From BucksLocalNews.com.
No, it's not a surprise. Now there's two sure votes to close Reiter. We already know about the Emperor's RATTRAP!!! Now, Jack Buckman confirms his vote to close Reiter: "We have to restructure to fit all the students in the space we're going to have."
Then there's this gem of a quote: Buckman, who previously served on Morrisville Borough Council, said the board majority had planned on restructuring "long before we had any problems with M.R. Reiter School."
There's a plan? Let's see it. Jack: You have now confirmed it exists. Release it to all of us.
Reliable toadyism: Morrisville has it.
Grades 4-12 under one roof
The school board approved putting kids ages nine through 18 in the same school.
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor Posted on Thu, Mar 5, 2009
A controversial restructuring plan was adopted for Morrisville schools in which elementary school children will attend class in the same building as high-school students. The plan was approved at the Morrisville School Board meeting Feb. 25 in a 6-2 vote.
Students in fourth through 12th grades in the Morrisville School District will attend classes in the Middle/Senior High School building. The new plan will be effective July 2009.
Voting to approve the restructuring was Board Chairman Bill Hellman, and Board Members Marlys Mihok, Bill Farrell, Al Rodosti, Brenda Worob and Jack Buckman.
Voting against the measure were Gloria Heater and Joe Kemp.
Board Member Robin Reithmeyer was not present.
Buckman, who previously served on Morrisville Borough Council, said the board majority had planned on restructuring "long before we had any problems with M.R. Reiter School." He noted people have objected, saying the board was restructuring because of the problem with Reiter.
In December, Reiter was closed because the school's furnace had exploded. Reiter students have been going to class since then at either Grandview Elementary School or the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.
As a result, Morrisville Borough Council voted to make a portion of Grand-view Avenue one-way because children were being dropped off or picked up with children running across the street.
Attending Grandview Elementary School in the fall will be pre-K to third grade. Fourth through eighth grades will attend an intermediate-level school within the Middle/Senior High School. Under the plan, the fourth to sixth grades will be separated from seventh and eighth grade classes.
Board Member Joe Kemp was not in favor of the restructuring. Later, he tried to table the motion, but was unsuccessful.
According to Buckman, the school district "has to plan on doing this. This involves changing structure - you want to prepare a head of time."
He added, "We have to restructure to fit all the students in the space we're going to have."
Some students at Grand-view will attend classes in modular units as a result of the closing of M.R. Reiter.
The school board recently held a public hearing about whether to close Reiter, during which time parents vehemently opposed the proposal. The board had 90 days after that hearing to decide if the school should be mothballed.
Showing posts with label Reiter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reiter. Show all posts
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Reiter Closure Hearing TONIGHT
From the BCCT.
Reminder: TONIGHT, 7:00 P.M. in the high school auditorium.
Public hearing Thursday to close M.R. Reiter Elementary
Posted in News on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s residents will voice their opinions and concerns Thursday at a public hearing to consider permanently closing down M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
The board majority has been encouraging the closing of one elementary in the financially strapped district. Selling the property would provide money to renovate the district’s two other school buildings, board President William Hellmann has said. Both Morrisville Middle/Senior High School and Grandview Elementary School are in somewhat better shape than Reiter.
Reiter parents have expressed concern over the idea of closing their children’s school, the larger of the district’s two elementary schools.
Its operational problems culminated in a December furnace explosion, driving its more than 250 pre-K through fifth-grade students to other district locations. Next month, district officials expect to install modular units on Grandview’s property to house the displaced children.
After the public hearing about Reiter, the board cannot make any decisions about closing the building for at least 90 days, according to school code.
Parents are also upset that the board is mulling over a long-term plan to send grades nine through 12 to other districts, turning Morrisville into a pre-K through eighth-grade district. The feasibility of this endeavor is still uncertain.
Reminder: TONIGHT, 7:00 P.M. in the high school auditorium.
Public hearing Thursday to close M.R. Reiter Elementary
Posted in News on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s residents will voice their opinions and concerns Thursday at a public hearing to consider permanently closing down M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
The board majority has been encouraging the closing of one elementary in the financially strapped district. Selling the property would provide money to renovate the district’s two other school buildings, board President William Hellmann has said. Both Morrisville Middle/Senior High School and Grandview Elementary School are in somewhat better shape than Reiter.
Reiter parents have expressed concern over the idea of closing their children’s school, the larger of the district’s two elementary schools.
Its operational problems culminated in a December furnace explosion, driving its more than 250 pre-K through fifth-grade students to other district locations. Next month, district officials expect to install modular units on Grandview’s property to house the displaced children.
After the public hearing about Reiter, the board cannot make any decisions about closing the building for at least 90 days, according to school code.
Parents are also upset that the board is mulling over a long-term plan to send grades nine through 12 to other districts, turning Morrisville into a pre-K through eighth-grade district. The feasibility of this endeavor is still uncertain.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Are Trailers a Good Idea?
So are trailers a good idea for educational use during this emergency situation?
Perhaps.
Let's look at M. R. Reiter itself, where two trailers have been in use for about seven years now. In the picture below, those are the two white rectangles on the Hillcrest Avenue side of the school.
I'm sure one of our very knowledgeable readers has the details, but they were purchased as emergency housing several years ago. They were purchased at a deep, deep discount because they had already reached the end of their expected useful life.
They stand there still, today. Once the new school was built, they would no longer be needed, but, things change...
Here's a shot of Grandview as it stands today.
There's a lot of playground area that can be used, isn't there?
As an artist's rendition, let's add the eight trailers that would be needed. These "temporary classroom units", or whatever the politically correct euphemism is, are double wides, so for comparison purposes, I've taken a standard blue trailer and a standard white trailer at the same scale to indicate "one" classroom unit, and presto! Grandview with eight trailers.
Pretty, isn't it?
There are plenty of ways to configure the actual placement of the trailers, but consider this: The "where" of placement is less important than the "how long." We can all agree this is an emergency situation requiring flexibility on all sides. If this was really going to be temporary until a permanent solution was available, all would probably be well.
These trailers should not be installed without a long-term viable community-accepted plan in place.
Accepting trailers without assessing the longer term implications does not place the town's future, or the welfare of the students, as a high priority core concern.
Perhaps.
Let's look at M. R. Reiter itself, where two trailers have been in use for about seven years now. In the picture below, those are the two white rectangles on the Hillcrest Avenue side of the school.
I'm sure one of our very knowledgeable readers has the details, but they were purchased as emergency housing several years ago. They were purchased at a deep, deep discount because they had already reached the end of their expected useful life.
They stand there still, today. Once the new school was built, they would no longer be needed, but, things change...
Here's a shot of Grandview as it stands today.
There's a lot of playground area that can be used, isn't there?
As an artist's rendition, let's add the eight trailers that would be needed. These "temporary classroom units", or whatever the politically correct euphemism is, are double wides, so for comparison purposes, I've taken a standard blue trailer and a standard white trailer at the same scale to indicate "one" classroom unit, and presto! Grandview with eight trailers.
Pretty, isn't it?
There are plenty of ways to configure the actual placement of the trailers, but consider this: The "where" of placement is less important than the "how long." We can all agree this is an emergency situation requiring flexibility on all sides. If this was really going to be temporary until a permanent solution was available, all would probably be well.
These trailers should not be installed without a long-term viable community-accepted plan in place.
Accepting trailers without assessing the longer term implications does not place the town's future, or the welfare of the students, as a high priority core concern.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Reiter Not Opening Jan 5. Modulars for Grandview
Here's an email from an elementary parent.
M.R. Reiter parents received a phone blast December 23 announcing that students are to attend school at their present assigned locations, either Grandview or the High School, when they return from vacation on January 5th. An emergency board meeting has been called for the evening of January 5th. We've heard that the board will be deciding whether or not to purchase modular classrooms to be placed on the Grandview grounds.
Board of Ed, Monday, January 5, 2009
Special Board Meeting
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING TO BE HELD AT 7:00 P.M. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2009 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of School Directors of The Borough of Morrisville School District, Bucks County, Pennsylvania will hold a Special Meeting of the Board at the Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle-Senior High School, 550 West Palmer Avenue, Morrisville, Pennsylvania 19067 at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 2009 to consider and act upon matters relating to emergency purchasing and programming arising from the M.R. Reiter Elementary School facility and such other lawful matters as may come before the board.
Site: HS LGI
Time: 7:00PM
M.R. Reiter parents received a phone blast December 23 announcing that students are to attend school at their present assigned locations, either Grandview or the High School, when they return from vacation on January 5th. An emergency board meeting has been called for the evening of January 5th. We've heard that the board will be deciding whether or not to purchase modular classrooms to be placed on the Grandview grounds.
Board of Ed, Monday, January 5, 2009
Special Board Meeting
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING TO BE HELD AT 7:00 P.M. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2009 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of School Directors of The Borough of Morrisville School District, Bucks County, Pennsylvania will hold a Special Meeting of the Board at the Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle-Senior High School, 550 West Palmer Avenue, Morrisville, Pennsylvania 19067 at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 2009 to consider and act upon matters relating to emergency purchasing and programming arising from the M.R. Reiter Elementary School facility and such other lawful matters as may come before the board.
Site: HS LGI
Time: 7:00PM
Reiter Closure Hearing Scheduled
The Emperor's plan for closing M. R. Reiter is now coming to fruition. It says the public is invited to attend and participate.
Let's keep in mind what "participation" is, defined as by the Emperor President and the board of chosen accomplices:
* Keep quiet. Just cooperate. We need a short meeting. Don't you understand?
