Education

Why Families Like Cyber and Charter Schools

  • Priya Brannick
  • May 23, 2012

Nine-year-old Ashley Matunis and her sister, 6-year-old Anna (pictured right), are typical girls who enjoy pizza and pretzels. They are also typical of the kind of students who attend cyber…

Media

Read More: Why Families Like Cyber and Charter Schools

Criminal Justice Reform

Corrections Coalition, Dynamic Duo Dandy Says Patriot

  • May 22, 2012

Hats off to the Patriot-News Editorial Board for calling for an end to the status quo approach to criminal justice that has failed Pennsylvanians. Today’s editorial highlights the dynamic…

Media

Read More: Corrections Coalition, Dynamic Duo Dandy Says Patriot

Criminal Justice Reform

Commonsense Can Correct Corrections

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • May 22, 2012

Kyle, a convicted burglar sentenced to 1-3 years in Pennsylvania state prison, was granted parole in June 2011, but spent an extra 100 days in jail, not because he failed…

Commentary

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Regulation

Pennsylvania’s Economy Struggles to Compete

  • May 22, 2012

In three separate studies on the state’s economic competitiveness and business climates, Pennsylvania remains near the bottom of the pack. The 2012 Alec-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index, ranks states economic…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Economy Struggles to Compete

Education

How to Fix What’s Broke in Education

  • Priya Brannick
  • May 22, 2012

Harrisburg Patriot-News columnist Nancy Eshelman rightly sounded the alarm Sunday on Pennsylvania’s public education system: It’s the same old story. Every spring, threats of higher taxes, slashed programs…

Media

Read More: How to Fix What’s Broke in Education

Public Union Democracy

Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg

  • Nathan Benefield, Richard Dreyfuss
  • May 21, 2012

Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania’s public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion: Even with…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg

Education

Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 17, 2012

PA Independent reported on Monday that Pennsylvania school districts’ fund balances reached $3.2 billion in 2011 (they compiled the data from the PA Department of Education’s (PDE)…

Media

Read More: Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years

Regulation

Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 16, 2012

What's more dangerous, an incompetent barber or incompetent emergency medical worker? Most people would say and EMT, but a barber has to undergo almost nine times the hours of training…

Media

Read More: Who Should Need the Government’s Permission to Work?