501C-3 Educational Foundation Forming
The Morrisville School District is seeking individuals to participate in a committee to establish a non-profit educational foundation to enable educators to provide additional educational experiences to enrich students' education. Send letter of interest to Dr. Elizabeth Yonson, Superintendent, 550 W. Palmer St., Morrisville, PA 19067 or fax 215-736-2413.
Monday, June 9, 2008
School Board Vacancy Reminder
School Board Vacancy
With last week's death of Ed Frankenfield, the board is advertising for candidates to fill the unexpired portion of his term.
Please keep in mind the deadline is this coming Friday, June 13, 2008, at 9:00 A.M.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF BOROUGH OF MORRISVILLE IS
SEEKING RESIDENT APPLICANTS TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.
APPLICANTS MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND
MUST HAVE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS 9:00 A.M. ON FRIDAY, 6-13-
08. IF INTERESTED, FORWARD RESUME AND LETTER OF
APPLICATION TO: MARLYS MIHOK, BOARD SECRETARY, 550
W. PALMER ST., MORRISVILLE, PA 19067-2195. FAX 215-736-
2413.
With last week's death of Ed Frankenfield, the board is advertising for candidates to fill the unexpired portion of his term.
Please keep in mind the deadline is this coming Friday, June 13, 2008, at 9:00 A.M.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF BOROUGH OF MORRISVILLE IS
SEEKING RESIDENT APPLICANTS TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.
APPLICANTS MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND
MUST HAVE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS 9:00 A.M. ON FRIDAY, 6-13-
08. IF INTERESTED, FORWARD RESUME AND LETTER OF
APPLICATION TO: MARLYS MIHOK, BOARD SECRETARY, 550
W. PALMER ST., MORRISVILLE, PA 19067-2195. FAX 215-736-
2413.
Reminder of Aged Schools/Heat Closure
It certainly is hot out there, and the school district is closing early today.
Just another reminder of the precarious condition of our schools.
Just another reminder of the precarious condition of our schools.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
America had the world's best school system.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, America had the world's best school system. That may no longer be true, and the reason why will surprise you.
Education reformers typically claim we have a serious problem with our schools because American students do poorly compared to other nations on international tests. They claim our low scores will adversely affect our ability to compete economically on the world stage.
The National Math Panel Report Goes to Washington
Barry Garelick
Columnist EducationNews.org
The National Math Advisory Panel (NMP), which was formed two years ago, released its final report on March 13, 2008. One of the principal messages of the report is that "the delivery system in mathematics education is broken and must be fixed." Such a statement is hard to ignore, so it was only a matter of time before someone on the Hill would look into what it would take to fix the broken system.
Charter oversight hobbled in 2005
Philadelphia Daily News
Rather than risk offending powerful legislators, the School Reform Commission decided to end audits.
The Philadelphia School District's first audits of charter schools up for renewal in 2004 found problems at all seven, including conflicts of interest at a charter founded by the wife of State Rep. John Perzel, the powerful Northeast Republican who was then speaker of the House.
Government's education policy is self-defeating, academics warn
The Independent
The drive to reform Britain's education system, with frequent shifts in policy and the added burden of targets, is self-defeating and "working against the Government's own intentions", leading academics have warned ministers.
In Defense of Testing Series: NIST Assessment of the U.S. Measurement System
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a new report, An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation (NIST Special Publication 1048). The report is available at usms.nist.gov and consists of 68 pages for the main report plus nearly 1,000 pages of appendixes. An eight-page "in brief" summary is also available.
Living Literacy: A Cycle of Life to Text and Text to Life
Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski
In a December 2007 New Yorker article, "Twilight of the Books," author Caleb Crain laments the decline of literacy in the United States, citing a number of studies indicating, "Americans are losing not just the will to read but even the ability." Crain reports that, "readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, visit art museums, attend theater, paint, go to music events, take photos, and volunteer.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, America had the world's best school system. That may no longer be true, and the reason why will surprise you.
Education reformers typically claim we have a serious problem with our schools because American students do poorly compared to other nations on international tests. They claim our low scores will adversely affect our ability to compete economically on the world stage.
The National Math Panel Report Goes to Washington
Barry Garelick
Columnist EducationNews.org
The National Math Advisory Panel (NMP), which was formed two years ago, released its final report on March 13, 2008. One of the principal messages of the report is that "the delivery system in mathematics education is broken and must be fixed." Such a statement is hard to ignore, so it was only a matter of time before someone on the Hill would look into what it would take to fix the broken system.
Charter oversight hobbled in 2005
Philadelphia Daily News
Rather than risk offending powerful legislators, the School Reform Commission decided to end audits.
The Philadelphia School District's first audits of charter schools up for renewal in 2004 found problems at all seven, including conflicts of interest at a charter founded by the wife of State Rep. John Perzel, the powerful Northeast Republican who was then speaker of the House.
Government's education policy is self-defeating, academics warn
The Independent
The drive to reform Britain's education system, with frequent shifts in policy and the added burden of targets, is self-defeating and "working against the Government's own intentions", leading academics have warned ministers.
In Defense of Testing Series: NIST Assessment of the U.S. Measurement System
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a new report, An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation (NIST Special Publication 1048). The report is available at usms.nist.gov and consists of 68 pages for the main report plus nearly 1,000 pages of appendixes. An eight-page "in brief" summary is also available.
Living Literacy: A Cycle of Life to Text and Text to Life
Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski
In a December 2007 New Yorker article, "Twilight of the Books," author Caleb Crain laments the decline of literacy in the United States, citing a number of studies indicating, "Americans are losing not just the will to read but even the ability." Crain reports that, "readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, visit art museums, attend theater, paint, go to music events, take photos, and volunteer.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
BCCT Citizen Scholars
Congratulations to all of the Lower Bucks citizen scholars from the class of 2008, but special congratulations to Morrisville's own Matt Miller and Michael Tribbey.
Matthew Miller
Morrisville Middle/Senior High
Class rank: 1 of 69
Achievements: National Honor Society; Rotary Club Student of the Month; perfect attendance award; student government; class officer; 21st Century Interact Club; Ski Club; baseball; football; soccer; student forum; Future Business Leaders of America; chemistry award.
Community service: Nominated for Teen Volunteer of the Year; Earth Day delegate; organized a Powder Puff football fundraiser; organized Love Ashley fundraiser; Dr. Seuss reading program volunteer; Winterfest volunteer; Senior Citizen service; Martin Luther King reading presentation.
Counselor’s comments: Matthew is very active in school and his community. He has taken leadership roles on service projects and athletics.
Michael Tribbey: Morrisville Middle/Senior High Class rank: 6 of 69 Achievements: National Honor Society; student representative to the school board; chorus, Chamber Choir; Drama Club; soccer; bowling. Reading Olympics; 21st Century Learning Club. Counselor’s comments: Michael is very creative.
Matthew MillerMorrisville Middle/Senior High
Class rank: 1 of 69
Achievements: National Honor Society; Rotary Club Student of the Month; perfect attendance award; student government; class officer; 21st Century Interact Club; Ski Club; baseball; football; soccer; student forum; Future Business Leaders of America; chemistry award.
Community service: Nominated for Teen Volunteer of the Year; Earth Day delegate; organized a Powder Puff football fundraiser; organized Love Ashley fundraiser; Dr. Seuss reading program volunteer; Winterfest volunteer; Senior Citizen service; Martin Luther King reading presentation.
Counselor’s comments: Matthew is very active in school and his community. He has taken leadership roles on service projects and athletics.
Michael Tribbey: Morrisville Middle/Senior High Class rank: 6 of 69 Achievements: National Honor Society; student representative to the school board; chorus, Chamber Choir; Drama Club; soccer; bowling. Reading Olympics; 21st Century Learning Club. Counselor’s comments: Michael is very creative.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Comic Relief
Democracy (and the Morrisville School Board), as explained in Real Life.
Any Morrisville voters feeling a bit like sushi right now?
Any Morrisville voters feeling a bit like sushi right now?
We Didn't Know How Much We DIDN'T Know
From the BCCT this morning. First is a guest opinion on how destroying the school system will only destroy the community. This is something that the people here on this blog have been saying for months now.
Next is a "Thumbs up" from the BCCT on the Tech High School budget mess. I'm not sure I agree completely. Yes, it's great that the logjam was broken, but why does it take international class brinksmanship and public histrionics to force others to the negotiating table simply to do the right thing for the kids AND the taxpayers? There's also praise for the Pennsbury citizens commission and praise for the state House Education Committee's approval of the new school funding formula. If you have not clicked on the green link to the left and registered your displeasure with your elected officials, why are you waiting?
Lastly, there is an article on the Tech School graduates themselves. Here's the heart of the "why" when people ask "why do we have a school system?" Answer: It's an investment in the future.
