Check out the Channel 6 story and video.
MORRISVILLE, Pa. - February 10, 2009 - (WPVI) -- Investigators confirmed Tuesday that asbestos was found inside Morrisville High School in Bucks County.
Now, students and parents wait for word of how serious the threat may be.
Air tests are underway to find out how much of the asbestos is airborne. That will go a long way to determining how long the school wil be closed.
Parents were alerted right around noon that Morrisville High School was under an evacuation order.
It turns out construction workers inside the school came upon a sizable amout of an exposed substance they believed to be asbestos.
The concern over the finding forced an early dismissal at Morrisville Middle-Senior High Tuesday.
But here's the twist: This past December, M.R. Reiter Elementary School's boiler broke down and it has yet to be repaired.
So, the students from Reiter Elementary were already scattered to other schools in the district, including the first, second, and fifth graders who've been going to the high school for class since last month.
Now, Morrisville is two schools down, and parents are getting frustrated.
"It's just ridiculous. The state needs to do something, somebody needs to do something for us. It's just crazy. My hands are tied. What am I going to do?" said parent Kathleen Wetheril.
"We're probably going to head to the next school board meeting and voice our concerns, and from there, if nothing else happens, we'll take it further up," said parent Katlyn Dunstan.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Action News LIVE at 5:30
Channel 6 has a teaser for a live report from the high school at 5:30 tonight
MHS Closed for Asbestos
Thanks to all the emailers with this breaking information.From the school website.
That's two down. How is Grandview doing these days?
February 10, 2009
The Morrisville Middle/Senior High School has been closed as of 12:15 pm today, February 10, 2009. The Middle/Senior High School will remain closed on Wednesday due to an environmental situation. The district has an electrical contractor performing work in the evening as not to disturb the educational process. They reported to us this morning that suspected asbestos containing materials were impacted during their work. As a result, the district contacted our environmental consultant. Samples were taken immediately. The samples were sent to a nationally accredited laboratory and results were received at 11:15 am. Accordingly, we are dismissing the students. Subsequent to the students’ release, air and surface sampling will be performed to determine what, if any, impact may have occurred within specific areas of the school. When we receive the results I will again do a phone blast to give you an update. However, the students who attend the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School will not have school tomorrow, February 11, 2009.
Keeping up to code proving costly
From the BCCT.
What's the lesson here for the Morrisville renovations?
No, "let Pennsbury deal with it" was not the lesson. Try again.
Keeping up to code proving costly
By ANNIE TASKER
Upper Moreland School District officials took care to plan a large-scale, $34.5 million high school renovation project.
They didn’t expect to be caught off guard by extra exit signs.
Halfway through the project, some district officials are frustrated by the mounting cost of last-minute township code inspector requirements.
Unexpected mandates for additional signage, security equipment and other fire safety initiatives have cost nearly $75,000 to date, said district business manager Michael Braun. School board member Donald Warner, who said he sought an architect’s second opinion on some of the extra measures, said some of his irritation stems from the fact that the previous township fire marshal signed off on the renovation plans before construction began.
The school district will always err on the side of caution, and every township safety order will be followed to the letter, Braun said.
“We just wish we’d known about this ahead of time so we could have designed better,” he said.
That $75,000 is not much in the scheme of the multimillion-dollar project, especially considering that the district has used only about a quarter of its $1.5 million project contingency fund. The change orders aren’t breaking the bank, “but it’s still frustrating,” Warner said.
Braun said different township inspectors have been sent to review the construction progress, and each had an eye out for something a little different. An extra $27,522 for fire alarms was required at one point; the district learned late in the game that exit signs were required above every classroom door in the science wing, which added another $10,250 to the tab.
Had the extra materials been included in the bid specifications, the district may have been able to buy them at a better price, Braun said — but the piecemeal change orders have started to add up.
To date, renovations have included a new science wing and renovations to classrooms, a multipurpose wrestling room and an administrative suite. More classroom work is set for the second half of the project. Upper Moreland waived permit fees for the Terwood Road school project.
Warner said he wants someone in charge at the township to start rattling some cages, since the money funding the change orders comes out of the same taxpayer pockets.
But the people in charge said they didn’t know there were cages to rattle.
Upper Moreland township Manager David Dodies said he hadn’t heard about the district’s issues with the inspections, and Commissioner President Stacey Efkowitz said she knew of some conflicts around the time school started, but thought they’d been resolved.
What's the lesson here for the Morrisville renovations?
No, "let Pennsbury deal with it" was not the lesson. Try again.
Keeping up to code proving costly
By ANNIE TASKER
Upper Moreland School District officials took care to plan a large-scale, $34.5 million high school renovation project.
They didn’t expect to be caught off guard by extra exit signs.
Halfway through the project, some district officials are frustrated by the mounting cost of last-minute township code inspector requirements.
Unexpected mandates for additional signage, security equipment and other fire safety initiatives have cost nearly $75,000 to date, said district business manager Michael Braun. School board member Donald Warner, who said he sought an architect’s second opinion on some of the extra measures, said some of his irritation stems from the fact that the previous township fire marshal signed off on the renovation plans before construction began.
The school district will always err on the side of caution, and every township safety order will be followed to the letter, Braun said.
“We just wish we’d known about this ahead of time so we could have designed better,” he said.
