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HomePosts tagged 'school board'
December 23, 2019 December 23, 2019 stevenmsinger #BlackLivesMatter, Accountability, Budget, capitalism, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Corporate Education "Reform", Data, Democrat, Education, Harrisburg, Labor, Learning, Local Control, Parents, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, Poverty, Prejudice, privatization, Propaganda, protest, Racism, Republican, School Choice, School Funding, school segregation, Schools, segregation, small class size, Social Justice, Standardized Testing, Students, Taxation, Teachers, Uncategorized	Bill Peduto, Budget, charter schools, Harrisburg, Mayor, Pennsylvania, pensions, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, school board, Students, Taxation, teachers
Where did all the money go?
Pittsburgh Public Schools will start 2020 with a $25.1 million budget deficit.
Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet has asked for a 2.3% tax increase to cover the shortfall, but school directors ended up approving his spending plan without approving the tax increase.
The school board will meet on Friday to decide whether to ultimately raise taxes or make cuts including possible staff furloughs.
But in the meantime, city residents are left wondering why the measure was necessary in the first place.
After all, student enrollment has gone down at the second biggest district in the state after Philadelphia, yet spending is up 2.4% from 2019.
It really all comes down to three things: charter schools, retirement costs and tax revenue differed to the city.
Charter schools are funded with tax dollars but often privately run. As such, any student living within district boundaries takes funding away from the district.
And the amount of money keeps rising even though enrollment has not increased at these charter schools.
Since 2014, the amount the district has sent to these privatized schools has gone up by 88%.
In 2019, the district paid $95,129,023 to charter schools. In the proposed 2020 budget, new district projections put the expenditure at $102,150,444. That's an increase of $7,021,421 in a single year.
So the cost of charter schools is 15% of the entire proposed budget. If it were eliminated, the district wouldn't have a budget deficit at all – it would be running with a dramatic surplus.
And this is money that need not be spent.
Only about 6% of public school students state-wide are enrolled in these schools, and they duplicate services students are already receiving. Yet charter schools provide little value for students.
Nearly every study has found that charter schools do not produce better academic results than authentic public schools – in fact, many drastically underperform their public school counterparts.
For instance, a recent study of charter school students in Pennsylvania conducted by the school privatization friendly Center for Research on EDucation Outcomes (CREDO), found that charter students do about the same on reading exams but score worse in math than students in authentic public schools. The study also found major disparities between charter schools – with cyber charters performing especially poorly.
In addition they have been found to increase racial segregation, cherrypick students, increase administrative overhead and discriminate against students with special needs.
But the state passed a law in 1997 allowing charter schools and there is nothing Pittsburgh Public Schools can do but continue to pay for them.
School directors, administrators, teachers, students, parents and concerned citizens can lobby their representatives in Harrisburg to fix these problems, but until they do there is little local districts can do.
However, the fact that charter schools increase local taxes is beyond doubt.
According to a recent report by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), state charter schools are growing at a rate of 10 percent a year. The PASBO calculates at least 37 cents of every new dollar of property taxes in the fiscal year 2017-2018 went right to charters. And that percentage is only expected to grow.
RETIREMENT COSTS
Another large expenditure beyond the district's control is retirement costs.
In 2019, the district spent $73,769,809 on contributions to the Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS). In 2020, that number is expected to increase to $76,770,577. That's an increase of $3,000,768.
Because our state lawmakers were fiscally irresponsible.
Basically, the legislature stopped paying the bills for nearly two decades.
The state government, local school districts and commonwealth employees are responsible for paying into the pension system. Districts and state workers made all their payments. Employees put aside 7.5% of their salaries every year to pay for their retirement.
But the legislature didn't make its payments. It pushed them off to the future, and now that the future's here, a larger percentage of the cost has fallen on local school districts.
It's a problem of Harrisburg's making and – frankly – the legislature should be buckling down to find a solution.
But instead they're planning on the cynical assumption that voters are too stupid to understand it all and will just blame public school employees for demanding what we promised them when they were hired. The legislature has continuously reduced benefits for future employees and tried to illegally cut benefits for current ones.
What they should do is increase taxes on the wealthy and pay their damn bills.
We had a contract with employees when they were hired. We can't renege on it now that they've retired.
Once again this is something Pittsburgh Public school directors and administrators have no control over. It will take a combined effort by local communities across the Commonwealth to lobby Harrisburg to get off its ass and fix the problem it made.
MAYOR PEDUTO
The final factor behind the proposed tax increase is Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.
When the city was on the verge of financial collapse 15 years ago, the school district agreed to help by diverting a portion of its tax revenue to the city.
Now that the city is out of financial distress (and has been since 2018), Dr. Hamlet has suggested the city should return that money – not back payments, just stop taking the additional tax revenue. Administrators estimate that would bring in another $20 million for the city school district.
It wouldn't heal the budget shortfall all by itself, but it would certainly help.
However, Peduto has furiously raged that he would not support such a measure and would fight it in Harrisburg.
Frankly, it's a real dick move.
When asked about it he deflects to criticisms of the Hamlet administration that really have nothing to do with anything.
It's really a simple matter. The schools lent the city money when it was in distress. The city is no longer in distress, so it should stop taking that additional money.
The first thing that has to be done is for Pittsburgh Public School directors to put on their grown up pants and raise taxes.
Look, I get it. No one wants to raise millage. But sometimes being an adult means doing things you don't want to do.
And frankly, it's not really that hard a call.
Pittsburgh Public Schools has the lowest tax rate in Allegheny County at only 9.84 mills. Most suburban districts range from 12 to 31 mils.
The proposed tax increase would mean paying an additional $23 for a property valued at $100,000.
This is not an unbearable burden.
Some complain that it would push city residents to move – but really anywhere else you move will have higher taxes! Anyone who packs up and moves away will not be doing it for financial reasons.
According to the district's own Website, 67% of its students are non-white. Only 33% are white, with 53% African American and 14% other races.
Anyone complaining about money being spent on district students is upset about money being spent on THOSE KIDS. Just as so many of the criticisms of Dr. Hamlet, who is black, come down to an inability to accept a person of color in a position of power – especially if he isn't going to simply give in to corporate interests looking to pick the district dry.
The fact is the majority of district students live in poverty. Though enrollment has gone down, that has allowed per pupil expenditures to increase and help heal the trauma of penury.
These kids need smaller class sizes, more tutoring, librarians, counselors, wider curriculum, etc. The money being spent on them is not wasted. In fact, in a perfect world it would be increased. We need to spend MORE on our poorest students than our most privileged ones to help them catch up.
I am thankful that board members Veronica Edwards, Pam Harbin, Devon Taliaferro, and Sylvia Wilson understood that by voting for both the proposed budget and the tax increase.
Kevin Carter, at least approved the spending plan, but he abstained from voting on whether the district should raise taxes, explaining later that he promised his constituents that was something he wouldn't do.
Board members Cindy Falls, Bill Gallagher, Terry Kennedy, and Sala Udin voted against both measures.
Here's hoping they find the courage to do what's right after the holidays.
But even if they do, there is much more we must accomplish – and it requires everyone.
City residents need to rise up and demand their representatives put out the raging dumpster fires they keep lighting.
We need a state legislature willing to take on the charter school industry and at very least stop making it compete with authentic public schools for funding.
We need lawmakers willing to make the wealthy pay their fair share so the rest of us get the civil society we deserve – and that includes paying for the pension obligations we've already incurred.
And Pittsburgh needs a mayor who isn't going to rage and foam at the prospect of FairPlay and will return the money Pittsburgh Public lent to the city.
Like this post? I've written a book, "Gadfly on the Wall: A Public School Teacher Speaks Out on Racism and Reform," now available from Garn Press. Ten percent of the proceeds go to the Badass Teachers Association. Check it out!
Pittsburgh Mayor's Tantrum About School Finances Proves He Doesn't Understand Education or Equity
November 17, 2019 November 17, 2019 stevenmsinger A+ Schools, Accountability, Budget, capitalism, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Corporate Education "Reform", Credibility, Data, Democrat, Education, Election, Harrisburg, history, Labor, Local Control, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, Poverty, Prejudice, privatization, Propaganda, School Funding, school segregation, Schools, segregation, Social Justice, Students, Taxation, Teachers, Unions	Anthony Hamlet, Bill Peduto, Budget, charter schools, education, finances, Local Control, Mayor, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, public schools, school board, Taxation
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is steaming mad and he doesn't care who knows it.
On Tuesday he raved that Pittsburgh Public Schools' finances should be taken over by the state – the same fate the city had suffered during its own economic troubles from 2004-18.
The reason Peduto thinks the school should submit to a financial recovery plan overseen by a state appointed board? School Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet is proposing a 2.3% tax increase in 2020 for a reserve fund while Peduto's municipal government allegedly is managing with a surplus.
If the city can manage its finances without a tax increase, wonders Peduto, why can't the school district?
However, the Mayor's narrative conveniently leaves out a few pertinent facts.
Most importantly – during the city's economic trouble 14 years ago, Pittsburgh Public Schools gave a portion of their tax revenue to the municipal government to help it pay the bills.
Now that the city is doing better, school officials are suggesting Peduto should give that tax revenue back to the schools. And that suggestion infuriates the mayor.
In addition, it's not true that Pittsburgh's 2020 budget includes no tax increase.
The city is raising taxes by about 6% to pay for upkeep at its parks. However, since this tax is the result of a referendum approved by the voters, it is being spun as a "no new taxes" budget.
