The amount of public funding available for Pre-K in Pennsylvania covers less than 20 percent of the 3-and-4-year-olds that need it. The annual cost of private pre-k can rival the cost of college tuition, forcing too many families to go without a high-quality program essential to their children’s success. Public concern over the shortage of high quality pre-k is clearly something that elected officials and candidates are beginning to notice. Again, the President called for federal investment in pre-k in the 2014 State of the Union Address. Similarly, New York Mayor Bill de Balsio rallied voters to his side in part by emphasizing his commitment to pre-k. According to a new poll commissioned by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly favor increased spending on pre-k, even at the expense of raised taxes. With every House seat up for election, not to mention many Senate seats in the southeast and a Governor’s race that might hinge on that area; this is the best chance for the Philadelphia area’s children to gain access to high-quality pre-k.
The poll finds that nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support increasing funding to ensure all children have access to voluntary, high quality pre-k programs, with more than half of voters strongly supporting it. And they are willing to raise their taxes to do so, by a more than two to one margin. This is not a partisan issue, a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents support expanding access to high-quality pre-k programs.
Voters recognize how important it is for children to arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and are ready to make that knowledge visible on Election Day. The poll finds that Pennsylvania voters consider education as one of the most important issues for elected officials to focus on, second only to the economy. Most importantly, more than 40 percent of voters say that are more likely to vote for a candidate who favored increasing funding for pre-k programs, with almost as many saying they are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposed increasing funding. If our representatives in Harrisburg aren’t willing to do anything about this, then their replacements will be.
This poll is evidence of the wisdom of PCCY’s effort to help form a broad, statewide coalition fighting to make high-quality pre-k a visible issue during this critical election year and beyond. “When all children arrive ready to learn, they are best able to take advantage of the educational benefits of classroom learning,” said Upper Darby School Superintendent Richard F. Dunlap, Jr., Ed. D., at a recent Pre-K for PA news conference. “Education investment must start early before the achievement gap is too wide and expensive to overcome.”
The new poll confirms that the risks of under-investing are too dangerous for inaction in Harrisburg to continue. Along with the poll, evidence of the impact of high quality early learning programs continues to mount. Last year 4-year-olds in Pennsylvania’s publicly supported pre-k programs achieved dramatic gains in academic and social proficiency. It is clear that the public support is there, and in an election year, the Legislature is likely to notice. Pennsylvanians are strong believers that every child benefits when all children enter school readying to learn. The question is: will candidates and elected officials take notice?
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Staving Off Another Philadelphia School Funding Crisis Starts with City Council
Lately, the coming of spring means Philadelphians can count on three things: high hopes for the Phils in Clearwater, taxes coming due and the shortchanging of the School District of Philadelphia. If last year looked bad, this year looks worse. The District is going to need another $300—possibly $400—million to open doors in 2014.
The school district’s budget is still out of balance in spite of the poorly constructed state plan of one-time federal funding and public school building sales that resulted in only $2 million of the $120 million needed by the School District on an ongoing basis. While taking very little out of the State’s coffers, the Governor pushed through a plan to direct one percent of the City’s current sales tax to the school district. That’s a plan that could bring the District $120 million annually, if approved by City Council.
Although the district has lost millions in state aid since 2011, last August the Council President’s office spokesperson said, “Council will pass an extension of the sales tax." But to date nothing has moved. In December, PCCY and members of a broad coalition of education advocacy organizations gave the Legislature at “D” and City Council a “C-” for failing to do all that was expected for the schools. The groups called on Council to approve the sales tax transfer by March 31st. The goal of the Coalition is to push City Council to act so that Harrisburg can not use local inaction as an excuse to for failing to appropriate a reasonable level of state aid to the School District.
Like it or not, this is Philadelphia’s problem. Of the more than 250 legislators in Harrisburg, only 35 have districts that include part of Philadelphia. Therefore, most of the state’s elected officials feel indifferent at best to our local funding problems. That’s why Philadelphia City Council needs to make the first move. Doing so can be a peace signal to the state that Philadelphians are willing to do their part.
At the same time, it’s clear that the state isn’t exactly volunteering to help; in fact, the Governor’s office is already crying poor. Budget Secretary Charles Zogby has projected a $1.4 billion deficit that will require cuts, new revenues or a combination of the two,” the AP reports. If they’re so hard up for cash, why did the Governor push a plan to cut the corporate tax rate by nearly a third starting next year? According to the PA Budget and Policy Center, in 2003-2004 the cost of corporate tax breaks for the state was $850 million. Last year it was $3.2 billion. Moreover, previous budget estimates by the Governor’s Budget office have shown that they are prone to exaggerate projected expenditures and dramatically undercount expected revenues.
What is needed is a grand bargain. All politics is a “give and take” process. Making the first move and approving the sales tax shift while urging the state to approve the cigarette tax increase that already passed City Council to meet Philadelphia’s pension costs may be a face-saving way to get these unfriendly partners to begin to work together.
