Thursday, November 20, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Morrisville, in Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a colonial era town in the midst of transition into the 21st century. Taxes, personalities, and development all combine in a sometimes explosive mix. Come on in and join the discussion Email: savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com
Student Achievement Billboard
Congratulations!
Does Your Business Reject Education?
"Stay on Track" Businesses
C-Confirmed with photo
R-Reported
* C-William Hellmann, CPA (April 29)
* C-A to Z Music (April 29)
* C-Squirrel's Nest (April 29)
* R-Yardley Auto Body (April 29)
* C-Colonial Haircutters (April 29)
* C-Piscopo Brothers (April 29) REMOVED April 30
* C-Delmorr Lanes (April 29)
* C-The Hair Works (April 29)
C-Confirmed with photo
R-Reported
* C-William Hellmann, CPA (April 29)
* C-A to Z Music (April 29)
* C-Squirrel's Nest (April 29)
* R-Yardley Auto Body (April 29)
* C-Colonial Haircutters (April 29)
* C-Piscopo Brothers (April 29) REMOVED April 30
* C-Delmorr Lanes (April 29)
* C-The Hair Works (April 29)
Morrisville Primary Election 2009
Secret Meetings??
Labels
- * I SUPPORT EDUCATION (1)
- 2008 Presidential Election (15)
- 2009 Mayor Campaign (2)
- 21st Century program (1)
- 501C-3 (5)
- A-Field (2)
- accountability (5)
- Act 1 (6)
- Albertson (1)
- apathy (1)
- Archives 2007 (2)
- arrogance (21)
- bad construction (3)
- Bailey (10)
- bankruptcy (3)
- BCCT (59)
- BCIU (3)
- Bensalem (5)
- board vacancy (7)
- Bolos (14)
- Borough Council (25)
- Bristol (9)
- Bristol Twp (3)
- Buckman (24)
- Bucks Tech School (16)
- budget (73)
- budget in other districts (27)
- bullying (1)
- Burger (4)
- Calhoun St Bridge (3)
- Centennial (5)
- Center Area-Monaca merger (4)
- charter schools (1)
- Cicero (1)
- Citizens Action Plan (2)
- comics (44)
- Community Justice Project (1)
- Council Rock (1)
- Curtin and Heefner (2)
- DeAngelo (15)
- defeasement (44)
- development in other towns (9)
- DeWilde (6)
- distress in other districts (49)
- Dreisbach (5)
- DRJTBA (3)
- drugs (3)
- Dunford (7)
- DVHS (8)
- education policy (2)
- facilities director (1)
- farming (38)
- Farrell (17)
- federal education policy (4)
- federal funding (6)
- Ferrara (3)
- First Suburbs (2)
- Fitzpatrick (6)
- Frankenfield (18)
- Frankenfield Question (4)
- Fratti (35)
- free lunch (2)
- Galloway (23)
- Gateway (15)
- Gehrens (4)
- general education (6)
- George Clymer (1)
- Gesualdi (1)
- Gibson (4)
- Good Schools Pennsylvania (1)
- Gould (1)
- grade inflation (1)
- Grandview (7)
- grants (4)
- Greenland (6)
- Gym Night (1)
- Halifax-Millersburg merger (1)
- Heater (14)
- Hellmann (137)
- Hellmann 6 part plan (3)
- Hellmann building report (15)
- Historic Morrisville Society (2)
- homeless students (3)
- Huggins (1)
- illegal students (2)
- impeachment (4)
- integrity (15)
- Jones (1)
- Jordan (2)
- K-12 (2)
- Kelly (6)
- Kemp (14)
- lame-duck (1)
- Landmark Towns (1)
- Lastician (4)
- lawsuit (1)
- leadership (15)
- Ledger (5)
- local business (1)
- Magic Cottage (1)
- Manning (1)
- McIlhinney (11)
- meeting reminder (29)
- merger (5)
- MHS asbestos (7)
- Mihok (77)
- mo (1)
- Morrisville Business Development (3)
- Morrisville Community Events (19)
- Morrisville Comprehensive Plan (2)
- Morrisville District Reorganization (5)
- Morrisville PTO (6)
- Morrisville Tomorrow (3)
- MSD students in action (17)
- MV building survey (4)
- Myers (3)
- NCLB (3)
- Neshaminy (25)
- New Hope-Solebury (1)
- news from other districts (20)
- North Penn (2)
- Northampton (1)
- NYT (1)
- open records (4)
- out of district students (1)
- PA State law (5)
- PA State School Consolidation (14)
- Panzitta (6)
- PDE (7)
- Pennsbury (25)
- Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign (2)
- Philadelphia (1)
- Philadelphia Inquirer (8)
- PJP (2)
- PJRP (3)
- poll (7)
- poverty (2)
- privacy (4)
- propaganda (2)
- PSBA (4)
- PSBE (1)
