teacher was allegedly insubordinate by disclosing a document the District wanted kept confidential. Union boss fights efforts to fire teacher on First Amendment grounds.
Teacher wins.
That’s right. Despite an initial effort by the Philadelphia School District to terminate Hope Moffett, a teacher at Audenried High School, she is back at work, smug as ever. And why not?
The District completely caved. Instead of pursuing the right course of action, it settled for Moffett to read a non-descript one sentence letter to her class — a statement the District claims is an admission of wrongdoing, but which Moffett bluntly denies. “There’s no apology,” she said. “I think it’s very clear that they wanted an apology, but what they wanted an apology for was something that wasn’t true.”
The statement: “I acknowledge that I didn’t notify the principal on 2/14/2011 that students planned to leave the school building during the school day on 2/15/2011, even though no parental permission had been submitted to the school.”
Seems Moffett is right — no apology there.
The District’s take? They were pleased she was admitting wrongdoing.
“I think her acknowledging that she did something wrong was part of what we were looking for all along,” a District spokeswoman was quoted as saying. “Just that she had some sense of remorse that she put the students in harm’s way.”
Remorse? Where is the remorse when Moffett refused to apologize for placing students in possible danger without any parental or school notification? “It’s ridiculous, but it gets me back into the classroom,” she said, according to the Inquirer. “It is a statement that I’m fine with making because to them it will always be an apology, thereby justifying that I can return to the school.”
“Ridiculous” and “no apology.” Wow. What incredible remorse.
Most interesting was that even Moffett herself “didn’t anticipate being returned to the classroom.” So let’s get this straight. Moffett’s actions led the District to start the firing process, and despite Moffett believing she did nothing wrong, she thought she would lose.
So what happened?
The unions got involved. And since everyone in Philadelphia kowtows to the unions, the ballgame ended. Incomprehensible? Yes. Expected? Absolutely.
Moffett’s union, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), sued the District on free speech grounds, since Moffett opposed plans to convert Audenried to a charter school. That argument is so hollow that it would be laughed out of court anywhere but Philadelphia.
So a U.S. magistrate judge got involved, and helped broker a deal. (Moffett was also given a five-day suspension, but don’t count on that standing up, since the union is appealing that, too).
The biggest joke in this whole debacle is the notion that both sides can claim a semblance of victory.
Moffett won, and District made fools out of themselves. If that’s “victory” for the District, I’d hate to see what losing is.
The First Amendment has no role whatsoever in this case. Moffett is certainly free to disagree with the District’s charter school plans, and it’s well within her rights to advocate for her cause.
What is unacceptable is to knowingly allow students to leave the safe confines of school and venture unsupervised into the city (facilitated, the District claimed, by giving out the SEPTA tokens), with parents having absolutely no knowledge of their children’s whereabouts. What if a student was involved in an accident while on this unsanctioned field trip? Or mugged? Or raped?
(And let’s be honest — how many students, completely of their own volition, were really motivated to take up this cause as their own? It’s a fact that some teachers use students as pawns in political fights. Was this one of those cases? It certainly raises questions.)
To say the District — and in fact, taxpayers — would be liable for a massive lawsuit is a gross understatement.
And, if as the District contends, Moffett was insubordinate for disclosing a document that it had ordered kept private, they had even more grounds for firing.
Given the facts, Moffett should have been terminated. It’s a case the District should have pursued, because it would have sent the right message. Instead, the clear message is that the District can be bullied into submission, settling for nothing despite holding all the cards.
This is one of those rare cases when the union should have backed away. Loyalty above all, except honor. And there is no honor in what Moffett did.
But why should the union back away when it knows it won’t be challenged? These victories only add to the union’s mystique.
Of course, it’s a good bet this wouldn’t have played out the same way about ten miles east, across the Delaware River. Odds are that Governor Chris Christie would have come swooping in with his trademark thunder, pointing out how cowardly the District was being, aggressively taking on the union, and fighting for justice to be done.
And he would have won.
Too bad we don’t have the same kind of barnstorming leaders in Pennsylvania. If we did, this would have been the perfect opportunity to show that quality.
And little Miss “Moffett” would be eating her curds and whey somewhere other than Audenried High.

Endorsements Pile On For Pa. School Choice Bill

A number of respected organizations ranging from the Black Alliance For Educational Options to Citizens Against Higher Taxes to the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association to Eagle Forum have added their endorsements to SB 1, the school choice bill winding its way through the Pennsylvania legislature.

It is expected that many of the school choice proponents who have been giving the bill a cold shoulder will come aboard as amendments to their liking are made when the bill gets to the State House as indicted by State Rep. Curt Schroder (R-155) during a March 6 debate at Independence Visitors Center in Philadelphia.

Hopefully, those in the House who care about children can make the state reimbursement follow every child regardless of income and residence.

Also it should be noted that changes made to the bill in the Senate Education Committee as reflected in Printer Number 721 aren’t likely to please the Choice-Yes/SB1-No crowd. The new limit for the tax credits under the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program was lowered from $100 million to $92 million (the present limit is $75 million); the reimbursement to the school district for the pupil has been subtracted from the daily average revenue calculation for school districts, which will mean smaller scholarships;  and “nonpublic school” has been defined to mean “nonprofit entity exempt from federal taxation.

Less controversial changes include  expanding the eligibility for the scholarship in the second year of the phase-in  all “low-income children who will reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school during the 2012-2013 school year” rather than just those  have already been enrolled in a non-public school.

Also a restriction has been added to prevent the recruiting of athletes.

Also a requirement that non-public schools make available its written polices upon request to those seeking enrollment has been added.

Also clarifications have been made about transportation reimbursement and how the scholarships can be used with other financial assistance to non-public schools.

Here is a list of the organizations whose endorsement of SB1 was announced March 22:

The American Council of Christian Churches, Pennsylvania Regionals
Advocates for Catholic Education in Pennsylvania (ACE-PA)
American Federation for Children (AFC)
American Grassroots Coalition
Association of Independent Baptist Churches of Western Pennsylvania
Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
Association of Independent Baptist Churches of Western Pennsylvania
Baptist Bible Fellowship of Pennsylvania
Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)
Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS)
Center for Education Reform
Central and North Central Pennsylvania Fundamental Pastors Association
Children’s Jubilee Fund
Christian Family & Children’s Center
Christian Schools International
Citizens Against Higher Taxes
Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Foundation
Concerned Citizens of Western PA
Council on American Private Education – National
Eagle Forum
Faith First Education Assistance
52nd Street Business Association
52nd Street Community Development Corporation
Freedom Works
Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg Area Independent Baptist Pastor’s Fellowship
Hebron Vision Human Resource Center
Interchurch Holiness Convention (Pennsylvania)
Keystone Christian Education Association
LaSalle Academy
Let Freedom Ring
Lincoln Institute
Orthodox Union
PA Family Institute
PA Manufacturers Association
Pastor’s Fellowship of North Eastern Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Association of Regular Baptist Churches
Pennsylvania Catholic Conference
Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS)
Pennsylvania Council on American Private Education
Reach Foundation
Right To Work
Students First
Talk Magazine
The American Council of Christian Churches
The Foundation for Educational Choice
The Kitchen Table Patriots

Hat tip Bob Guzzardi.