From the BCCT. Congratulations!
Teacher surprised, honored by $25,000 award
Goodnoe Elementary second-grade teacher Maryann Molishus said she’s still deciding what to do with the money.
By RACHEL CANELLI
Maryann Molishus come on down! She’s the next recipient of the 2008 Milken National Educator Award. The nine-year Council Rock elementary school teacher became the latest $25,000 award winner Monday morning as officials travel the country announcing more than 70 educators during surprise school-wide ceremonies. So far, Molishus is only the second teacher chosen from Pennsylvania, administrators said. “I’m still shaking,” Molishus said after the assembly at Goodnoe Elementary School in Newtown. “I’m just really honored because there are so many good teachers in our district. And the kids are still buzzing. It’s nice to share it with them.”
Per Milken rules, the awards must be kept secret until names are announced, so no one knew, officials said. So, when the entire school, including Molishus’ second-grade class, packed the school’s gym, the students and staff thought they were there for an assembly with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Instead officials called Molishus’ name.
“I really like to celebrate all students,” said Molishus, 39, of Churchville. “I enjoy learning with them, sharing in their excitement and trying different things like technology. It’s important to integrate that into programs because the children become so engaged and learn valuable lessons. It’s fun to come to school.”
Each year, the grants are given to teachers and principals in an attempt to attract, develop, motivate and retain talented educators. While they are ceremoniously presented with large checks during the school-wide assemblies, the teachers get the real money in Los Angeles, Calif., in April.
The winners can use the money any way they want. Previous recipients have paid for their children’s or their own education, purchased equipment for their schools, established scholarships and funded adoptions, officials said.
“There are so many good things that teachers are doing aside from one award,” said Molishus, mother of two daughters. “It’s really important to show that teachers are doing wonderful things, and that’s the point of Milken.”
In the early 1980s, education reform pioneer Lowell Milken created the awards program to acknowledge educators. Since then, more than 2,300 kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers nationwide have been recognized, according to foundation representatives.
The educators are unknowingly nominated by a blue-ribbon panel in their state. They must demonstrate the following: effective instructional practices, accomplishments beyond the classroom, leadership and motivation, administrators said.
Most recently, Molishus said she and her pupils presented a video conference with five other schools.
She said she doesn’t yet know how she’ll use the money, or celebrate her award.
“Maybe I’ll cancel homework tonight,” Molishus said.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
What Does A Superintendent Do?
From the Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch
Do schools need superintendents: It's a Calling, Not Just a Job
By STEWART D. ROBERSON, TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST, Sunday, Nov 09, 2008 - 12:05 AM
As two of the four school boards in the metro Richmond area search for new public school superintendents, I have been asked to provide some perspectives about the role American of the superintendent in a modern school district today. I welcome this opportunity to share some thoughts about the complex nature of this key leadership position while noting that the relationship superintendents in Richmond enjoy as colleagues can be fairly characterized as a model of regional collaboration.
The success of our relationship is found in how we share many common experiences and beliefs as the chief executive officers and chief educational leaders of the school districts and communities we serve.
How has the role of superintendent evolved through the history of public education?
Since its introduction in the early 1800s, the position has evolved incrementally, becoming more extensive, complex, and demanding. The phases of evolution have included emphases upon the superintendent as teacher-scholar, organizational manager, democratic statesman, applied social scientist, and communicator. It is safe to assume that, today, all of these skills can be called upon any day of any year.
Twenty-first century superintendents receive great scrutiny from parents, teachers, board members, and elected officials. They are held responsible for the progress and achievement of students in their district's schools. The superintendent who is effective is one who finds this scrutiny and accountability personally and professionally fulfilling.
As a constitutional officer, the superintendent is the chief executive of the school board and the CEO of the large enterprise called a school district. The school board is the board of directors and sets the tone for the teamwork, which is essential for a productive school board/superintendent relationship. For this relationship to be most trusting and effective, the board embraces its policymaking role while supporting the superintendent as the chief executive, as stated in the state's and school board's job description for superintendents.
How is a superintendent like a chief executive officer?
A school district is often the largest and most complex business in the community -- transporting more people than public transportation, feeding more people than all the restaurants in the community combined, managing more square footage than most of the businesses in the community, and processing, literally, millions of e-mails daily. A school district is frequently the largest employer in the community. It is positioned, too, as the largest educational services provider -- which is, of course, our central mission.
How is the superintendent a chief educational leader?
Clearly, the educational leader role is the one which makes the superintendent position unique in our society. Effective superintendents view the position as a calling, not just a job. The opportunity to lead a school district stirs a passion. Few roles in our society offer this opportunity to help children plan for a future in which the ideals and needs of individual learners, this nation and, increasingly, our world, are advanced.
While a school district will always be a direct reflection of the community it serves, the superintendent's role is to help envision what "could be," consistent with the values and aspirations of the community. Indeed, superintendents believe that public education is the bedrock of American democracy.
A leading educator once said, "If you think you're powerful, you're delusional. However, as superintendent, you are in a position to make inherently powerful connections." A superintendent who is functioning at a high level is playing the role of democratic leader, even at a time when there is a complex mix of changing values and economic realities.
The superintendent is expected to form fruitful relationships with countless stakeholders simultaneously, while embracing the diversity of backgrounds, thoughts, and needs found in the community. Superintendents with an eye on the locality's future see themselves as accepting a moral responsibility, working to master the skills of connection, communication, collaboration, community building, child advocacy, and curricular choices.
How do you do what you do?
I perceive sometimes that others are glad that they are not expected to manage the complexities of an educational enterprise. Indeed, some acknowledge that the required time, energy, human process management, and ambiguity tolerance, particularly in politically charged and high-stakes testing arenas, would be extremely frustrating to them if they were expected to lead in the public domain.
Sometimes, folks argue that their notions of quick fixes can be panaceas to complex educational challenges. I frequently assert that "flash-in-the-pan" decision-making is usually successful only at capturing, momentarily, the public's awe. It rarely, if ever, results in long-term, positive institutional change.
A successful superintendent knows that he/she must bring a skill set which is focused upon balancing the influences of stability and change, requiring the commitment of considerable physical and mental energy, and recognizing that true, positive change occurs if the superintendent stays in place for several years, while always nurturing a culture of continuous improvement across the community.
Finally -- and most importantly -- a superintendent, like any human being, relies heavily upon the love and support of his/her own family to strike a healthy personal balance while performing this 24/7 role.
How do you make decisions?
Our most visible decisions as superintendents (such as closing schools on snow days) are those that have an immediate impact upon families and the regional economy. My favorite explanation of how such decisions are made is that I rely upon faith, intuition, and a great staff to accumulate the best available data to make the right decisions at the right time in support of our children and colleagues.
Effective decisions made for the long-term, though, must include the entire community's voice and a vigorous consensus if we want to truly make a difference in the lives of all the children whom we are called to serve.
Do schools need superintendents: It's a Calling, Not Just a Job
By STEWART D. ROBERSON, TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST, Sunday, Nov 09, 2008 - 12:05 AM
As two of the four school boards in the metro Richmond area search for new public school superintendents, I have been asked to provide some perspectives about the role American of the superintendent in a modern school district today. I welcome this opportunity to share some thoughts about the complex nature of this key leadership position while noting that the relationship superintendents in Richmond enjoy as colleagues can be fairly characterized as a model of regional collaboration.
The success of our relationship is found in how we share many common experiences and beliefs as the chief executive officers and chief educational leaders of the school districts and communities we serve.
How has the role of superintendent evolved through the history of public education?
Since its introduction in the early 1800s, the position has evolved incrementally, becoming more extensive, complex, and demanding. The phases of evolution have included emphases upon the superintendent as teacher-scholar, organizational manager, democratic statesman, applied social scientist, and communicator. It is safe to assume that, today, all of these skills can be called upon any day of any year.
Twenty-first century superintendents receive great scrutiny from parents, teachers, board members, and elected officials. They are held responsible for the progress and achievement of students in their district's schools. The superintendent who is effective is one who finds this scrutiny and accountability personally and professionally fulfilling.
As a constitutional officer, the superintendent is the chief executive of the school board and the CEO of the large enterprise called a school district. The school board is the board of directors and sets the tone for the teamwork, which is essential for a productive school board/superintendent relationship. For this relationship to be most trusting and effective, the board embraces its policymaking role while supporting the superintendent as the chief executive, as stated in the state's and school board's job description for superintendents.
How is a superintendent like a chief executive officer?
A school district is often the largest and most complex business in the community -- transporting more people than public transportation, feeding more people than all the restaurants in the community combined, managing more square footage than most of the businesses in the community, and processing, literally, millions of e-mails daily. A school district is frequently the largest employer in the community. It is positioned, too, as the largest educational services provider -- which is, of course, our central mission.
How is the superintendent a chief educational leader?
Clearly, the educational leader role is the one which makes the superintendent position unique in our society. Effective superintendents view the position as a calling, not just a job. The opportunity to lead a school district stirs a passion. Few roles in our society offer this opportunity to help children plan for a future in which the ideals and needs of individual learners, this nation and, increasingly, our world, are advanced.
While a school district will always be a direct reflection of the community it serves, the superintendent's role is to help envision what "could be," consistent with the values and aspirations of the community. Indeed, superintendents believe that public education is the bedrock of American democracy.
A leading educator once said, "If you think you're powerful, you're delusional. However, as superintendent, you are in a position to make inherently powerful connections." A superintendent who is functioning at a high level is playing the role of democratic leader, even at a time when there is a complex mix of changing values and economic realities.
The superintendent is expected to form fruitful relationships with countless stakeholders simultaneously, while embracing the diversity of backgrounds, thoughts, and needs found in the community. Superintendents with an eye on the locality's future see themselves as accepting a moral responsibility, working to master the skills of connection, communication, collaboration, community building, child advocacy, and curricular choices.
How do you do what you do?
I perceive sometimes that others are glad that they are not expected to manage the complexities of an educational enterprise. Indeed, some acknowledge that the required time, energy, human process management, and ambiguity tolerance, particularly in politically charged and high-stakes testing arenas, would be extremely frustrating to them if they were expected to lead in the public domain.
Sometimes, folks argue that their notions of quick fixes can be panaceas to complex educational challenges. I frequently assert that "flash-in-the-pan" decision-making is usually successful only at capturing, momentarily, the public's awe. It rarely, if ever, results in long-term, positive institutional change.
A successful superintendent knows that he/she must bring a skill set which is focused upon balancing the influences of stability and change, requiring the commitment of considerable physical and mental energy, and recognizing that true, positive change occurs if the superintendent stays in place for several years, while always nurturing a culture of continuous improvement across the community.
Finally -- and most importantly -- a superintendent, like any human being, relies heavily upon the love and support of his/her own family to strike a healthy personal balance while performing this 24/7 role.
How do you make decisions?
Our most visible decisions as superintendents (such as closing schools on snow days) are those that have an immediate impact upon families and the regional economy. My favorite explanation of how such decisions are made is that I rely upon faith, intuition, and a great staff to accumulate the best available data to make the right decisions at the right time in support of our children and colleagues.
