PA Headlines 11/10/21
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — AP is reporting… A lawsuit that could result in drastic changes to how Pennsylvania funds public education goes to trial Friday in a Harrisburg courtroom, seven years after a handful of the state’s districts first went to court to challenge a system they consider unfair. The case centers on spending disparities among Pennsylvania’s 500 districts and the comparatively low percentage of K-12 education that is paid for by the state government — the plaintiffs say it is about 38%, compared to 47% nationally. Spending figures and test scores are among a dizzying array of statistics and studies expected as evidence. The trial could last well into January.
The plaintiffs, a handful of districts in neighborhoods with comparatively lower property values and family income, argue the reliance on property taxes and what they consider inadequate state subsidies means richer districts spend much more per student, calling it “a system of haves and have nots.” The result is that underfunded districts are more likely to have larger class sizes, less qualified faculty, outdated textbooks and other shortcomings, they claimed in the 2014 complaint. But Republican legislative leaders, who are defendants in the case, say Pennsylvania’s educational spending compares favorably to other states and student achievement backs them up.
“Petitioners misleadingly attempt to create a dystopian view of Pennsylvania’s education system, referring to the purportedly ‘dismal state of public education in Pennsylvania’ and warning that ’without a change of course, the future is bleak,” wrote attorneys for House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, in a June pretrial filing. “Such grave assessment is disconnected from the actual facts.” The trial, expected to take several weeks, pits six districts, several parents, the state conference of the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools against the governor, Education Department, education secretary, state Board of Education and the highest-ranking Republican leaders of the House and Senate.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, one of the defendants, said in a statement last week that the Legislature has always “met our constitutional mandate to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education.” He said the most recent budget raised K-12 education spending by $300 million, and noted the state has received billions in pandemic relief funds designated for schools. “Pennsylvania currently ranks 7th in the nation in terms of per-pupil spending on education, and school districts are sitting on reserves totaling approximately $4 billion,” Corman said. “The idea that the Legislature isn’t properly supporting public schools is patently false.”
HARRISBURG – WHTM is reporting… While the threat of COVID-19 and the highly-transmissible delta variant may be felt in communities of all political leanings, a recent analysis shows that there is a stark, partisan divide when it comes to deaths caused by the virus. In 2020, the likelihood of dying from COVID among conservatives and liberals was similar by the end of the year, the New York Times reports. After the arrival of vaccines that are highly effective against hospitalization and death in the spring of 2021, however, the death rate in red areas began to climb above that of blue ones. Can you be ‘immunized’ if you’re not vaccinated? Here’s what the CDC and WHO have to say October saw the largest difference to date, with three times as many residents dying of COVID-19 in counties where at least 60% voted for Trump than in counties that supported Biden.
When it comes to the percentage of vaccinated people in these communities, the numbers are reversed, with increasingly more Biden supporters getting vaccinated than Trump supporters. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 90% of adult Democrats said they had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to roughly 60% of Republicans. There is reason to hope that the widening gap in deaths among liberal and conservative communities will start to narrow again soon, the Times reports. Along with the growing segment of the population that has recovered from a bout with COVID-19, the paper also cited the new antiviral treatments from Pfizer and Merck that the companies say are highly effective against serious COVID-19 illness and will help prevent death everywhere. The Food and Drug Administration is already reviewing Merck’s version of the antiviral pill after successful initial results, and Pfizer said last week that the company will ask the FDA for authorization as soon as possible.
