I wish I could have said it first. Check out the comment on the BCCT news blog entry about the borough council voting on Gateway tomorrow night.
Concerned Mom Says:
May 14th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
These Borough Officials of ours couldn’t vote themselves out of a paper bag - they are scared of making ANY decision that means “progress” in Morrisville. WAKE UP PEOPLE! All you need to do is rely on our Borough Solicitor to draft your motion for Monday’s meeting; do you really think he would draft something that would not protect you and hang you out to dry? I don’t think so…. Stop being such cowards up there on your thrones and do what you were SUPPOSED to do when we vopted for you: REPRESENT YOUR CONSTITUENTS and VOTE “YES” — a “YES” vote for a “concept” … and let the process of Zoning, Land Development, etc. that we have in place here take care of all the rest!!! COME ON AND GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!!! UGH….
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
Another dispatch from the front lines of everyday life posted by Captain Obvious. I sit here watching the gas prices approach and overwhelm the $4.00 mark. When the oil company comes to fill my fuel oil tank, I wonder if they should be wearing a mask and carrying a gun. Ditto for the cashier at the local grocery store. It's not just an "elderly" problem, but it hits the fixed income people pretty hard.
I'm not indifferent to the plight of the elderly. I once lived next door to an old widow. She had been in her home since the mid 1940s, and alone since her husband died in the mid 1970s. I knew her for about the last ten years of her life. My family, and the other neighbors, did what we could. We made sure her walks and driveway were shoveled and the grass mowed. We invited her to dinners in a round robin format so that at least one or two full meals a week were a guarantee, in addition to the Meals on Wheels she received. We did repairs on her house as if it was our own.
She should have moved into an assisted living facility, but the waiting list was too long and once she got to the top, even with selling her house, the price was too much to bear. She was not on good terms with her children and steadfastly refused the many entreaties from them for her to come live with them. It would have meant a move to Kentucky or Oregon depending on the child she chose, but she wanted her own home.
Was that a smart decision? I don't know. It wasn't my decision to make. I think emotion played a much larger role in this decision than a clearheaded and sober evaluation of the realities.
Retirement planning is a tricky piece of work. Many a nest egg was wiped out in the Great Depression, the 1970s recession, and other lesser economic downturns. It will be no different this time around. The economic laws are pretty brutal and inflexible.
Retirement is something that lives in a galaxy far, far away. Until the day it knocks on the door and shouts, "Surprise!" Americans in general are the proverbial grasshopper, not saving for a rainy day, but existing in the present. As the Boomers edge into retirement, I wonder how many of them are ready. I've already seen too many people mentioning that they will need to work until they die.
The answer is not to starve and to price fixed income seniors out of their own homes. But is the answer to provide handouts at the expense of the rest of the community? The Social Security taxes I pay are crippling on their own, and what will be my return on that money? My estimates are zero, and falling. The home mortgage speculators are looking for government handouts to bail them out of their greedy short sighted decisions. The homeowners who bought more house than they could afford also need to be held accountable. I'd like to tell them all to take a flying leap. They made their beds and didn't share the gains when times were good. Why do they want a handout now when times are bad?
Do you have any solutions?
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Bucks County Courier Times
Senior citizens living in Bucks and Montgomery counties need almost twice their annual Social Security payments to live comfortably in their homes — and that's if they're healthy.
In fact, the two counties are behind only Chester as the most expensive counties for seniors to live in, according to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a joint publication between a national nonprofit group and university researchers.
You don't have to tell Pauline Bailey that. The 83-year-old widow from Warrington relies solely on Social Security.
“I cut down on what I can,” she said. “But you can only do so much.”
Bailey volunteers at the Benjamin Wilson Senior Community Center in Warminster, where she goes twice a week for lunch. She keeps the heat low and has cut back on errands.
But that doesn't help when she's paying $4.79 a gallon for heating oil. It cost her almost $800 to fill half a tank — and gasoline is just as high.
According to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a Bucks County resident like Bailey — a single senior living in a home she owns mortgage-free — needs $20,701 a year just to pay basic living expenses. The average Social Security payment, meanwhile, is $14,053.
“This is as fixed [an income] as you can get,” said Neil Fisher, director of the Warminster senior center.
Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania and Union County in central Pennsylvania were the cheapest counties in the state to live in. An individual senior still paying a mortgage could get by in both counties with $18,324 a year. A couple in the same situation would need $26,491. Both those amounts are still several thousand dollars more than the average Social Security payment, the index says.
Wider Opportunities for Women, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, launched the Elder Economic Security Initiative in 2005. The ultimate goal is to have a national database on living costs for every county in the U.S., said Ramsey Alwin, the initiative's director.
The index was developed by the organization and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
In Pennsylvania, the organization is partnered with Pathways PA and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
For seniors in good health, the greatest expense is housing, Alwin said. But their costs of living can triple quickly if they fall ill, she said. Adding home-based assistance or going into a nursing home can add $6,514 to $35,241 a year to a senior's cost in Bucks County, the index shows.
“Some of this data oftentimes is not a surprise to some of the direct-service providers,” Alwin said. “But it does quantify what they've known to be true for a long time, and plays a critical role in helping seniors identify [that] it's not their fault. They're suffering in silence, not wanting to go get help. It's very clear that their incomes are coming up short.”
Alwin said the index doesn't include small luxuries like leisure spending.
“It is a barebones budget,” she said. “It doesn't include gifts for the grandchildren, a night out for pizza, or [a movie at] Blockbuster. It's true income and health security.”
Brian Duke, director of the Area Agency on Aging in Bucks County, said the number of seniors struggling financially is increasing. The agency connects them to services for help.
“We have heard stories of people that have been challenged with day-to-day living expenses,” he said. “We try to assist them here.”
Alwin said the goal of the initiative is to help seniors make informed financial decisions, and to help policy makers shape programs to assist seniors.
Daniel Goldsmith of Horsham said something has to be done about gas prices.
The 76-year-old retiree said it's becoming increasingly difficult to live on what he gets from Social Security, a pension from Lockheed Martin and interest on savings.
The pension never increases, the interest on his savings is decreasing and Social Security isn't rising fast enough to cover price increases in food and other necessities, he said.
“I have enough to survive, but it's becoming tougher and tougher and tougher,” he said. “Everything is going up. But my income is not increasing that much. At some point, I'm not going to be able to make ends meet anymore. Then what will I do?”
Where to get help
If you're a senior in need of financial or other assistance, contact the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging at 215-348-0510 or the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services at 610-278-3601.
On the Web
Find out more about the Elder Economic Security Initiative at http://www.pathwayspa.org/.
I'm not indifferent to the plight of the elderly. I once lived next door to an old widow. She had been in her home since the mid 1940s, and alone since her husband died in the mid 1970s. I knew her for about the last ten years of her life. My family, and the other neighbors, did what we could. We made sure her walks and driveway were shoveled and the grass mowed. We invited her to dinners in a round robin format so that at least one or two full meals a week were a guarantee, in addition to the Meals on Wheels she received. We did repairs on her house as if it was our own.
She should have moved into an assisted living facility, but the waiting list was too long and once she got to the top, even with selling her house, the price was too much to bear. She was not on good terms with her children and steadfastly refused the many entreaties from them for her to come live with them. It would have meant a move to Kentucky or Oregon depending on the child she chose, but she wanted her own home.
Was that a smart decision? I don't know. It wasn't my decision to make. I think emotion played a much larger role in this decision than a clearheaded and sober evaluation of the realities.
Retirement planning is a tricky piece of work. Many a nest egg was wiped out in the Great Depression, the 1970s recession, and other lesser economic downturns. It will be no different this time around. The economic laws are pretty brutal and inflexible.
Retirement is something that lives in a galaxy far, far away. Until the day it knocks on the door and shouts, "Surprise!" Americans in general are the proverbial grasshopper, not saving for a rainy day, but existing in the present. As the Boomers edge into retirement, I wonder how many of them are ready. I've already seen too many people mentioning that they will need to work until they die.
The answer is not to starve and to price fixed income seniors out of their own homes. But is the answer to provide handouts at the expense of the rest of the community? The Social Security taxes I pay are crippling on their own, and what will be my return on that money? My estimates are zero, and falling. The home mortgage speculators are looking for government handouts to bail them out of their greedy short sighted decisions. The homeowners who bought more house than they could afford also need to be held accountable. I'd like to tell them all to take a flying leap. They made their beds and didn't share the gains when times were good. Why do they want a handout now when times are bad?
Do you have any solutions?
Bucks a pricey place to live for seniors
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Bucks County Courier Times
Senior citizens living in Bucks and Montgomery counties need almost twice their annual Social Security payments to live comfortably in their homes — and that's if they're healthy.
In fact, the two counties are behind only Chester as the most expensive counties for seniors to live in, according to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a joint publication between a national nonprofit group and university researchers.
You don't have to tell Pauline Bailey that. The 83-year-old widow from Warrington relies solely on Social Security.
“I cut down on what I can,” she said. “But you can only do so much.”
Bailey volunteers at the Benjamin Wilson Senior Community Center in Warminster, where she goes twice a week for lunch. She keeps the heat low and has cut back on errands.
But that doesn't help when she's paying $4.79 a gallon for heating oil. It cost her almost $800 to fill half a tank — and gasoline is just as high.
According to the Elder Economic Security Standard, a Bucks County resident like Bailey — a single senior living in a home she owns mortgage-free — needs $20,701 a year just to pay basic living expenses. The average Social Security payment, meanwhile, is $14,053.
“This is as fixed [an income] as you can get,” said Neil Fisher, director of the Warminster senior center.
Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania and Union County in central Pennsylvania were the cheapest counties in the state to live in. An individual senior still paying a mortgage could get by in both counties with $18,324 a year. A couple in the same situation would need $26,491. Both those amounts are still several thousand dollars more than the average Social Security payment, the index says.
Wider Opportunities for Women, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, launched the Elder Economic Security Initiative in 2005. The ultimate goal is to have a national database on living costs for every county in the U.S., said Ramsey Alwin, the initiative's director.
The index was developed by the organization and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
In Pennsylvania, the organization is partnered with Pathways PA and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
For seniors in good health, the greatest expense is housing, Alwin said. But their costs of living can triple quickly if they fall ill, she said. Adding home-based assistance or going into a nursing home can add $6,514 to $35,241 a year to a senior's cost in Bucks County, the index shows.
“Some of this data oftentimes is not a surprise to some of the direct-service providers,” Alwin said. “But it does quantify what they've known to be true for a long time, and plays a critical role in helping seniors identify [that] it's not their fault. They're suffering in silence, not wanting to go get help. It's very clear that their incomes are coming up short.”
Alwin said the index doesn't include small luxuries like leisure spending.
“It is a barebones budget,” she said. “It doesn't include gifts for the grandchildren, a night out for pizza, or [a movie at] Blockbuster. It's true income and health security.”
