Bristol Twp: No to Tech School Budget

From the BCCT.

School board rejects budget
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times

About one-third of students attending the technical training school come from Bristol Township.

The Bristol Township school board has rejected Bucks County Technical High School's proposed $22.4 million budget for 2009-10 to protest the added costs the district will be charged in the coming school year.

The township's share is scheduled to go up 15 percent over 2008-09 figures while overall costs at the comprehensive technical high school will increase 2.9 percent from the current year, officials said.

According to the tech school's funding formula, Bristol Township's added cost share is needed to cover increased enrollments from that district in recent years, officials said. Bristol Township sends about one third of the 1,500 students enrolled in the tech school, which also serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

"I don't think there's a single member on this board that is at all against the tech school," Bristol Township school board President W. Earl Bruck said Monday night after board voted 0-8-1 to reject the 2009-10 proposed budget. Board members would like to see Bristol Township's increase closer to the 2.9 percent figure.

Bruck, who voted no, said he realizes that despite the vote, enough of the other governing bodies from the sending districts will approve and enact the budget.

To make that happen, at least four boards from the sending districts and at least 28 board members of the governing bodies have to approve the proposed budget.

As of today, the Bristol and Morrisville boards have approved the tech school financial plan and 17 members of those two governing bodies have voted in favor of it.

Pennsbury's board is set to vote on it tonight. The Neshaminy and Bensalem boards are scheduled next week to vote on the proposed tech school budget.

Bensalem and Bristol also will pay more next year while Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury will pay less than in 2008-09, according to the funding formula, tech school officials said.

Local school districts cover the bulk of the operating budget for the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. State and federal funds and other sources make up the difference in the $22.4 budget.

Sharing the costs

Below is the proposed payment schedule per sending school district to balance the budget for the Bucks County Technical High School in the 2009-10 school year.

Bensalem $3,135,268 ($2,998,665 for 2008-9)
Bristol $733,313 ($691,360)
Bristol Township $6,503,272 ($5,646,491
Morrisville $528,077 ($607,612)
Neshaminy $3,921,993 ($4,048,804)
Pennsbury $3,643,532 ($3,950,799)

Tech School Budget: “That is so not going to fly."

From the BCCT.

Joint board panel OKs $22.4M budget plan
BY JOAN HELLYER

Bucks County Technical High School’s proposed $22.4 million budget for 2009-10 is about $700,000 greater than the current school year’s financial plan.

The 2.9 percent growth in the “bare bones” budget was needed to cover increased operating expenses, school officials said.

The comprehensive technical high school’s joint board committee, made up of board members from the six sending school systems, voted 10-4 Monday night to send the proposed budget back to the respective feeder boards for consideration.

Bensalem’s proposed share is $3,135,268, Bristol’s is $733,313, Bristol Township’s suggested share is $6,503,272, Morrisville’s share is $528,077, Neshaminy’s proposed share is $3,921,993 and Pennsbury’s is $3,643,532.

According to the proposed 2009-10 budget, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury would pay less than in the current year, and Bensalem, Bristol and Bristol Township would pay more. “That is so not going to fly. I just want to let you know,” said Stacy Gerlach, a joint board member from Bristol Township.

Gerlach joined fellow Bristol Township school board members Helen Cini and Bruce Prendergast and Neshaminy’s Frank Koziol in voting against sending the budget.

Bensalem’s Harry Kramer, Heather Nicholas, Eugene Rothenberg, Bristol’s James Petrino, Morrisville’s John Buckman, Neshaminy’s Richard Eccles and Kim Koutsouradis and Pennsbury’s Wayne DeBlasio, Gene Dolnick and Arlene Governatore voted to send the proposed budget to the districts.

The projected 2009-10 budget needs to be approved by at least four of the sending boards and at least 28 board members from those districts before it can be enacted.

Tech School Funding: Motion to Dissemble, Discuss, and Delay

From the BCCT.

My cracked and dusty crystal ball sees two future articles. One starts out like this: "Business managers of school districts served by Bucks County Technical High School agreed today to delay the revision of the school’s funding formula until the 2010-2011 budget.

