From the BCCT.
What a shock. We want a plan. That's the first time I've heard about that request...NOT!
One of our own borough councilmen lost total control at a school board meeting once shouting "Shame! Shame!" at the late Ed Frankenfield. Mr. Frankenfield's crime? Demanding a plan from the Emperor. (Side note to all who have heard about the Emperor's removal of public speakers from the January 28 meeting because they were disruptive. Not only did he not stop Mr. Worob, he applauded Mr. Worob's comments when they were concluded.)
Do you get it now, your Lord Highness? Where is the plan?
Be sure to send your written comments on the closure plan by Monday at 3:00 P.M. The Emperor and Solicitor Fitzpatrick promised answers to the questions posed.
Morrisville parents want long-term plan
Residents are encouraged to submit written opinions about the proposed closing of M.R. Reiter Elementary by Monday.
By MANASEE WAGH
Whether or not their district is one school short, residents would like to see a long-term plan for Morrisville’s children.
People scattered across the auditorium at the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School listened as about 20 residents, most of them parents, give testimony during a public hearing Thursday evening to close M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
Parents expressed frustration with a December furnace explosion that has required the roughly 250 Reiter students to attend class in various district locations, including the high school. Starting next month, modular units will be installed on Grandview Elementary’s property for grades one and two.
“What are you going to do next? How do we address the children’s safety, especially if we put kindergarten kids with high school kids?” said resident Kevin Waters.
Various parents said they laud the administration’s efforts to continue their children’s education during the emergency, but denounce the board’s lack of full disclosure about a long-term plan if Reiter is permanently closed.
“I’d like to see what they promised during the campaign, that they were going to work on education and safety,” said Susan Hough, the parent of a child at Reiter.
Ed Bailey, the father of a child in the district, said he’d like to see a referendum to decide whether or not Reiter should be closed.
“I don’t want see-sawing. We should come up with a reasonable compromise that most voters will support. There’s been a lot of anger, and I’d like to see us come together,” he said.
The two boilers in the aging building are about 50 years old and should have been replaced twice during their lifetime, said Paul DeAngelo, the district’s business administrator, at the hearing.
Reiter is in poor shape, with cracking that allows water to seep into the building and some features that date back to the 1920s, said Bill Corfield, a representative from Vitetta, an architectural and engineering firm that performed an assessment of the district’s two elementary schools, Reiter and the smaller Grandview.
If the Reiter building and property are sold, the remaining two schools could use the money for renovation, board President William Hellmann has said. Vitetta is starting the design phase for renovating the high school soon and the board has directed the firm to look at fixing problems in Grandview as well.
Renovating Reiter’s structural issues and physical systems, including windows, boilers, electrical, plumbing and lighting, would cost about $4 million. Renovating Grandview would cost about $2.6 million.
“Grandview is not large enough for the children we have. I haven’t seen a long-term plan to place students,” said Johanny Manning, a former school board member who has a child in Reiter. She said the cur rent situation crams elementary students into makeshift classrooms, and doesn’t allow for proper instruction in either core subjects or extras, like music or art.
After the hearing, the board cannot make any decisions about closing Reiter for at least 90 days, according to the school code. District solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick encouraged residents to submit written opinions about the proposed closing by Monday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. to contribute to the public hearing record. The opinions can be given to the administrative offices at 550 West Palmer St.
Financial problems have plagued the district for years, with previous boards trying different options to provide a quality education in better buildings. The current board is looking into possibly housing preK though grade eight in the high school building, a plan that requires sending grades nine through 12 to other districts on a paid tuition basis.
Fitzpatrick said at the Wednesday board meeting that he has not gotten “entirely positive” responses from neighboring districts about this proposition.
About 855 students currently attend school in Morrisville’s three buildings.
Though parent Elvin Velez did not give testimony at the hearing, he said he’d like to see a consolidated school done properly.
“As a taxpayer, it could be cumbersome, but that’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “We could pull through this as a community to find solutions.”
Showing posts with label Bailey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bailey. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Three Minute Rule Ended
From the BCCT.
I always figured that the eventual successor to the Emperor would end the three minute rule and pry the beeping egg timer from Marlys' hands. It looks like a simple lawsuit fixes it.
New policy ends limit on public comment
By: DANNY ADLER
There will be no time limit on public comment at Northampton's board of supervisors meetings.
And, certainly, there was no time limit in Bucks County court Thursday, as township officials took hours to reach an agreement of sorts.
Bucks County Judge John J. Rufe continued a hearing for one year on a lawsuit filed by Northampton resident and attorney Marvin Gold after the township supervisors agreed to the new board chairman's prohibition on time limits at public meetings.
Gold filed the suit in November after the supervisors' former chairman imposed a three-minute speaking limit on the public. Gold claimed the move was used as "a gag order" on residents with opposing opinions and violated the state's Sunshine Act.
Other residents also have wondered about the rule's freedom-of-speech implications.
After being appointed supervisors chairman Monday, Vincent J. Deon said he would do away with the time limit, barring "extreme circumstances" when there are a large number of residents who want to speak at a single meeting.
The rule was first imposed in September by Supervisor George Komelasky to prevent meetings from going into the wee hours of the morning and to ensure the township conducted all its business. Komelasky was inconsistent in enforcing the time limits during meetings, sometimes letting residents speak longer when fewer people wanted the microphone.
The judge ordered the three supervisors at the courthouse Thursday to get the other two supervisors on the phone and come to some sort of compromise, Gold said. After a two-hour conference call of the supervisors, township solicitor Joe Pizzo said the board agreed to Deon's policy.
"Chairman Deon announced that a policy that had previously been in place under the prior board chairman restricting public comment to three minutes was being lifted. He's doing that on his own volition and it's going to be his policy," Pizzo told the judge.
"It's a 100 percent victory," Gold said outside the courtroom. "All I was seeking was the right to speak for a reasonable amount of time."
Pizzo, though, claimed the case was a moot point "because there's no more time limits." He also noted that he disagrees that a three-minute rule violates the Sunshine Act.
Supervisors Frank Rothermel and Jim Cunningham were also on hand supporting Gold's case. "I'm pleased that reason prevailed," Rothermel said.
Township resident Ed Bailey, a regular at the board of supervisors meetings, was happy.
"I think the outcome is clear and just," he said. "The meetings should go as long as they have to."
The lawsuit stems, in part, from the Sept. 24 supervisors meeting where the limit was put into place.
I always figured that the eventual successor to the Emperor would end the three minute rule and pry the beeping egg timer from Marlys' hands. It looks like a simple lawsuit fixes it.
New policy ends limit on public comment
By: DANNY ADLER
There will be no time limit on public comment at Northampton's board of supervisors meetings.
And, certainly, there was no time limit in Bucks County court Thursday, as township officials took hours to reach an agreement of sorts.
Bucks County Judge John J. Rufe continued a hearing for one year on a lawsuit filed by Northampton resident and attorney Marvin Gold after the township supervisors agreed to the new board chairman's prohibition on time limits at public meetings.
Gold filed the suit in November after the supervisors' former chairman imposed a three-minute speaking limit on the public. Gold claimed the move was used as "a gag order" on residents with opposing opinions and violated the state's Sunshine Act.
Other residents also have wondered about the rule's freedom-of-speech implications.
After being appointed supervisors chairman Monday, Vincent J. Deon said he would do away with the time limit, barring "extreme circumstances" when there are a large number of residents who want to speak at a single meeting.
The rule was first imposed in September by Supervisor George Komelasky to prevent meetings from going into the wee hours of the morning and to ensure the township conducted all its business. Komelasky was inconsistent in enforcing the time limits during meetings, sometimes letting residents speak longer when fewer people wanted the microphone.
The judge ordered the three supervisors at the courthouse Thursday to get the other two supervisors on the phone and come to some sort of compromise, Gold said. After a two-hour conference call of the supervisors, township solicitor Joe Pizzo said the board agreed to Deon's policy.
"Chairman Deon announced that a policy that had previously been in place under the prior board chairman restricting public comment to three minutes was being lifted. He's doing that on his own volition and it's going to be his policy," Pizzo told the judge.
"It's a 100 percent victory," Gold said outside the courtroom. "All I was seeking was the right to speak for a reasonable amount of time."
Pizzo, though, claimed the case was a moot point "because there's no more time limits." He also noted that he disagrees that a three-minute rule violates the Sunshine Act.