The city has a surplus due to construction of new high-end apartments. City Council could have budgeted some of this money to pay for the parks. Instead, leaders like Peduto were too cowardly to take the blame, themselves, and put it out as a question to voters.
It is entirely unfair to criticize Pittsburgh Public Schools for raising taxes a smaller degree (2.3%) than the city is (6%).
Both entities spend about the same amount annually. In 2020, the city has a proposed $608 million budget, and the schools have a proposed $665.6 million budget.
Moreover, there is nothing unfair about school officials asking for the tax revenue back from the city that they generously offered it when the municipality was in need.
Now that the city is out of peril (and has been since 2018), it should pay back that money. To be honest, it should do so with 14 years worth of interest – but no one is suggesting that.
At least it is time for Pittsburgh to stop leeching off its schools and give this revenue back.
The fact that Peduto is whining about something so obviously fair and equitable makes him look like a spoiled child.
The same goes for his suggestion of state takeover of district finances.
Pittsburgh Public Schools already is audited by the state every year. It is not on the state watchlist for districts in financial distress.
District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said, "There have been no significant issues raised related to how the district conducts its finances."
Peduto just wants the schools to have to endure the same indignity the city did thereby putting municipal leaders in a better light.
After all, it was the school district which helped the city – not the other way round. And it was the city that needed the state to take over its finances, not the schools.
It was Pittsburgh Public School's Chief Financial Officer Ronald Joseph who explicitly proposed a take-back of wage tax revenue that was diverted to the city in 2005.
City residents pay a 3% wage tax. Of this money, originally 2% went to the schools and 1% to the city.
When the city was placed under Act 47 state oversight, the formula was changed to give a quarter percent more to the city from the school's allotment – thus 1.75% went to the schools and 1.25% went to the city.
Pittsburgh left Act 47 in 2018 but the wage tax distribution has remained the same.
"Why in the heck can't the school board balance their budget?" Peduto said. "Where is all this money going?"
Answer: Some of it is still going unnecessarily to fill your municipal coffers.
Peduto added:
"If they are looking to have part of the city's wage tax, then they should be willing to open the books and let the state come in and do exactly what we had to do through Act 47, which was difficult restructuring for the future. If we didn't have that, the city would be bankrupt."
So let me get this straight. In order to give back the revenue the schools generously loaned the city, you need a look at their finances? I sure wouldn't lend you a dollar or else I'd have to show you my tax returns and checking account just to get the loan repaid.
Peduto went on:
"If they simply say, 'We're going to take your revenue to fix our hole,' and not be the leaders that they were elected to be in making tough decisions like raising taxes, then I have no time for that, absolutely none, and I will fight them in Harrisburg."
How generous! That's like threatening to go to Mom and Dad to settle your dispute. A real leader would know he was in the wrong and just pay up.
This isn't the first time Peduto has clashed with city schools.
He seems to think his role as mayor supersedes that of the school district which operates independently through an elected nine-member board.
He said as much in 2018 when district negotiations with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT) threatened to spill over into the first teachers strike in more than 40 years.
Peduto wanted to mediate between the teachers and school administrators – a measure Dr. Hamlet patently refused.
Peduto said:
"They have to remember they're a board. They're not a government. They're no different than the water board or the Port Authority board or the airport board. They're a board of education. Their job should be solely making sure that kids are getting a good education. When there becomes labor strife in the city, labor strife that could affect the economic development of the city for years to come, they need to move out of the way and let [elected] leaders lead."
Dr, Hamlet said this was a "bargaining process, not a political" one, and that Peduto needed to let administration continue the process of bargaining with the teachers – a process that resulted in a new contract without a strike.
The relationship has been chilly even before Hamlet was hired in 2016.
In a community where district funding is constantly at risk from unregulated and unaccountable charter schools, Peduto actually presided over a 2014 ribbon cutting ceremony at the Hill House Passport Academy Charter School.
Charter school costs are one of the largest expenses the district pays annually.
According to PennLive.com, the district paid $79 million (or about 12% of its budget) in 2017-18 to these institutions which are funded with public tax dollars but privately run.
Like many charter schools, the Hill District institution is incredibly segregated. According to ProPublica, 96% of students are children of color. It has no gifted program, offers no AP courses, has no students taking the SAT or ACT test, no calculus classes, no advanced math, no physics, geometry, chemistry or 8th grade algebra courses.
In short, this is not the type of school the mayor of a major metropolitan center should be promoting.
And Peduto would know that if he had any knowledge of how school systems actually work. Before entering city politics, the Democrat ran a consulting business and served as Chief of Staff to City Councilman Dan Cohen.
Since his first successful campaign for mayor in 2013, Peduto has had a history of making bold promises to the Pittsburgh Public Schools that have not always come to fruition.
Peduto said he would lobby for additional funding for city schools in Harrisburg but district solicitor Ira Weiss said the mayor never followed through.
Peduto proposed increasing school revenue by helping to rent out unused school space. That hasn't happened, either, said Weiss.
Peduto suggested increasing student after school programs by working together with the district and others like the YMCA and the Student Conservation Association. While a few such programs do exist, there is no broad collaboration, said Errika Fearby Jones, the executive director of Dr. Hamlet's office.
Peduto's summer reading program with the city and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh likewise never materialized – though the library runs its own program.
Moreover, Peduto's plan to restart the Generations Together program with the University of Pittsburgh to promote cross-generational learning never happened either. Pitt shut down the program in 2002.
Curtiss Porter, who served as Peduto's chief education and neighborhood reinvestment officer during the first year of his administration, blames the problem on a disagreement about who should be in charge.
The city and school district had a good working relationship when he was there, he said, but there was "a clear demarcation" between the two bodies, which made it difficult to implement some of Peduto's ideas.
"At critical junctures…the school district made it clear that they were willing partners but that they did not have to bow to the city," he said. "[They] made it clear the city had no jurisdiction over education."
And that disconnect appears to continue today.
Peduto is engaged in an ignorant and arrogant power struggle with city schools that helps no one.
Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests
May 14, 2019 May 14, 2019 stevenmsinger Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Campaign Donations, Charter Schools, Corporate Education "Reform", Data, Democrat, Education, Journalism, Labor, Learning, Local Control, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, privatization, School Choice, school closings, School Funding, School to Prison Pipeline, school vouchers, Schools, Social Justice, Students, Taxation, Teachers, Unions, voting	Anna Batista, bribery, Campaign finance, education, Election, Local Control, Pam Harbin, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, Privatize, school board, Tax Credits, tax cuts, Taxation
"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
-George Washington
Anna Batista, a corporate consultant at Highstreet Consulting running for Pittsburgh School Board, is taking thousands of dollars in donations from big money interests.
A quick look at campaign finance reports on Allegheny County's Website shows Batista took beaucoup bucks from school privatization lobbyists, real estate developers, lawyers, and financial advisors.
Meanwhile, her opponent Pam Harbin, a public school watchdog, is supported almost exclusively by grassroots donations.
Both candidates are running for District 4, which serves parts of Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Shadyside and North Oakland. Since they've cross filed and will appear on both the Republican and Democratic primary ballots, the seat should be decided in the May 21 primary.
Batista and Harbin have raised similar amounts for their campaigns. Harbin has $33,412.95 while Batista has $32,414.
Batista has support from at least two troubling industries – school privatizers and corporate crusaders – which are nowhere to be seen in her opponents financials.
Particularly troubling to me are the charter school and voucher advocates.
Someone shouldn't be running for a public school board with backing from the same vultures demanding public schools be dismantled and their assets and funding siphoned away to private industry. Charter schools cost the Pittsburgh Public district more than $85 million per year in tuition payments. While the district has no plans to open new public schools, it is forced to open new charter schools every time one of these publicly financed but privately run institutions appeals to the state Charter Appeal Board, further draining resources away from remaining public schools.
In fact, Batista is using "Students First" as a title on her campaign mailers. This is the name of a well-known school privatization group founded by infamous public school saboteur Michelle Rhee. The education justice movement across the country and here in Pittsburgh has been fighting Students First for years. They are infamous for dumping money into Pennsylvania politics to back legislators friendly to school privatization. No one who is serious about education justice would use this title: either Batista does not know about Students First, she knows and doesn't care, or she is being intentional in signaling to privatizers that she is on their side.
Students First merged with 50CAN, a national group focused on vouchers and school privatization that grew out of ConCAN, started by Connecticut hedge fund managers. Betsy DeVos, now U.S. Secretary of Education, praised the merger and has done similar work for years through her own organization with the same privatization agenda. Here in Pennsylvania, the local branch is PennCAN. Their director, who also sits on the board of a local charter school asking for approval to set up shop in Pittsburgh, is one of Batista's donors.
The largest donations are noted below. Chief among these are:
-Rachel Amankulor, PennCAN and Catalyst Charter School board member. (Pittsburgh Public School Board denied Catalyst's application citing problems with its plan to accommodate students with disabilities, among other issues, but the state Charter Appeal Board overturned the board's decision and the case may now go to Pennsylvania Supreme Court.)
-Catherine Axtman, spouse of William Axtman who sits on the Propel Charter School Board
-Kirk Burkley ($500) and Robert Bernstein ($250), of Bernstein- Burkley, a Pittsburgh law firm specializing in Business Law, Creditors Rights, Oil & Gas, Bankruptcy, & Real Estate. (Burkley ran against school board member Lynda Wrenn in 2015 – a race fought in large part around privatization issues!)