Brian Duke, director of the Area Agency on Aging in Bucks County, said the number of seniors struggling financially is increasing. The agency connects them to services for help.
“We have heard stories of people that have been challenged with day-to-day living expenses,” he said. “We try to assist them here.”
Alwin said the goal of the initiative is to help seniors make informed financial decisions, and to help policy makers shape programs to assist seniors.
Daniel Goldsmith of Horsham said something has to be done about gas prices.
The 76-year-old retiree said it's becoming increasingly difficult to live on what he gets from Social Security, a pension from Lockheed Martin and interest on savings.
The pension never increases, the interest on his savings is decreasing and Social Security isn't rising fast enough to cover price increases in food and other necessities, he said.
“I have enough to survive, but it's becoming tougher and tougher and tougher,” he said. “Everything is going up. But my income is not increasing that much. At some point, I'm not going to be able to make ends meet anymore. Then what will I do?”
Where to get help
If you're a senior in need of financial or other assistance, contact the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging at 215-348-0510 or the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services at 610-278-3601.
On the Web
Find out more about the Elder Economic Security Initiative at http://www.pathwayspa.org/.
BCTHS Funding Discussion
Proposed funding formula revisions to be discussed Tuesday
Posted in News
on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 4:36 pm by Joan Hellyer
Members of the Bucks County Technical High School’s governing body will try Tuesday night to make some progress on revising the comprehensive tech school’s funding formula.
A proposal has been under consideration for several months where the special education part of the formula would go from a charge for each sending district based on a percentage to a charge based on actual usage. But not all of the six sending districts are in favor of the change.
BCTHS serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy, and Pennsbury school districts.
The joint board’s implementation/assessment committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the tech school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township to see what can be done to try to reach some resolution, officials said.
The implementation/assessment meeting will be followed at 8 p.m. by the joint board committee’s regular voting session. Call 215-949-1700 for more information.
Posted in News
on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 4:36 pm by Joan Hellyer
Members of the Bucks County Technical High School’s governing body will try Tuesday night to make some progress on revising the comprehensive tech school’s funding formula.
A proposal has been under consideration for several months where the special education part of the formula would go from a charge for each sending district based on a percentage to a charge based on actual usage. But not all of the six sending districts are in favor of the change.
BCTHS serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy, and Pennsbury school districts.
The joint board’s implementation/assessment committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the tech school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township to see what can be done to try to reach some resolution, officials said.
The implementation/assessment meeting will be followed at 8 p.m. by the joint board committee’s regular voting session. Call 215-949-1700 for more information.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Congrats Matt Miller
From the BCCT today.
Miller earns national honor
Matt Miller, a senior and threesport star at Morrisville High School, received a Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (Philadelphia Chapter). He was presented with the award at a reception at Villanova University.
His picture will be posted at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
Miller is the valedictorian for Morrisville’s Class of 2008 and also was chosen as one of 6ABC’s “Best and Brightest.” He played football and soccer for the Bulldogs in the fall and is currently a member of the varsity baseball team.
Starting next fall, Miller will study elementary education, with a concentration in math, at Kutztown University.
“Matt has been an exceptional student both in and out of the classroom,” Morrisville football coach Jim Gober said. “He is very dependable and dedicated in all of his academic and athletic endeavors. He will be sorely missed at Morrisville.”
Miller earns national honor
Matt Miller, a senior and threesport star at Morrisville High School, received a Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (Philadelphia Chapter). He was presented with the award at a reception at Villanova University.
His picture will be posted at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
Miller is the valedictorian for Morrisville’s Class of 2008 and also was chosen as one of 6ABC’s “Best and Brightest.” He played football and soccer for the Bulldogs in the fall and is currently a member of the varsity baseball team.
Starting next fall, Miller will study elementary education, with a concentration in math, at Kutztown University.
“Matt has been an exceptional student both in and out of the classroom,” Morrisville football coach Jim Gober said. “He is very dependable and dedicated in all of his academic and athletic endeavors. He will be sorely missed at Morrisville.”
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Report: City schools unsafe, unjust
Philadelphia Inquirer
The district safe-schools advocate said the lack of discipline violates the law.
Philadelphia public schools are unsafe places where students who commit violent crimes are rarely punished and rehabilitated and with a disciplinary system that is "dysfunctional and unjust," according to a report by the district's safe-schools advocate.
Some of California's most gifted students are being ignored, advocates say
Los Angeles Times
Highly intelligent, talented students need special programs to keep them engaged and challenged. But experts say too often they aren't even identified -- especially in low-income and minority schools.
Improving our school systems starts with valuing our teachers
Arizona Republic
Raising expectations for K-12 learners starts with valuing teachers. Members of the Arizona Business & Education Coalition, or ABEC, recently joined other Arizona residents for the 92nd Arizona Town Hall focused on the teaching profession. We also conducted our own "Crash Course on Teacher Quality" last week for members of the business and education communities.
Half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online by 2019
Virtual schools see strong growth, calls for more oversight
Christian Science Monitor
Half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online by 2019, predicts a new report. Meridian, Idaho - Rather than send her kids off on the yellow bus, Briana LeClaire has school come to her home. Her kids attend a virtual public school, connecting online to teachers and coursework. Everything from books to microscopes to radish seeds arrives via brown trucks.
Rhee Targets 26 D.C. Schools for Overhaul
Washington Post
D.C. school chief plans to replace principals and teachers, hire private education-management firms and install instructional programs to boost student achievement.
Philadelphia Inquirer
The district safe-schools advocate said the lack of discipline violates the law.
Philadelphia public schools are unsafe places where students who commit violent crimes are rarely punished and rehabilitated and with a disciplinary system that is "dysfunctional and unjust," according to a report by the district's safe-schools advocate.
Some of California's most gifted students are being ignored, advocates say
Los Angeles Times
Highly intelligent, talented students need special programs to keep them engaged and challenged. But experts say too often they aren't even identified -- especially in low-income and minority schools.
Improving our school systems starts with valuing our teachers
Arizona Republic
Raising expectations for K-12 learners starts with valuing teachers. Members of the Arizona Business & Education Coalition, or ABEC, recently joined other Arizona residents for the 92nd Arizona Town Hall focused on the teaching profession. We also conducted our own "Crash Course on Teacher Quality" last week for members of the business and education communities.
Half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online by 2019
Virtual schools see strong growth, calls for more oversight
Christian Science Monitor
Half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online by 2019, predicts a new report. Meridian, Idaho - Rather than send her kids off on the yellow bus, Briana LeClaire has school come to her home. Her kids attend a virtual public school, connecting online to teachers and coursework. Everything from books to microscopes to radish seeds arrives via brown trucks.
Rhee Targets 26 D.C. Schools for Overhaul
Washington Post
D.C. school chief plans to replace principals and teachers, hire private education-management firms and install instructional programs to boost student achievement.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Leadership
This is nice. I'll usually get one unsolicited email on a particular topic of interest to the reader. Two unsolicited emails on the same subject are a rare occurrence. Today, I got three. I think that says more about the person than we can really put into words. Here's real leadership in action.
Get well soon, Ed.
Get well soon, Ed.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Community Day
Don't forget the fun at Community Day at Williamson Park Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
7th annual Community Day to feature food and fun for all
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Get ready for a day of fun Saturday at Williamson Park with Morrisville’s seventh annual Community Day.
The event, held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park on Delmorr Avenue, will feature local crafters and vendors, games, entertainment and food, organizers said.
A moon bounce, slide and funhouse will be on hand for the kids, too.
Community Day is sponsored by Morrisville Borough, the Morrisville YMCA and Air Products and Chemicals of Morrisville.Rain date is set for May 24, same time and place.
Air Products is an international company that produces industrial gases, gas processing equipment and chemicals used in adhesives, paints and other products, with a branch in Morrisville that has been a Community Day sponsor for years.
New this year, Student Venture and the Solid Rock Youth Center are holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for boys and a girls softball tournament for kids in seventh to 12th grades. The tournaments are set for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tourney registrations begin at 12:30 p.m. that day alongside the courts at the park.
Community Day, which often attracts a crowd of hundreds, is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the Morrisville YMCA at 215-428-2598.
7th annual Community Day to feature food and fun for all
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Get ready for a day of fun Saturday at Williamson Park with Morrisville’s seventh annual Community Day.
The event, held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park on Delmorr Avenue, will feature local crafters and vendors, games, entertainment and food, organizers said.
A moon bounce, slide and funhouse will be on hand for the kids, too.
Community Day is sponsored by Morrisville Borough, the Morrisville YMCA and Air Products and Chemicals of Morrisville.Rain date is set for May 24, same time and place.
Air Products is an international company that produces industrial gases, gas processing equipment and chemicals used in adhesives, paints and other products, with a branch in Morrisville that has been a Community Day sponsor for years.
New this year, Student Venture and the Solid Rock Youth Center are holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for boys and a girls softball tournament for kids in seventh to 12th grades. The tournaments are set for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tourney registrations begin at 12:30 p.m. that day alongside the courts at the park.
Community Day, which often attracts a crowd of hundreds, is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the Morrisville YMCA at 215-428-2598.
Gateway Vote on Monday
Monday May 19, 2008. 7:30 P.M. at Borough Hall, Union Street.
Borough council to vote on Gateway Center proposal
Developers still need 2,000 square feet of land from the borough for the building to fit.
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Morrisville’s council has scheduled a vote for Monday on the controversial Morrisville Gateway Center.
Such a motion would not make the project a shoo-in, however. It would simply say that the council likes the concept or it doesn’t. The developer would still have to go through the borough’s regular planning process, officials said.
But Penn Jersey Real Properties needs the borough vote because the project will require some borough-owned land and the developer can’t submit plans for land it doesn’t own.
The proposed Gateway Center on East Bridge Street between North Delmorr and Central avenues, if approved, is expected to bring about 180 jobs to the borough, Penn Jersey’s Dan Jones said. The 49,680-square-foot building would need at least 2,000 square feet of borough-owned land.
The developer would also need an agreement to either purchase or lease another 2 acres of borough land at the south end of Williamson Park for a parking lot, or to build a parking lot for the borough there and then license it from the borough.
The borough council met Tuesday night with the developer and the Morrisville economic development corporation at an agenda meeting, where it agreed to put a motion on next week’s agenda.
“Let’s not drag it out,” said EDC attorney John Warenda. “If you don’t like it, just say no.”
David Truelove, an attorney representing Penn Jersey, asked a similar question: “Do you want it to move forward or not?”
Morrisville’s borough solicitor, James Downey III, urged the council not to vote on anything more than “I like it or I don’t like it.”
On April 14, Morrisville’s EDC and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission came to an agreement of sale for 1 acre of bridge commission land on East Bridge Street, where most of the actual building will be built.
