From the BCCT.
It looks like Centennial and Pennsbury may need the lifelines that the Morrisville school board cut away.
That leaves the question: Are you happier having a low or no tax increase, or an above index raise? If we were part of Pennsbury today [Hail Pennsbury! The salvation of Morrisville!], we'd be preparing for our wallets for a major hull breach. Red Alert, Mr. Sulu!
See? Being part of Pennsbury isn't the magic cure-all for what ails us. It's merely trading one set of problems for a completely new set.
Do you want the Morrisville school district being handled right here in Morrisville, with Sandy Gibson, Bill Hellmann, or the next president running things where nine of your neighbors are representing you? Or do you want maybe one school board seat [maybe even NONE!] representing you?
Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Districts will decide on state exemptions
By MANASEE WAGH
This week, the Centennial and Pennsbury school boards will vote on applying for state exemptions to allow them to raise the tax increase past the Act 1 mandate of 4.1 percent.
Applying for exemptions allows districts to prevent possible financial emergencies in next year's budget if unforeseen emergencies arise, such as unexpected high special education costs or a lack of state funding, said board President Gregory Lucidi.
Bristol Township, Council Rock and Morrisville School Districts have passed resolutions promising not to raise property taxes for 2009-10 more than the limit. They no longer can apply for exemptions.
Lucidi stressed that Pennsbury is dedicated to keeping taxes at or below the limit. The board will get a look at the revised preliminary budget on Thursday and work on looking at all areas of district operations to trim expenditures, he said.
Centennial board members have made similar statements about the desire to keep taxes lower than the state limit. On Tuesday, the board will vote on adopting its 2009-2010 preliminary budget.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
So, HAVING Money is Bad Too?
From the BCCT
School district sees huge losses
By JOAN HELLYER
The district could lose as much as $2.2 million in interest income alone during the coming school year.
The recession likely will cost Council Rock between $5.4 million and $7.3 million in lost revenue during the coming school year, a district official told the school board.
The funds would have come from four areas where the district had experienced annual financial gains, said Robert Schoch, district business administration director.
This is the second year district officials are projecting a smaller revenue growth percentage than previously for its real estate and local income taxes, realty transfers and interest income, he said Thursday.
The real estate tax revenue, for example, will increase just a half percent over its current rate, instead of the normal 2 percent the district experienced prior to the recession, Schoch said.
He gave "best case" and "worst case" scenarios of the potential loss for each revenue source:
? The best case scenario for real estate revenue losses is about $900,000 and the worst case is $1.5 million.
? Lost interest income will be between $2 million and $2.2 million.
? Realty transfers will be between $1.7 million and $2.3 million less than what would have previously been collected.
? In terms of local income tax revenue, the best case scenario is a loss of $750,000 and the worst case is $1.27 million.
District officials are trying to figure out how the revenue losses will impact the 2009-10 budget, Schoch said.
In an effort to offset that impact, the district is trying to keep as many contracts as possible at the same rate as the current year, Schoch said.
School district sees huge losses
By JOAN HELLYER
The district could lose as much as $2.2 million in interest income alone during the coming school year.
The recession likely will cost Council Rock between $5.4 million and $7.3 million in lost revenue during the coming school year, a district official told the school board.
The funds would have come from four areas where the district had experienced annual financial gains, said Robert Schoch, district business administration director.
This is the second year district officials are projecting a smaller revenue growth percentage than previously for its real estate and local income taxes, realty transfers and interest income, he said Thursday.
The real estate tax revenue, for example, will increase just a half percent over its current rate, instead of the normal 2 percent the district experienced prior to the recession, Schoch said.
He gave "best case" and "worst case" scenarios of the potential loss for each revenue source:
? The best case scenario for real estate revenue losses is about $900,000 and the worst case is $1.5 million.
? Lost interest income will be between $2 million and $2.2 million.
? Realty transfers will be between $1.7 million and $2.3 million less than what would have previously been collected.
? In terms of local income tax revenue, the best case scenario is a loss of $750,000 and the worst case is $1.27 million.
District officials are trying to figure out how the revenue losses will impact the 2009-10 budget, Schoch said.
In an effort to offset that impact, the district is trying to keep as many contracts as possible at the same rate as the current year, Schoch said.
Pennsbury Teacher Contract
From the BCCT.
Why do I keep hearing the same John Williams music in the background that I hear when I'm taking a swim at the shore?