-Allison McCarthy, Vice President of Teach for America; Catalyst Charter School Board Member; and Broad Academy graduate (Eli Broad is a major privatizer who started the Broad Academy of which Devos is a graduate.)
-Nathaniel Yap, spouse of Brian Smith, Catalyst Charter Founder and CEO ($1,000)
And then we come to the big business partisans.
Many of these advocate for tax deferment programs to entice businesses into the Pittsburgh area on the condition that they are allowed to escape paying taxes or pay at a reduced rate for a certain number of years. Programs such as Tax Incremental Financing (TIFs) put a heavier burden on the schools than other public resources. They cost the school district 50% as opposed to the county and city, which only lose 25% of their owed taxes each.
Local politicians like County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto – though Democrats – are chief advocates of these types of neoliberal, business friendly programs. While the city and county have nothing to do with Pittsburgh Public Schools, they do often expect the School Board to rubber stamp TIFs. The School Board is an independent taxing body, but they are rarely brought to the table at the beginning of the process.
Corporate donors include:
-Friends of Rich Fitzgerald ($500)
-People for Bill Peduto ($2,000)
-Gregg Perelmann, Walnut Capital ($1,000)
-Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital (Developers of Bakery Square and other projects that have received a number of TIFs)
-Helen Casey, CEO of Howard Hanna
-John Katz, Brandywine Agency ($1,000 plus in-kind) (His office in the Squirrel Hill business district is worth thousands)
-Paul Katz, Brandywine Agency ($250)
-Patricia Katz, Brandywine Agency ($1,000)
-Rod Werstil, McKinney Properties ($500)
-Kevin McKeegan, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP (Pittsburgh Real Estate Law)
-Luke Meyers, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (New York Real Estate Law)
-Nancy Finkelstein, Schulte Roth & Zabel (Finkelstein's Linkedin Profile includes this quote: "I have concentrated my practice on representing private equity funds, investment banks, hedge funds, financial institutions, finance companies and high-net-worth individuals in a wide variety of transactions, including financings, debt restructurings, leveraged acquisitions, and collateralized loan facilities.")
-Steven Massey, Federated Investors
-Richard Lerach, Gateway Financial
-William Sheridan, Reed Smith LLP ("Represented managed care defendants in obtaining dismissal of antitrust conspiracy and monopolization claims.")
All of this is truly troubling for someone running to serve as a school board director.
Compare Batista's financials with that of her opponent Harbin.
In at least two instances, Harbin won endorsements and donations from organizations Batista had been courting.
Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers gave Harbin $5,000 instead of Batista.
Likewise, Unite! Pittsburgh gave Harbin $1,500 over Batista. This is State Rep. Summer Lee's PAC. The organization supports candidates running on a criminal justice slate who are committed to ending the school-to-prison, poverty-to-prison, and addiction-to-prison pipelines.
Other notable donations to Harbin's campaign include:
-Women for the Future Pittsburgh ($500)
-Friends of Chelsea Wagner ($500) (Wagner is Allegheny County Controller and one of the founders of Women for the Future Pittsburgh)
-Michael Fine ($2,800) physician for the Veterans Administration
-Kathy Fine ($2,800) Michael's wife and long-time education justice activist who fought against the closing of Pittsburgh's Schenley High School.
-Nancy Bernstein ($1,000) J Street Board Member (J Street organizes and mobilizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want Israel to be secure and democratic.)
These are exactly the kind of donations you'd expect from a grassroots candidate – labor unions, progressive political promoters and activists.
Full disclosure: Though I live just outside of the Pittsburgh area, I am not unbiased in this race. I consider Harbin a friend and fully support her run for school board.
However, the donations outlined in this article are all facts. Feel free to go to the county Website and see for yourself.
Our children deserve better than Batista – a school director in the employ of the same forces out to sabotage education and pick the remains clean for their own individual ends.
Call me crazy, but I think children should be an end in themselves.
School board candidates who put themselves up for sale like Batista don't deserve your vote. They've already sold theirs to the highest bidder.
Let Voters Fix Harrisburg School Board – Not State Takeover
April 29, 2019 stevenmsinger Accountability, Civil Rights, Corporate Education "Reform", Democrat, Education, Election, Harissburg, Labor, Learning, Local Control, Parents, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Politics, Poverty, Prejudice, Republican, Schools, Standardized Testing, Students, Teachers, Unions, voting	community, corruption, Democracy, Harissburg, Local Control, Pennsylvania, Poverty, school board, school funding, school takeover, Students, teachers, voting
Pushing the self-destruct button is the ultimate measure of last resort.
But that's how several Pennsylvania lawmakers are suggesting we fix the dysfunctional Harrisburg School Board.
An election that could oust most of the very school directors responsible for the district's troubles is less than a month away. But Democratic Representative Patty Kim, Republican Senator John DiSanto and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse all say we shouldn't wait – The state should takeover the Harrisburg School District immediately.
This would effectively destroy all democratic government in a district located in the state capital.
While senators and representatives from all over the Commonwealth work to enact the will of their constituents from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, residents at city schools a few miles away would be robbed of their own voices.
Under state law, if the district were put into receivership, a court-appointed receiver would assume all the functions of a locally elected school board, except the power to raise and levy taxes. This appointee would effectively take charge of the district's personnel and finances.
Oversight and public input essentially would be repealed. The receiver could do whatever he or she liked and there's little anyone could do about it.
It's a bad idea anywhere, though one can understand why state lawmakers have suggested it here.
Harrisburg Schools are a mess, and it's largely because of the inept leadership of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and five of the nine-member school board who consistently support her every move.
Declining academic performance, high teacher turnover rates, and poor fiscal management – all are hallmarks of the way Harrisburg schools have been run.
The state even suspended more than $10 million in funding to the district after the board voted not to cooperate with an audit requested because of allegations administration had mismanaged federal grant funds.
But the district's problems begin before the school board even enters into the picture.
Like nearly every urban district in the Commonwealth, Harrisburg has a history of being neglected and underfunded. One estimate puts the Harrisburg shortfall between $35 million and $38 million a year.
That's why the district is already under a state-mandated recovery plan. It serves a poor community whose tax base simply cannot support the needs of its own children. Like other impoverished schools, the administration and board are required to work with a recovery officer.
This recovery plan has not miraculously fixed the district's problems. It's magical thinking to suppose that a court-appointed receiver would do any better.
If the state wants to help, it should provide equitable and sustainable funding. However, it is completely reasonable that state lawmakers wait until responsible adults have taken back the school board first.
A citizen-led school reform group called CATCH (Concerned About the Children of Harrisburg) has been pushing to oust the incumbents who have consistently supported the administration's disastrous decisions, most of whom are up for re-election.
There are nine board members. Five invariably vote with the administration: Danielle Robinson, Ellis Roy, Lola Lawson, Patricia Whitehead-Myers, and Lionel Gonzalez.
Three unfailingly vote against the administration: Brian Carter, Judd Pittman and Carrie Fowler. There is one wild card: Joseph Brown, who was just appointed to take a vacant seat on the board this month and has mostly abstained from voting.
Of these, Brown and all of those supporting the administration but Robinson are up for re-election.
To flip these seats on the board CATCH is pushing for Gerald Welch, Doug Thomson-Leader, Steven Williams, and Jayne Buchwach. The local teachers union, the Harrisburg Education Association (HEA), and the local chapter of The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) endorsed all of them and an additional one – James Thompson.
If even two of the newcomers are elected, that will shift the balance of power away from those who have enabled an administration infamous for irresponsible errors and neglect purchased at the expense of personal favors to weak willed school directors.
This includes an accounting error that kept 54 former employees on its healthcare plan, an investigation into improper grading allegations at one of its high schools, rapid teacher turnover, and falling student test scores. Administrators haven't even presented a budget for the 2019-20 school year yet!
Meanwhile, this same quintet of school directors rewarded administration by reappointed Superintendent Knight-Burney last spring, hiring controversial attorney James Ellison as solicitor despite a record of fraud, lawsuits and delinquent taxes, and three times refused to fill Melvin Wilson's vacant board seat with a candidate who had broad public support and instead punted the decision to the courts.
Despite an almost laughable record of corruption in the district, voters have a chance to change course in less than a month.
All of the reform candidates are Democrats so the matter could be settled by the May 21 primary.
It would be beyond absurd for the state to step in and deny the public the right to correct its own ship.
However, though new candidates could be elected in a matter of weeks, they wouldn't be sworn in until December. So even under the best of circumstances, city schools would remain under the dysfunctional board for the foreseeable future.
That's not good. There's a lot of damage a lame duck board could do in that time. However, the alternative of receivership is worse.
Once you take away a school district's right to govern itself, it's hard to get it back again. Plus there is no guarantee that appointed bureaucrats will do a better job. In fact, they rarely do.
Education Secretary Pedro Rivera has remained silent on the issue of receivership. But in a recent statement he said his department "will consider all actions allowable by law" to guide the district through a financial recovery plan.
Here's hoping that democracy is allowed to flourish in the capital of Pennsylvania.