Effective decisions made for the long-term, though, must include the entire community's voice and a vigorous consensus if we want to truly make a difference in the lives of all the children whom we are called to serve.
Happy Veteran's Day!
Lost in the Election Day to Thanksgiving Day rush is Veteran's Day. It's usually defined by the consumer bargains available to the pre-pre-Christmas shopper.
Today is the 90th anniversary of the end of the first "war to end all wars". OK, we all know how that turned out, but let's pause to remember the sacrifices made by that generation of American warriors and all the generations past, present, and, unfortunately, future.
Here's a story from CNN where a photographer is racing time in an effort to photograph surviving WWI vets across the world. Only ten remaining veterans are known to still live.
Are you happy living in America where we still have some Constitutionally protected freedoms? Then go thank a vet.
Photographer races clock to honor last few World War I vets
(CNN) -- Photographer David DeJonge plans to capture a vanishing bit of history Tuesday on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
There he hopes to photograph 107-year-old Frank Buckles -- one of the few men still alive who fought in World War I. Buckles will lay a wreath at the grave of Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who led U.S. forces in Europe in World War I.
The visit comes 90 years to the day after the end of World War I, an occasion that led to Veteran's Day in the United States and Armistice Day in other nations.
For DeJonge, it's a poignant reminder that time is running out in his quest to find and photograph the few surviving veterans of the war, which raged from 1914 to 1918.
"In my view, America has missed the boat in documenting this part of history," said DeJonge, a portrait photographer from Zeeland, Michigan. "It was such a pivotal moment in global history."
He has raced the clock for the last two years to photograph the dwindling number of surviving World War I veterans, a mission he embraces with a keen appreciation for the ticking clock: Eight of 12 veterans he has photographed in the last two years are now dead.
"It's a tragic loss - a tragic loss for the project and for global history," he said. "These are the last breaths of the last souls who witnessed one of the most horrific wars this world has ever seen." Video Watch photo sessions with remaining veterans »
DeJonge knows of only 10 living veterans worldwide who fought during World War I.
Four live in Britain, two in Australia, two in France and two in the United States -- Buckles and 108-year-old John Babcock of Spokane, Washington, who served with Canadian forces during World War I, DeJong said.
Each week or month that passes, it seems, brings news of an aging veteran succumbing before DeJonge can find the time and money to photograph him.
Not long ago, he said, two Jamaicans who fought with the British during World War I died. The last known German, French and Austro-Hungarian veterans died in the last year as well.
"These are the last of the last," he said.
DeJonge said he first became interested in photographing war veterans in 1996, when he worked on a project to chronicle U.S. veterans of several wars. The subjects included two men who served during World War I.
He tried to interest a photography organization in a national project to document the remaining U.S. World War I vets -- about 600 were alive in the mid 1990s, DeJonge said -- but that didn't happen.
So he set out two years ago to try to do it on his own. DeJonge has received some financial help here and there, he said, but has paid most costs himself.
"I have paid about $100,000 of my own money," he said.
He spends about half his time at home in Michigan, taking photographs to earn his living. He spends the other half conducting research, traveling to points distant or photographing aging vets.
"I have an incredibly supportive wife," he said.
He is trying to find money and time to take pictures of two vets in Australia and two in France, he said. And he would love to check out unconfirmed reports of an elderly man in the Ukraine who says he served with the Russian military during what also is known as the "Great War" and "The War to End All Wars."
In March, he donated nine portraits of World War I vets that the Pentagon plans to display permanently. He traveled to Washington that month with Buckles, who drove an ambulance in Britain and France during the war as a corporal in the U.S. Army.
In a White House ceremony in March, President Bush paid tribute to Buckles, who said he lied about his age and enlisted at age 15.
"Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times, and one way for me to honor the service of those who wore the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism and your love for America," he said during the March ceremony.
DeJonge and Buckles plan to drive Tuesday from Buckles' cattle farm in Charles Town, West Virginia to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
The photographer said he feels "just an unbelievable respect" for men and women who served their country. And he savors the living history lessons they provide.
Today is the 90th anniversary of the end of the first "war to end all wars". OK, we all know how that turned out, but let's pause to remember the sacrifices made by that generation of American warriors and all the generations past, present, and, unfortunately, future.
Here's a story from CNN where a photographer is racing time in an effort to photograph surviving WWI vets across the world. Only ten remaining veterans are known to still live.
Are you happy living in America where we still have some Constitutionally protected freedoms? Then go thank a vet.
Photographer races clock to honor last few World War I vets
(CNN) -- Photographer David DeJonge plans to capture a vanishing bit of history Tuesday on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
There he hopes to photograph 107-year-old Frank Buckles -- one of the few men still alive who fought in World War I. Buckles will lay a wreath at the grave of Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who led U.S. forces in Europe in World War I.
The visit comes 90 years to the day after the end of World War I, an occasion that led to Veteran's Day in the United States and Armistice Day in other nations.
For DeJonge, it's a poignant reminder that time is running out in his quest to find and photograph the few surviving veterans of the war, which raged from 1914 to 1918.
"In my view, America has missed the boat in documenting this part of history," said DeJonge, a portrait photographer from Zeeland, Michigan. "It was such a pivotal moment in global history."
He has raced the clock for the last two years to photograph the dwindling number of surviving World War I veterans, a mission he embraces with a keen appreciation for the ticking clock: Eight of 12 veterans he has photographed in the last two years are now dead.
"It's a tragic loss - a tragic loss for the project and for global history," he said. "These are the last breaths of the last souls who witnessed one of the most horrific wars this world has ever seen." Video Watch photo sessions with remaining veterans »
DeJonge knows of only 10 living veterans worldwide who fought during World War I.
Four live in Britain, two in Australia, two in France and two in the United States -- Buckles and 108-year-old John Babcock of Spokane, Washington, who served with Canadian forces during World War I, DeJong said.
Each week or month that passes, it seems, brings news of an aging veteran succumbing before DeJonge can find the time and money to photograph him.
Not long ago, he said, two Jamaicans who fought with the British during World War I died. The last known German, French and Austro-Hungarian veterans died in the last year as well.
"These are the last of the last," he said.
DeJonge said he first became interested in photographing war veterans in 1996, when he worked on a project to chronicle U.S. veterans of several wars. The subjects included two men who served during World War I.
He tried to interest a photography organization in a national project to document the remaining U.S. World War I vets -- about 600 were alive in the mid 1990s, DeJonge said -- but that didn't happen.
So he set out two years ago to try to do it on his own. DeJonge has received some financial help here and there, he said, but has paid most costs himself.
"I have paid about $100,000 of my own money," he said.
He spends about half his time at home in Michigan, taking photographs to earn his living. He spends the other half conducting research, traveling to points distant or photographing aging vets.
"I have an incredibly supportive wife," he said.
He is trying to find money and time to take pictures of two vets in Australia and two in France, he said. And he would love to check out unconfirmed reports of an elderly man in the Ukraine who says he served with the Russian military during what also is known as the "Great War" and "The War to End All Wars."
In March, he donated nine portraits of World War I vets that the Pentagon plans to display permanently. He traveled to Washington that month with Buckles, who drove an ambulance in Britain and France during the war as a corporal in the U.S. Army.
In a White House ceremony in March, President Bush paid tribute to Buckles, who said he lied about his age and enlisted at age 15.
"Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times, and one way for me to honor the service of those who wore the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism and your love for America," he said during the March ceremony.
DeJonge and Buckles plan to drive Tuesday from Buckles' cattle farm in Charles Town, West Virginia to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
The photographer said he feels "just an unbelievable respect" for men and women who served their country. And he savors the living history lessons they provide.
Monday, November 10, 2008
But Where's the PLAN??
From the BCCT.
And so the renovations begin. The overarching renovations plan is STILL missing in action. It looks like we're going to piecemeal ourselves to death on uncoordinated fits of renovation spending.
The board members who make the political decisions won't comment on the record, so they send out Tim Lastician to take the slings and arrows instead. We're not sure when the renovations will be done...We hope it will be half done before September 2009.
This is all very reassuring...NOT! What will we do when the "Welcome Back, Students!" signs next September are accompanied by "Caution: Construction Zone" signs?
Channeling the departed Ed Frankenfield for a moment, we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a plan. The plan is probably out there, shrouded in secrecy and known but to only a few of the Emperor's most dedicated Kool-Aid cronies.
Why don't we want to upgrade our schools and welcome those with disabilities? Isn't it ironic that many of those taxpayers who most oppose making the schools a little more user friendly are among those who hobble most desperately up the steps to attend board meetings.
Paging Clara Peller: Where's the plan?
LOL: I don't think there's anyone back there, either.
Renovation plans moving forward
The parts and labor for the long-anticipated renovations are estimated to cost about $3.7 million plus another $400,000 in contract fees.
By MANASEE WAGH
Renovation plans at the 50-year-old Morrisville high school are swinging into gear.
The recent decision has come after years of wavering among previous and current board members about what to do with the district’s high school and two elementary schools.
Morrisville’s school board is working with Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to update old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems at the Middle/Senior High School.
The project’s scope includes a range of new components, including ventilators for heating in classrooms, windows with better weatherproofing, expansion tanks for boilers, heating and ventilation units in the gym, locker rooms, auditorium and kitchen, gas-fired hot water heaters and parts for the air- conditioning units in the library and administrative offices.
Vitetta also will test the hot water supply and piping at the high school because it probably has corroded due to age, said the facilities manager, Tim Lastichen.
There have been no sizeable renovations to any of the district’s three schools in decades, Lastichen said.
Morrisville’s two elementary schools are also in need of similar repairs, and the school board is in talks with Vitetta to perform upgrades there.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to improve the deteriorating school buildings since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school early this year.
Part of the original $30 million bond meant for the new school will be used instead for the renovations.
The company’s fees for overseeing the high school upgrades total about $400,000, and the cost of replacement parts and labor is expected to be around $3.7 million.
At the previous school board meeting, board member Robin Reithmeyer voted against the initiative to pursue these renovations because the district isn’t applying for state reimbursement.
Under certain circumstances, the state Department of Education can refund a school district a portion of construction project costs if the district follows the department’s approval process, called PlanCon.
Vitetta architects found the project does not meet state guidelines necessary for PlanCon approvals, said William Hellmann, board president.
Either renovation or construction is eligible for state reimbursement only under two criteria, according to the state Department of Education: adding capacity to the building, as in the case of a growing student population, or bringing the building up to modern American Disabilities Act standards.
Therefore, Morrisville’s renovations wouldn’t be eligible, according to the state.
“Believe me, if I could get money from the state, I would be the first to do it,” Hellmann said. “This work is for the health, safety and welfare of the children and teachers and needs to be done as soon as possible.”
Though a concrete timeline for completing the upgrades is not available yet, the district plans to dive in as soon as the school year is over in June. Hopefully, the work will be at least half finished before the summer ends, Lastichen said.
Originally built in 1925, the district’s two elementary schools, Grandview and M. R. Reiter, are much older than the high school.
Grandview’s front section was added to the original building in 1957 and its back section was added in 1968. Reiter needed to be renovated in the 1960s after catching fire.
“But nothing’s been touched since,” Lastichen said. “So it needs it.”