- PSERS (1)
- PSSA scores (3)
- PSSA Scores 2008 (10)
- PSSA Scores 2009 (1)
- Public Notices (2)
- QSRE (12)
- Quakertown (1)
- Radosti (47)
- re-registration (6)
- reassessment (2)
- referendum (2)
- Reiter (34)
- Reiter shut down (11)
- Reithmeyer (16)
- released emails (6)
- Rendell (5)
- renovation (12)
- renovation in other districts (21)
- Right To Know Law (11)
- Rivella (7)
- Robert Morris (1)
- Sandy Gibson rule (3)
- school uniforms (3)
- Schools News Around the Blogosphere (26)
- secrecy (15)
- Secret Meeting (7)
- Sharon Hughes (1)
- Sherlock (5)
- solicitor (2)
- Souderton (12)
- Special Education (24)
- Special Education in other districts (12)
- state funding (15)
- Stockham Building project (14)
- Stout (4)
- strategic plan (1)
- student sports and activities (3)
- student testing (17)
- students (5)
- taxes (56)
- teacher strikes (6)
- teachers union (20)
- teaching vacancies (2)
- testing in other districts (4)
- trailers (5)
- train station (2)
- Trenton Times (2)
- Tullytown (1)
- uncategorized (2)
- unethical. immoral (2)
- Vitetta (14)
- Wisnosky (3)
- Worob Brenda (20)
- Worob Steve (17)
- Yonson (78)
Morrisville Links
Education Links
Just Plain Good Links
Blog Archive
- ▼ 2008 (842)
About Me
- Save The School
- Morrisville, Pennsylvania, United States
- Concerned parent who wants a future for this town and its residents Mail to savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com
8 comments:
Not a lot went on. A special education teacher going on maternity leave was replaced. The electrical work was approved and an owner's representative was hired at roughly $4800/mo. to watch the construction projects. Ron Stout read a farce of a prepared statement that was an attack on Robin and everyone who ever supported building a school and wasn't stopped by Mr. Hellmann. Kathy Panzitta chided them both (and everyone who didn't speak up during the attack - me included) for that.
Several people asked for A Plan as some of The Plan started to leak out. From what can be gathered by the rumors and leaks (I know as much as y'all do, as does the superintendent and Robin), the board majority is looking at closing one of the elementary schools and moving more kids into the high school. Since no professional studies are being done and the administration hasn't been tasked with anything, the possibility has to be based on a couple of board members walking around the schools with Tim Lastichen. Damon Miller asked some very valid questions including: there's one gym and one cafeteria, there are no bathrooms for little kids.
If there's any Plan for how the logistics of educating 9 (more?) grades in that one building, I haven't had a whiff of them.
Also, uniforms are back, sort of. The policy committee is going to form another committee to discuss the shape of a policy that'll eventually be written regarding uniforms or possibly a dress code that'll be strictly adhered to because gangs, clicques, sexiness. Marlys is driving this bus (again) and she told the parents that she watches our kids go to school (shudder) and apparently they all dress wrong.
Maria Buckman and Sharon Hughes were presented with plaques as thank-yous for their volunteer work during reregistration. The plaques were not paid for by the district. I'm sure they were lovely.
Oh, and Robin and I aren't helping. Any suggestion I have made has been summarily ignored, so I think I'm helping out by not taking up valuable ignore time with screaming. That's how I help.
Next up: Budget season!
One other thing that needs its own post: The 501c3 is in stalling mode because we don't have enough people to form a board of directors. We especially need business people to get involved. This could be really helpful, especially when we can expect more budget cuts than ever. It's not money that can fund regular or special education, but it can help to provide extra educational opportunities at no expense to taxpayers.