Supervisors Frank Rothermel and Jim Cunningham were also on hand supporting Gold's case. "I'm pleased that reason prevailed," Rothermel said.
Township resident Ed Bailey, a regular at the board of supervisors meetings, was happy.
"I think the outcome is clear and just," he said. "The meetings should go as long as they have to."
The lawsuit stems, in part, from the Sept. 24 supervisors meeting where the limit was put into place.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Confronting Faulty Grad Tests
This is presented as is with no editorial comment. I do not know enough of the specific situation to evaluate the essay content. What is clear is that in American society, anyone can sue anyone. Tightened graduation requirements, if imposed in unclear, haphazard, or inconsistent manners, will eventually lead to a courtroom.
The Nation / Youth, Education, & Children / Standardized Testing
Exit Strategies: Confronting Faulty Grad Tests
July 3, 2008
My name is Latricia Wilson. I was born in Gary, Indiana but currently reside in Memphis, Tennessee. I am 25-years-old and a student at Tennessee Technology Center. Just a few years ago I wasn't sure if I would be able to achieve any higher education or vocational training because my high school denied me a standard diploma despite the fact that I had completed all of my courses.
I was denied a proper diploma because I had failed to pass the math section of a new end of year test by a few points.
The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Achievement Tests (TCAP), now called the Gateway Exam (PDF), are part of the state's assessment program. The high-stakes exit exam I took is part of a growing trend around the country leaving thousands of students without diplomas.
Prior to graduating high school, my career goals were to be a hairstylist and television makeup artist. After being denied a standard high school diploma in 2002 for failing to pass the TCAP math section, I was denied entry into all beauty schools even though I was on the technical/vocational path in high school and had taken cosmetology classes during my high school career. I was also denied entry into other Memphis technical and community colleges and universities.
I struggled as an adult to make a living wage to support myself. I worked as a waitress for years, took on double shifts and was just barely able to pay my rent. I was getting further away from my career goals and sinking deeper into poverty and debt. Eventually, I was evicted from my apartment. I've truly experienced how difficult it is to be an independent adult without a valid high school diploma. But I decided to do something about it, and started a quest to regain my rightful degree.
This is my own experience with Tennessee's public education system and how I was able to change it.
Diploma Drama
I was one of many students denied a high school diploma for failure to pass the TCAP tests in 2002. I had a mild learning disability in math, which made passing those TCAP sections difficult. I was enrolled in math resource classes from the ninth grade, and instructed at a slightly lower grade level than my classmates. Despite this, I was repeatedly administered the TCAP on a higher grade level than the one at which I was taught. As a result, I was unable to pass the math section by the end of senior year.
I was allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony, but instead of a regular diploma I received a "special education diploma," awarded to students with physical, emotional or severe learning disabilities not able to meet standard diploma requirements. But, having passed 20 credits in regular classes just like other students, I was qualified. I was mislabeled for no reason other than having failed the TCAP math section.
I was told by more than one high school guidance counselor that I could still further my education to some degree. I later learned that technical, vocational, community colleges and universities in Tennessee wouldn't accept my special diploma, because these institutions don't consider it a valid graduation certificate.
I was shamed and silenced, just like thousands of students that fail these state tests every year.
Gateway's Gaps
Twenty-three states, including Florida, Texas and California, have adopted exit exams as a requirement for receiving high school diplomas. The Gateway Exam is Tennessee's graduation requirement test and consists of English II, Algebra I and Biology I exams.
These assessments might seem like an important way to gauge a school or student's performance, but in the end they're linked to an inherently flawed public education system that fails to consider factors that hinder student performance such as lack of access to adequate classroom resources, quality instruction or tutoring services.
Students with learning disabilities are disproportionately affected because Tennessee public schools don't offer reasonable test accommodations such as portfolio assessments, additional test time, alternative test formats, or the use of adaptive equipment. Failing to provide these accommodations violates federal and state provisions set forth in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (reauthorized in 2002 as No Child Left Behind), the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
School closures also impact student preparedness for exit exams. In Memphis, for every school that closes, another facility must be made available, otherwise students are assigned to the next closest school. This can lead to class sizes of up to 40 students. Overcrowding hinders a teacher's effectiveness in covering core subjects such as English, science and math. Some teachers aren't even properly prepared to teach the basics.
In 2005, the Memphis City School Report Card data revealed that over one third of instructors were not "highly qualified" to teach core courses, leaving Memphis students with some 6,653 under-qualified teachers.
The Tennessee Department of Education also refuses to release test information that identifies what answers students missed, or indicate sections on which they may have performed poorly. Releasing this information would help instructors provide assistance for the Gateway Exam and ensure that students could be more successful when retaking the exam. Despite the fact that failure to pass an exit exam may seriously impact a student's future, proper assistance is not provided.
Denied Opportunities
According to the Tennessee Department of Education Annual Statistical Reports, between 1995 and 2007 a total of 32,233 students statewide were denied standard high school diplomas and given "special education diplomas." A further 8,654 students were only issued Certificates of Attendance (COA).
The Tennessee Department of Education failed to notify students of the COA's limitations including ineligibility for student loans, scholarships, entrance to the military or Federal Pell Grant funding for post-secondary education, as well as exclusion from technical, community colleges and universities.
The individual and societal costs of denying a diploma based on a state test score without providing students other alternatives are painfully high. Data from FairTest, the American Community Survey, US Census Bureau and Education Research Center show that students without diplomas earn much less in the workforce. They are less likely to maintain stable families as a result of unemployment or under-employment, and may turn to criminal activities in order to earn an income. Young people face these challenges every day and the stigma of having failed to complete their education silences them. In my case, it took a lawsuit to regain my voice.
I Had to Do Something!
While contemplating my future and feeling frustrated with the system, I decided to appeal the deficiencies of special diplomas and high-stakes exit examination before the Memphis school board, the state legislature and make my case heard on all the Memphis news stations (video).
I first addressed the Memphis City School Board at several meetings. Then I began contacting several local and state representatives by e-mail and phone to tell them how graduation requirements had affected my life. I came in contact with Rep. Barbara Cooper (D-Tenn.) who at that time was pushing for legislation to change the state graduation policies. I explained my diploma's limitations and how it was barring me from even entering a beauty school and Rep. Cooper asked me to testify before the House and Higher Education Committee at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
I also explained the issue in a one-on-one meeting in Washington, DC with Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). A local DC blog called The Pesky Fly covered the meeting and wrote:
What impressed me about [her] current Congressman is that he didn't blow her off, and when she began to articulate her issue, he immediately offered to put her in touch with the Chairman of the Education sub-committee, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). Rep. Cohen gave Ms. Wilson a two-hour meeting on a Friday morning (when many of his colleagues, including some members of the Congressional Black Caucus, were busy blowing town for parts unknown, if not back to their districts). Expect Latricia to become a "shining star" on the Hill when she gives that testimony before Rep. Miller's subcommittee.
Meanwhile, I approached news reporters while they were covering stories on the streets of Memphis and distributed brief summaries of my personal experience and copies of my diploma. Media outlets were instrumental in forcing the state to acknowledge the issue of how its exit exams affected students like myself.
As a result, a federal class action lawsuit was filed July 26, 2007 against the Tennessee Department of Education on behalf of all former students that were denied high school diplomas for failure to pass the Gateway Exam. I was one of the plaintiffs represented by a young man named Corey Robertson. Walter Bailey Law Firm Attorney Javier Bailey filed my case.
Better Days Ahead
Within the lawsuit, my attorney asked the judge to dismantle the Gateway Exam as a graduation requirement. We also asked that students denied diplomas be recertified. Unfortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed due my case's expired statute of limitations. We lost the battle but in the end we won the war because we were successful in being the first to legally challenge the state on this issue. Tennessee's unfair testing policy had been exposed.
The Tennessee State Board of Education did not want to risk being challenged on graduation testing again and on January 25, 2008, just a few months after my suit was dismissed, the Board moved to eliminate the Gateway Exam as a diploma requirement. In the 2009-2010 school year no student in the state of Tennessee will be required to pass any test to qualify for a high school diploma.
While I failed the TCAP math section in 2002 because of systemic failures in the public school system here in Tennessee, I do not consider myself a failure. In fact, I took the Gateway Exam on May 1, 2007 in hopes of passing to obtain a standard diploma. I'm determined that I will not be deemed unemployable and incapable of pursuing my career goals merely because of a high school test score.