* If you must talk, you have three minutes. We'll do some paperwork shuffling while you talk, maybe even do some Sudoku puzzles. Our minds are already made up and we're only doing this because state law says we have to give the appearance of public input.
* Don't bring up the past. We ignored you then and we can do it again.
* Don't bring up the present. We know what's right.
* Don't bring up the future. That's someone else's problem. You were foolish enough to elect us, right?
* Don't bring up facts. They just confuse the issue. We know what's right for taxpayers.
* Students? Why do we care about them? They don't pay taxes.
Any rules I missed?
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OF BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MORRISVILLE BOROUGH TO CONSIDER PERMANENT CLOSURE OF M.R. REITER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Pursuant to Article VII, Section 780 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, as amended, notice is herewith given that the Board of Directors of the School District of Morrisville Borough will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, January 14, 2008 at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium of the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, 550 West Palmer Avenue, Morrisville, PA 19067 upon the question of whether or not to permanently close the M.R. Reiter Elementary School located at 150 Clymer Avenue, Morrisville Borough, Bucks County, PA 19067 at the end of the school year 2008-09 or at the end of some subsequent school year.
The public is invited to attend and participate in the hearing.
Marlys Mihok, Secretary
Board of School Directors of
School District of
Morrisville Borough
Appeared in: Bucks County Courier Times on Wednesday, 12/24/2008
Let's keep in mind what "participation" is, defined as by the Emperor President and the board of chosen accomplices:
* Keep quiet. Just cooperate. We need a short meeting. Don't you understand?
* If you must talk, you have three minutes. We'll do some paperwork shuffling while you talk, maybe even do some Sudoku puzzles. Our minds are already made up and we're only doing this because state law says we have to give the appearance of public input.
* Don't bring up the past. We ignored you then and we can do it again.
* Don't bring up the present. We know what's right.
* Don't bring up the future. That's someone else's problem. You were foolish enough to elect us, right?
* Don't bring up facts. They just confuse the issue. We know what's right for taxpayers.
* Students? Why do we care about them? They don't pay taxes.
Any rules I missed?
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OF BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MORRISVILLE BOROUGH TO CONSIDER PERMANENT CLOSURE OF M.R. REITER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Pursuant to Article VII, Section 780 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, as amended, notice is herewith given that the Board of Directors of the School District of Morrisville Borough will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, January 14, 2008 at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium of the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, 550 West Palmer Avenue, Morrisville, PA 19067 upon the question of whether or not to permanently close the M.R. Reiter Elementary School located at 150 Clymer Avenue, Morrisville Borough, Bucks County, PA 19067 at the end of the school year 2008-09 or at the end of some subsequent school year.
The public is invited to attend and participate in the hearing.
Marlys Mihok, Secretary
Board of School Directors of
School District of
Morrisville Borough
Appeared in: Bucks County Courier Times on Wednesday, 12/24/2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Hellmann Removes M.R. Reiter Without Authorization
Let's not forget this gem either.
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday's board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
Where's all the "safety of the students" protests now?
District takes steps toward restoring schools
By MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE -- After several decades, it's time to initiate serious updates in Morrisville schools, say area residents.
The school board recently voted 7-1 to start preliminary work to replace the boilers in the high school building and Grandview Elementary.
Some school board members and residents call it the first step toward restoring the schools, which have been in need of repairs for years.
“This is the beginning of something. People should applaud this beginning,” said resident Sharon Hughes.
The district will use Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to begin assessing the work necessary to replace the boilers, as well as looking into two new burners for the elementary school.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to get the deteriorating high school and both elementaries in better shape since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school.
But there's a problem with taking action on the boilers now, the board minority said.
Evaluating the needs of two schools, designing a custom boiler for each and completing installation could take six months. That would put the project's conclusion well into the heating season, according to Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
The price tag for the boilers alone is more than $100,000, not counting the labor and any expenses that could crop up along the way, he said at the Tuesday board meeting.
Some residents and the board minority complained this is a poor time to start an expensive project without a long-term restoration plan that would take the schools' many other problems into account.
In May, the board voted to hire Wick Fisher White, an engineering firm, to do a $30,000 study of the work needed at the high school and two elementaries. The next step was to advertise for several companies to do that work.
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday's board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
However, some board members and residents attending the meeting thought it was a bad idea to wait any longer.
“The reason for moving forward is to address an important item,” said board member Brenda Worob, referring to the boilers.
Plus, part of the original $30 million bond that the previous board borrowed to fund a consolidated school needs to be spent soon, Hellmann said.
Board member William Farrell suggested the district not delay the boiler project just because it would take a long time. Maybe the district wouldn't complete it in time for this year's cold season, but at least the preparation work would be done, he said.
As for the second elementary school, M. R. Reiter, Lastichen didn't think it was worth investing in a new boiler, though residents complained that it was too cold for comfort there during the winter.
“Reiter's so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn't spend money on it,” Lastichen said during the meeting.
M.R. Reiter's future is still up in the air.
In May, Hellmann unveiled a tentative plan to save money by combining the schools somehow, but no clear action has been taken in that direction yet.
A temporary fix for providing heat in the winter may be to bring modular heaters into Reiter and the other schools, said board member John Buckman.
The district will hold a community action plan meeting at 7 p.m. July 22, in the LGI room of the high school to discuss the boilers and other issues. Residents are encouraged to participate.
Manasee Wagh can be reached at 215-949-4206 or mwagh@phillyBurbs.com.
July 19, 2008 6:27 AM
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday's board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
Where's all the "safety of the students" protests now?
District takes steps toward restoring schools
By MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE -- After several decades, it's time to initiate serious updates in Morrisville schools, say area residents.
The school board recently voted 7-1 to start preliminary work to replace the boilers in the high school building and Grandview Elementary.
Some school board members and residents call it the first step toward restoring the schools, which have been in need of repairs for years.
“This is the beginning of something. People should applaud this beginning,” said resident Sharon Hughes.
The district will use Vitetta, a Philadelphia-based architectural and engineering corporation, to begin assessing the work necessary to replace the boilers, as well as looking into two new burners for the elementary school.
Morrisville residents have been calling for a plan to get the deteriorating high school and both elementaries in better shape since the current board canceled plans to build a consolidated K-12 school.
But there's a problem with taking action on the boilers now, the board minority said.
Evaluating the needs of two schools, designing a custom boiler for each and completing installation could take six months. That would put the project's conclusion well into the heating season, according to Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
The price tag for the boilers alone is more than $100,000, not counting the labor and any expenses that could crop up along the way, he said at the Tuesday board meeting.
Some residents and the board minority complained this is a poor time to start an expensive project without a long-term restoration plan that would take the schools' many other problems into account.
In May, the board voted to hire Wick Fisher White, an engineering firm, to do a $30,000 study of the work needed at the high school and two elementaries. The next step was to advertise for several companies to do that work.
On June, 12 companies submitted proposals to work on all three school buildings. Bill Hellmann, the board president, later cut that down to five and removed M. R. Reiter from the equation without consulting the rest of the board, said board member Robin Reithmeyer at Tuesday's board meeting.
She voted against going forward on the boiler replacements without a plan that included all three schools.
However, some board members and residents attending the meeting thought it was a bad idea to wait any longer.
“The reason for moving forward is to address an important item,” said board member Brenda Worob, referring to the boilers.
Plus, part of the original $30 million bond that the previous board borrowed to fund a consolidated school needs to be spent soon, Hellmann said.
Board member William Farrell suggested the district not delay the boiler project just because it would take a long time. Maybe the district wouldn't complete it in time for this year's cold season, but at least the preparation work would be done, he said.
As for the second elementary school, M. R. Reiter, Lastichen didn't think it was worth investing in a new boiler, though residents complained that it was too cold for comfort there during the winter.
“Reiter's so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn't spend money on it,” Lastichen said during the meeting.
M.R. Reiter's future is still up in the air.
In May, Hellmann unveiled a tentative plan to save money by combining the schools somehow, but no clear action has been taken in that direction yet.
A temporary fix for providing heat in the winter may be to bring modular heaters into Reiter and the other schools, said board member John Buckman.
The district will hold a community action plan meeting at 7 p.m. July 22, in the LGI room of the high school to discuss the boilers and other issues. Residents are encouraged to participate.
Manasee Wagh can be reached at 215-949-4206 or mwagh@phillyBurbs.com.
July 19, 2008 6:27 AM
What the MRR Explosion Looks Like From Grandview
Thanks to the emailer for this look inside Grandview while hosting the kindergarteners visiting from M. R. Reiter.
At GV the kindergarten kids in my daughters class have been doing a LOT of coloring this week simply because they are missing so many supplies there isn't much else to do. They are eating lunch in their classroom. On Gym day they were unable to have gym class because the fifth graders were using the lunchroom to eat during their normal lunch time. Instead Mr Campbell and Mrs Craig did an art project in the classroom. Yesterday they went outside for a brief walk to get some fresh air. The playground has been too wet to use. Today was library day and they were unable to check out library books for obvious reasons. On music day Mrs Plummer came tot he classroom and sang some songs and then they colored some more. A Letter came home two days ago asking for parents to send in books so the children will have some books to read/look at in the classrooms. If anyone out there has age appropriate books laying around that are no longer used and in good shape you may consider donating them to the K classrooms. There was also a request for tissues and hand sanitizer and cleaners for the tables. Teachers were unable to take anything like that from MRR. Only bare necessities were brought over....some manipulative toys...couple games...which explains all the coloring going on this week! The children seem to be doing ok but my daughter also wants to know "when can we go back to MRR? What's taking so long?" Traffic around GV has been a nightmare! Can't imagine what it would be like with trailers(excuse me...mobile classrooms) and 200 more students on the property.