According to the agreement with the bridge commis sion, Penn Jersey needs to submit plans to the borough by mid-June and needs all borough approvals within 180 days after that, EDC officials said. If these restrictions are not met, the agreement is void and the land goes back to the bridge commission.
Some Morrisville residents have praised the proposed center, saying it could assist in Morrisville’s revitalization and bring in more tax money. Opponents are against the developer’s request to buy or lease about 2 acres of unused land at the south end of Williamson Park and are concerned about traffic and environmental issues.
Resident Patricia Schell urged the council not to sell any borough land to Penn Jersey. “If you sell the land, you give someone else control of the land,” she said.
Johanny Manning, a resident and former school board member, said the building would help the community.
“We need that building on that spot,” Manning said.
Morrisville’s regular council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
Borough council to vote on Gateway Center proposal
Developers still need 2,000 square feet of land from the borough for the building to fit.
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Morrisville’s council has scheduled a vote for Monday on the controversial Morrisville Gateway Center.
Such a motion would not make the project a shoo-in, however. It would simply say that the council likes the concept or it doesn’t. The developer would still have to go through the borough’s regular planning process, officials said.
But Penn Jersey Real Properties needs the borough vote because the project will require some borough-owned land and the developer can’t submit plans for land it doesn’t own.
The proposed Gateway Center on East Bridge Street between North Delmorr and Central avenues, if approved, is expected to bring about 180 jobs to the borough, Penn Jersey’s Dan Jones said. The 49,680-square-foot building would need at least 2,000 square feet of borough-owned land.
The developer would also need an agreement to either purchase or lease another 2 acres of borough land at the south end of Williamson Park for a parking lot, or to build a parking lot for the borough there and then license it from the borough.
The borough council met Tuesday night with the developer and the Morrisville economic development corporation at an agenda meeting, where it agreed to put a motion on next week’s agenda.
“Let’s not drag it out,” said EDC attorney John Warenda. “If you don’t like it, just say no.”
David Truelove, an attorney representing Penn Jersey, asked a similar question: “Do you want it to move forward or not?”
Morrisville’s borough solicitor, James Downey III, urged the council not to vote on anything more than “I like it or I don’t like it.”
On April 14, Morrisville’s EDC and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission came to an agreement of sale for 1 acre of bridge commission land on East Bridge Street, where most of the actual building will be built.
According to the agreement with the bridge commis sion, Penn Jersey needs to submit plans to the borough by mid-June and needs all borough approvals within 180 days after that, EDC officials said. If these restrictions are not met, the agreement is void and the land goes back to the bridge commission.
Some Morrisville residents have praised the proposed center, saying it could assist in Morrisville’s revitalization and bring in more tax money. Opponents are against the developer’s request to buy or lease about 2 acres of unused land at the south end of Williamson Park and are concerned about traffic and environmental issues.
Resident Patricia Schell urged the council not to sell any borough land to Penn Jersey. “If you sell the land, you give someone else control of the land,” she said.
Johanny Manning, a resident and former school board member, said the building would help the community.
“We need that building on that spot,” Manning said.
Morrisville’s regular council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Paging George Bailey
Long around December each year, the classic "It's A Wonderful Life" makes its way to the TV screens. We all know the story: Good guy George Bailey sees the impact his one life has had on the town and the people around him. For good measure, Clarence the angel powers up the De Lorean to take George back to the future to see good old Bedford Falls without George's influence. The result: POTTERSVILLE.
Quite unexpectedly, I received an email from a reader who evoked the memories of this film and compared Morrisville today to fictional Bedford Falls/Potterville. In my storage house of unposted stories was one doing just that. I always through it was too corny to actually post until today. Maybe if George would stand up, Morrisville can remain Bedford Falls, and not complete the metamorphosis into Pottersville.
Do you recall the movie "It's A Wonderful Life"? This is where the power of just one man is graphically shown through the intercessions of an angel in training. George Bailey is at the lowest point in his life and he's ready to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Clarence shows George the before and after of Bedford Falls without George. As usual, all turns out well in the end. The evildoers are foiled, the good guys come out on top, and Clarence gets his wings. There's even an urban legend that Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver are the inspiration for two of Sesame Street's favorite characters.
Inside the schmaltz is the absolutely incontrovertible truth that one man can make a difference. The only question is how much of a difference and in what direction.
We are watching Morrisville slide into Pottersville status. The Bedford Falls home we know has been in a slow decline since our epic 1955 Little League Championship season. Our main tax generating businesses have folded up and left town. We've become progressively more and more taxed to the point of exasperation and desperation. City services and general maintenance have been cut and curbed and curtailed so much that our schools are on the verge of collapse, we can't agree on new construction to jump start a renaissance, and we're actually contemplating opening a strip club in town.
Take a look back at the history of the town where one man made a difference. Two rather notable examples spring to mind. Robert Morris stood up and became the financier of the American Revolution. Without him, there would be no United States of America. Thomas Stockham was a civic leader, an engineer, an architect, land developer and business leader. He was mayor of Morrisville for sixteen years, and served six terms as Bucks County's member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
There's two examples of men who stood up and had the vision and the guts to make that vision into reality. I'm sure each of you could think of other examples.
It's too much of a blanket statement to say that our local elected leaders today are all vision-less souls. That's not the case at all. There are some fine elected and appointed leaders in town. They are plenty of other leaders who lead by example without an office.
But they have mostly been beaten into submission and irrelevance by the constant barrage of soul-less and vision-less "leaders" who use bullying tactics to keep Morrisville mired in mediocrity. They treat their position as a rationale to keep Morrisville just the way it is, and if you don't like that, we'll hound you until you give up or leave.
How is that leadership? Leadership is pointing the way and bringing the people along with you. Robert Kennedy's often used quote was "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." That's leadership. Seeing the future and making that potential into a reality.
Instead we have those who see reality and want to freeze-frame it forever. That does nothing but ensure that this town remains trapped like a prehistoric fly in the amber of time.
It's not going to be pretty. We need to have the George Baileys of today stand firm with the few visionary leaders in this town and boot out these soulless hacks. Do you know a George Bailey who might need some help? Coax him out. Support him. Are you a potential George Bailey? Stand up. Let your voice be heard.
Ladies: I've used the masculine consistently here because George is a male character in the movie. There's nothing stopping any of you from being George either.
Does anyone want the part?
Quite unexpectedly, I received an email from a reader who evoked the memories of this film and compared Morrisville today to fictional Bedford Falls/Potterville. In my storage house of unposted stories was one doing just that. I always through it was too corny to actually post until today. Maybe if George would stand up, Morrisville can remain Bedford Falls, and not complete the metamorphosis into Pottersville.Do you recall the movie "It's A Wonderful Life"? This is where the power of just one man is graphically shown through the intercessions of an angel in training. George Bailey is at the lowest point in his life and he's ready to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Clarence shows George the before and after of Bedford Falls without George. As usual, all turns out well in the end. The evildoers are foiled, the good guys come out on top, and Clarence gets his wings. There's even an urban legend that Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver are the inspiration for two of Sesame Street's favorite characters.
Inside the schmaltz is the absolutely incontrovertible truth that one man can make a difference. The only question is how much of a difference and in what direction.
We are watching Morrisville slide into Pottersville status. The Bedford Falls home we know has been in a slow decline since our epic 1955 Little League Championship season. Our main tax generating businesses have folded up and left town. We've become progressively more and more taxed to the point of exasperation and desperation. City services and general maintenance have been cut and curbed and curtailed so much that our schools are on the verge of collapse, we can't agree on new construction to jump start a renaissance, and we're actually contemplating opening a strip club in town.
Take a look back at the history of the town where one man made a difference. Two rather notable examples spring to mind. Robert Morris stood up and became the financier of the American Revolution. Without him, there would be no United States of America. Thomas Stockham was a civic leader, an engineer, an architect, land developer and business leader. He was mayor of Morrisville for sixteen years, and served six terms as Bucks County's member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
There's two examples of men who stood up and had the vision and the guts to make that vision into reality. I'm sure each of you could think of other examples.
It's too much of a blanket statement to say that our local elected leaders today are all vision-less souls. That's not the case at all. There are some fine elected and appointed leaders in town. They are plenty of other leaders who lead by example without an office.
But they have mostly been beaten into submission and irrelevance by the constant barrage of soul-less and vision-less "leaders" who use bullying tactics to keep Morrisville mired in mediocrity. They treat their position as a rationale to keep Morrisville just the way it is, and if you don't like that, we'll hound you until you give up or leave.
How is that leadership? Leadership is pointing the way and bringing the people along with you. Robert Kennedy's often used quote was "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." That's leadership. Seeing the future and making that potential into a reality.
Instead we have those who see reality and want to freeze-frame it forever. That does nothing but ensure that this town remains trapped like a prehistoric fly in the amber of time.
It's not going to be pretty. We need to have the George Baileys of today stand firm with the few visionary leaders in this town and boot out these soulless hacks. Do you know a George Bailey who might need some help? Coax him out. Support him. Are you a potential George Bailey? Stand up. Let your voice be heard.
Ladies: I've used the masculine consistently here because George is a male character in the movie. There's nothing stopping any of you from being George either.
Does anyone want the part?
School Funding Fight
Today the BCCT prints an editorial on the school funding crisis in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Inquirer editorialized on the same plan back on May 4.
There's plenty to see at the PDE's website covering the 2008-2009 budget proposals.
What are the Emperor and his accomplices constructively doing about school funding? Are they pressuring the Rendell Administration? Lobbying our senator and state representative? Have they passed any resolutions declaring support or even opposition to this plan and sent the resolution to Harrisburg?
I'm asking because of the Allentown Morning Call (SW's favorite newspaper, don't forget) published an article April 11 that pointed out the problem of politicians: They don't wanna do nothin'. Once they commissioned the study that showed Pennsylvania schools are underfunded, they were left holding a political hot potato. So they are going to study the study and kill it with time and studied indifference.
We need to contact our representatives in Harrisburg. So do our elected school board members: clearly, vocally, and publicly.
Or are they just content with publicly whining about how unfair the current funding plan is and not following through with the hard work of making proposals become reality?
While I think about it, someone got up at a recent school board meeting and said, "Someone needs to do something" about the tax situation. Well, DUH. Talk about a stroke of the blinding obvious.
First off, I remember very well who said that from the audience. Now it's time to pay up. Congratulations! YOU, sir, are that someone. Introduce a resolution in the borough council supporting this tax plan. Get one introduced in the school board. Pass them both unanimously and present them tied with red ribbons and bows to Governor Rendell, Senator McIlhenney, and Representative Galloway.
We the public are keeping you accountable as local officeholders so you can keep our state officials accountable. Step up to the plate. Are you going to hit, or just take four pitches and hope for a walk? And if you can't or won't do it, let's all step up to the microphone at Union St and shout "Shame on You!"