And so the renovations begin. The overarching renovations plan is STILL missing in action. It looks like we're going to piecemeal ourselves to death on uncoordinated fits of renovation spending.
The board members who make the political decisions won't comment on the record, so they send out Tim Lastician to take the slings and arrows instead. We're not sure when the renovations will be done...We hope it will be half done before September 2009.
This is all very reassuring...NOT! What will we do when the "Welcome Back, Students!" signs next September are accompanied by "Caution: Construction Zone" signs?
Channeling the departed Ed Frankenfield for a moment, we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a plan. The plan is probably out there, shrouded in secrecy and known but to only a few of the Emperor's most dedicated Kool-Aid cronies.
Why don't we want to upgrade our schools and welcome those with disabilities? Isn't it ironic that many of those taxpayers who most oppose making the schools a little more user friendly are among those who hobble most desperately up the steps to attend board meetings.
Paging Clara Peller: Where's the plan?
LOL: I don't think there's anyone back there, either.
Renovation plans moving forward
The parts and labor for the long-anticipated renovations are estimated to cost about $3.7 million plus another $400,000 in contract fees.
By MANASEE WAGH
Renovation plans at the 50-year-old Morrisville high school are swinging into gear.
The recent decision has come after years of wavering among previous and current board members about what to do with the district’s high school and two elementary schools.
Morrisville’s school board is working with Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to update old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems at the Middle/Senior High School.
The project’s scope includes a range of new components, including ventilators for heating in classrooms, windows with better weatherproofing, expansion tanks for boilers, heating and ventilation units in the gym, locker rooms, auditorium and kitchen, gas-fired hot water heaters and parts for the air- conditioning units in the library and administrative offices.
Vitetta also will test the hot water supply and piping at the high school because it probably has corroded due to age, said the facilities manager, Tim Lastichen.
There have been no sizeable renovations to any of the district’s three schools in decades, Lastichen said.
Morrisville’s two elementary schools are also in need of similar repairs, and the school board is in talks with Vitetta to perform upgrades there.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to improve the deteriorating school buildings since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school early this year.
Part of the original $30 million bond meant for the new school will be used instead for the renovations.
The company’s fees for overseeing the high school upgrades total about $400,000, and the cost of replacement parts and labor is expected to be around $3.7 million.
At the previous school board meeting, board member Robin Reithmeyer voted against the initiative to pursue these renovations because the district isn’t applying for state reimbursement.
Under certain circumstances, the state Department of Education can refund a school district a portion of construction project costs if the district follows the department’s approval process, called PlanCon.
Vitetta architects found the project does not meet state guidelines necessary for PlanCon approvals, said William Hellmann, board president.
Either renovation or construction is eligible for state reimbursement only under two criteria, according to the state Department of Education: adding capacity to the building, as in the case of a growing student population, or bringing the building up to modern American Disabilities Act standards.
Therefore, Morrisville’s renovations wouldn’t be eligible, according to the state.
“Believe me, if I could get money from the state, I would be the first to do it,” Hellmann said. “This work is for the health, safety and welfare of the children and teachers and needs to be done as soon as possible.”
Though a concrete timeline for completing the upgrades is not available yet, the district plans to dive in as soon as the school year is over in June. Hopefully, the work will be at least half finished before the summer ends, Lastichen said.
Originally built in 1925, the district’s two elementary schools, Grandview and M. R. Reiter, are much older than the high school.
Grandview’s front section was added to the original building in 1957 and its back section was added in 1968. Reiter needed to be renovated in the 1960s after catching fire.
“But nothing’s been touched since,” Lastichen said. “So it needs it.”
It's The Economy, Stupid!
From the BCCT.
That was James Carville's famous strategy in the Clinton campaign of 1992. I doubt there's anyone out there who is NOT concerned about the economy and the impact on the bottom line. "Today’s economy will affect the preparation of school budgets as far ahead as 2012 and 2013, he added." Perhaps so, but let's be a little more focused on the immediate: What's the state of revenues and expenditures in 2008-09?
Economy has schools concerned
A lag in tax collections and underperforming investments means schools might need to do more with less in the coming years or find support for a tax increase.
By THERESA HEGEL
Like the families that help to support them, school districts in the area have entered a period of belt tightening.
District business managers already dealing with drops in tax revenue and dwindling investment returns say the budget for the next school year likely will be difficult to prepare.
But most districts said administration and school boards were committed to keeping property tax millage increases at or under the 4.1 percent mandated by the state.
“The whole community is suffering,” said Pennridge Superintendent Robert Kish, noting that his district wasn’t interested in adding to the burden.
Real estate transfer taxes and interim real estate taxes — levied when properties are bought and sold or when improvements are made to an existing property — are, in many cases, down from last year’s levels.
“Homes aren’t selling,” said Robert Reichert, director of business affairs for Hatboro-Horsham School District. “People aren’t doing renovation work like they were.”
In terms of real estate transfer taxes, Pennridge received 81 percent of the level of revenue this July, August and September, when compared with last year’s intake in those months, said business administrator Bob Reinhart.
Last year’s transfer tax total of $1.6 million already represented a dip from years when the housing market was hot. Back in 2005-06, the district reaped $2.1 million from transfer taxes, he said.
So far this school year, the district is receiving 54 percent of the interim taxes it received last year, Reinhart said.
“If [the housing market slump] deepens, the issues are going to get worse than they are today,” he said.
Today’s economy will affect the preparation of school budgets as far ahead as 2012 and 2013, he added.
Bensalem School District built lower revenues into its budget, including a 30 percent decline in interim taxes and a 25 percent drop in transfer taxes.
“I’m pleased that we did take a conservative stance with respect to projected revenues,” said Jack Myers, Bensalem’s director of business operations.
By September, Bensalem had already collected $300,000 of its budgeted $1 million in transfer taxes, which Myers called a “pleasant surprise.”
Still, being on target is more a reflection of the district’s downward projections, and there are still eight months left in the fiscal year, he said.
“At this point, I’m not panicking, but I’m worried,” added Myers, who said he is constantly monitoring and “fine-tuning” the budget.
Central Bucks business manager Dave Matyas was also concerned about the 1 percent earned income tax going south if unemployment levels rise and workers don’t receive raises or bonuses because of the economy.
“Who knows where that’s going to go?” he wondered.
An unstable stock market and cuts in federal interest rates have taken their toll on districts’ coffers.
In its current budget, Bensalem assumed a 40 percent drop in interest returns for the year, Myers said.
Reichert said Hatboro-Horsham, which invests conservatively, has seen its returns cut almost in half from last year. “That’s having an effect,” he said. A deficit and subsequent spending freeze in Harrisburg also has district officials worried. Last month, state revenues fell to $565 million below expectations, and Gov. Ed Rendell outlined $311 million in spending cuts. As part of those cuts, the state Department of Education froze about one-half percent of its budget, said Leah Harris, department spokeswoman. Matyas and Reinhart both voiced concerns that the state’s budget woes would lead to lagging subsidy payments. “They’ve done it in the past,” Reinhart said. However, Harris dismissed the business managers’ concerns.
“The schedule of payment has not been affected as of right now,” she said. “We don’t anticipate that there will be a delay.”
In many ways, school districts’ financial strains mirror the situation at private-sector businesses across the state and country.
The difference is that public schools have fewer avenues for cutting expenses.
“We can’t reduce staff because our student population is not declining,” said Matyas of Central Bucks. “That’s the problem we have as a public entity.”
Instead, Hatboro-Horsham’s Reichert said, schools must become creative and “focus on doing more with less.”
For districts like Bensalem, that translates to delaying the replacement of furniture and equipment and implementing cost-effective energy strategies, such as the geothermal heating system installed at the newly renovated Snyder Middle School, Myers said.
That was James Carville's famous strategy in the Clinton campaign of 1992. I doubt there's anyone out there who is NOT concerned about the economy and the impact on the bottom line. "Today’s economy will affect the preparation of school budgets as far ahead as 2012 and 2013, he added." Perhaps so, but let's be a little more focused on the immediate: What's the state of revenues and expenditures in 2008-09?
Economy has schools concerned
A lag in tax collections and underperforming investments means schools might need to do more with less in the coming years or find support for a tax increase.
By THERESA HEGEL
Like the families that help to support them, school districts in the area have entered a period of belt tightening.
District business managers already dealing with drops in tax revenue and dwindling investment returns say the budget for the next school year likely will be difficult to prepare.
But most districts said administration and school boards were committed to keeping property tax millage increases at or under the 4.1 percent mandated by the state.
“The whole community is suffering,” said Pennridge Superintendent Robert Kish, noting that his district wasn’t interested in adding to the burden.
Real estate transfer taxes and interim real estate taxes — levied when properties are bought and sold or when improvements are made to an existing property — are, in many cases, down from last year’s levels.
“Homes aren’t selling,” said Robert Reichert, director of business affairs for Hatboro-Horsham School District. “People aren’t doing renovation work like they were.”
In terms of real estate transfer taxes, Pennridge received 81 percent of the level of revenue this July, August and September, when compared with last year’s intake in those months, said business administrator Bob Reinhart.
Last year’s transfer tax total of $1.6 million already represented a dip from years when the housing market was hot. Back in 2005-06, the district reaped $2.1 million from transfer taxes, he said.
So far this school year, the district is receiving 54 percent of the interim taxes it received last year, Reinhart said.
“If [the housing market slump] deepens, the issues are going to get worse than they are today,” he said.
Today’s economy will affect the preparation of school budgets as far ahead as 2012 and 2013, he added.
Bensalem School District built lower revenues into its budget, including a 30 percent decline in interim taxes and a 25 percent drop in transfer taxes.
“I’m pleased that we did take a conservative stance with respect to projected revenues,” said Jack Myers, Bensalem’s director of business operations.
By September, Bensalem had already collected $300,000 of its budgeted $1 million in transfer taxes, which Myers called a “pleasant surprise.”
Still, being on target is more a reflection of the district’s downward projections, and there are still eight months left in the fiscal year, he said.
“At this point, I’m not panicking, but I’m worried,” added Myers, who said he is constantly monitoring and “fine-tuning” the budget.
Central Bucks business manager Dave Matyas was also concerned about the 1 percent earned income tax going south if unemployment levels rise and workers don’t receive raises or bonuses because of the economy.
“Who knows where that’s going to go?” he wondered.
An unstable stock market and cuts in federal interest rates have taken their toll on districts’ coffers.
In its current budget, Bensalem assumed a 40 percent drop in interest returns for the year, Myers said.
Reichert said Hatboro-Horsham, which invests conservatively, has seen its returns cut almost in half from last year. “That’s having an effect,” he said. A deficit and subsequent spending freeze in Harrisburg also has district officials worried. Last month, state revenues fell to $565 million below expectations, and Gov. Ed Rendell outlined $311 million in spending cuts. As part of those cuts, the state Department of Education froze about one-half percent of its budget, said Leah Harris, department spokeswoman. Matyas and Reinhart both voiced concerns that the state’s budget woes would lead to lagging subsidy payments. “They’ve done it in the past,” Reinhart said. However, Harris dismissed the business managers’ concerns.