" 'We've been examining this for over a year', said XXX. 'Taking the time to do this right will best serve all of our districts: student and taxpayer alike. The holidays are upon us, and the first budget drafts are due in January. Before you know it, it's June and we're starting all over again.' "

The other article? Miracle upon miracles, unanimity reigns and they actually agree upon a new plan. I didn't bother to write a draft of that article. That's the unlikely outcome.

Save the emails: This isn't bashing Neshaminy because they are mentioned. This isn't even bashing the Emperor and his board of chosen accomplices from Morrisville. It's a recognition that these six suburban districts have many similarities and several deep differences. The only course here is whether or not they can find a way to unite like the 13 colonies of 1776, or splinter apart like the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia of today.

I have four simple steps to fix this:
Put them back in the meeting room.
Serve lots of water and coffee.
Lock the bathrooms.
Agree on the plan.

See what a little motivation can accomplish?

Back to the drawing board for tech school funding formula
Posted in News on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm by Joan Hellyer

Business managers of school districts served by Bucks County Technical High School agreed today to take another stab at revising the school’s funding formula.

At issue is whether some costs should be separated from the overall contributions of the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts. Right now, the costs are split among the six districts based on a formula involving fixed and variable costs.

The business managers suggested in 2007 to separate costs associated with special needs students from the formula because special education expenses are potentially more expensive than basic education costs.

However, one of the sending school districts did not support the proposed formula change because its school system could potentially face additional expenses. Neshaminy was the lone hold out to the change after projections suggested the district would have had to pay about $450,000 more in 2007-2008 had the new formula been in place for the comprehensive technical high school.

Any change to the school’s Articles of Agreement, including a funding formula revision, has to be unanimously approved before it can be implemented, school officials said.

Representatives of all six sending districts got together with tech school officials today to decide if something else could be done.

The managers agreed to meet within the next few weeks with Sharon Rendeiro, the tech school’s business administrator, to further break down the special education costs.

In addition, they also will break down the costs of each of the more than 30 trades offered at the school. Those costs vary depending on staff salaries, which are based on years of experience and level of education, and equipment, textbooks and supplies used in each trade, officials said.

The business administrators also agreed to take a look at how other comprehensive technical high schools in the state are funded.

They will then decide if any changes should be made to the current formula and suggest them to the tech school’s joint board committee. The committee, made up of school board members from each of the sending districts, will have to agree unanimously to make the changes before they can be implemented.

Attendees at today’s funding formula summit agreed the changes must be made by late November in order to be incorporated into the 2009-2010 budget.

Tech School Funding: Still Discussing

From the BCCT. Still. No. Budget. Formula. Decision.

This should be setting the Emperor's famously short fuse for time wasting to "Warp Core Breach" levels.

Who is representing Morrisville now? Reba Dunford is an excellent representative, but she's nearly out the door.

Funding formula review set for Wednesday
Posted in News on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 4:21 pm by Joan Hellyer

Representatives of six area school districts will meet with Bucks County Technical High School staff Wednesday to examine costs associated with educating each of the school’s estimated 1,500 students.

The goal will be to determine if changes should be made to the funding formula at the comprehensive technical high school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township, said BCTHS Administrative Director Scott Parks.

The school serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

“The group would have to come up with a funding formula that appears to be fair to all six [sending] districts. That’s what I’m shooting for,” Parks said.

The noon meeting will be held in the board room near the administrative offices. Call 215-949-1700 for more information.

BCTHS Budget Discussion Set

From the BCCT

Tech school to host funding discussion
Posted in News on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:35 pm by Joan Hellyer

Area school district officials will meet with Bucks County Technical High School staff in September to examine how much it costs to educate each of the school’s students, BCTHS officials said tonight.
During the student-related cost review, officials will try to determine if changes need to be made to the funding formula used to operate the comprehensive technical high school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township.

Business managers, superintendents and joint school board members of the six sending districts are invited to attend the Sept. 17 discussion, said Administrative Director Scott Parks at the tech school’s joint board committee meeting tonight.
The business managers previously suggested the districts stop sharing special education costs, as they do now. Districts would pay for the often times costly special needs expenses based on actual student usage, the managers suggested.
But joint board committee members decided to look at all student-related costs before they make any changes to the funding formula.