Destroying our schools will only destroy our community
By WILLIAM S. UMEK
Current Morrisville school board members were elected based on a platform of not raising taxes and doing away with a plan to build a new school, which would have resulted in many more positive results than negative ones for the community.
Now, they are in a position whereby they cannot meet the promise of not increasing taxes without having to tax us double next year (time to start saving money, so they can save face) and they are on the edge of getting Morrisville sued by the state. We went from a board that wanted to improve the borough and the education
we provide our children to one that wants to deteriorate (the borough) to the point that the state would have to step in.
How did we end up here? New schools create a sense of pride, induce homebuyers to move in and generally raise the bar for the community. They also cost money, which is what people generally use to invest in their future.
Morrisville residents have voted to stagnate and deteriorate; the opposite of improving. What pride is there in a rundown school and a community that votes against improving them? Who wants to move into a community that does not invest in the future of their children?
I have seen dozens of nice homes that are still for sale from over a year ago. As for raising the bar and investing in our future, how much more money do I want to invest in my home or would the right move be to get out before it is too late?
If current board members have to eat their words and raise taxes, so be it. I can’t fathom that any one would ever believe that undeliverable promise in this day and age. I am sure that being sued by the state and defending the half-witted decision to not fund education will cost more than the amount our taxes increase. This is not grade school where you get elected to class president by convincing people you will have soda coming out of the water fountains.
At that level there are not any repercussions for this inability to think a plan and a promise through to a feasible conclusion. However, there are repercussions when you are running a school board and while it may not turn out well for the board members, the real issue is the long-term effects this will have on Morrisville Borough, its students and future residents.
We need to find a way to remedy this. Unfortunately, one way has been missed by the board not voting to take advantage of state exceptions to raising taxes. It would be nice to believe and one would expect that the new school board members would know how to do their job. Apparently they do not, hence the situation we are in (unless they planned on creating this mess).
It does seem that there are many experienced, smart and bright people in the district who can guide the board in making timely and informed decisions. Reba Dunford is one such person who has presented a sensible option. But was this suggested before or after the board’s decision in January? If it was after, I wish she could have made it before. And while she is not to blame for the position the board has put us in, it would be a great idea for the people of this community like her, who have the knowledge and understand how a school board should operate, to pitch in and make suggestions in line with improving our school situation. It is not a matter of being paid or not. It is a matter of improving OUR community.
My plea to the residents of Morrisville is that we come together as a community to fix this. We need to offer our experience, regardless of party and preference to the current board.
My plea to the board is to seek out the help they need to make accurate and timely decisions and to be open to the suggestions of those with more experience than themselves. We can come together, show what a great sense of community we have and put ourselves on the right track — or we can begin the process of decline into a borough that the state labels financially distressed.
I would prefer that Morrisville be labeled as a great place to live and to raise a family.
William S. Umek has lived in Morrisville for 10 years and has three boys who attend school in the district.
------------------------------------
Thumbs Up
To the Bensalem school board for finally voting last week to end the logjam that kept the Bucks County Technical High School from implementing its $21.7 million budget for the 2008-09 school year. The board voted unanimously for the budget only after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle a controversial funding formula this summer.
The agreement to approve the budget means that each sending district’s share of the cost of running the comprehensive tech school will increase 4.4 percent.
The Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts send students to the tech school for training in about three dozen trades, along with academics. Bristol Township, Bensalem and Morrisville have complained about the cost-sharing arrangement with the other districts.
We hope that representatives of all the districts on the joint board committee will come up with a proper cost-sharing arrangement this summer to avoid this thorny issue in the future.
To the Pennsbury school board’s citizens advisory budget committee and board member Gene Dolnick, who suggested forming the panel.
The idea was to get residents involved in the budget process beyond just commenting (read complaining) after a budget’s been proposed. The goal, in addition to smoothing public reaction to almost inevitable tax hikes, is to take advantage of expertise in the community and, perhaps, forestall a tax increase.
The committee attempted to do that by recommending ways to cut costs and generate revenue. We encourage the board to give the panel’s recommendations serious consideration. And we encourage other school boards to follow Pennsbury’s lead and form their own citizen budget panels.
To the State House Education Committee, which voted in favor of a new school funding formula.
The new formula for supplemental state funding, if approved by the Legislature, would take into consideration enrollment, the number of low-income students and English-language learners, district size and regional cost differences.
This would help ensure that the needs of every district are adequately addressed, thus creating the opportunity for each district to provide every student with a quality education.
We encourage the full House to likewise pass the measure and the Senate to adopt a similar bill.
------------------------------------
Students plotting out their futures
Graduates of the tech school’s civil engineering class, one of just a handful in the U.S., can walk into jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour.
By JOAN HELLYER
Sean Gosner said he has been mistaken for a space traveler while working on a project at Bucks County Technical High School.
“One guy said, ‘Hey, that’s a cool jetpack,’” Sean, 17, a tech school junior, said of the global positioning system he carries on his back while collecting data for the civil engineering project.
But don’t think that Sean minds the onlooker confusion. “I like using the GPS unit for receiving information and walking around to get the shots,” the Bristol Township resident said.
Students in Bob Hale’s civil engineering class have fanned out across the approximate 45-acre campus off Wistar Road in Bristol Township for the past several weeks to record data about the property.
The high school juniors use global positioning systems linked to six satellites and data collectors to record information that they bring back into the school and download on their computers. Information collected during the course of three marking periods will be used to create maps of the school property, Hale said.
The GPS instrument provides the students with coordinates and data on the tech school complex including the building and its surrounding driveways, vegetation and boundary lines, students said.
“Come 50 toward us, in a straight line,” BCTHS junior Anthony Schaffer, 17, said Thursday afternoon to project partner Lady Venegas, as they prepared to record elevation information in a corner of the school’s main courtyard.
Anthony, a Middletown resident, said he’s learned some valuable lessons while doing the project at the comprehensive technical high school, which serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
“I’m smarter than I thought I was. We didn’t know how much we know,” Anthony said.
The GPS instruments and data collectors were secured through grants and donations from local engineers, Hale said. The students said they use that equipment and other skills including measurements, geometric equations, field notes and research skills they have developed during the last three years to do their work.
The project is designed to help students understand how to make sure the original project was done according to plan, Hale said. Their completed work will be referred to an “as built plan” if it proves the school complex was built according to plan, he said.
The exercise helps students see what they would actually do if they were land surveyors, Hale said.
The tech school’s civil engineering class is one of just a handful of civil engineering classes across the United States, the teacher said.
Students who graduate from the civil engineering class generally are able to secure land surveying-type jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour, Hale said. They can also pursue various careers in civil engineering, land surveying, architecture and environmental protection with additional schooling, the tech school teacher said.
If students earn a two-year degree in any of those backgrounds, they’ll likely be able to secure a $30,000 annual salary, he said. A four-year degree will provide an extra $10,000 in annual income, Hale estimated.
An advanced degree will bring home a $65,000 annual salary, and civil engineers who are licensed can make a six-figure salary, he said.
“We’re beyond high school students,” BCTHS junior Dan Quinn, 17, said. “The kids who have already graduated said it has done wonders for them and they already know what they’re doing when they get to college.”
Next is a "Thumbs up" from the BCCT on the Tech High School budget mess. I'm not sure I agree completely. Yes, it's great that the logjam was broken, but why does it take international class brinksmanship and public histrionics to force others to the negotiating table simply to do the right thing for the kids AND the taxpayers? There's also praise for the Pennsbury citizens commission and praise for the state House Education Committee's approval of the new school funding formula. If you have not clicked on the green link to the left and registered your displeasure with your elected officials, why are you waiting?
Lastly, there is an article on the Tech School graduates themselves. Here's the heart of the "why" when people ask "why do we have a school system?" Answer: It's an investment in the future.
Destroying our schools will only destroy our community
By WILLIAM S. UMEK
Current Morrisville school board members were elected based on a platform of not raising taxes and doing away with a plan to build a new school, which would have resulted in many more positive results than negative ones for the community.
Now, they are in a position whereby they cannot meet the promise of not increasing taxes without having to tax us double next year (time to start saving money, so they can save face) and they are on the edge of getting Morrisville sued by the state. We went from a board that wanted to improve the borough and the education
we provide our children to one that wants to deteriorate (the borough) to the point that the state would have to step in.
How did we end up here? New schools create a sense of pride, induce homebuyers to move in and generally raise the bar for the community. They also cost money, which is what people generally use to invest in their future.
Morrisville residents have voted to stagnate and deteriorate; the opposite of improving. What pride is there in a rundown school and a community that votes against improving them? Who wants to move into a community that does not invest in the future of their children?
