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York School District to become first all-charter in the nation?

1/3/2015

1 Comment

 
On Friday, December 26 the state of Pennsylvania was cleared to take over the York School District. The district was recently put into a receivership and placed under the control of David Meckley, a township businessman, to determine the proper course of action. Since the state has discussed the idea of turning over this district to Charter Schools USA (an educational management company with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL), this would be the first non-public school district in the country.

One and a half years ago the state announced that the school district was in a state of "financial recovery" due to new policies signed into law by the Corbett administration. Act 141 went into effect in July 2013 and amongst the criteria it gave for a district to be in this state was a request for an advance on its basic education subsidy from the state. The state argues that the district made this advance and therefore it had the right to create a new Chief Recovery Officer (David Meckley again) to run the district. The local board of education contests that the request was made in April 2013 and therefore the law does not apply. 

Fast forward to the end of 2014 and governor-elect Tom Wolf has asked the state to delay any decisions it is going to make until he is in office. While he has not said anything about his plans for York, it is possible he will try to maintain it as a non-charter district based on his track record.

Local community groups (as well as the local newspaper's editorial board) are contesting this decision and attempting to appeal everything they can. Meanwhile, some teachers are looking for new jobs because they don't want to work for a for-profit charter company and students are concerned as well.
1 Comment
Arthur Getzel link
1/3/2015 10:54:25 am

This is another example of how those in power try to bypass democratic processes. A new governor was elected because the majority disagreed with the previous governor's policies. Instead of allowing the new administration to make a decision, this was pushed through knowing that the majority of citizens would be opposed. Arrogance and the distrust of democracy are the hallmarks of those who believe in this type of school reform.

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    I am a math teacher in the New York Department of Education. I infuse technology and real-world problems into my curriculum in order to prepare my students for the future. I would love for people across the country to recognize we teachers can't do it alone. If you don't believe me, come visit my classroom!

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