The cost review originally was supposed to take place during the summer break, but could not be arranged because of scheduling conflicts, BCTHS officials said.
The Sept. 17 discussion begins at noon in the boardroom of the tech school that serves approximately 1,500 students from the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

Tech School Budget Meeting Delayed

From the BCCT

Cost meeting delayed
By JOAN HELLYER

A review of how much it costs the Bucks County Technical High School to educate each of its estimated 1,500 students won’t take place until at least September, a school official said.

Members of the school’s joint board committee had agreed before the summer break to meet with business managers from the six sending districts during July to look at all student-related costs.

But tech school officials were unable to arrange the meeting this month because of summer scheduling conflicts, said Sharon Rendeiro, the tech school’s business administrator.

The joint board committee, made up of Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school board members, initially asked the business managers in 2007 to examine the comprehensive technical high school’s operating expenses.

They suggested special education costs be paid based on the services each district’s students receive. Special education costs, which vary depending on a student’s disability, are now split among the six sending districts.

If districts had been required to pay for the special education services their own students used in the 2007-08 school year, Bristol Township would have paid about $500,000 less to the tech school and Neshaminy would have paid about $450,000 more, officials said.

Neshaminy representatives protested the proposed changes, asking that the joint board consider actual costs for all students before revising the funding formula.

Rendeiro said she’s trying to set up a meeting with the joint board members and business managers once the new academic year begins at the tech school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township.

BCTHS Article

From the BCCT.

Turning kids on to a career path
The tech school offers almost 30 summer exploration courses for seventh- and eighth-graders who live in its sending districts.
By JOAN HELLYER

Students participating in a skateboard construction project at Bucks County Technical High School this summer will not only emerge with a new way to get around, they’re also getting a jumpstart on making a career choice, school officials said. “They’re learning without knowing it,” said Kevin Ody, who oversees the tech school’s threeweek summer program.

Almost 30 summer courses are being offered by the comprehensive technical high school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts. The course offerings include culinary, forensic science, robotics, cosmetology, money management, plumbing, automotive, commercial art and computers.

Seventh- and eighthgraders from the sending districts are invited to participate in the classes to learn more about the career and trades training available at the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. David Ayres, a teacher’s assistant, said he knew doing something with skateboards would provide a good way to connect with the students. “I want them to open their minds to know they can do whatever they want to do. That’s what a tech school is all about,” said Ayres, a 2005 BCTHS grad. He precut seven layers of wood in the form of a skateboard for the 13 students in the class and then showed the kids how he did it.

The students spent last week gluing and sealing each layer together and sanding the board once all the layers were in place, Ayres said. This week they’ll paint the skateboards and attach wheels to the bottoms. In the process, the kids are getting a feel for various construction procedures.

“It makes me feel very accomplished,” said Angelica Mena, 13, an eighth-grader at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Bristol Township.

The kids said participating in the program has given them the chance to consider their options. Most said they would like to attend the school, where students are accepted based on a variety of criteria.

“I think it will be good for my career,” said Michael Arthur, 12, a seventh-grader at Pennsbury’s William Penn Middle School.

Many studies suggest that, too, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education.

The studies show that technical education graduates are 10 percent to 15 percent more likely to be in the labor force than are their peers from traditional high schools who don’t go on to college, according to ACTE. In addition, the tech graduates earn 8 percent to 9 percent more than academic program graduates, according to the association dedicated to providing students with the education needed to have successful careers.

BCTHS, one of 14 comprehensive technical high schools in the state, does not keep track of how many summer exploration students ultimately end up at the tech school, Ody said.

However, he knows quite a few have over the years, including 2008 graduate Brian Knecht, who recently won a silver medal in the welding division of the national SkillsUSA competition.

“Some of our best students are those who participate in the summer program. It turns them on [to a career path],” the administrator said.