I have seen dozens of nice homes that are still for sale from over a year ago. As for raising the bar and investing in our future, how much more money do I want to invest in my home or would the right move be to get out before it is too late?
If current board members have to eat their words and raise taxes, so be it. I can’t fathom that any one would ever believe that undeliverable promise in this day and age. I am sure that being sued by the state and defending the half-witted decision to not fund education will cost more than the amount our taxes increase. This is not grade school where you get elected to class president by convincing people you will have soda coming out of the water fountains.
At that level there are not any repercussions for this inability to think a plan and a promise through to a feasible conclusion. However, there are repercussions when you are running a school board and while it may not turn out well for the board members, the real issue is the long-term effects this will have on Morrisville Borough, its students and future residents.
We need to find a way to remedy this. Unfortunately, one way has been missed by the board not voting to take advantage of state exceptions to raising taxes. It would be nice to believe and one would expect that the new school board members would know how to do their job. Apparently they do not, hence the situation we are in (unless they planned on creating this mess).
It does seem that there are many experienced, smart and bright people in the district who can guide the board in making timely and informed decisions. Reba Dunford is one such person who has presented a sensible option. But was this suggested before or after the board’s decision in January? If it was after, I wish she could have made it before. And while she is not to blame for the position the board has put us in, it would be a great idea for the people of this community like her, who have the knowledge and understand how a school board should operate, to pitch in and make suggestions in line with improving our school situation. It is not a matter of being paid or not. It is a matter of improving OUR community.
My plea to the residents of Morrisville is that we come together as a community to fix this. We need to offer our experience, regardless of party and preference to the current board.
My plea to the board is to seek out the help they need to make accurate and timely decisions and to be open to the suggestions of those with more experience than themselves. We can come together, show what a great sense of community we have and put ourselves on the right track — or we can begin the process of decline into a borough that the state labels financially distressed.
I would prefer that Morrisville be labeled as a great place to live and to raise a family.
William S. Umek has lived in Morrisville for 10 years and has three boys who attend school in the district.
------------------------------------
Thumbs Up
To the Bensalem school board for finally voting last week to end the logjam that kept the Bucks County Technical High School from implementing its $21.7 million budget for the 2008-09 school year. The board voted unanimously for the budget only after the tech school’s joint board committee agreed to tackle a controversial funding formula this summer.
The agreement to approve the budget means that each sending district’s share of the cost of running the comprehensive tech school will increase 4.4 percent.
The Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts send students to the tech school for training in about three dozen trades, along with academics. Bristol Township, Bensalem and Morrisville have complained about the cost-sharing arrangement with the other districts.
We hope that representatives of all the districts on the joint board committee will come up with a proper cost-sharing arrangement this summer to avoid this thorny issue in the future.
To the Pennsbury school board’s citizens advisory budget committee and board member Gene Dolnick, who suggested forming the panel.
The idea was to get residents involved in the budget process beyond just commenting (read complaining) after a budget’s been proposed. The goal, in addition to smoothing public reaction to almost inevitable tax hikes, is to take advantage of expertise in the community and, perhaps, forestall a tax increase.
The committee attempted to do that by recommending ways to cut costs and generate revenue. We encourage the board to give the panel’s recommendations serious consideration. And we encourage other school boards to follow Pennsbury’s lead and form their own citizen budget panels.
To the State House Education Committee, which voted in favor of a new school funding formula.
The new formula for supplemental state funding, if approved by the Legislature, would take into consideration enrollment, the number of low-income students and English-language learners, district size and regional cost differences.
This would help ensure that the needs of every district are adequately addressed, thus creating the opportunity for each district to provide every student with a quality education.
We encourage the full House to likewise pass the measure and the Senate to adopt a similar bill.
------------------------------------
Students plotting out their futures
Graduates of the tech school’s civil engineering class, one of just a handful in the U.S., can walk into jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour.
By JOAN HELLYER
Sean Gosner said he has been mistaken for a space traveler while working on a project at Bucks County Technical High School.
“One guy said, ‘Hey, that’s a cool jetpack,’” Sean, 17, a tech school junior, said of the global positioning system he carries on his back while collecting data for the civil engineering project.
But don’t think that Sean minds the onlooker confusion. “I like using the GPS unit for receiving information and walking around to get the shots,” the Bristol Township resident said.
Students in Bob Hale’s civil engineering class have fanned out across the approximate 45-acre campus off Wistar Road in Bristol Township for the past several weeks to record data about the property.
The high school juniors use global positioning systems linked to six satellites and data collectors to record information that they bring back into the school and download on their computers. Information collected during the course of three marking periods will be used to create maps of the school property, Hale said.
The GPS instrument provides the students with coordinates and data on the tech school complex including the building and its surrounding driveways, vegetation and boundary lines, students said.
“Come 50 toward us, in a straight line,” BCTHS junior Anthony Schaffer, 17, said Thursday afternoon to project partner Lady Venegas, as they prepared to record elevation information in a corner of the school’s main courtyard.
Anthony, a Middletown resident, said he’s learned some valuable lessons while doing the project at the comprehensive technical high school, which serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
“I’m smarter than I thought I was. We didn’t know how much we know,” Anthony said.
The GPS instruments and data collectors were secured through grants and donations from local engineers, Hale said. The students said they use that equipment and other skills including measurements, geometric equations, field notes and research skills they have developed during the last three years to do their work.
The project is designed to help students understand how to make sure the original project was done according to plan, Hale said. Their completed work will be referred to an “as built plan” if it proves the school complex was built according to plan, he said.
The exercise helps students see what they would actually do if they were land surveyors, Hale said.
The tech school’s civil engineering class is one of just a handful of civil engineering classes across the United States, the teacher said.
Students who graduate from the civil engineering class generally are able to secure land surveying-type jobs that pay between $13 and $15 per hour, Hale said. They can also pursue various careers in civil engineering, land surveying, architecture and environmental protection with additional schooling, the tech school teacher said.
If students earn a two-year degree in any of those backgrounds, they’ll likely be able to secure a $30,000 annual salary, he said. A four-year degree will provide an extra $10,000 in annual income, Hale estimated.
An advanced degree will bring home a $65,000 annual salary, and civil engineers who are licensed can make a six-figure salary, he said.
“We’re beyond high school students,” BCTHS junior Dan Quinn, 17, said. “The kids who have already graduated said it has done wonders for them and they already know what they’re doing when they get to college.”
Friday, June 6, 2008
Makes Building in a Flood Zone Look Good!
Thanks to the contributor who sent me links to stories that appeared on KYW3 and Fox29 regarding a new school being built in Chester County.
It's being built on a Superfund site.
Look, Mom! Look what I brought home. I found it in the schoolyard........
Chester Co. School Proposal Draws Opposition
KIMBERTON, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
Phoenixville Township held a controversial school board workshop on Thursday to decide whether or not to begin construction on a new school.
The proposed location for the new East Pikeland Elementary school is on a potentially dangerous toxic superfund site, a location that has local parents up in arms.
"I believe this is a time bomb waiting to happen," Celeste McGilney said. "We have a bed of water that is contaminated and no one can say to me that that water will not come up"
Test wells of the groundwater from a landfill near the proposed location have tested positive for TCE, however the EPA and DEP both say the site is appropriate and poses no health risk.
Despite assurances from the government and Chester County, officials some residents, like Jeff Effgen, still aren't convinced that this decision isn't one they won't soon regret.
"The fact that you can't drink the water, still is a red flag and an alarm to me and I think it might be retroactively something that we're really embarrassed to have not dealt with."
The EPA has made their recommendations, however it is ultimately up to the district to decide whether or not to proceed with the construction.
It's being built on a Superfund site.
Look, Mom! Look what I brought home. I found it in the schoolyard........
Chester Co. School Proposal Draws Opposition
KIMBERTON, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
Phoenixville Township held a controversial school board workshop on Thursday to decide whether or not to begin construction on a new school.
The proposed location for the new East Pikeland Elementary school is on a potentially dangerous toxic superfund site, a location that has local parents up in arms.
"I believe this is a time bomb waiting to happen," Celeste McGilney said. "We have a bed of water that is contaminated and no one can say to me that that water will not come up"
Test wells of the groundwater from a landfill near the proposed location have tested positive for TCE, however the EPA and DEP both say the site is appropriate and poses no health risk.
Despite assurances from the government and Chester County, officials some residents, like Jeff Effgen, still aren't convinced that this decision isn't one they won't soon regret.
"The fact that you can't drink the water, still is a red flag and an alarm to me and I think it might be retroactively something that we're really embarrassed to have not dealt with."
The EPA has made their recommendations, however it is ultimately up to the district to decide whether or not to proceed with the construction.