Pam Harbin Wants to Go From Pittsburgh School Board Watchdog to School Board Member
March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 stevenmsinger Accountability, bloggers, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Compassion, Corporate Education "Reform", Democrat, Education, Election, Feminism, Labor, Learning, LGBT, Local Control, Network for Public Education, Parents, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, Prejudice, privatization, school closings, School Funding, School to Prison Pipeline, school vouchers, Schools, small class size, Social Justice, Special Education, Standardized Testing, Students, Teach for America, Teachers, Unions, voting	Allegheny County, Allegheny County Democratic Committee, education, Education Rights Network, Election, Evolve Coaching, Great Public Schools-Pittsburgh, Journey for Justice, Local Task Force on the Right to Education, Network for Public Education, One Pennsvlvania, Pam Harbin, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, school board, teachers, voting
My friend Pam Harbin is trying to undergo a startling metamorphosis.
She wants to transform from an education activist into a Pittsburgh School Director.
Now that Board President Lynda Wrenn is stepping down after 4 years, city voters in District 4 will have to decide whether Harbin can make the change. The election is on May 21.
Residents in parts of Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Shadyside and North Oakland already know Harbin as a fierce warrior for children's civil rights, the plight of disabled kids and authentic public schools.
I've known Pam, personally, for years in my own role as an education activist. Though I don't live in the city, I've participated in numerous collective actions to fight for the schools all our children deserve. And right beside me in every case – often in front of me – was Pam.
I may not live in the district, but I wish I could vote for her. Harbin is an amazing leader with boundless energy, piercing intelligence, a deep knowledge of education policy, an advanced degree in finance and marketing, and an impressive track record of education justice achievements.
"I am deeply concerned for our system of public education," she says. "The status quo isn't working for all children. Thankfully, there are many people here in Pittsburgh and across the country who are fighting for investment in, and transformation of, our public schools. Unfortunately, their efforts are hindered by the well-funded organizations who fight for public school disinvestment, privatization, and for the elimination of teachers' right to unionize."
For the past 12 years, Harbin has been at the forefront of every major battle for the future of Pittsburgh's public schools and the rights of its students.
Harbin was instrumental in pushing city school board directors to enact a suspension ban from Pk-2nd grade for minor non-violent conduct. She successfully fought to stop the district from implementing a physical restraint protocol that wasn't trauma informed. She successfully fought against a policy that would have allowed school police officers to carry guns. She supported a successful Sanctuary Schools Policy for immigrant students. She also supported changes to the districts policies that would better welcome and include Pittsburgh's LGBTQ students, including a change that allows students to use the bathroom that best fits their own gender identity.
Harbin and her coalition of local activists even made national news when they stopped the district from contracting with Teach for America, stopped the closing of 10 schools (after 23 were previously closed), pushed the board to hire a new Superintendent using an inclusive process that relied heavily on community input, and led the fight for a Community School Policy and the creation of 8 Community Schools.
Harbin has two challengers in the election: Anna Batista, a corporate consultant at Highstreet Consulting and Ashley Priore, a 19-year-old first year student at the University of Pittsburgh studying Business and English, who started a successful after school chess program for girls.
But despite facing a crowded field, Harbin has earned every organizational endorsement she has sought thus far, including the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, the Young Democrats of Allegheny County, the Stonewall Democrats and the Network for Public Education—an organization that frequently reposts my own writing as an education blogger and which is on the frontlines of education justice nationwide.
Harbin is one of the most experienced education leaders ever to run for school board in the city. She co-founded the Education Rights Network (ERN), a parent-led organization working for fully resourced, inclusive and quality education for students throughout Pennsylvania. The ERN is part of One Pennsylvania, an organization that unites low income and working class activists to tackle the fundamental economic justice and political problems of local communities.
"Our members are workers, students, parents, seniors, people with disabilities, and retirees who are excited to learn, collaborate, and build power," she says. "We follow the money, confront the power, and make the change."
ERN is a member of Great Public Schools Pittsburgh, a coalition of community, faith, and labor organizations working together to create sustainable public schools in Pittsburgh—an alliance which Harbin also helped to found in 2013. Great Public Schools is affiliated on the national level with the Journey for Justice Alliance, the Dignity in Schools Campaign, and the Alliance to Reclaim our Schools.
Harbin is also a member and past Co-Chair of the Pittsburgh Local Task Force on the Right to Education (LTF), a parent-majority organization that works with administrators of Pittsburgh Public Schools and community agencies to improve services for students with disabilities.
And she serves on the board of directors and was past President of Evolve Coaching (formerly Arts for Autism Foundation of Pittsburgh), supporting individuals with disabilities and their communities through education, employment, and the arts.
No one else in the race—and maybe in the whole city—has a resume like Harbin's.
Harbin believes her years of leadership for and service to Pittsburgh students and families have provided her with the needed foundation for a transition from community leader to school board member. She has attended or streamed more than 2,000 hours of school board meetings. She has served on Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) district-wide advisory committees, including the Community Schools Steering Committee, Envisioning Educational Excellence Advisory Committee, Parental Involvement Policy Committee, Excellence for All Steering Committee, and the Special Education Delivery Model Advisory Committee. And through these many committees and organizations Harbin has helped more than 100 individual families secure an IEP or a 504 plan for their children—in part because she understands better than most the byzantine world of public school special education services.
No one is better suited to this position than Harbin. I literally wish we could clone her and have her fill every vacancy on the board. She is that qualified, that experienced, and that effective.
If this sounds a bit like a love letter, it kind of is.
I have many fond memories of fighting the power alongside Pam Harbin. I remember organizing events through Yinzercation with Pam, even canvasing local candidates door-to-door with her and my (then) 9-year-old daughter. No matter what, you could always count on Pam to be there for children.
"When our public schools are strong, our children and community thrive," she says. "We have many great Pittsburgh Public Schools, teachers, and programs. But, in each school, there are children who can't excel because their individual needs have not been met. We must do better."
"We must remove the barriers that keep all of our children from fulfilling their dreams. This requires transformational, sustainable change in policy and practice at the local, state, and national level."
If anyone can make that change happen, it's Harbin. As someone who has a degree in finance, who is an experienced negotiator and a proven coalition builder, she is uniquely qualified to do so from within the board as she has been successful doing so from outside of it.
She has an ambitious set of goals and priorities if elected:
-Strengthening relationships between all stake-holders with an emphasis on child wellness.
-Defining success beyond standardized test scores to include authentic education practices, addressing trauma, disengagement, hunger, the quality of school food programs, the condition of our buildings and bathrooms, and children's need for exercise and play.
-Achieving smaller class sizes and a smaller ratio of kids to adults in each building with more teachers, counselors, social workers, paraprofessionals, nurses, librarians, and other staff that keeps the building functioning at its best.
-Restoring funding to art, music, physical education, and other programming that keep kids wanting to come to school.
-Stopping criminalization and over-policing of students, and stopping the use of ineffective punishments that keep children away from their learning and put them on the track to drop out, to jail, and to poverty.
-Intentionally recruiting, retaining, and supporting educators of color and those who identify as LGBTQ.
-Working to make teacher mentoring, new teacher induction, and professional development better to make the very best use of teachers' time and address key gaps in preparation to teach the wide spectrum of students in the district.
-Making teacher evaluation fair and consistent, not based solely on test scores or value added models.
-Ensuring teachers (and all school staff) are well paid, treated fairly, and valued for the critical work they do for children every day.
-Protecting collective bargaining rights so teachers (and all staff) have a voice to improve their schools – because teaching conditions are students' learning conditions.
-Investing in the proven Community Schools model and work collaboratively with community partners to bring resources to each school.
-Working at the state level to force our legislators to finally provide adequate, equitable, and sustainable funding for public education and stop efforts to dismantle public education through vouchers and other privatization schemes.
-Building coalitions to improve the flawed state Charter School Law – Charter Schools must have more accountability for the delivery of education to all students, including disabled children, English Language Learners, and kids who are homeless or who are in foster care.
I could literally go on about Pam for another 10,000 words. Easy.
But let me close with this.
Harbin began her journey as an education leader when she started advocating for her own children at their first elementary school—Liberty elementary in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. She found that she could make a difference for a few children at a time by throwing herself into volunteer work at the school.
But then she realized that if she wanted to make a difference for more than just a few children that she needed to work with others. Indeed, to do this work effectively Pam has had to work with people of different backgrounds, races, opinions and ideologies. She has had to listen to others, to compromise, to build bridges, and to prioritize common goals in each of her coalitions. In short, she gets things done.
And she's been doing that for more than a dozen years.
Not because she has no choice. Not because anyone is paying her to do so. Not because doing so is bringing her any riches or fame.
But because it has been the right thing to do.
And that's the best endorsement I can imagine.
NOTE: Special thanks to Professor Kathleen M. Newman who helped edit this article.
Click HERE to join Pam's campaign!
Five Reasons to Vote NO on the Allegheny County Children's Fund
October 18, 2018 October 18, 2018 stevenmsinger Accountability, Budget, capitalism, Charter Schools, Compassion, Corporate Education "Reform", Credibility, Data, Democrat, Education, Election, Labor, Local Control, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Politics, privatization, Propaganda, Republican, School Choice, Schools, Students, Taxation, Teachers, Unions, voting	Allegheny County, Allies for Children, charter schools, Children's Fund, education, Election, Great Public Schools-Pittsburgh, Local Control, nonprofit, Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, philanthrocapitalist, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, public schools, referendum, school board, Taxation, Vote, voting
You can't raise taxes without a plan of how to spend the money.
But that's exactly what voters in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are being asked to approve this Nov. 6.
Come election day, all voters in Allegheny County will be confronted with what's been called the Children's Fund, a referendum asking for a voluntary 5% property tax hike that allegedly would go to pay for early learning, after-school programs and healthy meals for kids.
