From the BCCT.
But...but...Pennsbury has always been the shining salvation of Morrisville! How can this be???
Projected deficit could bring $457 tax hike
A projected 10 percent tax increase may force a public referendum, the first in Bucks since state Act 1 went into effect.
Taxpayers may have to shell out extra money to overcome a $12.6 million deficit in Pennsbury.
Conservative projections point to a $457 tax increase for the average homeowner.
That’s a nearly 10 percent increase, well above the statemandated 4.1 percent, said Isabel Miller, the district’s business administrator. Unless the district whittles down expenses and finds ways to pump up revenues, going over the threshold would mean the first public referendum on a tax increase in Bucks under new state legislation.
For a homeowner with an average district property assessment of $31,304, the tax bill would be $4,996.
“At this point in the budget process, it is premature to use that hypothetical number because it represents an impact that will not occur,” said district CEO Paul Long.
In this early version, several pieces of required information are still vague, such as revenue from gaming funds, state grants and federal funding, said Miller.
Since the budget is in its formative stages, Pennsbury is planning 16 different measures to save costs. They include a transportation review to make busing more efficient, taking over classes that are traditionally provided by the Intermediate Unit, finding efficiencies in the high school schedule and consolidating building use during summer and other vacation periods.
Districts can apply for state exceptions, which would allow them to raise taxes above the 4.1 percent index to pay for certain less controllable costs such as special education.
The deficit is due in part to an expected drop in revenues from real estate taxes. In the current economic situation, the district expects interest rates on its investments to be low as well.
A conservative estimate shows a $2.6 million decrease in total local revenues, said Miller at a budget presentation before Thursday evening’s board meeting.
Total revenues will likely drop $6.7 million from this year, she said.
Expenditures will increase by about 3.4 percent, or about $5.9 million. Miller said that figure is encouraging because the 2008-09 earliest budget draft reflected a nearly 6 percent expenditure increase. More importantly, this year’s final budget still ended up with an expenditure increase of 3.3 percent, she said. The district still has time to lower expenses until the final budget has to be approved May 14.
“But it’s harder this year to cut expenses because there isn’t much left to cut without affecting programs,” Miller added.
The rise is fueled in part by salaries, which the district calculated at 4.3 percent higher, and benefits, which may rise by 6.1 percent. Total salaries and benefits are anticipated to be about $135 million.
Recently the teachers union and the school board reached a tentative agreement to forgo raises and extend the current contract, pay scale and benefit package another year.
Planned renovations for Makefield Elementary School and other projects may also fuel expenses.
At this point, the budget does not take into account the fund balance. The district savings account is projected to carry about $2.4 million into next year, but that number could change, said Miller.
The public is encouraged to attend budget committee meetings, board member Gene Dolnick said at Thursday’s meeting.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Busing
Neighborhood schools are a longstanding American institution. The idea of busing the students elsewhere has long been controversial, and there's a long list of other resources that can be reviewed covering from the 1950s to 2009.
In Pennsylvania, (correct me if I'm reading something wrong) the law is that elementary students can walk up to 1.5 and secondary up to 2.0 miles.
This leads to the email I received:
Good evening,
I just had a thought. Now that MR Reiter is closed, people living down in parts of Ward 1, by Post Rd., etc. are more than 2.0 miles from their school. This requires that the district institute bussing by law. We have provided the shuttle from Manor Park to MR Reiter in the past, because it is between 2 school buildings AND nobody was >2 miles from MR Reiter. That same argument won't hold up if we are no longer using MR Reiter. This will be an astronomical expense for the district, as they will also have to provide bussing to all private school kids to any academic institution within 10 miles (including NJ). If someone were looking for an argument to build new on the property of MR Reiter, or do a proper renovation, this would be it. Like I said, just a thought...........
Anyone want to add anything? I have reservations about this argument because the consolidated K-12 building would have achieved the same thing that we have today, and I don't think I saw busing mentioned in that plan.
