CORP’s joint symposium with the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics on “Funding Pennsylvania’s Public Schools: A Look Ahead” at the Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh in Green Tree on October 3, 2014 attracted over one hundred business, labor, advocacy, civic, education, and government leaders. The event was presented by the University Consortium to Improve Public School Finance and Promote Economic Growth (pdf.) (You will need Adobe Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader to access this file.)

Speakers and panelists included Dr. William Hartman, Penn State College of Education, and Dr. Tim Shrom, Business Manager, Solanco School District on “Where Current Law and Policy Are Taking Our Public Schools: A Five-Year Fiscal Forecast;”  (pdf.) (You will need Adobe Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader to access this file.) Dr. Maureen McClure, University of Pittsburgh School of Education on “Education Funding for Successful Generational Transitions in Pennsylvania: Not Easy;” Eva Tansky Blum, President, PNC Foundation on “Why Smart Investments in Public Schools Are Critical to Pennsylvania’s Future;” Commissioner and Chair of Indiana County, Rod Ruddock; Dr. Neil D. Theobald, President, Temple University; Pennsylvania State Senator Patrick Browne; Pennsylvania State Senator Matt Smith; Pennsylvania State Representative Donna Oberlander; Pennsylvania State Representative Jake Wheatley; Nichole Duffy, Deputy Secretary, Office of Administration, Pennsylvania Department of Education; Bill Flanagan, Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations, Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Michael R. Dunleavy, Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 5; Dave Malone, President & CEO, Gateway Financial, and Chair, Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board; John Pippy, former Pennsylvania Senator, CEO of Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, and Lieutenant Colonel, Pennsylvania Army National Guard; Richard W. Taylor, CEO, Imbue Technology Solutions, Inc. (ImbuTec); and Terry Miller, Director, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics.

Temple’s Center on Regional Politics (CORP), Penn State’s College of Education, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Center on Metropolitan Studies in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs formed the consortium to support state legislators and policymakers in a review of options for improving public school finance in Pennsylvania.

Also in the consortium is the Pennsylvania Policy Forum, an informal network of faculty members, academic leaders, and policy researchers at public and private colleges across the Commonwealth. Working with the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Policy Forum has organized symposia on institutional issues for all Senate and House members and information sessions for newly elected members of both chambers.

CORP research on public school revenue growth and stability was distributed, and is also available here (pdf.) (You will need Adobe Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader to access this file). This was the second of three symposia. The first symposium was in Conshohocken in May 2014, and the third is planned for Harrisburg early in 2015.