From the BCCT
Imagine the craigslist posting: Larger sized school district, once stunningly beautiful but now a little over the hill, seeks merger with smaller district for mutual survival.
The above is posted with tongue firmly in cheek. A merger is always something to explore but let's keep in mind that the current economic problems, as hard as they are, are only temporary. Take a few moments to have your Chicken-Little-the-sky-is-falling-and-we're-all-doomed spasm, and then get back to work.
Morrisville did not have the fortitude to make the hard choices back in the 1970s and 80s as economic conditions deteriorated slowly, and the frog boiled alive. The rapid downturn today is alarming and is the equivalent of being cast in boiling water. Now on alert, it's time to make the changes needed.
A side question to all the Pennsbury Pac-Man strategy proponents: You really want Morrisville to be absorbed into another school district who is at the equivalent position of 1990s Morrisville? Is Morrisville going to close the Pennsbury budget gap by selling our students for enough money to cover the extra costs of education as well as the $12 million needed to close the gap? We would sell our independence to gain what exactly?
We do not take any pleasure in the tough times and anyone else's miseries, and Pennsbury is in a tough spot. Let's keep merger-mania in clear focus. Ask the tough question if a merger is helpful or not.
District services on the chopping block
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
It's either a tax hike or whittling down services.
That's the difficult choice for Pennsbury.
The school district faces a $12 million budget shortfall, and the board has voted to keep any tax increase at or below the state mandated Act 1 limit of 4.1 percent. Pennsbury can't afford to keep a tax increase as close to zero as possible without cutting back on some programs and services, said CEO Paul Long at Thursday's board meeting that lasted till midnight as angry residents protested possible losses in educational programs.
About 26 percent of Pennsbury households have children in the public schools, according to district figures.
Board members spent a great deal of time discussing how to handle the administration's suggestions and engaged in a brief discussion with each resident during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Part of the deficit stems from a shortage of federal and state funds, despite the federal stimulus funding, said Isabel Miller, the district business administrator.
"The tricky part is preserving the central education process while saving money in the budget," said Long. To that end, the administration is evaluating every school and department, seeking ways to eliminate a myriad of large and small expenses.
Possible changes in the coming year include:
?? Making the bus transportation system more efficient;
?? Staff reductions in all job classifications;
?? Larger class sizes;
???Raising minimum enrollment for some courses;
?? Restructuring, alternatively funding or eliminating specific courses and programs, including Extra K, secondary gifted classes and business cooperative education;
??Keeping more special education services within the district;
???A moratorium on some field trips that could be replaced by video conferencing;
??Eliminating some district assessments for one to two years.
These are some of the many options administrators suggested. They stressed their ideas are a work in progress. The administration's goal is to maintain educational excellence despite any changes, they said.
Lower Makefield resident Robin Stelly said students are facing diminished educational opportunities. She doesn't think the proposed measures would fill the financial hole.
"I'd rather pay higher taxes," she said.
The item of the most concern to residents at the meeting is the prospect of losing programs and lowering elective course requirements.
Parents are concerned the district is considering allowing seniors to drop courses if they have proficient or advanced PSSA scores and sufficient credit to graduate - at least 27 in prescribed subject areas. In that case, they could drop up to one elective course per semester, allowing them to come to school late or leave early. The high school could combine smaller elective classes into larger ones that way.
"Kids shouldn't be out early or sleeping in. I think it's a very bad idea for students not to have a full day, including electives," said Barbara Joseph, the parent of a Pennsbury High School student.
She said if fewer students opt to take arts electives, those courses eventually would be cut.
One program that could be eliminated is Odyssey of the Mind, a creative problem-solving competition in which Pennsbury students have reached the international round. The district would save about $9,000 annually, said district officials, but the program is mostly paid for and run by parents.
Board members suggested helping parents find alternate sponsorship from local businesses.
District parents also pointed to other ways the district could cut costs, including minimizing administrative and board conferences and significantly reducing paper and printing costs incurred through newsletter and flier mailings.
