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Gov. Ready to Focus on Pension Reform This Fall

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Fresh off his second budget cycle, Governor Tom Corbett wants to address Pennsylvania’s rising pension costs this fall.  While the Republican majority did not invite Democrats to the table for budget negotiations this spring, Corbett says public pensions are a different matter altogether.  “This is not a partisan issue… so we’ll probably be reaching out to them,” he explained during a recent q&a with the media.

Governor Tom Corbett

Gov. Tom Corbett

The governor says it was interesting to see many Democrats supporting some aspects of the budget package – including education reforms and an ethane cracker tax credit.

The state’s pension obligation will increase another $500 – $600-million next year alone, and there’s no relief in sight until 2024.  Without action, there will be less and less funding available for other state programs.  “It’s not just a problem that we have at the state.  Municipalities & school districts across the state have that problem, and there are problems like that across the nation,” Corbett says.

Numerous bills have been introduced in the House.  Senate Republicans plan to act on a plan to move all new hires to a 401K-style pension plan where the employee bears the risk, not the employer (in this case the taxpayer).

But, Corbett knows there’s no silver bullet.  “If there was, somebody would have found it already, we’d all be doing it.”  He anticipates a thoughtful, cooperative discussion this fall.

Lawmaker Wants to be Sure Sandusky Doesn’t Keep State Pension

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There has been no clear answer as to whether Jerry Sandusky can keep his state pension once he’s sentenced on child sex abuse charges.  A state representative wants to change that. Sandusky was convicted last month on 45 counts and will be sentenced later this summer.

York County Democrat Eugene DePasquale is introducing legislation to ensure that the former Penn State assistant football coach and any other public official or employee sentenced for certain crimes against children would lose their state pensions. .  It would disqualify public officials and employees convicted of certain crimes against children that require registration as a sex offender.  The measure would be retroactive to June 1st.

Representative DePasquale says the current forfeiture law does include language regarding public school teachers and certain crimes against children, but does not spell out such offenses for other public officials or employees.

 

Cash

General Assistance Cash Grants to End Next Month

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This will be the last month of state-issued checks for more than 60,000 needy and disabled residents who’ve been beneficiaries of General Assistance cash grants from the Department of Public Welfare.

The roughly $150-million dollar program has been on the chopping block since Governor Tom Corbett’s initial budget plan was unveiled in February.  Late in the budget process a deal was reached to allow for one additional month of checks to be issued, so as to ease the transition, but the program will soon be eliminated.

“Some of them will end up on the streets, some of them will end up in emergency rooms, some of them will end up in jail,” says Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania Executive Director Liz Hersh, who fears many of these vulnerable citizens will be left with nothing.

Vincent Hughes

State Sen. Vincent Hughes

Senate Minority Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes (D-Phila.) has a district office right around the corner from a welfare office.  “Everyone’s in a panic,” he says of the knowledge that their lifeline is being cut.

But Governor Tom Corbett says his administration is working to connect people losing these state-funded cash benefits to other programs.  “From discussions with staff, we believe that some people probably are not exercising access to some areas that they might have access to,” Corbett explained to reporters during recent budget negotiations.

New Teacher Evaluations Won’t Apply to Charter Schools

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Something is missing from Pennsylvania’s new teacher evaluation law… charter schools.  The new teacher evaluation system approved in the late June budget rush will, for the first time, take student performance into account and provide assistance to educators who fall into the bottom two categories of a new four-tier rating system.

However, during House debate, state Rep. Michael O’Brien (D-Phila.) said he and others were surprised to see that publicly-funded charter schools were ultimately removed from the final product.  “What happens to get in the way of a kum-ba-ya moment?  The devil is in the details,” O’Brien said of the changes to language that previously earned unanimous support.

“We are spending public dollars that are not being accounted for,” lamented Minority Education Chair Jim Roebuck (D-Phila.) during House debate, as he emphasized the fact that charter schools are public schools.

But supporters of proposed charter school reforms say they will contain sufficient accountability and performance measures, which will make the teacher evaluations unnecessary.  Like teacher evaluations, many in Harrisburg expected the charter school reforms to be finalized as a part of a budget season education reform package.  That did not happen.

While time ran out to finalize the charter school reform language, Governor Tom Corbett says he will keep pushing for one of the key items on his education reform agenda.  “We still have more time in September.  You know me, I don’t stop.  I keep coming,” Corbett told reporters during a recent q&a.

