Posted on 20 October 2011. Tags: Gov. Tom Corbett, Senate Appropriations Committee, The Pennsylvania Independent, Transportation Funding Advisory Commission
HARRISBURG PA – Proposals to impose tolls on U.S. Route 422 may have fallen by the wayside, but Republicans in the state Senate – tired of waiting for Gov. Tom Corbett to address the issue of raising funds to repair Pennsylvania highways and mass transit problems – say they plan to find some of that money themselves.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman on Wednesday (Oct. 19, 2011) told The Pennsylvania Independent online news service he would support plans to increase transportation funding by $2.5 billion annually. Corman said he intends to introduce Senate Bill 4 to implement revenue-generating elements contained in an earlier report issued by Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission.
Waiting to address infrastructure funding deficiencies, as Corbett has indicated he might do, could cost drivers and taxpayers more in the long run, Corman contended. Consequently, he said he would push for raising fees to use Pennsylvania’s highways and mass transit as the only way to improve the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.
“We’re not saving our constituents money by not doing this,” Corman told The Independent in an interview. “The money is going to be spent one way or the other, so why not spend it to fix the problem?”
Pennsylvania has more than 5,200 structurally deficient bridges, the highest total in the nation, and more than 7,000 state roads are rated in poor condition, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Tolling 422 is not expected to be in the package of increased fees. That proposal was abandoned by its prime advocate, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, in hopes that recommendations from Corbett’s group would be implemented quickly.
Photo from Boston.com
Posted in Business, Transportation
Posted on 17 October 2011. Tags: Gov. Tom Corbett, teacher evaluations, The Pennsylvania Independent
HARRISBURG — A new rating system proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett for public school teachers seeks to ensure that students are receiving the most efficient education in a $26 billion taxpayer-funded system, The Pennsylvania Independent online news service reported Saturday (Oct. 15, 2011).
Some school districts have barely 50 percent of their students performing at grade level, yet more than 99 percent of teachers statewide get straight A’s in performance evaluations, according to the governor. That’s prompted him to announce a new initiative that seeks to reward good teachers and filter out ineffective ones, The Independent reported.
Overhauling the evaluation system is part of an education-reform package it said Corbett wants the General Assembly to pass before the end of the year.
“The numbers just don’t fit the result,” Corbett told the service. “Right now, the evaluation system is merely a rubber stamp, and it must change if our students are to be the beneficiaries of good, committed educators.”
Graphic from The Pennsylvania Independent
Posted in Education, Politics
Posted on 06 October 2011. Tags: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Gov. Tom Corbett, The Pennsylvania Independent, tolling, U.S. Route 422
POTTSTOWN PA – Chalk this one up as a win, at least for now, for the area’s commuting public.

Traffic moves west along U.S. Route 422 at its Royersford-Trappe exit.
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) threw in the towel this week on its two-year-old proposal to impose tolls on drivers who use U.S. Route 422 from King of Prussia to the Berks County line as a means of paying for improvements there. The toll plan was heavily criticized from the start, as opponents derided it as a special tax from which they would receive questionable benefit.
“Public and political sentiment told us that people would rather see a comprehensive statewide solution than a local toll,” DVRPC Executive Director Barry Seymour conceded Tuesday (Oct. 4, 2011) on the agency’s 422plus.com website.
A state Transportation Funding and Advisory Commission in August “proposed a comprehensive package to increase funding for transportation infrastructure across Pennsylvania. Support and passage of this package will enable critical transportation improvements to proceed, without a toll,” Seymour noted.
Whether the commission’s recommendations will be fully implemented, however, remains to be seen. So, too, does whether it will generate enough money to allow substantial improvements to 422, which twice daily becomes so choked with traffic that it slows to a crawl.
Although he acknowledged the plan could currently go no further, he also added that DVRPC’s study of the issue – in partnership with PennDOT, SEPTA, and Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties – indicated “a modest toll managed by a local authority could pay for these improvements, and have them in place far faster than waiting for available funds from Harrisburg or Washington.”
In its pages, Seymour added, the study continues to maintain tolls could be a viable way to proceed if the situation on 422 worsens, or if the advisory commission’s suggestions fail to bring in enough revenue.
Those recommendations include shifting some non-roadway expenses taken from gas tax revenues, which are earmarked to pay for highway improvements, to the state general fund; renewing vehicle registrations every two years, and drivers’ licenses every eight; closing some driver license centers; and allowing uninsured motorists to pay a $500 fine instead of having their registration suspended.