Not a Tony Winning Performance
The BCCT today again recognized that the Emperor is running a one man show. Unlike the folksy Mark Twain of Hal Holbrook, or the spot on Ebenezer Scrooge by Patrick Stewart, the world of William Hellmann, CPA, Emperor of Education, is far less entertaining. It is a dark and sinister place. His penchant for sharp and divisive activity, especially where none was needed, has been played out time after time.
"Let's speed this up." "Vote now." "I'm tired of all this." "Let's move on." "Your time is up." The schools director who is for the taxpayer. Isn't that a rather ironic slice of life? All through literature, we find the story of the guy on the wrong side of things. Through experiences, they find the right side, move over, and there's a happy ending. Not so here.
I do take issue with the use of the word virtuoso in the editorial below. The connotation of that word is rather exemplary, defining someone with exceptional and unique talents. We're all unique. It's what we do that is a moral issue. It is often an innocent progression, which leads unexpectedly to other, possible nasty, uses.
There's still a way out. A reader already suggested a way that the board members themselves can begin to clean up the mess quickly, quietly, and without a monetary cost.
I can't **RECALL** another way to handle this myself...
While I do not think that the Emperor is capital "E" Evil personified (think Hitler and Stalin), his obvious inability to work and play well with others is a small "e" evil that does need to be addressed.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Evil is nourished and grows by concealment." - Virgil
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
"Of two evils, choose neither." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
One-man band
Multiple heads are better than one.
Morrisville school board President William Hellman is very smart and very capable. He thinks big and has lots of ideas.
Problem is he’s a one-man band. Nobody else on the board gets to play along. At least that’s the way it appears.
Thus, a stunning and divisive proposal to simply dissolve the high school and pay for students to be educated in other districts shows up as a formal proposal. No public debate by board members. No input from citizens.
Maybe Hellmann’s plan is the best thing for the struggling district, its overburdened taxpayers and, most importantly, the students. And maybe shutting the borough’s two elementary schools and uniting them at a renovated high school is a great solution, too — another of Hellman’s big ideas.
It’s just that other board members, as elected representatives of the people, and the people themselves, ought to be part of the planning process.
We strongly urge the borough’s virtuoso board president to share the spotlight.
"Let's speed this up." "Vote now." "I'm tired of all this." "Let's move on." "Your time is up." The schools director who is for the taxpayer. Isn't that a rather ironic slice of life? All through literature, we find the story of the guy on the wrong side of things. Through experiences, they find the right side, move over, and there's a happy ending. Not so here.
I do take issue with the use of the word virtuoso in the editorial below. The connotation of that word is rather exemplary, defining someone with exceptional and unique talents. We're all unique. It's what we do that is a moral issue. It is often an innocent progression, which leads unexpectedly to other, possible nasty, uses.
There's still a way out. A reader already suggested a way that the board members themselves can begin to clean up the mess quickly, quietly, and without a monetary cost.
I can't **RECALL** another way to handle this myself...
While I do not think that the Emperor is capital "E" Evil personified (think Hitler and Stalin), his obvious inability to work and play well with others is a small "e" evil that does need to be addressed.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Evil is nourished and grows by concealment." - Virgil
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
"Of two evils, choose neither." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
One-man band
Multiple heads are better than one.
Morrisville school board President William Hellman is very smart and very capable. He thinks big and has lots of ideas.
Problem is he’s a one-man band. Nobody else on the board gets to play along. At least that’s the way it appears.
Thus, a stunning and divisive proposal to simply dissolve the high school and pay for students to be educated in other districts shows up as a formal proposal. No public debate by board members. No input from citizens.
Maybe Hellmann’s plan is the best thing for the struggling district, its overburdened taxpayers and, most importantly, the students. And maybe shutting the borough’s two elementary schools and uniting them at a renovated high school is a great solution, too — another of Hellman’s big ideas.
It’s just that other board members, as elected representatives of the people, and the people themselves, ought to be part of the planning process.
We strongly urge the borough’s virtuoso board president to share the spotlight.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
And to Think I Was Worried About PAPA Bear...
There are days when I truly wonder if anyone is reading. Once that "post" button is pressed, do my posts go anywhere? Does anyone read them?
Then one of you go and remind me that, yes, there is someone out there. Thanks, Mother Bear. Thank you for the thoughtful and reflective essay. You have truly made my day. Please make sure that you put in your application for the school board. You would be a worthy successor to Ed Frankenfield.
Parents: Your last opportunity to make a difference in YOUR child's education is here. Remain silent, and Morrisville High School closes its doors for good. The high schoolers are farmed out and we become a K-8 district. Is that what you want?
I've noticed we've all been a bit quiet lately - stunned perhaps? I wrote the following opinion/long rant if you are interested in posting it. I'd prefer to remain anonymous at least for now.
Opinion:
There has been much buzz about what lies in the future for Morrisville students. Parents are worried, young teens working toward future goals are anxious, not knowing what lies ahead, where they will be attending school next year or the year after. The board majority has been nothing but grossly disrespectful of the population it was elected to serve -- the students. [NOTE: This is where the root of the problem lies. The Emperor believes his constituency is the taxpayers, not the students. All of you who voted for the Stop the School people: Do you believe the same thing? The correct answer is that his constituency is MORRISVILLE: Child, Student, Taxpayer, and Seniors. Even if you do not have a child or grandchild in this school system directly, you probably have nieces or nephews or grandchildren in other districts. Would you be comfortable trusting their education to William Hellman, CPA, Emperor of Education? LOL--I didn't think so. So why is it OK for the Morrisville students? Stop concentrating entirely on your wallet and consider the long term effects of what this plan will do.]
Board President Bill Hellmann revealed his "plan" at the latest school board meeting, confirming rumors that high school students will be bused to some other school. Despite this revelation, there has yet to be any real public discussion by the current Morrisville board on the issue of tuitioning out the high school and moving K-8 to that building, so we can't be certain of the board majority's intentions. We can, however, make some educated guesses based on the little drops of information that have been squeezed out.
Research into this scenario might offer board members some insight into how it would actually play out. But the board majority appears to be poised to move forward with a plan, without studied contemplation and in spite of the plain facts and expert advice that is available to them. The educational progress, time and money potentially wasted, without obtaining factual information or even looking to that which has already been provided through past studies, could be devastating to this community and our students.
If Hellmann's scheme is the direction the board chooses -we can be certain of some of the roadblocks. First, that the board will not be able to move the elementary school students to the high school building until a suitable plan is in place for the high school students. What might this be? Didn't the Courier recently reveal that neighboring public schools had been contacted about accepting our students for tuition, but all were either unable or unwilling to do so? And, that two Catholic schools and one alternative school expressed some interest?
To this end, unless the state forces another local school to accept our students, or the board decides to bus them far from home, we might speculate that the board appears to be considering some sort of voucher program. The NEA website has some interesting information about the outcomes of voucher programs in other states http://www.nea.org/vouchers/02voutrack.html. If such a plan is in place the law still requires that districts provide a "Free and Appropriate Education" for all students. This means, those for whom space is not available in another school must still be educated, and that education must be appropriate to the students needs.
Could all Morrisville high school students be sent to Catholic School? I would imagine that the constitutional separation of church and state would prevent such a plan being legal for all students. If I am of another religion or simply not interested in my child attending a religious school, I think I'd have a pretty sound legal argument for not sending my child to a Catholic School. The district might offer me the same tuition in a voucher to opt for another school, but if I cannot find another available school at the same tuition, and I cannot afford the difference, the district is still obligated to provide me with a free and appropriate education.
Is my only alternative, then "Alternative School"? Is alternative school appropriate for all students? How will the district provide free and appropriate education for students who are not Catholic or don't require an alternative school program?
Let's say the board somehow overcomes the glitch of actually having to provide education for all our high school students, and we are ready to move the elementary students in. The district will have to get state approval for the plan and the facilities will have to comply with PDE code for elementary school students. Past research has indicated that major renovations are required in order for the building to be acceptable for elementary school use. In addition, there are the problems with air flow (backwards in case of fire -- see past engineering studies), energy inefficiency and outdated systems to overcome. Has the board studied this beyond the brief walk through personally commissioned by our board president but paid for by the public?
There are numerous sound, reasonable ways we can brainstorm to educate all of our students, but we need to work within reality and with absolute accountability to the children. The board majority, or at least the President and one other "we", seem to have forged a plan without public debate, without research, without regard for the educational program or the needs of the students. This so-called plan is really just a numbers-crunching scheme, and does not reflect responsible school directorship. Nor does the budget for this year, where the board is proposing arbitrary cuts to special and alternative school education in defiance of the professional advice of educators. Perhaps the plan is "Hellmann's Plan", and the budget is "Hellmann's Budget", but where then is the deliberation? Where are the answers to our questions?