At GV the kindergarten kids in my daughters class have been doing a LOT of coloring this week simply because they are missing so many supplies there isn't much else to do. They are eating lunch in their classroom. On Gym day they were unable to have gym class because the fifth graders were using the lunchroom to eat during their normal lunch time. Instead Mr Campbell and Mrs Craig did an art project in the classroom. Yesterday they went outside for a brief walk to get some fresh air. The playground has been too wet to use. Today was library day and they were unable to check out library books for obvious reasons. On music day Mrs Plummer came tot he classroom and sang some songs and then they colored some more. A Letter came home two days ago asking for parents to send in books so the children will have some books to read/look at in the classrooms. If anyone out there has age appropriate books laying around that are no longer used and in good shape you may consider donating them to the K classrooms. There was also a request for tissues and hand sanitizer and cleaners for the tables. Teachers were unable to take anything like that from MRR. Only bare necessities were brought over....some manipulative toys...couple games...which explains all the coloring going on this week! The children seem to be doing ok but my daughter also wants to know "when can we go back to MRR? What's taking so long?" Traffic around GV has been a nightmare! Can't imagine what it would be like with trailers(excuse me...mobile classrooms) and 200 more students on the property.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Chicken Alert, Revisited
For a long time, I've been pointing out the silence of the stop the school people. Here's an entry from where the former Gibson board was moving forward with the new school and Angry Al Radosti emerged as the voice of reason...with no comment.
While the Emperor was marking up old board minutes for his own purposes to show that he was interested in health and safety, let's look back even farther.
Let's set the wayback machine for August 10, 2007.
Board member Alfred Radosti, a Republican who won both the Democratic and GOP primary election in May, said, “this community has spoken more than once and they [school board members] don't listen to the community.”
Radosti, who opposes a new school, refused to comment further.
Gibson, in defending construction of the new school, said, “It's a life, safety and health issue to allow these buildings [the existing schools] to continue to deteriorate.”
Oops...it looks like the former board was worried about the same health and safety thing. It's just that William R. Hellmann CPA, Angry Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, William Farrell, Gloria Heater, and Robin Reithmeyer ran on a platform to STOP THE SCHOOL and not one bit more. They were elected and with Brenda Worob, did just that. They stopped the school.
Last week's Reiter blast and the deteriorations since then fall squarely on these shoulders. Anyone who disputes that needs to re-read the stop the school campaign literature.
Reithmeyer took the school board job with open eyes. From the beginning she's recognized there's more to running a school system than being a taxpayer advocate. Very quickly, she joined the late Ed Frankenfield in asking "where's the plan?"
Just as quickly, the stop the school purists produced all sorts of fatwas and shunnings against Reithmeyer. She was defying the one true way: HELLMANN!
She doggedly kept on and is exposing Hellmann's shady and underhanded activities left and right. Now Heater has done a similar expose showing more of the Emperor's tacky tactics.
Perhaps Non Sequitur illustrates their leadership principle best:
From the beginning there was no plan, and there still is no plan. All they wanted was to stop the school and lower your taxes.
Your kids? Collateral damage.
While the Emperor was marking up old board minutes for his own purposes to show that he was interested in health and safety, let's look back even farther.
Let's set the wayback machine for August 10, 2007.
Board member Alfred Radosti, a Republican who won both the Democratic and GOP primary election in May, said, “this community has spoken more than once and they [school board members] don't listen to the community.”
Radosti, who opposes a new school, refused to comment further.
Gibson, in defending construction of the new school, said, “It's a life, safety and health issue to allow these buildings [the existing schools] to continue to deteriorate.”
Oops...it looks like the former board was worried about the same health and safety thing. It's just that William R. Hellmann CPA, Angry Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, William Farrell, Gloria Heater, and Robin Reithmeyer ran on a platform to STOP THE SCHOOL and not one bit more. They were elected and with Brenda Worob, did just that. They stopped the school.
Last week's Reiter blast and the deteriorations since then fall squarely on these shoulders. Anyone who disputes that needs to re-read the stop the school campaign literature.
Reithmeyer took the school board job with open eyes. From the beginning she's recognized there's more to running a school system than being a taxpayer advocate. Very quickly, she joined the late Ed Frankenfield in asking "where's the plan?"
Just as quickly, the stop the school purists produced all sorts of fatwas and shunnings against Reithmeyer. She was defying the one true way: HELLMANN!
She doggedly kept on and is exposing Hellmann's shady and underhanded activities left and right. Now Heater has done a similar expose showing more of the Emperor's tacky tactics.
Perhaps Non Sequitur illustrates their leadership principle best:
From the beginning there was no plan, and there still is no plan. All they wanted was to stop the school and lower your taxes.
Your kids? Collateral damage.
Thumbs down from the BCCT
Thumbs down from the BCCT
To Morrisville school board President William Hellman, who could use some sensitivity training. Make that a lot of sensitivity training
We couldn’t believe how he opened this week’s school board meeting, which drew over a hundred concerned, if not horrified, elementary school parents. The moms and dads were there in response to a weekend boiler explosion that has shut down the M.R. Reiter Elementary School — perhaps permanently.
Rather than expressing relief that nobody was injured and apologizing for the disruption in the children’s school schedule, Hellman opened the meeting by outlining how much the school board saved by cancelling last year’s planned construction of a new K-12 school. Also removed from the district’s agenda — solely by Hellman — were proposed renovations at Reiter. Or as Hellman calls it, the “rat trap.”
Lovely. No wonder parents are calling for the guy’s head.
To Morrisville school board President William Hellman, who could use some sensitivity training. Make that a lot of sensitivity training
We couldn’t believe how he opened this week’s school board meeting, which drew over a hundred concerned, if not horrified, elementary school parents. The moms and dads were there in response to a weekend boiler explosion that has shut down the M.R. Reiter Elementary School — perhaps permanently.
Rather than expressing relief that nobody was injured and apologizing for the disruption in the children’s school schedule, Hellman opened the meeting by outlining how much the school board saved by cancelling last year’s planned construction of a new K-12 school. Also removed from the district’s agenda — solely by Hellman — were proposed renovations at Reiter. Or as Hellman calls it, the “rat trap.”
Lovely. No wonder parents are calling for the guy’s head.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Hellmann'$ Chri$tmas Pre$ent
From the BCCT.
Doe$ $crooge ever receive the the me$$age from the three gho$t$? Or were the dream$ $imply returned to $ender, addre$$ unknown?
The children of Morri$ville are only dollar $ign$ to the Emperor Pre$ident. They are $imply another commodity to be traded, bought, and $old.
The Emperor'$ opening $tatement recounting all the $aving$ he ha$ $upplied $howed much more that dollar$ and cent$ It $howed u$ an empty void. How $ad.
Voter$: We got what we paid for. Enjoy the $aving$.
Board plans hearing to close Reiter
Angry parents packed the meeting room to oppose the move. “Our community’s children are not numbers,” said one.
By MANASEE WAGH
After a 25-minute-late start and much heated finger-pointing, the Morrisville School Board voted Wednesday night to advertise for a public hearing to close M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
The hearing would be set for Wednesday, Jan. 14. Board members Robin Reithmeyer, Gloria Heater and Joseph Kemp voted against the advertisement. Board member Al Radosti was absent.
At least 150 residents packed the meeting room, many of them parents of elementary schoolchildren.
Prior to the vote, the board heard public comment from nearly 20 different borough residents, the majority of whom were angry and emotional about the move toward closing the school without determining where to place its more than 250 students safely.
“If these were your children, would you even consider this option?” elementary PTO President Robin Tohm asked the board.
She broke down in tears as she thanked the district staff and administrators for smoothly transitioning Reiter students to alternative locations temporarily after a late night explosion in Reiter’s furnace room blew out windows in the building on Dec. 13.
From Dec. 17 until at least Jan. 5, Reiter students are to attend class at alternative district locations, including the Morrisville YMCA, the Middle/Senior High School and Grandview Elementary School.
Parents expressed anger over board President William Hellmann’s statement at the start of the meeting outlining how much the current board is saving the borough in tax money through canceling last year’s planned construction of a new, $30 million consolidated school for all grades.
They were also upset about Hellmann’s recent e-mail exchanges with other board members in which he called the deteriorating Reiter a “rat trap” that is consuming borough funds for continued maintenance. Hellmann’s e-mail suggested putting all 400-plus elementary school students from Reiter and Grandview into the middle/senior high school.
“Our community’s children are not numbers,” said parent Damon Miller. “You can’t just shuffle them around.”
Putting all grades into the high school would be extremely difficult, since that building caters to older students’ needs, the administration has said.
In case students cannot return to Reiter during the rest of this school year because of safety concerns, they would be set up in modular units at Grandview, said Elizabeth Yonson, district superintendent. The estimated cost of those units could be $108,000, said administrators.
For an hour before the vote to hold a public hearing, board members argued loudly among themselves about what they did or did not do toward fixing the districts’ three schools this past year. Shouts and comments against the board majority and applause for those who spoke against the board president punctuated their arguments.
Board member Gloria Heater accused Hellmann of trying to get some board members to come to a vote about the future of the schools behind other board members’ backs.
At that, some residents yelled at Hellmann, “Resign now!”
A representative from Vitetta, the engineering and architectural firm the school board hired to analyze district schools, also spoke at the meeting to say that his firm had released its report today about the state of the two elementary schools’ boilers, electrical systems, windows and ventilators. The report includes estimations for renovation costs.
