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
The Canard of Corbett’s Education Cuts
Despite the popular claim that Gov. Corbett “cut $1 billion” in education spending in the state budget, state funding for public schools is at an all-time high. In 2011-12, federal…
Media
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6 Trends in Public School Spending
The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently updated files from public schools’ annual financial reports and enrollment reports. Here are six key trends from those data.
Memo
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Happy National Employee Freedom Week, America
National Employee Freedom Week is about informing workers about their rights and empowering them to exercise their freedoms. Ultimately, there are ways for workers to leave the Hotel California. We…
Commentary
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Cyber Schools Receive Less Per Student
Pennsylvania cyber schools receive on average about 20 percent less revenue per student than school districts spend. Like other public charter schools, cyber schools receive funds only when families choose…
Media
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Cyber Schools: 1% of Education Spending
In 2010-11, public cyber schools cost $319 million out of $25 billion on PreK-12 spending—just 1% of Pennsylvania’s total public education spending. Cyber vs. School District Spending, 2010-11 Total Per-Student…
Media
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Cyber School Funding in Pennsylvania
Cyber schools currently spend significantly less per student than school districts and only represent about 1% of spending on public education. Discrepancies in cyber school funding are the result of…
Memo
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Charter School Rescues Students, Community
What does a neighborhood do when its surrounding school districts are underperforming, or downright violent and failing? Where can the kids go? In the Pittsburgh area, many students find refuge…
Media
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From Cyber School to West Point
Hannah Tuffy, 20, is one of the first cyber school students to be accepted at the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The accomplished Scranton native credits her success…
Media
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How Cyber School Saved Rachel
In second grade, Rachel Coleman vividly remembers classmates teasing her about her high test scores and ability to learn at a sixth-grade level. “You’ll never get a husband!” girls taunted…
Media
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Mailbag: Pennsylvania’s Pension Crisis
Several readers wrote in with questions on my Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed from Sunday, “Pension Crisis is Going to Hit Hard.” Here are answers to some of the most common…
Media
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Protect Pennsylvanians from Pension Tsunami
Pennsylvania's pension crisis is about to hit Pennsylvania homeowners and taxpayers, and the results won't be pretty.
Commentary
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Union Poured Member Dues into Defeating Liquor Privatization
They’re a familiar sight in the state Capitol, wearing mustard-colored T-shirts emblazoned with their union’s logo. Now the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported on how United Food and Commercial Workers…
Media
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Will Medicaid Expansion Boost Pennsylvania’s Economy?
A new study commissioned by the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania predicts that if the state expands Medicaid, the program will produce $3.2 billion in annual growth over…
Media
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Privatization Could End “Pay-to-Play”
“A culture of greed, corruption and political influence that is beyond imagination,” is how State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan described the latest Pennsylvania Turnpike scandal, which has led to…
Media
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Do Cyber Schools Spend Too Much?
With the House Education Committee set to consider new legislation on reducing cyber school funding, the discussion has turned again to how much cyber schools “actually” cost and…
Media
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Cyber Proposal Undermines Cherished School Option
The Matunis girls are just two of some 32,000 students statewide who are thriving at cyber schools. New legislation unveiled in Harrisburg, however, could do serious damage to cyber…
Commentary
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New Bills Constitute Attack on Cyber Schools
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and a trio of legislators today unveiled a package of bills aimed at reducing cyber school growth and limiting the popular schools’…
Media
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Union Politics Hinder Prosperity
Businessman Jerry Shenk argues in today’s Harrisburg Patriot-News that tough economic realities forced lawmakers to reexamine union privileges in their traditional strongholds of Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana—and that Pennsylvania…
Media
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California School Parents Make History
The win didn’t come easy, but parents at Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, Calif. finally prevailed this week in putting the failing school under new charter school management, becoming…
Media
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What’s Behind Pennsylvania’s D+ on Education?
StudentsFirst, a bipartisan education reform group, released report cards for all 50 states evaluating individual state education laws and policies—and the news wasn’t good for Pennsylvania,…
Media
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