The Nation / Youth, Education, & Children / Standardized Testing
Exit Strategies: Confronting Faulty Grad Tests
July 3, 2008
My name is Latricia Wilson. I was born in Gary, Indiana but currently reside in Memphis, Tennessee. I am 25-years-old and a student at Tennessee Technology Center. Just a few years ago I wasn't sure if I would be able to achieve any higher education or vocational training because my high school denied me a standard diploma despite the fact that I had completed all of my courses.
I was denied a proper diploma because I had failed to pass the math section of a new end of year test by a few points.
The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Achievement Tests (TCAP), now called the Gateway Exam (PDF), are part of the state's assessment program. The high-stakes exit exam I took is part of a growing trend around the country leaving thousands of students without diplomas.
Prior to graduating high school, my career goals were to be a hairstylist and television makeup artist. After being denied a standard high school diploma in 2002 for failing to pass the TCAP math section, I was denied entry into all beauty schools even though I was on the technical/vocational path in high school and had taken cosmetology classes during my high school career. I was also denied entry into other Memphis technical and community colleges and universities.
I struggled as an adult to make a living wage to support myself. I worked as a waitress for years, took on double shifts and was just barely able to pay my rent. I was getting further away from my career goals and sinking deeper into poverty and debt. Eventually, I was evicted from my apartment. I've truly experienced how difficult it is to be an independent adult without a valid high school diploma. But I decided to do something about it, and started a quest to regain my rightful degree.
This is my own experience with Tennessee's public education system and how I was able to change it.
Diploma Drama
I was one of many students denied a high school diploma for failure to pass the TCAP tests in 2002. I had a mild learning disability in math, which made passing those TCAP sections difficult. I was enrolled in math resource classes from the ninth grade, and instructed at a slightly lower grade level than my classmates. Despite this, I was repeatedly administered the TCAP on a higher grade level than the one at which I was taught. As a result, I was unable to pass the math section by the end of senior year.
I was allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony, but instead of a regular diploma I received a "special education diploma," awarded to students with physical, emotional or severe learning disabilities not able to meet standard diploma requirements. But, having passed 20 credits in regular classes just like other students, I was qualified. I was mislabeled for no reason other than having failed the TCAP math section.
I was told by more than one high school guidance counselor that I could still further my education to some degree. I later learned that technical, vocational, community colleges and universities in Tennessee wouldn't accept my special diploma, because these institutions don't consider it a valid graduation certificate.
I was shamed and silenced, just like thousands of students that fail these state tests every year.
Gateway's Gaps
Twenty-three states, including Florida, Texas and California, have adopted exit exams as a requirement for receiving high school diplomas. The Gateway Exam is Tennessee's graduation requirement test and consists of English II, Algebra I and Biology I exams.
These assessments might seem like an important way to gauge a school or student's performance, but in the end they're linked to an inherently flawed public education system that fails to consider factors that hinder student performance such as lack of access to adequate classroom resources, quality instruction or tutoring services.
Students with learning disabilities are disproportionately affected because Tennessee public schools don't offer reasonable test accommodations such as portfolio assessments, additional test time, alternative test formats, or the use of adaptive equipment. Failing to provide these accommodations violates federal and state provisions set forth in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (reauthorized in 2002 as No Child Left Behind), the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
School closures also impact student preparedness for exit exams. In Memphis, for every school that closes, another facility must be made available, otherwise students are assigned to the next closest school. This can lead to class sizes of up to 40 students. Overcrowding hinders a teacher's effectiveness in covering core subjects such as English, science and math. Some teachers aren't even properly prepared to teach the basics.
In 2005, the Memphis City School Report Card data revealed that over one third of instructors were not "highly qualified" to teach core courses, leaving Memphis students with some 6,653 under-qualified teachers.
The Tennessee Department of Education also refuses to release test information that identifies what answers students missed, or indicate sections on which they may have performed poorly. Releasing this information would help instructors provide assistance for the Gateway Exam and ensure that students could be more successful when retaking the exam. Despite the fact that failure to pass an exit exam may seriously impact a student's future, proper assistance is not provided.
Denied Opportunities
According to the Tennessee Department of Education Annual Statistical Reports, between 1995 and 2007 a total of 32,233 students statewide were denied standard high school diplomas and given "special education diplomas." A further 8,654 students were only issued Certificates of Attendance (COA).
The Tennessee Department of Education failed to notify students of the COA's limitations including ineligibility for student loans, scholarships, entrance to the military or Federal Pell Grant funding for post-secondary education, as well as exclusion from technical, community colleges and universities.
The individual and societal costs of denying a diploma based on a state test score without providing students other alternatives are painfully high. Data from FairTest, the American Community Survey, US Census Bureau and Education Research Center show that students without diplomas earn much less in the workforce. They are less likely to maintain stable families as a result of unemployment or under-employment, and may turn to criminal activities in order to earn an income. Young people face these challenges every day and the stigma of having failed to complete their education silences them. In my case, it took a lawsuit to regain my voice.
I Had to Do Something!
While contemplating my future and feeling frustrated with the system, I decided to appeal the deficiencies of special diplomas and high-stakes exit examination before the Memphis school board, the state legislature and make my case heard on all the Memphis news stations (video).
I first addressed the Memphis City School Board at several meetings. Then I began contacting several local and state representatives by e-mail and phone to tell them how graduation requirements had affected my life. I came in contact with Rep. Barbara Cooper (D-Tenn.) who at that time was pushing for legislation to change the state graduation policies. I explained my diploma's limitations and how it was barring me from even entering a beauty school and Rep. Cooper asked me to testify before the House and Higher Education Committee at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
I also explained the issue in a one-on-one meeting in Washington, DC with Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). A local DC blog called The Pesky Fly covered the meeting and wrote:
What impressed me about [her] current Congressman is that he didn't blow her off, and when she began to articulate her issue, he immediately offered to put her in touch with the Chairman of the Education sub-committee, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). Rep. Cohen gave Ms. Wilson a two-hour meeting on a Friday morning (when many of his colleagues, including some members of the Congressional Black Caucus, were busy blowing town for parts unknown, if not back to their districts). Expect Latricia to become a "shining star" on the Hill when she gives that testimony before Rep. Miller's subcommittee.
Meanwhile, I approached news reporters while they were covering stories on the streets of Memphis and distributed brief summaries of my personal experience and copies of my diploma. Media outlets were instrumental in forcing the state to acknowledge the issue of how its exit exams affected students like myself.
As a result, a federal class action lawsuit was filed July 26, 2007 against the Tennessee Department of Education on behalf of all former students that were denied high school diplomas for failure to pass the Gateway Exam. I was one of the plaintiffs represented by a young man named Corey Robertson. Walter Bailey Law Firm Attorney Javier Bailey filed my case.
Better Days Ahead
Within the lawsuit, my attorney asked the judge to dismantle the Gateway Exam as a graduation requirement. We also asked that students denied diplomas be recertified. Unfortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed due my case's expired statute of limitations. We lost the battle but in the end we won the war because we were successful in being the first to legally challenge the state on this issue. Tennessee's unfair testing policy had been exposed.
The Tennessee State Board of Education did not want to risk being challenged on graduation testing again and on January 25, 2008, just a few months after my suit was dismissed, the Board moved to eliminate the Gateway Exam as a diploma requirement. In the 2009-2010 school year no student in the state of Tennessee will be required to pass any test to qualify for a high school diploma.
While I failed the TCAP math section in 2002 because of systemic failures in the public school system here in Tennessee, I do not consider myself a failure. In fact, I took the Gateway Exam on May 1, 2007 in hopes of passing to obtain a standard diploma. I'm determined that I will not be deemed unemployable and incapable of pursuing my career goals merely because of a high school test score.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
Another dispatch from the front lines of everyday life posted by Captain Obvious. I sit here watching the gas prices approach and overwhelm the $4.00 mark. When the oil company comes to fill my fuel oil tank, I wonder if they should be wearing a mask and carrying a gun. Ditto for the cashier at the local grocery store. It's not just an "elderly" problem, but it hits the fixed income people pretty hard.