It will be posted on the district Web site at www.mv.org.
The board has to hold a public hearing at least 90 days before making any decision to close a school, according to school code.
Doe$ $crooge ever receive the the me$$age from the three gho$t$? Or were the dream$ $imply returned to $ender, addre$$ unknown?
The children of Morri$ville are only dollar $ign$ to the Emperor Pre$ident. They are $imply another commodity to be traded, bought, and $old.
The Emperor'$ opening $tatement recounting all the $aving$ he ha$ $upplied $howed much more that dollar$ and cent$ It $howed u$ an empty void. How $ad.
Voter$: We got what we paid for. Enjoy the $aving$.
Board plans hearing to close Reiter
Angry parents packed the meeting room to oppose the move. “Our community’s children are not numbers,” said one.
By MANASEE WAGH
After a 25-minute-late start and much heated finger-pointing, the Morrisville School Board voted Wednesday night to advertise for a public hearing to close M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
The hearing would be set for Wednesday, Jan. 14. Board members Robin Reithmeyer, Gloria Heater and Joseph Kemp voted against the advertisement. Board member Al Radosti was absent.
At least 150 residents packed the meeting room, many of them parents of elementary schoolchildren.
Prior to the vote, the board heard public comment from nearly 20 different borough residents, the majority of whom were angry and emotional about the move toward closing the school without determining where to place its more than 250 students safely.
“If these were your children, would you even consider this option?” elementary PTO President Robin Tohm asked the board.
She broke down in tears as she thanked the district staff and administrators for smoothly transitioning Reiter students to alternative locations temporarily after a late night explosion in Reiter’s furnace room blew out windows in the building on Dec. 13.
From Dec. 17 until at least Jan. 5, Reiter students are to attend class at alternative district locations, including the Morrisville YMCA, the Middle/Senior High School and Grandview Elementary School.
Parents expressed anger over board President William Hellmann’s statement at the start of the meeting outlining how much the current board is saving the borough in tax money through canceling last year’s planned construction of a new, $30 million consolidated school for all grades.
They were also upset about Hellmann’s recent e-mail exchanges with other board members in which he called the deteriorating Reiter a “rat trap” that is consuming borough funds for continued maintenance. Hellmann’s e-mail suggested putting all 400-plus elementary school students from Reiter and Grandview into the middle/senior high school.
“Our community’s children are not numbers,” said parent Damon Miller. “You can’t just shuffle them around.”
Putting all grades into the high school would be extremely difficult, since that building caters to older students’ needs, the administration has said.
In case students cannot return to Reiter during the rest of this school year because of safety concerns, they would be set up in modular units at Grandview, said Elizabeth Yonson, district superintendent. The estimated cost of those units could be $108,000, said administrators.
For an hour before the vote to hold a public hearing, board members argued loudly among themselves about what they did or did not do toward fixing the districts’ three schools this past year. Shouts and comments against the board majority and applause for those who spoke against the board president punctuated their arguments.
Board member Gloria Heater accused Hellmann of trying to get some board members to come to a vote about the future of the schools behind other board members’ backs.
At that, some residents yelled at Hellmann, “Resign now!”
A representative from Vitetta, the engineering and architectural firm the school board hired to analyze district schools, also spoke at the meeting to say that his firm had released its report today about the state of the two elementary schools’ boilers, electrical systems, windows and ventilators. The report includes estimations for renovation costs.
It will be posted on the district Web site at www.mv.org.
The board has to hold a public hearing at least 90 days before making any decision to close a school, according to school code.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Fratti: One school down. Two to go.
Kate Fratti in the BCCT.
Come see the Emperor and the Board of Chosen Accomplices in concert TONIGHT, 7:30 P.M. in the LGI.
Please make them move the meeting to the auditorium. Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring your kids. Show the kids what democracy is all about and show the board members that the students of Morrisville are worth fighting for.
Morrisville going down?
If you think Morrisville school board members are wringing their hands after learning the borough will block the reopening of M.R. Reiter Elementary School until engineers deem it “safe,” you’ve been had.
While grade-schoolers are displaced, staff is scrambling, the maintenance guy is explaining and parents are up in arms, the mood of the board leadership following the boiler room explosion at Reiter is celebratory. Dollar signs everywhere. The explosion was a Christmas gift.
In an e-mail written to the rest of the board fewer than 24 hours after the boiler blew, board President Bill Hellmann indicated a shuttered M.R. Reiter is just what he’d hoped for. The emphasis is all his.
“If we close both elementary schools and put everybody in the high school, we will save a FORTUNE in operating costs. EVERY YEAR. The pro new-schoolers wanted a K-12 school. Well here it is. The other people who might not want a K-12 are a minority and when they see their reduced tax bill on July 1 of each year, they just may change their minds in these new tough economic times. We will save ANOTHER fortune by not repairing either of those two buildings. We will solve the M.R. Reiter problem. CLOSE THIS RAT TRAP NOW.”
Hellmann’s e-mail makes it clear why in June he eliminated Reiter from a list of buildings to be examined by engineers in preparation for eventual renovations that might have prevented the explosion. And, it’s clear, now, why the board’s been dragging its feet on fixes to Grandview Elementary School, too.
Rat traps.
Hellmann, Brenda Worob, Marlys Mihok, Al Radosti, Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater were voted into office by an electorate that desperately wanted to stop construction of a new K-12 building it could not afford. The winning slate promised voters they’d renovate existing buildings instead.
They lied. Some of them have said privately they’d like to rid the borough of the entire school system.
One school down. Two to go.
So what until then?
It’s rumored school board directors have spoken with council members about using county open space preservation funds to purchase the Reiter property and that county Commissioner Jim Cawley has offered to assist them with such a plan.
Cawley insists he has not had any such conversation with anyone from Morrisville — though the county’s always willing to help when it can, he added.
Which, I suppose, suggests the open space suggestion isn’t so farfetched. How else to unload rat trap real estate? Morrisville will need to spend its open space allotment or lose it, and what other open space is there?
The stumbling block to eliminating the whole district immediately? A teachers contract that blocks lay-offs and furloughs for the next few years. The Reiter boiler explosion blew open a path to save at least some “FORTUNE” now by eliminating operating costs.
It will mean cramming gradeschoolers into space at the high school and eventually reconfiguring high school classrooms to create a grade-school wing.
Learning in the midst of all that commotion? You never hear this board use the word. It’s not their concern.
They came into power with an agenda to be rid of schools entirely. They should have said so up front. They might very well have been elected, anyway.
Either way, stating their intention was the honorable thing to do. This sneaky approach is disruptive, chaotic and bad for the borough’s reputation as a place to live and work. It could have been dangerous.
“If this school district does not wake up, this town is going down,” Hellmann e-mailed the rest of the board as he urged consensus.
His critics argue the descent already has begun. The cart’s being driven by sneaks and bean counters.
UPDATE December 18, from the BCCT.
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
Morrisville School Board member Brenda Worob was voted into office in 2005. Her term expires in 2009. Incorrect information appeared in Kate Fratti’s column Wednesday.
The Courier Times strives for accuracy. However, when we do make errors, we want to correct them as soon as possible in this space. To help us, please call 215-949-4161 (days) or 215-949-4211 (nights).
Come see the Emperor and the Board of Chosen Accomplices in concert TONIGHT, 7:30 P.M. in the LGI.
Please make them move the meeting to the auditorium. Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring your kids. Show the kids what democracy is all about and show the board members that the students of Morrisville are worth fighting for.
Morrisville going down?
If you think Morrisville school board members are wringing their hands after learning the borough will block the reopening of M.R. Reiter Elementary School until engineers deem it “safe,” you’ve been had.
While grade-schoolers are displaced, staff is scrambling, the maintenance guy is explaining and parents are up in arms, the mood of the board leadership following the boiler room explosion at Reiter is celebratory. Dollar signs everywhere. The explosion was a Christmas gift.
In an e-mail written to the rest of the board fewer than 24 hours after the boiler blew, board President Bill Hellmann indicated a shuttered M.R. Reiter is just what he’d hoped for. The emphasis is all his.
“If we close both elementary schools and put everybody in the high school, we will save a FORTUNE in operating costs. EVERY YEAR. The pro new-schoolers wanted a K-12 school. Well here it is. The other people who might not want a K-12 are a minority and when they see their reduced tax bill on July 1 of each year, they just may change their minds in these new tough economic times. We will save ANOTHER fortune by not repairing either of those two buildings. We will solve the M.R. Reiter problem. CLOSE THIS RAT TRAP NOW.”
Hellmann’s e-mail makes it clear why in June he eliminated Reiter from a list of buildings to be examined by engineers in preparation for eventual renovations that might have prevented the explosion. And, it’s clear, now, why the board’s been dragging its feet on fixes to Grandview Elementary School, too.
Rat traps.
Hellmann, Brenda Worob, Marlys Mihok, Al Radosti, Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater were voted into office by an electorate that desperately wanted to stop construction of a new K-12 building it could not afford. The winning slate promised voters they’d renovate existing buildings instead.
They lied. Some of them have said privately they’d like to rid the borough of the entire school system.
One school down. Two to go.
So what until then?
It’s rumored school board directors have spoken with council members about using county open space preservation funds to purchase the Reiter property and that county Commissioner Jim Cawley has offered to assist them with such a plan.
Cawley insists he has not had any such conversation with anyone from Morrisville — though the county’s always willing to help when it can, he added.
Which, I suppose, suggests the open space suggestion isn’t so farfetched. How else to unload rat trap real estate? Morrisville will need to spend its open space allotment or lose it, and what other open space is there?