The administration has signaled a willingness to raise education spending, but it’s not clear that they are willing to put any reliable new money on the table. According to the Inquirer, “Corbett will not be proposing new revenue sources to cover the investment.” His idea is reportedly to find the money in pension savings. Even his own party leaders are doubtful the Governor will get it done. “It will be interesting to see how it is accomplished,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman, “given an anticipated $1.5 billion in new costs for pensions, Medicaid and prisons. The prospect of $100 million in pension savings ‘is a step in the right direction,’ Corman said, ‘but we will need substantial revenue or savings above that to invest in education.’”
Like it or not, with state money in too short a supply, the sales tax for schools is an opportunity that City Council cannot afford to have pass them by. Things have gotten beyond bad enough already. PCCY recently learned that there are only 16 librarians in the entire district and, alarmingly, only one nurse for every 866 children and one counselor for every 600 students. We cannot let this become the status quo. But if City Council does not take action on the sales tax and $120 million of annual revenue, these sorts of school horrors might be the least of our worries.
The school district’s budget is still out of balance in spite of the poorly constructed state plan of one-time federal funding and public school building sales that resulted in only $2 million of the $120 million needed by the School District on an ongoing basis. While taking very little out of the State’s coffers, the Governor pushed through a plan to direct one percent of the City’s current sales tax to the school district. That’s a plan that could bring the District $120 million annually, if approved by City Council.
Although the district has lost millions in state aid since 2011, last August the Council President’s office spokesperson said, “Council will pass an extension of the sales tax." But to date nothing has moved. In December, PCCY and members of a broad coalition of education advocacy organizations gave the Legislature at “D” and City Council a “C-” for failing to do all that was expected for the schools. The groups called on Council to approve the sales tax transfer by March 31st. The goal of the Coalition is to push City Council to act so that Harrisburg can not use local inaction as an excuse to for failing to appropriate a reasonable level of state aid to the School District.
Like it or not, this is Philadelphia’s problem. Of the more than 250 legislators in Harrisburg, only 35 have districts that include part of Philadelphia. Therefore, most of the state’s elected officials feel indifferent at best to our local funding problems. That’s why Philadelphia City Council needs to make the first move. Doing so can be a peace signal to the state that Philadelphians are willing to do their part.
At the same time, it’s clear that the state isn’t exactly volunteering to help; in fact, the Governor’s office is already crying poor. Budget Secretary Charles Zogby has projected a $1.4 billion deficit that will require cuts, new revenues or a combination of the two,” the AP reports. If they’re so hard up for cash, why did the Governor push a plan to cut the corporate tax rate by nearly a third starting next year? According to the PA Budget and Policy Center, in 2003-2004 the cost of corporate tax breaks for the state was $850 million. Last year it was $3.2 billion. Moreover, previous budget estimates by the Governor’s Budget office have shown that they are prone to exaggerate projected expenditures and dramatically undercount expected revenues.
What is needed is a grand bargain. All politics is a “give and take” process. Making the first move and approving the sales tax shift while urging the state to approve the cigarette tax increase that already passed City Council to meet Philadelphia’s pension costs may be a face-saving way to get these unfriendly partners to begin to work together.
The administration has signaled a willingness to raise education spending, but it’s not clear that they are willing to put any reliable new money on the table. According to the Inquirer, “Corbett will not be proposing new revenue sources to cover the investment.” His idea is reportedly to find the money in pension savings. Even his own party leaders are doubtful the Governor will get it done. “It will be interesting to see how it is accomplished,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman, “given an anticipated $1.5 billion in new costs for pensions, Medicaid and prisons. The prospect of $100 million in pension savings ‘is a step in the right direction,’ Corman said, ‘but we will need substantial revenue or savings above that to invest in education.’”
Like it or not, with state money in too short a supply, the sales tax for schools is an opportunity that City Council cannot afford to have pass them by. Things have gotten beyond bad enough already. PCCY recently learned that there are only 16 librarians in the entire district and, alarmingly, only one nurse for every 866 children and one counselor for every 600 students. We cannot let this become the status quo. But if City Council does not take action on the sales tax and $120 million of annual revenue, these sorts of school horrors might be the least of our worries.
Friday, January 10, 2014
When Covering All Kids Doesn't Cover All Kids
Every child in Pennsylvania deserves access to proper healthcare. This should not be a controversial idea. Yet while millions of Americans will get access to healthcare in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act, tens of thousands of PA kids are being turned away, purposely left out of the system. This is unacceptable and must change.
In 2006, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted reform to “Cover All Kids” under the CHIP program. Except “All Kids” doesn’t really mean all kids. The legislation exempts children living in Pennsylvania who are immigrants whose families entered the United States without proper documentation. That’s 47,000 kids that the state would rather see suffer than get proper medical attention. “Children have no control over their parent’s choice to bring them lawfully or unlawfully into the country,” PCCY’s Health Policy Director Colleen McCauley testified at a Healthy PA hearing in January. “Consequently, children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents and should be afforded coverage through CHIP.”