I'm thinking this would also be a huge drain on the savings from farming out the high school students as well.
In Pennsylvania, (correct me if I'm reading something wrong) the law is that elementary students can walk up to 1.5 and secondary up to 2.0 miles.
This leads to the email I received:
Good evening,
I just had a thought. Now that MR Reiter is closed, people living down in parts of Ward 1, by Post Rd., etc. are more than 2.0 miles from their school. This requires that the district institute bussing by law. We have provided the shuttle from Manor Park to MR Reiter in the past, because it is between 2 school buildings AND nobody was >2 miles from MR Reiter. That same argument won't hold up if we are no longer using MR Reiter. This will be an astronomical expense for the district, as they will also have to provide bussing to all private school kids to any academic institution within 10 miles (including NJ). If someone were looking for an argument to build new on the property of MR Reiter, or do a proper renovation, this would be it. Like I said, just a thought...........
Anyone want to add anything? I have reservations about this argument because the consolidated K-12 building would have achieved the same thing that we have today, and I don't think I saw busing mentioned in that plan.
I'm thinking this would also be a huge drain on the savings from farming out the high school students as well.
Lower Merion Restores Video Edits
From the Inquirer, a followup to yesterday's story about the Lower Merion school board's heavy handed video edits.
Would the board have restored it if the story had not hit the national media? Maybe yes, and maybe nt.
What if we try the same experiment and have the underhanded and hidden goings on from Morrisville be exposed...
L. Merion board will restore trimmed video
By Bonnie L. Cook Posted on Fri, Jan. 16, 2009
The Lower Merion School District has rescinded its decision to edit a videotape of Monday's stormy school-board meeting and will make the restored version available to the public.
In a letter sent home to parents yesterday, Superintendent Christopher McGinley apologized for making what he called a "heat-of-the-moment" decision to excise a five-minute segment of the video.
He said the complete version would be posted on the district's Web site by last night and would be available for viewing on public-access TV.
"While our policy might have allowed us to edit the tape, it is clear that the edit has had unintended consequences and the decision added more fuel to an already hot fire," McGinley wrote.
"This is not the way we wish to move forward and this is not the signal we want to send to the community."
On Monday night, the board enacted a redistricting plan that will have 200 children from slices of South Ardmore, North Narberth and Penn Valley bused to Harriton High School in Rosemont. Most live close enough to Lower Merion High in Ardmore to walk there.
The redistricting plan is needed to balance enrollment between the high schools because more families live near Lower Merion High than Harriton.
Before the vote, South Ardmore parent Aaron Williams, 37, interrupted a board member's speech with an outburst accusing the board of racism. He then stormed out of the building.
That episode was cut from a videotape of the meeting because Williams spoke out of turn and violated district civility policy, a spokesman said.
Williams' wife, Liz, spoke for him yesterday. "While an apology is very nice, it doesn't take away the events that have happened or how I feel about them," she said.
Williams explained in a letter to The Inquirer yesterday why he grew incensed at the meeting. It seemed to him that board members were not hearing concerns from African Americans that pockets of children would be isolated by the plan, he said. The district denies that and has said it listens carefully.
Response came quickly to the district's reversal.
"I respect them for admitting to the fact that they made the wrong choice. However, what we have to take away from this incident is the clear fact that race relations in the Lower Merion School District are not good," said South Ardmore resident Lynn Brandsma. "Until they deal with this problem, there is no foundation on which to build trust."
An opponent of the redistricting plan, Brandsma had called the district's editing of the tape censorship.
"Censoring someone from our community is just another example of what little regard they have of our opinions and feelings. It is just one more slap in the face," said Anastasia Frandsen, a Penn Valley Elementary School parent from Ardmore.
"No amount of workshops, transition meetings, or other types of token support for affected parents will heal the rift that has been caused by this process," said Ivan Haskell of South Ardmore.
Would the board have restored it if the story had not hit the national media? Maybe yes, and maybe nt.