“The schedule of payment has not been affected as of right now,” she said. “We don’t anticipate that there will be a delay.”
In many ways, school districts’ financial strains mirror the situation at private-sector businesses across the state and country.
The difference is that public schools have fewer avenues for cutting expenses.
“We can’t reduce staff because our student population is not declining,” said Matyas of Central Bucks. “That’s the problem we have as a public entity.”
Instead, Hatboro-Horsham’s Reichert said, schools must become creative and “focus on doing more with less.”
For districts like Bensalem, that translates to delaying the replacement of furniture and equipment and implementing cost-effective energy strategies, such as the geothermal heating system installed at the newly renovated Snyder Middle School, Myers said.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Candidate, banned from district property, wins seat on school board
At least Morrisville doesn't have this problem. From the San Jose Mercury News.
Candidate, banned from district property, wins seat on Alum Rock school board
By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/06/2008 05:39:14 PM PST
Dolores Marquez didn't knock on doors, send out mailers or spend a penny besides her filing fee to campaign for a seat on the Alum Rock school board.
Oh, and there also was that matter of her messy resignation and agreement never to set foot on district property or talk to employees during work hours.
Yet on Tuesday, somehow Marquez won. Even she's at a bit of a loss.
"I'm baffled," she said Thursday.
The district is not pleased. It has sued to prevent the 57-year-old retiree from serving on the school board.
"I'm not sure where we'd have board meetings," said trustee Tanya Freudenberger, mulling the possible accommodations if Marquez is seated in December. "We're not talking an ideal situation, of course."
Marquez's attorneys insist she has a right to serve, despite a March 2007 settlement terminating her 30 years of employment with the district.
The settlement alleged that she had misused district property and illegally campaigned for her husband Joe Frausto, a former Alum Rock trustee who was seeking re-election in November 2006.
"She has a constitutional right to run, and voters have a constitutional right to elect her," said James Trujillo of the California School Employees Association, which is representing Marquez.
He noted that in drafting the settlement, the district agreed to remove a clause banning Marquez from running for Alum Rock office. "They knew she might seek a governing board seat in the future," Trujillo said.
The district did not return phone calls Thursday. The school board is meeting today to discuss the suit; a court hearing is set for Nov. 25.
However, district officials and attorneys previously have insisted the settlement effectively bars Marquez from serving as a trustee. The settlement also prohibits her from doing business with the district.
Marquez's apparent win, by a slim 200 votes, surprised many in the community — including Marquez herself.
For much of the campaign season, she was out of the East San Jose district due to the birth of two granddaughters and successive family health emergencies.
She said she came out of retirement to "give back to the community."
Observers credit the luck of her name appearing first on the ballot, and her name recognition from having worked as a child welfare and attendance liaison for the district and served on various community boards.
Plus, off and on, she had been in the news. There was an old dispute with fellow candidate Esau Herrera, who also won a seat Tuesday on the five-member board.
In 1994, Herrera and Marquez sued each other, charging harassment. Among other things, Herrera had alleged that then-trustee Alex Salazar tried to run him over with a car while Marquez, a passenger in the car, shouted encouragement.
A judge told the litigants to go home and work out their differences.
Candidate, banned from district property, wins seat on Alum Rock school board
By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/06/2008 05:39:14 PM PST
Dolores Marquez didn't knock on doors, send out mailers or spend a penny besides her filing fee to campaign for a seat on the Alum Rock school board.
Oh, and there also was that matter of her messy resignation and agreement never to set foot on district property or talk to employees during work hours.
Yet on Tuesday, somehow Marquez won. Even she's at a bit of a loss.
"I'm baffled," she said Thursday.
The district is not pleased. It has sued to prevent the 57-year-old retiree from serving on the school board.
"I'm not sure where we'd have board meetings," said trustee Tanya Freudenberger, mulling the possible accommodations if Marquez is seated in December. "We're not talking an ideal situation, of course."
Marquez's attorneys insist she has a right to serve, despite a March 2007 settlement terminating her 30 years of employment with the district.
The settlement alleged that she had misused district property and illegally campaigned for her husband Joe Frausto, a former Alum Rock trustee who was seeking re-election in November 2006.
"She has a constitutional right to run, and voters have a constitutional right to elect her," said James Trujillo of the California School Employees Association, which is representing Marquez.
He noted that in drafting the settlement, the district agreed to remove a clause banning Marquez from running for Alum Rock office. "They knew she might seek a governing board seat in the future," Trujillo said.
The district did not return phone calls Thursday. The school board is meeting today to discuss the suit; a court hearing is set for Nov. 25.
However, district officials and attorneys previously have insisted the settlement effectively bars Marquez from serving as a trustee. The settlement also prohibits her from doing business with the district.
Marquez's apparent win, by a slim 200 votes, surprised many in the community — including Marquez herself.
For much of the campaign season, she was out of the East San Jose district due to the birth of two granddaughters and successive family health emergencies.
She said she came out of retirement to "give back to the community."
Observers credit the luck of her name appearing first on the ballot, and her name recognition from having worked as a child welfare and attendance liaison for the district and served on various community boards.
Plus, off and on, she had been in the news. There was an old dispute with fellow candidate Esau Herrera, who also won a seat Tuesday on the five-member board.
In 1994, Herrera and Marquez sued each other, charging harassment. Among other things, Herrera had alleged that then-trustee Alex Salazar tried to run him over with a car while Marquez, a passenger in the car, shouted encouragement.
A judge told the litigants to go home and work out their differences.
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
Coverage of the school collapse in Haiti, from CNN.
Immediate need: Haiti was also ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike earlier this year.
There's plenty of aid organizations out there, and while we're highlighting the Red Cross here, please help where you can.
"You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org."
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNN) -- Rescue workers continued to search for survivors Saturday after a school collapse killed at least 50 children in Petionville near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
Clarens Renois, a journalist with the Haiti Press Network, said nearly 200 children remained trapped under rubble as of midnight Friday.
As many as 700 children were inside when the building collapsed around 10 a.m. ET Friday, officials said. Some were in class and others were in a playground, Haitian media reported.
"We are looking at major casualties here," said Alex Claudon, a Red Cross official on the scene.
President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area. The Haiti Press Network quoted Preval as saying that he "heard and saw with my own eyes children appealing for help."
At least one member of the Haitian Parliament has raised questions about whether the school was built for the number of students and teachers who were inside when the College La Promesse Evangelique collapsed, Renois said. The official described the building as "not quite solid" with "weak construction."
Preval has since called for a review of building-construction guidelines.
The Haitian Civil Protection Bureau said at least 100 people have been injured, but the death toll is expected to rise.
Most of the students at the school ranged in age from 10 to 20, officials said, but some are younger. Haitian press reports said kindergarten, primary and secondary students attended the school.
"We are taking all necessary steps. The government has mobilized to save those who can be saved," Pierre-Louis said.
Preval asked residents to stay away from the area to allow police and rescue officials to do their work unimpeded.
Michaele Gedeon, president of Haiti's Red Cross, said that, while she was on the phone with rescuers trying to coordinate their efforts, she could hear the voices of distraught children.
"On the phone you can hear so many children, you know, crying, crying, and saying, "This one is dead. that one is dead,'" she said.
Claudon said hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers were digging through the rubble with their hands and rudimentary tools, but "what we need right now is heavy search-and-rescue equipment." Video Watch Red Cross official describe scene »
In a later interview, Claudon said, "Local authorities are doing their best."
About 50 to 60 patients, 30 of them severely injured, were taken to Trinite Hospital in Port-au-Prince, said Isabelle Mouniaman Nara, the head of mission in the capital for Doctors Without Borders.
Another 150 patients were treated elsewhere, Nara said Friday night.
The situation at Trinite "is under control right now," she said.
Trinite is the only hospital that is open in Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders said. The other two -- General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix -- have been shut down due to worker strikes.
The school is in an extremely poor part of town and the roads are nearly impassable, Renois said. He also said an United Nations helicopter was unable to land.
"The school is poorly built," said Amelia Shaw, a journalist with United Nations TV who visited the scene.
The two-story school had an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine, Shaw told CNN by telephone. The steep hillside, she said, is covered with run-down houses and shacks on both sides.
The disaster occurred when the second floor crumbled onto the first, Shaw said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team, which arrived on the scene within hours of the collapse, the agency said in a news release.
After assessing the situation, USAID activated its partner, the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team. That team will be composed of 38 personnel, four search-and-rescue dogs and 31,000 pounds of rescue equipment and is expected to arrive Saturday.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team will be accompanied by four additional USAID disaster experts.
U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson expressed her condolences in a note, the Haiti Press Network reported.
Immediate need: Haiti was also ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike earlier this year.
There's plenty of aid organizations out there, and while we're highlighting the Red Cross here, please help where you can.
"You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org."
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNN) -- Rescue workers continued to search for survivors Saturday after a school collapse killed at least 50 children in Petionville near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
Clarens Renois, a journalist with the Haiti Press Network, said nearly 200 children remained trapped under rubble as of midnight Friday.
As many as 700 children were inside when the building collapsed around 10 a.m. ET Friday, officials said. Some were in class and others were in a playground, Haitian media reported.
"We are looking at major casualties here," said Alex Claudon, a Red Cross official on the scene.
President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area. The Haiti Press Network quoted Preval as saying that he "heard and saw with my own eyes children appealing for help."
At least one member of the Haitian Parliament has raised questions about whether the school was built for the number of students and teachers who were inside when the College La Promesse Evangelique collapsed, Renois said. The official described the building as "not quite solid" with "weak construction."
Preval has since called for a review of building-construction guidelines.
The Haitian Civil Protection Bureau said at least 100 people have been injured, but the death toll is expected to rise.
Most of the students at the school ranged in age from 10 to 20, officials said, but some are younger. Haitian press reports said kindergarten, primary and secondary students attended the school.
"We are taking all necessary steps. The government has mobilized to save those who can be saved," Pierre-Louis said.
Preval asked residents to stay away from the area to allow police and rescue officials to do their work unimpeded.
Michaele Gedeon, president of Haiti's Red Cross, said that, while she was on the phone with rescuers trying to coordinate their efforts, she could hear the voices of distraught children.
"On the phone you can hear so many children, you know, crying, crying, and saying, "This one is dead. that one is dead,'" she said.
Claudon said hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers were digging through the rubble with their hands and rudimentary tools, but "what we need right now is heavy search-and-rescue equipment." Video Watch Red Cross official describe scene »
In a later interview, Claudon said, "Local authorities are doing their best."
About 50 to 60 patients, 30 of them severely injured, were taken to Trinite Hospital in Port-au-Prince, said Isabelle Mouniaman Nara, the head of mission in the capital for Doctors Without Borders.
Another 150 patients were treated elsewhere, Nara said Friday night.
The situation at Trinite "is under control right now," she said.
Trinite is the only hospital that is open in Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders said. The other two -- General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix -- have been shut down due to worker strikes.
The school is in an extremely poor part of town and the roads are nearly impassable, Renois said. He also said an United Nations helicopter was unable to land.
"The school is poorly built," said Amelia Shaw, a journalist with United Nations TV who visited the scene.