While the board took no action, it will continue hashing out alternatives and maybe modifying suggestions.
"I agree that if we cut programs then we won't have as excellent an education as before. But we have to take finances into consideration," said board member Howard Goldberg. "I encourage people to keep coming out and pointing out ways to cut costs.''
A detailed description of options is available on the Pennsbury School District Web site at www.pennsbury.k12.pa.us
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Contractor Ordinance Recap
From BucksLocalNews.com
Gotta watch those conflicts of interest. You never know when one might pop up.
Glass houses, you know...
Posted on Thu, Mar 19, 2009
Council weighs comments, rejects contractor ordinance
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor
After hearing considerable public comment, the Morrisville Borough Council voted 7-1 not to approve the controversial 'responsible contractor' ordinance (RCO).
Voting "No" at the March 16 meeting were: President Nancy Sherlock, Jane Burger, Eileen Dreisbach, Rita Ledger, Stephen Worob and Kathy Panzitta. Voting in favor of the RCO was David Rivella. Ed Albertson was absent.
James Downey, borough council solicitor, announced that a Bucks County administrator, who lives in Morrisville, informed him that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has said municipalities with RCOs would not get federal Community and Economic Development block grants.
HUD has deemed such ordinances restrict competition and therefore would not give grants for construction.
Downey noted part of his job is to keep Morrisville Borough out of difficulty and that he should "tweak" the proposed RCO and submit it to the county and to HUD for their comments.
The idea of the ordinance was to award all maintenance and public construction contracts to responsible and qualified companies. Part of the proposed ordinance called for giving jobs to companies, which have apprenticeship programs. These contracts would be for at least $10,000.
Some people were saying that union representatives are encouraging municipalities to adopt the RCO. At the March 10 agenda meeting, six people spoke out against adoption of the ordinance. One resident said two council members should not vote on the issue because of conflict of interest.
Marlys Mihok, a member of the Morrisville School Board, said the ordinance would be "very exclusionary" because it would exclude established and reputable contractors with small businesses that cannot provide an apprenticeship program.
Mihok said "there is more than a slight appearance of a conflict of interest." She said two council members should abstain from voting on the ordinance because they belong to unions. They are Ed Albertson and David Rivella. She later said Panzitta and Sherlock should also abstain.
She brought county records, which she said document the union contributions to David Rivella, a democrat who is a journeyman and belongs to a construction union. She said he accepted campaign contributions from several unions.
Mihok also noted that the Democratic Committee in Morrisville accepted union contributions. Rivella is president of the committee.
Rivella said neither the word "union" nor "labor" are mentioned in the proposed RCO.
He said the solicitor should add to the RCO to assure the borough can receive federal funds for construction.
The meeting room was filled with some people who are pro-union.
Jeff Johnson is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He said his group provides a good apprenticeship program. Johnson said he was in an apprenticeship program, but also received his Bachelor's Degree.
Johnson noted his union does gratis work in the community. One major project was constructing a house for an elderly couple. Their house was ruined in one of the Yardley floods.
Other community service projects include Habitat for Humanity, the Sunshine Foundation, among others.
"These are people who want to have an education," Johnson said. He emphasized the union wants the RCO.
Opposing the RCO was Jeff Zeh, who said 75 percent of construction employees in the Greater Philadelphia area work for non-union open shop construction companies.
"We are opposed to discriminatory arrangements that exclude most qualified construction companies from bidding on public construction projects, he said at the agenda meeting.
Zeh questioned, "Has the borough experienced any serious problems with contractors it has hired to perform borough construction work?"
He mentioned open shop construction companies have apprenticeship programs, which would have been part of the ordinance's requirements.
The RCO "would preclude employees such as those who have completed vocational training programs at the Bucks County Technical High Schools from satisfying the requirement of the proposed ordinance," Zeh said.
He noted the RCO would mean less competition and that "would drive up construction costs for the borough."