Special Ed Woes at BCTHS

From this morning's BCCT

School facing special education legal challenges
Such challenges are typically resolved by offering additional education to special education students as compensation, an administrator said.
By JOAN HELLYER

Two legal challenges have prompted Bucks County Technical High School administrators this summer to review their procedures for handling special education students, an official said.

The challenges, which will be handled by a hearing officer, are common in every school district, said Kevin Gentilcore, the school’s supervisor of pupil services. However, they are the first to be filed against the tech school in its 50-year history, he said.

“We’re not happy that we have a couple cases. We’re looking at all of our procedures and those of our sending districts to make sure we are all legally sound and have processes in place to continue to have positive relationships with our students and parents,” Gentilcore said.

He would not identify the students involved in the due process cases, citing confidentiality restrictions, and declined comment on the cases.

But generally speaking, Gentilcore said, due process cases come about after a parent, guardian or other party connected to the student “feels that his or her Individual Education Plan was not appropriately implemented.” The interested party could claim that since the IEP was not properly implemented, the student did not learn and achieve as much as expected, he said.

The IEP is developed in a joint effort by public school officials, the student, and his or her guardian as required of public schools by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It is designed to meet the unique educational needs of a child, taking into consideration how the disability affects the student’s learning, education department officials said.

The IEP describes how the student learns, how he or she best demonstrates that learning, and what teachers and service providers are required to do to help the student learn more effectively, officials said.

The cost to implement an IEP depends on the student’s individual disability, they said, and can range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Typically such challenges to IEP implementation are resolved by offering the student additional education as compensation, Gentilcore said.

The comprehensive technical high school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township already has procedures in place to ensure that a student’s IEP is being followed, the supervisor said.

Initially, when a special education student is accepted into the school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts, the sending school reviews the student’s IEP.

Then, representatives from the sending school and BCTHS meet with the student and his or her parent or guardian to make sure the IEP is appropriate in a technological setting, Gentilcore said. It is adjusted as needed to accommodate the technical environment.

It’s also reviewed by representatives of the home school and the tech school, as well as the student and parent or guardian, on an annual basis, he said.

School officials now are in the process of doing “preventive maintenance” by making sure they are handling the IEP cases correctly in light of the legal challenges, Gentilcore said.

“We figure let’s be ahead of the curve here. There’s probably nothing more to do than we are already doing, but we are in a heightened sense of awareness,” the administrator said.

Gentilcore believes the cases can be tentatively resolved by the time the school’s joint board committee meets again in late August. The board will have to approve the settlements before they can be enacted, he said.

We Didn't Know How Much We DIDN'T Know

From the BCCT this morning. First is a guest opinion on how destroying the school system will only destroy the community. This is something that the people here on this blog have been saying for months now.

Next is a "Thumbs up" from the BCCT on the Tech High School budget mess. I'm not sure I agree completely. Yes, it's great that the logjam was broken, but why does it take international class brinksmanship and public histrionics to force others to the negotiating table simply to do the right thing for the kids AND the taxpayers? There's also praise for the Pennsbury citizens commission and praise for the state House Education Committee's approval of the new school funding formula. If you have not clicked on the green link to the left and registered your displeasure with your elected officials, why are you waiting?

Lastly, there is an article on the Tech School graduates themselves. Here's the heart of the "why" when people ask "why do we have a school system?" Answer: It's an investment in the future.

Destroying our schools will only destroy our community
By WILLIAM S. UMEK

Current Morrisville school board members were elected based on a platform of not raising taxes and doing away with a plan to build a new school, which would have resulted in many more positive results than negative ones for the community.

Now, they are in a position whereby they cannot meet the promise of not increasing taxes without having to tax us double next year (time to start saving money, so they can save face) and they are on the edge of getting Morrisville sued by the state. We went from a board that wanted to improve the borough and the education
we provide our children to one that wants to deteriorate (the borough) to the point that the state would have to step in.

How did we end up here? New schools create a sense of pride, induce homebuyers to move in and generally raise the bar for the community. They also cost money, which is what people generally use to invest in their future.

Morrisville residents have voted to stagnate and deteriorate; the opposite of improving. What pride is there in a rundown school and a community that votes against improving them? Who wants to move into a community that does not invest in the future of their children?

