Advocacy Request from the Director

Dear Friend and Supporter of Overbrook School for the Blind,

We are asking you to contact your state representative and state senator via email, letter or telephone to ask for their help in amending Act 70, the Act that provides for Overbrook’s state appropriation funding.

PA House Bill 1665 provides special funding guidance for PA approved private schools (including the four chartered school for the deaf and blind, which includes my daughter's school :-) -- please contact your representatives and let them know how important it is to support this legislation (as well as your family and friends); you can determine your state senator’s and representative’s contact information by clicking on the following link and putting in your home address: www.congress.org -- some points to consider:

• H.B. 1665 is important to schools that educate children with disabilities because it will help our school to keep up with the funding for special education and basic education. Both basic and special education are likely to have significant increases for 2009-10 because of federal stimulus dollars, which can’t be used for the Approved Private School for the Children with Disabilities. Because the increase for special education is from federal dollars, the line item for special education this year is flat lined. This means that in 2010-11 there will be no increase for our school, unless H.B. 1665 is enacted.
• Our Approved Private Schools teach children with the most severe and complex disabilities – students who come with a variety of disabilities and in many cases, multiple disabilities. A student population with one or more complex and severe disabilities means higher costs to educate.
• The bill applies only to those fiscal years in which special education is flat lined. In such a year, the increase for our school would be the average percentage of the increases for special and basic education in the last year in which there was an increase for special and basic education.
• H.B. 1665 will require no funding for 2009-10 as our appropriation for the 2009-10 is based on last year’s special education line item.
• (When communicating with Democratic House members) – “ Please tell Appropriations Chair Dwight Evans and your floor leadership, Majority Leader Eachus and Speaker McCall that you would like H.B. 1665 amended into the omnibus school code bill that will pass with the budget.”
• (When communicating with Republican House members) - “Please tell Appropriations leader Mario Civera and your floor leader, Sam Smith, that you want H.B. 1665 amended into the omnibus school code bill that passes with the budget.”

INFORMATION FOR CONTACTING YOUR STATE SENATOR FOLLOWS AND IS LIKE THE ABOVE EXCEPT THAT IT REFERS TO THE SENATE BILL.

SUGGESTED LETTER/CONVERSATION POINTS FOR STATE SENATORS – REFERS TO SENATE BILL (S.B.) # 982

• S. B. 982 is important to our approved private schools for children with disabilities because it will help our school keep up with the funding for special education and basic education. Both basic and special education are likely to have significant increases for 2009-10 because of federal stimulus dollars, which can’t be used for our Chartered School for the Deaf and Blind and for the Approved Private School for the Disabled. Because the increase for special education is from federal dollars, the line item for special education this year is flat lined. This means that in 2010-11 there will be no increase for our school, unless S. B. 982 is enacted.
• Our Chartered Schools and the Approved Private Schools teach children with the most severe and complex disabilities – students who come with a variety of disabilities and in many cases, multiple disabilities. A student population with one or more complex and severe disabilities means higher costs to educate.
• The bill applies only to those fiscal years in which special education is flat lined. In such a year, the increase for our school would be the average percentage of the increases for special and basic education in the last year in which there was an increase for special and basic education.
• S. B. 982 will require no funding for 2009-10 as our appropriation for the 2009-10 is based on last year’s special education line item.
• (When communicating with Republican Senate members) - “Please tell Appropriations leader Jake Corman, Education Committee Chair Jeffrey Piccola, and your floor leader Dominic Pileggi, that you want S. B. 982 amended into the omnibus school code bill that passes with the budget.”
• (When communicating with Democratic Senate members) – “ Please tell Appropriations Chair Jay Costa and your floor leader Robert Mellow that you would like S.B. 982 amended into the omnibus school code bill that will pass with the budget.”

Thank you for your help with this. Your efforts to assist us in this time of need are most appreciated by all at Overbrook School for the Blind. We will let you know the outcome of your efforts!

Sincerely,

Gerald Kitzhoffer

Director