Education

York Schools Can Send a Lifeline to Kids

• Nathan Benefield
• October 15, 2014

The York City school board is considering an intriguing proposal to turn over some of its schools to a charter operator to compete with the remaining city schools (if the…

Media

Education

York Schools Rank 499th of 500 in Achievement, Change is Overdue

• October 13, 2014

For Immediate Release Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 York School District’s Student Achievement still at Rock Bottom Despite  Funding Increases   Spends $656 more per Student than…

Press Release

York City School District: Academic Performance

• October 10, 2014

York City SD ranked 499 out of 500 districts on the Department of Education’s 2012-13 State Performance Profile( SPP), with a score of 46.5.

Fact Sheet

Education

Cyber School Centers Embrace Community Values

• Jessica Barnett
• October 24, 2013

Cyber schools have been falsely maligned as impersonal and anti-social environments for learning, but the truth is far different. Case in point: Achievement House Cyber Charter School is bringing blended…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 19, 2012

The City of Scranton is broke. It can’t pay its employees and faces a budget deficit of about $16 million this year, thanks to a toxic combination of declining…

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Education

Child Rescue Plan Underway, EITC is Lifeline

• Priya Brannick
• June 29, 2012

As we come down to the wire in the Pennsylvania legislature’s 2012 session, the Senate revealed the latest details (subscription required) of how an expanded opportunity scholarship program would…

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Education

Radical Reform Required…Now!

• Charles Mitchell
• December 2, 2011

My friend Nick Pandelidis, a physician and entrepreneur in York, has published an excellent piece on school choice in the York Daily Record.  After recounting much data, he concludes:…

Media

Government Accountability

Lawmakers Call for Public Integrity Commission

• Nathan Benefield
• July 27, 2010

In the wake of convictions, indictments, and investigations of Pennsylvania lawmakers and staff, several legislators have called for a new Public Integrity Commission. The Commission would replace the current…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Public vs. Private Employment & Pay

• May 11, 2010

Pennsylvania's private sector lost 113,600 jobs while state and local governments added 40,200 positions between 2000 and 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, public-sector…

Fact Sheet