As its closing volley on the subject, the partnership released 12 different downloads on most aspects of the project it studied. Among them were:
Other coverage:
Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):
- Route 422 Toll Plan Officially Dead, At Least For Now
- Lawmakers, Editorials Press On Transportation Funding
- Chamber Presents Members’ Forum On 422 Proposals
- Toll Road, Rail Line Deal Announced … NOT For 422
- Candidates Criticize DVRPC Toll Info Position
- On 422 Toll Plan, DVRPC Fights Information Requests
- Notebook Worthy (U.S. Route 422 Forum Edition)
- Drivers will subsidize new rail line in 422 tolling plan
- Agendas Abound Tonight At 422 Forum In Royersford
- Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
- State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
- Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
- I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
- Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
- County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
- Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
- 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
- Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
- 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
- In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
- Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
- Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
- 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
- Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
- Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
- Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
- Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
- Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
- Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
- Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
- Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
- Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
- Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
- Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
- Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
- Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
- Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
- In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
- Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
- Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
- Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
- Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
- 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
- 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
- Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
- Train Service On The Front Burner Once More
Posted in Local, Transportation
Posted on 01 October 2011. Tags: Gov. Tom Corbett, The Pennsylvania Independent, tolling, U.S. Route 422

Traffic on U.S. Route 422, near Sanatoga
HARRISBURG PA — Pennsylvania lawmakers are waiting impatiently for Gov. Tom Corbett to take a stance on transportation funding initiatives, The Pennsylvania Independent online news service reported Friday (Sept. 30, 2011).
A special Transportation Commission named by Corbett submitted a plan to the governor in August (2011) outlining $2.5 billion in new, annually recurring revenues for transportation projects. Lawmakers and newspaper editorial writers are ramping up pressure on Corbett to say whether he will take steps to increase funding for Pennsylvania infrastructure.
Leaders in the General Assembly believe the time is right to address the issue. So far, the administration has been silent.
“I expect that we’ll get an answer out of the governor in the next couple of weeks,” state Secretary of Transportation Barry Schoch told The Independent. “He’s a very thoughtful man, and he is very carefully evaluating the options we gave him.”
One suggestion state Senate Transportation Chairman John Rafferty said he is confident the governor won’t have approved: tolling on U.S. Route 422.
Rafferty, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown constituents, told The Independent he wanted to “put to bed” the notion that tolls could be applied to existing non-tolled highways, even though lawmakers claim all options in the commission report remain on the table.
There is no proposal in the Legislature or in front of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to toll 422, Rafferty said.
Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):
- Lawmakers, Editorials Press On Transportation Funding
- Chamber Presents Members’ Forum On 422 Proposals
- Toll Road, Rail Line Deal Announced … NOT For 422
- Candidates Criticize DVRPC Toll Info Position
- On 422 Toll Plan, DVRPC Fights Information Requests
- Notebook Worthy (U.S. Route 422 Forum Edition)
- Drivers will subsidize new rail line in 422 tolling plan
- Agendas Abound Tonight At 422 Forum In Royersford
- Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
- State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
- Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
- I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
- Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
- County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
- Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
- 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
- Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
- 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
- In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
- Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
- Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
- 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
- Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
- Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
- Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
- Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
- Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
- Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
- Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
- Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
- Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
- Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
- Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
- Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
- Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
- Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
- In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
- Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
- Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
- Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
- Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
- 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
- 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
- Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
- Train Service On The Front Burner Once More
Posted in Limerick, Lower Pottsgrove, Politics, Pottstown, Transportation
Posted on 05 August 2011. Tags: education tuition vouchers, Gov. Tom Corbett, Pottsgrove 2011-’12 budget, Ronald Tomalis, school choice, The Pennsylvania Independent

Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis
HARRISBURG PA – Parents and private schools that intend to use or accept Pennsylvania-provided school choice vouchers – if they ever win Legislative approval and become available – must be prepared to have their children take and pass standardized academic tests, state Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis told the House Education Committee on Wednesday (Aug. 3, 2011), according to The Pennsylvania Independent online news service.
Standardized tests have been demanded by public school advocates in the debate over a proposed voucher program, in which state money could be used by certain families to send their children to private rather than public schools. The Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools opposes such testing; Tomalis said Wednesday it was necessary to hold vouchered students “accountable for their academic performance.”
Tomalis added that Gov. Tom Corbett and his administration would support a program that starts by focusing on students at 144 schools in 23 districts that the state has labeled as “failing.” His testimony was part of a series of hearing the committee is holding to gather more information and comments on the school choice issue.
