PRINTER'S NO. 4303
No. 3009 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY BILLOW, WOZNIAK, GODSHALL, PETRARCA, MELIO, STISH,
CAPPABIANCA, TRELLO, D. W. SNYDER, NOYE, HARPER, TANGRETTI,
FREEMAN, PESCI, JOHNSON, BELARDI, RYBAK, TIGUE, JOSEPHS,
TRICH, THOMAS, ARGALL, HALUSKA, LINTON, JAMES, RICHARDSON,
WASS, COHEN, RITTER, RUDY AND DeWEESE, NOVEMBER 14, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 14, 1990
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Commission on Educational Reform and conferring
2 powers and duties upon it relating to studying the public
3 education system of the Commonwealth for purposes of
4 recommending reform; and making an appropriation.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Public
9 Education Reform Act.
10 Section 2. Declaration of policy.
11 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
12 (1) In the mid 1970s, the Commonwealth paid 55% of local
13 school costs, and the level of State support in 1990-1991
14 will be 39.7%.
15 (2) The lowest level of spending for each pupil in a
16 Commonwealth school district was $2,016 in 1989-1990; and the
17 highest level of per-pupil spending for a school district was
1 $7,122, or over three and one-half times as much as the
2 lowest level.
3 (3) There is a $31,000 gap between the average salaries
4 of public school teachers in the most generous school
5 district and the least generous school district, and teachers
6 in the former are being paid two and one-half times as much
7 on average as teachers in the latter.
8 (4) The lack of uniformity in teachers' contracts in the
9 various school districts throughout this Commonwealth creates
10 a disparity in the availability and quality of education for
11 our children.
12 (5) While students in some of our public schools are
13 able to attend classes uninterrupted, others are deprived
14 from doing so by strikes in their districts.
15 (6) In many school districts, particularly those in
16 economically distressed areas, taxation for the support of
17 schools is more onerous than in more affluent districts.
18 (7) It has often been found that for poorer school
19 districts with greater need, there is less available money
20 and poorer education.
21 (8) The current system of public education in this
22 Commonwealth is neither thorough nor efficient. While many
23 factors, such as local control, contractual and vested
24 rights, taxation on both a State and local level, and
25 Commonwealth reimbursements, are involved and would have to
26 be addressed, the General Assembly should provide for a
27 fairer, more efficient and thorough, and more uniform system
28 of public education.
29 (9) An adequate education of the children within this
30 Commonwealth is essential to the economic prosperity and
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1 political freedom of the residents of this Commonwealth.
2 (10) The purposes of this act are as follows:
3 (i) To assist the General Assembly in carrying out
4 its Constitutional duty as set forth in section 14 of
5 Article III of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
6 (ii) To develop proposals for a system of public
7 education that is thorough and efficient and that
8 provides every child with an equal opportunity to an
9 adequate education.
10 Section 3. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Commission." The Commission on Education Reform established
15 in section 4.
16 "Council." The Council of Technical Advisors authorized by
17 section 6(a).
18 Section 4. Commission.
19 (a) Establishment.--The Commission on Education Reform is
20 established. The commission shall consist of 16 members:
21 (1) The Majority Chairman and the Minority Chairman of
22 the Education Committee of the Senate. Each chairman may
23 designate an alternate by filing a written notice with the
24 commission.
25 (2) The Majority Chairman and the Minority Chairman of
26 the Education Committee of the House of Representatives. Each
27 chairman may designate an alternate by filing a written
28 notice with the commission.
29 (3) Two members of the Senate, one appointed by the
30 President pro tempore of the Senate and one appointed by the
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1 Minority Leader of the Senate. Appointments under this
2 paragraph shall be made in a manner that assures equal
3 representation to urban and rural areas.
4 (4) Two members of the House of Representatives, one
5 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
6 one appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7 Representatives. Appointments under this paragraph shall be
8 made in a manner that assures equal representation to urban
9 and rural areas.
10 (5) Seven members appointed by the Governor, one
11 teacher, one member of a school board, two individuals with a
12 child attending a public school, one individual above the age
13 of 55, one representative of an urban area and one
14 representative of a rural area. All members appointed under
15 this paragraph must own a residence in this Commonwealth.
16 (6) The Secretary of Education, who shall serve as a
17 nonvoting, ex officio member.
18 (b) Appointments.--Appointments under subsection (a) shall
19 be made within 60 days of the effective date of this act.
20 (c) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the commission shall be filled
21 in the manner in which the original appointment was made. This
22 subsection does not apply to subsection (a)(6).
23 (d) Officers.--The commission shall elect a chairperson and
24 a vice chairperson from among its members.
25 (e) Quorum.--
26 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), eight voting
27 members shall constitute a quorum.
28 (2) For hearings, the commission may determine a lesser
29 quorum than provided in paragraph (1).
