The Farm Program LIVES!

From the BCCT.

Like a bad horror movie where the slasher just keeps on coming back no matter what, we find this morning that the farm program is back.

"Districts south of Route 1" is an interesting phrase that sounds delicately parsed to hide something. Disregarding the fact that Route 1 runs north-south and so there's nothing "south" of Route 1, it sounds like code for Bristol or Philly area districts.

Channelling the (God help me!) Emperor for a moment, what WILL it take for anyone to get this?

You're seeking to dismantle one of the cornerstones that makes a town a home and a place to stay and raise a family. Why would anyone buy a home in Morrisville other than as a starter home? The new family can get in, build some equity, use the elementary schools, and then sell to another young starter family while they move "uptown" to one of the big McDevelopments where there's an actual high school.

I find it distressing that some of the people who have benefited most from a safe and solid Morrisville borough, long term residents who raised their families here next door to the same families for years and years, are some of the prime drivers in derailing the train. The small-town Morrisville is a treasure that should be passed on to the next generation, and generations after that.

This threatens to help turn the borough into nothing more than a trailer park without the wheels. Homeowners: If you thought your home equity was threatened by the recession, you ain't seen nothing yet.

This will all be decided in May when the primary is held. The Emperor has recruited a slate of candidates who will perpetuate this vision of Morrisville. If you do not like this, NOW is the time to come out to the board meetings and see what is happening. If you are able, RUN for the board and defeat these foolish plans.

Officials ask neighboring districts to take students
Morrisville would send its high school students to other districts on a paid tuition basis.
By MANASEE WAGH

Morrisville School District is once again reaching out to other local districts for help.

District solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick recently confirmed that he is contacting neighboring Pennsbury and other school districts south of Route 1 to find out if they would take Morrisville’s high school students on a paid tuition basis.

“This is a strong option that would be considered by the board along with whatever other options are available,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.

At an average cost of $15,000 per student and a large retiree population, Morrisville has been running into a range of troubles, including coming up short on funds to renovate its school buildings.

Fitzpatrick said that in the current recession, the best option may be to educate grades pre-K through eight in the current high school building, and educate the roughly 300 students in grades nine through 12 elsewhere.

Presumably, the district would sell its two elementary schools. It has scheduled a public hearing later this month to consider closing M.R. Reiter Elementary School, whose heater exploded in mid-December, causing students to be relocated to other district sites for the rest of the school year.

Fitzpatrick said that at least one Morrisville parent has told him that the idea of sending children to other districts on a tuition basis is appealing, given the current problems in Morrisville.

A parent of two children at Reiter, Jermaine Jenkins said he was opposed to the idea of sending any students away to other districts because the relationships that teachers foster with their students need to be maintained.

“I already transitioned my family to Morrisville,” he said. “This small-town atmosphere is beneficial. If you have residents with children, the comfort is in knowing they are in the same district you live in.”

Jenkins added that he plans to run for school board as soon as possible.

In the past, Morrisville has asked Pennsbury to take some of its students, but the larger district has always refused. Recently, Pennsbury school board President Gregory Lucidi said his district’s schools are already at capacity and cannot handle more students.

Fitzpatrick said he has been communicating with Pennsbury for the past six months, but he still has to hear an answer to his latest request.

“Three years ago, any of the neighboring school districts would have easily said no. But given reduced fund balances, and with declining revenues and decreased assessments, the time might be right for them to reconsider,” Fitzpatrick said.

It’s too early to tell what response Morrisville will get from other districts, he added.

“I hope I would find openness to the idea and possible interest,” he said. “I will be engaging state officials as well to see what they can do to make this feasible.”