The stumbling block to eliminating the whole district immediately? A teachers contract that blocks lay-offs and furloughs for the next few years. The Reiter boiler explosion blew open a path to save at least some “FORTUNE” now by eliminating operating costs.
It will mean cramming gradeschoolers into space at the high school and eventually reconfiguring high school classrooms to create a grade-school wing.
Learning in the midst of all that commotion? You never hear this board use the word. It’s not their concern.
They came into power with an agenda to be rid of schools entirely. They should have said so up front. They might very well have been elected, anyway.
Either way, stating their intention was the honorable thing to do. This sneaky approach is disruptive, chaotic and bad for the borough’s reputation as a place to live and work. It could have been dangerous.
“If this school district does not wake up, this town is going down,” Hellmann e-mailed the rest of the board as he urged consensus.
His critics argue the descent already has begun. The cart’s being driven by sneaks and bean counters.
UPDATE December 18, from the BCCT.
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
Morrisville School Board member Brenda Worob was voted into office in 2005. Her term expires in 2009. Incorrect information appeared in Kate Fratti’s column Wednesday.
The Courier Times strives for accuracy. However, when we do make errors, we want to correct them as soon as possible in this space. To help us, please call 215-949-4161 (days) or 215-949-4211 (nights).
Moving students angers some parents
From the BCCT.
Moving students angers some parents
Reiter Elementary remains closed. Students are attending classes at three different sites, and that has parents concerned.
By MANASEE WAGH
M.R. Reiter Elementary School students have been uprooted from their classrooms.
And parents are angry.
A furnace explosion Saturday is keeping Reiter closed until at least Jan. 5. More than 250 students will have temporary classes in the middle/high school, the Morrisville YMCA and Grandview Elementary School. Nobody was hurt in the explosion, but the school remains closed while the borough and the district insurance company investigate the cause.
On Tuesday, district officials met with a large crowd of parents in the Morrisville Middle/High School gym to show them where their kids will learn for the next several days. Teachers took parents on tours of classrooms and spaces where their first- and second-graders will restart today. The young students will stay with teachers and aides at all times without mixing with higher grades, said administrators.
Families had many questions and complaints. They said they wished the school board, which has been in office a year, had fixed known facilities problems earlier.
“This is a nightmare,” said Tammi Bresen, the mother of a first-grader at Reiter. She didn’t like that three first-grade classes had to learn in makeshift classrooms in the library, with only a partial wall separating them.
“People aren’t happy, especially because the (furnace) was already having problems before,” said Jim Mahler, the father of a Reiter child. He said the board should fix the furnace immediately.
Oil odors began the afternoon of Dec. 10 in Reiter and then resumed Thursday morning, forcing students to leave while the district had a fuel pump replaced by an outside company. Later the furnace exploded, breaking a window in the boiler room.
One probable reason for the explosion is that the fuel valve to turn the fuel flow on and off got stuck in the open position, allowing fuel to continue pumping even after the burner shut off, said Tim Lastichen, the district’s director of facilities.
The district’s insurance company will likely pay for cleanup and repairs, said Elizabeth Yonson, district superintendent, Tuesday.
Built in the 1920’s, Reiter is older and in worse shape than Grandview, even without counting the boiler explosion, Lastichen said. Vitetta, the engineering and architectural firm the school board hired to analyze district schools, will probably report higher renovation costs for Reiter, he added.
William Hellmann, the school board president, said he expects the completed Vitetta report this week.
Some parents questioned whether Reiter would be closed permanently. Tonight, the board plans to discuss having a public hearing to close one of its two elementary schools. If the county buys the land as preserved open space, said Hellmann, the remaining two schools would benefit from the money. It could be used for renovation, he said.
However, Nancy Sherlock, president of the borough council, said Tuesday that she doesn’t think the borough would buy the land. Nor would the borough plan to prevent the district from reopening Reiter, as current rumors of an injunction suggest.
“An injunction means usurping power. We aren’t doing that,” she said, adding, “I don’t think the borough needs any more open space. I can’t speak for other council members.”
Hellmann said he would be amenable to a single school building for all students, “if we could work it out that way, but I’m not sure the town wants a kindergarten through 12thgrade school. We’d always have to have at least one elementary school,” he said.
“I am not averse to spending money on the school district as long as the money is spent efficiently. I don’t have specific examples of how right now,” continued Hellmann.
One thing sticks in Hellmann’s mind: three buildings for less than 900 children are too many, he said.
“To me it’s just common sense,” he said.
Trying to integrate hundreds of additional students into the high school would be a logistical nightmare, especially without constructing new building additions to make sure upper and lower grades don’t mix, administration officials said. Different hallways in the high school have dedicated spaces like computer labs, science labs and the woodshop. Right now, the cafeteria and library cater to upper grades only.
If a public hearing to sell a building takes place, the school board would have to wait 90 days before making the decision to sell it or not, according to school code.
Robin Tohm, the elementary schools’ PTO president, urged parents to attend tonight’s school board meeting and make their voices heard.
Yonson told parents at Tuesday’s open house that she would not send students back to Reiter unless air quality experts and cleanup crews say the school is safe.
“Everyone has been wonderful and pitching in to make things as easy as possible to manage for the next (several) days. I’m very grateful for the flexibility of the staff,” Yonson said. “I’m very hopeful we will be able to get kids back to Reiter. But it’s up to the board,” she added.
Moving students angers some parents
Reiter Elementary remains closed. Students are attending classes at three different sites, and that has parents concerned.
By MANASEE WAGH
M.R. Reiter Elementary School students have been uprooted from their classrooms.
And parents are angry.
A furnace explosion Saturday is keeping Reiter closed until at least Jan. 5. More than 250 students will have temporary classes in the middle/high school, the Morrisville YMCA and Grandview Elementary School. Nobody was hurt in the explosion, but the school remains closed while the borough and the district insurance company investigate the cause.
On Tuesday, district officials met with a large crowd of parents in the Morrisville Middle/High School gym to show them where their kids will learn for the next several days. Teachers took parents on tours of classrooms and spaces where their first- and second-graders will restart today. The young students will stay with teachers and aides at all times without mixing with higher grades, said administrators.
Families had many questions and complaints. They said they wished the school board, which has been in office a year, had fixed known facilities problems earlier.
“This is a nightmare,” said Tammi Bresen, the mother of a first-grader at Reiter. She didn’t like that three first-grade classes had to learn in makeshift classrooms in the library, with only a partial wall separating them.
“People aren’t happy, especially because the (furnace) was already having problems before,” said Jim Mahler, the father of a Reiter child. He said the board should fix the furnace immediately.
Oil odors began the afternoon of Dec. 10 in Reiter and then resumed Thursday morning, forcing students to leave while the district had a fuel pump replaced by an outside company. Later the furnace exploded, breaking a window in the boiler room.
One probable reason for the explosion is that the fuel valve to turn the fuel flow on and off got stuck in the open position, allowing fuel to continue pumping even after the burner shut off, said Tim Lastichen, the district’s director of facilities.
The district’s insurance company will likely pay for cleanup and repairs, said Elizabeth Yonson, district superintendent, Tuesday.
Built in the 1920’s, Reiter is older and in worse shape than Grandview, even without counting the boiler explosion, Lastichen said. Vitetta, the engineering and architectural firm the school board hired to analyze district schools, will probably report higher renovation costs for Reiter, he added.
William Hellmann, the school board president, said he expects the completed Vitetta report this week.
Some parents questioned whether Reiter would be closed permanently. Tonight, the board plans to discuss having a public hearing to close one of its two elementary schools. If the county buys the land as preserved open space, said Hellmann, the remaining two schools would benefit from the money. It could be used for renovation, he said.
However, Nancy Sherlock, president of the borough council, said Tuesday that she doesn’t think the borough would buy the land. Nor would the borough plan to prevent the district from reopening Reiter, as current rumors of an injunction suggest.
“An injunction means usurping power. We aren’t doing that,” she said, adding, “I don’t think the borough needs any more open space. I can’t speak for other council members.”
Hellmann said he would be amenable to a single school building for all students, “if we could work it out that way, but I’m not sure the town wants a kindergarten through 12thgrade school. We’d always have to have at least one elementary school,” he said.
“I am not averse to spending money on the school district as long as the money is spent efficiently. I don’t have specific examples of how right now,” continued Hellmann.
One thing sticks in Hellmann’s mind: three buildings for less than 900 children are too many, he said.
“To me it’s just common sense,” he said.
Trying to integrate hundreds of additional students into the high school would be a logistical nightmare, especially without constructing new building additions to make sure upper and lower grades don’t mix, administration officials said. Different hallways in the high school have dedicated spaces like computer labs, science labs and the woodshop. Right now, the cafeteria and library cater to upper grades only.
If a public hearing to sell a building takes place, the school board would have to wait 90 days before making the decision to sell it or not, according to school code.
Robin Tohm, the elementary schools’ PTO president, urged parents to attend tonight’s school board meeting and make their voices heard.
Yonson told parents at Tuesday’s open house that she would not send students back to Reiter unless air quality experts and cleanup crews say the school is safe.
“Everyone has been wonderful and pitching in to make things as easy as possible to manage for the next (several) days. I’m very grateful for the flexibility of the staff,” Yonson said. “I’m very hopeful we will be able to get kids back to Reiter. But it’s up to the board,” she added.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The View From the Sixth Grade
The Morrisville Schools housing crisis, as seen by a sixth grader. Mr. Emperor President? Any Chosen Accomplices? What say you?
