The windows are coming.
NOTICE TO BIDDERS MORRISVILLE BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Public Notice is hereby given that sealed bids for the Window Replacement at
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, located at 550 West Palmer Street,
Morrisville, Pennsylvania 19067, will be received by the Morrisville School District Business Office located at 550 West Palmer Street,Morrisville, Pennsylvania 19067 until 1:00 PM on Monday, March 23, 2009 at which time the bids will be publicly opened, read aloud and recorded for presentation to the Board of Education. Bids will be received and contracts awarded on the basis of separate proposals, which shall include all the work required in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and all other laws and regulations pertaining to public contracts. The bid opening will be held in Conference Room F-10 of the Middle/Senior High School.
Sealed bids will be received for the following: CONTRACT NO. 1 - GENERAL CONSTRUCTION
The Bidding Documents may be examined at the Office of the Architect, VITETTA, 4747 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19112; Telephone (215) 218-4747. Copies of the bid documents may be obtained at the office of the Architect upon receipt of a non-refundable document charge of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) in the form of a CHECK OR MONEY ORDER made payable to VIETTA. NO CASH will accepted. A $25.00 shipping charge is required if a mailing of the documents is desired. Express mail charges will be additional. Only prime bidders will be issued bidding documents. No partial sets will be issued to Subcontractors, Suppliers, or Manufacturers. Bidders are advised to telephone the Architect's Office in advance to confirm the availability of documents.
Documents are also available for examination at the, Northeastern Pennsylvania Contractors' Association (NEPCA), Reed Construction Data, F. W. Dodge Corporation and Harrisburg Builders Exchange.
A pre-bid tour of the existing facility is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 3:00 pm. Contact Tim Lastichen, Director of Buildings and Grounds (267) 228-5663 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM to schedule visits to the site at times other than the pre-bid tour. Bidder, afforded the opportunity to visit the Project site, shall be held responsible for cognizance and knowledge of existing features and conditions ascertainable by such site visit, and costs of the Work associated therewith.
Bids shall be submitted to the Owner as identified above and shall be mailed or delivered to Owner to be received not later than time as stated above. Oral, telephonic (facsimile or telex), or telegraphic bids are invalid and will not receive consideration.
All proposals shall be irrevocable for sixty (60) days after bid opening date, unless delayed due to required approvals of another governmental agency, sale of bonds, or the award of a grant or grants, in which case bids shall be irrevocable for one hundred twenty (120) days in compliance with Pennsylvania Act #317 of 1978, approved November 26, 1978, and as amended December 12, 1994. Bids shall be accompanied by a bid guarantee, in the form of a Bid Bond, Cashier's Check or Certified Check in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the Bid Sum, payable to the Owner.
Notice is given that the project for which construction bids are being solicited hereby is a project constituting a public works project and is subject to applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, the Act of August 15, 1961, P.L. 987, as amended and supplemented, and appropriate prevailing minimum rate as promulgated under provisions of said Act must be paid by contractors in connection with performance of the necessary work.. Notice is also given that the project for which construction bids are being received is subject to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, the Act of October 27, 1955, P.L. 744, as amended and supplemented.
The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive, at his discretion, any or all irregularities, mistakes, omissions, or informalities relative thereto.
Marlys Mihok
School Board Secretary
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Morrisville fails to invest in children’s future
From the BCCT.
Morrisville fails to invest in its children’s future
I am a lifelong resident of Morrisville and graduated from Morrisville High School in 1978. My children attend the same school I attended. I have heard these same issues for the entire time my children have been enrolled in Morrisville: that there’s no money to fix the school or to do much else. My boys have often asked why the school board treats them like non-citizens.
Now there is talk about having a school system of K-8 and sending our teenagers to a different school system, possibly Pennsbury, which we’d pay to educate our children.
Would this prevent Pennsbury from raising taxes? Be realistic. We would send fewer than 200 kids to Pennsbury. Pennsbury’s budget will increase due to the added students but will the added income from Morrisville really add sufficient funds to reverse a tax increase? I do not see how the math would help Pennsbury taxpayers.
Another question to consider is how interchangeable the Morrisville curriculum is with that of Pennsbury so that if/when the students transfer they are not hindered? In this day and age, it is difficult for teenagers to adjust, and to take them from a graduating class of 45-55 kids and move them to a graduating class of 800 is a big change. Yes, the majority of the kids would “just deal with it” as school board President Hellman has stated. But why should they?
I moved to Morrisville because it is a small town. I had a great education at Morrisville High School and I have done well for myself. My kids have great teachers and both boys have career goals.
Why can’t today’s school board see that and encourage our kids? Morrisville is not as “transient” as Hellman believes. Morrisville is full of good families doing the best they can to raise their kids and the school board has failed them again.
When are we ever going to do the best for our children? If Morrisville residents of the distant and recent past had been willing to invest in their youth and in the future the problems the district now faces would not exist. When will residents understand that shortterm savings and shortsightedness do not produce long-term growth and prosperity? We need to invest in and plan for the long term.