The two-story school had an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine, Shaw told CNN by telephone. The steep hillside, she said, is covered with run-down houses and shacks on both sides.
The disaster occurred when the second floor crumbled onto the first, Shaw said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team, which arrived on the scene within hours of the collapse, the agency said in a news release.
After assessing the situation, USAID activated its partner, the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team. That team will be composed of 38 personnel, four search-and-rescue dogs and 31,000 pounds of rescue equipment and is expected to arrive Saturday.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team will be accompanied by four additional USAID disaster experts.
U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson expressed her condolences in a note, the Haiti Press Network reported.
Friday, November 7, 2008
We Don't Need No Stinkin' State Money
From the BCCT.
You just have to shake your head and ask "Why?" when you see this line: "The project does not meet state guidelines necessary for state PlanCon reimbursement."
How is this a wise use of the taxpayer money of Morrisville?
Renovation plans at the 50-year-old Morrisville high school
Posted in News on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s school board is working with Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to update old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems at the Middle/Senior High School.The project’s scope includes a range of new components, including ventilators for heating in classrooms, windows with better weatherproofing, expansion tanks for boilers, heating and ventilation units in the gym, locker rooms, auditorium and kitchen, gas-fired hot water heaters and parts for the air- conditioning units in the library and administrative offices.
Vitetta also will test the hot water supply and piping at the high school because it probably has corroded due to age, said the facilities manager, Tim Lastichen.
There have been no sizeable renovations to any of the district’s three schools in decades, Lastichen said.
Morrisville’s two elementary schools are also in need of similar repairs, and the school board is in talks with Vitetta to perform upgrades there.
Part of the original $30 million bond meant for the new school will be used instead for the renovations.
The company’s fees for overseeing the high school upgrades total about $400,000, and the cost of replacement parts and labor is expected to be around $3.7 million.
The project does not meet state guidelines necessary for state PlanCon reimbursement.
Either renovation or construction is eligible for state reimbursement only under two criteria, according to the state Department of Education: adding capacity to the building, as in the case of a growing student population, or bringing the building up to modern American Disabilities Act standards.
You just have to shake your head and ask "Why?" when you see this line: "The project does not meet state guidelines necessary for state PlanCon reimbursement."
How is this a wise use of the taxpayer money of Morrisville?
Renovation plans at the 50-year-old Morrisville high school
Posted in News on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s school board is working with Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to update old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems at the Middle/Senior High School.The project’s scope includes a range of new components, including ventilators for heating in classrooms, windows with better weatherproofing, expansion tanks for boilers, heating and ventilation units in the gym, locker rooms, auditorium and kitchen, gas-fired hot water heaters and parts for the air- conditioning units in the library and administrative offices.
Vitetta also will test the hot water supply and piping at the high school because it probably has corroded due to age, said the facilities manager, Tim Lastichen.
There have been no sizeable renovations to any of the district’s three schools in decades, Lastichen said.
Morrisville’s two elementary schools are also in need of similar repairs, and the school board is in talks with Vitetta to perform upgrades there.
Part of the original $30 million bond meant for the new school will be used instead for the renovations.
The company’s fees for overseeing the high school upgrades total about $400,000, and the cost of replacement parts and labor is expected to be around $3.7 million.
The project does not meet state guidelines necessary for state PlanCon reimbursement.
Either renovation or construction is eligible for state reimbursement only under two criteria, according to the state Department of Education: adding capacity to the building, as in the case of a growing student population, or bringing the building up to modern American Disabilities Act standards.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Obama's Education Agenda
Obama Elected 44th President
The Democrat’s agenda includes expanding preschool, recruiting teachers, increasing funding for charter schools, and amending the No Child Left Behind Act.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose campaign platform laid out an expansive agenda for pre-K-12 education, will have the chance to fulfill those promises when he takes office Jan. 20 as the 44th president of the United States.
The Democratic candidate, who defeated Sen. John McCain of Arizona in a hard-fought campaign that concluded Nov. 4, said he would expand federal preschool programs, “recruit an army of new teachers,” and provide scholarships to college students and to professionals from other fields who promise to pursue careers in teaching. The president-elect also has said he would work to change the No Child Left Behind Act, building on the federal law’s accountability measures designed to improve student achievement, and would double federal funding for charter schools.
But with budget pressures driven by deep troubles in the financial markets and in the broader economy, the Obama administration may have difficulty generating public support for the campaign’s ambitious education agenda and the spending needed for the programs in it.
The president-elect alluded to those problems in a speech shortly after Sen. McCain called him to concede the election.
“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term,” said Mr. Obama at a rally in Chicago’s Grant Park.
But Mr. Obama said in the past month that he considers education an important ingredient for addressing the country’s long-term economic problems. In the Oct. 8 presidential debate, he rated education as a priority on a par with expanding access to health care, reforming entitlement programs, and developing new forms of energy.
“We’ve got to deal with education so that our young people are competitive in a global economy,” Mr. Obama said in that second debate with Mr. McCain, held in Nashville, Tenn. He made a similar statement in an interview with CNN shortly before the election.
Expanding Federal Role
President-elect Obama campaigned on a wide-ranging education platform that would expand the federal role in preschool and in teacher recruitment, retention, and compensation, in particular.
His platform proposed to spend $10 billion a year to create grants to help states offer universal preschool and expand existing programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start.
Complete Election Coverage
As part of Mr. Obama’s proposals to improve the quality of teaching, he would offer scholarships to college students and midcareer professionals to pay for costs of undergraduate and graduate studies that would prepare them to enter jobs in the classroom. The president-elect also would create residency and mentoring programs to help beginning teachers, particularly those who work in schools with the most challenging learning environments.
The most significant—and perhaps most controversial—section of his education plan is to underwrite federal efforts to experiment with teacher pay plans that deviate from traditional salary scales, which set teachers’ pay based on their years of experience and levels of educational achievement.
Mr. Obama and his education advisers said throughout his two-year campaign for the presidency that an Obama administration would support efforts to link a portion of teachers’ pay to the achievement gains of their students.
He has said that such pay experiments would need to be negotiated with teachers. That could be hard to do, given teacher unions’ opposition to pay plans that differ from the traditional pay system. Despite disagreement on that issue, both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers endorsed Mr. Obama for president.
Growing Democratic Majority
To enact his education agenda, Mr. Obama will be working with a Democratic majority in Congress than is larger than the current one.
In the House, Democrats will gain at least 18 seats with the outcome of at least one race still unclear, according to the Associated Press. The House had 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans going into the election, with one vacancy.
After last night’s election, the Senate will have at least 54 Democrats plus two independents who currently caucus with the party. The outcome of races in four states was still unclear, according to the AP. The Senate now has 49 Democrats and the two independents.
The top education issue facing the president-elect and Congress is the renewal of the NCLB law.
Now that the Democrats control both the executive and legislative branches, they will have to reconcile differences within their party on education in order to get a reauthorized version of the NCLB law, said Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization.
He said Democrats would be looking to the new Obama administration to set priorities for the law. Republicans, particularly in the House, are likely to become more conservative and seek a reduced role for the federal government in education, he said.
“I’m confident that [Democrats] will resolve the differences among themselves,” said Mr. Jennings, who served as an aide to Democrats on the House education panel from 1967 to 1994. “I don’t think there will be deep divisions because of the moment, because of the political demands of the time. … Democrats have been out of power for so long they understand that they have their chance now. It isn’t a permanent chance, they could lose it, [the] moment means they have to govern correctly.”
The nearly 7-year-old law, which is one of President Bush’s most important domestic accomplishments, is overdue for reauthorization. Its critics, who span the political spectrum, say it requires states to do too much testing and make accountability decisions based primarily on the results of those tests.
The law requires states to assess students in grades 3-8, and once in high school, in reading and mathematics. The law’s accountability measures kick in for schools and districts that are not on pace to meet the law’s goal that all students be proficient in reading and math by the end of the 2013-14 school year.
President-elect Obama said during the campaign that he supported the NCLB law’s goals, particularly the one to narrow gaps in achievement between minority and white students. He said he believes that the law hasn’t received enough federal money, and that he would work to improve the quality of tests used under the law so they measure higher-order thinking skills.
“We also have to fix the broken promises of No Child Left Behind,” Mr. Obama said in a Sept. 9 speech in Riverside, Ohio. Among the problems with the law, he said, are inadequate funding and lack of support for schools failing to make its achievement goals.
But, Mr. Obama added, “I believe that the goals of this law were the right ones.”
The Democrat’s agenda includes expanding preschool, recruiting teachers, increasing funding for charter schools, and amending the No Child Left Behind Act.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose campaign platform laid out an expansive agenda for pre-K-12 education, will have the chance to fulfill those promises when he takes office Jan. 20 as the 44th president of the United States.
The Democratic candidate, who defeated Sen. John McCain of Arizona in a hard-fought campaign that concluded Nov. 4, said he would expand federal preschool programs, “recruit an army of new teachers,” and provide scholarships to college students and to professionals from other fields who promise to pursue careers in teaching. The president-elect also has said he would work to change the No Child Left Behind Act, building on the federal law’s accountability measures designed to improve student achievement, and would double federal funding for charter schools.
But with budget pressures driven by deep troubles in the financial markets and in the broader economy, the Obama administration may have difficulty generating public support for the campaign’s ambitious education agenda and the spending needed for the programs in it.
The president-elect alluded to those problems in a speech shortly after Sen. McCain called him to concede the election.
“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term,” said Mr. Obama at a rally in Chicago’s Grant Park.
But Mr. Obama said in the past month that he considers education an important ingredient for addressing the country’s long-term economic problems. In the Oct. 8 presidential debate, he rated education as a priority on a par with expanding access to health care, reforming entitlement programs, and developing new forms of energy.
“We’ve got to deal with education so that our young people are competitive in a global economy,” Mr. Obama said in that second debate with Mr. McCain, held in Nashville, Tenn. He made a similar statement in an interview with CNN shortly before the election.
Expanding Federal Role
President-elect Obama campaigned on a wide-ranging education platform that would expand the federal role in preschool and in teacher recruitment, retention, and compensation, in particular.
His platform proposed to spend $10 billion a year to create grants to help states offer universal preschool and expand existing programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start.
Complete Election Coverage
As part of Mr. Obama’s proposals to improve the quality of teaching, he would offer scholarships to college students and midcareer professionals to pay for costs of undergraduate and graduate studies that would prepare them to enter jobs in the classroom. The president-elect also would create residency and mentoring programs to help beginning teachers, particularly those who work in schools with the most challenging learning environments.
The most significant—and perhaps most controversial—section of his education plan is to underwrite federal efforts to experiment with teacher pay plans that deviate from traditional salary scales, which set teachers’ pay based on their years of experience and levels of educational achievement.
Mr. Obama and his education advisers said throughout his two-year campaign for the presidency that an Obama administration would support efforts to link a portion of teachers’ pay to the achievement gains of their students.
He has said that such pay experiments would need to be negotiated with teachers. That could be hard to do, given teacher unions’ opposition to pay plans that differ from the traditional pay system. Despite disagreement on that issue, both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers endorsed Mr. Obama for president.
