Scott Parks, the executive director of the BCTHS is quoted in the BCCT as saying that Morrisville and Bensalem need to step up and approve this year's budget, and the funding formula for the 2009-2010 year can be discussed later at a joint business managers meeting over the summer.
Why does this sound like something a used car salesman would say?
Anyone know what the Emperor and the Court of Toadies want to do? Either they or the Bensalem board need to approve the budget to make it operational. Sounds like the Prisoner's Dilemma at work.
It also sounds like one of the unanticipated expenses that a bare bones budget has no room to handle.
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Funding formula to be re-examined
The joint board committee wants to see if actual usage charges could be used to cover mainstream and special education student expenses.
By JOAN HELLYER
Local school officials will meet this summer to see if they can come up with a new way to fund Bucks County Technical High School.
Joint board committee members of the tech school agreed Tuesday to meet with business managers from the six sending districts to look at actual usage costs for all students, not just special education students.
That meeting will likely take place in July, said Scott Parks, administrative director of the comprehensive high school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township.
The committee previously asked business managers to examine expenses for the school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury districts.
The finance officers suggested districts pay for their special education students on a per usage basis, instead of splitting the costs among the districts, as they do now.
Had that system been in place this school year, Bristol Township would have paid about $500,000 less and Neshaminy would have paid about $450,000 more, officials said.
Neshaminy representatives have protested the potential funding formula change. They said before anything is revised, the joint board should consider changing the formula so districts would pay actual usage for both mainstream and special education students.
Joint board members agreed to the summer meeting to discuss that possibility with business managers.
Controversy surrounding the revised funding formula, which would not be put into place until 2009-2010, has slowed approval of next school year’s budget.
At least one more sending school board and two more school board members from the districts served by BCTHS have to vote in favor of the estimated $21.7 million budget before it can be enacted.
Parks urged representatives of the Bensalem and Morrisville boards, which delayed votes on the 2008-2009 financial plan, to encourage their respective governing bodies to vote on it. The boards have until June 30 to act on the proposed tech school budget.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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3 comments:
Don't approve the 2008-09 Tech School Budget, don't approve the 2008-09 Morrisville School District Budget, and plunge everything into chaos and confusion. There's really nothing to lose, right? And it'll surely help expedite the state takeover that many in Morrisville dream about. We're not the Bulldogs for nothing - don't let those elitist bigwigs in the other districts and those fatcat bureaucrats at the PDE (or suit-wearing developers) push this little town around! Don't let them emasculate us! Go! Go! Go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUR-OdR3egU
Parks is spouting a line that has been fed to Morrisville at least once in the past. A previous board also called for a closer look at the funding formulas in order to find a more fair balance for Morrisville. At the time, MV threatened to withhold it's vote on the bidget, but the then BCTS administration pleaded with the board NOT to take that action, promising a look at the figures over the next year.
As it turns out, MV voted on the budget and the following year's analysis ended up with the results that "we've studied this and there's nothing we can do to change the forumula".
The next year MV teamed up with several other districts and FORCED a reconsideration.
Not to be taken lightly, but the vote does count for something, and as long as you have the attention of the Administration, use this power to demand they find a solution.
While it may sound like what a used car salesman would say, it's also an indication of how complicated these things can be. This whole complaint arose a couple of months ago when certain school districts noticed that their contribution to the tech school rose higher than others. It's not fair! they railed (though surely, in years past, the formula favored them) and decided to try to force a change in their favor. With a couple of months for the tech school board to get everyone to agree to change the funding formula and how to change the formula. Impossible. It will take months or years (and probably never happen) to make everyone happy and agreeable. Surely, it's worth debating, but there are six districts plus the tech school board this has to go through. Not gonna happen in a couple of months.
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