I wonder what the payback to the unions might be for these endorsements on Election Day 2007. Did anyone else see this? And why would Marlys Mihok and William Hellmann CPA be unworthy of this honor, but Bill Farrell, Robin Reithmeyer, Al Radosti, Gloria Heater, Nancy Sherlock, Kathryn Panzitta, and David Rivella would be?
I'm not against unions. I come from a long, long line of union members in my family. I just want to know if stopping the school and seeking to award reconstruction and renovation work locally are at all connected or not, either then, now, or in the future.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
You Never Know What Google Can Find
A brief history of the Morrisville School District, by a guest blogger. I think it's so wonderful that a public servant like the comptroller of Morrisville worked so diligently with the QRSE people to ensure a brighter future for all. Does anyone know who this angel of compassionate mercy is?
I also never knew that our high school, built in 1957, actually met the code requirements of the 1960s. Big, big bravos to our time traveling architects and engineers. (Just for fun, does anyone know which public buildings were our official "Duck and Cover, Kiss Your Butt Goodbye" Cuban Missile Crisis shelters?) Ditto about the evil BCCT who never sees things the same way as these enlightened individuals.
I like the comparison to caring about the senior's medications but not caring about the kids. The technical term for this is "cognitive dissonance." Really. It is.
We also need to have a lesson in the use of apostrophe's when it's a plural and when it's a possessive. I can hear teachers across the commonwealth crying out in pain as they read this amateurish writing.
I feel like something is missing through. More than just the period at the end of the last sentence, or even a completion to the thought. But, sadly, that's where this heartfelt missive ends. Just as we're getting to the good
Taxpayer Successes in Pennsylvania School Districts
This letter is from Sharon Hughes, President of Morrisville Citizens for Quality, Responsible and Safe Education, Inc.
Tonight , Tuesday, 12/4/07, in Morrisville six candidates were sworn in as school board directors who represent the people of this community.It may take a moment to explain.
The state of Pa. recommended that Morrisville consolidate our three schools because we only have 900 students in our entire system and they would all fit in our existing high school with some modifications. But, our school board announced on September 28, 2005, that they wanted to tear down all three of our schools and build a new K-12 School at a cost of $28 Million dollars. (We believe that the actual cost would have been at least one-third higher had the numbers been honest. This belief is based on what the costs are to build schools in other districts in Lower Bucks County.) Our buildings were sound, but our systems, (electric, plumbing, etc.) were shot. Our high school was built to such high specifications in the 1960s that it was our towns designated bomb shelter. Bink Architects were hired on what I consider a very amateurish Feasibility Study that bears no resemblance to the school that was finally settled on.
Morrisville pays the highest taxes in Bucks County already, and this new school would put many of our citizens into tax sales.
Six weeks later on November 16, 2005, the board voted to float a $30 Million bond for the new K-12 School. At this point our group, Morrisville Citizens was born. We were turned down by every law firm in town to represent us. We then hired a law firm from Philadelphia, Robert Sugarman and Associates, to represent Morrisville Citizens. Bob Sugarman's first sentence after we explained the precarious tax situation that this bond put Morrisville's people into was, "That means that seniors will not be able to afford their medicine." Bob is a Godsend to Morrisville, and one very excellent lawyer.
Hiring a lawyer was not inexpensive. We still need to fundraise to pay our bill. But, in the first year of holding off the bond we saved the people of Morrisville about one million dollars because the interest rates for municipal bonds went down in that year.
He fought for us for two solid years and never once wavered in his dedication to our cause although there is really no way to stop a school board. He tried every legal way he could, even taking our case to the Supreme Court of the state of Pennsylvania only to be told they would not look at the case.
Two school board members who voted for the new school were lame ducks and left in Nov. 2005. Three more school board members resigned in the two months after the vote to build. The first to leave was the school board treasurer. I think they all knew about the reality or unreality of the numbers and got out before things got too hot. The three new hand picked board members voted pro school all the way.
Morrisville Citizens for Quality, Safe, Responsible Education met every Sunday night for over a year, and every other Sunday night for the next year. We were blessed early on when the comptroller for Morrisville looked at the numbers and realized what this new tax burden would do to our town and he worked with our lawyer for the entire two years at no charge looking at the financial problems with the plan. We found a member who printed tens of thousands of flyers for us for free. We found dedicated people who took over 3,000 flyers out every time we needed to communicate with the town. This was our only voice as the local newspaper was exclusively the voice for the school board. We brought facts and figures to the school board at every meeting only to be met by condescending attitudes and downright rude responses about us not caring about the children's education. The school board president told us that "schools do educate children", therefore a new school would educate our students better.
