Media

Government Accountability

Agreed: Public Resources Should not be used for Politics

• Nathan Benefield
• August 6, 2014

“Public resources are not supposed to be used for partisan political purposes.” So says Barry Kauffman of Common Cause PA in a Tribune Review article. What Mr. Kauffman…

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Education

Seniority Reform is Pro-Child, not Anti-Teacher

• James Paul
• August 6, 2014

It seems clear that there is widespread agreement—across party lines and ideological barriers—that we must address school seniority rules and tenure reform. Check out this stunning video from MSNBC’s Morning…

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Education

Funding Advance Band-Aid Won’t Stop Philly Schools’ Bleeding

• August 6, 2014

Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 Short Term Funding Solution Ignores Structural Problems Philadelphia Schools Need Fundamental Reform to End Education Crisis With 80 percent of students failing to make…

Press Release

Education

Protecting Children Should Trump Politics

• James Paul
• August 5, 2014

A harrowing study shows that sexual misconduct by teachers is becoming more prevalent in the commonwealth. Since January, there have been 24 reported cases of sexual abuse by Pennsylvania teachers.

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Education

Audio: Will a Cigarette Tax Really Save Philly Schools?

• August 5, 2014

Yesterday, radio talk show host Dom Giordano talked to CF’s Nathan Benefield about the proposed cigarette tax to fund Philadelphia schools. Dom asked why we care so much about whether…

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Education

A Note on Philadelphia School Spending

• Nathan Benefield
• August 4, 2014

Last week, we released a summary of spending, enrollment and staffing trends in the Philadelphia School District over the past decade. After this release,…

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Education

Cigarette Tax Won’t Save Philly Students

• August 1, 2014

For Immediate Release Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 Threatened Cuts Exaggerated, Quick-Fix Measures Not the Answer Trends Show More Funding Won’t Fix Philadelphia Schools August 1,…

Press Release

How union dues are used for politics (letter)

• July 31, 2014

Media Hit

Education

Teacher Evaluation System to Continue in Pittsburgh

• James Paul
• July 30, 2014

Good news from the Pittsburgh School District, where the Pennsylvania Department of Education granted three year approval of Pittsburgh’s new teacher evaluation system. This despite the Pittsburgh Federation…

Media

Drop in prison population is a change worth cheering: PennLive letters ‘

• July 30, 2014

Media Hit

Taxes & Economy

New Evidence: Taxes Stunt Economic Growth

• Michael Hogg
• July 30, 2014

A recent Mercatus Center study provides new evidence…

Media

Education

PSEA Spokesman Wins the Pinocchio Award

• Nathan Benefield
• July 29, 2014

Readers of PolicyBlog already know that Pennsylvania education spending is at a record high, that state funding to school districts for…

Media

Worker Choice Leads to Prosperity

• July 29, 2014

Worker freedom leads to higher incomes. This according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which recently published a paper on the effects of right to work (RTW) laws in…

Media

Podcast: PA Teachers Talk Pension Reform

• July 29, 2014

Often lost in the public pension reform debate raging across the state are the viewpoints of public school teachers themselves. That’s why our Senior Policy Analyst Priya Abraham recently interviewed…

Media

UNIONS SPEND MILLIONS ON PA POLITICAL ADS USING MEMBERS’ DUES

• July 29, 2014

Media Hit

Education

Study: Charter Schools More Efficient

• James Paul
• July 28, 2014

It is impossible to do more with less, they say; you cannot expect schools to achieve better results without increasing spending. Yet an essential new report from the University…

Media

State lawmakers table teacher seniority bill and special ed funding

• July 28, 2014

Media Hit

Public Union Democracy

Millions in Special Interest Political Money Floods PA with Taxpayers’ Help

• July 28, 2014

Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 Special Interest Groups Inundate PA, Spend Millions on Political Ads at Worker & Taxpayer Expense No Limit on Amount of Union Dues Contributed to…

Press Release

GOVERNOR BOASTS SAVINGS, BUT MOODY DOWNGRADES PA.

• July 28, 2014

Media Hit

Want to fix schools? Don’t tax businesses, expand school choice instead: Elizabeth Stelle

• July 28, 2014

Media Hit

Regulation

Survey: Pennsylvania Unfriendly to Small Business

• James Paul
• July 25, 2014

You’re probably aware that Pennsylvania’s tax burden is among the most oppressive in the country. But the tax code is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes…

Media