Do Not Pass GO, Do Not Collect $200

That ol' wheel of karma is a pretty merciless pain in the patootie, isn't it? Looks like the advice that the omnipotent and omniscient Stop the School board has been receiving from mere administration mortals like Superintendent Yonson and award winning Business Manager Dunford was actually, *GASP* accurate.

Special exemption? We don't need no stinkin' exception! William Hellmann, part-time CPA and full-time super hero is on the case!

Board solicitor? We don't need no solicitor. Our decisions are ALWAYS right! Advice is for wusses, and Bill ain't no wuss. Besides, Angry Al supports Bill. That MUST mean Bill's right! Full speed ahead.

Special education? We don't need no funding! Bill says it's true, so let it be written, let it be done!

Thankfully, there is some form of sanity that exists outside of the confines of the magical land of Morrisville where the rules of modern life are suspended by fiat and whim.

Section 318 of the PA code, hmmm.....Can you whisper one word ever so quietly to yourself and see what it sounds like? Ready?

**RECALL**


MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
District warned about special education plan
The board decided against applying for an exception for special education in January.
By MANASEE WAGH
STAFF WRITER

A state official warned Thursday that not fulfilling special education obligations could land Morrisville’s school board in hot water.

On Tuesday, board President William Hellmann had asked the board to cut $91,000 from the proposed 2008-09 school budget. That money is intended to cover part of increased costs for special education in the district.

The board voted 6-0 to investigate Hellmann’s plan, which would cut the average property tax bill in Morrisville by more than $300 for the coming school year.

Stuart Knade, chief counsel for the state school boards association, said reducing such costs isn’t easy.

He said that since the federal government requires all special education needs be met, the district could get into trouble if it doesn’t meet those needs.

“You could find a lower cost provider or find more efficient programs. But it’s still limited what you can do,’’ Knade said.

If the district appears to be refusing to provide sufficient funding for special education, he said, “the parents could sue them and that could turn out to be extremely expensive.”

Knade said the state also has enforcement powers under the law and can make the district fulfill its obligations. In case a board refuses to perform its duties under the school code, board members can be removed from power under section 318 of the code, said Knade.

Kimberly Myers, Morrisville’s supervisor of pupil personnel services, said the district’s special education services cost about $1.9 million this year. About an estimated $2.2 million will be needed for special education next year for about 250 students, 11 more than this year’s average.

“No matter what, this district will follow federal requirements,” she said.

But business administrator Reba Dunford said cutting that much money would prevent the district from adequately providing those services.

The proposed budget for the district next year is nearly $20 million to support two elementary schools and a high school. Hellmann’s cuts would reduce that to $19.7 million.

Hellmann asked for 2008-09 spending reductions on special education, charter schools, alternative schools and staff, including the elimination of a principal position and the district’s grant writer position.

The board’s decision to look into it comes about four months after it refused to take advantage of a state exception to raise taxes past 4.4 percent to fund special education. Exceptions allow districts to meet costs over which they have no control. Instead, the board passed a resolution in January not to apply for any exceptions, and it’s too late to do so now.

The more sensible option at the time would have been to approve a preliminary budget and apply for exceptions that would leave a little financial wiggle room, according to Dunford. After approving a preliminary budget plan, a school board has until the end of June to figure out how to keep taxes as low as possible while ensuring that all necessary expenses like special education can be paid for.

Instead, the district appears stuck.

Most of the new board members were elected on their promise to not raise taxes. However, reducing money for necessary programs, like sending extremely disruptive children to alternative schools, will hurt the district, residents said at the Wednesday meeting.

Because the board decided against pursuing any exceptions, Dunford said she never calculated the amount of money the district could have saved or how much exceptions could have helped financially. Most likely a special education exception would have been the only one the state would have approved for Morrisville, Dunford said.

Lowering average taxes by more than $300 next year would hurt the district financially the following year, when taxes would likely increase a lot, Dunford said Thursday.

Wednesday’s decision to look into slashing money for programs and services has fueled speculation in the borough that some board members want the district’s financial and academic situation to deteriorate to the point that the state would have to step in.

The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching Hellmann by phone or e-mail this week to comment on the allegation.

In general, the state would take over if the district falls into financial distress, Knade said. He said it can take several years before the state deems a district to be in financial distress, however. If the state does step in, said Knade, “a board of control appointed by the secretary of education makes a lot of decisions for the district — they would actually step into the board and direct them.”

But trying to ruin the district wouldn’t do much for the current board, and would certainly be detrimental to the district, said Knade.

“There are a number of ways the PSBA could help a board if they asked,” he added. “But we can’t just swoop in and tell them what to do.”

Sheila Ballen, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, agreed that officials at the state level cannot intercede in Morrisville at this point.

“It’s a very strong culture of local control. We don’t get involved,” she said. Ballen also said that the district “has obligations under the federal law to meet the needs of special needs students. We can comment further when the board passes the final budget.”

Ballen did not want to comment on what the state would do in Morrisville’s situation, but said that every case is individual. “It’s a district-bydistrict decision when it gets to absolute dire circumstances. There is no roadmap.”

Knade said the district solicitor should be able to advise the board against poor decisions.

“The previous solicitor and current one are very capable attorneys,” said Knade. “I’m sure they will advise the board members. Unfortunately, the solicitor doesn’t have a vote.”

Residents at the Wednesday board meeting were wondering where the board’s new solicitor, Michael Fitzpatrick, was. While he was present before the meeting started, he disappeared for the rest of the evening. He did not return calls made to his law firm Thursday afternoon.