Meanwhile, Councilman Worob said at Monday night's meeting that he had been a union chairman for years. He said there are "good things," which unions have done. However, there are unions that "go too far."
Worob said the ordinance is "restrictive. It eliminates competition."
Council member Dreis-bach, who voted "No" on the RCO, said her son and her father belonged to unions. "I know a lot of good contractors and they don't have apprenticeships."
Council member Burger, who voted, "No" on the ordinance, said her husband had gone through an apprenticeship program.
Councilman Rivella, who was the only one voting "Yes," is a member of a union and went through an apprenticeship program. He said his apprenticeship was completed at the Mercer County Vocational school, not through a union.
Burger said, "There are programs that are not union-affiliated." She also said the matter should not go back to the Ordinance Committee, because she is not a lawyer.
President Sherlock asked, "Why didn't we have a motion 'to tweak' the ordinance?"
Worob added, "Maybe this has died."
Burger said the matter could be addressed at a later time. She said the ordinance is "problematic" and "should be rephrased." The ordinance, she said, limits competition.
Sherlock noted the late hour. "The majority of this council does not want the RCO," she concluded.
Gotta watch those conflicts of interest. You never know when one might pop up.
Glass houses, you know...
Posted on Thu, Mar 19, 2009
Council weighs comments, rejects contractor ordinance
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor
After hearing considerable public comment, the Morrisville Borough Council voted 7-1 not to approve the controversial 'responsible contractor' ordinance (RCO).
Voting "No" at the March 16 meeting were: President Nancy Sherlock, Jane Burger, Eileen Dreisbach, Rita Ledger, Stephen Worob and Kathy Panzitta. Voting in favor of the RCO was David Rivella. Ed Albertson was absent.
James Downey, borough council solicitor, announced that a Bucks County administrator, who lives in Morrisville, informed him that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has said municipalities with RCOs would not get federal Community and Economic Development block grants.
HUD has deemed such ordinances restrict competition and therefore would not give grants for construction.
Downey noted part of his job is to keep Morrisville Borough out of difficulty and that he should "tweak" the proposed RCO and submit it to the county and to HUD for their comments.
The idea of the ordinance was to award all maintenance and public construction contracts to responsible and qualified companies. Part of the proposed ordinance called for giving jobs to companies, which have apprenticeship programs. These contracts would be for at least $10,000.
Some people were saying that union representatives are encouraging municipalities to adopt the RCO. At the March 10 agenda meeting, six people spoke out against adoption of the ordinance. One resident said two council members should not vote on the issue because of conflict of interest.
Marlys Mihok, a member of the Morrisville School Board, said the ordinance would be "very exclusionary" because it would exclude established and reputable contractors with small businesses that cannot provide an apprenticeship program.
Mihok said "there is more than a slight appearance of a conflict of interest." She said two council members should abstain from voting on the ordinance because they belong to unions. They are Ed Albertson and David Rivella. She later said Panzitta and Sherlock should also abstain.
She brought county records, which she said document the union contributions to David Rivella, a democrat who is a journeyman and belongs to a construction union. She said he accepted campaign contributions from several unions.
Mihok also noted that the Democratic Committee in Morrisville accepted union contributions. Rivella is president of the committee.
Rivella said neither the word "union" nor "labor" are mentioned in the proposed RCO.
He said the solicitor should add to the RCO to assure the borough can receive federal funds for construction.
The meeting room was filled with some people who are pro-union.
Jeff Johnson is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He said his group provides a good apprenticeship program. Johnson said he was in an apprenticeship program, but also received his Bachelor's Degree.
Johnson noted his union does gratis work in the community. One major project was constructing a house for an elderly couple. Their house was ruined in one of the Yardley floods.
Other community service projects include Habitat for Humanity, the Sunshine Foundation, among others.
"These are people who want to have an education," Johnson said. He emphasized the union wants the RCO.
Opposing the RCO was Jeff Zeh, who said 75 percent of construction employees in the Greater Philadelphia area work for non-union open shop construction companies.