Pay now, or pay later: School funding formula needs updating.
We go on and on about equal opportunity in this country. It’s ingrained in our thinking. Unfortunately, we don’t practice what we preach. Consider education.
Because Pennsylvania schools are largely funded with property taxes, wealthy school districts provide more and better educational opportunities than lowincome districts. A lot more. Try an annual expenditure of $21,399 per student in Lower Merion vs. $9,727 in Upper Darby.
No wonder there are vast differences in test scores and graduation rates around the state.
Harrisburg is supposed to even out things via a funding formula for rationing out state education money. But the formula is woefully out of date and is not getting the job done.
The governor’s proposed education budget, now under consideration by state lawmakers, proposes a new formula based on the Legislature’s own “Costing-Out Study.” Among the study’s findings was this shocker: Of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts, 474 are underfunded. It also found that the state picks up just more than one-third of the cost of public education vs. the national average of nearly 50 percent.
We urge lawmakers to approve the governor’s updated funding formula.
If education is the key to success, every child deserves an “equal” opportunity to succeed.
The state can pay now and reap the benefits of its educated citizens’ success, or pay later to rescue those who fail.
The Philadelphia Inquirer editorialized on the same plan back on May 4.
School Funding: A fairer plan
It's past time for Pennsylvania to enact a new formula to fund public schools.
The legislature should approve Gov. Rendell's plan to change how state aid is allocated and boost education funding by $291 million.
It's not the complete funding overhaul that many education advocates want, but it puts the state on the right course.
The six-year plan would increase the state's share of education costs from the current 37 percent - among the lowest in the country - to about 44 percent.
Taxpayers should be relieved to know that the proposal calls for no broad-based tax increases.
The plan would increase state funding by 6 percent above the nearly $5 billion currently allocated to public schools. Similar annual increases would occur until Rendell leaves office in 2011.
In the biggest change, Rendell wants to distribute the new aid based on a formula that gives more money to the neediest districts - those with the largest numbers of students living in poverty and students learning English as a second language.
New Jersey began using a similar approach this year. It makes sense, given that it does cost more to educate students with special needs.
Last year's "costing out" study commissioned by the legislature recommended the new formula. The study also concluded that Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded by $4.38 billion.
Some districts may remain underfunded under Rendell's plan, but his proposed increases will be an improvement, and they will help bridge the spending disparities between the state's poor and wealthy districts.
For example, Lower Merion spends more than $21,000 per student, while Upper Darby spends $9,889. Getting a high-quality public education shouldn't depend on where you live.
Under the governor's formula, Upper Darby would get an increase of $4.9 million, or 22.4 percent, the largest percentage jump in the state.
Philadelphia, the state's largest district and one of the poorest, would get an additional $86 million, a 9.6 percent increase. That money is sorely needed; district officials are projecting at least a $39 million deficit.
Even the most affluent districts in the state would receive at least a 1.5 percent increase in aid. Rendell's plan also increases spending for special education, pre-kindergarten and charter school tuition reimbursements.
House Republicans argue that money alone won't fix public education. They're right, but it is absolutely essential for the many Pennsylvania districts with needs that truly require more spending.
Greater accountability is essential, too. One need only look at the Chester Upland district, taken over by the state years ago, to see an example of a lack of adequate oversight in the past.
But neither does accountability alone complete the equation that produces good schools.
Too many school districts have been underfunded by the state for too long, placing an unfair burden on local property taxpayers who must make up the difference. The governor's new funding formula should be approved.
Allentown Morning Call
Rendell calls legislators' bluff on school funds April 11, 2008
Last year, state lawmakers received the results of a study they had authorized to find out what it should cost to achieve a quality education in public school. Pennsylvania and Congress have demanded that schools do a better job, that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. But no one ever determined what doing that would cost.
It turned out that providing a quality education isn't cheap. And, it didn't really surprise many that the Costing-Out Study found that Pennsylvania isn't spending enough -- in either state or local dollars in the vast majority of school districts -- to get the job done. The real cost is about $4 billion more than the state currently spends.
This is all relevant because after everyone's attention shifts from the state's April 22 presidential primary, state lawmakers will refocus on the task of approving a state budget by June 30. This year, Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed making a $2.6 billion, six-year commitment to live up to the findings of the Costing-Out Study.
Gov. Rendell admits he was surprised lawmakers ever commissioned the report. It's implications are political dynamite. For years, Pennsylvanians have suspected that state government wasn't adequately funding education. For years, Pennsylvanians have complained about their local school property taxes going up every budget cycle. The report documented this reality, and in doing so, tossed the responsibility about doing something about it back onto lawmakers.
But lawmakers did what they often do when they're not sure what to do. They decided to study the study. Right after the report was released last fall, state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, proposed forming a commission to draft a new public education funding formula. It has languished in the Senate Education Committee ever since. In January, the House overwhelmingly approved formation of such a panel. Doing so will ultimately be necessary. However, delaying action until lawmakers study the implications of the Costing-Out Study just pushes off the job of helping public schools do a better job for at least another year. Then, 2014 will be one year closer.
Give Gov. Rendell credit for calling the General Assembly's bluff with his proposed education budget. He has ventured a first step. His approach isn't perfect and doesn't completely close the so-called ''adequacy gap'' between what school districts spend and what they should be spending. But, it has been embraced, with some recommendations, by 26 groups of educators and education advocates allied in the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign. As lawmakers begin budget talks, they should heed the campaign's advice.
For instance, the Governor's plan would increase the state subsidy for 137 districts beyond a 4.4 percent inflation index. But all of those districts would have the added paperwork burden of proving to the Department of Education that 80 percent of the additional subsidy would go to programs to improve student performance. But, only 48 of those districts aren't meeting their Annual Yearly Progress goals. The campaign suggests limiting the extra accountability measures to just those districts.
Second, the campaign recommends basing state subsidies mostly on a district's wealth rather than its tax effort. Doing so would make greater strides to correcting the economic disparities between rich and poor districts.
Third, the campaign recommends that all districts at least receive a 2 percent increase in their state subsidy -- something that's often called ''hold harmless.'' Gov. Rendell has proposed a 1.5 percent minimum increase. However, under the requirements of Act 1, all 501 school districts have already built an expected 2 percent increase into their budgets. A 2 percent minimum increase is just basic fairness.
Finally, the campaign recommends at least talking about doing a better job funding special education, one of public education's fastest increasing costs. While the federal government has failed to live up to its obligations on special education, school districts still are mandated to provide programs to ever-increasing numbers of students.
All of these recommendations deserve the General Assembly's conscientious consideration.
There's plenty to see at the PDE's website covering the 2008-2009 budget proposals.
What are the Emperor and his accomplices constructively doing about school funding? Are they pressuring the Rendell Administration? Lobbying our senator and state representative? Have they passed any resolutions declaring support or even opposition to this plan and sent the resolution to Harrisburg?
I'm asking because of the Allentown Morning Call (SW's favorite newspaper, don't forget) published an article April 11 that pointed out the problem of politicians: They don't wanna do nothin'. Once they commissioned the study that showed Pennsylvania schools are underfunded, they were left holding a political hot potato. So they are going to study the study and kill it with time and studied indifference.
We need to contact our representatives in Harrisburg. So do our elected school board members: clearly, vocally, and publicly.
Or are they just content with publicly whining about how unfair the current funding plan is and not following through with the hard work of making proposals become reality?
While I think about it, someone got up at a recent school board meeting and said, "Someone needs to do something" about the tax situation. Well, DUH. Talk about a stroke of the blinding obvious.
First off, I remember very well who said that from the audience. Now it's time to pay up. Congratulations! YOU, sir, are that someone. Introduce a resolution in the borough council supporting this tax plan. Get one introduced in the school board. Pass them both unanimously and present them tied with red ribbons and bows to Governor Rendell, Senator McIlhenney, and Representative Galloway.
We the public are keeping you accountable as local officeholders so you can keep our state officials accountable. Step up to the plate. Are you going to hit, or just take four pitches and hope for a walk? And if you can't or won't do it, let's all step up to the microphone at Union St and shout "Shame on You!"
Pay now, or pay later: School funding formula needs updating.
We go on and on about equal opportunity in this country. It’s ingrained in our thinking. Unfortunately, we don’t practice what we preach. Consider education.
Because Pennsylvania schools are largely funded with property taxes, wealthy school districts provide more and better educational opportunities than lowincome districts. A lot more. Try an annual expenditure of $21,399 per student in Lower Merion vs. $9,727 in Upper Darby.
No wonder there are vast differences in test scores and graduation rates around the state.
Harrisburg is supposed to even out things via a funding formula for rationing out state education money. But the formula is woefully out of date and is not getting the job done.
The governor’s proposed education budget, now under consideration by state lawmakers, proposes a new formula based on the Legislature’s own “Costing-Out Study.” Among the study’s findings was this shocker: Of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts, 474 are underfunded. It also found that the state picks up just more than one-third of the cost of public education vs. the national average of nearly 50 percent.
We urge lawmakers to approve the governor’s updated funding formula.
If education is the key to success, every child deserves an “equal” opportunity to succeed.
The state can pay now and reap the benefits of its educated citizens’ success, or pay later to rescue those who fail.
The Philadelphia Inquirer editorialized on the same plan back on May 4.
School Funding: A fairer plan
It's past time for Pennsylvania to enact a new formula to fund public schools.
The legislature should approve Gov. Rendell's plan to change how state aid is allocated and boost education funding by $291 million.
It's not the complete funding overhaul that many education advocates want, but it puts the state on the right course.
The six-year plan would increase the state's share of education costs from the current 37 percent - among the lowest in the country - to about 44 percent.
Taxpayers should be relieved to know that the proposal calls for no broad-based tax increases.
The plan would increase state funding by 6 percent above the nearly $5 billion currently allocated to public schools. Similar annual increases would occur until Rendell leaves office in 2011.
In the biggest change, Rendell wants to distribute the new aid based on a formula that gives more money to the neediest districts - those with the largest numbers of students living in poverty and students learning English as a second language.
New Jersey began using a similar approach this year. It makes sense, given that it does cost more to educate students with special needs.
Last year's "costing out" study commissioned by the legislature recommended the new formula. The study also concluded that Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded by $4.38 billion.
Some districts may remain underfunded under Rendell's plan, but his proposed increases will be an improvement, and they will help bridge the spending disparities between the state's poor and wealthy districts.
For example, Lower Merion spends more than $21,000 per student, while Upper Darby spends $9,889. Getting a high-quality public education shouldn't depend on where you live.
Under the governor's formula, Upper Darby would get an increase of $4.9 million, or 22.4 percent, the largest percentage jump in the state.
Philadelphia, the state's largest district and one of the poorest, would get an additional $86 million, a 9.6 percent increase. That money is sorely needed; district officials are projecting at least a $39 million deficit.