Contact the school district if you're interested in helping out.
Is it that you and Robin aren't helping, or is it you won't do as you're told?
"Marlys is driving this bus (again) and she told the parents that she watches our kids go to school (shudder) and apparently they all dress wrong."
Yes, we all should dress like Marlys.
A question via e-mail:
What is the job of the "Owner's Rep"? Who was hired? Was this something put out for bids, or otherwise publicly announced prior to last night's decision?
"Several people asked for A Plan as some of The Plan started to leak out. From what can be gathered by the rumors and leaks (I know as much as y'all do, as does the superintendent and Robin), the board majority is looking at closing one of the elementary schools and moving more kids into the high school."
It sounds like they're back to ignoring the Sunshine Law, not to mention their campaign pledge, "We will form Community Advisory Panels comprised of residents, parents, seniors, etc. to take suggestions and make the school board a more transparent governing entity!" Would that be the farcical CAP Committee?
To expand on "the plan" rumor, I heard they are planning to simply shuffle people around -- K-2 move to Grandview, 3-5 move to the HS, move Administration to Reiter. Super. If this is true, it does not actually address the problems in the elementary buildings. It just gives the illusion that something is being done. It's slight of hand.
Of course, how could they deal with the elementary schools? They gave back all the cash!
In answer to the Owner's Representative question: The gentleman, an architect by trade, is currently doing the same job at Bristol Borough (where they do everything right and we must copy them) for their big, big job of (we must not copy them) building a school. He was interviewed at the previous agenda meeting. Nothing went out to bid, it's professional services and it doesn't need to go out to bid.
I posted this before. It's from the March 27, 2008 BCCT. Just wondering if the guy the Morrisville school board just hired for about $5,000/month was supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening? Gotta think that's what the folks running the show here would be saying if the thumb was up the other butt. It's kinda hard to be strident and resist implementing a bad plan when the bad planners are paying you, but here's to hoping this guy speaks truth to power if/when the stench becomes overwhelming.
Board to decide on school's color scheme
By JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
The Bristol school board has to decide if it wants the district's new school to be gray brick with red brick trim or red brick with gray brick trim, officials said.
The original plans for the $33 million pre-K through eighth-grade school off Buckley Street called for red brick with gray brick trim, district officials said. However, designs produced by VITETTA, a Philadelphia-based architectural firm in charge of the project, specified for the building to be gray brick with red trim, officials said.
The building contractor ordered the bricks according to the design specifications and crews began to install the bricks in the back of the school before the mistake was caught, officials said.
VITETTA representatives acknowledged the mistake to board members during a closed-door executive session earlier this month, district officials said.
The Courier Times was unsuccessful in reaching VITETTA Executive Vice President Michael Minton, who is in charge of the project's design, for comment Wednesday.
During the closed-door session, Minton asked board members to take a look at the bricks that already have been installed at the back of the school near the Grundy Towers senior citizens facility, the officials said.
He asked them to decide if they want to continue with the gray brick with red brick trim scheme, or if they want to use the original color scheme.
The construction project, including the issue with the bricks, is expected to come up again tonight during an executive session prior to the board's regular meeting, Superintendent Broadus Davis said Wednesday.
The brick issue is not listed as an item on the board's public meeting agenda, but any board member can make a motion regarding the concern during the meeting, Davis said.
Vice President John D'Angelo said he has had a look at the bricks and didn't think they looked too bad. He said he plans to suggest they put up the red brick with gray brick trim on the rest of the building before it's decided whether to tear down the already installed bricks.
The bricks that are already up “will delineate the boiler and maintenance area of the building. It will look like we did it on purpose,” D'Angelo said.
The brick situation is not expected to delay the building's construction, which is expected to be completed during the 2008-09 school year, officials said.
The building will replace the adjacent Warren Snyder-John Girotti Elementary and provide more learning space for district high school students when the seventh- and eighth-graders move out of the high school and into the new school, they said.
IF YOU GO
The Bristol school board is expected during its 7:30 p.m. meeting tonight to consider what to do about the brick color scheme of the new pre-K to eighth-grade school under construction off Buckley Street. The board meeting will be held at the administration building off Farragut Avenue. Call 215-781-1000 for more information.
Post a Comment