(Notable exceptions -- Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer have both worked to provide respectful answers, along with the shining example of respectful board service, the late Ed Frankenfield.)
The board has an ethical and legal obligation to the students of this district. Perhaps the President and others did not know what they were getting into, besides their single minded and unresearched mission to stop the new school. However, as elected officials they are, whether they like it or not, accountable to the laws that protect the rights of our children. Their duty involves due diligence in decision making, along with accountability to Sunshine Laws that require public deliberation and protect the public's right to know of and be heard in board policy and decision making. [Note: Bold is mine]
School board service is serious business with the ultimate outcome of helping to shape the future for our students. Our children cannot be guinea pigs to the board president's unstudied plans. They don't have time for trial and error; childhood is short. If board members are not up to serving our children -- all of our children, renters, owners, children with special needs, and children who require alternative education -- through diligent, studied, responsible decision making, then they don't deserve the honor of this position.
Mother Bear
Then one of you go and remind me that, yes, there is someone out there. Thanks, Mother Bear. Thank you for the thoughtful and reflective essay. You have truly made my day. Please make sure that you put in your application for the school board. You would be a worthy successor to Ed Frankenfield.
Parents: Your last opportunity to make a difference in YOUR child's education is here. Remain silent, and Morrisville High School closes its doors for good. The high schoolers are farmed out and we become a K-8 district. Is that what you want?
I've noticed we've all been a bit quiet lately - stunned perhaps? I wrote the following opinion/long rant if you are interested in posting it. I'd prefer to remain anonymous at least for now.
Opinion:
There has been much buzz about what lies in the future for Morrisville students. Parents are worried, young teens working toward future goals are anxious, not knowing what lies ahead, where they will be attending school next year or the year after. The board majority has been nothing but grossly disrespectful of the population it was elected to serve -- the students. [NOTE: This is where the root of the problem lies. The Emperor believes his constituency is the taxpayers, not the students. All of you who voted for the Stop the School people: Do you believe the same thing? The correct answer is that his constituency is MORRISVILLE: Child, Student, Taxpayer, and Seniors. Even if you do not have a child or grandchild in this school system directly, you probably have nieces or nephews or grandchildren in other districts. Would you be comfortable trusting their education to William Hellman, CPA, Emperor of Education? LOL--I didn't think so. So why is it OK for the Morrisville students? Stop concentrating entirely on your wallet and consider the long term effects of what this plan will do.]
Board President Bill Hellmann revealed his "plan" at the latest school board meeting, confirming rumors that high school students will be bused to some other school. Despite this revelation, there has yet to be any real public discussion by the current Morrisville board on the issue of tuitioning out the high school and moving K-8 to that building, so we can't be certain of the board majority's intentions. We can, however, make some educated guesses based on the little drops of information that have been squeezed out.
Research into this scenario might offer board members some insight into how it would actually play out. But the board majority appears to be poised to move forward with a plan, without studied contemplation and in spite of the plain facts and expert advice that is available to them. The educational progress, time and money potentially wasted, without obtaining factual information or even looking to that which has already been provided through past studies, could be devastating to this community and our students.
If Hellmann's scheme is the direction the board chooses -we can be certain of some of the roadblocks. First, that the board will not be able to move the elementary school students to the high school building until a suitable plan is in place for the high school students. What might this be? Didn't the Courier recently reveal that neighboring public schools had been contacted about accepting our students for tuition, but all were either unable or unwilling to do so? And, that two Catholic schools and one alternative school expressed some interest?
To this end, unless the state forces another local school to accept our students, or the board decides to bus them far from home, we might speculate that the board appears to be considering some sort of voucher program. The NEA website has some interesting information about the outcomes of voucher programs in other states http://www.nea.org/vouchers/02voutrack.html. If such a plan is in place the law still requires that districts provide a "Free and Appropriate Education" for all students. This means, those for whom space is not available in another school must still be educated, and that education must be appropriate to the students needs.
Could all Morrisville high school students be sent to Catholic School? I would imagine that the constitutional separation of church and state would prevent such a plan being legal for all students. If I am of another religion or simply not interested in my child attending a religious school, I think I'd have a pretty sound legal argument for not sending my child to a Catholic School. The district might offer me the same tuition in a voucher to opt for another school, but if I cannot find another available school at the same tuition, and I cannot afford the difference, the district is still obligated to provide me with a free and appropriate education.
Is my only alternative, then "Alternative School"? Is alternative school appropriate for all students? How will the district provide free and appropriate education for students who are not Catholic or don't require an alternative school program?
Let's say the board somehow overcomes the glitch of actually having to provide education for all our high school students, and we are ready to move the elementary students in. The district will have to get state approval for the plan and the facilities will have to comply with PDE code for elementary school students. Past research has indicated that major renovations are required in order for the building to be acceptable for elementary school use. In addition, there are the problems with air flow (backwards in case of fire -- see past engineering studies), energy inefficiency and outdated systems to overcome. Has the board studied this beyond the brief walk through personally commissioned by our board president but paid for by the public?
There are numerous sound, reasonable ways we can brainstorm to educate all of our students, but we need to work within reality and with absolute accountability to the children. The board majority, or at least the President and one other "we", seem to have forged a plan without public debate, without research, without regard for the educational program or the needs of the students. This so-called plan is really just a numbers-crunching scheme, and does not reflect responsible school directorship. Nor does the budget for this year, where the board is proposing arbitrary cuts to special and alternative school education in defiance of the professional advice of educators. Perhaps the plan is "Hellmann's Plan", and the budget is "Hellmann's Budget", but where then is the deliberation? Where are the answers to our questions?
(Notable exceptions -- Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer have both worked to provide respectful answers, along with the shining example of respectful board service, the late Ed Frankenfield.)
The board has an ethical and legal obligation to the students of this district. Perhaps the President and others did not know what they were getting into, besides their single minded and unresearched mission to stop the new school. However, as elected officials they are, whether they like it or not, accountable to the laws that protect the rights of our children. Their duty involves due diligence in decision making, along with accountability to Sunshine Laws that require public deliberation and protect the public's right to know of and be heard in board policy and decision making. [Note: Bold is mine]
School board service is serious business with the ultimate outcome of helping to shape the future for our students. Our children cannot be guinea pigs to the board president's unstudied plans. They don't have time for trial and error; childhood is short. If board members are not up to serving our children -- all of our children, renters, owners, children with special needs, and children who require alternative education -- through diligent, studied, responsible decision making, then they don't deserve the honor of this position.
Mother Bear
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I Want My MTV!
Thanks to the contributor who noticed this money for nothing story. Maybe we could apply and use it to climb out of our dire straits.
State Funds Move Classrooms Into The Future
By Peter Ciferri, Advance Editor
Misbehaving students at Council Rock's two high schools won't have to worry about clapping erasers and washing chalkboards as punishment anymore.Today, students say it's "kind of a joke" when teachers use the green, slate fossils of the classroom, as more and more teachers are turning to interactive white boards to deliver their message.
Fueled by over $750, 000 in Pennsylvania Classrooms for the Future (CFF) grant money, 68 classrooms across district high schools are now equipped with technology from laptops and digital cameras to camcorders and Web cams.
But the consensus is that the project's crown jewels are the interactive white boards installed across many core classrooms.
The boards, about four feet tall and mounted overtop existing chalkboards, allow teachers to utilize touch screen technology to draw diagrams, create notes and even make a database of previous lessons. "I embraced it with open arms", Physics teacher Joe Warwick said. "The kids are much more likely to look at the drawings I'm going to make on the board with the different colors, than what I would just draw on a chalkboard."
Advertisement
Warwick has been using the technology since September. During classes, he navigates through the program - which operates like a PowerPoint and Photoshop hybrid - with ease. "There are times when it makes it much, much easier", Warwick explained. "I can say it but without a simulator, there's nothing like seeing it on the screen." Warwick said he often e-mails students notes or study guides based on the computerized lessons. "It makes it more interactive", student Marissa Custren said. "Instead of just telling us, they can actually show us the notes."
According to a description on state.pa.us, the CFF program "recognizes and embraces the need for high school reform preparing students to enter and successfully compete in the ever-expanding high-tech global marketplace." Council Rock was one of two Bucks County schools (Bensalem) to receive first year project funding in 2006. This year, that number jumped to $742, 000 and the district has applied for a third year grant to equip 41 more classes next year. The state also funds training for teachers not experienced with the technology. "It's really opening up classroom walls", CFF Coach Suzanne Loftus said.
She said the program also allows teachers and students to work together on outside projects, using new digital cameras and camcorders for interactive homework assignments. "These projects teach you how to pace yourself, how to interview people, all those 21st century learning skills you're looking for", Loftus explained. "It's preparing them for the job market that they're going to be exposed to when they're getting through college." Each teacher also has their own Web page, where students can access notes and use blogging tools to hold classroom discussions even when school is out.
