The Pennsylvania Department of Education has received a failing grade from the state auditor general.
In a report released Tuesday, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the department “overlooked” 561 academically challenged schools across the Commonwealth, including 13 in Berks County, placing 310,000 students in jeopardy of getting an “inadequate” education. Two schools in the Pottstown School District also made the list.
The report was based on recent performance audits of the department, and covers a span from July 2010 through August 2015. It includes four findings and 30 recommendations for improvement.
The most serious finding is that the department failed to provide additional assistance to poorly performing schools.
The report used the state’s school performance profiles scores for the 2013-14 school year to identify 814 academically challenged schools that scored below 70 out of a possible 100. Of those, the report says, 561 schools “received no substantial assistance to improve academic performance.”
“We found academically challenged schools in all but eight counties across Pennsylvania, in remote counties, suburban counties, and large cities,” DePasquale said in a statement that accompanied the report. “All the students in these schools have fundamental rights to a fair and effective educational system secured by our state constitution, one that gives them hope and tools for successful and productive lives.
“We must do better to ensure these schools improve. There just is not any other option.”
Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, Reading School District superintendent, whose district is home to seven of the 13 identified schools in Berks, said support from the state is critical in helping the district move forward.
“As Reading School District’s curriculum, interventions and support for special needs learners, English Language Learners and students living in poverty continually are aligned with the new Pennsylvania Core Standards, the continued support for programming addressing these challenges will be of paramount importance,” he said.
The auditor general’s report recommends several ways the department can improve, including convening a group of experts to develop recommendations for the poorest-performing schools, evaluating the department’s current organizational structure and creating partnerships with districts to provide direct support to poorly performing schools.
The other three findings in the report were that the Pennsylvania Board of Education has failed to update a master plan for education since 1999; that it’s failed to monitor special advisors and assistants; and that it relies on retired employees to fill critical positions, many of whom serve more than the 95-day maximum they’re allowed to work per year.
DePasquale said it is important for the department to be functioning properly, and the problems discussed in the report must be fixed quickly.
“The challenges faced by our basic educational system are daunting, but they are not impossible to tackle,” he said. “The Department of Education and the Board of Education must get their respective houses in order.
“Solving these problems also will take strong commitments by the governor and the General Assembly to make sure the Department of Education and our schools have the adequate academic and financial support to provide a solid foundation for student success,” he continued. “Failing to act will have devastating consequences for students and Pennsylvania’s economy.”
Contact David Mekeel: 610-371-5014 or dmekeel@readingeagle.com.