I'm not indifferent to the plight of the elderly. I once lived next door to an old widow. She had been in her home since the mid 1940s, and alone since her husband died in the mid 1970s. I knew her for about the last ten years of her life. My family, and the other neighbors, did what we could. We made sure her walks and driveway were shoveled and the grass mowed. We invited her to dinners in a round robin format so that at least one or two full meals a week were a guarantee, in addition to the Meals on Wheels she received. We did repairs on her house as if it was our own.
She should have moved into an assisted living facility, but the waiting list was too long and once she got to the top, even with selling her house, the price was too much to bear. She was not on good terms with her children and steadfastly refused the many entreaties from them for her to come live with them. It would have meant a move to Kentucky or Oregon depending on the child she chose, but she wanted her own home.
Was that a smart decision? I don't know. It wasn't my decision to make. I think emotion played a much larger role in this decision than a clearheaded and sober evaluation of the realities.
Retirement planning is a tricky piece of work. Many a nest egg was wiped out in the Great Depression, the 1970s recession, and other lesser economic downturns. It will be no different this time around. The economic laws are pretty brutal and inflexible.
Retirement is something that lives in a galaxy far, far away. Until the day it knocks on the door and shouts, "Surprise!" Americans in general are the proverbial grasshopper, not saving for a rainy day, but existing in the present. As the Boomers edge into retirement, I wonder how many of them are ready. I've already seen too many people mentioning that they will need to work until they die.
The answer is not to starve and to price fixed income seniors out of their own homes. But is the answer to provide handouts at the expense of the rest of the community? The Social Security taxes I pay are crippling on their own, and what will be my return on that money? My estimates are zero, and falling. The home mortgage speculators are looking for government handouts to bail them out of their greedy short sighted decisions. The homeowners who bought more house than they could afford also need to be held accountable. I'd like to tell them all to take a flying leap. They made their beds and didn't share the gains when times were good. Why do they want a handout now when times are bad?
Do you have any solutions?
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Bucks County Courier Times
Senior citizens living in Bucks and Montgomery counties need almost twice their annual Social Security payments to live comfortably in their homes — and that's if they're healthy.
In fact, the two counties are behind only Chester as the most expensive counties for seniors to live in, according to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a joint publication between a national nonprofit group and university researchers.
You don't have to tell Pauline Bailey that. The 83-year-old widow from Warrington relies solely on Social Security.
“I cut down on what I can,” she said. “But you can only do so much.”
Bailey volunteers at the Benjamin Wilson Senior Community Center in Warminster, where she goes twice a week for lunch. She keeps the heat low and has cut back on errands.
But that doesn't help when she's paying $4.79 a gallon for heating oil. It cost her almost $800 to fill half a tank — and gasoline is just as high.
According to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a Bucks County resident like Bailey — a single senior living in a home she owns mortgage-free — needs $20,701 a year just to pay basic living expenses. The average Social Security payment, meanwhile, is $14,053.
“This is as fixed [an income] as you can get,” said Neil Fisher, director of the Warminster senior center.
Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania and Union County in central Pennsylvania were the cheapest counties in the state to live in. An individual senior still paying a mortgage could get by in both counties with $18,324 a year. A couple in the same situation would need $26,491. Both those amounts are still several thousand dollars more than the average Social Security payment, the index says.
Wider Opportunities for Women, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, launched the Elder Economic Security Initiative in 2005. The ultimate goal is to have a national database on living costs for every county in the U.S., said Ramsey Alwin, the initiative's director.
The index was developed by the organization and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
In Pennsylvania, the organization is partnered with Pathways PA and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
For seniors in good health, the greatest expense is housing, Alwin said. But their costs of living can triple quickly if they fall ill, she said. Adding home-based assistance or going into a nursing home can add $6,514 to $35,241 a year to a senior's cost in Bucks County, the index shows.
“Some of this data oftentimes is not a surprise to some of the direct-service providers,” Alwin said. “But it does quantify what they've known to be true for a long time, and plays a critical role in helping seniors identify [that] it's not their fault. They're suffering in silence, not wanting to go get help. It's very clear that their incomes are coming up short.”
Alwin said the index doesn't include small luxuries like leisure spending.
“It is a barebones budget,” she said. “It doesn't include gifts for the grandchildren, a night out for pizza, or [a movie at] Blockbuster. It's true income and health security.”
Brian Duke, director of the Area Agency on Aging in Bucks County, said the number of seniors struggling financially is increasing. The agency connects them to services for help.
“We have heard stories of people that have been challenged with day-to-day living expenses,” he said. “We try to assist them here.”
Alwin said the goal of the initiative is to help seniors make informed financial decisions, and to help policy makers shape programs to assist seniors.
Daniel Goldsmith of Horsham said something has to be done about gas prices.
The 76-year-old retiree said it's becoming increasingly difficult to live on what he gets from Social Security, a pension from Lockheed Martin and interest on savings.
The pension never increases, the interest on his savings is decreasing and Social Security isn't rising fast enough to cover price increases in food and other necessities, he said.
“I have enough to survive, but it's becoming tougher and tougher and tougher,” he said. “Everything is going up. But my income is not increasing that much. At some point, I'm not going to be able to make ends meet anymore. Then what will I do?”
Where to get help
If you're a senior in need of financial or other assistance, contact the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging at 215-348-0510 or the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services at 610-278-3601.
On the Web
Find out more about the Elder Economic Security Initiative at http://www.pathwayspa.org/.
I'm not indifferent to the plight of the elderly. I once lived next door to an old widow. She had been in her home since the mid 1940s, and alone since her husband died in the mid 1970s. I knew her for about the last ten years of her life. My family, and the other neighbors, did what we could. We made sure her walks and driveway were shoveled and the grass mowed. We invited her to dinners in a round robin format so that at least one or two full meals a week were a guarantee, in addition to the Meals on Wheels she received. We did repairs on her house as if it was our own.
She should have moved into an assisted living facility, but the waiting list was too long and once she got to the top, even with selling her house, the price was too much to bear. She was not on good terms with her children and steadfastly refused the many entreaties from them for her to come live with them. It would have meant a move to Kentucky or Oregon depending on the child she chose, but she wanted her own home.
Was that a smart decision? I don't know. It wasn't my decision to make. I think emotion played a much larger role in this decision than a clearheaded and sober evaluation of the realities.
Retirement planning is a tricky piece of work. Many a nest egg was wiped out in the Great Depression, the 1970s recession, and other lesser economic downturns. It will be no different this time around. The economic laws are pretty brutal and inflexible.
Retirement is something that lives in a galaxy far, far away. Until the day it knocks on the door and shouts, "Surprise!" Americans in general are the proverbial grasshopper, not saving for a rainy day, but existing in the present. As the Boomers edge into retirement, I wonder how many of them are ready. I've already seen too many people mentioning that they will need to work until they die.
The answer is not to starve and to price fixed income seniors out of their own homes. But is the answer to provide handouts at the expense of the rest of the community? The Social Security taxes I pay are crippling on their own, and what will be my return on that money? My estimates are zero, and falling. The home mortgage speculators are looking for government handouts to bail them out of their greedy short sighted decisions. The homeowners who bought more house than they could afford also need to be held accountable. I'd like to tell them all to take a flying leap. They made their beds and didn't share the gains when times were good. Why do they want a handout now when times are bad?
Do you have any solutions?
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Bucks County Courier Times
Senior citizens living in Bucks and Montgomery counties need almost twice their annual Social Security payments to live comfortably in their homes — and that's if they're healthy.
In fact, the two counties are behind only Chester as the most expensive counties for seniors to live in, according to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a joint publication between a national nonprofit group and university researchers.
You don't have to tell Pauline Bailey that. The 83-year-old widow from Warrington relies solely on Social Security.
“I cut down on what I can,” she said. “But you can only do so much.”
Bailey volunteers at the Benjamin Wilson Senior Community Center in Warminster, where she goes twice a week for lunch. She keeps the heat low and has cut back on errands.
But that doesn't help when she's paying $4.79 a gallon for heating oil. It cost her almost $800 to fill half a tank — and gasoline is just as high.
According to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a Bucks County resident like Bailey — a single senior living in a home she owns mortgage-free — needs $20,701 a year just to pay basic living expenses. The average Social Security payment, meanwhile, is $14,053.
“This is as fixed [an income] as you can get,” said Neil Fisher, director of the Warminster senior center.
Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania and Union County in central Pennsylvania were the cheapest counties in the state to live in. An individual senior still paying a mortgage could get by in both counties with $18,324 a year. A couple in the same situation would need $26,491. Both those amounts are still several thousand dollars more than the average Social Security payment, the index says.
Wider Opportunities for Women, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, launched the Elder Economic Security Initiative in 2005. The ultimate goal is to have a national database on living costs for every county in the U.S., said Ramsey Alwin, the initiative's director.
The index was developed by the organization and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
In Pennsylvania, the organization is partnered with Pathways PA and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
For seniors in good health, the greatest expense is housing, Alwin said. But their costs of living can triple quickly if they fall ill, she said. Adding home-based assistance or going into a nursing home can add $6,514 to $35,241 a year to a senior's cost in Bucks County, the index shows.
“Some of this data oftentimes is not a surprise to some of the direct-service providers,” Alwin said. “But it does quantify what they've known to be true for a long time, and plays a critical role in helping seniors identify [that] it's not their fault. They're suffering in silence, not wanting to go get help. It's very clear that their incomes are coming up short.”
Alwin said the index doesn't include small luxuries like leisure spending.
“It is a barebones budget,” she said. “It doesn't include gifts for the grandchildren, a night out for pizza, or [a movie at] Blockbuster. It's true income and health security.”
Brian Duke, director of the Area Agency on Aging in Bucks County, said the number of seniors struggling financially is increasing. The agency connects them to services for help.
“We have heard stories of people that have been challenged with day-to-day living expenses,” he said. “We try to assist them here.”
Alwin said the goal of the initiative is to help seniors make informed financial decisions, and to help policy makers shape programs to assist seniors.
Daniel Goldsmith of Horsham said something has to be done about gas prices.
The 76-year-old retiree said it's becoming increasingly difficult to live on what he gets from Social Security, a pension from Lockheed Martin and interest on savings.
The pension never increases, the interest on his savings is decreasing and Social Security isn't rising fast enough to cover price increases in food and other necessities, he said.
“I have enough to survive, but it's becoming tougher and tougher and tougher,” he said. “Everything is going up. But my income is not increasing that much. At some point, I'm not going to be able to make ends meet anymore. Then what will I do?”
Where to get help
If you're a senior in need of financial or other assistance, contact the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging at 215-348-0510 or the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services at 610-278-3601.
On the Web
Find out more about the Elder Economic Security Initiative at http://www.pathwayspa.org/.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Paging George Bailey
Long around December each year, the classic "It's A Wonderful Life" makes its way to the TV screens. We all know the story: Good guy George Bailey sees the impact his one life has had on the town and the people around him. For good measure, Clarence the angel powers up the De Lorean to take George back to the future to see good old Bedford Falls without George's influence. The result: POTTERSVILLE.
Quite unexpectedly, I received an email from a reader who evoked the memories of this film and compared Morrisville today to fictional Bedford Falls/Potterville. In my storage house of unposted stories was one doing just that. I always through it was too corny to actually post until today. Maybe if George would stand up, Morrisville can remain Bedford Falls, and not complete the metamorphosis into Pottersville.
Do you recall the movie "It's A Wonderful Life"? This is where the power of just one man is graphically shown through the intercessions of an angel in training. George Bailey is at the lowest point in his life and he's ready to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Clarence shows George the before and after of Bedford Falls without George. As usual, all turns out well in the end. The evildoers are foiled, the good guys come out on top, and Clarence gets his wings. There's even an urban legend that Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver are the inspiration for two of Sesame Street's favorite characters.
Inside the schmaltz is the absolutely incontrovertible truth that one man can make a difference. The only question is how much of a difference and in what direction.
We are watching Morrisville slide into Pottersville status. The Bedford Falls home we know has been in a slow decline since our epic 1955 Little League Championship season. Our main tax generating businesses have folded up and left town. We've become progressively more and more taxed to the point of exasperation and desperation. City services and general maintenance have been cut and curbed and curtailed so much that our schools are on the verge of collapse, we can't agree on new construction to jump start a renaissance, and we're actually contemplating opening a strip club in town.
Take a look back at the history of the town where one man made a difference. Two rather notable examples spring to mind. Robert Morris stood up and became the financier of the American Revolution. Without him, there would be no United States of America. Thomas Stockham was a civic leader, an engineer, an architect, land developer and business leader. He was mayor of Morrisville for sixteen years, and served six terms as Bucks County's member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
There's two examples of men who stood up and had the vision and the guts to make that vision into reality. I'm sure each of you could think of other examples.
It's too much of a blanket statement to say that our local elected leaders today are all vision-less souls. That's not the case at all. There are some fine elected and appointed leaders in town. They are plenty of other leaders who lead by example without an office.
But they have mostly been beaten into submission and irrelevance by the constant barrage of soul-less and vision-less "leaders" who use bullying tactics to keep Morrisville mired in mediocrity. They treat their position as a rationale to keep Morrisville just the way it is, and if you don't like that, we'll hound you until you give up or leave.
How is that leadership? Leadership is pointing the way and bringing the people along with you. Robert Kennedy's often used quote was "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." That's leadership. Seeing the future and making that potential into a reality.
Instead we have those who see reality and want to freeze-frame it forever. That does nothing but ensure that this town remains trapped like a prehistoric fly in the amber of time.
It's not going to be pretty. We need to have the George Baileys of today stand firm with the few visionary leaders in this town and boot out these soulless hacks. Do you know a George Bailey who might need some help? Coax him out. Support him. Are you a potential George Bailey? Stand up. Let your voice be heard.
Ladies: I've used the masculine consistently here because George is a male character in the movie. There's nothing stopping any of you from being George either.
Does anyone want the part?
Quite unexpectedly, I received an email from a reader who evoked the memories of this film and compared Morrisville today to fictional Bedford Falls/Potterville. In my storage house of unposted stories was one doing just that. I always through it was too corny to actually post until today. Maybe if George would stand up, Morrisville can remain Bedford Falls, and not complete the metamorphosis into Pottersville.Do you recall the movie "It's A Wonderful Life"? This is where the power of just one man is graphically shown through the intercessions of an angel in training. George Bailey is at the lowest point in his life and he's ready to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Clarence shows George the before and after of Bedford Falls without George. As usual, all turns out well in the end. The evildoers are foiled, the good guys come out on top, and Clarence gets his wings. There's even an urban legend that Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver are the inspiration for two of Sesame Street's favorite characters.
Inside the schmaltz is the absolutely incontrovertible truth that one man can make a difference. The only question is how much of a difference and in what direction.
We are watching Morrisville slide into Pottersville status. The Bedford Falls home we know has been in a slow decline since our epic 1955 Little League Championship season. Our main tax generating businesses have folded up and left town. We've become progressively more and more taxed to the point of exasperation and desperation. City services and general maintenance have been cut and curbed and curtailed so much that our schools are on the verge of collapse, we can't agree on new construction to jump start a renaissance, and we're actually contemplating opening a strip club in town.
Take a look back at the history of the town where one man made a difference. Two rather notable examples spring to mind. Robert Morris stood up and became the financier of the American Revolution. Without him, there would be no United States of America. Thomas Stockham was a civic leader, an engineer, an architect, land developer and business leader. He was mayor of Morrisville for sixteen years, and served six terms as Bucks County's member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
There's two examples of men who stood up and had the vision and the guts to make that vision into reality. I'm sure each of you could think of other examples.
It's too much of a blanket statement to say that our local elected leaders today are all vision-less souls. That's not the case at all. There are some fine elected and appointed leaders in town. They are plenty of other leaders who lead by example without an office.
But they have mostly been beaten into submission and irrelevance by the constant barrage of soul-less and vision-less "leaders" who use bullying tactics to keep Morrisville mired in mediocrity. They treat their position as a rationale to keep Morrisville just the way it is, and if you don't like that, we'll hound you until you give up or leave.
How is that leadership? Leadership is pointing the way and bringing the people along with you. Robert Kennedy's often used quote was "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." That's leadership. Seeing the future and making that potential into a reality.
Instead we have those who see reality and want to freeze-frame it forever. That does nothing but ensure that this town remains trapped like a prehistoric fly in the amber of time.
It's not going to be pretty. We need to have the George Baileys of today stand firm with the few visionary leaders in this town and boot out these soulless hacks. Do you know a George Bailey who might need some help? Coax him out. Support him. Are you a potential George Bailey? Stand up. Let your voice be heard.