The Hill School and The Wyndcroft School, both in Pottstown PA; Kimberton Waldorf School in Kimberton, Montgomery School in Chester Springs, and Upland Country Day School in Kennett Square are among association members, its website reports.
Related (to education tuition vouchers):
Photo by The Pensylvania Independent
Posted in Education, Personal Finance, Politics
Posted on 04 July 2011. Tags: Act 1, Gov. Tom Corbett, Pottsgrove School District, state budget
HARRISBURG PA – A last-minute property-tax reform measure that seems sure to restrict the Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford Area and Pottstown school districts – and the hundreds of others across the state – in their ability to raise property taxes above set limits is now part of a new state budget signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett, according to The Pennsylvania Independent online news service.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett
The reform eliminated most so-called exceptions in Act 1 of 2006. When originally passed, the act was intended to restrict school districts from raising property taxes above an index, or pre-set level, determined by the state Department of Education. Its exceptions, however, let the districts bypass the index under special circumstances like new school construction.
With about 15 minutes remaining in the fiscal year, Corbett on Thursday (June 30, 2011) signed the budget package that avoids broad-based tax increases, reduces Pennsylvania’s overall basic education funding by $800 million, and also wipes out 11 of 13 former exceptions in Act 1.
“It seems the new philosophy on how to reduce government is to starve it, regardless of the legitimacy of the programs,” state Sen. John Wozniak told The Independent. “We’re preventing (school districts) from raising taxes locally, and we’re cutting them from the top. That’s a double play in a very difficult year.”
Posted in Education, Politics, Pottsgrove Schools
Posted on 02 July 2011. Tags: cyber-charter school, Education Policy and Leadership Center, Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School
NORRISTOWN PA – Classes ended for summer vacation only two weeks ago, but the first signs of marketing from Pennsylvania cyber-charter schools to attract students from public school districts for enrollment during the 2011-2012 educational year are already evident.
Among those beginning to recruit is the 10-year-old Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, headquartered at 1 W. Main St., Suite 400, Norristown PA. It scheduled free “information sessions” in nine different counties across the state between Tuesday (July 5, 2011) and July 15, school Executive Director of Communications Joe Lyons announced in a Friday (July 1) e-mail.
The sessions are intended to let “interested members of the community … learn more about home-based public education,” Lyons said. Sessions were set for Lehigh, Franklin, Monroe, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Luzerne, Mercer, Lackawanna and Lycoming counties, but none yet for Montgomery County.
The growth of charter schools has been advocated by Gov. Tom Corbett and some members of the state Legislature. The state budget, passed by legislators and signed by Corbett into law on Thursday night (June 30), eliminated state funding for school districts’ mandated reimbursement of tuition for each charter school enrollment. The Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg PA claims that could cost taxpayers statewide $224 million next year.
Posted in Education, Montgomery County, Politics
Posted on 01 July 2011. Tags: Gov. Tom Corbett, Pottsgrove 2011-’12 budget, property taxes

Corbett pushing for school district taxing reform
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters would gain greater control over local property tax increases if the state Senate and House can work out last-minute disagreements over legislation being pushed by Gov. Tom Corbett, according to The Pennsylvania Independent online news service.
The state House was expected Thursday night (June 30, 2011) to vote on amending a 2006 law that limits school districts’ ability to increase local property taxes. Negotiations were continuing in Senate, but the two chambers hoped to reach an agreement that will quickly get the new bill to Corbett’s desk, The Independent reported.
The governor has said he wants to sign the property-tax reform measure along with the state budget bill by today (Friday, July 1). Under the new rules, most property tax increases would require approval from voters in a referendum.
Related (to the Pottsgrove School District 2011-2012 budget):
- PA Legislators Work To Reform Schools’ Taxing Abilities
- Pottsgrove Task Force, A Good Idea Copied, Copied Again
- Of 7 Final Budget Choices, Pottsgrove Landed In Middle
- Pottsgrove OKs Final Budget: 1.8% Tax Hike, About $74
- ‘Cyber School, Here We Come,’ Pottsgrove Proclaims
- Budget-Motivated Pottsgrove Admin Changes Approved
- Plan To Further Cut Pottsgrove Tax Hike Dies In Tie
- Pottsgrove Cuts Admin Job Among Leadership Changes
- Pottsgrove Plans For Re-Assignments A Budget-Saver?
- Teamsters Agree, Too, On Wage Freeze For Pottsgrove
- Does Pottsgrove Have An Administrative Cut-In-Waiting?