I have seen dozens of nice homes that are still for sale from over a year ago. As for raising the bar and investing in our future, how much more money do I want to invest in my home or would the right move be to get out before it is too late?

If current board members have to eat their words and raise taxes, so be it. I can’t fathom that any one would ever believe that undeliverable promise in this day and age. I am sure that being sued by the state and defending the half-witted decision to not fund education will cost more than the amount our taxes increase. This is not grade school where you get elected to class president by convincing people you will have soda coming out of the water fountains.

At that level there are not any repercussions for this inability to think a plan and a promise through to a feasible conclusion. However, there are repercussions when you are running a school board and while it may not turn out well for the board members, the real issue is the long-term effects this will have on Morrisville Borough, its students and future residents.

We need to find a way to remedy this. Unfortunately, one way has been missed by the board not voting to take advantage of state exceptions to raising taxes. It would be nice to believe and one would expect that the new school board members would know how to do their job. Apparently they do not, hence the situation we are in (unless they planned on creating this mess).

It does seem that there are many experienced, smart and bright people in the district who can guide the board in making timely and informed decisions. Reba Dunford is one such person who has presented a sensible option. But was this suggested before or after the board’s decision in January? If it was after, I wish she could have made it before. And while she is not to blame for the position the board has put us in, it would be a great idea for the people of this community like her, who have the knowledge and understand how a school board should operate, to pitch in and make suggestions in line with improving our school situation. It is not a matter of being paid or not. It is a matter of improving OUR community.

My plea to the residents of Morrisville is that we come together as a community to fix this. We need to offer our experience, regardless of party and preference to the current board.

My plea to the board is to seek out the help they need to make accurate and timely decisions and to be open to the suggestions of those with more experience than themselves. We can come together, show what a great sense of community we have and put ourselves on the right track — or we can begin the process of decline into a borough that the state labels financially distressed.

I would prefer that Morrisville be labeled as a great place to live and to raise a family.

William S. Umek has lived in Morrisville for 10 years and has three boys who attend school in the district.

------------------------------------

Thumbs Up

To the Bensalem school board for finally voting last week to end the logjam that kept the Bucks County Technical High School from implementing its $21.7 million budget for the 2008-09 school year. The board voted unanimously for the budget only after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle a controversial funding formula this summer.

The agreement to approve the budget means that each sending district’s share of the cost of running the comprehensive tech school will increase 4.4 percent.

The Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts send students to the tech school for training in about three dozen trades, along with academics. Bristol Township, Bensalem and Morrisville have complained about the cost-sharing arrangement with the other districts.

We hope that representatives of all the districts on the joint board committee will come up with a proper cost-sharing arrangement this summer to avoid this thorny issue in the future.

To the Pennsbury school board’s citizens advisory budget committee and board member Gene Dolnick, who suggested forming the panel.

The idea was to get residents involved in the budget process beyond just commenting (read complaining) after a budget’s been proposed. The goal, in addition to smoothing public reaction to almost inevitable tax hikes, is to take advantage of expertise in the community and, perhaps, forestall a tax increase.

The committee attempted to do that by recommending ways to cut costs and generate revenue. We encourage the board to give the panel’s recommendations serious consideration. And we encourage other school boards to follow Pennsbury’s lead and form their own citizen budget panels.

To the State House Education Committee, which voted in favor of a new school funding formula.

The new formula for supplemental state funding, if approved by the Legislature, would take into consideration enrollment, the number of low-income students and English-language learners, district size and regional cost differences.

This would help ensure that the needs of every district are adequately addressed, thus creating the opportunity for each district to provide every student with a quality education.

We encourage the full House to likewise pass the measure and the Senate to adopt a similar bill.

------------------------------------

Students plotting out their futures
Graduates of the tech school’s civil engineering class, one of just a handful in the U.S., can walk into jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour.
By JOAN HELLYER

Sean Gosner said he has been mistaken for a space traveler while working on a project at Bucks County Technical High School.

“One guy said, ‘Hey, that’s a cool jetpack,’” Sean, 17, a tech school junior, said of the global positioning system he carries on his back while collecting data for the civil engineering project.