Vote to extend teachers contract coming
By MANASEE WAGH
The board says it's determined to keep next year's tax hike to a maximum of 4.1 percent, said board President Gregory Lucidi.
Teachers and board members will soon vote on extending the current teacher contract in Pennsbury for another year, which would cost taxpayers an additional $1.1 million.
If the board and more than 800 Pennsbury teacher union members ratify the tentative agreement, it would mean freezing cost-of-living raises for a year. Teachers would still get longevity and educational attainment pay increases dictated by the pay scale. They also would retain a benefit package that requires them to contribute 10 percent toward their health care benefits.
The board plans to vote on the contract extension Feb. 19, some time after the teachers act on it, officials said.
At an average teacher salary of $77,524, Pennsbury ranks in the top 10 of 501 school districts in the state. Teacher salaries start at about $41,176 and peak at roughly $98,222.
"The people at the top of the scale - between 54 and 56 percent - would not receive an increase," said board President Gregory Lucidi on Friday about longevity and educational attainment pay increases.
Based on previous estimates, the rough additional costs in the coming school year under an extended contract would be an average of about $1.4 million for longevity, and educational attainment increases would count for about $500,000, he said.
Lucidi said the district expects about 20 retirements, which would save it $800,000, assuming it hires replacements at the lowest salary level. So the net effect would be a $1.1 million increase, he said.
Pennsbury's business administrator, Isabel Miller, wasn't in the office Friday to answer questions about how much of the total budget goes to teacher salaries and benefits. District CEO Paul Long said he didn't want to comment on teacher contracts before the tentative agreement is ratified, he said.
According to an initial budget draft, the district is facing a $12.2 million deficit - not including a 10 percent tax increase. The board will be approving a revised version of the preliminary $180 million budget at a Feb. 12 special meeting.
Without knowing if the district could face an emergency between now and the June 30 deadline for final budget approval, the administration recommends following through with the Act 1 budget process, including applying for exemptions to raise taxes above the state-imposed limit of 4.1 percent.
That doesn't mean the district will necessarily use the exemptions. Applying for them prevents possible financial emergencies that could arise later, Lucidi said. The board is likely to approve applying for exemptions at the Feb. 12 meeting, he said.
The Bristol Township, Council Rock and Morrisville School Districts have passed resolutions promising not to raise property taxes for 2009-10 more than the 4.1 percent limit.
Lucidi stressed that Pennsbury is also determined to keep taxes at or below the limit. The district is looking at all areas of district operations to trim the budget, he said.
"We're required by Act 1 to approve a preliminary budget. It's nothing more than an estimate. There is absolutely no way the board would approve a 10 percent tax hike. The maximum tax increase would be the index. And we're trying to get it well below that," he said.
Why do I keep hearing the same John Williams music in the background that I hear when I'm taking a swim at the shore?
Vote to extend teachers contract coming
By MANASEE WAGH
The board says it's determined to keep next year's tax hike to a maximum of 4.1 percent, said board President Gregory Lucidi.
Teachers and board members will soon vote on extending the current teacher contract in Pennsbury for another year, which would cost taxpayers an additional $1.1 million.
If the board and more than 800 Pennsbury teacher union members ratify the tentative agreement, it would mean freezing cost-of-living raises for a year. Teachers would still get longevity and educational attainment pay increases dictated by the pay scale. They also would retain a benefit package that requires them to contribute 10 percent toward their health care benefits.
The board plans to vote on the contract extension Feb. 19, some time after the teachers act on it, officials said.
At an average teacher salary of $77,524, Pennsbury ranks in the top 10 of 501 school districts in the state. Teacher salaries start at about $41,176 and peak at roughly $98,222.
"The people at the top of the scale - between 54 and 56 percent - would not receive an increase," said board President Gregory Lucidi on Friday about longevity and educational attainment pay increases.
Based on previous estimates, the rough additional costs in the coming school year under an extended contract would be an average of about $1.4 million for longevity, and educational attainment increases would count for about $500,000, he said.
Lucidi said the district expects about 20 retirements, which would save it $800,000, assuming it hires replacements at the lowest salary level. So the net effect would be a $1.1 million increase, he said.
Pennsbury's business administrator, Isabel Miller, wasn't in the office Friday to answer questions about how much of the total budget goes to teacher salaries and benefits. District CEO Paul Long said he didn't want to comment on teacher contracts before the tentative agreement is ratified, he said.
