Priya Brannick
Senior Fellow
Priya Brannick is a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation.
Priya has a Master of Arts in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude in 2002 with a degree in journalism from Texas Christian University. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, she was an international affairs journalist for WORLD Magazine and the Communications Director for the Institute on Religion and Public Policy.
Priya’s primary research areas include education reform and labor policy. Her expertise has been featured in various media outlets including: KDKA, WITF, WHYY, the Patriot News, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, amongst others.
A native of Zambia, Africa, Priya has lived, worked, and traveled across the United States (and still admits to a strong fondness for soccer). She is deeply passionate about America’s founding principles, crafting sound public policy to better people’s lives, and ballroom dance.
Education
Win for Transparency in Public School Spending
How would you like to know what’s in a teachers’ contract before your school district passes it—and locks in spending—for four years? And how would you like to track how…
Media
Read More: Win for Transparency in Public School SpendingEducation
Keeping Teachers in the Classroom
Given our still-sputtering economy, Americans have grown used to their public schools facing tight budgets. This fiscal squeeze has drawn out a hidden crisis in public education: How do we…
Commentary
Read More: Keeping Teachers in the ClassroomEducation
Outdated Seniority Rules Harm Pittsburgh Students
Yesterday, we reported that the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers is trying to lower evaluation standards for teachers it had previously helped craft. Under Pittsburgh’s new system, which goes into…
Media
Read More: Outdated Seniority Rules Harm Pittsburgh StudentsEducation
Teachers’ Union Wants Lower Teacher Standards
Four years ago, Pittsburgh School District, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, embarked on an innovative effort to evaluate teachers. Administrators and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT) collaborated to create…
Media
Read More: Teachers’ Union Wants Lower Teacher StandardsPublic Union Democracy
PSEA Pours $3.8 Million Into Politics
In the last year, the Pennsylvania State Education Association poured $3.8 million of its members’ dues into “political activities and lobbying,” according to its 2013 financial disclosure report. That’s an…
Media
Read More: PSEA Pours $3.8 Million Into PoliticsPublic Union Democracy
Union Gave $650,000 from Teachers’ Dues to Anti-Republican Group
Remember the shadowy group, Pennsylvanians for Accountability, which ran “shell game” prime time attack ads on Gov. Tom Corbett for “bankrolling big tax cuts for his corporate backers”? The…
Media
Read More: Union Gave $650,000 from Teachers’ Dues to Anti-Republican GroupPublic Union Democracy
What Teachers Are Saying About Union Reform
One teacher called it “a kick in the teeth.” Another used the word “extortion.” What are these teachers talking about? The practice in Pennsylvania of teachers’ union dues…
Media
Read More: What Teachers Are Saying About Union ReformPublic Union Democracy
Teachers Decry Unions’ “Unfair” Privilege
Ellwood City public school teacher John Cress is speaking up against the forced political speech he had to pay for via his union dues to the Pennsylvania State Education Association:…
Media
Read More: Teachers Decry Unions’ “Unfair” PrivilegePublic Union Democracy
Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics (Again)
Last week we highlighted a number of election-related ads the Pennsylvania State Education Association paid for using its members’ dues money—without their permission or knowledge. The state’s largest teachers…
Media
Read More: Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics (Again)Public Union Democracy
Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics
“If you DON’T care about funds for your school…then by all means throw this away,” reads a June 2011 insert in PSEA Voice, the magazine of the 185,000-strong Pennsylvania…
Media
Read More: Union Dues Pay for PSEA PoliticsPublic Union Democracy
How Taxpayers Subsidize Union Politics
Last year, Pennsylvania’s main government unions spent nearly $5 million of their members’ union dues on political activities that workers don’t get to approve. In 2011-12, these unions also…
Media
Read More: How Taxpayers Subsidize Union PoliticsEducation
The Lost Year: How Seniority Harms Teachers and Kids
Rep. Vanessa Brown (D-Phila.) knows what it’s like to lose a good school teacher. For her son, it was nearly a matter of life and death. For years, Brown has…
Media
Read More: The Lost Year: How Seniority Harms Teachers and KidsPublic Union Democracy
Time to End Union Violence
Did you know that it’s illegal to stalk, harass, or threaten to use violence (and yes, weapons of mass destruction) in Pennsylvania…except if you’re a labor union (or management) in…
Media
Read More: Time to End Union ViolenceEducation
Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 1
Julie Raab and Keith Williams are speaking out about how union influence affects their teaching jobs. They, and many teachers across the state, are fed up with Pennsylvania's unfair…
Media
Read More: Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 1Education
Saving Pennsylvania’s Best Teachers
This week, Commonwealth Foundation placed billboards in Philadelphia subway stations to highlight the problem of seniority rules in our public schools. Currently, Section 1125…
Media
Read More: Saving Pennsylvania’s Best TeachersPublic Union Democracy
Is Paying Only $2.50 for Health Care Unreasonable?
If you’ve been watching back-to-school news, you’ve probably heard that teachers unions in three Pennsylvania school districts—Shaler Area, Wyoming Area and Old Forge—have gone on strike. Like…
Media
Read More: Is Paying Only $2.50 for Health Care Unreasonable?Education
Five Facts on the Philadelphia Schools Crisis
Things have reached a fever pitch in Philadelphia as the city’s school district—the eighth-largest in America—is scrambling to close its $300 million deficit and open schools on time. As protestors…
Media
Read More: Five Facts on the Philadelphia Schools CrisisRegulation
Copycat Union Letters Repeat Pension Myths
In July, a commentary by Matt Brouillette on why pension reform failed in our state legislature ran in several newspapers across Pennsylvania. Now response letters from teachers have been…
Media
Read More: Copycat Union Letters Repeat Pension MythsEducation
School Districts’ Fund Balances Grow Despite Budget Squeeze
Despite claims of severe budget cuts, school districts’ fund balances—their rainy day funds—grew last year. School districts increased their fund balances in 2011-12 by more than $200 million. As of…
Media
Read More: School Districts’ Fund Balances Grow Despite Budget SqueezeEducation
The Truth on Cyber School Performance
Here is a letter to the editor I submitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Pennsylvania cyber school performance: Mary Niederberger reports on a new, largely positive charter school study…
Media
Read More: The Truth on Cyber School PerformanceEducation
Public School Staffing Up, Enrollment Down
In the last two years, schools have reduced their total staffing. Yet despite this short-term decline, public school staff has increased by more than 17,000 since 2000. Over the…
Media
Read More: Public School Staffing Up, Enrollment Down