Countdown to April 29 to PERMANENTLY close M. R. Reiter. Ask the board to see the 6 point plan.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Gym Night TONIGHT 6:30 P.M.

Make sure you come out tonight for the 45th (and nearing the last) Gym Night at Morrisville High School. Come cheer on the blue and the gold.

Be there: 6:30 P.M. in the MHS gym.

Here's a recap of last year's Gym Night.

Last year not one school board member showed up. Maybe one will this year?

Game plan in motion for new school

From the BCCT.

Game plan in motion for new school
By JOAN HELLYER

Bristol’s new, estimated $34 million Warren Snyder-John Girotti School is expected to open in six months when the 2009-10 school year begins Sept. 9, district officials said.

But before that can happen, crews have to finish building the school off Beaver Street, and district administrators have to develop a game plan for the school that will be able to serve up to 1,100 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade.

The administrators gave school board members an update Thursday night about what they’ve already come up with and explained what areas still need to be worked out.

Among the areas covered were time schedules, which will be staggered for the students depending on their grade level.

Middle school kids in sixth through eighth grade will begin their day at 7:45 a.m. and their school day will end at 2:31 p.m., according to administrators. Elementary school students will begin their day at 8:05 a.m. and end it at 2:40 p.m. Details on student drop-off and pickup are being worked out.

Also addressed during the meeting were core curriculums for the two levels. Both will continue, as will all middle level electives and other courses, including the exploratory language program, the administrators said.

Administrators will continue working out operation plans and give the board an update in May about several issues including time schedules for both elementary and middle level students.

Principal Rosemary Parmigiani will meet in July with fire officials in the borough to develop an emergency exit plan.

During the meeting, the board approved the 2009-10 district calendar that includes the Sept. 9 start day for the new school year. That differs from the start dates in recent years, when kids were generally back in school by the end of August.

The later start date will enable district officials to have enough time to make sure the school is ready for business, Superintendent Broadus Davis Jr. said.

Grades 4-12 under one roof

From BucksLocalNews.com.

No, it's not a surprise. Now there's two sure votes to close Reiter. We already know about the Emperor's RATTRAP!!! Now, Jack Buckman confirms his vote to close Reiter: "We have to restructure to fit all the students in the space we're going to have."

Then there's this gem of a quote: Buckman, who previously served on Morrisville Borough Council, said the board majority had planned on restructuring "long before we had any problems with M.R. Reiter School."

There's a plan? Let's see it. Jack: You have now confirmed it exists. Release it to all of us.

Reliable toadyism: Morrisville has it.


Grades 4-12 under one roof
The school board approved putting kids ages nine through 18 in the same school.
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor Posted on Thu, Mar 5, 2009

A controversial restructuring plan was adopted for Morrisville schools in which elementary school children will attend class in the same building as high-school students. The plan was approved at the Morrisville School Board meeting Feb. 25 in a 6-2 vote.

Students in fourth through 12th grades in the Morrisville School District will attend classes in the Middle/Senior High School building. The new plan will be effective July 2009.

Voting to approve the restructuring was Board Chairman Bill Hellman, and Board Members Marlys Mihok, Bill Farrell, Al Rodosti, Brenda Worob and Jack Buckman.

Voting against the measure were Gloria Heater and Joe Kemp.

Board Member Robin Reithmeyer was not present.

Buckman, who previously served on Morrisville Borough Council, said the board majority had planned on restructuring "long before we had any problems with M.R. Reiter School." He noted people have objected, saying the board was restructuring because of the problem with Reiter.

In December, Reiter was closed because the school's furnace had exploded. Reiter students have been going to class since then at either Grandview Elementary School or the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.

As a result, Morrisville Borough Council voted to make a portion of Grand-view Avenue one-way because children were being dropped off or picked up with children running across the street.

Attending Grandview Elementary School in the fall will be pre-K to third grade. Fourth through eighth grades will attend an intermediate-level school within the Middle/Senior High School. Under the plan, the fourth to sixth grades will be separated from seventh and eighth grade classes.

Board Member Joe Kemp was not in favor of the restructuring. Later, he tried to table the motion, but was unsuccessful.

According to Buckman, the school district "has to plan on doing this. This involves changing structure - you want to prepare a head of time."

He added, "We have to restructure to fit all the students in the space we're going to have."

Some students at Grand-view will attend classes in modular units as a result of the closing of M.R. Reiter.

The school board recently held a public hearing about whether to close Reiter, during which time parents vehemently opposed the proposal. The board had 90 days after that hearing to decide if the school should be mothballed.