Growing Democratic Majority
To enact his education agenda, Mr. Obama will be working with a Democratic majority in Congress than is larger than the current one.
In the House, Democrats will gain at least 18 seats with the outcome of at least one race still unclear, according to the Associated Press. The House had 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans going into the election, with one vacancy.
After last night’s election, the Senate will have at least 54 Democrats plus two independents who currently caucus with the party. The outcome of races in four states was still unclear, according to the AP. The Senate now has 49 Democrats and the two independents.
The top education issue facing the president-elect and Congress is the renewal of the NCLB law.
Now that the Democrats control both the executive and legislative branches, they will have to reconcile differences within their party on education in order to get a reauthorized version of the NCLB law, said Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization.
He said Democrats would be looking to the new Obama administration to set priorities for the law. Republicans, particularly in the House, are likely to become more conservative and seek a reduced role for the federal government in education, he said.
“I’m confident that [Democrats] will resolve the differences among themselves,” said Mr. Jennings, who served as an aide to Democrats on the House education panel from 1967 to 1994. “I don’t think there will be deep divisions because of the moment, because of the political demands of the time. … Democrats have been out of power for so long they understand that they have their chance now. It isn’t a permanent chance, they could lose it, [the] moment means they have to govern correctly.”
The nearly 7-year-old law, which is one of President Bush’s most important domestic accomplishments, is overdue for reauthorization. Its critics, who span the political spectrum, say it requires states to do too much testing and make accountability decisions based primarily on the results of those tests.
The law requires states to assess students in grades 3-8, and once in high school, in reading and mathematics. The law’s accountability measures kick in for schools and districts that are not on pace to meet the law’s goal that all students be proficient in reading and math by the end of the 2013-14 school year.
President-elect Obama said during the campaign that he supported the NCLB law’s goals, particularly the one to narrow gaps in achievement between minority and white students. He said he believes that the law hasn’t received enough federal money, and that he would work to improve the quality of tests used under the law so they measure higher-order thinking skills.
“We also have to fix the broken promises of No Child Left Behind,” Mr. Obama said in a Sept. 9 speech in Riverside, Ohio. Among the problems with the law, he said, are inadequate funding and lack of support for schools failing to make its achievement goals.
But, Mr. Obama added, “I believe that the goals of this law were the right ones.”
Renovations Keep Rolling, Rolling, Rolling
From the BCCT.
Board takes steps for more renovations
By RACHEL CANELLI
When one renovation project ends, another makeover could begin.
The Neshaminy school board during a strategic action committee meeting Wednesday night gave administrators the nod to continue plans for possibly renovating a portion of Neshaminy High School for the facilities and purchasing departments.
The Middletown high school is already more than halfway through a major construction project. The facilities department is currently housed at the district’s Eisenhower building and the purchasing department is still operating out of closed Neshaminy Middle School, said Superintendent Paul Kadri.
However, there is space at the high school, including a vacant gym and business and science classrooms, for both departments to join the existing transportation department, said business administrator Joseph Paradise.
Instead of demolishing that part of the high school structure, which would cost $150,000, officials proposed renovating the area for roughly $200,000.
Doing so could save fuel and vehicle maintenance for many employees who need to travel all over the district for repairs. The project could also free up both Eisenhower and Neshaminy Middle for rental, administrators said.
The updates, which could be completed by district employees who are tradesmen, could not begin until the high school plans are almost finished by July or August 2009. And the renovations would take time, Paradise said.
Board member Ritchie Webb said the concept theoretically sounded good, but he was concerned about the cost and how soon the district would see any savings.
Board member Frank Koziol, though, said “it makes a lot of sense to me. I think we should consider to go ahead and do it.”
While board President Rick Eccles expressed concerned at the cost of having to convert the warehouse at Eisenhower for a tenant, facilities representatives responded that the district could rent the edifice at a cheaper rate and require renters to make any necessary upgrades.
Board takes steps for more renovations
By RACHEL CANELLI
When one renovation project ends, another makeover could begin.
The Neshaminy school board during a strategic action committee meeting Wednesday night gave administrators the nod to continue plans for possibly renovating a portion of Neshaminy High School for the facilities and purchasing departments.
The Middletown high school is already more than halfway through a major construction project. The facilities department is currently housed at the district’s Eisenhower building and the purchasing department is still operating out of closed Neshaminy Middle School, said Superintendent Paul Kadri.
However, there is space at the high school, including a vacant gym and business and science classrooms, for both departments to join the existing transportation department, said business administrator Joseph Paradise.
Instead of demolishing that part of the high school structure, which would cost $150,000, officials proposed renovating the area for roughly $200,000.
Doing so could save fuel and vehicle maintenance for many employees who need to travel all over the district for repairs. The project could also free up both Eisenhower and Neshaminy Middle for rental, administrators said.
The updates, which could be completed by district employees who are tradesmen, could not begin until the high school plans are almost finished by July or August 2009. And the renovations would take time, Paradise said.
Board member Ritchie Webb said the concept theoretically sounded good, but he was concerned about the cost and how soon the district would see any savings.
Board member Frank Koziol, though, said “it makes a lot of sense to me. I think we should consider to go ahead and do it.”
While board President Rick Eccles expressed concerned at the cost of having to convert the warehouse at Eisenhower for a tenant, facilities representatives responded that the district could rent the edifice at a cheaper rate and require renters to make any necessary upgrades.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A Train Comes to Morrisville?
From the BCCT.
Train stop part of study
A SEPTA official says there are no immediate plans to put a train station in the borough.
By DANNY ADLER
Brian Miller, who provided a Renaissance Plan to Penndel and sketches of “the new Croydon” to Bristol Township officials, wants to do a similar study for Morrisville.
Miller, of the Miller Design Group in Newtown Township, and the borough’s economic development corporation want to study the possibility of a new transit-oriented Morrisville, a town that has for years yearned for a revitalized downtown.
A “transit revitalization investment district,” or TRID, aims to generate redevelopment and construction projects in an area anchored by mass transit and walk-ability, Miller said. The district would encompass a half-mile boundary in what Miller called the central section of the borough.
Of course, the borough would need a train station along SEPTA’s R7 rail line to make it work, but SEPTA has no immediate plans to restore service to Morrisville, according to company spokesman Felipe Suarez. SEPTA discontinued its Morrisville station in the 1960s.
“This program is really about transit,” Miller said. “Transit has to be the centerpiece.”
The borough could receive up to $75,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the project’s planning process if the state approves the grant money, with a maximum $25,000 local match.
The borough council didn’t take any action after a presentation at its October meeting.
Council President Nancy Sherlock said officials need to find out more about the plan. She said the council owes it to its constituents and to the economic development corporation, whose members are appointed by the council, “to hear it out.”
Officials are trying to schedule a meeting with the borough council, the economic development corporation, the DCED and possibly SEPTA.
“The economic development corporation is always looking for ways to improve the economic vitality of the town,” said Steve Amend, the corporation chairman. He said Morrisville needs a “workable plan,” and believes developers would show interest in the borough with a TRID plan.
Penndel’s Renaissance Plan includes a hotel, supermarket, drugstore, office space, amphitheater, art studios, apartments and acres of open space.
The new Croydon plan includes office parks, outdoor theaters, a 17-acre environmental center and a multi-story transit center, eight marinas, a skatepark and hundreds of acres of existing homes cleared for open space.
Train stop part of study
A SEPTA official says there are no immediate plans to put a train station in the borough.
By DANNY ADLER
Brian Miller, who provided a Renaissance Plan to Penndel and sketches of “the new Croydon” to Bristol Township officials, wants to do a similar study for Morrisville.
Miller, of the Miller Design Group in Newtown Township, and the borough’s economic development corporation want to study the possibility of a new transit-oriented Morrisville, a town that has for years yearned for a revitalized downtown.
A “transit revitalization investment district,” or TRID, aims to generate redevelopment and construction projects in an area anchored by mass transit and walk-ability, Miller said. The district would encompass a half-mile boundary in what Miller called the central section of the borough.
Of course, the borough would need a train station along SEPTA’s R7 rail line to make it work, but SEPTA has no immediate plans to restore service to Morrisville, according to company spokesman Felipe Suarez. SEPTA discontinued its Morrisville station in the 1960s.
“This program is really about transit,” Miller said. “Transit has to be the centerpiece.”
The borough could receive up to $75,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the project’s planning process if the state approves the grant money, with a maximum $25,000 local match.
The borough council didn’t take any action after a presentation at its October meeting.
Council President Nancy Sherlock said officials need to find out more about the plan. She said the council owes it to its constituents and to the economic development corporation, whose members are appointed by the council, “to hear it out.”
Officials are trying to schedule a meeting with the borough council, the economic development corporation, the DCED and possibly SEPTA.
“The economic development corporation is always looking for ways to improve the economic vitality of the town,” said Steve Amend, the corporation chairman. He said Morrisville needs a “workable plan,” and believes developers would show interest in the borough with a TRID plan.
Penndel’s Renaissance Plan includes a hotel, supermarket, drugstore, office space, amphitheater, art studios, apartments and acres of open space.
The new Croydon plan includes office parks, outdoor theaters, a 17-acre environmental center and a multi-story transit center, eight marinas, a skatepark and hundreds of acres of existing homes cleared for open space.
The Morning After
Here's links to the vote totals from Bucks County and Morrisville specifically.
The ambulance company tax increase was approved by a 2:1 margin.
The ambulance company tax increase was approved by a 2:1 margin.
Obama Biden
Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
We remember the racial ugliness of the 60s and the civil rights marches and last night's election completes a mighty circle. It is a major step ahead toward the color-blindness that a modern society needs to function in an equitable manner.
We were lucky this time around. Each side had their doubts about the candidate from the other party. The truth is that John McCain would have been an equally able occupant of the Oval Office. If only all of our electoral contests were choices between two able persons. How many times have we chosen the lesser of two evils only to find that we chose evil anyway?
The times, they are a'changing.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Parents Camp Out For School Choice
From the Philadelphia Bulletin
Parents Camp Out For School Choice
By Chris Freind, The Bulletin, 11/04/2008
Brandywine Hundred, Del. - Parents began lining up as early as 2 p.m. Sunday to enroll their children in a limited number of school choice slots in the Brandywine School District. About three dozen parents were waiting by late Sunday evening for the offices to open yesterday morning, braving cold temperatures and sleeping on the ground in order to be at the front of the line when the doors opened.
With school closings and new grade configurations in the district, new feeder patterns are being drawn to accommodate the changes. Even parents already participating in the choice program had to re-enroll.
Delaware has statewide public-to-public school choice, whereby students are permitted to attend any public school in the state, on a space-available basis, upon meeting disciplinary, academic and attendance requirements. No out-of-pocket expenses are incurred by parents.
Despite numerous legislative efforts to enact school choice in Pennsylvania, there is no comprehensive choice program in the state.
Parents in the commonwealth can send their children to the public school of their choice, on a space-available basis, but they are required to pay any difference in per-pupil costs. For example, the cost per student in the Haverford Township School District is $12,800, so if parents wanted to send their child to the Rose Tree Media district, with a per pupil cost of $17,200, the parents would have to pay the $3,400 difference.
