Pennsylvania is home to some of the nation’s most unscrupulous charter operators, some of whom are under criminal investigation or on trial for fraud and misappropriation of public funds. But say this for some of the sleaziest: they give generously to political campaigns. That is why the Legislature is considering SB 1085, which would allow new charters to open without local approval.
If you want to protect public schools in Pennsylvania from reckless privatization, if you want to maintain local control, take action now to oppose SB 1085.
Here is advice from the pro-public education Keystone State Education Coalition:
SB1085 ALERT:
Charter School Reform bill is on the PA Senate calendar for December 3rd.
Call your state senator; urge them to vote no on SB1085 which would remove local control over tax dollars.
Use this link to find contact information for your state senator:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/contact.cfm?body=S
1. If you are concerned about SB1085 giving unelected charter operators the power to spend tax dollars without any local oversight or control, please call your state senator’s office and let them know ASAP.
Urge them to maintain local control over tax dollars by locally elected, locally accountable school boards; urge them to vote no on SB1085.
SB1085 would allow colleges and universities to authorize new charter schools without local approval.
SB1085 would eliminate enrollment caps on charter schools. This will allow for the unfettered expansion of charter schools in PA.
SB1085 would increase the initial term of a charter from 3 years to 5 years, and allow a charter school to be granted a 10 year renewal
SB1085 would allow two or more charters to consolidate and transfer oversight to the PA Department of Education; local taxpayers would still pay the tuition
SB1085 would remove the provision that requires charter applications to be evaluated based on the extent to which the school may serve as a model for other public schools.
2. Please forward this alert to any interested public education stakeholders.
3. If you have a few minutes more to spare, please consider calling any or all of these Senate officers:
Majority Leader Senator Dominic Pileggi
(717) 787-4712 FAX: (717) 783-7490
dpileggi@pasen.gov
Majority Whip Senator Patrick Browne
(717) 787-1349 FAX: (717) 772-3458
pbrowne@pasen.gov
Majority Caucus Chair Senator Michael Waugh
(717) 787-3817 FAX: (717) 783-1900
mwaugh@pasen.gov
Majority Caucus Secretary Senator Robert Robbins
(717) 787-1322 FAX: (717) 772-0577
rrobbins@pasen.gov
Majority Appropriations Chair Senator Jake Corman
(717) 787-1377 FAX: (717) 772-3146
jcorman@pasen.gov
Majority Caucus Administrator Senator John Gordner
(717) 787-8928 FAX: (717) 787-9715
jgordner@pasen.gov
Majority Policy Committee Chair Senator Edwin Erickson
(717) 787-1350 FAX: (717) 787-0196
eerickson@pasen.gov
You can also use this Education Voters PA link to send an email to your state senator opposing SB1085:
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8833
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am convinced the appeal to entitlement in the populace (I’m poor but I deserve what the rich guy has; or I’m middle class but I deserve what the wealthy have) has been planted and suggested by people who are playing on a fleeting emotion (so they can get power). The true leader will offer up that return on a long-term investment means doing the very best we can with that which we have invested. . .public schools. If 90% of school children use them, then the fact that families have invested in them for years is significant. And new immigrant families will continue that trend of investment, as they years go by. To wreck that is simply foolish.
PA folks need to contact their senator now. Even if they are not generally friendly to teacher interests, even if they are staunchly GOP, there is a solid conservative argument against SB 1085– this completely strips local control away from local taxpayers and leaves them holding the bill for schools they never had a say in.
The distraction worked into this bill is the promise that is the promise of taking a look at charter funding formulas, which is badly needed and very appealing to lots of folks.
I’ve had a unique experience trying to get people agitated about this– it is so over-the-top that many people refuse to believe that it’s a real bill. But yes– SB 1085 means that a university could come to your town, open a charter school without getting anybody’s approval, and then bill the local school district taxpayers for the cost of the school.
Paint that picture. Remind your lawmaker how angry those local taxpayers will be, and how they will feel about the legislators who made it possible.
Thanks, Diane, for putting this information on your space. This is a life-or-death vote for us.
Another PA Senator to contact–(not on your list) is one of our local Lancaster senators, Llyod Smucker. Please consider calling Senator Smucker and expressing your opinion on this. You can reach his office at (717) 397-1309. Sen. Smucker is the Vice Chair of the PA Senate Education Committee and a co-sponsor of this bill. He received $16,500 from Michelle Rhee’s Students First in 2012–one of the top 5 donations to his campaign. Many callers have been told that “of course he’s not going to vote against his legislation” but it’s important to call anyway.
I called my Senator and unfortunately he is the head of the Education Committee and probably supports this legislation as he did the failed SB1 bill several years ago. We fought and won that battle, but they are implementing the items in that bill piece by piece. Before we knew about Common Core-2011, some of us were researching the ‘New’ educational programs being presented to State Legislators. This has been a carefully orchestrated top down destruction of our public schools. Diane is correct about the unscrupulous educational shenanigans in PA. I felt like such an idiot after researching what was happening–the rabbit hole is very deep. With all the changes at CFL (Campaign For Liberty), I was unable to finish my series, but if you are interested in PA you can find my posts here: http://secure.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=41939 (working at the moment). This is Part 4, School Choice? PA SB1–Part 4 It’s always “all about the money”. Be careful what you wish for!, and the following links for the previous 3 are near the bottom. My analysis: PA School Choice Bill SB1-Salvation? or Boondoggle? My analysis, Part 1. , PA School Choice Bill SB1-Salvation? or Boondoggle? My analysis, Part 2: Unintended Consequences of 2011 School Choice PA SB1 and the 1997 PA Charter Schools Bill , PA School Choice Bill SB1-Salvation? or Boondoggle? My analysis, Part 3: Choice We Can Believe In? Where have we heard that before? School Choice? PA SB1–Part 4 It’s always “all about the money”. Be careful what you wish for!