From the Houston Chronicle. This was too off the wall to post in a collection of school stories.
Be careful. Your next teacher could be packing heat. "Does that homework portfolio have five assignments or six? Well, I don't rightly know, but it better have six. Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you?"
North Texas school district will let teachers carry guns
Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2008, 4:27PM
HARROLD, Texas — A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported.
Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.
In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.
Superintendent David Thweatt said the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff's office, leaving students and teachers without protection. He said the district's lone campus sits 500 feet from heavily trafficked U.S. 287, which could make it a target.
"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in Friday's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Thweatt said officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change. He said the district also has various other security measures in place to prevent a school shooting.
"The naysayers think (a shooting) won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.
Texas law outlaws firearms on school campuses "unless pursuant to the written regulations or written authorization of the institution."
It was unclear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers. Wilbarger County Sheriff Larry Lee was out of the office Thursday and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment, the newspaper said.
Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, including in Texas, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.
The 110-student district is 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth on the eastern end of Wilbarger County, near the Oklahoma border.
On the Web:
Harrold Independent School District, http://harroldisd.net/
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Moving up one rank
Remember our friend from the Nevada State BOE?
Aug. 12, 2008 Las Vegas Review-Journal
BOARD OF EDUCATION: Member of panel resigns
Conduct at public meetings called 'distracting,' 'shocking'
Greg Nance quit the Nevada Board of Education on Monday following a weekend of public meeting make-out sessions with his new wife.
Sharon Frederick, a fellow board member, said Nance's behavior was "like watching a reality TV show. It was so distracting!"
Vice President Anthony Ruggiero called Nance's conduct "shocking and deplorable."
Board member Jan Biggerstaff said she met with Nance on Monday morning and told him that the bad publicity was going to hurt his political career and ability to serve.
But Nance, 49, cited his health issues and the need to take care of his 20-year-old wife, Sharona Dagani, who has cerebral palsy, as reasons for resigning.
"I have to put her first," he said.
Dagani sat beside Nance at Friday and Saturday's Board of Education meeting while strapped into a motorized wheelchair.
A year ago, television news reports said Dagani had about $2 million in a trust fund from a medical malpractice lawsuit. Dagani's mother went to the media in 2007 after the young woman left her Jewish family to join the International Church of Las Vegas, an evangelical church where her part-time caregiver was a member.
Nance acknowledged he is now "well-off" but said he signed a prenuptial agreement to protect his wife's assets. He also told the board that he wants to change his last name to hers.
In January, Nance wrote in a Nevada financial disclosure statement for public officials that he "owned nothing" and that everything belonged to his ministry, Ambassadors for Christ, which he operated out of his home with his now-deceased wife, Rita Nyberg.
"We have taken a vow of poverty," wrote Nance, who said he is a Pentecostal preacher.
Nyberg died in October, when Nance allowed doctors to take her off life support.
"I didn't want to do it," Nance said, explaining that Nyberg had cancer and was unconscious from a seizure. She might have lived another month, Nance said, but there was no chance for recovery.
Within 24 hours of Nyberg's death, Nance said he suffered a heart attack, the first of three since October.
Nance met his current wife at the Mission Pines nursing home, where they were both patients.
The couple wed on July 28, according to a wedding certificate.
Nance was elected to the state Board of Education in 2006, representing District 5, which is in Las Vegas. During board meetings, Nance has spoken about being a special-education student while in school. He told the Review-Journal that he dropped out of school in the ninth grade and has worked as a taxi driver.
Friday was Nance's first meeting after a long absence because of health problems.
The meeting was a video conference between board members in Las Vegas and Carson City, but Nance was the only official in Las Vegas on Friday.
Nance said he was weary from a long honeymoon. "Too much partying and rock 'n' roll" were his reasons for sleeping through much of the meeting. Ruggiero often had to prompt Nance for his vote at the Friday meeting.
On Saturday morning when the board reconvened, Nance came dressed in the same clothes he wore Friday: white slacks, a sleeveless blue T-shirt and sneakers but no socks. Sometimes he donned Elvis-style sunglasses.
This time, board member Cindy Reid was in the room and objected when Nance began dangling jewelry in the face of his giggling wife. Ruggiero halted the meeting.
When Deputy Attorney Ed Irvin asked Nance to show decorum, he responded that there was no law saying his wife could not sit with him. "Therefore, bite me!" Nance told the attorney.
He had two years left in his term. Ruggiero and State Superintendent of Schools Keith Rheault hope the governor acts quickly to appoint Nance's successor.