Budget Package Signed Just Before Midnight Deadline

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The new fiscal year began on Sunday with the second straight on-time, no tax increase budget.  “Today we reaffirm our commitment to job growth, to education, to the needy and to the taxpayers… our goal is growing new jobs,” Governor Corbett said upon signing the $27.7-billion dollar spending plan late Saturday night.

But critics say the new budget does little to preserve the social safety net.  They lament the elimination of a cash grant welfare program for more than 60,000 needy and disabled residents.  “A lot of men in my district will have no means of support.  And in my district, no means of support means take what you need,” explains Rep. John Myers (D-Philadelphia).  The administration has agreed to continue the program for one more month to ease the transition.

Governor Corbett says he’s pleased that an improving financial picture allowed them to restore funding to several areas, including the Accountability Block Grants that fund full-day kindergarten programs across the state.  Public schools are essentially being level-funded this year, while an extra $40-million dollars has been earmarked for the most fiscally distressed districts.

One of the biggest budget restorations came in the area of higher education, where state-owned and state related universities had been facing cuts of 20% and 30% respective, which would have been on top of last year’s 18% and 20% cuts.  The new level funding comes with a commitment from the university presidents that tuition hikes will be kept at a minimum for the upcoming school year.

Much of this weekend’s activity focused on the other executive and legislative priorities tied to this year’s budget.  Lawmakers signed off on a new system of teacher evaluations for public school teachers, and an expanded Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program that will give businesses tax breaks when they fund school choice scholarships for low-income students in the state’s worst-performing schools.

Another big victory for the administration was the so-called “ethane cracker tax credit,” which Governor Tom Corbett has described as a new industrial revolution in Pennsylvania.  It passed with broad, bipartisan support.

Charter school reform legislation did not get finalized before lawmakers’ summer break, however Corbett and leading Republicans vow to keep pressing the issue in the fall.  Also, there will be a pilot program to offer county human services funding in block grants vs. seven separate line items.  Up to 20-counties will be able to participate in the pilot; Corbett had originally proposed Human Services Block grants statewide.

Revamped Teacher Evaluations Bill is on the Move

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Lawmakers may soon finalize a new system for teacher evaluations in Pennsylvania.  The amended bill has already garnered unanimous support in the state House, and the issue has long been one of Governor Tom Corbett’s top education reform priorities.

The current system, which is almost entirely based on classroom observations, allows for teachers to receive a rating of either ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory.’  “That system does not provide for useful or meaningful feedback,” state Rep. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster) tells Radio PA.  99.4% of teachers are rated as satisfactory.

Aument has been leading the legislative push for a fairer system of educator evaluations; one that takes student performance into account.  His latest amendment, which specifically outlines the multiple measures of student performance to be considered, is building consensus around the issue.

“From day one we’ve made it clear that good evaluations are based on multiple measures,” says Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman David Broderic.  While the bill is not perfect, according to Broderic, he says the PSEA is glad to be a part of the process.

Up to 50% of teacher evaluation ratings would be based on student performance under HB 1980.  Possible ratings would include ‘distinguished,’ ‘proficient,’ ‘needs improvement’ or ‘failing.’  Aument says teachers who fall into the bottom two categories would participate in a performance improvement plan. “Our goal was to put in place a tool that’s pro teacher, and pro student,” he says.

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children President & CEO Joan Benso sees a disconnect in a system where 99.4% of teachers are rated as satisfactory, yet nearly 30% of children can’t read at grade level.  “Being sure that we have an evaluation system that not only rewards teachers that are performing well, but ID’s teachers that are struggling, so we can develop improvement plans for them to do better, will ultimately drive student achievement.”

Benso hopes lawmakers will adopt Aument’s bill before the summer break.  After passing the House with unanimous support, HB 1980 awaits Senate action.  If enacted, the new evaluation system is expected to be in place for the 2013/2014 school year.

RadioPA Roundtable

Radio PA Roundtable 06.29.12

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Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week. Professionally produced and delivered every Friday, Roundtable includes commercial breaks for local sale and quarterly reports for affiliate files.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable06-29-12.mp3]

Corrections Secretary Optimistic About Prison Reforms

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Pennsylvania’s prison population increased by 40% between 2000 and 2011, driving General Fund spending up by 76% over that same time.  State prisons currently house more than 51,000 inmates, and nearly 45% of those released will be back behind bars within three years.