But there are no details about who will provide these services, who will be responsible for the money, exactly what else the money might be used for or almost anything substantive about it.
It's just a check with "For Kids" scrawled in the Memo and everything else left blank.
The plan is highly controversial drawing criticism from across the Mon Valley including school directors, education advocates and even progressive groups like the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN).
Here are the top five reasons you should vote NO on the referendum:
1) It Raises Taxes Without Stipulating Where the Money Goes
Here's what we do know.
The Children's Fund would be financed by 0.25 mills of property tax — $25 on each $100,000 of assessed value, beginning Jan. 1.
That's expected to generate roughly $18 million a year that would begin to be distributed in 2020.
If approved, it would change the county Home Rule Charter to establish the fund as part of county government. It would create a new office under the supervision of the county manager.
A Citizens' Advisory Commission would "review and advise" the work of the new office, according to the proposed charter amendment.
However, County Council and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald would have to do the work of actually creating all this stuff. They'd have to pass an ordinance establishing how this all works, what powers the advisory commission has, etc. They would have to determine whether the money goes to existing programs or new ones. They'd have to set up audits of the money every five years, conduct a study to recommend goals and a focus for how the funding is spent.
That's an awful lot left undecided.
It makes no sense for voters to hand over the money BEFORE we figure all this other stuff out.
It's not at all how good government works.
You're supposed to define a problem or need and then come up with a plan to meet that need. You prepare a budget that justifies raising taxes and then you vote on it.
This is exactly the opposite. We're getting the money before the plan of how to spend it.
That's a recipe for fraud and financial mismanagement.
2) It's Unclear Who Would Be In Charge of the Money
Who would be accountable for this money?
We know who gets to decide this – County Council and the Chief Executive. But we don't know who they will pick or what powers they'll delegate to these people. Nor do we know what kind of oversight there will be or what kind of regulations will exist for how it can be spent.
This is a blind statement of trust.
It's like saying – "Here's $18 million. Go buy us something nice."
What if they mismanage the money? And what would that even mean for money with so few strings attached? And how would we know? How transparent would this process be?
It's kind of hard to approve such a plan with so many variables up in the air.
3) The Campaign was Not Grass Roots
To hear supporters talk, you'd think this was a bottom up crusade created by, organized by and conducted by everyday citizens from our communities.
Sure, volunteers for the Children's Fund went door-to-door to collect more than 40,000 signatures from voters last summer.
But they weren't all volunteers.
Financial documents show that the whole initiative has been funded by various nonprofit organizations that could, themselves, become beneficiaries of this same fund.
According to the Children's Fund's own campaign finance report, as of June there were three nonprofit corporations who donated $427,000 to the campaign: the Human Services Center of Turtle Creek gave $160,000, Pressley Ridge Foundation gave $150,000, and Allies for Children gave a donation of $45,000 and another for $72,000.
That's like McDonalds spending a hundred thousand dollars to fix up the school cafeterias so it could land a multi-million dollar annual contract!
It's a huge conflict of interest.
At very least, it's purposefully misleading.
Many of those "volunteers" gathering signatures weren't working for free. They were part of the $100,000 spent by the campaign to hire Vote Goal Organizing for paid signature collectors.
That doesn't look like charity. It looks like philanthrocapitalism – when corporations try to disguise grabs for power and profit as philanthropy.
Corporations – even so-called nonprofit corporations – rarely do things out of sheer goodness. They're acting in the best interest of the company.
I see no reason to think this "Children's Fund" is any different.
4) It Works Around Instead of With Local Government
Though almost everyone agrees with the stated goals of the Children's Fund, many organizations and government officials complained that they were not consulted and made a part of the process.
Two Pittsburgh Public School directors went on record in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about a lack of communication.
"First and foremost, we have not had any conversations with the organizers of the referendum," board president Regina Holley said. "There are lots of ifs and whats that have not been answered."
Kevin Carter, another city school director added, "In my role as a school board member, they didn't talk to us about this at all."
"When you leave your largest school district in the region out of this conversation, are you doing this around children?" he asked, citing that the district serves 25,000 students daily.
This has been a common thread among officials. No one wants to say they're against collecting money that's ostensibly for the benefit of children, but it's hard to manage the money if you're not part of the process.
And it's not just protocol. Many are worried that this lack of communication may be emblematic of how the fund will be run. If organizers aren't willing to work with local governments to get the job done, how will they know what each community needs? How will they meet those needs? Is that even what the fund will really be about?
Richard Livingston, Clairton school board president, noted concern that the money collected might not be spent evenly throughout the county. For all he knows, it could just be spent in the city or in select areas.
Indeed, this is not the best way to start any endeavor funded by all, for the benefit of all children.
5) It's Redundant
While it's true that the county could use more funding to meet the needs of students, numerous organizations already exist that attempt to provide these services.
There are a plethora of Pre-K, after school tutoring and meal services in the Mon Valley. In fact, much of this is done at the county's various neighborhood schools.
If organizers were only concerned with meeting these needs, why form an office within county government that would have an appointed advisory commission? Why not just increase the funding at the local schools and/or organizations already doing this work?
In fact, this is exactly the reason the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network is against the initiative.
According to the organization's statement:
"At PIIN, we believe that the faith community is a sacred partner with our public schools, and we have long been supportive of both the community schools model and increasing state funding to provide an excellent, high-quality education to every child in our region. We believe in funding for early childhood learning, after school programs, and nutritious meals. However, we cannot support a ballot initiative that creates an unnecessary entity, with an unknown advisory board, and an unclear process for directing our tax dollars.
This is why we are urging our membership to reject the Allegheny County Children's Fund Initiative at the polls this November."
Another related organization, Great Public Schools-Pittsburgh, also released a statement with "several specific concerns" about the potential fund. These include how the money would be distributed, which organizations would benefit from it, and questions about its redundancy.
Several pre-K programs already exist but are not fully funded, the organization noted. Why don't we just fund them?
The group is a coalition of the Education Rights Network, One Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, PIIN, and the Service Employees International Union.
The group's statement noted concerns but fell short of urging an outright NO vote.
The bottom line is that many people are concerned about inadequate funding for children's programs.
But this "Children's Fund" is not a solution to that problem.
This is the creation of another bureaucracy that can take our tax dollars and do almost whatever it wants with them.
There is no guarantee it will help kids.
In fact, it looks a lot more like a power and money grab by corporate interests, many of whom would prefer to privatize our school system.
This November, when you go to the polls, do the right thing for our kids.
Vote NO on the Allegheny County Children's Fund.
There is Virtually No Difference Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Charter Schools
September 7, 2018 stevenmsinger Accountability, Bernie Sanders, Betsy DeVos, capitalism, Charter Schools, Corporate Education "Reform", Cyber Charter Schools, Democrat, Donald Trump, Education, Hillary Clinton, Local Control, New Orleans, Obama, Politics, Prejudice, privatization, Propaganda, Republican, School Choice, School Funding, Schools, Students, Teachers	charter schools, fiscal responsability, for-profit, fraud, nonprofit, philanthrocapitalist, Politics, public schools, scam, scandal, school board, School Choice, schools, teachers, teaching
Stop kidding yourself.
Charter schools are a bad deal.
It doesn't matter if they're for-profit or nonprofit.
It doesn't matter if they're cyber or brick-and-mortar institutions.
It doesn't matter if they have a history of scandal or success.
Every single charter school in the United States of America is either a disaster or a disaster waiting to happen.
The details get complicated, but the idea is really quite simple.
It goes like this.
Imagine you left a blank check on the street.
Anyone could pick it up, write it out for whatever amount your bank account could support and rob you blind.
Chances are you'd never know who cashed it, you'd never get that money back and you might even be ruined.
That's what a charter school is – a blank check.
It's literally a privately operated school funded with public tax dollars.
Operators can take almost whatever amount they want, spend it with impunity and never have to submit to any real kind of transparency or accountability.
Compare that to a traditional public school – an institution invariably operated by duly elected members of the community with full transparency and accountability in an open forum where taxpayers have access to internal documents, can have their voices heard and even seek an administrative position.
THAT'S a responsible way to handle public money!
Not forking over our checkbook to virtual strangers!
Sure, they might not steal our every red cent. But an interloper who finds a blank check on the street might not cash it, either.
The particulars don't really matter. This is a situation rife with the possibility of fraud. It is a situation where the deck is stacked against the public in every way and in favor of charter school operators.
But most people don't want to take such a strong stance. They'd rather find good and bad people on both sides and pretend that's the same thing as impartiality.
Sometimes one side is just wrong.
Policymakers may try to feign that there are good and bad charter schools and that the problems I'm talking about only apply to the nefarious ones.
But that's a delusion.
There is no good way to write a blank check and leave it on the street to the whims of passers-by.
Most apologists want to draw the distinction between for-profit and nonprofit charters.
But as Jeff Bryant, an editor at Education Opportunity Network, puts it, this is a "Distinction without a difference."
These terms only define an organization's tax status – not whether it is engaged in gathering large sums of money for investors.
The law is full of loopholes that allow almost any organization – not just charter schools – to claim nonprofit status while enriching those at the top.
We live in an age of philanthrocapitalism, where the wealthy disguise schemes to enrich themselves as benevolence, generosity and humanitarianism.
So-called "nonprofit" charter schools are just an especially egregious example. No matter what label you pin to their name, they all offer multiple means to skim public funding off the top without adding any value for students.