One Council Rock South Psychology class even links to a classroom at Council Rock North, where there are no staff members trained in the subject. The South teacher uses a monitor to see and hear the students as they sit in class and students watch their teacher over a projector. They get homework via fax machine and are still under live supervision by a substitute teacher.
"I think [CFF] is going to revolutionize learning", Loftus said. "It's going to be standard eventually." Currently, around 1, 750 students at North an 1, 890 students at South use the CFF equipment in some form every day. Loftus said the students and most teachers took to the technology immediately, and those who were reluctant at first, are now embracing the schools'goal.
"Nobody has said 'I'm sorry I did this.' They all say 'Thank God I'm in the program what are we doing next?'"
State Funds Move Classrooms Into The Future
By Peter Ciferri, Advance Editor
Misbehaving students at Council Rock's two high schools won't have to worry about clapping erasers and washing chalkboards as punishment anymore.Today, students say it's "kind of a joke" when teachers use the green, slate fossils of the classroom, as more and more teachers are turning to interactive white boards to deliver their message.
Fueled by over $750, 000 in Pennsylvania Classrooms for the Future (CFF) grant money, 68 classrooms across district high schools are now equipped with technology from laptops and digital cameras to camcorders and Web cams.
But the consensus is that the project's crown jewels are the interactive white boards installed across many core classrooms.
The boards, about four feet tall and mounted overtop existing chalkboards, allow teachers to utilize touch screen technology to draw diagrams, create notes and even make a database of previous lessons. "I embraced it with open arms", Physics teacher Joe Warwick said. "The kids are much more likely to look at the drawings I'm going to make on the board with the different colors, than what I would just draw on a chalkboard."
Advertisement
Warwick has been using the technology since September. During classes, he navigates through the program - which operates like a PowerPoint and Photoshop hybrid - with ease. "There are times when it makes it much, much easier", Warwick explained. "I can say it but without a simulator, there's nothing like seeing it on the screen." Warwick said he often e-mails students notes or study guides based on the computerized lessons. "It makes it more interactive", student Marissa Custren said. "Instead of just telling us, they can actually show us the notes."
According to a description on state.pa.us, the CFF program "recognizes and embraces the need for high school reform preparing students to enter and successfully compete in the ever-expanding high-tech global marketplace." Council Rock was one of two Bucks County schools (Bensalem) to receive first year project funding in 2006. This year, that number jumped to $742, 000 and the district has applied for a third year grant to equip 41 more classes next year. The state also funds training for teachers not experienced with the technology. "It's really opening up classroom walls", CFF Coach Suzanne Loftus said.
She said the program also allows teachers and students to work together on outside projects, using new digital cameras and camcorders for interactive homework assignments. "These projects teach you how to pace yourself, how to interview people, all those 21st century learning skills you're looking for", Loftus explained. "It's preparing them for the job market that they're going to be exposed to when they're getting through college." Each teacher also has their own Web page, where students can access notes and use blogging tools to hold classroom discussions even when school is out.
One Council Rock South Psychology class even links to a classroom at Council Rock North, where there are no staff members trained in the subject. The South teacher uses a monitor to see and hear the students as they sit in class and students watch their teacher over a projector. They get homework via fax machine and are still under live supervision by a substitute teacher.
"I think [CFF] is going to revolutionize learning", Loftus said. "It's going to be standard eventually." Currently, around 1, 750 students at North an 1, 890 students at South use the CFF equipment in some form every day. Loftus said the students and most teachers took to the technology immediately, and those who were reluctant at first, are now embracing the schools'goal.
"Nobody has said 'I'm sorry I did this.' They all say 'Thank God I'm in the program what are we doing next?'"
If Only I had Said "Morrisville is GOOD for business"
Remember when the Emperor decreed that he would not recommend business investment in Morrisville? We know the borough council backs up that view (remember Gateway?), but did you know that civilized communities know about and use the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.
Giving back for June 3
Bucks County Courier Times
Click Here!
FirstService Bank donated $8,050 to the Lower Bucks Family YMCA to support the YMCA's full- and half-day preschool programs and several programs for teenagers. FirstService is a division of Boyertown-based National Penn Bank, with branches in Warminster, Bristol, Middletown and Bensalem. The money was donated under the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, which gives businesses tax credits for approved education-related contributions.
Freedom Credit Union of Warminster sponsored A.M. Kulp Elementary School's Reading Day, a community-wide literacy project held last month. Freedom's marketing coordinator, Cyndi Cohen, read to second graders at the Hatfield Township school, which is part of the North Penn School District. Freedom Credit Union, which has branches in Philadelphia, Warminster and Lansdale, has been a major sponsor of the event for three years.
Rita's Water Ice hopes to raise more than $580,000 for pediatric cancer research during its latest paper lemon promotion. All Rita's locations will sell paper lemons for $1 during June. Proceeds will go to the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. In two years, the Bensalem-based company has raised more than $1 million for the foundation, which is named after Alex Scott. She died of cancer in 2004.
Giving back for June 3
Bucks County Courier Times
Click Here!
FirstService Bank donated $8,050 to the Lower Bucks Family YMCA to support the YMCA's full- and half-day preschool programs and several programs for teenagers. FirstService is a division of Boyertown-based National Penn Bank, with branches in Warminster, Bristol, Middletown and Bensalem. The money was donated under the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, which gives businesses tax credits for approved education-related contributions.
Freedom Credit Union of Warminster sponsored A.M. Kulp Elementary School's Reading Day, a community-wide literacy project held last month. Freedom's marketing coordinator, Cyndi Cohen, read to second graders at the Hatfield Township school, which is part of the North Penn School District. Freedom Credit Union, which has branches in Philadelphia, Warminster and Lansdale, has been a major sponsor of the event for three years.
Rita's Water Ice hopes to raise more than $580,000 for pediatric cancer research during its latest paper lemon promotion. All Rita's locations will sell paper lemons for $1 during June. Proceeds will go to the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. In two years, the Bensalem-based company has raised more than $1 million for the foundation, which is named after Alex Scott. She died of cancer in 2004.
Pennsbury Budget Woes
You hear what I'm saying? The budget is too high! It's my job to cut the taxes. That's what the people of Morrisville voted us in to do, and that's what I'm going to do.
But, Mr. Hellmann...this is the Pennsbury school district.
I'm just practicing. Fitz will make sure it happens. Besides, why aren't you cutting the special education budget?
Budget panel’s suggestions include hiring freeze
The citizens advisory budget committee also recommended cutting expenditures by 2 percent to relieve the tax burden on residents.
By MANASEE WAGH
Pennsbury’s citizens advisory budget committee suggests that the district freeze hirings and trim expenditures by 2 percent to hold the line on taxes.
“We expect them to do more with less,” said Gary Cruzan, a committee member and a Lower Makefield resident.
According to proposed figures, the owner of a $31,160 average assessed property in the district is facing $4,574 in real estate taxes next year — an increase of $231.
The committee wants the district to relieve some of the tax burden by reducing next year’s roughly $174.5 million proposed budget. It’s up about 4 percent more than this year’s.
Cruzan said he hopes next year’s contract negotiations take into account that the taxpayer “bears the burden” of salaries and benefits. The district’s total salaries and benefits are expected to constitute about three-quarters of the budget next year.
Board member Gene Dolnick came up with the idea to form the committee for more citizen participation in the budget process, said Gregory Lucidi, the board president. Last November, administration members appointed seven residents from three of the four municipalities that make up the Pennsbury district. Nobody from Tullytown applied.
The other three people on the committee are part of the administration and include Isabel Miller, the district’s business administrator.
The advisory committee’s goal is to provide recommendations to the school board for reducing costs and generating revenue, so that taxes can be kept as low as possible.
Cruzan wants the public to know that the seven residential members, who worked as a group without a chairman, oppose the tax hike the district unveiled May 8.
“Every year, they ask for a tax increase that exceeds inflation, but the economy is in a very big slowdown and it’s time to get realistic,” he said.
Cruzan stressed that the committee doesn’t want any cutbacks or changes that would adversely affect education in the district.
Instead of cutting programs or funding to educational services, Cruzan said the seven members would like to see the board and administration work on reducing expenses in other areas, such as:
The committee also is looking for a solution to transportation costs, which have been rising as a result of higher fuel prices.
Committee members will present details of these recommendations in a video, which will be posted after June 5 on the Pennsbury School District Web site, www.pennsbury.k12.pa.us.
The school board and administration have said they will continue looking for ways to reduce tax increases next year, including reviewing the advisory committee’s recommendations.
After the administration presented the proposed budget in early May, Lucidi said his goal was to stay below the state’s mandated 4.4. percent tax increase cap.