"We are opposed to discriminatory arrangements that exclude most qualified construction companies from bidding on public construction projects, he said at the agenda meeting.
Zeh questioned, "Has the borough experienced any serious problems with contractors it has hired to perform borough construction work?"
He mentioned open shop construction companies have apprenticeship programs, which would have been part of the ordinance's requirements.
The RCO "would preclude employees such as those who have completed vocational training programs at the Bucks County Technical High Schools from satisfying the requirement of the proposed ordinance," Zeh said.
He noted the RCO would mean less competition and that "would drive up construction costs for the borough."
Meanwhile, Councilman Worob said at Monday night's meeting that he had been a union chairman for years. He said there are "good things," which unions have done. However, there are unions that "go too far."
Worob said the ordinance is "restrictive. It eliminates competition."
Council member Dreis-bach, who voted "No" on the RCO, said her son and her father belonged to unions. "I know a lot of good contractors and they don't have apprenticeships."
Council member Burger, who voted, "No" on the ordinance, said her husband had gone through an apprenticeship program.
Councilman Rivella, who was the only one voting "Yes," is a member of a union and went through an apprenticeship program. He said his apprenticeship was completed at the Mercer County Vocational school, not through a union.
Burger said, "There are programs that are not union-affiliated." She also said the matter should not go back to the Ordinance Committee, because she is not a lawyer.
President Sherlock asked, "Why didn't we have a motion 'to tweak' the ordinance?"
Worob added, "Maybe this has died."
Burger said the matter could be addressed at a later time. She said the ordinance is "problematic" and "should be rephrased." The ordinance, she said, limits competition.
Sherlock noted the late hour. "The majority of this council does not want the RCO," she concluded.
Philadelphia Tea Party Cancelled
From the Inquirer
No tea chests are being thrown into the Delaware this time around.
No firestorm against tax plan
Many said they would rather pay more than suffer cuts in services. But that sentiment was not unanimous.
By Joelle Farrell and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers Posted on Fri, Mar. 20, 2009
In this economy, the old saying about the certainty of death and taxes can take on a rougher edge. But many Philadelphians yesterday approached Mayor Nutter's proposal to raise property and sales taxes with the same sort of resigned shrug.
"You gotta do what you gotta do to keep things afloat," said Leo Procopio, 40, a butcher from South Philadelphia.
Tim Coleman, 38, who lives in Germantown and works in the cardiac unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, agreed.
"Nobody likes taxes," he said. "If Harrisburg won't give him the money, what choice does he have?"
Neither homeowners nor renters interviewed yesterday were thrilled about paying 19 percent more in property taxes this year. But many said they'd rather bite this bullet - which Nutter said would be temporary - than lose police officers, firefighters, libraries, or other services.
"Libraries are very important to children," said Anna Greenwald, 29, a social worker who owns a home in the Rittenhouse area. "They are a necessary service. They are not something you can shortchange."
"He's not closing any swimming pools or libraries," said Mark Lightfoot, 40, the proprietor of a Germantown hair salon. "In fact, he said there would be four more pools opened. Of course, there is always the downside of raising taxes, but we have to do it."
Nutter's plan would raise the city sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent for the next three years. It also would require a 19 percent increase in property taxes for one year and a 14.5 percent increase over the current rate the next year.
Nutter has said property taxes would drop back to their current level by the third year, although some wonder whether he will follow through once the government gets used to the additional revenue.
"I think what bothers a lot of people is that they fear he is not going to be able to roll back the taxes after three years the way he says he is," said Rian Baker, 31, who works at Lightfoot's hair salon in Germantown.
The plan still has plenty of critics, including many who came to pay bills at a collection center at 22d and Somerset Streets in the Swampoodle section of North Philadelphia.
"He's out of his mind," said Norma Henley, 76, as she walked toward the center's glass doors. "He can't keep putting it on homeowners. Too many people on assistance are falling through the cracks. I think there are other ways of getting tax revenue.
