Good afternoon everyone, 

I’d like to welcome everyone to a special edition of the Keystone Labor Report. This is Sean Kitchen, political correspondent here at The Keystone, and I am taking charge of today’s newsletter. 

Allow me to re-introduce myself and my newsletter real quick. 

I come from a union household in Philadelphia, and labor issues have always been important to me. My dad worked as a forklift driver with Acme Markets, and I always enjoyed hearing the stories about how his union fought for them. 

This is an issue I’ve always cared about, and I’m proud to also sit on the union bargaining committee negotiating our first contract with Keystone’s parent company, COURIER. 

Earlier this year, I launched the Keystone Labor Report, which covers labor and economic issues across Pennsylvania, and we’ve been growing ever since.

(Getty Images)

A proposed school making its way through the application process is testing the limits of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school regulations. 

Limitless Cyber Charter School is scheduled to have its hearing in front of the Pennsylvania Department of Education later this month and their application raises many red flags for education advocates. 

Aside from issues with the school’s application, and believe me there are many, this is just another opportunity to shine a light on the state’s approval process, which favors cyber charter schools. 

Limitless, if denied, will have the chance to appeal their decision to the Charter Appeals Board, which is designed to hear appeals for charter school applications denied by local school boards, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), or the Commonwealth Court in order to be approved later. 

(Sean Kitchen/The Keystone)

A little more than five months after it was due, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania’s budget into law on Wednesday. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s included for Pennsylvania schools: 

👉 A $565 million increase for public schools, which is the second installment in the adequacy and tax equity payments needed to fix Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional school funding system, and a $105 million increase basic education funding for all public schools.

👉 Cyber charter school reforms that will save $178 million for school districts across the commonwealth.

👉 $125 million for repairing school facilities with at least $25 million set aside for the Solar for Schools program.

👉 $30 million for the student teacher stipend program, which pays them as they go through their 12-week student-teacher program. 

“The budget continues Pennsylvania’s commitment to equitable school funding for districts like (Delaware County’s) William Penn and Philadelphia,” House Speaker Joanna McClinton said in a statement. 

“With more than $500 million directed to historically underfunded districts, schools can continue to reduce class size, offer more learning opportunities for students, provide free breakfast, and make sure every child has the tools they need to succeed.”

(Sean Kitchen/The Keystone)

Professors and faculty members at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) were set to return to the picket line on Wednesday, but agreed to pause their strike after the union and HACC’s administration made significant progress in negotiations on Tuesday. They are hoping to reach a tentative agreement by Thursday. 

HACC faculty members voted to unionize in April 2022 and have been working without a contract or a raise since then. Tensions reached a boiling point earlier this month when HACC professors and faculty members went on strike for two days. 

(AP Photo/John Raby)

Quick question for all of the night owls and star gazers out there: 

Were you able to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis that lit up the sky across Pennsylvania and much of the country the past two nights? 

According to NPR, the sun is in the middle of an 11-year cycle where its magnetic poles reverse, allowing massive solar flares to reach the Earth and illuminate much of the northern hemisphere. 

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