Ladies: I've used the masculine consistently here because George is a male character in the movie. There's nothing stopping any of you from being George either.
Does anyone want the part?
Monday, January 28, 2008
The QSRE Stirs...
Like the mythical Kraken or our counterpart known as Godzilla, the QRSE is awakening from their triumphal post-electoral slumber.
When we last left the Q, they were sitting contentedly at the table of power and basking in the afterglow of victory. They trumpeted their victory to the right wing no-tax fringe. They even got their Vice President, Ed Bailey, self-appointed to a position as a shadow board member.
Now it seems that there's a new group in town to challenge their propaganda. I've heard rumors of something for a while now, but nothing that I could point to. Apparently the Q have heard this too, and have decided to make this group the new target of their propaganda.
Let's take a look at this flyer. If I am wrong on any of these items, please let me know and I will correct them.
A-Field sale: I have not heard any board members state outright that the A-Field will not be sold. What is your source? Who said this and when?
Sell the Magic Cottage: Perhaps, but you mean that you are NOT open to selling assets when we need to raise money? You would prefer to hold onto the Magic Cottage (and I do not know the particulars of this deal anyway, so if anyone would care to fill in the details...) and have extra taxation rather than selling an under-performing asset and bringing back the money to help the budget?
No names: This group is probably in its infancy and still organizing. I'm in no position to argue about anonymity, but I would imagine that when they are ready, they will appear.
You stand behind what you say? Great. Let me go over your flyers to see, but the big thing that strikes me is your opposition to school uniforms. Uniforms were evil under Sandy Gibson, according to one of your flyers, but now suddenly they're OK with Emperor William Hellmann CPA?
You do not have to pay off the $23 million: What a crock! Yes you do! The money is borrowed. We have to pay on it. What you mean to say is that the money is being taken out of its current parking place, placed in a series of investment instruments designed to pay off the bondholders every six months as scheduled. Allegedly your tax millage will go down. Why don't YOU ask the Emperor to show us how much the taxes will go down? He doesn't respond to anyone who is not slavishly dedicated to his ego.
There will be 7 million dollars to rehab our schools: While that is a slightly inflated figure (even the Emperor is using six million as the figure), how far will that go, especially when the 2005 feasibility study suggested that $14 million was needed just for the high school alone?
They kept their promise and stopped the school: Yes. They did.
First time a town has been able to hold back a project: Yes. You did. And Morrisville is the worse off for you having done so.
The best education possible: Sure. In Pennsbury, Bristol, or wherever you can auction our kids off to. Don't you get it? The small school district is exactly what brings people to Morrisville.
Input from all the residents: So do we speak at the secret executive sessions or speak really fast in the 45 minute timeframe allowed by our benevolent dictator?
Isn't it interesting that the Emperor and Hellmann's Heroes hide behind these people rather than stating things openly and clearly at board meetings or even in answering resident emails and questions?
Anyone else?
When we last left the Q, they were sitting contentedly at the table of power and basking in the afterglow of victory. They trumpeted their victory to the right wing no-tax fringe. They even got their Vice President, Ed Bailey, self-appointed to a position as a shadow board member.
Now it seems that there's a new group in town to challenge their propaganda. I've heard rumors of something for a while now, but nothing that I could point to. Apparently the Q have heard this too, and have decided to make this group the new target of their propaganda.
Let's take a look at this flyer. If I am wrong on any of these items, please let me know and I will correct them.
A-Field sale: I have not heard any board members state outright that the A-Field will not be sold. What is your source? Who said this and when?
Sell the Magic Cottage: Perhaps, but you mean that you are NOT open to selling assets when we need to raise money? You would prefer to hold onto the Magic Cottage (and I do not know the particulars of this deal anyway, so if anyone would care to fill in the details...) and have extra taxation rather than selling an under-performing asset and bringing back the money to help the budget?
No names: This group is probably in its infancy and still organizing. I'm in no position to argue about anonymity, but I would imagine that when they are ready, they will appear.
You stand behind what you say? Great. Let me go over your flyers to see, but the big thing that strikes me is your opposition to school uniforms. Uniforms were evil under Sandy Gibson, according to one of your flyers, but now suddenly they're OK with Emperor William Hellmann CPA?
You do not have to pay off the $23 million: What a crock! Yes you do! The money is borrowed. We have to pay on it. What you mean to say is that the money is being taken out of its current parking place, placed in a series of investment instruments designed to pay off the bondholders every six months as scheduled. Allegedly your tax millage will go down. Why don't YOU ask the Emperor to show us how much the taxes will go down? He doesn't respond to anyone who is not slavishly dedicated to his ego.
There will be 7 million dollars to rehab our schools: While that is a slightly inflated figure (even the Emperor is using six million as the figure), how far will that go, especially when the 2005 feasibility study suggested that $14 million was needed just for the high school alone?
They kept their promise and stopped the school: Yes. They did.
First time a town has been able to hold back a project: Yes. You did. And Morrisville is the worse off for you having done so.
The best education possible: Sure. In Pennsbury, Bristol, or wherever you can auction our kids off to. Don't you get it? The small school district is exactly what brings people to Morrisville.
Input from all the residents: So do we speak at the secret executive sessions or speak really fast in the 45 minute timeframe allowed by our benevolent dictator?
Isn't it interesting that the Emperor and Hellmann's Heroes hide behind these people rather than stating things openly and clearly at board meetings or even in answering resident emails and questions?
Anyone else?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Smackdown at the MV Auditorium
Great show at the MHS auditorium last night. I haven't attended a board meeting in quite a while but figured I would join the fun. I'll link to any articles later.
1: Front Page - It is our future
2: Kate Fratti - Morrisville Needs Heroes
Want to go through the mental snapshots I took?
William Hellmann CPA: My God, what an arrogant SOB! He pointedly ignores the public comment, even to the point of not responding to it. He is dismissive with the other board members. His body language is very much outward facing negative. Bonus arrogance points for cutting off public comment, but just lay off Reba Dunford, would you? It's clear you don't like her, but the way you belittle her at every possible turn is just infantile. Bully-Boy reminds me of a cocky arrogant know-it-all can't-tell-me SOB currently living in Washington DC. By the way...what's all this with "I didn't get a chance to review this" stuff. Running a one man show beginning to get a little tiring? This isn't "Hellmann's Heroes". Turn in your Type A obsessive compulsive membership card at the door.
Angry Al: Yep. The name is back. Apparently Al's been using words he shouldn't be. Tsk, tsk. At least we know now why John Jordan, former board member and head of the Bucks NAACP asked to speak last night to ask for Angry Al's resignation. Don't think this one is going away too soon. Ed Bailey may be a board member yet.
Bill Farrell: Our dark horse winner from last night. The man described as Captain Algebra (and we're still a little uncertain on why that question was asked, but...) was the one seeking to put some peace and calm on a situation that's been brewing for years. I'm not certain it's at the point of bringing Begin and Sadat to the table at Camp David, but it's a positive development.
Gloria Heater: Please stop vigorously shaking your head in agreement whenever William Hellmann CPA speaks. It appears sycophantic. Or that your bobble-head needs readjustment.
Marlys Mihok: Still on the secrecy bandwagon I see. You wanted to have an executive session at the agenda session two weeks ago and the lawyer told you no, giving you the five explicit reasons available. Now you're going after Joe Kemp for allegedly releasing information from an executive session, and it wasn't him. Rule #1: Almost nothing in an executive session remains completely executively quiet. So stop trying to negotiate in secrecy (wasn't that one of your campaign promises?) and bring it out into the open for all to see and discuss. Reflect on Bill Farrell's remarks, would you?
All Nine Members: Shame on you for limiting the public comment. The "People's Board" doesn't want to hear from the people. More supreme arrogance. Tell you what guys...go back through your propaganda from the last few years, cross out that "Sandy Gibson", insert "William Hellmann CPA" and re-read it. That's what you looked like last night.
William Hellmann CPA, part II: You get extra special "creepy" points for trying to nickel and dime the special education positions. Unfunded and/or underfunded federal and state mandates are a fact of life. Special education needs are a fact of life. It took the superintendent, quite properly, noting that the board as individuals could be civilly liable yet again (see, you've got to listen and drop the know it all act) before the approval was grudgingly given. (I believe your vote was Yes, With Reservations, followed by Bill Farrell's vote of Yes, With No Reservations. Look. Listen. Learn.) But then there's this diatribe on how the town needs to watch where the money goes. It does, but the money and the numbers have a human face. They're called students.