These were just a few of the trends confronted by the “Justice Reinvestment Working Group,” which got all of the stakeholders together to discuss ways to create a more efficient and effective prison system. State Corrections Secretary John Wetzel is optimistic their recommendations will not only drive down the prison population, but reduce crime too.

“At six months out we should start seeing some progress in the numbers; 18-months out we should be seeing some strong population reduction, and improved outcomes.” says Wetzel.  “More people in to programming, shorter waiting lists, people being processed faster and people being successful when they get out.”

The reforms included in the bill will, in part, keep low-level offenders and technical parole violators out of state prisons.  It will also help officials to better match offenders’ needs with the appropriate treatment programs.

Pennsylvania is the 16th state to take the Justice Reinvestment Approach.  “It’s been a real range of states – large & small, red & blue – that have gone through this process,” explains Marc Pelka, senior policy analyst with the Council of State Governments Justice Center.

The savings could amount to $350-million dollars over the next five years, and some of that money will be earmarked for reinvestment in programs that prevent crime.

SB 100 has already received unanimous support in the General Assembly and now awaits Governor Tom Corbett’s signature.  The reinvestment language is pending in separate legislation.

You can hear our entire interview with Corrections Secretary John Wetzel on this weekend’s Roundtable program.

Under the Capitol Dome

State Budget Votes Near

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The state’s current budget was enacted with zero Democratic support last year.  This year may not be much different if Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee meeting is any indication.  After two hours of debate, the committee advanced the $27.7-billion dollar spending plan along party lines.

The spend number may be almost 2% above this current budget, but most of the increases are due to mandatory costs like pension obligations and medical assistance.  “This budget contains no tax increases,” Appropriations Chairman Bill Adolph (R-Del.) repeated twice for emphasis.

While better-than-expected revenues in the spring allowed Republican budget negotiators to spend a half-billion more than what was first proposed in February, Adolph told the committee the state is still on pace to end the fiscal year nearly $200-million dollars in the red.

“This is a sustainable budget that meets the needs of Pennsylvania residents,” Adolph concluded.

The recently released spreadsheets show $100-million dollars restored to the Accountability Block Grants that fund full-day kindergarten programs across the state.  Add that to $50-million being set aside for distressed school districts and budget supporters say all school districts will receive at least the same amount of state funding they got this year.

State Rep. Joe Markosek

State Rep. Joe Markosek

That doesn’t satisfy House Democrats though.  “I would challenge anybody in this room to go to any school director in the Commonwealth, in the public school system, and ask them if they think they are getting more money for educational purposes,” says Democratic House Appropriations Chair Joe Markosek (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland).

Markosek also lamented a planned tax credit for “big business” at a time when county human services are facing 10% cuts.  That 10% cut, however, is half of what was proposed back in February.

Final House votes could come as early as Thursday, with Senate votes to follow.  The state’s new fiscal year starts on Sunday.  Details of other budget season priorities – like education reforms and the ethane tax credit – are still being finalized.

Governor Touts Human Service Block Grants But Faces Opposition

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Surrounded by a bipartisan group of county commissioners this week, Governor Tom Corbett called on lawmakers to pass his proposed Human Service Block Grant to replace current state funding in seven human service areas.

State Senate Republicans released details Tuesday of a proposed 27.7 billion dollar budget for the next fiscal year, and it did  not include the block grant approach yet.  A spokesman says it’s still under discussion.

Governor Corbett says the current approach to funding human services provides no flexibility and enforces rigid rules that make it hard for people to receive individualized services.  He says the block grant approach will allow counties to prioritize the needs at the local level and cut the red tape.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania backs the block grant approach. President Jo Ellen Litz, a Lebanon County Commissioner, says it will give counties the flexibility they need to provide people with the services they need.

The group’s Vice President, Christian Leinbach of Berks County, says counties can better decide how the money should be spent and there are safeguards. He says local plans must be published, voted on by the commissioners in public and approved by the Department of Public Welfare.  He believes it provides more transparency and accountability than the current system.

But Representative Gene DiGirolomo, a Bucks County Republican, is against combining state money for seven human service areas into one funding stream.  He calls it a monumental shift and says the administration is moving too fast. He called for a pilot project to test the concept.

Human service providers say there are already waiting lists for many services and giving counties greater flexibility could leave them fighting each other for limited dollars. Even with the block grants, human service programs face a 10% reduction in funding.