On Tuesday, Miller said she anticipates a significant reduction to the proposed tax hike by June 12, when the final budget is supposed to be adopted. The advisory committee has been meeting since Dec. 6, considering the administration’s advice and input along the way. The seven residential members want the administration to include them in the process of determining the feasibility of their proposal, according to their report.
“The budget is like any other entity. It has to get real, and the school district has to share the sacrifices that private citizens have to make,” said Cruzan. “We don’t necessarily expect the district to follow our recommendations, but we feel the recommendations should carry weight and be considered, because we’re a cross-section of the community.”
But, Mr. Hellmann...this is the Pennsbury school district.
I'm just practicing. Fitz will make sure it happens. Besides, why aren't you cutting the special education budget?
Budget panel’s suggestions include hiring freeze
The citizens advisory budget committee also recommended cutting expenditures by 2 percent to relieve the tax burden on residents.
By MANASEE WAGH
Pennsbury’s citizens advisory budget committee suggests that the district freeze hirings and trim expenditures by 2 percent to hold the line on taxes.
“We expect them to do more with less,” said Gary Cruzan, a committee member and a Lower Makefield resident.
According to proposed figures, the owner of a $31,160 average assessed property in the district is facing $4,574 in real estate taxes next year — an increase of $231.
The committee wants the district to relieve some of the tax burden by reducing next year’s roughly $174.5 million proposed budget. It’s up about 4 percent more than this year’s.
Cruzan said he hopes next year’s contract negotiations take into account that the taxpayer “bears the burden” of salaries and benefits. The district’s total salaries and benefits are expected to constitute about three-quarters of the budget next year.
Board member Gene Dolnick came up with the idea to form the committee for more citizen participation in the budget process, said Gregory Lucidi, the board president. Last November, administration members appointed seven residents from three of the four municipalities that make up the Pennsbury district. Nobody from Tullytown applied.
The other three people on the committee are part of the administration and include Isabel Miller, the district’s business administrator.
The advisory committee’s goal is to provide recommendations to the school board for reducing costs and generating revenue, so that taxes can be kept as low as possible.
Cruzan wants the public to know that the seven residential members, who worked as a group without a chairman, oppose the tax hike the district unveiled May 8.
“Every year, they ask for a tax increase that exceeds inflation, but the economy is in a very big slowdown and it’s time to get realistic,” he said.
Cruzan stressed that the committee doesn’t want any cutbacks or changes that would adversely affect education in the district.
Instead of cutting programs or funding to educational services, Cruzan said the seven members would like to see the board and administration work on reducing expenses in other areas, such as:
- Impose an immediate hiring freeze for all positions not mandated by law for 2008-09.
- Identify capital expenses, purchases and operational and maintenance expenses that can be deferred until the following budget year.
- Provide incentives for district budget managers to find ways to save.
- Ask all district employees to generate ideas for cost savings based on their familiarity with district operations.
- Track down violators of the district’s residency requirements to avoid paying for students who belong in another district.
- Start a comprehensive review of building usage to see if the district is making efficient use of space.
- Review printing and mailing costs.
- Find ways to extract small savings from sources like various employee benefits, district insurance policies, telephone costs and other sundry expenses.
The committee also is looking for a solution to transportation costs, which have been rising as a result of higher fuel prices.
Committee members will present details of these recommendations in a video, which will be posted after June 5 on the Pennsbury School District Web site, www.pennsbury.k12.pa.us.
The school board and administration have said they will continue looking for ways to reduce tax increases next year, including reviewing the advisory committee’s recommendations.
After the administration presented the proposed budget in early May, Lucidi said his goal was to stay below the state’s mandated 4.4. percent tax increase cap.
On Tuesday, Miller said she anticipates a significant reduction to the proposed tax hike by June 12, when the final budget is supposed to be adopted. The advisory committee has been meeting since Dec. 6, considering the administration’s advice and input along the way. The seven residential members want the administration to include them in the process of determining the feasibility of their proposal, according to their report.
“The budget is like any other entity. It has to get real, and the school district has to share the sacrifices that private citizens have to make,” said Cruzan. “We don’t necessarily expect the district to follow our recommendations, but we feel the recommendations should carry weight and be considered, because we’re a cross-section of the community.”
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Neshaminy Teacher Negotiations Update
Here's some more information from the BCCT regarding the Neshaminy teachers negotiations.
Be sure to check out the comments to the news story as well.
Get the details
To view the fact-finder's report, visit www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=136&Q=248097. The Neshaminy school board has also created a Web site to keep residents informed about negotiations with the NFT: http://docs.google.com/view?docid=dd9qgb9z_9hk929bhg.
How the sides compare
NESHAMINY SCHOOL BOARD
* Increase salaries 1 percent annually
* Union to pay 10, 11 and 12 percent toward healthcare premiums over next three years
* Increase K-5 class size ranges from 22-29 students to 27-33 students
* Eliminate $27,500 cash payment on retirement, plus full benefits coverage until 65
* Increase step schedule from 11 to 15 steps by 2010-2011
* Eliminate longevity pay
* Eliminate long-term sub pool
* Increase work days from 188.5 to 190.5
* Increase work hours from 7 to 7.5
* Eliminate recognition of master's degree equivalency
* Change six excused absences to three personal days
* Institute mandatory drug-testing for staff
NESHAMINY FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
* Increase salaries 4 percent annually
* No change in health insurance; currently no payment for premiums
* Reduce class sizes from 29 to 27 students in fourth grade, 29 to 28 students in fifth grade, and 35 to 30 students in the middle and high schools
* Increase retirement incentive from $27,500 to $30,000
* Assign no more than three consecutive teaching periods
* Eliminate sister-schooling at the elementary level
* Increase prep periods from five to seven per week
* Allow 12 days per year, or 15 periods per marking period, for individual education plans for special ed teachers
* Cap special ed students at one to every three “regular” students in regular education classes
* Implement required technology education at elementary level
* Implement full-day kindergarten
* Limit case loads to 250 for guidance counselors, 750 for school nurses, 250 for social workers and 1,000 for psychologists
The demands aren't necessarily comparable by category between the union and the board.
Source: Neshaminy School District.
Be sure to check out the comments to the news story as well.
Get the details
To view the fact-finder's report, visit www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=136&Q=248097. The Neshaminy school board has also created a Web site to keep residents informed about negotiations with the NFT: http://docs.google.com/view?docid=dd9qgb9z_9hk929bhg.
How the sides compare
NESHAMINY SCHOOL BOARD
* Increase salaries 1 percent annually
* Union to pay 10, 11 and 12 percent toward healthcare premiums over next three years
* Increase K-5 class size ranges from 22-29 students to 27-33 students
* Eliminate $27,500 cash payment on retirement, plus full benefits coverage until 65
* Increase step schedule from 11 to 15 steps by 2010-2011
* Eliminate longevity pay
* Eliminate long-term sub pool
* Increase work days from 188.5 to 190.5
* Increase work hours from 7 to 7.5
* Eliminate recognition of master's degree equivalency
* Change six excused absences to three personal days
* Institute mandatory drug-testing for staff
NESHAMINY FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
* Increase salaries 4 percent annually
* No change in health insurance; currently no payment for premiums
* Reduce class sizes from 29 to 27 students in fourth grade, 29 to 28 students in fifth grade, and 35 to 30 students in the middle and high schools
* Increase retirement incentive from $27,500 to $30,000
* Assign no more than three consecutive teaching periods
* Eliminate sister-schooling at the elementary level
* Increase prep periods from five to seven per week
* Allow 12 days per year, or 15 periods per marking period, for individual education plans for special ed teachers
* Cap special ed students at one to every three “regular” students in regular education classes
* Implement required technology education at elementary level
* Implement full-day kindergarten
* Limit case loads to 250 for guidance counselors, 750 for school nurses, 250 for social workers and 1,000 for psychologists
The demands aren't necessarily comparable by category between the union and the board.
Source: Neshaminy School District.
Neshaminy Teachers Negotiations
From the BCCT this morning
NESHAMINY
Teachers, school board resume talks
The state fact-finder proposes a 3-percent increase in pay and no charge to the teachers for health care premiums.
By RACHEL CANELLI
Back to the table.
Since neither side has formally accepted a fact-finder’s recommended teacher labor contract, the Neshaminy school board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers will resume negotiations. Meanwhile, the report of state-appointed fact-finder John Skonier was made public Monday.
The three-year proposed deal calls for a 3 percent salary increase but no change to the health care package, under which the union does not contribute to its health care premiums, officials said.
Skonier’s report also suggests a 3 percent increase for the co-curricular salary schedule and leaving the excused absence policy and the teachers’ assignment schedules as is.