The students: Kudos for even showing up, and that's not meant to be condescending. Your teen years are for hanging out with your friends, doing your homework and McJob, and preparing for life, not experiencing adults playing poorly with your future. But you showed up and did a commendable job. For the most part you were quiet and respectable and direct, and that goes a long way.
Morrisville Farming Plan: It's dead, all except for the official funeral. The board members botched this one pretty well. "Brainstorming" is collecting ideas. When you start acting upon them, it's not just brainstorming anymore. Calling around to other districts was the equivalent of Commissioner Gordon shining the Batlight on a cloud for all to see. The secrecy stuff does not work.
Bond Defeasment: We don't know what we want, how we're getting it, or how much it will cost, but we're getting rid of the bond. William Hellmann's buddy apparently needs the work after the rocky economic news so far for 2008. What's he getting anyway? Even a 1% management fee is some $24,000. The Six Million Dollar Shell sits there, patiently crumbling, er, waiting for someone, anyone to fix it. Even the board members are confused by this maneuver. Call them, write them, and be sure to attend the special meeting on January 30 to discuss it. Remember that the devil is in the details: Where are the engineer reports, the specs, the bids, the cost analysis, the due diligence?
M.R. Reiter and Grandview RIP: The shouts of "what about the other schools" were met with silence last night and here's why. Both those schools are in poor physical shape, especially Reiter. The stop the schoolers campaigned against a K-12 building because they didn't want those age ranges mixing. So, close the two elementary schools, make MHS a K-8 building, farm out grades 9-12 and we're done! Except that it's now looking like the Six Million Dollar Shell will be a K-12 building. One order of Karma Crow for the Stop the Schoolers, extra spicy!
Enough from this side of the monitor. Anyone else have anything to share?
1: Front Page - It is our future
2: Kate Fratti - Morrisville Needs Heroes
Want to go through the mental snapshots I took?
William Hellmann CPA: My God, what an arrogant SOB! He pointedly ignores the public comment, even to the point of not responding to it. He is dismissive with the other board members. His body language is very much outward facing negative. Bonus arrogance points for cutting off public comment, but just lay off Reba Dunford, would you? It's clear you don't like her, but the way you belittle her at every possible turn is just infantile. Bully-Boy reminds me of a cocky arrogant know-it-all can't-tell-me SOB currently living in Washington DC. By the way...what's all this with "I didn't get a chance to review this" stuff. Running a one man show beginning to get a little tiring? This isn't "Hellmann's Heroes". Turn in your Type A obsessive compulsive membership card at the door.
Angry Al: Yep. The name is back. Apparently Al's been using words he shouldn't be. Tsk, tsk. At least we know now why John Jordan, former board member and head of the Bucks NAACP asked to speak last night to ask for Angry Al's resignation. Don't think this one is going away too soon. Ed Bailey may be a board member yet.
Bill Farrell: Our dark horse winner from last night. The man described as Captain Algebra (and we're still a little uncertain on why that question was asked, but...) was the one seeking to put some peace and calm on a situation that's been brewing for years. I'm not certain it's at the point of bringing Begin and Sadat to the table at Camp David, but it's a positive development.
Gloria Heater: Please stop vigorously shaking your head in agreement whenever William Hellmann CPA speaks. It appears sycophantic. Or that your bobble-head needs readjustment.
Marlys Mihok: Still on the secrecy bandwagon I see. You wanted to have an executive session at the agenda session two weeks ago and the lawyer told you no, giving you the five explicit reasons available. Now you're going after Joe Kemp for allegedly releasing information from an executive session, and it wasn't him. Rule #1: Almost nothing in an executive session remains completely executively quiet. So stop trying to negotiate in secrecy (wasn't that one of your campaign promises?) and bring it out into the open for all to see and discuss. Reflect on Bill Farrell's remarks, would you?
All Nine Members: Shame on you for limiting the public comment. The "People's Board" doesn't want to hear from the people. More supreme arrogance. Tell you what guys...go back through your propaganda from the last few years, cross out that "Sandy Gibson", insert "William Hellmann CPA" and re-read it. That's what you looked like last night.
William Hellmann CPA, part II: You get extra special "creepy" points for trying to nickel and dime the special education positions. Unfunded and/or underfunded federal and state mandates are a fact of life. Special education needs are a fact of life. It took the superintendent, quite properly, noting that the board as individuals could be civilly liable yet again (see, you've got to listen and drop the know it all act) before the approval was grudgingly given. (I believe your vote was Yes, With Reservations, followed by Bill Farrell's vote of Yes, With No Reservations. Look. Listen. Learn.) But then there's this diatribe on how the town needs to watch where the money goes. It does, but the money and the numbers have a human face. They're called students.
The students: Kudos for even showing up, and that's not meant to be condescending. Your teen years are for hanging out with your friends, doing your homework and McJob, and preparing for life, not experiencing adults playing poorly with your future. But you showed up and did a commendable job. For the most part you were quiet and respectable and direct, and that goes a long way.
Morrisville Farming Plan: It's dead, all except for the official funeral. The board members botched this one pretty well. "Brainstorming" is collecting ideas. When you start acting upon them, it's not just brainstorming anymore. Calling around to other districts was the equivalent of Commissioner Gordon shining the Batlight on a cloud for all to see. The secrecy stuff does not work.
Bond Defeasment: We don't know what we want, how we're getting it, or how much it will cost, but we're getting rid of the bond. William Hellmann's buddy apparently needs the work after the rocky economic news so far for 2008. What's he getting anyway? Even a 1% management fee is some $24,000. The Six Million Dollar Shell sits there, patiently crumbling, er, waiting for someone, anyone to fix it. Even the board members are confused by this maneuver. Call them, write them, and be sure to attend the special meeting on January 30 to discuss it. Remember that the devil is in the details: Where are the engineer reports, the specs, the bids, the cost analysis, the due diligence?
M.R. Reiter and Grandview RIP: The shouts of "what about the other schools" were met with silence last night and here's why. Both those schools are in poor physical shape, especially Reiter. The stop the schoolers campaigned against a K-12 building because they didn't want those age ranges mixing. So, close the two elementary schools, make MHS a K-8 building, farm out grades 9-12 and we're done! Except that it's now looking like the Six Million Dollar Shell will be a K-12 building. One order of Karma Crow for the Stop the Schoolers, extra spicy!
Enough from this side of the monitor. Anyone else have anything to share?
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Shoe on the Other Foot?
Congratulations to Ed Bailey, lately of the QSRE and now a member of the Morrisville School Board, replacing...um...replacing...um...
Wait a minute...when did he get elected? Or appointed? Who is he replacing?
In any event, Ed has provided the LOL Of The Day. We have been warned! Propaganda is effective only when the QSRE/Stop the School people are using it and it is disloyal and unAmerican when used against those same people.
By the way, my algebra skills show that $500,000 over 13 years, considering a student educated from K to 12 in Morrisville comes out to $38,461 per year. Is this the new propaganda based number we should we be using?
I'm also intrigued by Mr Bailey's insistence in infringing my civil rights to speak out.
Considering all options
In the Jan. 12 article, “Mixed reaction to outsourcing idea,” the reporter mistakenly refers to a “proposed transfer plan” for Morrisville High School students. No proposal is under consideration; rather, the school board is researching possible ways of providing quality education while controlling costs.
Our district is currently spending about $500,000 for every student that it graduates. Yet because of our small size, the high school curriculum is necessarily limited.
Perhaps outsourcing is not the solution for our struggling district, but let's get as many options on the table as possible. Every option will have its pros and cons, and whatever we choose, we will have to accept trade-offs. We are already accepting trade-offs even if we are not aware of them; we need to assess our options to find out what opportunities we are missing.
Those of you who supported the K-12 school need to end your propaganda war against the school board if you want your wishes to be considered. If you can only deliver 350 votes, and nothing the school board does can please you, why should they bother?
Ed Bailey
Morrisville school board
Wait a minute...when did he get elected? Or appointed? Who is he replacing?