We wrote to and spoke with to the governor's office, local state representatives and senators, with PDE reps, the auditor general, Carle Dixon and numerous others who all said the same thing, "School Board's can pretty much do what they want to do !" "You elected them."
Our school board tried to sell two of our existing schools to a developer although they were still being used. The district would have rented back the schools until the new school was built. This was to force the hand of the new school board so they would have to build the new school.
We plowed on and held out until we were able to have our slate of six candidates take all six spots in both the democratic and the republican spaces in the May Primaries.
But the school board wasn't through. They established a new state political party.,"The community Party" in order to get onto the ballot in November. The school board president accused one of the new school board members of threatening her children
I also never knew that our high school, built in 1957, actually met the code requirements of the 1960s. Big, big bravos to our time traveling architects and engineers. (Just for fun, does anyone know which public buildings were our official "Duck and Cover, Kiss Your Butt Goodbye" Cuban Missile Crisis shelters?) Ditto about the evil BCCT who never sees things the same way as these enlightened individuals.
I like the comparison to caring about the senior's medications but not caring about the kids. The technical term for this is "cognitive dissonance." Really. It is.
We also need to have a lesson in the use of apostrophe's when it's a plural and when it's a possessive. I can hear teachers across the commonwealth crying out in pain as they read this amateurish writing.
I feel like something is missing through. More than just the period at the end of the last sentence, or even a completion to the thought. But, sadly, that's where this heartfelt missive ends. Just as we're getting to the good
Taxpayer Successes in Pennsylvania School Districts
This letter is from Sharon Hughes, President of Morrisville Citizens for Quality, Responsible and Safe Education, Inc.
Tonight , Tuesday, 12/4/07, in Morrisville six candidates were sworn in as school board directors who represent the people of this community.It may take a moment to explain.
The state of Pa. recommended that Morrisville consolidate our three schools because we only have 900 students in our entire system and they would all fit in our existing high school with some modifications. But, our school board announced on September 28, 2005, that they wanted to tear down all three of our schools and build a new K-12 School at a cost of $28 Million dollars. (We believe that the actual cost would have been at least one-third higher had the numbers been honest. This belief is based on what the costs are to build schools in other districts in Lower Bucks County.) Our buildings were sound, but our systems, (electric, plumbing, etc.) were shot. Our high school was built to such high specifications in the 1960s that it was our towns designated bomb shelter. Bink Architects were hired on what I consider a very amateurish Feasibility Study that bears no resemblance to the school that was finally settled on.
Morrisville pays the highest taxes in Bucks County already, and this new school would put many of our citizens into tax sales.
Six weeks later on November 16, 2005, the board voted to float a $30 Million bond for the new K-12 School. At this point our group, Morrisville Citizens was born. We were turned down by every law firm in town to represent us. We then hired a law firm from Philadelphia, Robert Sugarman and Associates, to represent Morrisville Citizens. Bob Sugarman's first sentence after we explained the precarious tax situation that this bond put Morrisville's people into was, "That means that seniors will not be able to afford their medicine." Bob is a Godsend to Morrisville, and one very excellent lawyer.
Hiring a lawyer was not inexpensive. We still need to fundraise to pay our bill. But, in the first year of holding off the bond we saved the people of Morrisville about one million dollars because the interest rates for municipal bonds went down in that year.
He fought for us for two solid years and never once wavered in his dedication to our cause although there is really no way to stop a school board. He tried every legal way he could, even taking our case to the Supreme Court of the state of Pennsylvania only to be told they would not look at the case.
Two school board members who voted for the new school were lame ducks and left in Nov. 2005. Three more school board members resigned in the two months after the vote to build. The first to leave was the school board treasurer. I think they all knew about the reality or unreality of the numbers and got out before things got too hot. The three new hand picked board members voted pro school all the way.
Morrisville Citizens for Quality, Safe, Responsible Education met every Sunday night for over a year, and every other Sunday night for the next year. We were blessed early on when the comptroller for Morrisville looked at the numbers and realized what this new tax burden would do to our town and he worked with our lawyer for the entire two years at no charge looking at the financial problems with the plan. We found a member who printed tens of thousands of flyers for us for free. We found dedicated people who took over 3,000 flyers out every time we needed to communicate with the town. This was our only voice as the local newspaper was exclusively the voice for the school board. We brought facts and figures to the school board at every meeting only to be met by condescending attitudes and downright rude responses about us not caring about the children's education. The school board president told us that "schools do educate children", therefore a new school would educate our students better.
We wrote to and spoke with to the governor's office, local state representatives and senators, with PDE reps, the auditor general, Carle Dixon and numerous others who all said the same thing, "School Board's can pretty much do what they want to do !" "You elected them."
Our school board tried to sell two of our existing schools to a developer although they were still being used. The district would have rented back the schools until the new school was built. This was to force the hand of the new school board so they would have to build the new school.
