Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf speaks at a news conference on June 28, 2019, in the state Capitol, with preschool children sitting behind him.
Ed Mahon / PA Post
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf speaks at a news conference on June 28, 2019, in the state Capitol, with preschool children sitting behind him.
Ed Mahon / PA Post
PennLive’s Jan Murphy breaks down the fight over new fees that Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week: charging $15 to a charter school every time it asks the state Department of Education to settle a funding dispute with a school district; and charging an $86,000 fee on new cyber charter school applicants, starting next year.
Maurice Flurie, CEO of the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Charter Academy, said the $15 fee “defies logic,” and he said the $86,000 fee for cyber charter school applications will essentially create a moratorium on cyber charters.
WHYY’s Avi Wolfman-Arent also looks at the clash over charter schools and the fight that is expected to take place as lawmakers return to Harrisburg. Wolfman-Arent tells the story of Stefaine D’Amico, who said her oldest son turned to a cyber charter school after being bullied at public and Catholic schools.
Wolfman-Arent also tells the story of Beth Pacoe, a mother who found distance learning didn’t work for her then-sixth grader.
As Wolfman-Arent notes, Pennsylvania ranks high for the number of cyber charter school students, part of the “big three.” California and Ohio are the other two states in the group.
Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author, devotes part of his new book to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and the prosecution of former Penn State leaders. PennLive’s Charlie Thompson, who has covered the Sandusky case for years, describes Gladwell’s argument in the book and some facts Gladwell left out or didn’t focus on.
Shane Gillis, who graduated from a central Pennsylvania high school, won’t be joining the cast of Saturday Night Live. BuzzFeed News reports that Gillis was fired “after past derogatory and racist remarks he made on his podcast were made public.”
The Wolf administration has a new rule that limits the number of people who can rally in the state Capitol’s rotunda. WITF’s Katie Meyer spoke with activist Germán Parodi, who criticized the 450-person limit. “What I foresee is them completely separating politicians from their electorate,” he said.
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