Even the most affluent districts in the state would receive at least a 1.5 percent increase in aid. Rendell's plan also increases spending for special education, pre-kindergarten and charter school tuition reimbursements.
House Republicans argue that money alone won't fix public education. They're right, but it is absolutely essential for the many Pennsylvania districts with needs that truly require more spending.
Greater accountability is essential, too. One need only look at the Chester Upland district, taken over by the state years ago, to see an example of a lack of adequate oversight in the past.
But neither does accountability alone complete the equation that produces good schools.
Too many school districts have been underfunded by the state for too long, placing an unfair burden on local property taxpayers who must make up the difference. The governor's new funding formula should be approved.
Allentown Morning Call
Rendell calls legislators' bluff on school funds April 11, 2008
Last year, state lawmakers received the results of a study they had authorized to find out what it should cost to achieve a quality education in public school. Pennsylvania and Congress have demanded that schools do a better job, that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. But no one ever determined what doing that would cost.
It turned out that providing a quality education isn't cheap. And, it didn't really surprise many that the Costing-Out Study found that Pennsylvania isn't spending enough -- in either state or local dollars in the vast majority of school districts -- to get the job done. The real cost is about $4 billion more than the state currently spends.
This is all relevant because after everyone's attention shifts from the state's April 22 presidential primary, state lawmakers will refocus on the task of approving a state budget by June 30. This year, Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed making a $2.6 billion, six-year commitment to live up to the findings of the Costing-Out Study.
Gov. Rendell admits he was surprised lawmakers ever commissioned the report. It's implications are political dynamite. For years, Pennsylvanians have suspected that state government wasn't adequately funding education. For years, Pennsylvanians have complained about their local school property taxes going up every budget cycle. The report documented this reality, and in doing so, tossed the responsibility about doing something about it back onto lawmakers.
But lawmakers did what they often do when they're not sure what to do. They decided to study the study. Right after the report was released last fall, state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, proposed forming a commission to draft a new public education funding formula. It has languished in the Senate Education Committee ever since. In January, the House overwhelmingly approved formation of such a panel. Doing so will ultimately be necessary. However, delaying action until lawmakers study the implications of the Costing-Out Study just pushes off the job of helping public schools do a better job for at least another year. Then, 2014 will be one year closer.
Give Gov. Rendell credit for calling the General Assembly's bluff with his proposed education budget. He has ventured a first step. His approach isn't perfect and doesn't completely close the so-called ''adequacy gap'' between what school districts spend and what they should be spending. But, it has been embraced, with some recommendations, by 26 groups of educators and education advocates allied in the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign. As lawmakers begin budget talks, they should heed the campaign's advice.
For instance, the Governor's plan would increase the state subsidy for 137 districts beyond a 4.4 percent inflation index. But all of those districts would have the added paperwork burden of proving to the Department of Education that 80 percent of the additional subsidy would go to programs to improve student performance. But, only 48 of those districts aren't meeting their Annual Yearly Progress goals. The campaign suggests limiting the extra accountability measures to just those districts.
Second, the campaign recommends basing state subsidies mostly on a district's wealth rather than its tax effort. Doing so would make greater strides to correcting the economic disparities between rich and poor districts.
Third, the campaign recommends that all districts at least receive a 2 percent increase in their state subsidy -- something that's often called ''hold harmless.'' Gov. Rendell has proposed a 1.5 percent minimum increase. However, under the requirements of Act 1, all 501 school districts have already built an expected 2 percent increase into their budgets. A 2 percent minimum increase is just basic fairness.
Finally, the campaign recommends at least talking about doing a better job funding special education, one of public education's fastest increasing costs. While the federal government has failed to live up to its obligations on special education, school districts still are mandated to provide programs to ever-increasing numbers of students.
All of these recommendations deserve the General Assembly's conscientious consideration.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Gateway Discussion at Agenda Meeting Tonight?
I received this email from a trusted source and would like to ask everyone who supports the Gateway projects to contact their borough council members. Let them know you support Gateway and that you expect their affirmative vote in council.
Go to the borough website from the link on the sidebar to the left and find your council members. Let them know you support Morrisville.
MAYOR
Tom Wisnosky: 215-295-0439
COUNCIL MEMBERS 2008
President:
Nancy Sherlock 215-736-1264
Vice President:
Kathryn Panzitta 215-295-1264
George Bolos: 215-428-0667
Jane Burger: 215-736-1321
Eileen Dreisbach: 215-295-1914
Rita Ledger: 215-295-4344
David Rivella: 215-295-5030
Stephen Worob: 215-736-2987
Heard that Gateway will be discussed this evening during the agenda meeting tonight at Boro Hall. Meeting begins at 7:30.
Also heard that a conversation was held with Jane Burger and that Ms. Burger mentioned that she CAN'T think of any reasons to support this project!!!
To put it simply, this could be the end of the Gateway project.
Please make an effort to attend and voice your opinion and call your ward representatives.
Go to the borough website from the link on the sidebar to the left and find your council members. Let them know you support Morrisville.
MAYOR
Tom Wisnosky: 215-295-0439
COUNCIL MEMBERS 2008
President:
Nancy Sherlock 215-736-1264
Vice President:
Kathryn Panzitta 215-295-1264
George Bolos: 215-428-0667
Jane Burger: 215-736-1321
Eileen Dreisbach: 215-295-1914
Rita Ledger: 215-295-4344
David Rivella: 215-295-5030
Stephen Worob: 215-736-2987
Heard that Gateway will be discussed this evening during the agenda meeting tonight at Boro Hall. Meeting begins at 7:30.
Also heard that a conversation was held with Jane Burger and that Ms. Burger mentioned that she CAN'T think of any reasons to support this project!!!
To put it simply, this could be the end of the Gateway project.
Please make an effort to attend and voice your opinion and call your ward representatives.
BCCT Mailbag
Here's a letter today from the BCCT taking a general look at "failed" education in Bucks County. This reads a lot like some of the opinions advanced by the stop the school NSNs. There's a lot of kvetching, but what's the plan? If I went to my boss with a lot of complaints but no plan, I'd be laughed out of his office and told, "Come back when you think you have a way to deal with it. Leaving a dead cat at my door doesn't help anything." The writer is stating facts, but to what end?
What about "failed"? Just the fact that you're reading this means the system succeeded. Can things be better? Absolutely. Does the American school system have all the answers? Absolutely not. Do we need to be more serious about our schools? That's a given. Take a look at the prime time TV lineup and the rest of the BCCT or any other newspaper to see what is important to Americans--living vicariously through others in scripted "reality" shows and maintaining the conspicuous consumerist lifestyle.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves ...
GUEST OPINION
Elect only those willing to reform a failed school system
By JOSEPH J. RYAN
Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor on household median earnings, Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder found “weekly pay for public school teachers in 2001 was about the same (within 10 percent) as for accountants, biological and life scientists, registered nurses, and editors and reporters.” Of seven professions Vedder compared, the only ones with higher weekly pay than teachers were lawyers and judges.
Vedder also found public school teachers and administrators receive a benefit agreement worth 26 percent of salary, a questionable determination. In Bristol Township, the benefit package is 33 percent of salary compared with average private sector benefit arrangements at 17 percent. The most conspicuous financial mistreatment of taxpayers is teachers’ excessive salaries, abuse of sick leave and disproportionate subsidization of their health care coverage and pension plan.
According to the Inquirer’s annual report on public schools, the top teacher salary in Bensalem in 2006-2007 was $96,593; Bristol Borough, $84,710; Bristol Township, $85,427; Centennial, $97,309; Central Bucks, $94,010; Council Rock, $98,548; Morrisville, $86,731; Neshaminy, $93,356; New Hope, $97,349; and Pennsbury, $90,782. Applying a 33 percent benefit cost to the top salary at Neshaminy, the total compensation was $124,163 or $3,104 per week. Using the original SAT scoring system, the combined 2006-2007 SAT score in Neshaminy was 911, 69 points below the 1963 national “average.”
In 1988, I witnessed the fiscally irresponsible Bristol Township school board’s decision to boost educator salaries in the district by 47.2 percent over five years, an increase of 9.4 percent per year while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) held at 3.5 percent. This is an example of how educator salaries in this county have reached an unwarranted, disproportionate level compared to student academic achievement.
A glaring inconsistency with educator salaries and benefits is the educational background of many public school educators. Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, who has a master’s degree in education from Harvard, assessed teacher candidates: “Undergraduate education majors typically have lower SAT and ACT scores than other students, and those teachers who have the lowest scores are the most likely to remain in the profession.”
The name, the National Education Association, is a misnomer. The intent is to give the organization a professional connotation similar to that of the American Medical Association, while in fact, it is a trade union comparable to the Teamsters or the United Auto Workers. The NEA masquerades as a professional body intent on raising the quality of education, while resisting every attempt at public education reform.
Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Public Education Reform said: “It used to be whatever teacher unions said went, but no more; they may be wealthy, but they are no longer impervious to attack.” For instance, teacher unions in both Hartford Conn., and Wilkinsburg, Pa., lost their fight to stop private firms from taking over the city schools.
A major contributing factor to student underachievement is automatic promotion. Currently, no matter how poorly a student performs, it is considered unfair to have the student repeat the year. Repeating the year is considered harmful to a student’s sense of self-worth. It is incomprehensible how a student can be intellectually self-satisfied if deficient in the basics. Yet another detrimental practice is guaranteed graduation. Regardless of performance, students can be sure they will graduate at the prescribed time.
Seventy-eight percent of America’s colleges and universities have initiated remedial study in reading, writing, or math, says Diane Ravitch, research professor at New York University. “It is fairly shocking, or should be, that 39 percent of all freshmen take a remedial course, particularly reading, when they enter advanced study.”
William J. Bennett, former U. S. secretary of education, has said, “In looking at the National Education Association you are looking at the absolute heart and soul of the Democratic Party.” Taxpayers should take Bennett’s statement literally. Both organizations reciprocate in electing Democratic Party candidates and resisting any attempt to reform a failed public education system.
Source: Peter Brimelow, “The Worm in the Apple”.
Joseph J. Ryan, Levittown, is a U.S. Marine Corps retiree, and former employee of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
What about "failed"? Just the fact that you're reading this means the system succeeded. Can things be better? Absolutely. Does the American school system have all the answers? Absolutely not. Do we need to be more serious about our schools? That's a given. Take a look at the prime time TV lineup and the rest of the BCCT or any other newspaper to see what is important to Americans--living vicariously through others in scripted "reality" shows and maintaining the conspicuous consumerist lifestyle.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves ...