What if we try the same experiment and have the underhanded and hidden goings on from Morrisville be exposed...
L. Merion board will restore trimmed video
By Bonnie L. Cook Posted on Fri, Jan. 16, 2009
The Lower Merion School District has rescinded its decision to edit a videotape of Monday's stormy school-board meeting and will make the restored version available to the public.
In a letter sent home to parents yesterday, Superintendent Christopher McGinley apologized for making what he called a "heat-of-the-moment" decision to excise a five-minute segment of the video.
He said the complete version would be posted on the district's Web site by last night and would be available for viewing on public-access TV.
"While our policy might have allowed us to edit the tape, it is clear that the edit has had unintended consequences and the decision added more fuel to an already hot fire," McGinley wrote.
"This is not the way we wish to move forward and this is not the signal we want to send to the community."
On Monday night, the board enacted a redistricting plan that will have 200 children from slices of South Ardmore, North Narberth and Penn Valley bused to Harriton High School in Rosemont. Most live close enough to Lower Merion High in Ardmore to walk there.
The redistricting plan is needed to balance enrollment between the high schools because more families live near Lower Merion High than Harriton.
Before the vote, South Ardmore parent Aaron Williams, 37, interrupted a board member's speech with an outburst accusing the board of racism. He then stormed out of the building.
That episode was cut from a videotape of the meeting because Williams spoke out of turn and violated district civility policy, a spokesman said.
Williams' wife, Liz, spoke for him yesterday. "While an apology is very nice, it doesn't take away the events that have happened or how I feel about them," she said.
Williams explained in a letter to The Inquirer yesterday why he grew incensed at the meeting. It seemed to him that board members were not hearing concerns from African Americans that pockets of children would be isolated by the plan, he said. The district denies that and has said it listens carefully.
Response came quickly to the district's reversal.
"I respect them for admitting to the fact that they made the wrong choice. However, what we have to take away from this incident is the clear fact that race relations in the Lower Merion School District are not good," said South Ardmore resident Lynn Brandsma. "Until they deal with this problem, there is no foundation on which to build trust."
An opponent of the redistricting plan, Brandsma had called the district's editing of the tape censorship.
"Censoring someone from our community is just another example of what little regard they have of our opinions and feelings. It is just one more slap in the face," said Anastasia Frandsen, a Penn Valley Elementary School parent from Ardmore.
"No amount of workshops, transition meetings, or other types of token support for affected parents will heal the rift that has been caused by this process," said Ivan Haskell of South Ardmore.
You looked for the Advil WHERE??
From cnn.com
Court to hear case of teen strip-searched for ibuprofen
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 13-year-old Arizona girl who was strip-searched by school officials looking for ibuprofen pain reliever will have her case heard at the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether school officials were right to strip-search a student over ibuprofen.
The justices accepted the case Friday for review. They will decide whether a campus setting gives school administrators greater discretion to control students suspected of illegal activity than police are allowed in cases involving adults in public spaces.
Arguments are expected to be heard in April.
At issue is whether school administrators are constitutionally barred from conducting searches of students investigated for possessing or dealing drugs that are banned on campus.
A federal appeals court found the search "traumatizing" and illegal.
Some parents say older children deserve the same constitutional rights as adults, but educators counter that a school setting always has been treated differently by the courts. They say a ruling against them could jeopardize campus safety.
The case involves Savana Redding, who in 2003 was an eighth-grade honor student at Safford Middle School, about 127 miles from Tucson, Arizona. Earlier that day the vice principal had discovered prescription-strength ibuprofen pills in the possession of one of Redding's classmates. That student, facing punishment, accused Redding of providing her with the 400-milligram pills.
The school has a zero-tolerance policy for all prescription and over-the-counter medication, including the ibuprofen, without prior written permission.
Redding was pulled from class by a male vice principal, Kerry Wilson, escorted to an office and confronted with the evidence. She denied the accusations.