This sixth grader compiled a list of pros and cons of elementary students "visiting" the high school this week. And let's hope it is just a visit. The high school space as it exists now is not conducive to a permanent solution. A sixth grader could tell you that, and here's just a few examples why:
Problems:
*Bathroom time cut off for sixth grade (you read that correctly - reduced access to bathrooms in order to accommodate younger children)
*Missing 15 minutes of art (last period class due to 2:15 dismissal)
*Routes to classrooms changed
*No Library
*Gym space cut in half
*Little kids eating in hallways
*Clubs canceled
*No homework zone
Good things:
*out 15 minutes early
*little kids get education
*nobody got hurt or died
This sixth grader compiled a list of pros and cons of elementary students "visiting" the high school this week. And let's hope it is just a visit. The high school space as it exists now is not conducive to a permanent solution. A sixth grader could tell you that, and here's just a few examples why:
Problems:
*Bathroom time cut off for sixth grade (you read that correctly - reduced access to bathrooms in order to accommodate younger children)
*Missing 15 minutes of art (last period class due to 2:15 dismissal)
*Routes to classrooms changed
*No Library
*Gym space cut in half
*Little kids eating in hallways
*Clubs canceled
*No homework zone
Good things:
*out 15 minutes early
*little kids get education
*nobody got hurt or died
Fiddling in Morrisville: An Editorial
From the BCCT.
Dear Voters: If you're not disgusted by now with the way things are being run in this town, what will it take?
We were lucky. We dodged the proverbial bullet on this one big time. No students or repair crews were caught in the blast.
We fought over the money. As the tax funding dried up, we squabbled over what was left rather than frugally using what we had and making the hard choices. For years over successive school boards, maintenance items were routinely deferred and delayed just because we didn't have the money.
We fought over "illegal students", thinking the way to solvency was to exorcise and exclude those who didn't belong. We even had school board members camped out like bridge trolls waiting for an out of state licence plate as a badge of shame and as an excuse to pounce. That thinking persists even to this day.
Then we fought over the "gold plated Taj Mahal." Finally! Finally, when someone stepped up to the plate, swallowed hard, and made the hard choice to build anew to replace three crumbling structures, the nattering nay-sayers arose from their slumbers and nit picked the plan to death. All because it was "new" and it cost "money".
Investment in the future is never without cost. The reward, however, is incalculable.
What was the cost to build the Robert Morris High School the first time? What was the cost to renovate it into M. R. Reiter the second time? Yet this building has provided housing for our students for some eighty years. Expenditure: Large. Payback: Even larger.
I still think the idea of the new school was demonized unfairly, along with the high school students themselves, but that's water under the bridge. I hear the negative comments about the administration, the students, the staff, and all I can think of is that it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Yet here we are, groping vainly in the night for a solution.
This isn't about the "new school" versus the "old school." That would be like saying the new school offered a K-12 campus: The demise of Reiter and current enrollment stats makes this a great opportunity to cram everyone into the high school and call it a day. However, that's such a great example of the short-sighted thinking of our "leaders", I fully expect it to be the new reality.
What this is about is leadership and forward thinking. The mere act of producing a new building or renovating an old one doesn't make anything better in and of itself. You can take a positive action and mow the grass. The lot looks great for now, but it needs constant attention, so you make the commitment to keep at it. Your neighbor see what you're doing and joins in. Now there's two better kept yards. Soon there's a third. And so on, and so on... That example is pure corn, I know. But think about what Morrisville COULD be like if that style of thinking was the prevailing view.
It's about looking at today and instead of seeing the long dead past, or even the reality of today, seeing the future. Vision. Leaders have it. Others don't. President Reagan offered his can do optimism. President Carter offered us "malaise". Who won that election?
I know there's a pony in here somewhere. Let's look for it together.
Fiddling in Morrisville
The boiler explosion at the M.R. Reiter School is a warning that must not be ignored.
Like Nero’s legendary playing of his fiddle while Rome burned, Morrisville School Board members continue to fiddle with renovation plans while a school building nearly burned.
More accurately, the boiler at M.R. Reiter Elementary School exploded over the weekend, keeping students home from school Monday and administrators scrambling to find space for affected students in other district buildings.
Officials say damage at the school was limited to the boiler room, where windows were blown out. We’re glad to hear that the damage was confined. We are further relieved that classes were not in session when the boiler blew. School board members, who have delayed needed renovations at all three district schools, should feel fortunate indeed. Call it a warning, one board members cannot — must not — ignore. Delay no longer is acceptable.
This board has done little but fret over the future since the current majority took control nearly a year ago. Voted in to stop a $30 million plan to build a new K-12 school, members moved quickly to get that done. They have since been unable to move ahead on desperately needed renovations some of which clearly threaten the health and safety of district children.
School board President Bill Hellmann bears the most responsibility since he has taken it upon himself to make decisions without the full board’s input. Among his unitary decisions was removing M.R. Reiter from the renovation equation after companies had submitted repair proposals in June for all three buildings.
That done Hellmann and his friends on the board have a dire responsibility to do something — and do it now!
We’re not engineers, but our common sense perspective is that children should not be returned to that school. We don’t doubt parents would agree.
Maybe board members can make that decision without delay.
Dear Voters: If you're not disgusted by now with the way things are being run in this town, what will it take?
We were lucky. We dodged the proverbial bullet on this one big time. No students or repair crews were caught in the blast.
We fought over the money. As the tax funding dried up, we squabbled over what was left rather than frugally using what we had and making the hard choices. For years over successive school boards, maintenance items were routinely deferred and delayed just because we didn't have the money.
We fought over "illegal students", thinking the way to solvency was to exorcise and exclude those who didn't belong. We even had school board members camped out like bridge trolls waiting for an out of state licence plate as a badge of shame and as an excuse to pounce. That thinking persists even to this day.
Then we fought over the "gold plated Taj Mahal." Finally! Finally, when someone stepped up to the plate, swallowed hard, and made the hard choice to build anew to replace three crumbling structures, the nattering nay-sayers arose from their slumbers and nit picked the plan to death. All because it was "new" and it cost "money".
Investment in the future is never without cost. The reward, however, is incalculable.
What was the cost to build the Robert Morris High School the first time? What was the cost to renovate it into M. R. Reiter the second time? Yet this building has provided housing for our students for some eighty years. Expenditure: Large. Payback: Even larger.
I still think the idea of the new school was demonized unfairly, along with the high school students themselves, but that's water under the bridge. I hear the negative comments about the administration, the students, the staff, and all I can think of is that it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Yet here we are, groping vainly in the night for a solution.
This isn't about the "new school" versus the "old school." That would be like saying the new school offered a K-12 campus: The demise of Reiter and current enrollment stats makes this a great opportunity to cram everyone into the high school and call it a day. However, that's such a great example of the short-sighted thinking of our "leaders", I fully expect it to be the new reality.
What this is about is leadership and forward thinking. The mere act of producing a new building or renovating an old one doesn't make anything better in and of itself. You can take a positive action and mow the grass. The lot looks great for now, but it needs constant attention, so you make the commitment to keep at it. Your neighbor see what you're doing and joins in. Now there's two better kept yards. Soon there's a third. And so on, and so on... That example is pure corn, I know. But think about what Morrisville COULD be like if that style of thinking was the prevailing view.
It's about looking at today and instead of seeing the long dead past, or even the reality of today, seeing the future. Vision. Leaders have it. Others don't. President Reagan offered his can do optimism. President Carter offered us "malaise". Who won that election?
I know there's a pony in here somewhere. Let's look for it together.
Fiddling in Morrisville
The boiler explosion at the M.R. Reiter School is a warning that must not be ignored.
Like Nero’s legendary playing of his fiddle while Rome burned, Morrisville School Board members continue to fiddle with renovation plans while a school building nearly burned.
More accurately, the boiler at M.R. Reiter Elementary School exploded over the weekend, keeping students home from school Monday and administrators scrambling to find space for affected students in other district buildings.
Officials say damage at the school was limited to the boiler room, where windows were blown out. We’re glad to hear that the damage was confined. We are further relieved that classes were not in session when the boiler blew. School board members, who have delayed needed renovations at all three district schools, should feel fortunate indeed. Call it a warning, one board members cannot — must not — ignore. Delay no longer is acceptable.
This board has done little but fret over the future since the current majority took control nearly a year ago. Voted in to stop a $30 million plan to build a new K-12 school, members moved quickly to get that done. They have since been unable to move ahead on desperately needed renovations some of which clearly threaten the health and safety of district children.
School board President Bill Hellmann bears the most responsibility since he has taken it upon himself to make decisions without the full board’s input. Among his unitary decisions was removing M.R. Reiter from the renovation equation after companies had submitted repair proposals in June for all three buildings.
That done Hellmann and his friends on the board have a dire responsibility to do something — and do it now!
We’re not engineers, but our common sense perspective is that children should not be returned to that school. We don’t doubt parents would agree.
Maybe board members can make that decision without delay.
Reiter: A timeline
From the BCCT.
Be sure to note the July entry below. The school board clearly and with premeditation ignored Reiter and its problems.
Events leading up to furnace explosion at Reiter
January 2008: New Morrisville school board takes office and largely opposes building a new, $30-million pre-K through 12 th - grade consolidated school to replace the district’s three ailing schools — Morrisville Middle/Senior High School and Grandview and M. R. Reiter elementary schools.