Regina G. Wallace Morrisville
Morrisville fails to invest in its children’s future
I am a lifelong resident of Morrisville and graduated from Morrisville High School in 1978. My children attend the same school I attended. I have heard these same issues for the entire time my children have been enrolled in Morrisville: that there’s no money to fix the school or to do much else. My boys have often asked why the school board treats them like non-citizens.
Now there is talk about having a school system of K-8 and sending our teenagers to a different school system, possibly Pennsbury, which we’d pay to educate our children.
Would this prevent Pennsbury from raising taxes? Be realistic. We would send fewer than 200 kids to Pennsbury. Pennsbury’s budget will increase due to the added students but will the added income from Morrisville really add sufficient funds to reverse a tax increase? I do not see how the math would help Pennsbury taxpayers.
Another question to consider is how interchangeable the Morrisville curriculum is with that of Pennsbury so that if/when the students transfer they are not hindered? In this day and age, it is difficult for teenagers to adjust, and to take them from a graduating class of 45-55 kids and move them to a graduating class of 800 is a big change. Yes, the majority of the kids would “just deal with it” as school board President Hellman has stated. But why should they?
I moved to Morrisville because it is a small town. I had a great education at Morrisville High School and I have done well for myself. My kids have great teachers and both boys have career goals.
Why can’t today’s school board see that and encourage our kids? Morrisville is not as “transient” as Hellman believes. Morrisville is full of good families doing the best they can to raise their kids and the school board has failed them again.
When are we ever going to do the best for our children? If Morrisville residents of the distant and recent past had been willing to invest in their youth and in the future the problems the district now faces would not exist. When will residents understand that shortterm savings and shortsightedness do not produce long-term growth and prosperity? We need to invest in and plan for the long term.
Regina G. Wallace Morrisville
Grades 4-12 will be in same building
From the BCCT. Anyone else have news from the meeting?
Downsizing the district in 3...2...
Grades 4-12 will be in same building
The restructuring decision is a safeguard against the possibility of Reiter being closed or being too damaged to open for the fall semester, said acting interim Superintendent William Ferrara.
By MANASEE WAGH
Morrisville students in grades four and up will share a building starting next year. The school board voted 6-2 to reconfigure the district Wednesday evening, with members Joseph Kemp and Gloria Heater opposed. Students in grades four to eight would attend an “intermediate school” in the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, set apart from grades nine to 12, which would continue their schooling in the same building. Grades four to six would be separate from grades seven and eight.
Grandview Elementary would house grades pre-K to three.
Up to $7 million will be invested in renovating the two buildings.
The plan doesn’t call for new construction, but will partly rearrange the use of current spaces, said acting interim Superintendent William Ferrara.
Plans are still preliminary, but he said the administration discussed separating different grade levels in the high school by putting doors in between building sections.
Board member Kemp thought the vote was too premature because neither he nor the public had seen specific and detailed plans for how the facilities would be restructured. He wanted to table the vote and hold it until a later time, but his suggestion was defeated. Board President William Hellmann said he’s pleased with the plan. Community members expressed concern regarding the restructuring before the board has voted on whether or not to close its third school, M.R. Reiter Elementary. Parent John Perry called it “putting the cart before the horse.” About a month ago, the district held a public forum to discuss the possibility of closing Reiter, which was temporarily closed in December after a furnace explosion. The building was damaged badly enough that its students had to be relocated to other district buildings, where they remain. Some will move to modular units on the property of Grandview Elementary this year.
By law, the board has to wait 90 days after the public hearing to vote on closing Reiter.
However, the restructuring proposal is distinct from Reiter, said district solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick.
“The issue came up under the initiative of the superintendent. It’s a separate issue from Reiter,” he said.
If the district ends up keeping Reiter and it is repaired, students may be moved back there at some point, board members said.
For now, the administration is simply being proactive by planning to move all the students into Grandview and the high school building this fall, Ferrara said.
“If Reiter is not ready, we won’t be scrambling around,” he said. If the board decides to close it permanently, then the restructuring plan gives the district a place to put the 250 Reiter students, he said.
Downsizing the district in 3...2...
Grades 4-12 will be in same building
The restructuring decision is a safeguard against the possibility of Reiter being closed or being too damaged to open for the fall semester, said acting interim Superintendent William Ferrara.
By MANASEE WAGH
Morrisville students in grades four and up will share a building starting next year. The school board voted 6-2 to reconfigure the district Wednesday evening, with members Joseph Kemp and Gloria Heater opposed. Students in grades four to eight would attend an “intermediate school” in the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, set apart from grades nine to 12, which would continue their schooling in the same building. Grades four to six would be separate from grades seven and eight.
Grandview Elementary would house grades pre-K to three.
Up to $7 million will be invested in renovating the two buildings.
The plan doesn’t call for new construction, but will partly rearrange the use of current spaces, said acting interim Superintendent William Ferrara.
Plans are still preliminary, but he said the administration discussed separating different grade levels in the high school by putting doors in between building sections.