A search of Redding's backpack found nothing. Then, although she had never had prior disciplinary problems, a strip-search was conducted with the help of a school nurse and Wilson's assistant, both females. According to court records, she was ordered to strip to her underwear and her bra was pulled out. Again, no drugs were found.
In an affidavit, Redding said, "The strip-search was the most humiliating experience I have ever had. I held my head down so that they could not see that I was about to cry."
With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Redding and her family sued, and a federal appeals court in San Francisco, California, ruled against the school.
The court wrote: "Common sense informs us that directing a 13-year-old girl to remove her clothes, partially revealing her breasts and pelvic area, for allegedly possessing ibuprofen ... was excessively intrusive."
The court said the school went too far in its effort to create a drug- and crime-free classroom. "The overzealousness of school administrators in efforts to protect students has the tragic impact of traumatizing those they claim to serve. And all this to find prescription-strength ibuprofen."
In its appeal to the high court, the school district said requiring a legal standard of "probable cause" to conduct student searches would cast a "roadblock to the kind of swift and effective response that is too often needed to protect the very safety of students, particularly from the threats posed by drugs and weapons."
The high court has had a mixed record over the years on students' rights. The court could now be asked to clarify the extent of student rights involving searches, and the discretion of officials over those for whom they have responsibility
Court to hear case of teen strip-searched for ibuprofen
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 13-year-old Arizona girl who was strip-searched by school officials looking for ibuprofen pain reliever will have her case heard at the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether school officials were right to strip-search a student over ibuprofen.
The justices accepted the case Friday for review. They will decide whether a campus setting gives school administrators greater discretion to control students suspected of illegal activity than police are allowed in cases involving adults in public spaces.
Arguments are expected to be heard in April.
At issue is whether school administrators are constitutionally barred from conducting searches of students investigated for possessing or dealing drugs that are banned on campus.
A federal appeals court found the search "traumatizing" and illegal.
Some parents say older children deserve the same constitutional rights as adults, but educators counter that a school setting always has been treated differently by the courts. They say a ruling against them could jeopardize campus safety.
The case involves Savana Redding, who in 2003 was an eighth-grade honor student at Safford Middle School, about 127 miles from Tucson, Arizona. Earlier that day the vice principal had discovered prescription-strength ibuprofen pills in the possession of one of Redding's classmates. That student, facing punishment, accused Redding of providing her with the 400-milligram pills.
The school has a zero-tolerance policy for all prescription and over-the-counter medication, including the ibuprofen, without prior written permission.
Redding was pulled from class by a male vice principal, Kerry Wilson, escorted to an office and confronted with the evidence. She denied the accusations.
A search of Redding's backpack found nothing. Then, although she had never had prior disciplinary problems, a strip-search was conducted with the help of a school nurse and Wilson's assistant, both females. According to court records, she was ordered to strip to her underwear and her bra was pulled out. Again, no drugs were found.
In an affidavit, Redding said, "The strip-search was the most humiliating experience I have ever had. I held my head down so that they could not see that I was about to cry."
With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Redding and her family sued, and a federal appeals court in San Francisco, California, ruled against the school.
The court wrote: "Common sense informs us that directing a 13-year-old girl to remove her clothes, partially revealing her breasts and pelvic area, for allegedly possessing ibuprofen ... was excessively intrusive."
The court said the school went too far in its effort to create a drug- and crime-free classroom. "The overzealousness of school administrators in efforts to protect students has the tragic impact of traumatizing those they claim to serve. And all this to find prescription-strength ibuprofen."
In its appeal to the high court, the school district said requiring a legal standard of "probable cause" to conduct student searches would cast a "roadblock to the kind of swift and effective response that is too often needed to protect the very safety of students, particularly from the threats posed by drugs and weapons."
The high court has had a mixed record over the years on students' rights. The court could now be asked to clarify the extent of student rights involving searches, and the discretion of officials over those for whom they have responsibility
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