July: The school board votes to start preliminary work to replace the boilers at the high school and Grandview. Twelve companies submit proposals for work on all three buildings, but board President Bill Hellmann removes Reiter from the equation. “Reiter’s so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn’t spend money on it,” says Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
Dec. 10: In the afternoon, an oily odor from the furnace spreads through Reiter. After-school activities end and children and staff go home. Later that day, Hellmann announces he wants to hold a public hearing on possibly closing one of the district’s elementary schools to save money.
Dec. 11: Students are sent home when the odor returns.
Dec. 12: Reiter is closed as workers repair a pump in the school’s furnace room.
Dec. 13: A late night explosion in the furnace room blows out windows.
Dec. 14: The school board holds an emergency meeting to discuss the explosion. Officials announce the school is closed until the school is deemed safe — at the earliest Jan. 5.
Monday: Reiter students don’t have class. The administration works to finalize a plan for students to attend Grandview and the high school.
Today: Reiter remains closed. Students are expected to resume instruction Wednesday, but not in Reiter.
Be sure to note the July entry below. The school board clearly and with premeditation ignored Reiter and its problems.
Events leading up to furnace explosion at Reiter
January 2008: New Morrisville school board takes office and largely opposes building a new, $30-million pre-K through 12 th - grade consolidated school to replace the district’s three ailing schools — Morrisville Middle/Senior High School and Grandview and M. R. Reiter elementary schools.
July: The school board votes to start preliminary work to replace the boilers at the high school and Grandview. Twelve companies submit proposals for work on all three buildings, but board President Bill Hellmann removes Reiter from the equation. “Reiter’s so bad, I think it should be bulldozed. I wouldn’t spend money on it,” says Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
Dec. 10: In the afternoon, an oily odor from the furnace spreads through Reiter. After-school activities end and children and staff go home. Later that day, Hellmann announces he wants to hold a public hearing on possibly closing one of the district’s elementary schools to save money.
Dec. 11: Students are sent home when the odor returns.
Dec. 12: Reiter is closed as workers repair a pump in the school’s furnace room.
Dec. 13: A late night explosion in the furnace room blows out windows.
Dec. 14: The school board holds an emergency meeting to discuss the explosion. Officials announce the school is closed until the school is deemed safe — at the earliest Jan. 5.
Monday: Reiter students don’t have class. The administration works to finalize a plan for students to attend Grandview and the high school.
Today: Reiter remains closed. Students are expected to resume instruction Wednesday, but not in Reiter.
Reiter: The Aftermath
From the BCCT.
Uh huh. Anyone remember the story about the barn door and the missing horse?
While there are a lot of good people who work for the borough and the school district who do the right thing day in and day out, try to imagine what this investigation would be looking like if pictures of a small white casket were accompanying the story rather than workers repairing broken glass and twisted aluminum.
Students reassigned; blast investigated
Morrisville’s mayor said Monday night that the borough will not allow M.R. Reiter to reopen until “our engineer tells us that the building is absolutely safe.”
By RACHEL CANELLI and DANNY ADLER
There’s once again no school today for M.R. Reiter Elementary School students, following a weekend furnace explosion that’s still under investigation, officials said Monday.
Administrators said pupils are expected to return to class Wednesday, when more than 250 children will temporarily report to the following facilities: pre-kindergartners to the Morrisville YMCA on Pennsylvania Avenue; kindergartners to Grandview Elementary School on Grandview Avenue; and first- and second-graders to Morrisville Middle/Senior High School on West Palmer Street.
Officials said they’ll hold an open house tonight at the Middle/Senior High to show Reiter parents where their children will be learning until the winter break, which starts Dec. 24.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said she wants to ensure parents of elementary school kids that the younger children, who will arrive and depart after the teens, will be isolated from the older students and have their own bathrooms, eating area and gym area.
Meanwhile, after a recommendation from air quality testers Environmental Connections, Remediation Specialists Inc. spent Monday cleaning teachers’ books and other materials at Reiter, said Yonson. Although the explosion was contained to the furnace room, a thin layer of residue filtered through the heating vents and into other areas, including classrooms, Yonson said.
“We don’t believe there’s any hazardous material,” Yonson said. “We’re just being on the safe side.”
A preliminary investigation into the blast found that a new pump installed Friday didn’t cause the explosion, which will close the Morrisville school until at least Jan. 5 so it can be cleaned and is deemed safe, administrators said Monday afternoon.
Fire Marshal Robert Seward said the blast may have occurred because a malfunctioning part was allowing too much fuel into the furnace’s firebox. Officials are waiting for insurance company investigators before dismantling the furnace in search of a cause to Saturday’s explosion. That should happen within the next few days, officials said.
Officials said the furnace is decades old. “This is something, unfortunately, we’ve had problems with over the years,” the fire marshal said.
School district facilities director Tim Lastichen warned: “It will explode again if we let it run.”
Following several troublesome days with the furnace, the blast blew out the furnace room windows and spread soot throughout the building. An odor of oil started spreading through the school Wednesday afternoon. The smell returned Thursday morning and students were sent home. The school was closed Friday, so a new pump could be installed.
Lastichen said at an emergency meeting Sunday night that the new pump was putting out fuel at a higher pressure than the faulty pump it replaced. That may have contributed to the blast, he said.
On Monday, Lastichen said officials inspected the furnace after the new pump was installed.
“When we replaced the pump, it was working well for two days,” he said. When he went to check on the heater Saturday morning, he said, “Everything was fine.”
Lastichen said engineers are expected to report to the school district today on what repairs are needed at Reiter, including a cost estimate for a new heating system. It will be up to the school board to decide whether it wants to replace the system or “Band-Aid” this one, he said.
“It’s had many Band-Aids,” Lastichen said of the furnace.
At Monday night’s borough council meeting, Mayor Thomas Wisnosky signaled that the borough will decide when the school can reopen.
Ordinarily, school facilities are handled separately from the borough because they are two individual authorities, “however, this is a different situation,” the mayor said.
“This is an emergency situation. We have a school building that, well, it had an explosion, there’s significant damage, and that changes the rules dramatically for the Borough of Morrisville,” he said. Under borough code, Wisnosky said, the borough is “required” to inspect with its own engineer. The borough engineer is expected to be at the site this afternoon.
“The Borough of Morrisville will not allow that school to reopen until our engineer tells us that that building is absolutely safe for children no matter what,” Wisnosky said. “We have the authority, according to the code and according to our ordinance, to keep that building closed until such time that we are satisfied. We are in charge of public safety.”
Uh huh. Anyone remember the story about the barn door and the missing horse?
While there are a lot of good people who work for the borough and the school district who do the right thing day in and day out, try to imagine what this investigation would be looking like if pictures of a small white casket were accompanying the story rather than workers repairing broken glass and twisted aluminum.
Students reassigned; blast investigated
Morrisville’s mayor said Monday night that the borough will not allow M.R. Reiter to reopen until “our engineer tells us that the building is absolutely safe.”
By RACHEL CANELLI and DANNY ADLER
There’s once again no school today for M.R. Reiter Elementary School students, following a weekend furnace explosion that’s still under investigation, officials said Monday.
Administrators said pupils are expected to return to class Wednesday, when more than 250 children will temporarily report to the following facilities: pre-kindergartners to the Morrisville YMCA on Pennsylvania Avenue; kindergartners to Grandview Elementary School on Grandview Avenue; and first- and second-graders to Morrisville Middle/Senior High School on West Palmer Street.
Officials said they’ll hold an open house tonight at the Middle/Senior High to show Reiter parents where their children will be learning until the winter break, which starts Dec. 24.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said she wants to ensure parents of elementary school kids that the younger children, who will arrive and depart after the teens, will be isolated from the older students and have their own bathrooms, eating area and gym area.
Meanwhile, after a recommendation from air quality testers Environmental Connections, Remediation Specialists Inc. spent Monday cleaning teachers’ books and other materials at Reiter, said Yonson. Although the explosion was contained to the furnace room, a thin layer of residue filtered through the heating vents and into other areas, including classrooms, Yonson said.
“We don’t believe there’s any hazardous material,” Yonson said. “We’re just being on the safe side.”
A preliminary investigation into the blast found that a new pump installed Friday didn’t cause the explosion, which will close the Morrisville school until at least Jan. 5 so it can be cleaned and is deemed safe, administrators said Monday afternoon.
Fire Marshal Robert Seward said the blast may have occurred because a malfunctioning part was allowing too much fuel into the furnace’s firebox. Officials are waiting for insurance company investigators before dismantling the furnace in search of a cause to Saturday’s explosion. That should happen within the next few days, officials said.
Officials said the furnace is decades old. “This is something, unfortunately, we’ve had problems with over the years,” the fire marshal said.
School district facilities director Tim Lastichen warned: “It will explode again if we let it run.”
Following several troublesome days with the furnace, the blast blew out the furnace room windows and spread soot throughout the building. An odor of oil started spreading through the school Wednesday afternoon. The smell returned Thursday morning and students were sent home. The school was closed Friday, so a new pump could be installed.
Lastichen said at an emergency meeting Sunday night that the new pump was putting out fuel at a higher pressure than the faulty pump it replaced. That may have contributed to the blast, he said.
On Monday, Lastichen said officials inspected the furnace after the new pump was installed.
“When we replaced the pump, it was working well for two days,” he said. When he went to check on the heater Saturday morning, he said, “Everything was fine.”
Lastichen said engineers are expected to report to the school district today on what repairs are needed at Reiter, including a cost estimate for a new heating system. It will be up to the school board to decide whether it wants to replace the system or “Band-Aid” this one, he said.
“It’s had many Band-Aids,” Lastichen said of the furnace.
At Monday night’s borough council meeting, Mayor Thomas Wisnosky signaled that the borough will decide when the school can reopen.