For instance, take the use of management companies.
A for-profit charter school can simply cut services to students and pocket the savings as profit.
A nonprofit charter school can do the same thing after engaging in one additional step.
All I have to do is start a "nonprofit" charter school and then hire a for-profit management company to run it. Then my management company can cut services and pocket the profits!
It's really that simple! I turn over nearly all of my public tax dollars to the management company that then uses it to operate the school – and keeps whatever it doesn't spend.
Heck! It doesn't even matter who owns the company! It could even be me!
The law actually allows me to wear one hat saying I'm nonprofit and then put on a different hat and rake in the cash! The only difference is what hat I'm wearing at the time!
SO I get to claim to be a nonprofit while enjoying all the advantages of being for-profit.
SOURCE: Florida Sun Sentinel
I may even be able to buy things with public tax dollars through my for-profit management company and then if my "nonprofit" school goes belly up, I get to keep everything I bought! Or my management company does.
So the public takes all the risk and I reap all the reward. And I'm still graced with the label "nonprofit."
Oh, and speaking of spending, being a "nonprofit" doesn't stop me from the worst kind of real estate shenanigans routinely practiced by the for-profit charter schools.
Both types of privatized institution allow for huge windfalls in real estate. If I own property X, I can sell it to my charter school (or management company) and then pay myself with tax dollars. Who determines how much I pay for my own property? ME! That's who!
And I can still be a nonprofit.
Think that's bad? It's just the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks to some Clinton-era tax breaks, an investor in a charter school can double the original investment in just seven years!
I can even get the public to pay for the same building twice! And even then taxpayers still won't own it!
But that's the complicated stuff. There's an even easier way to get rich off the public with my "nonprofit" charter school, and operators do it all the time: write myself a fat check!
After all, I've gotta' pay, myself, right? And who's in charge of determining how much I'm worth? ME!
I can even pay myself way more than my counterparts at traditional public schools who oversee exponentially more staff and students.
For instance, as New York City Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza is paid $345,000 to oversee 135,000 employees and 1.1 million students. Meanwhile, as CEO of Success Academy charter school chain, Eva Moskowitz handles a mere 9,000 students, for which she is paid $782,175.
And this is by no way a unique example.
There are just so many ways to cash in with a charter school even at a so-called "nonprofit" – especially if I want to dip my toe into legally dubious waters!
I could do like the almost exclusively "nonprofit" Gulen charter schools and exist solely as a means to raise money for an out-of-favor political movement in Turkey.
I could use charter funds to finance other businesses. I could decide to discontinue programs that students receive in traditional public schools such as providing free or reduced lunches but keep the cash. I could fake enrollment and have classes full of "ghost students" that the local, state and federal government will pay me to educate.
Fraud and mismanagement are rampant at charter schools because we don't require them to be as accountable as their traditional public school counterparts.
If a traditional public school tried this chicanery, we'd almost certainly catch it at the monthly meetings or frequent audits. But charter schools don't have to submit to any of that. They're public money spent behind closed doors with little to no requirement to explain themselves – ever.
And all of this – nearly every bit of criticism I've leveled against the industry – doesn't even begin to take into account the educational practices at these types of schools.
There is plenty of evidence that charters provide a comparable or worse education than children routinely receive at traditional public schools.
Where it is comparable, the issue is clouded by selective enrollment, inadequately servicing students with special needs and generally encouraging the hardest to teach to get an education elsewhere. Where it is worse, it is colossally worse, robbing children not just of funding but what is likely their only chance at an education.
But we don't even need to go there.
We only need the issue of fiscal responsibility to bring down this behemoth.
Charter schools are no way to run a school. They are a blatant failure to meet our fiduciary responsibilities.
Traditional public schools are the best way to run a school. They protect the public's investment of money and resources while providing a quality education to students.
So all this talk about nonprofit and for-profit charter schools is either a mark of supreme ignorance or a ploy for weak willed politicians to weasel their way out of taking a stand on an issue whose merits are obvious to anyone who knows what really happens in our education system.
It's time to stop wasting taxpayer money on this expensive fraud.
It's time for the charter school experiment to end.
And it's way passed time to support fully public schools.


This day, encompassing three tours the Arenal Volcano, and its magnificent surreal views, a visit to the most famous waterfall of the region and a choice between hanging bridges and a floating safari.
This tour is about the freedom to choose what you like best! Hanging Bridges, Safari floating. Pick the ones you like the most, and we'll make it happen.
This walk of 2.5 km (1.5 miles) encompasses 15 bridges from 5 to 100 m long and some over 70m high. You will be able to witness the exuberance of the vegetation in the area and glimpses of abundant wildlife from all possible perspectives. The trail is on the jungle floor. However, some of the bridges will be at the same height as the canopy and some even above.
On this 6 km (3.7 miles) trip, you will experience the tranquility of the rainforest sounds, the abundant and colorful tropical birds, and the presence of monkeys and sloths up on the trees while down in the river, crocodiles, iguanas, and basilisks await you.
After hiking in the impressive forests of the Hanging Bridges or the tranquility of the floating safari you will go to La Fortuna Waterfall for a view of the 70 m (229 ft) cascade and walk down to the natural pool at the base, enjoy, if you like, a refreshing bath in the pristine waters and back to town for lunch.
After lunch, you will head to the Arenal Volcano National Park, a walk that will show you the power and influence of the mighty volcano. Hiking in its surreal lava flows and enjoying the views of the lake and the recovered rainforests.
Transportation, guide and entrance fee.
For round transportation out of hotels like Arenal Vista, Arenal Observatory, Linda Vista del Norte & Tilajari you must add extra charge.
Children rate applies from 4 to 11 years and must be accompanied by two adults; otherwise pay as an adult.
Minimum 2 pax to operate the tour.
Going deep into the insides of the earth is possible with this tour. Underground trails will lead us through grottos and chambers exploring a world indifferent to light.


When organizations move from on-premises servers to Office 365, they add complexity in user management. Features like role-based access, delegation of administrative permissions and automated configuration management are missing from the standard Office 365 toolkit. Autopilot gives Office 365 administrators a way to delegate administrative permissions to any user in an organization, easily and safely.
Users can be granted access to perform management actions within Autopilot. A policy engine determines if the user has the correct permissions to perform that action on the target user.
Autopilot brings the concept of virtual organizational units to Office 365 management. This allows for organizations to easily group users into manageable groups and delegate specific actions to users without having to provide those users any additional access rights in Office 365.
Bulk actions can be applied to a set of users or to an entire Organizational Unit, allowing sweeping changes to be made at the click of a button without relying on complex PowerShell scripts.
Actions can also be applied automatically via a Configuration Policy, which keeps all the users, groups, and other AD objects correctly configured against the baseline that you have specified for that group of users ensuring compliance with corporate policies.
Autopilot captures details of every action and event in its audit log so you can see exactly who made each change and when.
The only install for a customer is the optional On-Premises Agent, which needs 443 access to the Autopilot URL for the tenant.
Autopilot is a SaaS (software as a service) application that runs on the Microsoft Azure platform and acts as an abstraction layer, or proxy, between Office 365 Administrators and the Office 365 platform.
Core: The core controls the policies, role-based access control, database(s), and it basically coordinates everything going on.
User Interface: It's built on the Office 365 UI Fabric, providing a common look and feel for those that use Office 365 for administration.
Agent Controller: Responsible for sending work items received from the core to the appropriate agent to do the work. Those agents are Office 365/Azure PowerShell, MS Graph API, and On-premises PowerShell. Once an agent runs a command the results are sent back to the Agent Controller. The Agent Controller then sends either success or errors to the core for auditing and notification.


My Dad used to grow and dry his own hot peppers.
I don't but I found dried hot peppers in the grocery store.
These are small hot peppers that you can get either in the Mexican or Chinese section of your store.
They have a ton of flavor.
Heat a small skillet with the oil.
Add the peppers and seeds.
Cook on medium high till the peppers change color and start to smell wonderful.
This takes only a cople of minutes so do not leave the stove.
Use the fan on your stove because the aroma can make you cough.
Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
I love them with my eggs.
Put them on a sandwich or just serve them as a spicy condiment.
These little peppers are addicting.
Add the salt and vinegar and let them sit for a couple or hours or more in a covered container.
This is a clean, light tasting vegetable.
Serve with a sandwich instead of cole slaw or with fish or meat.
Fresh beets taste so much better but this is still good.
My family loved this and I wondered why I never made it before.
I served it as an appetizer but it could be served with the meal.
Save the oil, it has been infused with the garlic and it is delicious.
Do not let the garlic get brown.
This is a fabulous, simple extra that is now a regular at my house.


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Scotland by Narrowboat. EVERYTHING you need to know!
Ever wanted to explore Scotland by Narrowboat? We've got everything you need to know after cruising the Caledonian, Union, and Forth & Clyde Canals. Who to hire a boat from, what to take, where to visit, and how to get the most from your hire boat holiday.
Narrowboat to Glasgow on the Forth & Clyde Canal
We conclude our Scottish boating adventure by taking our narrowboat to Glasgow on the Forth & Clyde Canal. Setting off from the historic town of Kirkintilloch we follow the route of the Antonine Wall where it passes an old fort at Cadder before navigating a new bridge at Stockingfield Junction before ending our journey at Firhill Stadium, home to Partick Thistle.