That $75,000 is not much in the scheme of the multimillion-dollar project, especially considering that the district has used only about a quarter of its $1.5 million project contingency fund. The change orders aren’t breaking the bank, “but it’s still frustrating,” Warner said.
Braun said different township inspectors have been sent to review the construction progress, and each had an eye out for something a little different. An extra $27,522 for fire alarms was required at one point; the district learned late in the game that exit signs were required above every classroom door in the science wing, which added another $10,250 to the tab.
Had the extra materials been included in the bid specifications, the district may have been able to buy them at a better price, Braun said — but the piecemeal change orders have started to add up.
To date, renovations have included a new science wing and renovations to classrooms, a multipurpose wrestling room and an administrative suite. More classroom work is set for the second half of the project. Upper Moreland waived permit fees for the Terwood Road school project.
Warner said he wants someone in charge at the township to start rattling some cages, since the money funding the change orders comes out of the same taxpayer pockets.
But the people in charge said they didn’t know there were cages to rattle.
Upper Moreland township Manager David Dodies said he hadn’t heard about the district’s issues with the inspections, and Commissioner President Stacey Efkowitz said she knew of some conflicts around the time school started, but thought they’d been resolved.
Pennsbury contract extension
From the BCCT.
It looks like our new school district overlords are annoying the BCCT editorial board.
Pennsbury contract extension
Information freeze
Before approving a tentative teacher contract extension, officials should have asked taxpayers what they think.
The pay freeze that isn’t really a pay freeze will come up for a vote at Pennsbury’s Feb. 19 school board meeting.
Otherwise known as a teacher contract extension, the pact, if extended, will grow the payroll nearly $2 million. Lucky for taxpayers, who are facing a whopping 10 percent tax hike, the expected retirements of 20 teachers could cut that increase down to about $1.1 million.
Still, the pay freeze will hardly stunt salary increases.
That’s because so-called step increases for years of service and educational attainment will still result in raises for more than half the teachers not at the top of the pay scale, which peaks at $98,222. What’s frozen is the annual acrossthe-board percentage increase.
This has not been the subject of public discussion and won’t be until the teachers ratify the secret agreement. Two points: Why weren’t taxpayers asked what they think before board members decided behind the public’s back to pursue a contract extension? And why is it OK for teachers to discuss the issue but not taxpayers?
District CEO Paul Long, the de facto superintendent, refused to talk to our reporter until teachers ratify the tentative agreement. Nice.
Here’s our suggestion.
Maybe Long won’t talk about the proposed contract extension, but that shouldn’t stop taxpayers from showing up at the next meeting and offering their thoughts. Turns out the next meeting is Feb. 12, this Thursday, at which board members will vote on a revised version of the preliminary budget that includes the pay increase for teachers — which, you know, isn’t really a pay increase.
Can’t make the meeting? Call Long at 215-428-4100, extension 10001, and tell him what you think. Or show up at Fallsington Elementary School, 8 p.m., this Thursday.
Keep this in mind. Not only are real pay freezes happening in the private sector, workers are being hit with pay cuts and layoffs. And every year the cost of health insurance goes up, with most workers now covering 25 to 30 percent of the cost of employer-provided health benefits. At 10 percent, Pennsbury teachers are in a rarified category.
School board members may not be doing taxpayers any favors by extending such a generous deal.
It looks like our new school district overlords are annoying the BCCT editorial board.
Pennsbury contract extension
Information freeze
Before approving a tentative teacher contract extension, officials should have asked taxpayers what they think.
The pay freeze that isn’t really a pay freeze will come up for a vote at Pennsbury’s Feb. 19 school board meeting.
Otherwise known as a teacher contract extension, the pact, if extended, will grow the payroll nearly $2 million. Lucky for taxpayers, who are facing a whopping 10 percent tax hike, the expected retirements of 20 teachers could cut that increase down to about $1.1 million.
Still, the pay freeze will hardly stunt salary increases.
That’s because so-called step increases for years of service and educational attainment will still result in raises for more than half the teachers not at the top of the pay scale, which peaks at $98,222. What’s frozen is the annual acrossthe-board percentage increase.
This has not been the subject of public discussion and won’t be until the teachers ratify the secret agreement. Two points: Why weren’t taxpayers asked what they think before board members decided behind the public’s back to pursue a contract extension? And why is it OK for teachers to discuss the issue but not taxpayers?
District CEO Paul Long, the de facto superintendent, refused to talk to our reporter until teachers ratify the tentative agreement. Nice.
Here’s our suggestion.
Maybe Long won’t talk about the proposed contract extension, but that shouldn’t stop taxpayers from showing up at the next meeting and offering their thoughts. Turns out the next meeting is Feb. 12, this Thursday, at which board members will vote on a revised version of the preliminary budget that includes the pay increase for teachers — which, you know, isn’t really a pay increase.
Can’t make the meeting? Call Long at 215-428-4100, extension 10001, and tell him what you think. Or show up at Fallsington Elementary School, 8 p.m., this Thursday.
Keep this in mind. Not only are real pay freezes happening in the private sector, workers are being hit with pay cuts and layoffs. And every year the cost of health insurance goes up, with most workers now covering 25 to 30 percent of the cost of employer-provided health benefits. At 10 percent, Pennsbury teachers are in a rarified category.
School board members may not be doing taxpayers any favors by extending such a generous deal.
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