GUEST OPINION
Elect only those willing to reform a failed school system
By JOSEPH J. RYAN
Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor on household median earnings, Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder found “weekly pay for public school teachers in 2001 was about the same (within 10 percent) as for accountants, biological and life scientists, registered nurses, and editors and reporters.” Of seven professions Vedder compared, the only ones with higher weekly pay than teachers were lawyers and judges.
Vedder also found public school teachers and administrators receive a benefit agreement worth 26 percent of salary, a questionable determination. In Bristol Township, the benefit package is 33 percent of salary compared with average private sector benefit arrangements at 17 percent. The most conspicuous financial mistreatment of taxpayers is teachers’ excessive salaries, abuse of sick leave and disproportionate subsidization of their health care coverage and pension plan.
According to the Inquirer’s annual report on public schools, the top teacher salary in Bensalem in 2006-2007 was $96,593; Bristol Borough, $84,710; Bristol Township, $85,427; Centennial, $97,309; Central Bucks, $94,010; Council Rock, $98,548; Morrisville, $86,731; Neshaminy, $93,356; New Hope, $97,349; and Pennsbury, $90,782. Applying a 33 percent benefit cost to the top salary at Neshaminy, the total compensation was $124,163 or $3,104 per week. Using the original SAT scoring system, the combined 2006-2007 SAT score in Neshaminy was 911, 69 points below the 1963 national “average.”
In 1988, I witnessed the fiscally irresponsible Bristol Township school board’s decision to boost educator salaries in the district by 47.2 percent over five years, an increase of 9.4 percent per year while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) held at 3.5 percent. This is an example of how educator salaries in this county have reached an unwarranted, disproportionate level compared to student academic achievement.
A glaring inconsistency with educator salaries and benefits is the educational background of many public school educators. Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, who has a master’s degree in education from Harvard, assessed teacher candidates: “Undergraduate education majors typically have lower SAT and ACT scores than other students, and those teachers who have the lowest scores are the most likely to remain in the profession.”
The name, the National Education Association, is a misnomer. The intent is to give the organization a professional connotation similar to that of the American Medical Association, while in fact, it is a trade union comparable to the Teamsters or the United Auto Workers. The NEA masquerades as a professional body intent on raising the quality of education, while resisting every attempt at public education reform.
Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Public Education Reform said: “It used to be whatever teacher unions said went, but no more; they may be wealthy, but they are no longer impervious to attack.” For instance, teacher unions in both Hartford Conn., and Wilkinsburg, Pa., lost their fight to stop private firms from taking over the city schools.
A major contributing factor to student underachievement is automatic promotion. Currently, no matter how poorly a student performs, it is considered unfair to have the student repeat the year. Repeating the year is considered harmful to a student’s sense of self-worth. It is incomprehensible how a student can be intellectually self-satisfied if deficient in the basics. Yet another detrimental practice is guaranteed graduation. Regardless of performance, students can be sure they will graduate at the prescribed time.
Seventy-eight percent of America’s colleges and universities have initiated remedial study in reading, writing, or math, says Diane Ravitch, research professor at New York University. “It is fairly shocking, or should be, that 39 percent of all freshmen take a remedial course, particularly reading, when they enter advanced study.”
William J. Bennett, former U. S. secretary of education, has said, “In looking at the National Education Association you are looking at the absolute heart and soul of the Democratic Party.” Taxpayers should take Bennett’s statement literally. Both organizations reciprocate in electing Democratic Party candidates and resisting any attempt to reform a failed public education system.
Source: Peter Brimelow, “The Worm in the Apple”.
Joseph J. Ryan, Levittown, is a U.S. Marine Corps retiree, and former employee of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Strip Club Appeal Coming?
I watched the presentation being made by Todd Colarusso to the zoning board, and as I said before, I thought the strip club was going to be a certainty. Then came the surprise U-turn swapping advertising for stripping. I was immediately uneasy. This was the same bait and switch I was taught to avoid in used car salesmen and politicians. However, this idea still has merit, minus the second floor strip club plans.
Now that both variance applications have been rejected by the zoning board, it's apparently off to court. "Todd Colarusso, president of Stockham Interests, LLC of Princeton, N.J., said after the meeting that he would appeal the decision in Bucks County Common Pleas Court. Colarusso threatened there will be a strip club as he stood outside on the steps of borough hall."
Todd, this isn't going to help matters. It's pretty clear that the residents do not want to have a strip club here. It's also pretty clear that Morrisville needs to have the Stockham Building filled and rented. Take a look at the acrimony and animosity surrounding the new school building and Gateway issues and imagine it doubled or tripled.
I can't see this ending well. A strip club forced onto the residents would most likely be met with stiff community resistance.
Zoning Board: No strip club in Morrisville
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor
Morrisville Borough residents said they were happy when they heard the Morrisville Zoning Hearing Board's (MZHB) decision not to allow a burlesque-style theater with topless women in their town.
The request to allow the strip club in Morrisville Borough's old commercial zone was unanimously rejected May 6 by the board.
Todd Colarusso, president of Stockham Interests, LLC of Princeton, N.J., said after the meeting that he would appeal the decision in Bucks County Common Pleas Court.
Colarusso threatened there will be a strip club as he stood outside on the steps of borough hall.
According to board solicitor Dennis Denard, the MZHB must issue a written decision within 45 days of the hearing. Once issued, Stockham Interests, LLC has the right to appeal within 30 days.
In a 365-degree turn, Colarusso had said during the hearing that he would drop his original application for a zoning variance could be used by area businesses.
Pastor Gary Taylor of the 1st Baptist Church said he was concerned for the moral content of the sign and whether it could be controlled in the future.
Taylor said there would be adverse effects on the community because "Morrisville would be known for that particular establishment."
The applicant said he would not allow advertisements for alcohol, tobacco, condoms or abortion.
Hal Wilcox, a local sports coach, said he volunteers with the Solid Rock Youth Center, which is located on the second floor of the 1st Baptist Church. "I coach youth in this town. I teach them right from wrong. Morrisville does not need adult entertainment." He stressed the church is located "right down the street" from the Stockham building.
Three church pastors appealed to the board to reject the proposal to allow the burlesque theatre.
Father John Eckert, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Pennsylvania Avenue, quoted the book of Matthew from the Bible. He said when a man "looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery."
Rev. Frank Sanders, pastor of the Morrisville United Methodist Church, said, "We stand in solidarity with him (Father Eckert)." Sanders questioned whether broken windows at the Stockham building would be replaced.
Colarusso said if a future tenant does not repair them in a few months, he would see that they would be replaced.
Along with other residents, Clarissa Taylor, Rev. Taylor's daughter, said if the adult entertainment use were approved, youths passing by the building to walk to and from school would be adversely influenced.
"They're going to dwell on it every single day."
After the 3 ½ hour presentation, discussion and public comment, the board voted 3-0 to reject the application for adult entertainment and an alternate option of a billboard or nylon hanging 'wallscape' for the west side of the historic Stockham building, located in Morrisville's ailing commercial district at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Bridge Street.
Adult entertainment in the C-1 district is not allowed, however it is allowed in the two industrial zones.
Presenting stacks of paperwork to the board, Bruce McLaughlin, a witness for the applicant, argued that adult entertainment does not have an adverse effect on the community. He cited court decisions, which allowed adult entertainment. He said vagrants and undesirables would not congregate around a building offering adult entertainment.
Holly Mikhailik, of Casabella Design in Hamilton Township, N.J, said the proposed facility would be a French-style Moulon Rouge décor. A painting of a French café was shown for the first floor. Later, Councilwoman Jane Burger, who said she was not speaking as a public official, said that image was unacceptable to her.
In addition to the proposed restaurant on the first floor and a burlesque theater on the second floor, the applicant wants to rent the third and fourth floors to a fitness center. The center would provide babysitting services. That service was questioned since children would have to pass the proposed adult entertainment area on the second floor.
The applicant said the babysitting service would be located more than 500 feet from the burlesque area.
After the meeting, Morrisville Borough Council President Nancy Sherlock said the zoning board deemed the burlesque club "inappropriate and not acceptable." Sherlock said she agreed with the board's decision.
Now that both variance applications have been rejected by the zoning board, it's apparently off to court. "Todd Colarusso, president of Stockham Interests, LLC of Princeton, N.J., said after the meeting that he would appeal the decision in Bucks County Common Pleas Court. Colarusso threatened there will be a strip club as he stood outside on the steps of borough hall."
Todd, this isn't going to help matters. It's pretty clear that the residents do not want to have a strip club here. It's also pretty clear that Morrisville needs to have the Stockham Building filled and rented. Take a look at the acrimony and animosity surrounding the new school building and Gateway issues and imagine it doubled or tripled.
I can't see this ending well. A strip club forced onto the residents would most likely be met with stiff community resistance.
Zoning Board: No strip club in Morrisville
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor
Morrisville Borough residents said they were happy when they heard the Morrisville Zoning Hearing Board's (MZHB) decision not to allow a burlesque-style theater with topless women in their town.
The request to allow the strip club in Morrisville Borough's old commercial zone was unanimously rejected May 6 by the board.
Todd Colarusso, president of Stockham Interests, LLC of Princeton, N.J., said after the meeting that he would appeal the decision in Bucks County Common Pleas Court.
Colarusso threatened there will be a strip club as he stood outside on the steps of borough hall.
According to board solicitor Dennis Denard, the MZHB must issue a written decision within 45 days of the hearing. Once issued, Stockham Interests, LLC has the right to appeal within 30 days.
In a 365-degree turn, Colarusso had said during the hearing that he would drop his original application for a zoning variance could be used by area businesses.
Pastor Gary Taylor of the 1st Baptist Church said he was concerned for the moral content of the sign and whether it could be controlled in the future.
Taylor said there would be adverse effects on the community because "Morrisville would be known for that particular establishment."
The applicant said he would not allow advertisements for alcohol, tobacco, condoms or abortion.
Hal Wilcox, a local sports coach, said he volunteers with the Solid Rock Youth Center, which is located on the second floor of the 1st Baptist Church. "I coach youth in this town. I teach them right from wrong. Morrisville does not need adult entertainment." He stressed the church is located "right down the street" from the Stockham building.
Three church pastors appealed to the board to reject the proposal to allow the burlesque theatre.
Father John Eckert, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Pennsylvania Avenue, quoted the book of Matthew from the Bible. He said when a man "looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery."
Rev. Frank Sanders, pastor of the Morrisville United Methodist Church, said, "We stand in solidarity with him (Father Eckert)." Sanders questioned whether broken windows at the Stockham building would be replaced.
Colarusso said if a future tenant does not repair them in a few months, he would see that they would be replaced.
Along with other residents, Clarissa Taylor, Rev. Taylor's daughter, said if the adult entertainment use were approved, youths passing by the building to walk to and from school would be adversely influenced.
"They're going to dwell on it every single day."