We plowed on and held out until we were able to have our slate of six candidates take all six spots in both the democratic and the republican spaces in the May Primaries.
But the school board wasn't through. They established a new state political party.,"The community Party" in order to get onto the ballot in November. The school board president accused one of the new school board members of threatening her children
High School Students and Cold Classrooms
I really like this...I received an email from a student at the high school telling me that one of the teachers in the A Hall at the high school had to move their class to another room both on Thursday and Friday because there was insufficient heat available in the room. This is not confirmed by a second source, so I will not reveal any more details. If anyone wants to tell more about this, or any other items, savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com is open 24/7.
I'm very pleased that there's high schoolers reading this blog out there. You are the new voters. Get involved now. The teachers, staff, and the students know the real everyday condition of the schools. Politically, if they want to keep their jobs, the teachers and staff really do need to keep quiet. More than one whistleblower has paid the price. Responsible criticism and accurate reporting of issues by students is still allowed.
We parents may have to pay the taxes and make them run, but it is your school too.
I'm very pleased that there's high schoolers reading this blog out there. You are the new voters. Get involved now. The teachers, staff, and the students know the real everyday condition of the schools. Politically, if they want to keep their jobs, the teachers and staff really do need to keep quiet. More than one whistleblower has paid the price. Responsible criticism and accurate reporting of issues by students is still allowed.
We parents may have to pay the taxes and make them run, but it is your school too.
BCCT Thumbs Up for the NSNs
This seems to go back to my previous post: Beware of pretended neutrality where none exists. Feel free to comment as you wish...
Bucks County Courier Times Thumbs up
Bucks County Courier Times Thumbs up
* To the Morrisville school board for sticking to its campaign promise of fiscal responsibility.
The board passed a resolution this week to keep the district's real estate tax increase at the state-mandated inflation rate of 4.4 percent. While Act I mandates that school districts can't raise taxes above a state-set inflation index without a voter referendum, there are exceptions for which districts can apply so they can raise taxes above the inflation index without a referendum. By passing this resolution, the board essentially has stated that it won't seek any of those exceptions.
Fantastic! We have frankly gotten used to candidates making campaign promises — lowering taxes chief among them — only to see them forgotten once they get into office. Not the 2008 Morrisville school board, apparently. And though at least one board member has stated that pledging to keep to the 4.4 percent at this early stage of the budget proceedings could be irresponsible, we would rather think of it as a show of determination to keep their word to the voters of Morrisville.
Ten Things a Political Junkie Hates About Politics
I found this interesting article, and while it is meant to address politics at a national level, once you have read it through once, try reading it again but this time substituting Morrisville and our elected representatives (borough council and/or school board as you wish) to take a fresh look at the insincere performances they tend to give us, and the free pass we give them to do it.
Yes, I do know that the primary system being broken section is almost completely inapplicable to us here in the former future capital of the United States. But changing it to "Nine Things a Political Junkie Hates About Politics" didn't feel right. Every top ten list should at least strive to have more than nine entries. (I is usin' algebra to thinks that through!)
Here we have William Hellmann CPA, the Bucks County Courier Times, the Stop the School people and their semi-coherent myrmidons, "bringing home the bacon" to local contractors, stop the school and save the children, symbolic votes on unnecessary budget limits, stopping the school because of missing a few hours on a 100-year flood water percolation program (as if no one else in the borough would have water in their yards in a 100-year flood!), and other forms of preposterous public posturing that make up our little local political kabuki theater of the absurd to use as real-life examples and to think about what that actually says about us, the voter, about the people we choose to represent us. No matter what side of our school issues you stand on, if you can read this and not feel a bit ashamed, then you need to re-read it until you do.
This is not the full article, but snips from it...
1: Fear Of Offending Anyone: Because politicians are always thinking about the next election instead of actually serving the people who put them into office, they're terrified of actually doing anything that might offend someone.
2: Politics Not Stopping At The Water's Edge: There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with your political opponent's foreign policy, but there is a problem when you put your petty political concerns ahead of the good of the country. Love of country should come before petty political concerns and that has ceased to be the case for too many people in D.C.
3: The Lying And Inauthenticity: Campaigns in the United States have become exercises in trying to be "everything to everybody."...when even people who support a particular candidate admit that they're backing a shameless liar, it's clear that integrity in politics has slid way too far down the hillside.
4: Crazed Hyperbole: It's not surprising that people have unkind things to say about their political opponents, but when it gets as over-the-top as it has been during the Bush and Clinton presidencies, it is not healthy for the country.
5: Fake Objectivity From The Media: That's what drives people so crazy about the mainstream media: it's that they're every bit as biased as the people in talk radio and the blogosphere, but they try to pretend that they're not.
