Look out folks because Governor Tom Corbett (R. PA) is about to give another big F U to education in Pennsylvania:
http://www.dailylocal.com/...
The board of the State System of Higher Education scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday to select the fourth-ever chancellor to lead the system’s 14 universities.
The job is the highest-paid post in Pennsylvania state government. The board has kept the names of the three finalists a secret for the first time in the system’s 31 years. Most trustees are appointed by the governor, and Gov. Tom Corbett’s higher education adviser, Ronald Tomalis, is apparently a finalist.
Some of the 17 sitting board members only learned the identities of the finalists in late July. The board members include four state lawmakers, Corbett, his new education secretary and 11 gubernatorial appointments, including five who were last appointed by Corbett’s Democratic predecessor, Ed Rendell.
In addition to Corbett and the trustees, others were offered the opportunity in late July to meet with the three finalists: leaders of the unions that represent university employees, university presidents, representatives of state system university trustee councils and a handful of unidentified business and community leaders, a system spokesman said. - AP, 8/5/13
Here's why you should be worried about Ronald Tomalis becoming Chancellor:
http://articles.mcall.com/...
But Tomalis quickly earned and could not shake a reputation as anti-public school, despite recent attempts to shut down two low-performing, mismanaged cyber charter schools.
He presided over Corbett's unpopular cuts to public and higher education in 2011-12. He backed laws that protected and enhanced charter schools and private schools while putting more restrictions on traditional public schools and teachers.
In September, Tomalis blamed a statewide drop in test scores on a "small number of educators" caught erasing students' answer sheets. He also tried to ease testing standards for charter schools, until the federal government told him he couldn't do that.
Then to the chagrin of school officials, Tomalis waited more than a year to seek a waiver from federal testing standards. He filed for the waiver in February, but his request has yet to be approved, leaving the Department of Education with no clear way to issue report cards to schools this year — a potential political headache for Corbett.
"I don't know of anywhere where he had a positive relationship with a school district," said Joseph Roy, superintendent of the Bethlehem Area School District, "and as a leader, that makes him ineffective." - The Morning Call, 5/15/13
And Tomalis is no friend to teachers:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
The Bethlehem Area School Board's Human Relations Committee decided Monday to seek support among other Lehigh Valley school boards and local state lawmakers for a regional resolution against Tomalis, saying he has tilted the agency toward charter schools and away from school districts.
Bethlehem has a backer, the Salisbury Township School District. Bethlehem plans to vote on its resolution in January with or without additional support, said Bethlehem board President Michael Faccinetto.
"Everyone stands up on the steps of the Rotunda and it doesn't mean crap to the people inside," said Faccinetto, a Democrat, who crafted the six-point resolution. "We are going to stand up for students, teachers and administrators."
The resolution accuses Tomalis and the state agency of publicly misrepresenting facts concerning an investigation of PSSA math and reading exams at some schools. It blasts Tomalis for claiming his statewide crackdown on cheating caused a statewide drop in PSSA scores. It says Tomalis changed PSSA testing rules to make it easier for charter schools to reach federal testing benchmarks than it is for traditional public schools.
Tomalis and the agency deliberately targeted school districts by leaving charter schools out of a new grading system to identify so-called "underperforming schools," so children in those schools can use tax dollars to receive a private education under Act 85, the resolutions says.
In creating the new grading formula, the resolution states, the department chose not to use the state's federally approved growth model, which tracks individual student progress year to year and shows some of the Bethlehem schools on the underperforming list are improving student learning.
Finally, the resolution claims Tomalis changed, "without notice," the Act 1 index, which the department uses to calculate school districts' taxable rates. The change, made in September, moves from a one-year taxable rate to a three-year average, which reduces districts' taxing ability, and in Bethlehem that amounts to an $800,000 reduction in 2012-13. - Huffington Post, 11/3/12
Sadly Tomalis' anti-education agenda wasn't the factor that cost him his job:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
No official reason was given for Tomalis’ abrupt removal from the secretary post. At the time, it was said that he was removed as a result of conflicts with members of Corbett’s inner circle.
However, skeptics now might question if the move was intended to eliminate the conflict that would have existed if a sitting board member at the State System was seeking the chancellor position.
Regardless, the two-month separation between being a board member and becoming a finalist in the chancellor search is a concern to state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.
He, along with his predecessor Jack Wagner, called into question a similar “revolving door” at Penn State that was brought to light in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. - The Patriot-News, 7/25/13
But Corbett didn't exactly throw Tomalis under the bus either:
http://blogs.mcall.com/...
Tomalis -- coincidently or not -- voted to implement the confidentiality policy prior to him stepping down from his sis secretary gig and becoming a stay-at-home-bureaucrat because Corbett named him special adviser to the governor on higher education – a newly created position with no office hours and a $139,931 salary.
As this Morning Call story shows, there is speculation Tomalis has used inside knowledge and/or political influence to get thisclose to being named chancellor since he his bachelor's degree would disqualify him from serving as an adjunct professor at most state-owned universities. - The Morning Call, 8/6/13
What's bizarre is Tomalis is the only known finalist for the position:
http://www.goerie.com/...