But don’t think that Sean minds the onlooker confusion. “I like using the GPS unit for receiving information and walking around to get the shots,” the Bristol Township resident said.

Students in Bob Hale’s civil engineering class have fanned out across the approximate 45-acre campus off Wistar Road in Bristol Township for the past several weeks to record data about the property.

The high school juniors use global positioning systems linked to six satellites and data collectors to record information that they bring back into the school and download on their computers. Information collected during the course of three marking periods will be used to create maps of the school property, Hale said.

The GPS instrument provides the students with coordinates and data on the tech school complex including the building and its surrounding driveways, vegetation and boundary lines, students said.

“Come 50 toward us, in a straight line,” BCTHS junior Anthony Schaffer, 17, said Thursday afternoon to project partner Lady Venegas, as they prepared to record elevation information in a corner of the school’s main courtyard.

Anthony, a Middletown resident, said he’s learned some valuable lessons while doing the project at the comprehensive technical high school, which serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

“I’m smarter than I thought I was. We didn’t know how much we know,” Anthony said.

The GPS instruments and data collectors were secured through grants and donations from local engineers, Hale said. The students said they use that equipment and other skills including measurements, geometric equations, field notes and research skills they have developed during the last three years to do their work.

The project is designed to help students understand how to make sure the original project was done according to plan, Hale said. Their completed work will be referred to an “as built plan” if it proves the school complex was built according to plan, he said.

The exercise helps students see what they would actually do if they were land surveyors, Hale said.

The tech school’s civil engineering class is one of just a handful of civil engineering classes across the United States, the teacher said.

Students who graduate from the civil engineering class generally are able to secure land surveying-type jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour, Hale said. They can also pursue various careers in civil engineering, land surveying, architecture and environmental protection with additional schooling, the tech school teacher said.

If students earn a two-year degree in any of those backgrounds, they’ll likely be able to secure a $30,000 annual salary, he said. A four-year degree will provide an extra $10,000 in annual income, Hale estimated.

An advanced degree will bring home a $65,000 annual salary, and civil engineers who are licensed can make a six-figure salary, he said.

“We’re beyond high school students,” BCTHS junior Dan Quinn, 17, said. “The kids who have already graduated said it has done wonders for them and they already know what they’re doing when they get to college.”

Tech School Budget Passes and Morrisville is Irrelevant

Chalk up another one for the Emperor. For all his public posturing and eyebrow wiggling about the tech school budget, instead of doing the hard work of talking to the other districts and working collaboratively toward a common goal, the Bensalem school board approved the budget, making Bristol's unanimous veto and Morrisville's delay actions irrelevant. The budget is now law.

BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tech school budget approved
Expenditures for 2008-09 are up 4.4 percent over this year’s expenses.
By JOAN HELLYER
STAFF WRITER

Bucks County Technical High School will be able to implement its estimated $21.7 million budget for 2008-09, now that enough sending districts have approved the financial plan, the school’s administrative director said.

The budget had been in limbo for about a month by a perceived lack of movement in efforts to revise the school’s funding formula for future budgets, officials said.

It left the comprehensive high school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts just short of the approvals needed to enact the budget. The tech school bylaws require at least four of the six sending districts and at least 28 board members from the districts served by the school, which is in Bristol Township, to approve the budget.

The Bristol, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school boards approved the proposed budget in April, with 26 board members from those districts voting in favor of it.

However, the Bristol Township board unanimously rejected the budget to protest inaction on proposed changes to the funding formula involving special education students. In addition, the Bensalem and Morrisville school boards delayed votes on it.

The logjam ended Wednesday night when the Bensalem board voted unanimously to approve the budget after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle the funding formula issue this summer.

Morrisville’s board again postponed its vote on the tech budget last week, but that will have no impact now because enough sending districts and board members have already approved it, officials said.

The 2008-09 budget is almost $1 million greater than this year’s budget, administrators said. Each district’s cost share will increase 4.4 percent, they added.

About 1,500 students in ninth through 12th grade attend the school, which offers studies in approximately three dozen trades.