6: Mainstreaming Conspiracy Theories: Off-the-wall crazy has become just another form of political expression.
7: The Perpetual Campaign: Over and over again, important legislation is ignored so that symbolic votes on hot issues like the war can be held even though everyone knows that they're meaningless. Instead of working on key issues like, let's say border security or Social Security reform, Congress looks for bills to attach earmarks to because that's how they believe you get elected, by bringing federal tax dollars back to their district to be used on comically useless Bridges to Nowhere, Liberace Museums, and buildings named after the Congressman who acquired the pork to fund them.
8: Short-Term Thinking: Where's the long term thinking? Where are the people working to build a country that will be better for our children than it is for us? Where is the concern for the long-term health of the country? It's like watching two groups of kids using every dime of their allowance to buy candy without spending a moment thinking of what they'll do for money until their parents pay them again in a month.
9: Lack Of Bipartisanship: There's a difference between a boxing match when the opponents shake hands after it's all over and a no-holds-barred street fight featuring knives and broken bottles... it would be nice if the politicians in D.C. were willing to actually try to work together for the good of the country on occasion instead of only cooperating when they want to throw our money away on more pork or help out a lobbyist who has been spreading around a lot of campaign cash.
10: The Primary System Is Broken: The idea that each party's nominee for the presidency should in large part be decided by whoever spends the most money and time camped out in two tiny states is nuts.
Yes, I do know that the primary system being broken section is almost completely inapplicable to us here in the former future capital of the United States. But changing it to "Nine Things a Political Junkie Hates About Politics" didn't feel right. Every top ten list should at least strive to have more than nine entries. (I is usin' algebra to thinks that through!)
Here we have William Hellmann CPA, the Bucks County Courier Times, the Stop the School people and their semi-coherent myrmidons, "bringing home the bacon" to local contractors, stop the school and save the children, symbolic votes on unnecessary budget limits, stopping the school because of missing a few hours on a 100-year flood water percolation program (as if no one else in the borough would have water in their yards in a 100-year flood!), and other forms of preposterous public posturing that make up our little local political kabuki theater of the absurd to use as real-life examples and to think about what that actually says about us, the voter, about the people we choose to represent us. No matter what side of our school issues you stand on, if you can read this and not feel a bit ashamed, then you need to re-read it until you do.
This is not the full article, but snips from it...
1: Fear Of Offending Anyone: Because politicians are always thinking about the next election instead of actually serving the people who put them into office, they're terrified of actually doing anything that might offend someone.
2: Politics Not Stopping At The Water's Edge: There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with your political opponent's foreign policy, but there is a problem when you put your petty political concerns ahead of the good of the country. Love of country should come before petty political concerns and that has ceased to be the case for too many people in D.C.
3: The Lying And Inauthenticity: Campaigns in the United States have become exercises in trying to be "everything to everybody."...when even people who support a particular candidate admit that they're backing a shameless liar, it's clear that integrity in politics has slid way too far down the hillside.
4: Crazed Hyperbole: It's not surprising that people have unkind things to say about their political opponents, but when it gets as over-the-top as it has been during the Bush and Clinton presidencies, it is not healthy for the country.
5: Fake Objectivity From The Media: That's what drives people so crazy about the mainstream media: it's that they're every bit as biased as the people in talk radio and the blogosphere, but they try to pretend that they're not.
6: Mainstreaming Conspiracy Theories: Off-the-wall crazy has become just another form of political expression.
7: The Perpetual Campaign: Over and over again, important legislation is ignored so that symbolic votes on hot issues like the war can be held even though everyone knows that they're meaningless. Instead of working on key issues like, let's say border security or Social Security reform, Congress looks for bills to attach earmarks to because that's how they believe you get elected, by bringing federal tax dollars back to their district to be used on comically useless Bridges to Nowhere, Liberace Museums, and buildings named after the Congressman who acquired the pork to fund them.
8: Short-Term Thinking: Where's the long term thinking? Where are the people working to build a country that will be better for our children than it is for us? Where is the concern for the long-term health of the country? It's like watching two groups of kids using every dime of their allowance to buy candy without spending a moment thinking of what they'll do for money until their parents pay them again in a month.
9: Lack Of Bipartisanship: There's a difference between a boxing match when the opponents shake hands after it's all over and a no-holds-barred street fight featuring knives and broken bottles... it would be nice if the politicians in D.C. were willing to actually try to work together for the good of the country on occasion instead of only cooperating when they want to throw our money away on more pork or help out a lobbyist who has been spreading around a lot of campaign cash.
10: The Primary System Is Broken: The idea that each party's nominee for the presidency should in large part be decided by whoever spends the most money and time camped out in two tiny states is nuts.
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