After the 3 ½ hour presentation, discussion and public comment, the board voted 3-0 to reject the application for adult entertainment and an alternate option of a billboard or nylon hanging 'wallscape' for the west side of the historic Stockham building, located in Morrisville's ailing commercial district at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Bridge Street.
Adult entertainment in the C-1 district is not allowed, however it is allowed in the two industrial zones.
Presenting stacks of paperwork to the board, Bruce McLaughlin, a witness for the applicant, argued that adult entertainment does not have an adverse effect on the community. He cited court decisions, which allowed adult entertainment. He said vagrants and undesirables would not congregate around a building offering adult entertainment.
Holly Mikhailik, of Casabella Design in Hamilton Township, N.J, said the proposed facility would be a French-style Moulon Rouge décor. A painting of a French café was shown for the first floor. Later, Councilwoman Jane Burger, who said she was not speaking as a public official, said that image was unacceptable to her.
In addition to the proposed restaurant on the first floor and a burlesque theater on the second floor, the applicant wants to rent the third and fourth floors to a fitness center. The center would provide babysitting services. That service was questioned since children would have to pass the proposed adult entertainment area on the second floor.
The applicant said the babysitting service would be located more than 500 feet from the burlesque area.
After the meeting, Morrisville Borough Council President Nancy Sherlock said the zoning board deemed the burlesque club "inappropriate and not acceptable." Sherlock said she agreed with the board's decision.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Rendell's graduate skills test in trouble
Philadelphia Inquirer
Dozens of legislators and school boards statewide are objecting. They say local districts are the best judge.
A Rendell administration proposal to establish state high school graduation tests in 10 subjects has generated stiff opposition that threatens to scuttle the initiative.
Billions Needed to Fix Pr. George's Schools
Washington Post
The school system requires $2.1B to fix its aging buildings, according to a study that finds many schools running on antiquated equipment and deteriorating inside and out
The great literacy testing debacle in the United States
EducationNews.org
The United States seems to be caught up in measurement mania when it comes to literacy. The No Child Left Behind law calls for extensive testing of children's reading abilities in different grade levels. For adults, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has developed adult literacy tests, while Title 2: The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of the WorkforceInvestment Act of 1998 calls for accountability measures that the DOE has implemented in a national reporting system that makes extensive use of adult literacy tests.
Special Ed Proposals Draw Scrutiny
Washington Post
Va. plans to give schools more leeway to suspend certain services for students and reduce the number of progress reports families receive. The most controversial proposal would give schools more leeway to suspend certain special services for students, such as speech or occupational health therapy. The targeted services would remain in place if parents object, pending a resolution of the dispute with the school system.
SpecialEdAdvocate.org
Student Tests - and Teacher Grades
Wall Street Journal
By John Merrow
Schools now have plenty of data to be able to see who is learning and why. Suppose a swimming instructor told his 10-year-old students to swim the length of the pool to demonstrate what he'd taught them, and half of them nearly drowned? Would it be reasonable to make a judgment about his teaching ability?
Advanced Placement courses, once a model for learning, are mere memory tests now.
Bursting the AP bubble
Los Angeles Times
By Tom Stanley-Becker
I'M AN AP DROPOUT. When classmates in my Advanced Placement U.S. history course take the AP exam Friday, I won't be with them. When they pick up their pencils and start filling in those little bubbles, I'll be reading the words of George Kennan, Lillian Hellman, Harry Truman and Paul Robeson
Charter-school fans want more
Denver Post
A group of angry parents stood before the Denver school board last month, holding up newspaper articles about a high-performing charter school and asking why their children were unable to receive the same education.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Dozens of legislators and school boards statewide are objecting. They say local districts are the best judge.
A Rendell administration proposal to establish state high school graduation tests in 10 subjects has generated stiff opposition that threatens to scuttle the initiative.
Billions Needed to Fix Pr. George's Schools
Washington Post
The school system requires $2.1B to fix its aging buildings, according to a study that finds many schools running on antiquated equipment and deteriorating inside and out
The great literacy testing debacle in the United States
EducationNews.org
The United States seems to be caught up in measurement mania when it comes to literacy. The No Child Left Behind law calls for extensive testing of children's reading abilities in different grade levels. For adults, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has developed adult literacy tests, while Title 2: The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of the WorkforceInvestment Act of 1998 calls for accountability measures that the DOE has implemented in a national reporting system that makes extensive use of adult literacy tests.
Special Ed Proposals Draw Scrutiny
Washington Post
Va. plans to give schools more leeway to suspend certain services for students and reduce the number of progress reports families receive. The most controversial proposal would give schools more leeway to suspend certain special services for students, such as speech or occupational health therapy. The targeted services would remain in place if parents object, pending a resolution of the dispute with the school system.
SpecialEdAdvocate.org
Student Tests - and Teacher Grades
Wall Street Journal
By John Merrow
Schools now have plenty of data to be able to see who is learning and why. Suppose a swimming instructor told his 10-year-old students to swim the length of the pool to demonstrate what he'd taught them, and half of them nearly drowned? Would it be reasonable to make a judgment about his teaching ability?
Advanced Placement courses, once a model for learning, are mere memory tests now.
Bursting the AP bubble
Los Angeles Times
By Tom Stanley-Becker
I'M AN AP DROPOUT. When classmates in my Advanced Placement U.S. history course take the AP exam Friday, I won't be with them. When they pick up their pencils and start filling in those little bubbles, I'll be reading the words of George Kennan, Lillian Hellman, Harry Truman and Paul Robeson
Charter-school fans want more
Denver Post
A group of angry parents stood before the Denver school board last month, holding up newspaper articles about a high-performing charter school and asking why their children were unable to receive the same education.
Friday, May 9, 2008
The State of Apathy
I received an email today that has me absolutely shocked and downright despondent at the same time. I was asked to not provide the specific details, so I've removed some of the information and changed some other items, but the general message is unchanged.
The writer asks for feedback, so let's open it up for discussion.
I have some friends who live in Morrisville. They are young, have no children yet and have lived in town for several years.
We were talking other day, and as it happened, the conversation came around to (OK, I brought it up) the various goings on in town. I wanted to get their views on things.
Much to my shock, they had no idea what was going on. They were vaguely aware of the “build a new school” issue, and asked what side of the fence I was on for that. I mentioned that since it was all but over and the district had moved on to other issues it didn’t matter how I felt. They nodded. They were unaware of the politics, of the infighting, of all the things that your blog and the papers cover.
I asked how they felt about the Gateway center, and about the Stockham building. They were unaware of those issues also. They did mention that they were glad that there was a new restaurant going into the “new building” on Bridge street.
These are intelligent and articulate people who monitor national and state issues.
They are oblivious to local issues.
I just had to shake my head over this. I was aghast.
It got me to thinking, in light of all that has been said about voter turnout, about people from Morrisville making bad choices in leaders and turning a blind eye to issues, that maybe there is a majority of people in this bedroom community, who only look at Morrisville as a place to eat and sleep. That they don’t have a care or interest at all in how the town is run, or where it is headed.
I’d be curious to read your thoughts on this, and to read the thoughts and experiences of others as well.
The writer asks for feedback, so let's open it up for discussion.
I have some friends who live in Morrisville. They are young, have no children yet and have lived in town for several years.
We were talking other day, and as it happened, the conversation came around to (OK, I brought it up) the various goings on in town. I wanted to get their views on things.
Much to my shock, they had no idea what was going on. They were vaguely aware of the “build a new school” issue, and asked what side of the fence I was on for that. I mentioned that since it was all but over and the district had moved on to other issues it didn’t matter how I felt. They nodded. They were unaware of the politics, of the infighting, of all the things that your blog and the papers cover.
I asked how they felt about the Gateway center, and about the Stockham building. They were unaware of those issues also. They did mention that they were glad that there was a new restaurant going into the “new building” on Bridge street.
These are intelligent and articulate people who monitor national and state issues.
They are oblivious to local issues.
I just had to shake my head over this. I was aghast.
It got me to thinking, in light of all that has been said about voter turnout, about people from Morrisville making bad choices in leaders and turning a blind eye to issues, that maybe there is a majority of people in this bedroom community, who only look at Morrisville as a place to eat and sleep. That they don’t have a care or interest at all in how the town is run, or where it is headed.
I’d be curious to read your thoughts on this, and to read the thoughts and experiences of others as well.
From the Mailbag
I received this email today and thought I would share it with you.
Thank you for the compliment. I do try to be fair.
What do you think about this?
Hello,
I read and enjoy your blog every day.It is very informative and you seem to be even handed about issues that affect our children's education.
Recently I saw a job posting in my daughter's school, Grandview Elementary. The job entails "taking minutes at school board meeting once or twice a month".
I was under the impression that this was Ms. Mihok's job,for which she receives a stipend.
This does not sound(to me)to be a very good use of our tax money.If you get a chance, please look into this and "put it out there", because I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. Thanks for your time and effort on behalf of our children, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my name.
Morrisville Parent
Thank you for the compliment. I do try to be fair.
What do you think about this?
Hello,
I read and enjoy your blog every day.It is very informative and you seem to be even handed about issues that affect our children's education.
Recently I saw a job posting in my daughter's school, Grandview Elementary. The job entails "taking minutes at school board meeting once or twice a month".
I was under the impression that this was Ms. Mihok's job,for which she receives a stipend.
This does not sound(to me)to be a very good use of our tax money.If you get a chance, please look into this and "put it out there", because I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. Thanks for your time and effort on behalf of our children, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my name.
Morrisville Parent
Zero Tolerance = Zero Intelligence ?
It doesn't take much to do a search where "Zero Tolerance" and "Zero Intelligence" appear very close to each other in published articles. Most of the time, these citations appear in the context of our schools where six-year-olds are suspended for innocent kisses or Eagle Scouts suspended because they accidentally left a rusted Scout knife in their pack or lost in the car trunk.
Today, Kate Fratti takes a look at an issue at a MHS student's freedom of speech rights balanced against the rights of the staff and administrators.
It's a tough call. But then again, aren't ALL of the teenage related decisions tough calls?
Kudos to Dr. Yonson and the rest of the staff. This was apparently a pretty sticky situation with a lot of extenuating circumstances and related baggage that had the potential to turn into an extremely serious situation.
What it really turned out to be was a typical high school student who was unhappy with the teachers, staff, and administration. What a shocking revelation. Even the "Back to the Future" movies caricatured Mr. Strickland the disciplinarian as a disliked high school fixture. How many of us can say we "liked" our high school teachers? (Yes, there were some we liked and respected, but for the most part, I know I thought of them as associate parents and nearly as annoying as the real thing.)
This student took it a step farther and created songs, burned them to CDs and started selling them. Extra credit points for the entrepreneurial spirit, but the execution of the business plan was not well thought out. Real people in the real world get fired when they use their employer's time and resources for personal gain. This was no different except that it was a high schooler who was using the "employer's" resources. Kids are notorious for not thinking things out fully.