"If I could leave" North Philadelphia, she said, "I would. If it keeps getting like this, I will."
Antonio Robinson, 45, a florist, said he already was thinking of leaving North Philadelphia because of the crime rate. "It's just adding insult to injury," he said. "This neighborhood is like Dodge City."
Cici Perkins, 22, who was sweeping a rug outside an Italian Market beauty-supply store, expressed a sentiment many Americans have felt as Congress uses taxpayer money to bail out banks.
"Why should we have to pay for what somebody else messed up?" she asked.
Still, when pressed to decide whether she'd prefer to have city services cut, Perkins relented.
"You need the libraries for the children, regardless," she said.
Tim Sagges, 48, who owns two eyeglass stores in Philadelphia, said he wasn't sure how anyone could afford the increases. But somehow, people will have to.
"It just sounds like a lot," he said. "It's just a big pill to swallow. Maybe it's necessary."
No tea chests are being thrown into the Delaware this time around.
No firestorm against tax plan
Many said they would rather pay more than suffer cuts in services. But that sentiment was not unanimous.
By Joelle Farrell and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers Posted on Fri, Mar. 20, 2009
In this economy, the old saying about the certainty of death and taxes can take on a rougher edge. But many Philadelphians yesterday approached Mayor Nutter's proposal to raise property and sales taxes with the same sort of resigned shrug.
"You gotta do what you gotta do to keep things afloat," said Leo Procopio, 40, a butcher from South Philadelphia.
Tim Coleman, 38, who lives in Germantown and works in the cardiac unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, agreed.
"Nobody likes taxes," he said. "If Harrisburg won't give him the money, what choice does he have?"
Neither homeowners nor renters interviewed yesterday were thrilled about paying 19 percent more in property taxes this year. But many said they'd rather bite this bullet - which Nutter said would be temporary - than lose police officers, firefighters, libraries, or other services.
"Libraries are very important to children," said Anna Greenwald, 29, a social worker who owns a home in the Rittenhouse area. "They are a necessary service. They are not something you can shortchange."
"He's not closing any swimming pools or libraries," said Mark Lightfoot, 40, the proprietor of a Germantown hair salon. "In fact, he said there would be four more pools opened. Of course, there is always the downside of raising taxes, but we have to do it."
Nutter's plan would raise the city sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent for the next three years. It also would require a 19 percent increase in property taxes for one year and a 14.5 percent increase over the current rate the next year.
Nutter has said property taxes would drop back to their current level by the third year, although some wonder whether he will follow through once the government gets used to the additional revenue.
"I think what bothers a lot of people is that they fear he is not going to be able to roll back the taxes after three years the way he says he is," said Rian Baker, 31, who works at Lightfoot's hair salon in Germantown.
The plan still has plenty of critics, including many who came to pay bills at a collection center at 22d and Somerset Streets in the Swampoodle section of North Philadelphia.
"He's out of his mind," said Norma Henley, 76, as she walked toward the center's glass doors. "He can't keep putting it on homeowners. Too many people on assistance are falling through the cracks. I think there are other ways of getting tax revenue.
"If I could leave" North Philadelphia, she said, "I would. If it keeps getting like this, I will."
Antonio Robinson, 45, a florist, said he already was thinking of leaving North Philadelphia because of the crime rate. "It's just adding insult to injury," he said. "This neighborhood is like Dodge City."
Cici Perkins, 22, who was sweeping a rug outside an Italian Market beauty-supply store, expressed a sentiment many Americans have felt as Congress uses taxpayer money to bail out banks.
"Why should we have to pay for what somebody else messed up?" she asked.
Still, when pressed to decide whether she'd prefer to have city services cut, Perkins relented.
"You need the libraries for the children, regardless," she said.
Tim Sagges, 48, who owns two eyeglass stores in Philadelphia, said he wasn't sure how anyone could afford the increases. But somehow, people will have to.
"It just sounds like a lot," he said. "It's just a big pill to swallow. Maybe it's necessary."
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