Exploring Scotland's Forth & Clyde Canal by Narrowboat.
We're exploring Scotland's Forth & Clyde Canal by narrowboat. We start in Bonnybridge before ascending the four locks that take us to the summit of the canal towards Achinstarry, Twechar, and ending our day in Kirkintilloch where Colin uncovers Luggie Aqueduct where the railway stole the bridge from the canal!
The Falkirk Wheel - How it Works!
How does the Falkirk Wheel boat lift work? In this video, we'll take you on a boat trip to experience the Falkirk Wheel where we'll show you how and why it was built and how it works with a little help from Archimedes. We'll also show you the amazing Roughcastle Tunnel with it's 'trippy' light show and Falkirk's new staircase locks.
The Union Canal collapsed and washed away the railway!
After a once in a 240-year storm, 12,500mᶟ of floodwater caused the Union Canal in Scotland to collapse, draining over 30 miles of canal and losing 75,000mᶟ of water. The catastrophic collapse also washed away a 300m section of the Glasgow to Edinburgh railway line. Today we begin our journey in Linlithgow, birthplace of royalty and a Star Trek legend, we find out all about Dudley the Cat, cross Scotland's longest aqueduct, and uncover the disturbing story of the Burke and Ha
The £83m Canal Restoration linking Edinburgh with Glasgow
Find out how a 200-year old canal was restored, once again linking Edinburgh with Glasgow. Scotland's capital city re-joined with it largest city by the Union and Forth & Clyde Canals. As the £83m Millennium Link Project celebrates it's 20th anniversary, we take a journey by narrowboat from the east coast of Scotland to the west coast along the re-opened route.
Everything You Need To Know About Hiring A Canal Holiday Boat in Scotland!
Thinking of hiring a boat and a taking holiday on the Caledonian Canal? In this vlog we'll tell you everything you need to know about hiring a canal boat in Scotland. Visit the famous sites like Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, the Falls of Foyers, Invermoriston and Fort Augustus as you cruise the Great Glen in Scotland. We've put together this handy guide with loads of information about taking a hire boat on the Caledonian Canal!
Neptune's Staircase to the end of the Caledonian Canal.
The final leg of our boating journey takes us to Neptune's Staircase and the end of the Caledonian Canal. We start the day at Laggan Lock before crossing Loch Lochy where the weather turns against us. We pass Gairlochy Lock and Swing Bridge, Moy Bridge, and arrive in Banavie at the base of Ben Nevis where Colin walks Neptune's Staircase Locks to join the Jacobite Express, also known as the Harry Potter Express!
Fort Augustus, Invergarry Castle, and the Well of the Seven Heads - The Caledonian Canal
We continue our journey along the Caledonian Canal climbing the Fort Augustus Locks to Loch Oich where we visit Invergarry Castle and tell the gruesome tale of the Well of the Seven Heads. We continue to Laggan where the weather forces us to take shelter for the day.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


During the summer, we spend time relaxing with our friends and family, which includes our four-legged family members! As the summer heat rises, it is important to know that temperatures impact our pets differently. In particular, the northeastern heat waves may hit our cats and dogs differently as they adjust to rising temps. Fortunately, there are some simple summer pet safety solutions that help all of us enjoy the summer sun!
The family cookout is a summer staple.
As friends and family gather in the backyard, kick off their shoes and relax, remember that our pets (mainly dogs) like to stare at the newbies looking for some extra treats! Petfinder provides a neat infographic to provide some pet safety tips during your next cookout.
However, cookouts are just one summer staple. For many homeowners, gardening is another summer hobby.
Pets can create some damage to your garden and themselves, so here are a few ways to pet-proof your yard!
If you are going to leave your pet outside for longer periods of time, make sure it stays in this protected area. The area should include some toys, shade and water, and also acts to keep your dog from getting into your garden.
Often dogs resort to digging because it is dehydrated or overheated, and it is trying to get cool. By making sure there is always water available, this will prevent your pup from being tempted to dig up the garden.
Certain plants can enhance a garden, but also repel cats from the vicinity. For example, rosemary is one plant with a scent that cats particularly dislike. Plant this around the edge of the garden and your favorite feline will stay far away! Also, consider sprinkling red pepper flakes around the perimeter because cats do not like the smell or taste.
In general, there are some common sense things that all pet owners should know during the summer. To ensure pet safety, then here are some essentials.
For more, review and share this hot car flyer!
Taking a dog's temperature will quickly tell you if there is a serious problem. Dogs' temperatures should not be allowed to get over 104 degrees. If your dog's temperature does, follow the instructions for treating heat stroke.
Dogs sweat through their paws. Take this into consideration when going on walks (even in cooler hours) and attempt to keep pets off of hot asphalt. Not only can the temperatures burn paws, but it can also increase body temperature and lead to overheating.
Always be on the lookout for the telltale signs of dehydration in pets, which include dry gums, loss of skin elasticity, excessive drooling.
To avoid dehydration, give pets plenty of playtime breaks in the shade with access to fresh water.
On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours, and be especially careful with pets with white-colored ears, who are more susceptible to skin cancer, and short-nosed pets, who typically have difficulty breathing. For example, take walks during the cooler hours of the day.
Like our homes, there are also preventative measures to take to ensure pet safety. For example, excessive time outside can cause heatstroke.
To help, ensure that pets have ample shade or access to air-conditioned areas of your home. Also apply ice packs or cold towels to the head, neck, and chest or run cool (not cold) water over her. Plus, let pets drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes.
If signs persist, take your pet directly to a veterinarian.
Believe it or not, dogs can sunburn, especially those with short or light-colored coats.
If your pet spends a lot of time outside, then talk to your veterinarian about sunscreens for your dog (don't assume a sunscreen for people is appropriate for your dog).
Another simple pet safety precaution is finding the right kind of insect repellent. Insects are annoying and irritating to us, and the same goes for our pets. Standard insect repellent may not be suitable for our pets, so find a pet-friendly product.
In the summer, hookworms and heartworms are more prevalent and infect pets through their feet. Take precaution and ask your vet for prescriptions to ensure your pet remains safe this summer.
We hope everyone has a happy and healthy summer.
After all, summer is a time to enjoy our friends and family, which obviously includes our four-legged favorites. Fortunately, with some common sense, there are simple summer pet safety solutions that will keep everyone healthy!
At SolvIt, we take pride in our work to help homeowners take care of their homes. We hope to take some stress off you, so you can enjoy your homes, families and yes, pets!
If you have any home issues that are preventing pet safety, then let us know. We are here 24/7 to keep those ACs running all summer long!


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Hackers Steal $41m In Bitcoins From Binance Exchange
All Tech News > category news Enterprise > category news Financial Markets
Tom Jowitt, May 8, 2019, 5:33 pm
CyberCrimeEnterpriseFinancial MarketsSecuritySecurity Management
Major crypto-currency exchange is hacked, but wners pledge to cover the millions stolen in the cyber heist
Hackers have hit the jackpot after attacking one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges and stealing 7,000 bitcoins.
The heist, said to be worth a staggering $41m, was admitted by Binance in a security breach update issued on Tuesday, and the exchange said that the hackers had used 'a variety of techniques' to carry out the robbery.
It is not the biggest theft of bitcoins to date. That honour goes to Mt Gox, which in 2014 was hacked to the tune of $470m. The theft lead to the liquidation of the exchange.
Binance theft
Until that time Mt Gox had been one of the world's most popular venue for trading and storing bitcoins, and the collapse left thousands of creditors out of pocket.
Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles' assets were frozen, whilst Mt. Gox was sued for negligence and fraud.
But Binance has pledged to cover the loss when it opened up about the attack.
"We have discovered a large scale security breach today, May 7, 2019 at 17:15:24 (UTC)," announced the exchange. "Hackers were able to obtain a large number of user API keys, 2FA codes, and potentially other info. The hackers used a variety of techniques, including phishing, viruses and other attacks.
"We are still concluding all possible methods used. There may also be additional affected accounts that have not been identified yet," it added. "The hackers were able to withdraw 7000 BTC in this one transaction"
"The hackers had the patience to wait, and execute well-orchestrated actions through multiple seemingly independent accounts at the most opportune time," the exchange lamented. "The transaction is structured in a way that passed our existing security checks. It was unfortunate that we were not able to block this withdrawal before it was executed. Once executed, the withdrawal triggered various alarms in our system. We stopped all withdrawals immediately after that."
Binance said that would use its secure asset fund to cover this incident in full and that no user funds would be affected.
Binance said that it would conduct a thorough security review, which should take one week. It also warned that deposits and withdrawals will need to remain suspended during this period.
"Please also understand that the hackers may still control certain user accounts and may use those to influence prices in the meantime," the exchange said. "We will monitor the situation closely. But we believe with withdrawals disabled, there isn't much incentive for hackers to influence markets."
Expert viewpoints
The security industry has offered its thoughts and at least one expert thought that most cryptocurrency-related businesses underestimate or ignore digital risks.
"Technical details of the breach still remain obscure and it would be premature to make any conclusions at this point of time," said Ilia Kolochenko, founder and CEO of ImmuniWeb.
"Today, all cryptocurrency-related businesses should be well prepared to defend against constant and sophisticated cyber attacks," he said. "In reality, however, virtually all of them underestimate or ignore digital risks and allocate scant resources for cybersecurity. Most have to compete on a very aggressive and turbulent market and thus are reducing their costs by all available means. Software development suffers most tremendously as cheap outsourced code cannot be secure by definition."