In nationwide ratings, Pennsylvania ranks seventh in average teacher salaries and 12th in per -pupil spending, yet is 46th in SAT scores.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chris Freind can be reached at CF@TheBulletin.us
Parents Camp Out For School Choice
By Chris Freind, The Bulletin, 11/04/2008
Brandywine Hundred, Del. - Parents began lining up as early as 2 p.m. Sunday to enroll their children in a limited number of school choice slots in the Brandywine School District. About three dozen parents were waiting by late Sunday evening for the offices to open yesterday morning, braving cold temperatures and sleeping on the ground in order to be at the front of the line when the doors opened.
With school closings and new grade configurations in the district, new feeder patterns are being drawn to accommodate the changes. Even parents already participating in the choice program had to re-enroll.
Delaware has statewide public-to-public school choice, whereby students are permitted to attend any public school in the state, on a space-available basis, upon meeting disciplinary, academic and attendance requirements. No out-of-pocket expenses are incurred by parents.
Despite numerous legislative efforts to enact school choice in Pennsylvania, there is no comprehensive choice program in the state.
Parents in the commonwealth can send their children to the public school of their choice, on a space-available basis, but they are required to pay any difference in per-pupil costs. For example, the cost per student in the Haverford Township School District is $12,800, so if parents wanted to send their child to the Rose Tree Media district, with a per pupil cost of $17,200, the parents would have to pay the $3,400 difference.
In nationwide ratings, Pennsylvania ranks seventh in average teacher salaries and 12th in per -pupil spending, yet is 46th in SAT scores.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chris Freind can be reached at CF@TheBulletin.us
Kids Vote
From the BCCT. Kids voting taking place in area schools, including Morrisville.
Students get chance to have votes counted
Students have been gearing up for the mock election with events like “Rock N’ Rap the Vote” at Everett A. McDonald Elementary School.
By JOAN HELLYER
Students from across Bucks County and Eastern Montgomery County will converge on Kids Voting booths today to show what they’ve learned about the U.S. election process.
The kids will participate in a nationwide mock election staged at actual polling places between 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. where adults will cast real ballots in the presidential, congressional and state office races.
The non-partisan project is aimed at encouraging students to be informed voters and engaged citizens once they are eligible to vote, organizers said. It also serves as a way to make sure the kids’ parents exercise their right to vote.
In the days leading up to the election, students have participated in mock debates, elections and other activities like the “Rock N’ Rap the Vote” event staged Monday at Everett A. McDonald Elementary School in Warminster.
Fifth-graders at the Centennial school hosted the combination of mime, poetry, dance, skits, song and mock debate for their fellow schoolmates to help them learn the evolvement of voting rights in the U.S.
This is the first election in which students in the lower end of Bucks County are participating in the Kids Voting mock election by penciling in mock ballots.
In some cases, like in the Morrisville School District, Kids Voting booths are set up in each polling place.
But in other districts, there are only a few Kids Voting places set up. If that’s the case, students can go to any Kids Voting station in their district to cast their mock ballot, irrespective of where their parents are registered to vote, said Richard Coe, executive director of Kids Voting Southeast PA.
In Bensalem, students can cast a Kids Voting ballot in several locations, including mock polling places set up at Cornwells and Russell C. Struble elementary schools and Cecelia Snyder Middle School, organizers said.
Additionally, Kids Voting booths will be set up in each of Bristol Township’s elementary schools, and at Neshaminy’s Joseph Ferderbar Elementary School in Lower Southampton and Oliver Heckman and Herbert Hoover elementary schools in Middletown.
Students in the Bristol and Pennsbury school districts already cast their ballots during mock elections staged in their schools within the past week. An estimated 100,000 Kids Voting ballots are expected to be tallied during the 2008 election cycle, Coe said. In the last presidential election, students voted, much like a majority of registered voters, in favor of re-electing incumbent George W. Bush to a second term as president.
Preliminary results from Kids Voting mock elections staged over the past week in area schools show Democratic candidate Barack Obama with a commanding lead over John McCain.
Project organizers expect to know by Thursday the final results of the 2008 Kids Voting Southeast PA mock election.
Students get chance to have votes counted
Students have been gearing up for the mock election with events like “Rock N’ Rap the Vote” at Everett A. McDonald Elementary School.
By JOAN HELLYER
Students from across Bucks County and Eastern Montgomery County will converge on Kids Voting booths today to show what they’ve learned about the U.S. election process.
The kids will participate in a nationwide mock election staged at actual polling places between 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. where adults will cast real ballots in the presidential, congressional and state office races.
The non-partisan project is aimed at encouraging students to be informed voters and engaged citizens once they are eligible to vote, organizers said. It also serves as a way to make sure the kids’ parents exercise their right to vote.
In the days leading up to the election, students have participated in mock debates, elections and other activities like the “Rock N’ Rap the Vote” event staged Monday at Everett A. McDonald Elementary School in Warminster.
Fifth-graders at the Centennial school hosted the combination of mime, poetry, dance, skits, song and mock debate for their fellow schoolmates to help them learn the evolvement of voting rights in the U.S.
This is the first election in which students in the lower end of Bucks County are participating in the Kids Voting mock election by penciling in mock ballots.
In some cases, like in the Morrisville School District, Kids Voting booths are set up in each polling place.
But in other districts, there are only a few Kids Voting places set up. If that’s the case, students can go to any Kids Voting station in their district to cast their mock ballot, irrespective of where their parents are registered to vote, said Richard Coe, executive director of Kids Voting Southeast PA.
In Bensalem, students can cast a Kids Voting ballot in several locations, including mock polling places set up at Cornwells and Russell C. Struble elementary schools and Cecelia Snyder Middle School, organizers said.
Additionally, Kids Voting booths will be set up in each of Bristol Township’s elementary schools, and at Neshaminy’s Joseph Ferderbar Elementary School in Lower Southampton and Oliver Heckman and Herbert Hoover elementary schools in Middletown.
Students in the Bristol and Pennsbury school districts already cast their ballots during mock elections staged in their schools within the past week. An estimated 100,000 Kids Voting ballots are expected to be tallied during the 2008 election cycle, Coe said. In the last presidential election, students voted, much like a majority of registered voters, in favor of re-electing incumbent George W. Bush to a second term as president.
Preliminary results from Kids Voting mock elections staged over the past week in area schools show Democratic candidate Barack Obama with a commanding lead over John McCain.
Project organizers expect to know by Thursday the final results of the 2008 Kids Voting Southeast PA mock election.
Polls Open NOW Until 8:00 P.M.
Non Sequitur's reminder for today.
Voting Tips, from the BCCT.
Polling places
Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Voters in line by 8 p.m. must be permitted to cast ballots.)
Find your polling place at www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us. (Your polling location may have changed if you received a new voter registration card in the mail. Be sure to check the card before you vote.)
If you’re told you aren’t on the voter rolls and you believe you should be, ask to talk with the judge of elections at your poll, or speak with a representative of your political party. Also ask for a provisional ballot, which allows you to vote while your status is determined.
Only voters appearing at a polling place for the first time must show identification, such as a driver’s license, passport, utility bill or paycheck.
Voting machines
To learn to use Bucks’ voting machines, view video and sample ballots online at www.buckscounty.orgwww.buckscounty.org.
When you make all your selections in the voting booth, be sure to recheck. Make sure your entries are exactly as you intended before you exit.
Push the green vote/record button. Be sure it records by checking that the screen clears and the machine makes a ding noise, which can be hard to hear.
If you notice a problem or have a concern, immediately alert the judge of elections at the poll.
If half or more machines in a polling place go down officials must issue emergency paper ballots. (In a polling place with three machines, the ballots must be used when two machines go down.)
For more information
Bucks County Board of Elections, 55 E. Court St., Doylestown, 215-348-6154 or elections@co.bucks.pa.us
Some services are available at the Government Services Center: Lower Bucks Center, 7321 New Falls Road, Levittown, 215-949-5800
Attire
In Bucks County, voters are encouraged not to wear political attire, but even if they do, they can still vote.
Unofficial results
In Bucks County, www.buckscounty.org
Problems?
For polling place problems, in Bucks call 215-348-6154.
For registration questions, in Bucks call 215-348-6170.
Or, call the national Election Protection hot line, 1-866-OUR-VOTE
The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also released the following voter resources:
To report complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses, call Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barrett at 215-861-8420 and 215-861-8200.
The FBI will also receive calls on allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression and other election abuses. Call 215-418-4000.
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C., at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767.
For voter intimidation or suppression tactics that target voters on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin, contact the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section at 202-514-3204.
One last look at the candidates? Go to phillyburbs.com/election08/
Source: Bucks County government; Coalition for Voting Integrity, votingintegrity@aol.com
Voting Tips, from the BCCT.
Polling places
Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Voters in line by 8 p.m. must be permitted to cast ballots.)
Find your polling place at www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us. (Your polling location may have changed if you received a new voter registration card in the mail. Be sure to check the card before you vote.)
If you’re told you aren’t on the voter rolls and you believe you should be, ask to talk with the judge of elections at your poll, or speak with a representative of your political party. Also ask for a provisional ballot, which allows you to vote while your status is determined.
Only voters appearing at a polling place for the first time must show identification, such as a driver’s license, passport, utility bill or paycheck.
Voting machines
To learn to use Bucks’ voting machines, view video and sample ballots online at www.buckscounty.orgwww.buckscounty.org.
When you make all your selections in the voting booth, be sure to recheck. Make sure your entries are exactly as you intended before you exit.
Push the green vote/record button. Be sure it records by checking that the screen clears and the machine makes a ding noise, which can be hard to hear.
If you notice a problem or have a concern, immediately alert the judge of elections at the poll.
If half or more machines in a polling place go down officials must issue emergency paper ballots. (In a polling place with three machines, the ballots must be used when two machines go down.)
For more information
Bucks County Board of Elections, 55 E. Court St., Doylestown, 215-348-6154 or elections@co.bucks.pa.us
Some services are available at the Government Services Center: Lower Bucks Center, 7321 New Falls Road, Levittown, 215-949-5800
Attire
In Bucks County, voters are encouraged not to wear political attire, but even if they do, they can still vote.
Unofficial results
In Bucks County, www.buckscounty.org
Problems?
For polling place problems, in Bucks call 215-348-6154.
For registration questions, in Bucks call 215-348-6170.
Or, call the national Election Protection hot line, 1-866-OUR-VOTE
The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also released the following voter resources:
To report complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses, call Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barrett at 215-861-8420 and 215-861-8200.
The FBI will also receive calls on allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression and other election abuses. Call 215-418-4000.
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C., at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767.
For voter intimidation or suppression tactics that target voters on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin, contact the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section at 202-514-3204.
One last look at the candidates? Go to phillyburbs.com/election08/
Source: Bucks County government; Coalition for Voting Integrity, votingintegrity@aol.com
Monday, November 3, 2008
Rendell Identifies $350M in Budget Cuts
PA state budget cuts identified.
