Education
Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocates
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer After a more than eight-year slog, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed what the Pennsylvania Constitution has said all…
Read More: Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocatesEducation is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.
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Education
The Governor is Right and the Union Bosses are Wrong
I’m in Pittsburgh today, but I can hear the shouting in Harrisburg from here: Union bosses are hopping mad at Gov. Tom Corbett for calling them out in his…
Media
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Senate Passes Furlough Bill, but Keeps “Last In First Out”
Today, the Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 612 by a 38-12 count. The bill, sponsored by Senator Folmer, would give school districts the ability to furlough teachers and other school…
Media
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Corbett’s Case for School Choice
Gov. Tom Corbett delivered the following speech at the American Federation for Children conference at the Washington Marriott in Washington D.C. on Monday, May 9, 2011. What isn’t working about public…
Media
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PA House Passes Expansion of Scholarship Tax Credit
The Pennsylvania House today passed, on a 190-7 vote, HB 1330, which would expand the amount of tax credits available through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), and increase income…
Media
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Bad Economists and Good Budget Cuts
Yesterday in the Patriot-News, yet another Penn State administrator campaigned against Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed cuts to the generous subsidies our public universities receive from taxpayers (many of which…
Media
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Of School Choice and Government-Run Swimming Pools
Responding to a letter I wrote, a letter in the Allentown Morning Call attempts to make the case that school vouchers are a bad idea—using the rationale that…
Media
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On School Spending “Cuts”
A reader writes in, noting that a school board member is pushing the “stop the billion dollar cut” campaign, and asking for some info. Here are some quick facts.
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Has Penn State “bin Laden” with Speech-Squelching Policies?
Our friends at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) say yes: The announcement late last evening that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan…
Media
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Property Taxpayer Referendum
Good afternoon. I am Nathan Benefield, Director of Policy Research for the Commonwealth Foundation. We are a nonprofit, independent public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg. I would…
Testimony
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PSU: Progress Seems Underway
On March 8, Gov. Tom Corbett started a statewide conversation about higher education through his budget address, in which he proposed significant cuts in the subsidies Pennsylvania public universities receive…
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When Bell Bottoms Were Cool…And PSU Charged $675
I just sent the following to a student at Penn State who is writing a paper on Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed cuts to the subsidies our public universities receive from…
Media
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A Pitt Student’s Take on Corbett’s Budget Proposal
As a Pitt student, I will not be joining in those manufactured protests, nor will I be participating in lobbying activities like Pitt's yearly "Harrisburg Day" when the University spends…
Commentary
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Understanding Real vs. “Sticker Price” Tuition
A common misconception in debating higher education funding is that the posted rate of tuition, or “sticker price,” is what students actually pay. This is exemplified in a commentary…
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School Choice Advancing in Indiana, Tennessee
While the Pennsylvania Senate continues to deliberate on Senate Bill 1, school choice is moving along in several other states as well. Last…
Media
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Provost Spins Unsuccessfully
I used to be one of those people who have Google Alerts set for their names. I’m not anymore, so it’s come to my attention only belatedly that on April…
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Taxpayers Can Double their “Return on Investment” on Higher Ed
Penn State’s provost Rodney Erickson tries to undercut Michael Poliakoff & Charles Mitchell in a recent op-ed. His concluding argument is that “out of every $1 invested in…
Media
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School Taxpayer Referendum & Property Tax Relief
Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall…
Fact Sheet
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On Higher Ed, Will Legislators Choose the ObamaCare Approach?
This week in the Wall Street Journal, columnist William McGurn had an excellent piece on higher education (subscription required). He wrote mostly about federal policy—and on that point…
Media
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The Really Devastating Thing Would Be a Tax Increase
My wife and I returned to Pennsylvania last year, and boy, are we feeling welcome right now. The warm fuzzies really took over earlier today when my wife called to…
Media
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A Diet for Higher Education
Sunday, the Post Gazette published an article from our friends at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. They argue there is no relationship between state appropriations and…
Media
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Union Think Tank Continues Assault on School Choice
The union-backed Keystone Research Center (KRC) released a so-called study of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). Not surprisingly, this study is an attack against tax credits for private…
Media
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