A handful of York City School District students and staff members protested Friday in front of the York County Judicial Center following a judge's decision to grant a receivership for the district. (Photo: Bil Bowden/The York Dispatch)
Dec 27, 2014
Control of the struggling York City School District in Pennsylvania has been handed over to the state, effectively paving the way for public education in that county to be provided exclusively by a private company.
State officials had previously said that, if approved for a receivership (as a state takeover is called), they would bring in Charter Schools USA, an 'education management company' based in Florida, to operate the district.
According to the York Dispatch:
The decision of President Judge Stephen P. Linebaugh gives all but taxing power to a Spring Garden Township man who has steered the district's financial recovery process for two years.
David Meckley, who has an extensive business background, has served as the district's chief recovery officer for two years. His tenure started after the state placed York City in moderate financial recovery status.
...For the past several months, Meckley has advocated for a full conversion of the district's eight schools to operation by a for-profit charter company called Charter Schools USA.
The Dispatch reports that district teachers, parents, and students have been vigorously opposed to the plan. Following the judge's ruling on Friday, a group of about 20 students and staffers protested outside the York County Judicial Center.
In a statement, the state's largest school employee union said Linebaugh's decision "ignores the will of the community, puts students' education at risk, and paves the way for a corporate takeover of the city's schools."
"The newly appointed receiver's charter school plan is just as troubling as the last-minute power grab," said Michael Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. "There's no real plan at all for more than 1,000 of the school district's students with special needs. Apparently, they think these students should just enroll in cyber programs if they want to stay in district-operated schools or if a charter school provider can't educate them. That is just astonishing."
The PSEA and other organizations said would appeal the judge's decision; the York County School District itself filed an appeal Friday.
"Be it noted that today's education 'reformers' don't much care for democracy," educational policy analyst Diane Ravitch wrote at her blog. "They would rather turn public schools over to a for-profit corporation that siphons off 20 percent in management fees and pays itself outlandish rental fees rather than trust parents and local citizens to do what's best for their children."
"Choice?" she continued. "There will be no 'choice' for the families of York City. Their children will have to attend a charter school whose headquarters are in Florida. Yes, it is the death of local control and democracy in York City."
Ravitch notes that "[t]his is what we would expect from the outgoing Corbett administration, which actively promoted privatization." But it begs the question: "What will the new Tom Wolf administration do?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Control of the struggling York City School District in Pennsylvania has been handed over to the state, effectively paving the way for public education in that county to be provided exclusively by a private company.
State officials had previously said that, if approved for a receivership (as a state takeover is called), they would bring in Charter Schools USA, an 'education management company' based in Florida, to operate the district.
According to the York Dispatch:
The decision of President Judge Stephen P. Linebaugh gives all but taxing power to a Spring Garden Township man who has steered the district's financial recovery process for two years.
David Meckley, who has an extensive business background, has served as the district's chief recovery officer for two years. His tenure started after the state placed York City in moderate financial recovery status.
...For the past several months, Meckley has advocated for a full conversion of the district's eight schools to operation by a for-profit charter company called Charter Schools USA.
The Dispatch reports that district teachers, parents, and students have been vigorously opposed to the plan. Following the judge's ruling on Friday, a group of about 20 students and staffers protested outside the York County Judicial Center.
In a statement, the state's largest school employee union said Linebaugh's decision "ignores the will of the community, puts students' education at risk, and paves the way for a corporate takeover of the city's schools."
"The newly appointed receiver's charter school plan is just as troubling as the last-minute power grab," said Michael Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. "There's no real plan at all for more than 1,000 of the school district's students with special needs. Apparently, they think these students should just enroll in cyber programs if they want to stay in district-operated schools or if a charter school provider can't educate them. That is just astonishing."
The PSEA and other organizations said would appeal the judge's decision; the York County School District itself filed an appeal Friday.
"Be it noted that today's education 'reformers' don't much care for democracy," educational policy analyst Diane Ravitch wrote at her blog. "They would rather turn public schools over to a for-profit corporation that siphons off 20 percent in management fees and pays itself outlandish rental fees rather than trust parents and local citizens to do what's best for their children."
"Choice?" she continued. "There will be no 'choice' for the families of York City. Their children will have to attend a charter school whose headquarters are in Florida. Yes, it is the death of local control and democracy in York City."
Ravitch notes that "[t]his is what we would expect from the outgoing Corbett administration, which actively promoted privatization." But it begs the question: "What will the new Tom Wolf administration do?"
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Control of the struggling York City School District in Pennsylvania has been handed over to the state, effectively paving the way for public education in that county to be provided exclusively by a private company.
State officials had previously said that, if approved for a receivership (as a state takeover is called), they would bring in Charter Schools USA, an 'education management company' based in Florida, to operate the district.
According to the York Dispatch:
The decision of President Judge Stephen P. Linebaugh gives all but taxing power to a Spring Garden Township man who has steered the district's financial recovery process for two years.
David Meckley, who has an extensive business background, has served as the district's chief recovery officer for two years. His tenure started after the state placed York City in moderate financial recovery status.
...For the past several months, Meckley has advocated for a full conversion of the district's eight schools to operation by a for-profit charter company called Charter Schools USA.
The Dispatch reports that district teachers, parents, and students have been vigorously opposed to the plan. Following the judge's ruling on Friday, a group of about 20 students and staffers protested outside the York County Judicial Center.
In a statement, the state's largest school employee union said Linebaugh's decision "ignores the will of the community, puts students' education at risk, and paves the way for a corporate takeover of the city's schools."
"The newly appointed receiver's charter school plan is just as troubling as the last-minute power grab," said Michael Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. "There's no real plan at all for more than 1,000 of the school district's students with special needs. Apparently, they think these students should just enroll in cyber programs if they want to stay in district-operated schools or if a charter school provider can't educate them. That is just astonishing."
The PSEA and other organizations said would appeal the judge's decision; the York County School District itself filed an appeal Friday.
"Be it noted that today's education 'reformers' don't much care for democracy," educational policy analyst Diane Ravitch wrote at her blog. "They would rather turn public schools over to a for-profit corporation that siphons off 20 percent in management fees and pays itself outlandish rental fees rather than trust parents and local citizens to do what's best for their children."
"Choice?" she continued. "There will be no 'choice' for the families of York City. Their children will have to attend a charter school whose headquarters are in Florida. Yes, it is the death of local control and democracy in York City."
Ravitch notes that "[t]his is what we would expect from the outgoing Corbett administration, which actively promoted privatization." But it begs the question: "What will the new Tom Wolf administration do?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.