Board member Kemp thought the vote was too premature because neither he nor the public had seen specific and detailed plans for how the facilities would be restructured. He wanted to table the vote and hold it until a later time, but his suggestion was defeated. Board President William Hellmann said he’s pleased with the plan. Community members expressed concern regarding the restructuring before the board has voted on whether or not to close its third school, M.R. Reiter Elementary. Parent John Perry called it “putting the cart before the horse.” About a month ago, the district held a public forum to discuss the possibility of closing Reiter, which was temporarily closed in December after a furnace explosion. The building was damaged badly enough that its students had to be relocated to other district buildings, where they remain. Some will move to modular units on the property of Grandview Elementary this year.
By law, the board has to wait 90 days after the public hearing to vote on closing Reiter.
However, the restructuring proposal is distinct from Reiter, said district solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick.
“The issue came up under the initiative of the superintendent. It’s a separate issue from Reiter,” he said.
If the district ends up keeping Reiter and it is repaired, students may be moved back there at some point, board members said.
For now, the administration is simply being proactive by planning to move all the students into Grandview and the high school building this fall, Ferrara said.
“If Reiter is not ready, we won’t be scrambling around,” he said. If the board decides to close it permanently, then the restructuring plan gives the district a place to put the 250 Reiter students, he said.
PA graduation tests inadequate
From the Centre Daily Times
Study finds many Pa. graduation tests inadequate
By MARK SCOLFORO - Associated Press Writer Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Many of the graduation tests being used in Pennsylvania schools fail to adequately measure whether students perform at 11th grade levels in math and reading, according to a study released Wednesday.
* Copy of the Study
Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said the study shows Pennsylvania needs to take steps to ensure its high school graduates are ready for post-secondary education and the workplace.
"It's not a good situation," he said Wednesday. "The data obviously tell the story."
The study by two Penn State University education professors found great variation in the type of tests being used and how they are administered and applied.
The professors called it the most comprehensive look at the tests school districts use as an alternative to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which measures all students at various stages, including 11th grade.
It was commissioned by the state Education Department at a cost of $276,000.
The study found there are districts that measure reading skills in ways that do not involve actual reading - by testing vocabulary, for example. Some districts' graduation assessments give students credit for their attendance, course grades or good citizenship.
Math and reading tests in just 18 of the 418 districts that were evaluated passed muster by fully meeting the study's standards, which compared the local tests with statewide proficiency standards. Unpaid panels of Pennsylvania public school educators examined the local tests.
Panelists described some assessments as thorough and professional, while others evidenced a lack of concern for the purpose of graduation tests, the report said.
As a condition of participation in the study, school districts were promised that their ratings by the panelists would not be disclosed publicly, although superintendents can get their own.
The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has proposed a statewide standard for graduation by 2014 that would include final exams in English, math, science and social studies. But opposition by the state school boards' association and some state lawmakers has stalled it.
In July, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission issued a report saying graduation tests should be tailored to individual districts rather than imposed uniformly across the state.
More than 50,000 students graduated in 2007 based on their local district's alternative test, and the Education Department has concluded that tens of thousands of students are currently allowed to graduate without sufficient skills.
Education Department spokesman Mike Race said the study "raises very serious questions about these local assessments, which is what we've been saying for months."
Study finds many Pa. graduation tests inadequate
By MARK SCOLFORO - Associated Press Writer Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Many of the graduation tests being used in Pennsylvania schools fail to adequately measure whether students perform at 11th grade levels in math and reading, according to a study released Wednesday.
* Copy of the Study
Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said the study shows Pennsylvania needs to take steps to ensure its high school graduates are ready for post-secondary education and the workplace.
"It's not a good situation," he said Wednesday. "The data obviously tell the story."
The study by two Penn State University education professors found great variation in the type of tests being used and how they are administered and applied.
The professors called it the most comprehensive look at the tests school districts use as an alternative to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which measures all students at various stages, including 11th grade.
It was commissioned by the state Education Department at a cost of $276,000.
The study found there are districts that measure reading skills in ways that do not involve actual reading - by testing vocabulary, for example. Some districts' graduation assessments give students credit for their attendance, course grades or good citizenship.
Math and reading tests in just 18 of the 418 districts that were evaluated passed muster by fully meeting the study's standards, which compared the local tests with statewide proficiency standards. Unpaid panels of Pennsylvania public school educators examined the local tests.
Panelists described some assessments as thorough and professional, while others evidenced a lack of concern for the purpose of graduation tests, the report said.
As a condition of participation in the study, school districts were promised that their ratings by the panelists would not be disclosed publicly, although superintendents can get their own.
The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has proposed a statewide standard for graduation by 2014 that would include final exams in English, math, science and social studies. But opposition by the state school boards' association and some state lawmakers has stalled it.
In July, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission issued a report saying graduation tests should be tailored to individual districts rather than imposed uniformly across the state.
More than 50,000 students graduated in 2007 based on their local district's alternative test, and the Education Department has concluded that tens of thousands of students are currently allowed to graduate without sufficient skills.
Education Department spokesman Mike Race said the study "raises very serious questions about these local assessments, which is what we've been saying for months."
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