It gets worse. “Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally cannot participate in the system,” the Altoona Mirror reported in December. “But many have eligible relatives who are citizens or legal residents.” However, due to fear of repercussions from immigration officials, many undocumented immigrants will not seek healthcare coverage for their eligible citizen children. The legislature does have the ability to change this. “The healthcare options available to the most needy immigrants are limited, and vary widely from state to state,” the Atlantic wrote. “States have the option of using federal funds to provide prenatal care to pregnant women whose lack of legal status makes them ineligible for Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program provides coverage to nearly 8 million children (not just immigrants) in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid. Even so, the fear of deportation scares qualified families away.” By making it illegal for undocumented immigrants to obtain health care, we block an uncountable number of eligible children from it.
But this isn’t about numbers; it’s about children. Children like “Elena.” Elena is ten years old and desperately needs a tooth pulled and a root canal, but her parents cannot afford these dental procedures. A school nurse helped refer her to a mobile dentist who provides free care, but the procedures she needs are too complicated for them to handle. Since Elena is not eligible for CHIP or Medicaid under state law, she is forced to live with chronic mouth pain that affects her ability to concentrate in school. Elena did not choose to come here; she should not be punished for a decision she did not make. Her immigration status should not matter, all that matters is there is a child in pain and we are making a choice not to help her.
Healthy PA has made some progress for children by reauthorizing CHIP and eliminating a waiting period for some children. While Healthy PA has taken a step in the right direction, it is not a large enough one. The Inquirer reported Thursday that “Corbett’s proposal to insure an estimated 500,000 people, part of his broader ‘Healthy Pennsylvania’ plan, would not take effect until 2015, at a loss of $7 million to $10 million a day in federal funds.” State Rep. Mike Sturla said, “I don’t think there is any way that you can look at the current proposal and see it as anything other than a stall tactic.” Healthy PA is not a solution until everyone is covered. “Pennsylvania should not compromise children’s healthy wellbeing by limiting their access to health care services,” testified Dr. Judith Silver, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Vice President of PCCY’s Board of Directors. “Cover All Kids” and Healthy PA have been a good start, but they do not go far enough. Action must be taken in Harrisburg to ensure that every Pennsylvania gets access to the healthcare they need.
Get involved. Sign up for PCCY's E-Alerts at www.pccy.org/joinus
In 2006, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted reform to “Cover All Kids” under the CHIP program. Except “All Kids” doesn’t really mean all kids. The legislation exempts children living in Pennsylvania who are immigrants whose families entered the United States without proper documentation. That’s 47,000 kids that the state would rather see suffer than get proper medical attention. “Children have no control over their parent’s choice to bring them lawfully or unlawfully into the country,” PCCY’s Health Policy Director Colleen McCauley testified at a Healthy PA hearing in January. “Consequently, children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents and should be afforded coverage through CHIP.”
It gets worse. “Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally cannot participate in the system,” the Altoona Mirror reported in December. “But many have eligible relatives who are citizens or legal residents.” However, due to fear of repercussions from immigration officials, many undocumented immigrants will not seek healthcare coverage for their eligible citizen children. The legislature does have the ability to change this. “The healthcare options available to the most needy immigrants are limited, and vary widely from state to state,” the Atlantic wrote. “States have the option of using federal funds to provide prenatal care to pregnant women whose lack of legal status makes them ineligible for Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program provides coverage to nearly 8 million children (not just immigrants) in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid. Even so, the fear of deportation scares qualified families away.” By making it illegal for undocumented immigrants to obtain health care, we block an uncountable number of eligible children from it.
But this isn’t about numbers; it’s about children. Children like “Elena.” Elena is ten years old and desperately needs a tooth pulled and a root canal, but her parents cannot afford these dental procedures. A school nurse helped refer her to a mobile dentist who provides free care, but the procedures she needs are too complicated for them to handle. Since Elena is not eligible for CHIP or Medicaid under state law, she is forced to live with chronic mouth pain that affects her ability to concentrate in school. Elena did not choose to come here; she should not be punished for a decision she did not make. Her immigration status should not matter, all that matters is there is a child in pain and we are making a choice not to help her.
Healthy PA has made some progress for children by reauthorizing CHIP and eliminating a waiting period for some children. While Healthy PA has taken a step in the right direction, it is not a large enough one. The Inquirer reported Thursday that “Corbett’s proposal to insure an estimated 500,000 people, part of his broader ‘Healthy Pennsylvania’ plan, would not take effect until 2015, at a loss of $7 million to $10 million a day in federal funds.” State Rep. Mike Sturla said, “I don’t think there is any way that you can look at the current proposal and see it as anything other than a stall tactic.” Healthy PA is not a solution until everyone is covered. “Pennsylvania should not compromise children’s healthy wellbeing by limiting their access to health care services,” testified Dr. Judith Silver, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Vice President of PCCY’s Board of Directors. “Cover All Kids” and Healthy PA have been a good start, but they do not go far enough. Action must be taken in Harrisburg to ensure that every Pennsylvania gets access to the healthcare they need.
Get involved. Sign up for PCCY's E-Alerts at www.pccy.org/joinus
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