School Board Business Meeting Reminder

Make sure to attend tonight's board meeting to see the Emperor's decrees regarding the budget, special education kids, and what we're going to do with three dying buildings and 950 students.

Morrisville school board: 7:30 p.m., Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer St. Agenda: Consider resignation of board treasurer and election of new one; consider going ahead with updated strategic plan; Bucks County Technical High School budget; discussion of alternate high school plan for the school district. 215-736-2681

Pay Now. Discussion Later

Scott Parks, the executive director of the BCTHS is quoted in the BCCT as saying that Morrisville and Bensalem need to step up and approve this year's budget, and the funding formula for the 2009-2010 year can be discussed later at a joint business managers meeting over the summer.

Why does this sound like something a used car salesman would say?

Anyone know what the Emperor and the Court of Toadies want to do? Either they or the Bensalem board need to approve the budget to make it operational. Sounds like the Prisoner's Dilemma at work.

It also sounds like one of the unanticipated expenses that a bare bones budget has no room to handle.

BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Funding formula to be re-examined
The joint board committee wants to see if actual usage charges could be used to cover mainstream and special education student expenses.
By JOAN HELLYER

Local school officials will meet this summer to see if they can come up with a new way to fund Bucks County Technical High School.

Joint board committee members of the tech school agreed Tuesday to meet with business managers from the six sending districts to look at actual usage costs for all students, not just special education students.

That meeting will likely take place in July, said Scott Parks, administrative director of the comprehensive high school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township.

The committee previously asked business managers to examine expenses for the school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury districts.

The finance officers suggested districts pay for their special education students on a per usage basis, instead of splitting the costs among the districts, as they do now.

Had that system been in place this school year, Bristol Township would have paid about $500,000 less and Neshaminy would have paid about $450,000 more, officials said.

Neshaminy representatives have protested the potential funding formula change. They said before anything is revised, the joint board should consider changing the formula so districts would pay actual usage for both mainstream and special education students.

Joint board members agreed to the summer meeting to discuss that possibility with business managers.

Controversy surrounding the revised funding formula, which would not be put into place until 2009-2010, has slowed approval of next school year’s budget.

At least one more sending school board and two more school board members from the districts served by BCTHS have to vote in favor of the estimated $21.7 million budget before it can be enacted.

Parks urged representatives of the Bensalem and Morrisville boards, which delayed votes on the 2008-2009 financial plan, to encourage their respective governing bodies to vote on it. The boards have until June 30 to act on the proposed tech school budget.

BCTHS Funding Discussion

Proposed funding formula revisions to be discussed Tuesday
Posted in News
on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 4:36 pm by Joan Hellyer

Members of the Bucks County Technical High School’s governing body will try Tuesday night to make some progress on revising the comprehensive tech school’s funding formula.

A proposal has been under consideration for several months where the special education part of the formula would go from a charge for each sending district based on a percentage to a charge based on actual usage. But not all of the six sending districts are in favor of the change.
BCTHS serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy, and Pennsbury school districts.

The joint board’s implementation/assessment committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the tech school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township to see what can be done to try to reach some resolution, officials said.

The implementation/assessment meeting will be followed at 8 p.m. by the joint board committee’s regular voting session. Call 215-949-1700 for more information.

BCTHS Funding Formula Discussion

I saw this in the BCCT this morning.

So the auto shop is as expensive as special education? Who knew?

BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Officials to discuss funding formula
Not just special education costs should be considered, but other expenses like the automotive section, a Neshaminy school board member said.
By JOAN HELLYER STAFF WRITER
Joan Hellyer can be reached at 215-949-4048 or jhellyer@phillyBurbs.com.

Bucks County Technical High School’s governing body will meet in May to decide how it wants to proceed with considering a change to the comprehensive high school’s funding formula.

At issue is whether to separate special education costs, which are often more expensive than mainstream expenses, out of the tech school’s current funding formula. If that happens, the expenses would be paid on an actual usage basis instead of being split among the six sending districts as they are now.

The change could have saved Bristol Township about $500,000 this school year, and cost Neshaminy about $450,000 more than it paid in 2007-2008, according to official estimations. In addition, Bensalem could have saved about $65,000 and Pennsbury would have had to shell out about $110,000 more to cover the special education costs for students from its district.