According to an initial budget draft, the district is facing a $12.2 million deficit - not including a 10 percent tax increase. The board will be approving a revised version of the preliminary $180 million budget at a Feb. 12 special meeting.
Without knowing if the district could face an emergency between now and the June 30 deadline for final budget approval, the administration recommends following through with the Act 1 budget process, including applying for exemptions to raise taxes above the state-imposed limit of 4.1 percent.
That doesn't mean the district will necessarily use the exemptions. Applying for them prevents possible financial emergencies that could arise later, Lucidi said. The board is likely to approve applying for exemptions at the Feb. 12 meeting, he said.
The Bristol Township, Council Rock and Morrisville School Districts have passed resolutions promising not to raise property taxes for 2009-10 more than the 4.1 percent limit.
Lucidi stressed that Pennsbury is also determined to keep taxes at or below the limit. The district is looking at all areas of district operations to trim the budget, he said.
"We're required by Act 1 to approve a preliminary budget. It's nothing more than an estimate. There is absolutely no way the board would approve a 10 percent tax hike. The maximum tax increase would be the index. And we're trying to get it well below that," he said.
Another Look at Rendell Merge Plan
From Education Week.
If consolidation "would not necessitate the closure of individual schools", doesn't that run against the goal of a Pennsbury-Morrisville assimilation?
Unsurprisingly, the teachers union is not too sure either.
This is good. This is the way things should happen. Discuss the plans in the light of day, allow everyone to have their say, and find the compromise that will work. Everyone will suffer some and everyone will benefit some.
Too bad that's too much to ask for in Morrisville. The board majority is all about secrecy and surprise moves.
Published Online: February 5, 2009
Rendell Calls for 'Full-Scale' School Mergers
By The Associated Press
Gov. Ed Rendell called Wednesday for the first state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts in at least 40 years, saying that fewer districts would mean a lighter local tax burden on property owners.
His proposal will probably meet resistance from local school boards whose members fear that mergers would close some schools and cause overcrowding in those that remain.
Rendell said during his state budget address that he wants a legislative commission to develop a plan to reduce the state's 500 public school districts to no more than 100, ideally. He is asking the Legislature to include money for the study in the 2009-10 budget.
The last major state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts occurred in the 1960s, when the state had more than 2,000 districts.
Merging more districts would enable schools to operate more efficiently and spread the local share of school costs over a wider range of property owners in each of the remaining districts, he said.
"There is nothing sacrosanct about the need to maintain 500 separate schools districts across the state — each with its own staggering, and growing, administrative costs," Rendell said.
More than 40 percent of the state's school districts enroll fewer than 2,000 students each, and more than 80 percent enroll fewer than 5,000.
The current number of 501 school districts is expected to drop to 500 in July, when the Center Area and Monaca school districts northwest of Pittsburgh complete a merger. Declining enrollments have forced both districts to limit the types of courses they can offer to students.
Some other small districts that have explored dissolving boundaries with a neighbor have concluded that the costs of merging outweigh the benefits.
Officials in the rural Halifax and Millersburg school districts north of Harrisburg recently decided that a merger would not produce substantial savings, even though they already share some sports teams and academic programs.
Certain costs would increase because programs offered in just one school district would have to be made available throughout the newly merged school district, said Halifax superintendent Robert Hassinger.
For example, Halifax offers full-day kindergarten and preschool classes, while Millersburg provides only half-day kindergarten, he said.
Residents also feared a loss of community identity if any schools were required to close, Hassinger said. A summary of Rendell's proposal said the consolidations "would not necessitate the closure of individual schools."
"The assumption that bigger is better is incorrect," Hassinger said. "In smaller communities, where there is more connection, a sense of belonging is so essential."
Tim Allwein, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said his organization hopes to work with the commission but is not convinced that school district mergers save large amounts of money. A merged school district might need to hire additional central-office administrators to oversee programs, he said.
"They're going to need to take a look at the supposed savings that would occur," Allwein said.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, has many questions, "not the least of which is how the goal of creating 100 districts from 500 was established," spokesman Wythe Keever said.
The commission would have one year to adopt as many as two merger plans and submit them to the Legislature for approval. If lawmakers reject both options, then the State Board of Education would have the authority to consolidate school districts.
Lawmakers said the idea of getting more school districts to consolidate was worth exploring.
Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the commission would probably have to recommend abolishing local school property taxes because differences in local tax rates often impede mergers.
"I'm hopeful, but it's a long-range project, and it's good that the governor is getting started on that," said Piccola, R-Dauphin.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi acknowledged that the prospect of dissolving boundaries is a "very sensitive political issue" for school districts.
"People have a strong identity with their local school district, and local control is ... an aspect of local school districts that is prized by Pennsylvanians," said Pileggi, R-Delaware. "But in this day and age, in 2009, to have 501 superintendents and assistant superintendents and curriculum directors is a very inefficient way to deliver educational services across the state."
If consolidation "would not necessitate the closure of individual schools", doesn't that run against the goal of a Pennsbury-Morrisville assimilation?
Unsurprisingly, the teachers union is not too sure either.
This is good. This is the way things should happen. Discuss the plans in the light of day, allow everyone to have their say, and find the compromise that will work. Everyone will suffer some and everyone will benefit some.
Too bad that's too much to ask for in Morrisville. The board majority is all about secrecy and surprise moves.
Published Online: February 5, 2009
Rendell Calls for 'Full-Scale' School Mergers
By The Associated Press
Gov. Ed Rendell called Wednesday for the first state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts in at least 40 years, saying that fewer districts would mean a lighter local tax burden on property owners.
His proposal will probably meet resistance from local school boards whose members fear that mergers would close some schools and cause overcrowding in those that remain.
Rendell said during his state budget address that he wants a legislative commission to develop a plan to reduce the state's 500 public school districts to no more than 100, ideally. He is asking the Legislature to include money for the study in the 2009-10 budget.
The last major state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts occurred in the 1960s, when the state had more than 2,000 districts.
Merging more districts would enable schools to operate more efficiently and spread the local share of school costs over a wider range of property owners in each of the remaining districts, he said.
"There is nothing sacrosanct about the need to maintain 500 separate schools districts across the state — each with its own staggering, and growing, administrative costs," Rendell said.
More than 40 percent of the state's school districts enroll fewer than 2,000 students each, and more than 80 percent enroll fewer than 5,000.
The current number of 501 school districts is expected to drop to 500 in July, when the Center Area and Monaca school districts northwest of Pittsburgh complete a merger. Declining enrollments have forced both districts to limit the types of courses they can offer to students.
Some other small districts that have explored dissolving boundaries with a neighbor have concluded that the costs of merging outweigh the benefits.
Officials in the rural Halifax and Millersburg school districts north of Harrisburg recently decided that a merger would not produce substantial savings, even though they already share some sports teams and academic programs.
Certain costs would increase because programs offered in just one school district would have to be made available throughout the newly merged school district, said Halifax superintendent Robert Hassinger.
For example, Halifax offers full-day kindergarten and preschool classes, while Millersburg provides only half-day kindergarten, he said.
Residents also feared a loss of community identity if any schools were required to close, Hassinger said. A summary of Rendell's proposal said the consolidations "would not necessitate the closure of individual schools."
"The assumption that bigger is better is incorrect," Hassinger said. "In smaller communities, where there is more connection, a sense of belonging is so essential."
Tim Allwein, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said his organization hopes to work with the commission but is not convinced that school district mergers save large amounts of money. A merged school district might need to hire additional central-office administrators to oversee programs, he said.
"They're going to need to take a look at the supposed savings that would occur," Allwein said.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, has many questions, "not the least of which is how the goal of creating 100 districts from 500 was established," spokesman Wythe Keever said.
The commission would have one year to adopt as many as two merger plans and submit them to the Legislature for approval. If lawmakers reject both options, then the State Board of Education would have the authority to consolidate school districts.
Lawmakers said the idea of getting more school districts to consolidate was worth exploring.
Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the commission would probably have to recommend abolishing local school property taxes because differences in local tax rates often impede mergers.
"I'm hopeful, but it's a long-range project, and it's good that the governor is getting started on that," said Piccola, R-Dauphin.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi acknowledged that the prospect of dissolving boundaries is a "very sensitive political issue" for school districts.
"People have a strong identity with their local school district, and local control is ... an aspect of local school districts that is prized by Pennsylvanians," said Pileggi, R-Delaware. "But in this day and age, in 2009, to have 501 superintendents and assistant superintendents and curriculum directors is a very inefficient way to deliver educational services across the state."
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