30 (f) Meetings.--The initial meeting of the commission shall
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1 take place within 30 days of the completion of appointments
2 under subsection (b). Subsequent meetings shall be at the call
3 of the chair, at least every other month. Members under
4 subsection (a)(3), (4) or (5) who miss two consecutive meetings
5 without an excuse accepted by the commission shall be dismissed
6 from the commission.
7 Section 5. Powers and duties of commission.
8 (a) Study.--The commission shall conduct a comprehensive
9 study of the current status of the system of public education
10 from kindergarten through grade 12 in this Commonwealth and
11 shall consider all of the following:
12 (1) Disparities in educational funding between school
13 districts within this Commonwealth and the need for greater
14 efficiency and equity in educational funding.
15 (2) The level of expenditures for each student in each
16 school district within this Commonwealth.
17 (3) Salaries, contractual and vested rights, benefits
18 and other forms of compensation for public school teachers in
19 each school district within this Commonwealth.
20 (4) The basic components of an adequate education that
21 serve the needs of this Commonwealth as well as the different
22 needs of children who come from varying socioeconomic
23 backgrounds in all regions of this Commonwealth.
24 (5) The level of professionalism and competence in local
25 school administration and instruction.
26 (6) The practice of school districts depositing money
27 allocated to them by the Commonwealth in contingency funds.
28 (b) Public hearings.--The commission shall conduct public
29 hearings, receive testimony and pursue its investigation and
30 study in all regions of this Commonwealth. A minimum of six
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1 public hearings shall be held by the commission. Each hearing
2 shall be conducted in a different geographical region in order
3 to provide all residents of this Commonwealth with a reasonable
4 opportunity to participate in the public hearings. The
5 commission may administer oaths or affirmation to witnesses
6 appearing before it. A hearing is a meeting within the meaning
7 of section 4(f).
8 (c) Report on educational reform.--The commission shall
9 submit a written report, no later than November 30, 1992, to the
10 Chief Clerk of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the House of
11 Representatives, and the Governor. The report shall detail the
12 activities and expenditures of the commission. The report shall
13 make formal recommendations addressing the following:
14 (1) The feasibility of legislation under which all
15 public school teachers would be employees of the
16 Commonwealth, and the advantages and disadvantages of such a
17 system to individual school districts and their residents and
18 to this Commonwealth.
19 (2) The development of revenue sources for education
20 which are based primarily on a taxpayer's ability to pay and
21 are not based on a local school district's ability to tax.
22 (3) The remaking of the current Statewide education
23 funding mechanisms to assure that funding of education in
24 poorer and economically distressed school districts is at
25 levels comparable to funding in the richer districts and that
26 funding is adequate to provide for the special educational
27 needs of the children in the poorer and economically
28 distressed school districts.
29 (4) The reorganization and possible combination of local
30 school administration to provide for a more efficient
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1 operation and a cost-effective utilization of resources and
2 for a more equitable revenue base.
3 (5) The enforcement of strict limitation on the use of
4 State funds to assure that moneys provided by this
5 Commonwealth are utilized solely for the purpose of providing
6 for an adequate education for all children in public schools.
7 (6) The elements of an adequate education that serve the
8 best interests of the Commonwealth and whether they should be
9 set forth in statute or regulation.
10 (7) Taxpayer participation in decisions on utilization
11 of resources.
12 Section 6. Commission support.
13 (a) Council.--The commission may consult with the Council of
14 Technical Advisors, properly qualified by experience in
15 educational matters and public finance. The council's members
16 shall be appointed by the commission and shall serve at the
17 pleasure of the commission. Council members shall receive no
18 compensation, other than their actual and necessary expenses,
19 for their services to the commission.
20 (b) Access to information.--The commission may secure
21 directly from any Commonwealth agency information necessary to
22 enable it to carry out this act. Upon the request of the
23 chairperson or a majority of the commission, the head of a
24 Commonwealth agency shall furnish the requested information to
25 the commission.
26 (c) Commission staff.--The commission may appoint and fix
27 compensation of an executive director, who shall devote full
28 time to the general supervision of all the affairs of the
29 commission. In addition, the commission may appoint a chief
30 counsel, who shall not be subject to the supervision of the
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1 Attorney General or the General Counsel, and it may appoint and
2 fix the compensation of other employees as the commission may
3 find necessary in carrying out its functions.
4 (d) Use of facilities and services.--Upon the request of a
5 majority of the commission, the head of any Commonwealth agency
6 shall make available to the commission any of the facilities and
7 services of the agency.
8 (e) Personnel from other agencies.--Upon the request of a
9 majority of the commission, the head of any Commonwealth agency
10 shall detail any of the personnel of the agency to assist the
11 commission in carrying out its functions.
12 Section 7. Appropriation.
13 The sum of $1,000,000, or as much thereof as may be
14 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Commission on Education
15 Reform for the fiscal year July 1, 1990, to June 30, 1991, to
16 carry out the provisions of this act.
17 Section 8. Expiration.
18 The commission shall terminate November 30, 1992.
19 Section 9. Effective date.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
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