The BCTHS joint board committee, made up of Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury board members, agreed Monday night to discuss the funding situation during a program implementation assessment meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 20.

The move comes a week after the Bristol Township school board declined to approve the tech school’s 2008-2009 budget because it felt there was a lack of movement on the funding formula issue.

Neshaminy is the only one of the tech school’s six sending districts that has indicated it is not in favor of the funding formula revision.

“If you single out special education, then you should also single out the automotive section, because it’s very expensive,” said Ritchie Webb, a Neshaminy board member, after the joint board committee’s meeting Monday night.

The committee will decide what it wants to look at in terms of school expenses before it considers changing the special education portion of the funding formula.

Officials have suggested phasing in the revised formula over a fouryear period beginning in 2009-2010.

Jack go unda limbo stick

It looks like budget limbo for the Bucks County Technical School. Needing at least four of six participating school districts to approve the 2008-2009 budget, only Bristol, Neshaminy and Pennsbury have approved. Bensalem and Morrisville have postponed action, and Bristol Township flatly rejected it.

The Emperor and company are doing the right thing here. There. I said it. It was hard to type, but it's accurate, despite the absolutely chilling special snarl the Emperor adds to his verbal assaults on special education costs. Memo to the Tech School staff: The Emperor is coming next week.

BTW, kudos to Marlys Mihok for looking into the tax assessment issue in the borough. That's also the right thing to do. No spot assessments, but a fair overview to ensure we're all paying our fair share. Does anyone know what the Steele Report is? She keeps mentioning that.

This is a big district vs. little district issue, and in just the same way the U.S. Constitution was cobbled together as a compromise between the big states (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia) and the little states (Delaware, New Jersey), another compromise will need to be made. If the figure mentioned below is accurate, Bristol Township subsidizes Neshaminy to the tune of a cool half million.

If that's the case, forget walking under the limbo stick. Pick up the stick and smack that funding formula into fairness.

Technical school budget in limbo
Neshaminy could end up paying $500,000 more in annual costs due to special education costs while Bristol Township could save that much.
By JOAN HELLYER STAFF WRITER

Bucks County Technical High School’s proposed 2008-2009 budget is in a holding pattern because the schools boards in two of its sending districts have postponed a vote on the financial plan.

The Bensalem and Morrisville school boards agreed Wednesday night to postpone their respective votes until they receive more information about the comprehensive technical high school’s funding formula.

The postponements leave the BCTHS budget just shy of the votes needed for approval. The school’s bylaws call for four of the six sending districts and at least 28 board members to approve the budget.

The Bristol, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school boards have approved the budget. A total of 26 board members have voted in favor of it, officials said.

The Bensalem and Morrisville postponements come two days after the Bristol Township school board rejected the proposed budget to protest a lack of movement on suggested revisions to the tech school’s funding formula.

Right now, the six sending districts share the costs incurred to educate special education students. But a movement has been under way for several months to pay the special education costs, often higher than mainstream expenses, on an actual usage basis.

The revised formula could save Bristol Township as much as $500,000 per year in expenses, officials said.

Neshaminy, the district that could end up having to pay as much as $500,000 more in annual costs because a large number of its special education students attend BCTHS, has opposed the revised formula.

Board members Frank Koziol, William Spitz and Ritchie Webb again voiced opposition to the revisions Wednesday night before Neshaminy voted unanimously to approve the tech school’s budget.

The tech school budget needs to be approved by June 30, BCTHS Administrative Director Scott Parks said. The Bensalem and Morrisville boards are not scheduled to meet again until May.

Miscellaneous Items

First off, kudos to phillyburbs.com and their new homepage.




Let's also remember that the PSSA testing is taking place over the next few days.

There's five districts that exceeded the 4.4% cap. Morrisville, as we know, is not one of them.

The Bucks County Technical School budget is out. Fulminations from the Stop the Schoolers to follow!

Complete breakdown of communication causes major issue with school construction! Correction: Oopsie corrected with media coverage attached. Check out the reader comments to complete the hilarity.