Ordinarily, school facilities are handled separately from the borough because they are two individual authorities, “however, this is a different situation,” the mayor said.
“This is an emergency situation. We have a school building that, well, it had an explosion, there’s significant damage, and that changes the rules dramatically for the Borough of Morrisville,” he said. Under borough code, Wisnosky said, the borough is “required” to inspect with its own engineer. The borough engineer is expected to be at the site this afternoon.
“The Borough of Morrisville will not allow that school to reopen until our engineer tells us that that building is absolutely safe for children no matter what,” Wisnosky said. “We have the authority, according to the code and according to our ordinance, to keep that building closed until such time that we are satisfied. We are in charge of public safety.”
Monday, December 15, 2008
Reiter Update: Cleanup and plans
NO SCHOOL FOR M.R. REITER STUDENTS 12/16
UPDATE M.R.Reiter
There will be no school for the students of M.R. Reiter Elementary tomorrow, December 16. As of this update, the M.R. Reiter school students will return to classes on Wednesday, December 17, 2008.
Today the district brought in Environmental Connections, who conducts the air quality testing in our schools, to analyze the situation at Reiter. They recommended we bring in a professional company to conduct the clean-up. Even though the explosion was contained in the furnace room, the residue went through the vents and deposited a fine layer of particles on anything that was exposed.
The district has hired Remediation Specialist Inc., who specializes in cleaning the aftermaths of fires and other disasters. There are 15 individuals who are conducting the clean-up. They will be working all day and through the evening so that our teachers can retrieve the resources they utilize during instruction.
The following outlines our plans to temporarily house the students. The starting and ending time has not changed, start time: 8:30 a.m.; end time 3:00 p.m.
The Pre-K students will be housed at the YMCA at 200 N. Pennsylvania Avenue. The phone number of the Y is 215 736-8077. Parents will take the students directly to the YMCA in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day at the Y.
Kindergarten students will be housed at Grandview.
1st and 2nd grade students will be housed at the Middle/Senior High School. Students should be dropped off in the back of the school where they will enter through the doors next to the gym. Teachers and paraprofessionals will be there to escort the students to the classrooms.
The shuttle will continue to pick up students at Manor Park and M.R. Reiter. Students will be taken to Grandview and the Middle/Senior High School. Our paraprofessionals will be present to assist the students at M.R. Reiter. All M.R. Reiter students may take the shuttle during this emergency.
There will be an open house Tuesday, December 16 at 6:00PM for the parents of students in grades one and two at the Middle/Senior High School. Please park in the back lot and enter through the doors next to the gym. The meeting will begin in the gym. Teachers will then take parents to the classrooms were the students will be housed.
UPDATE M.R.Reiter
There will be no school for the students of M.R. Reiter Elementary tomorrow, December 16. As of this update, the M.R. Reiter school students will return to classes on Wednesday, December 17, 2008.
Today the district brought in Environmental Connections, who conducts the air quality testing in our schools, to analyze the situation at Reiter. They recommended we bring in a professional company to conduct the clean-up. Even though the explosion was contained in the furnace room, the residue went through the vents and deposited a fine layer of particles on anything that was exposed.
The district has hired Remediation Specialist Inc., who specializes in cleaning the aftermaths of fires and other disasters. There are 15 individuals who are conducting the clean-up. They will be working all day and through the evening so that our teachers can retrieve the resources they utilize during instruction.
The following outlines our plans to temporarily house the students. The starting and ending time has not changed, start time: 8:30 a.m.; end time 3:00 p.m.
The Pre-K students will be housed at the YMCA at 200 N. Pennsylvania Avenue. The phone number of the Y is 215 736-8077. Parents will take the students directly to the YMCA in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day at the Y.
Kindergarten students will be housed at Grandview.
1st and 2nd grade students will be housed at the Middle/Senior High School. Students should be dropped off in the back of the school where they will enter through the doors next to the gym. Teachers and paraprofessionals will be there to escort the students to the classrooms.
The shuttle will continue to pick up students at Manor Park and M.R. Reiter. Students will be taken to Grandview and the Middle/Senior High School. Our paraprofessionals will be present to assist the students at M.R. Reiter. All M.R. Reiter students may take the shuttle during this emergency.
There will be an open house Tuesday, December 16 at 6:00PM for the parents of students in grades one and two at the Middle/Senior High School. Please park in the back lot and enter through the doors next to the gym. The meeting will begin in the gym. Teachers will then take parents to the classrooms were the students will be housed.
1st & 2nd Grade Open House, 6:00 P.M. Dec 16
M.R. Reiter
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
1st & 2nd Grade Open House
There will be an open house Tuesday, December 16 at 6:00PM for the parents of students in grades one and two at the Middle/Senior High School. Please park in the back lot and enter through the doors next to the gym. The meeting will begin in the gym. Teachers will then take parents to the classrooms were the students will be housed.
Site: HS
Time: 6:00PM
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
1st & 2nd Grade Open House
There will be an open house Tuesday, December 16 at 6:00PM for the parents of students in grades one and two at the Middle/Senior High School. Please park in the back lot and enter through the doors next to the gym. The meeting will begin in the gym. Teachers will then take parents to the classrooms were the students will be housed.
Site: HS
Time: 6:00PM
NO SCHOOL FOR REITER STUDENTS 12/16
NO SCHOOL FOR M.R. REITER STUDENTS 12/16
THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL FOR M.R. REITER STUDENTS ON TUESDAY 12/16/2008. DETAILED INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE, CABLE STATION AND PHONE BLAST SHORTLY.
THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL FOR M.R. REITER STUDENTS ON TUESDAY 12/16/2008. DETAILED INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE, CABLE STATION AND PHONE BLAST SHORTLY.
Special Board Meeting on Reiter
Any news from the special board meeting?
The BCCT has a front page above-the-fold story.
Boiler room blast closes school
“It was pretty bad. It blew out the windows,” a school official said.
By DANNY ADLER
M.R. Reiter Elementary students in Morrisville have off today and the school building is closed until at least Jan. 5 after a weekend explosion in the school’s furnace room, according to district officials. Officials hope to have all students back in class at other schools and alternative sites Tuesday.
The late Saturday night explosion, damaging only the furnace room, followed several troublesome days dealing with the faulty furnace. No one was hurt in the blast.
An oil odor first spread through the school Wednesday afternoon. The odor recurred Thursday morning, students were sent home and the school remained closed on Friday. A new pump was installed but the hot-air furnace exploded after 10 p.m. Saturday.
“It was pretty bad. It blew out the windows,” said Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
Morrisville School District’s administration will work today to finalize plans to put kids in other schools, it was announced at an emergency school board meeting Sunday night.
Morrisville schools Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said she wants a “smooth transition” in getting the kids back in the classroom.
A tentative plan proposed by Yonson at Sunday’s meeting inside the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School called for pre-kindergarten classes to be held at the Morrisville YMCA. First graders could resume their classes in the Middle/Senior High School’s library and H hall with second graders in the D hall. (First and second graders will not move through the school’s halls between periods, officials said.) M.R. Reiter’s kindergarten classes could go to Grandview Elementary, according to the plan.
Yonson said the administration still has to talk to teachers. Officials hope all the details can be sorted out today. When they are, the alternative school sites will be posted on the district’s Web site, www.mv.org and cable access channel 26. A phone blast will also go out to all families with M.R. Reiter students, officials said.
According to the district’s Web site, “The school will be closed until it has been determined that it is safe for students and staff to return.”
Dozens of parents and residents attended the meeting Sunday night. Some said these problems have existed for years, even decades.
“You have no regard for the safety of our children” Ann Perry told the board.
The BCCT has a front page above-the-fold story.
Boiler room blast closes school
“It was pretty bad. It blew out the windows,” a school official said.
By DANNY ADLER
M.R. Reiter Elementary students in Morrisville have off today and the school building is closed until at least Jan. 5 after a weekend explosion in the school’s furnace room, according to district officials. Officials hope to have all students back in class at other schools and alternative sites Tuesday.
The late Saturday night explosion, damaging only the furnace room, followed several troublesome days dealing with the faulty furnace. No one was hurt in the blast.
An oil odor first spread through the school Wednesday afternoon. The odor recurred Thursday morning, students were sent home and the school remained closed on Friday. A new pump was installed but the hot-air furnace exploded after 10 p.m. Saturday.
“It was pretty bad. It blew out the windows,” said Tim Lastichen, district facilities director.
Morrisville School District’s administration will work today to finalize plans to put kids in other schools, it was announced at an emergency school board meeting Sunday night.
Morrisville schools Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said she wants a “smooth transition” in getting the kids back in the classroom.
A tentative plan proposed by Yonson at Sunday’s meeting inside the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School called for pre-kindergarten classes to be held at the Morrisville YMCA. First graders could resume their classes in the Middle/Senior High School’s library and H hall with second graders in the D hall. (First and second graders will not move through the school’s halls between periods, officials said.) M.R. Reiter’s kindergarten classes could go to Grandview Elementary, according to the plan.
Yonson said the administration still has to talk to teachers. Officials hope all the details can be sorted out today. When they are, the alternative school sites will be posted on the district’s Web site, www.mv.org and cable access channel 26. A phone blast will also go out to all families with M.R. Reiter students, officials said.
According to the district’s Web site, “The school will be closed until it has been determined that it is safe for students and staff to return.”
Dozens of parents and residents attended the meeting Sunday night. Some said these problems have existed for years, even decades.
“You have no regard for the safety of our children” Ann Perry told the board.
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