It seems like the punishment here is severe but fits the crime. It's a bitter but reasonable ending for their high school career, and the future (college, etc) will not be effected, unless the students lets that happen.
CD stirs up trouble
Should a boy be allowed to write a song critical of adults running his high school and then produce a music CD with that song as its centerpiece?
Should he be allowed to sell said CD to classmates on school grounds? Isn't that the kind of entrepreneurial spirit adults should applaud?
Does your answer change if the CD lyrics are raunchy? What if they aren't just scandalous, but maybe slanderous, too? Like, what if the boy proclaims in lyrics that one administrator has been ... how can I say this delicately, because the singer did not ... uh, physically intimate with another?
Morrisville Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson says the boy had every right to sing what he thinks, and to lay it down on a CD for sale. You don't have to be old to exercise your right of free expression.
You do have to be old to see around corners, though.
The entertainer shot himself in the foot when he violated school policy by allegedly selling the CD on school grounds, even posting fliers that could have potentially exposed the district to liability for slander, Yonson said. What if it could be argued the CD amounted to a school-sponsored project?
The student cinched his undoing by violating another school policy, allegedly loading the CD onto a school computer to play it for other students. He'd signed a contract, as all the kids do, promising the computers would not be used for anything but school work.
His punishment?
The fledgling musician, a senior, has been suspended, and will not be permitted to participate in graduation ceremonies.
The suspension is pretty stiff. The boy will be allowed to complete his senior requirements, but it won't be at Morrisville during the regular school day. He'll likely be invited to do his work at the close of the regular day. His college of choice will not be notified of his recent troubles.
Case closed? Not yet.
Yonson was at a conference in Harrisburg Friday when she got phone calls from the high school telling her lots of kids disagreed with her stand. They planned to walk out of the school in protest of the musician's suspension.
click here!
Kids were informed that any who chose to walk out wouldn't be permitted to participate in sports or any other extracurricular.
“There are proper ways to protest, to have your position heard,” Yonson said. “Walking out of class isn't one of them.” Kids stayed put.
Case closed now?
Not so fast again.
Fueling kids' continued opposition to the musician's suspension, even this week, is by now a well-circulated rumor that another student brought an unloaded gun to school, threatened other kids' safety via a “hit list” on MySpace, but was merely suspended for 10 days.
No fair, kids argued. The musician was being persecuted because he dissed staff, while a kid packing heat got off easy.
Yonson says it's just not true.
Administrators investigated the rumor and found a case of whisper down the lane that reached parents who phoned her. There was no gun in school, administrators found — and no “hit list.”
Yonson did concede that recently a Neshaminy student — who was attending a Bucks County Intermediate Unit support class at Morrisville High — did verbally threaten a classmate. He's been expelled from Morrisville and returned to Neshaminy.
“If he was a Morrisville student, we'd have to deal with him. We don't,” she said.
Some worry the gun rumor was manufactured and fanned by kids close to their music-producing peer who needed an argument to rile other kids.
In the end, the mess had a lot of grownups singing the blues last week — parents, teachers, administrators — all trying to reason with and calm teenagers. No word on whether they'll produce a CD.
Today, Kate Fratti takes a look at an issue at a MHS student's freedom of speech rights balanced against the rights of the staff and administrators.
It's a tough call. But then again, aren't ALL of the teenage related decisions tough calls?
Kudos to Dr. Yonson and the rest of the staff. This was apparently a pretty sticky situation with a lot of extenuating circumstances and related baggage that had the potential to turn into an extremely serious situation.
What it really turned out to be was a typical high school student who was unhappy with the teachers, staff, and administration. What a shocking revelation. Even the "Back to the Future" movies caricatured Mr. Strickland the disciplinarian as a disliked high school fixture. How many of us can say we "liked" our high school teachers? (Yes, there were some we liked and respected, but for the most part, I know I thought of them as associate parents and nearly as annoying as the real thing.)
This student took it a step farther and created songs, burned them to CDs and started selling them. Extra credit points for the entrepreneurial spirit, but the execution of the business plan was not well thought out. Real people in the real world get fired when they use their employer's time and resources for personal gain. This was no different except that it was a high schooler who was using the "employer's" resources. Kids are notorious for not thinking things out fully.
It seems like the punishment here is severe but fits the crime. It's a bitter but reasonable ending for their high school career, and the future (college, etc) will not be effected, unless the students lets that happen.
CD stirs up trouble
Should a boy be allowed to write a song critical of adults running his high school and then produce a music CD with that song as its centerpiece?
Should he be allowed to sell said CD to classmates on school grounds? Isn't that the kind of entrepreneurial spirit adults should applaud?
Does your answer change if the CD lyrics are raunchy? What if they aren't just scandalous, but maybe slanderous, too? Like, what if the boy proclaims in lyrics that one administrator has been ... how can I say this delicately, because the singer did not ... uh, physically intimate with another?
Morrisville Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson says the boy had every right to sing what he thinks, and to lay it down on a CD for sale. You don't have to be old to exercise your right of free expression.
You do have to be old to see around corners, though.
The entertainer shot himself in the foot when he violated school policy by allegedly selling the CD on school grounds, even posting fliers that could have potentially exposed the district to liability for slander, Yonson said. What if it could be argued the CD amounted to a school-sponsored project?
The student cinched his undoing by violating another school policy, allegedly loading the CD onto a school computer to play it for other students. He'd signed a contract, as all the kids do, promising the computers would not be used for anything but school work.
His punishment?
The fledgling musician, a senior, has been suspended, and will not be permitted to participate in graduation ceremonies.
The suspension is pretty stiff. The boy will be allowed to complete his senior requirements, but it won't be at Morrisville during the regular school day. He'll likely be invited to do his work at the close of the regular day. His college of choice will not be notified of his recent troubles.
Case closed? Not yet.
Yonson was at a conference in Harrisburg Friday when she got phone calls from the high school telling her lots of kids disagreed with her stand. They planned to walk out of the school in protest of the musician's suspension.
click here!
Kids were informed that any who chose to walk out wouldn't be permitted to participate in sports or any other extracurricular.
“There are proper ways to protest, to have your position heard,” Yonson said. “Walking out of class isn't one of them.” Kids stayed put.
Case closed now?
Not so fast again.
Fueling kids' continued opposition to the musician's suspension, even this week, is by now a well-circulated rumor that another student brought an unloaded gun to school, threatened other kids' safety via a “hit list” on MySpace, but was merely suspended for 10 days.
No fair, kids argued. The musician was being persecuted because he dissed staff, while a kid packing heat got off easy.
Yonson says it's just not true.
Administrators investigated the rumor and found a case of whisper down the lane that reached parents who phoned her. There was no gun in school, administrators found — and no “hit list.”
Yonson did concede that recently a Neshaminy student — who was attending a Bucks County Intermediate Unit support class at Morrisville High — did verbally threaten a classmate. He's been expelled from Morrisville and returned to Neshaminy.
“If he was a Morrisville student, we'd have to deal with him. We don't,” she said.
Some worry the gun rumor was manufactured and fanned by kids close to their music-producing peer who needed an argument to rile other kids.
In the end, the mess had a lot of grownups singing the blues last week — parents, teachers, administrators — all trying to reason with and calm teenagers. No word on whether they'll produce a CD.
Pennsbury SD Budget Increase is 5.3%
Good thing we're not in the Pennsbury district.
Yet.
Preliminary budget includes $231 tax hike
If approved as is, the tax increase would be 5.3 percent. School board members vowed to work to reduce the increase.
By MANASEE WAGH STAFF WRITER
Manasee Wagh can be reached at 215-949-4206 or mwagh@phillyBurbs.com
The average Pennsbury taxpayer would face a $231 tax increase under the preliminary budget proposal approved 8-0 by the district school board Thursday night.
The $174.5 million budget plan, about $6.3 million more than last year, includes a 7.4 mill increase for the 2008-2009 year. Figures are based on the district’s average home assessment of $31,160.
If approved as is, the tax increase would be 5.3 percent, more than the state mandated 4.4 percent limit. However, the district applied and received approval for three exceptions to raise the tax rate above the state-mandated percentage in order to fund special education and other costs.
The board cited several reasons for the boost.
Besides employee salaries and benefits, which make up about 75 percent of the 2008-09 expenses, special education costs have risen, as have diesel fuel costs and utilities.
Additionally, falling interest rates have negatively impacted revenues, as has the loss of state subsidies.
Although board members approved the proposed budget, they said they would work to reduce the final numbers.
“My target is around 4 percent. That’s what I was hoping for,” said board President Gregory Lucidi.
Some board members suggested focusing on salaries and benefits to control expenses.
“That’s the only controllable aspect,” said member Arlene Gordon.
To reach the 4.4 percent index demanded by the state, the budget needs to be reduced by more than $1 million.
“We’re going to try to reduce the budget without detracting from programs and services,” said district CEO Paul Long.
The district will continue tweaking the budget until the final 2008-09 budget has to be adopted on June 12.
One board member, Wayne DeBlasio, was absent.
Yet.
Preliminary budget includes $231 tax hike
If approved as is, the tax increase would be 5.3 percent. School board members vowed to work to reduce the increase.
By MANASEE WAGH STAFF WRITER
Manasee Wagh can be reached at 215-949-4206 or mwagh@phillyBurbs.com
The average Pennsbury taxpayer would face a $231 tax increase under the preliminary budget proposal approved 8-0 by the district school board Thursday night.
The $174.5 million budget plan, about $6.3 million more than last year, includes a 7.4 mill increase for the 2008-2009 year. Figures are based on the district’s average home assessment of $31,160.
If approved as is, the tax increase would be 5.3 percent, more than the state mandated 4.4 percent limit. However, the district applied and received approval for three exceptions to raise the tax rate above the state-mandated percentage in order to fund special education and other costs.
The board cited several reasons for the boost.
Besides employee salaries and benefits, which make up about 75 percent of the 2008-09 expenses, special education costs have risen, as have diesel fuel costs and utilities.
Additionally, falling interest rates have negatively impacted revenues, as has the loss of state subsidies.
Although board members approved the proposed budget, they said they would work to reduce the final numbers.
“My target is around 4 percent. That’s what I was hoping for,” said board President Gregory Lucidi.
Some board members suggested focusing on salaries and benefits to control expenses.
“That’s the only controllable aspect,” said member Arlene Gordon.
To reach the 4.4 percent index demanded by the state, the budget needs to be reduced by more than $1 million.
“We’re going to try to reduce the budget without detracting from programs and services,” said district CEO Paul Long.
The district will continue tweaking the budget until the final 2008-09 budget has to be adopted on June 12.
One board member, Wayne DeBlasio, was absent.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Another Surveillance Photo
Our intrepid mole inside the unnamed security agency has obtained another classified photo that should not be shared with anyone.
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