- Red And Yellow Items Left On Pottsgrove Budget Table
- Pottsgrove OKs 2.8% Tax Hike In Tentative Budget
- Local School Boards Face Both Cuts And Policy Changes
- Pottsgrove Chinese Language Students Face Cuts Again
- Pottsgrove Task Force Didn’t Shelve Pay-To-Play Plan
- Committee: Charter School May Save Pottsgrove $70K
- Pottsgrove Paying $28K Next Year For MCIU Support
- Secretary Says Schools Must Find Funds Themselves
- College Students Protest Proposed Ed Budget Cuts
- Pay Freeze Endorsed As Pottsgrove Labor Talks Start
- Pottsgrove High Protesters Exercise Art Of Compromise
- Pottsgrove’s Landis Distributes State Fund Comparison
- Pottsgrove Budget Deficit Balloons With Gov’s Proposal
- MCIU Budgets On Pottsgrove Schools Agenda Tonight
- PA House OKs ‘Cut And Replace’ On Education Funding
- Idea: Other Local Schools Consider Extracurricular Fees
- Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
- Pooling Resources Could Save Pottsgrove On Special Ed
- Like Pottsgrove Task Force, Outsiders Weigh Cost Vs. Value
- Task Force Crowd Packs Into Pottsgrove For First Session
- School Budget Task Force Kicks Off Its Work Tonight
- Does Western PA School Tax Uprising Foretell Mood Here?
- Pottsgrove Schools Budget Short Another $400,000
- Pottsgrove, As Expected, Adopts Budget First Draft
- Pottsgrove Tentative Budget Adoption Expected
- Weather Postpones Pottsgrove Budget Meeting
- Still Time In Pottsgrove For Budget Volunteers To Enlist
- Challenge To Pottsgrove Budget Advisers: 10 Percent
- Best Guesses, Deficit Launch Pottsgrove Budget Season
- Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle
- School Board Questions Pottsgrove Recreation Costs
- Pension Reform Vote Could Benefit Pottsgrove, Others
- Notebook Worthy: News Reporters Made News Tuesday
- Pottsgrove Isn’t Waiting In Search For Budget Volunteers
- If You’ve Got A Budget Idea, Pottsgrove Says It’ll Listen
- Pottsgrove Seeks More Public Input On District Budget
Posted in Education, Politics
Posted on 28 June 2011. Tags: education tuition vouchers, Gov. Tom Corbett, Pottsgrove 2011-’12 budget, school choice, The Pennsylvania Independent

The State Capital in Harrisburg.
HARRISBURG PA — State House and Senate leaders say it seems unlikely any of several school voucher proposals introduced this year will make it across the finish line before legislative business ends Thursday (June 30, 2011), The Pennsylvania Independent online news service reported Tuesday (June 28).
With only three days remaining before lawmakers are expected break for the summer, the voucher bills ran out of time. Their failure to make progress in either body indicated no deal between Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature was made, The Independent said.
However, an expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) that provides scholarships to low-income students and is funded through corporate contributions, still could pass and be sent to the governor for consideration, according to House representatives.
Related (to education tuition vouchers):
Posted in Education, Politics
Posted on 30 April 2011. Tags: Gov. Ed Rendell, Gov. Tom Corbett, Pottsgrove 2011-’12 budget, Ronald Tomalis, school choice, The Pennsylvania Independent
HARRISBURG PA – Area school districts – Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford, and Pottstown among them – are being forced next year to grapple with more than just deep cuts in state and federal funding. They also face fundamental changes in educational philosophy, The Pennsylvania Independent online news service reported Friday (April 29, 2011).
School boards understood early on that federal economic stimulus money provided during the past two years by the Obama Administration would end someday. What they may not have appreciated, The Independent reported, is the extent to which former Gov. Ed Rendell ensured extra educational money was available.
Now Rendell’s successor, newly elected Gov. Tom Corbett, is pursuing dramatic educational policy changes. His secretary of education, Ronald Tomalis, has said publicly that he does not believe more money necessarily equals better performance. And Tomalis advocates policies that allow state funding to “follow the child” rather than being tied to a specific school district.
Those shifts, according to The Independent, have left a few lawmakers scratching their heads and seeking more information.
Related (to education tuition vouchers and school choice):
Related (to the Pottsgrove School District 2011-2012 budget):
Photo from Google Images
Posted in Education, Pottsgrove Schools