In any event, Ed has provided the LOL Of The Day. We have been warned! Propaganda is effective only when the QSRE/Stop the School people are using it and it is disloyal and unAmerican when used against those same people.
By the way, my algebra skills show that $500,000 over 13 years, considering a student educated from K to 12 in Morrisville comes out to $38,461 per year. Is this the new propaganda based number we should we be using?
I'm also intrigued by Mr Bailey's insistence in infringing my civil rights to speak out.
Considering all options
In the Jan. 12 article, “Mixed reaction to outsourcing idea,” the reporter mistakenly refers to a “proposed transfer plan” for Morrisville High School students. No proposal is under consideration; rather, the school board is researching possible ways of providing quality education while controlling costs.
Our district is currently spending about $500,000 for every student that it graduates. Yet because of our small size, the high school curriculum is necessarily limited.
Perhaps outsourcing is not the solution for our struggling district, but let's get as many options on the table as possible. Every option will have its pros and cons, and whatever we choose, we will have to accept trade-offs. We are already accepting trade-offs even if we are not aware of them; we need to assess our options to find out what opportunities we are missing.
Those of you who supported the K-12 school need to end your propaganda war against the school board if you want your wishes to be considered. If you can only deliver 350 votes, and nothing the school board does can please you, why should they bother?
Ed Bailey
Morrisville school board
Friday, December 21, 2007
December Reorg Meeting Minutes Available
The December reorganizational meeting minutes are up for review also.
I'm just copying these for future reference.
Herbert Brooks, Oak St.
Mr. Brooks congratulated the new board members and expressed gratitude for everything they have done so far and for the mammoth tasks they are about to undertake. I’m sure that they will ask opinions of the residents and include the residents in some of their decisions before they come to their own decision. “Carry a good light, may it always burn bright with the sun in your hearts.”
Steve Worob, 101 Grandview
Congratulations to the new board. I know that this board will remember that it represents the people who put their trust in them.
Ed Bailey, 36 E. Palmer
I knew two years ago about this night. We thought we had a fighting chance and we won. My advice to the incoming board is change everything about the way these meetings are run and stick together.
Sharon Hughes
Congratulations to the school board. They now represent 82% of the people of Morrisville. Quickly they will represent 100% of the people of Morrisville.
I know the people who ran for school board. They have in their hearts the children. They want to go forward and educate the children as well as it can be done. I know that they have innovate programs they want to bring in; they will be open to comments and input and they will do what they believe is best for Morrisville. We all have to get past the disagreements of the past and work together. Democracy works if you believe in it.
F. Committee Appointments
Mr. Hellmann, Board President announced the committee formations.
Mr. Hellmann asked each committee to select a chairperson and report back to the Board of Directors.
Infrastructure/Facilities
Mr. Hellmann, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Mihok
Education Committee
Mr. Hellmann, Mr. Farrell and Mrs. Mihok
Finance Committee
Mr. Hellmann and Mr. Radosti
Policy Committee
Mrs. Reithmeyer, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Worob
Community/School Joint Committee
Mrs. Reithmeyer (anyone else?)
Discipline/Review Committee
Mr. Farrell, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Reithmeyer
PSBA Representative (Pennsylvania School Board Association)
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mrs. Worob to a one-year term.
Bucks County Technical High School Representative
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mr. Frankenfield to a one-year term
Bucks County School District Authority
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mr. Lou Groves to a five-year term beginning January 2008
I'm just copying these for future reference.
Herbert Brooks, Oak St.
Mr. Brooks congratulated the new board members and expressed gratitude for everything they have done so far and for the mammoth tasks they are about to undertake. I’m sure that they will ask opinions of the residents and include the residents in some of their decisions before they come to their own decision. “Carry a good light, may it always burn bright with the sun in your hearts.”
Steve Worob, 101 Grandview
Congratulations to the new board. I know that this board will remember that it represents the people who put their trust in them.
Ed Bailey, 36 E. Palmer
I knew two years ago about this night. We thought we had a fighting chance and we won. My advice to the incoming board is change everything about the way these meetings are run and stick together.
Sharon Hughes
Congratulations to the school board. They now represent 82% of the people of Morrisville. Quickly they will represent 100% of the people of Morrisville.
I know the people who ran for school board. They have in their hearts the children. They want to go forward and educate the children as well as it can be done. I know that they have innovate programs they want to bring in; they will be open to comments and input and they will do what they believe is best for Morrisville. We all have to get past the disagreements of the past and work together. Democracy works if you believe in it.
F. Committee Appointments
Mr. Hellmann, Board President announced the committee formations.
Mr. Hellmann asked each committee to select a chairperson and report back to the Board of Directors.
Infrastructure/Facilities
Mr. Hellmann, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Mihok
Education Committee
Mr. Hellmann, Mr. Farrell and Mrs. Mihok
Finance Committee
Mr. Hellmann and Mr. Radosti
Policy Committee
Mrs. Reithmeyer, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Worob
Community/School Joint Committee
Mrs. Reithmeyer (anyone else?)
Discipline/Review Committee
Mr. Farrell, Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Reithmeyer
PSBA Representative (Pennsylvania School Board Association)
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mrs. Worob to a one-year term.
Bucks County Technical High School Representative
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mr. Frankenfield to a one-year term
Bucks County School District Authority
Mr. Hellmann appointed Mr. Lou Groves to a five-year term beginning January 2008
Friday, November 2, 2007
YOU GO GIRL!!!
Who needs to write when there's talented people out there who see the light and see these grumpy and embittered old NSNs for what they are. See today's Courier Times for this excellent guest editorial.
Also visit the great http://www.independentleadership.com/ site to see what can be done with visionary leaders. See the footage of the NSNs in action ignoring the electorate!
Mean-spirited tactics don’t produce healing
Also visit the great http://www.independentleadership.com/ site to see what can be done with visionary leaders. See the footage of the NSNs in action ignoring the electorate!
Mean-spirited tactics don’t produce healing
BY ANN PERRY
The great thing about opinions, especially in this great land of ours, is that everyone can have one. Ed Bailey wrote in his Oct. 23 letter that Morrisville’s “Stop the School” candidates don’t “hate kids,” do “care about education,” and have not used “threats and intimidation.”
While Bailey is entitled to his opinions, the above statements are not supported by fact. From personal experience, I have grave concerns about the character and ideology of the “Stop the School” candidates and their ardent supporters, such as Bailey. And as their mean-spirited antics continue, others are beginning to catch on, and wonder whether they’re the right people for the job.
My experience with the “Stop the Schoolers” has been nothing but negative: from insulting and stonewalling parents at meetings, to picketing people’s homes, to the vitriol directed at past and current school board members who voted for the new school project.
Bailey claims the “Stop the School” candidates promise to heal the community and that they speak for three quarters of the town. Fact is the number of independent and other minor voters greatly outnumber the total number of people who voted in May’s primary election. Bailey’s candidates do not speak for most parents and others concerned about the tactics of the “Stop the School” campaign.
As for our association with outgoing school board President Sandy Gibson, let’s review. Four years ago, Gibson ran with four others, two of whom (Radosti and Heater) now appear on the “Stop the School” ticket. I didn’t vote for any of them. But they, with the support of people who are now rabid “Stop the Schoolers,” prevailed and elected Sandy Gibson as board president. When their dream of merging with Pennsbury failed once again, the board commissioned yet another study on how to address deteriorated conditions in the existing school buildings, carefully weighed its options, and made a tough decision to build a new school.
Unfortunately, Bailey and the “Stop the School” candidates are masters at slamming anyone who disagrees with them, then acting like innocent victims, denying things they’ve said and done. But don’t take my word for it. Please visit the Web site www.independentleadership.com for further information.
The Community Party candidates Felice Fava, Jessica Fox, and Greg Gunzelman are running as an alternative to the egregious behavior that has characterized the “Stop the School” campaign. Like the many other registered independents in town, they weren’t able to vote for school board candidates in the May primary election. The Community Party candidates have not endorsed the new school project either. They do, however, want to move away from the extremism and negativity that have pervaded the educational debate in Morrisville, and towards reasonable and moderate leadership.
If you’re as appalled by the “Stop the School” candidates’ words and deeds as I am, please give Fava, Fox, and Gunzelman a chance on Nov. 6. Otherwise, we have no one to blame but ourselves for what’s to come.
Ann Perry, Morrisville, is the parent of a kindergartener in Morrisville Schools
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