While the administration has rejected the proposal, the teachers have not accepted or rejected it. That counts as a rejection, according to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
To have a new agreement, both sides would have to accept everything Skonier recommended. They can’t pick and choose pieces of his suggestion.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching school board President Richard Eccles for further comment.
But on a Web site created by the board to keep residents posted on contract talks, members claim they said no to the proposal for the following reasons: health care, and a lack of addressing the step schedule, the retirement incentive package, the length and number of workdays and automatic salary credit for graduate level courses that are not part of a formal master’s degree program. The step schedule is a pay raise process teachers use based on experience and education.
“We look forward to good faith bargaining with the union in order to reach agreement on a contract that is fair and equitable to all, including staff, Neshaminy taxpayers and students,” a note on the site said.
The newspaper was also unsuccessful in reaching NFT President Louise Boyd for comment.
Both sides have another five to 10 days to accept Skonier’s findings, according to the board’s lawyer, Charles Sweet. He also spoke for Pennsbury in 2005 when that district’s teachers struck for 21 days. Tom Jennings is representing the union, administrators said.
The school board and the union are expected to resume talks under the supervision of state-appointed mediator Jill Leeds-Rivera, who was also involved in the Pennsbury bargaining.
If an agreement isn’t reached when the contract expires at the end of this month, the teachers will continue working under the old deal.
Under that pact, the average teacher salary is more than $81,000. But since at least 50 teachers at the higher end of the 11-step pay scale are retiring this year with another 20 leaving in January, that figure is expected to decrease. The average starting teacher salary is $51,976, when combined with experience and education, according to the district’s human resources department.
The top salary, which requires a master’s degree plus 30 credits, is approximately $95,923.
Although the teachers do not pay any percent of their health care premiums, they do pay $15 for co-pays and $5 and $20 for generic and brand-name drugs, respectively, through Personal Choice, as reported by the district’s human resources department.
NESHAMINY
Teachers, school board resume talks
The state fact-finder proposes a 3-percent increase in pay and no charge to the teachers for health care premiums.
By RACHEL CANELLI
Back to the table.
Since neither side has formally accepted a fact-finder’s recommended teacher labor contract, the Neshaminy school board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers will resume negotiations. Meanwhile, the report of state-appointed fact-finder John Skonier was made public Monday.
The three-year proposed deal calls for a 3 percent salary increase but no change to the health care package, under which the union does not contribute to its health care premiums, officials said.
Skonier’s report also suggests a 3 percent increase for the co-curricular salary schedule and leaving the excused absence policy and the teachers’ assignment schedules as is.
While the administration has rejected the proposal, the teachers have not accepted or rejected it. That counts as a rejection, according to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
To have a new agreement, both sides would have to accept everything Skonier recommended. They can’t pick and choose pieces of his suggestion.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching school board President Richard Eccles for further comment.
But on a Web site created by the board to keep residents posted on contract talks, members claim they said no to the proposal for the following reasons: health care, and a lack of addressing the step schedule, the retirement incentive package, the length and number of workdays and automatic salary credit for graduate level courses that are not part of a formal master’s degree program. The step schedule is a pay raise process teachers use based on experience and education.
“We look forward to good faith bargaining with the union in order to reach agreement on a contract that is fair and equitable to all, including staff, Neshaminy taxpayers and students,” a note on the site said.
The newspaper was also unsuccessful in reaching NFT President Louise Boyd for comment.
Both sides have another five to 10 days to accept Skonier’s findings, according to the board’s lawyer, Charles Sweet. He also spoke for Pennsbury in 2005 when that district’s teachers struck for 21 days. Tom Jennings is representing the union, administrators said.
The school board and the union are expected to resume talks under the supervision of state-appointed mediator Jill Leeds-Rivera, who was also involved in the Pennsbury bargaining.
If an agreement isn’t reached when the contract expires at the end of this month, the teachers will continue working under the old deal.
Under that pact, the average teacher salary is more than $81,000. But since at least 50 teachers at the higher end of the 11-step pay scale are retiring this year with another 20 leaving in January, that figure is expected to decrease. The average starting teacher salary is $51,976, when combined with experience and education, according to the district’s human resources department.
The top salary, which requires a master’s degree plus 30 credits, is approximately $95,923.
Although the teachers do not pay any percent of their health care premiums, they do pay $15 for co-pays and $5 and $20 for generic and brand-name drugs, respectively, through Personal Choice, as reported by the district’s human resources department.
Monday, June 2, 2008
School Board Vacancy Nominations
Do you have someone you would like to see on the Morrisville Board of Education? Make your non-binding nominations in a comment.
School Board Vacancy
With last week's death of Ed Frankenfield, the board is advertising for candidates to fill the unexpired portion of his term.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF BOROUGH OF MORRISVILLE IS
SEEKING RESIDENT APPLICANTS TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.
APPLICANTS MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND
MUST HAVE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS 9:00 A.M. ON FRIDAY, 6-13-
08. IF INTERESTED, FORWARD RESUME AND LETTER OF
APPLICATION TO: MARLYS MIHOK, BOARD SECRETARY, 550
W. PALMER ST., MORRISVILLE, PA 19067-2195. FAX 215-736-
2413.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF BOROUGH OF MORRISVILLE IS
SEEKING RESIDENT APPLICANTS TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.
APPLICANTS MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND
MUST HAVE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS 9:00 A.M. ON FRIDAY, 6-13-
08. IF INTERESTED, FORWARD RESUME AND LETTER OF
APPLICATION TO: MARLYS MIHOK, BOARD SECRETARY, 550
W. PALMER ST., MORRISVILLE, PA 19067-2195. FAX 215-736-
2413.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
A special edition of Schools News Around the Blogosphere: Bad Behavior
Also a special shout out to the Long Hill Observer blog. Recent entries include:
What is the problem with open and transparent government?
I Asked The Board; No Response Yet
Apathy This one was a goodie!
How Do We Hold Them Accountable?
Wow...sounds just like home!
Ga. county struggles as school crisis drags on
Fort Mill Times, May 31, 2008
A February report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools blamed the district's woes on a "fatally flawed" school board and accused it of bickering, acting on behalf of special interests, meddling in the schools and making derogatory comments to school administrators during meetings.
Taxpayers won't have to pay for new Clayton diplomas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/31/08
A national company has offered to waive the charges to print 3,000 new diplomas for Clayton County students, saving taxpayers about $80,000. Clayton's new schools superintendent, John Thompson, had ordered new diplomas printed after he learned the old ones bore the name of former Superintendent Gloria Duncan and the signature of former school board Chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned in April.
Palm Beach County teachers found to have questionable content on Facebook profiles
South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 1, 2008
Join Facebook and type in "Palm Beach County School District." Up popped more than 200 names, many of them local teachers sharing personal information. A kindergarten teacher had a page with links to photos of herself drinking and having her bottom spanked by a friend. An elementary school music teacher had a page sprinkled with profanity about his former administrators. A special-education teacher had a page that revealed he is "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.
'Loose at best, criminal at worst'
Toronto Sun, June 1, 2008
Toronto's Catholic School Board trustees still owe taxpayers for thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses, a Sunday Sun review of board documents dating back to 2003 shows.
Also a special shout out to the Long Hill Observer blog. Recent entries include:
What is the problem with open and transparent government?
I Asked The Board; No Response Yet
Apathy This one was a goodie!
How Do We Hold Them Accountable?
Wow...sounds just like home!
Ga. county struggles as school crisis drags on
Fort Mill Times, May 31, 2008
A February report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools blamed the district's woes on a "fatally flawed" school board and accused it of bickering, acting on behalf of special interests, meddling in the schools and making derogatory comments to school administrators during meetings.
Taxpayers won't have to pay for new Clayton diplomas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/31/08
A national company has offered to waive the charges to print 3,000 new diplomas for Clayton County students, saving taxpayers about $80,000. Clayton's new schools superintendent, John Thompson, had ordered new diplomas printed after he learned the old ones bore the name of former Superintendent Gloria Duncan and the signature of former school board Chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned in April.
Palm Beach County teachers found to have questionable content on Facebook profiles
South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 1, 2008
Join Facebook and type in "Palm Beach County School District." Up popped more than 200 names, many of them local teachers sharing personal information. A kindergarten teacher had a page with links to photos of herself drinking and having her bottom spanked by a friend. An elementary school music teacher had a page sprinkled with profanity about his former administrators. A special-education teacher had a page that revealed he is "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.
'Loose at best, criminal at worst'
Toronto Sun, June 1, 2008
Toronto's Catholic School Board trustees still owe taxpayers for thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses, a Sunday Sun review of board documents dating back to 2003 shows.
More information on Beaver County merger
Here's a link to the Center Area School District webpage on the merger with Monaca
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)