"To bring certainty to the cryptocurrency markets clear regulatory standards are required, such as is PCI and PA DSS," said Kolochenko. "Even if they are not a silver bullet, they greatly reduce both the number and average volume of credit cards theft."
Another expert warned this hack could dramatically affect the volatility of the currency going forward.
"This announcement could have a damaging effect on cryptocurrencies," noted Jake Moore, cyber security specialist at ESET. "After the rise and fall of crypto in 2017, people have exercised caution when it comes to digital currencies, so this could dramatically affect the volatility of the currency if people question the security of their finances."
"It seems to be a very well thought out and targeted attack with a damming outcome for all involved, so it goes without saying that everyone with a Binance account should change their API keys and two-factor authentication methods," said Moore. "Fortunately, those who have been affected will be reimbursed, but who knows how long they will remain customers."
This well co-ordinated attack was also noted by another expert.
"What is significant about this attack is that the hackers of Binance they used various techniques – from viruses to phishing account – to gain entry to the 'hot wallet', said David Atkinson, CEO of Senseon.
"There is nothing unique or clever in this approach, they didn't discover a zero day exploit," said Atkinson. "They simply relied on the fact that Binance would be susceptible to the usual hacking techniques, such as malicious emails where office documents contain malicious programs, and – most importantly – wouldn't have the ability to recognise that each of these small incidents was part of a larger coordinated attack."
"This speaks to a wider problem of an inability for companies to cross-reference the security data they collect to identify major attacks like these," said Atkinson. "This is because organisations of Binance's size typically have dozens of security solutions, many of which are focused on just one threat vector, that are infamously bad at communicating with one another. This is why the company had no idea that there was an organised heist to steal millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin until it was gone."
The mistake of keeping a 'hot wallet' as a centralised store was also noted by another expert.
"This is a major hack in financial terms, and demonstrates why cryptocurrency exchanges are such ready targets for hackers," said Irra Ariella Khi, CEO of VChain."In one foul swoop, hackers made away with 7,000 Bitcoins, assets that are near impossible to recoup now they are gone. A lot will be made of the techniques the criminal gang used to extract the funds, and whether Binance should have been better protected against attacks as simple as phishing. However, the biggest mistake Binance made was holding 2 percent of its total assets in a 'hot wallet' in the first place."
"Time and time again we see organisations holding vast amounts of valuable data in one central store," said Ariella Khi. "Given enough time, hackers will always find a way to break through the defences, no matter how well this central store is protected. Operating in the world of cryptocurrency, Binance should have understood the value of decentralisation to ensure security."
Another expert said the attack should serve as a wake up call about the threat levels facing organisations.
"The latest attack which saw hackers use phishing attacks and viruses to steal bitcoins worth $41m from Binance should serve as a wake-up call to IT security operations teams across the globe, underlying the developing threat landscape and reinforcing the notion that all organisations have targets firmly on their backs at all times," said David Mount, Director of Cofense (formerly PhishMe).
"While Binance has no doubt already begun it's breach remediation process, cyber-attacks and data breaches, such as this one, are an uncomfortable topic for many organisations," said Mount. "It's time for organisations to accept some uncomfortable truths about routine approaches to IT defence and think differently. Businesses need to accept and understand there are inevitabilities when it comes to keeping their business secure. Firstly, they will get targeted by threat actors, mainly because every organisation has data that is of value to someone else and secondly, some attacks will get through their defence programmes."
And lastly an expert pointed out that phishing remains a firm favourite of the hackers.
"Out of all of the attack methods cyber criminals have the choice of today, phishing remains a firm favourite," said Ed Macnair, CEO of Censornet. "Phishing is a relatively basic hacking method – where criminals simply add infected links into emails that appear to be from trusted sources – but this attack on Binance exchange shows just how successful it can be. With $41 million dollars stolen, this hack is an example of how phishing cannot be overlooked."
"In addition to how concerning such a large scale and high-value breach is, certain details of the attack highlight the vast extent of Binance exchange's negligence," said Macnair. "Binance have stated that once the attack had taken place, 'various alarms in their system' were triggered. This is a very half-hearted attempt to claim that they were effectively monitoring security – of course they would be alerted once such a large sum of money had been stolen.
"The issue is, why were their alarm systems not triggered when the criminals were attempting the hack, and would these alarms have actually been of use?" questioned Macnair. "Binance exchange, alongside many other companies who do not have appropriate security measures in place, need to ensure they step up and protect their customers assets."
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Author: Tom Jowitt
Tom Jowitt is a leading British tech freelancer and long standing contributor to Silicon UK. He is also a bit of a Lord of the Rings nut...


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Oman Air to study US flights in 2021-22
Oman Air Boeing 787-8 © Oman Air
30.01.2020 - 05:19 UTC
Oman Air (WY, Muscat) has revived its plans to start direct flights to the United States and aims to launch a comprehensive study of the market by 2022, the Group Chief Executive of Oman Aviation Group, Mustafa Al Hinai, told Business Insider.
"Flying to the US will happen through a codeshare in the meantime, but in late 2021, 2022, we'll be focusing on the US market. Because it's a very big market. But we need to really understand the market first, it's very complex, each and every city," he said.
Contrary to its fellow Gulf carriers, Oman Air will target predominantly inbound passengers coming to Oman as tourists rather than those connecting through, although it also sees US services as a means to strengthen its Muscat hub.
Al Hinai did not name any specific destinations in the US and did not give a specific timeline for the possible launch of US flights.
Oman Air secured a US Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) in May 2019 albeit for the express purpose of codesharing on flights to the US. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Oman Air currently has a codeshare partnership with Air Italy (IG, Milan Malpensa) covering services via Milan Malpensa to Miami Int'l and New York JFK.
The state-owned carrier, which operates a widebody fleet consisting of four A330-200s, seven A330-300s, two B787-8s, and seven B787-9s, currently focuses on serving the Middle East, India, and Europe. It has no routes to either the Americas or Australia. Its longest route, to Manila Ninoy Aquino Int'l, is 3,581 nautical miles (6,631 kilometres) long - just over a half the distance between Muscat and the US East Coast.
Al Hinai said that despite the grounding of the B737 MAX, Oman Air remained committed to its cooperation with Boeing. The airline took delivery of five B737-8s before the grounding and has a further 20 on firm order. Oman Air also operates eighteen B737-800s, five B737-900(ER)s, and four E175s, and has another four B787-8s on firm order, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.
Editorial Comment: The article has been updated to amend that Oman Air will launch a review of the US market in 2021-22, not launch flights. - 31.01.2020 - 01:31 UTC
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Oman Air defers B787s, scales down hub plans
Oman Air (WY, Muscat) has deferred the deliveries of "some" of its outstanding B787-9s, originally scheduled for 2023-24, as it plans to reshape its network around inbound traffic, Chief Executive Abdulaziz Al Raisi told aviation journalist Kurt Hofmann.
"In December, Oman Air planned to take two B737-8 deliveries and two B787s. But some of the B787s, which were supposed to come in 2023 and 2024, were deferred until the whole process [of joining Oneworld] is finished," he said.
The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Oman Air has eight B787-9s due from Boeing and one from Air Lease Corporation, on top of two B787-8s and seven -9s already delivered to the carrier. In terms of B737 MAX, the airline operates eight -8s (three of which have been delivered since the type's ungrounding in 2021) with a further seven on order. Al Raisi underlined that the state-owned carrier has not cancelled any of its orders.
Oman Air hopes to become a full member of Oneworld by the...
Kuwait Airways nixes Sri Lanka flights over forex - report
Kuwait Airways (KU, Kuwait) has pulled its flights to Sri Lanka after general sales agents (GSAs) and local airline offices fell behind on paying out foreign exchange income to the airline, according to Sri Lanka's Sunday Times.
The airline made no official announcement, nor was it immediately available for comment. However, flights between Kuwait and Colombo Int'l, the capital of Sri Lanka, are currently not bookable on the airline's website, nor are any Kuwait Airways flights scheduled to Colombo at present.
The airline had only resumed operations to Sri Lanka in September 2021.
Sources in the know told the Daily Financial Times that Kuwait Airways' "yields were also too low in comparison with the expense of operating the flight to Sri Lanka" where landing costs were deemed high.
The withdrawal is expected to last an extended period of time and will mostly affect migrant worker traffic from Sri Lanka to the Middle East.
This comes amid news reports from Sri Lanka that the country's finance ministry has been asked to...
Oman's SalamAir eyes European routes after EU Open Skies
SalamAir (OV, Muscat) plans to expand its network to include destinations in the European Union after the bloc signed a Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement with Oman.
"As we have taken delivery of our new A321-200NX aircraft, it is a timely opportunity for its operation on European routes. There is great potential for growth in travel between the Sultanate of Oman and Europe," Chief Executive Mohamed Ahmed said, quoted in an official communique issued by the state-owned Oman News Agency.
Currently, SalamAir does not operate to the EU. During summer 2021, the airline flew to Sarajevo, its first and only destination in Europe (albeit outside the EU), but flights have been suspended since September 27, 2021.
Full-service rival Oman Air (WY, Muscat) operates to four destinations in the EU - Frankfurt Int'l, Munich, Milan Malpensa, and Paris CDG - and another three airports elsewhere in Europe (London Heathrow, Istanbul New, Zurich), the ch-aviation capacities module shows. The airline also hinted...