Pennsylvania School Boards Want Less Government

The Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA) is tired of amassing unfunded regulations from state legislators that grow school bureaucracies instead of improving education. In response, the PSBA has proposed legislation to reduce regulations in a package called FREE, Focusing Resources in Educational Expenses.

Proposals include allowing school boards to lay off teachers for economic reasons, a two-year moratorium on the prevailing wage rate (which inflate construction costs by 10-30%), and removing the additional requirements to certify school nurses. Finally someone is standing up to the power-hungry teachers unions.

Additionally, there’s surprisingly good news coming out of the Philadelphia School District. Earlier this week, the School Reform Commission (SRC) released its five-year strategic plan for turning around the failing district. If schools continue to fail, they will be relabeled as “Renaissance Schools”, and taking a page from Jack Welch’s book, they will close and be reopened as charter schools.