Governor Rendell Says $350 Million in Cuts Will Help Keep Budget Balanced
Last update: 3:54 p.m. EDT Oct. 30, 2008
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Vows Continued Vigilance; Budget Reductions are on Top of $1.5 Billion in Annual Savings From More Efficient Government
With the national economic crisis continuing to affect state revenue collections, Gov. Edward G. Rendell said today that his administration has identified $350 million in cuts to help keep the 2008-09 budget balanced while preserving crucial services.
"I asked my cabinet secretaries last month to find ways to save $200 million this fiscal year," the Governor said. "They have responded by identifying $289 million in savings in their agencies. They have also followed my directive to preserve critical spending, including funding for state police protection and much-needed health, education and safety net programs for our most vulnerable citizens.
"The revenue situation may get worse before it gets better. We will continue to monitor these volatile economic conditions in order to maintain the commonwealth's balanced budget." Governor Rendell said. "Any dire predictions about next year's potential budget shortfall are premature and counterproductive. We need to focus on the spending reductions announced today and use the expertise we developed in the past six years to continue improving government efficiency to save taxpayer money."
The $289 million in cuts to agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction announced today is in addition to the 1.3 percent budget reduction that Governor Rendell agreed to in budget negotiations because of economic conditions. The enacted budget is $72.4 million less than the budget he proposed in February.
With revenues for the current fiscal year coming in below expectations, last month the Governor directed his cabinet secretaries to cut 4.25 percent of their enacted budgets. Agencies that provide public safety, health and education services were given smaller percentage targets to meet. As part of his call for fiscal restraint, the Governor also announced a general hiring freeze and bans on out-of-state travel and on the purchase of new vehicles for the state fleet. The funds from all cost-saving measures will be put into budgetary reserve.
Governor Rendell also requested that independent entities, including the legislature, the judiciary, the treasurer, the attorney general, the auditor general, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (not including direct grants to students) reduce their budgets by the same 4.25 percent that was expected of agencies under his jurisdiction.
The $289 million in cuts identified by agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction, combined with a $22 million cut the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and a $457,000 cut from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, comes to $311 million. The SSHE and Thaddeus Stevens cuts represent the 4.25 percent savings the Governor requested.
An additional $39 million in savings would be realized if the General Assembly and other independent state entities agree to make 4.25 percent cuts in their budgets. The General Assembly and the other independent entities have not yet revealed whether they will do so.
"It is my hope and expectation that every branch of government will do their part. I
look forward to their cooperation and prompt response," Governor Rendell said.
"Pennsylvania's revenue shortfall is of no single branch's making, and it will take the work of all branches of government to respond to this challenge."
The administration will continue monitoring revenue collections closely in the coming months, the Governor said, and will work to keep the budget balanced.
Unlike many other large industrial and competitor states, the commonwealth continues to have historically high numbers of Pennsylvanians working. The state has 163,700 more jobs today than it did in January 2003, and Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 7 percent better than the nation in September and has been at or below the national average for 67 of the past 69 months.
This high level of employment bodes well for projected personal income tax collections next April. In addition, Pennsylvania is continuing to see private business investment grow the economy - such as the recent groundbreaking of the $1.2 billion U.S. Steel project in southwestern Pennsylvania.
"The national economy is extremely volatile and, despite the solid footing of Pennsylvania's economy, we recognize that there will be additional challenges throughout the year," he said. "The wisest course of action is to reduce spending now while being prepared to take additional steps as needed as we gain more information until the crisis subsides."
Earlier this week, in his role as chairman of the National Governors Association, Governor Rendell sent a letter on behalf of the nation's Governors asking Congress to pass an economic recovery package that helps states and spurs economic growth by temporarily increasing the federal matching rate for Medicaid and providing additional funds for infrastructure investment.
Pennsylvania's economy remains on a firmer footing than the economies of other states, according to a report released in mid-October by the national Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.
Other signs also point to the commonwealth's overall fiscal soundness. Pennsylvania's credit rating remains double-A, which is the second-highest level possible, and the state has a Rainy Day Fund balance of nearly $750 million.
Governor Rendell said Pennsylvania is now saving $1.5 billion a year as a result of his efforts to enhance government services while improving efficiency and cutting waste, including:
-- There are nearly 3,000 fewer commonwealth employees than in January
2003, which saved the commonwealth approximately $240 million last year;
-- The commonwealth has saved $272 million by developing smarter purchasing
policies;
-- The commonwealth has reduced the size of the state's automobile
fleet and is keeping vehicles longer, saving approximately $33 million;
-- The Governor's recent directive to halt the purchase of new
commonwealth vehicles will save an estimated $40 million this year
alone;
-- The commonwealth has kept average annual employee health care cost
increases to less than 3 percent over the past five years - far below
the growth in private health care costs; and
-- Adjustments announced last year to the Retired Employees Health Program
will save $94 million a year.
"Commonwealth employees have more than five years of experience in finding new and cost-effective ways to operate," the Governor said. "I know they will accept this challenge to develop innovative ways to do even more with less."
As he reviewed the current state of the commonwealth and national economies, the Governor emphasized: "This is a work in progress. We will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure that our budget stays in balance."
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit www.governor.state.pa.us.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For a list of appropriations affected by the budgetary reserve initiative, go to www.budget.state.pa.us and click on the Budget & Financial Reports link.
Governor Rendell Says $350 Million in Cuts Will Help Keep Budget Balanced
Last update: 3:54 p.m. EDT Oct. 30, 2008
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Vows Continued Vigilance; Budget Reductions are on Top of $1.5 Billion in Annual Savings From More Efficient Government
With the national economic crisis continuing to affect state revenue collections, Gov. Edward G. Rendell said today that his administration has identified $350 million in cuts to help keep the 2008-09 budget balanced while preserving crucial services.
"I asked my cabinet secretaries last month to find ways to save $200 million this fiscal year," the Governor said. "They have responded by identifying $289 million in savings in their agencies. They have also followed my directive to preserve critical spending, including funding for state police protection and much-needed health, education and safety net programs for our most vulnerable citizens.
"The revenue situation may get worse before it gets better. We will continue to monitor these volatile economic conditions in order to maintain the commonwealth's balanced budget." Governor Rendell said. "Any dire predictions about next year's potential budget shortfall are premature and counterproductive. We need to focus on the spending reductions announced today and use the expertise we developed in the past six years to continue improving government efficiency to save taxpayer money."
The $289 million in cuts to agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction announced today is in addition to the 1.3 percent budget reduction that Governor Rendell agreed to in budget negotiations because of economic conditions. The enacted budget is $72.4 million less than the budget he proposed in February.
With revenues for the current fiscal year coming in below expectations, last month the Governor directed his cabinet secretaries to cut 4.25 percent of their enacted budgets. Agencies that provide public safety, health and education services were given smaller percentage targets to meet. As part of his call for fiscal restraint, the Governor also announced a general hiring freeze and bans on out-of-state travel and on the purchase of new vehicles for the state fleet. The funds from all cost-saving measures will be put into budgetary reserve.
Governor Rendell also requested that independent entities, including the legislature, the judiciary, the treasurer, the attorney general, the auditor general, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (not including direct grants to students) reduce their budgets by the same 4.25 percent that was expected of agencies under his jurisdiction.
The $289 million in cuts identified by agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction, combined with a $22 million cut the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and a $457,000 cut from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, comes to $311 million. The SSHE and Thaddeus Stevens cuts represent the 4.25 percent savings the Governor requested.
An additional $39 million in savings would be realized if the General Assembly and other independent state entities agree to make 4.25 percent cuts in their budgets. The General Assembly and the other independent entities have not yet revealed whether they will do so.
"It is my hope and expectation that every branch of government will do their part. I
look forward to their cooperation and prompt response," Governor Rendell said.
"Pennsylvania's revenue shortfall is of no single branch's making, and it will take the work of all branches of government to respond to this challenge."
The administration will continue monitoring revenue collections closely in the coming months, the Governor said, and will work to keep the budget balanced.
Unlike many other large industrial and competitor states, the commonwealth continues to have historically high numbers of Pennsylvanians working. The state has 163,700 more jobs today than it did in January 2003, and Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 7 percent better than the nation in September and has been at or below the national average for 67 of the past 69 months.
This high level of employment bodes well for projected personal income tax collections next April. In addition, Pennsylvania is continuing to see private business investment grow the economy - such as the recent groundbreaking of the $1.2 billion U.S. Steel project in southwestern Pennsylvania.
"The national economy is extremely volatile and, despite the solid footing of Pennsylvania's economy, we recognize that there will be additional challenges throughout the year," he said. "The wisest course of action is to reduce spending now while being prepared to take additional steps as needed as we gain more information until the crisis subsides."
Earlier this week, in his role as chairman of the National Governors Association, Governor Rendell sent a letter on behalf of the nation's Governors asking Congress to pass an economic recovery package that helps states and spurs economic growth by temporarily increasing the federal matching rate for Medicaid and providing additional funds for infrastructure investment.
Pennsylvania's economy remains on a firmer footing than the economies of other states, according to a report released in mid-October by the national Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.
Other signs also point to the commonwealth's overall fiscal soundness. Pennsylvania's credit rating remains double-A, which is the second-highest level possible, and the state has a Rainy Day Fund balance of nearly $750 million.
Governor Rendell said Pennsylvania is now saving $1.5 billion a year as a result of his efforts to enhance government services while improving efficiency and cutting waste, including:
-- There are nearly 3,000 fewer commonwealth employees than in January
2003, which saved the commonwealth approximately $240 million last year;
-- The commonwealth has saved $272 million by developing smarter purchasing
policies;
-- The commonwealth has reduced the size of the state's automobile
fleet and is keeping vehicles longer, saving approximately $33 million;
-- The Governor's recent directive to halt the purchase of new
commonwealth vehicles will save an estimated $40 million this year
alone;
-- The commonwealth has kept average annual employee health care cost
increases to less than 3 percent over the past five years - far below
the growth in private health care costs; and
-- Adjustments announced last year to the Retired Employees Health Program
will save $94 million a year.
"Commonwealth employees have more than five years of experience in finding new and cost-effective ways to operate," the Governor said. "I know they will accept this challenge to develop innovative ways to do even more with less."
As he reviewed the current state of the commonwealth and national economies, the Governor emphasized: "This is a work in progress. We will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure that our budget stays in balance."
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit www.governor.state.pa.us.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For a list of appropriations affected by the budgetary reserve initiative, go to www.budget.state.pa.us and click on the Budget & Financial Reports link.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Maximum Disruption and Minimal Regard
I've received a few emails suggesting that a school closure is on the horizon in Morrisville, and that the students will be moved to the remaining two schools.
Apparently a rather disruptive personal survey tour was performed last week by the Emperor and Bill Farrell when they personally interrupted every class in session to find out how many teachers they were paying for and how many students were in the class.
Does anyone have any extra info on the Emperor's fact-finding mission they would like to share?
I'm sure that there's an overall plan of strategery out there. Anyone care to publicise it?
Apparently a rather disruptive personal survey tour was performed last week by the Emperor and Bill Farrell when they personally interrupted every class in session to find out how many teachers they were paying for and how many students were in the class.
Does anyone have any extra info on the Emperor's fact-finding mission they would like to share?
I'm sure that there's an overall plan of strategery out there. Anyone care to publicise it?
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