Some of the 17 sitting board members only learned the identities of the finalists in late July. The board members include four state lawmakers, Corbett, his new education secretary and 11 gubernatorial appointments, including five who were last appointed by Corbett's Democratic predecessor, Ed Rendell.
In addition to Corbett and the trustees, others were offered the opportunity in late July to meet with the three finalists: leaders of the unions that represent university employees, university presidents, representatives of state system university trustee councils and a handful of unidentified business and community leaders, a system spokesman said.
David Patti, the president of the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Business Council, confirmed meeting with the finalists in late July. He said those who were there signed confidentiality agreements.
Pennsylvania's state system, with about 115,000 students, is the nation's 13th-largest public university system. - Go Erie, 8/5/13
But the other finalists' names may be kept in the dark because Tomalis is 100% qualified for the position:
http://www.poconorecord.com/...
If Tomalis is hired as chancellor, it would represent a departure from the first three chancellors of the 31-year-old state system. All three — James McCormick, Judith Hample and John Cavanaugh — had a background in university administration and a doctoral degree. Tomalis, 51, has a bachelor's degree and no background in university administration, but for much of the last 18 years he has held top-level positions in both the federal and state Departments of Education.
Pennsylvania's state system, with about 115,000 students, is the nation's 13th-largest public university system. The previous chancellor, Cavanaugh, left in February. At the time his salary was $327,500.
A spokesman for the state system, Kenn Marshall, said he expects the selection to be made at an upcoming public meeting, perhaps in the next two weeks.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat, is among those calling for the names of the finalists to be made public before then. - Pocono Record, 8/6/13
With Corbett's approvals in the toilet and looking like a one term Governor, we'll see how much influence Corbett has in getting Tomalis the Chancellor position.
Education funding is going to be a key issue in next year's race. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D. PA-13), the frontrunner in the Democratic Primary, has been emphasizing the need for proper education funding. She's been trying to push through a bill known as the Prepare All Kids Act with Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D. NY-12):
Prepare All Kids Act Summary:
Provide at least one year of voluntary, high-quality prekindergarten, with a focus on children from low-income families and children with special needs.
Ensure high-quality learning by requiring prekindergarten programs to utilize a research-based curriculum that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development and individual learning styles.
Ensure a high-quality learning environment by limiting classroom size to a maximum of 20 children and children-to-teacher ratios to no more than 10 to 1.
Ensure high-quality teaching by requiring that prekindergarten teachers have baccalaureate degrees (within 6 years), with support for teacher educational development.
Provide designated funding for much-needed programs serving infants and toddlers, from birth through 3.
Meet the needs of children and working parents by providing specific funding that states can use to expand programs to full-day and year-round.
Support and reinforce the importance of other early childhood programs such as Head Start and child care programs by maintaining existing funding levels for those programs.
Ensure continued prekindergarten program quality by requiring states to develop and enforce a monitoring plan.
Support the critical role of parents in the education of their young children by encouraging parental involvement in programs and assisting families in getting the supportive services they may need.
The Prepare All Kids Act is supported by the National Women’s Law Center, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the First Focus Campaign for Children, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) and the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children.
I'll be having another diary out soon going over the candidates in the Democratic Primary. I haven't been shy about my support for Schwartz and I've written about her and why she would be the best candidate to beat Corbett. You can read my past work here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
However, I understand there are those who doubtful about Schwartz's candidacy due to some of her past votes which is why I will be writing more about the other candidates. I am still convinced that Schwartz is our strongest candidate but I am willing to let the other Democratic nominees persuade me. So I will have a diary out soon and would be glad to hear your thoughts. In the mean time, Schwartz has been hitting the campaign trail hard:
http://www.politicspa.com/...
The Congresswoman’s campaign held house parties for grassroots supporters in fifteen counties.
She assembled a long list of notables to speak on her behalf at these events including elected and party officials.
“A state as great as Pennsylvania deserves better than Governor Corbett,” said Ellie Horvath from Johnstown in a press release. She was one of the many attendees who delivered a message in support of the campaign.
“We need a proven leader with a strong track record of getting things done on behalf of every day families — that is Allyson Schwartz, and I am proud to be supporting candidacy along with so many grassroots volunteers across Pennsylvania.”
The Congresswoman herself spoke from a supporter’s home in Lansdale and had her remarks webcast to all 38 gatherings in PA.
This move by Schwartz appears to be an attempt to both showcase her strength throughout the state and gain a head start on her opponents for the Democratic nomination in the realm of face-to-face, on the ground, grassroots campaigning.
A crowded Democratic primary to face Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014 – with several candidates competing within the expensive Philadelphia media market – means personal campaign outreach will have greater value. - Politics PA, 8/5/13
If you would like to learn more about Schwartz's campaign, you can check out her website here:
http://www.allysonschwartz.com/...