Board President Marcia Washington has missed recent meetings because she has been taking care of her ailing mother, which means the board could have difficulty assembling a quorum.
"We don't want to let (Nance's vacancy) fall through the cracks," Ruggiero said.
Aug. 12, 2008 Las Vegas Review-Journal
BOARD OF EDUCATION: Member of panel resigns
Conduct at public meetings called 'distracting,' 'shocking'
Greg Nance quit the Nevada Board of Education on Monday following a weekend of public meeting make-out sessions with his new wife.
Sharon Frederick, a fellow board member, said Nance's behavior was "like watching a reality TV show. It was so distracting!"
Vice President Anthony Ruggiero called Nance's conduct "shocking and deplorable."
Board member Jan Biggerstaff said she met with Nance on Monday morning and told him that the bad publicity was going to hurt his political career and ability to serve.
But Nance, 49, cited his health issues and the need to take care of his 20-year-old wife, Sharona Dagani, who has cerebral palsy, as reasons for resigning.
"I have to put her first," he said.
Dagani sat beside Nance at Friday and Saturday's Board of Education meeting while strapped into a motorized wheelchair.
A year ago, television news reports said Dagani had about $2 million in a trust fund from a medical malpractice lawsuit. Dagani's mother went to the media in 2007 after the young woman left her Jewish family to join the International Church of Las Vegas, an evangelical church where her part-time caregiver was a member.
Nance acknowledged he is now "well-off" but said he signed a prenuptial agreement to protect his wife's assets. He also told the board that he wants to change his last name to hers.
In January, Nance wrote in a Nevada financial disclosure statement for public officials that he "owned nothing" and that everything belonged to his ministry, Ambassadors for Christ, which he operated out of his home with his now-deceased wife, Rita Nyberg.
"We have taken a vow of poverty," wrote Nance, who said he is a Pentecostal preacher.
Nyberg died in October, when Nance allowed doctors to take her off life support.
"I didn't want to do it," Nance said, explaining that Nyberg had cancer and was unconscious from a seizure. She might have lived another month, Nance said, but there was no chance for recovery.
Within 24 hours of Nyberg's death, Nance said he suffered a heart attack, the first of three since October.
Nance met his current wife at the Mission Pines nursing home, where they were both patients.
The couple wed on July 28, according to a wedding certificate.
Nance was elected to the state Board of Education in 2006, representing District 5, which is in Las Vegas. During board meetings, Nance has spoken about being a special-education student while in school. He told the Review-Journal that he dropped out of school in the ninth grade and has worked as a taxi driver.
Friday was Nance's first meeting after a long absence because of health problems.
The meeting was a video conference between board members in Las Vegas and Carson City, but Nance was the only official in Las Vegas on Friday.
Nance said he was weary from a long honeymoon. "Too much partying and rock 'n' roll" were his reasons for sleeping through much of the meeting. Ruggiero often had to prompt Nance for his vote at the Friday meeting.
On Saturday morning when the board reconvened, Nance came dressed in the same clothes he wore Friday: white slacks, a sleeveless blue T-shirt and sneakers but no socks. Sometimes he donned Elvis-style sunglasses.
This time, board member Cindy Reid was in the room and objected when Nance began dangling jewelry in the face of his giggling wife. Ruggiero halted the meeting.
When Deputy Attorney Ed Irvin asked Nance to show decorum, he responded that there was no law saying his wife could not sit with him. "Therefore, bite me!" Nance told the attorney.
He had two years left in his term. Ruggiero and State Superintendent of Schools Keith Rheault hope the governor acts quickly to appoint Nance's successor.
Board President Marcia Washington has missed recent meetings because she has been taking care of her ailing mother, which means the board could have difficulty assembling a quorum.
"We don't want to let (Nance's vacancy) fall through the cracks," Ruggiero said.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Borough Arts and Events Calendar
I've been pretty negligent in checking out the borough website at http://morrisville-boro-gov.com.
Please bookmark this site and make sure you check it out for all the things going on that make Morrisville a community.
This weekend on the calendar:
Saturday, August 16th
Come and strut with the "Uptown String Band"
Williamson Park Stage Pavilion 6-8pm
Bring a blanket or chair Rain date August 17th
No charge for this event
On deck:
Friday, August 22nd, and Saturday, August 23rd
The "Heritage Theater" presents "1776"
Raindate is August 24th
Williamson Park Stage Pavilion
Info call Joe or Cheryl Doyle @ 215-295-8181
No charge for this event
More info: visit www.actorsnetbucks.org
Please bookmark this site and make sure you check it out for all the things going on that make Morrisville a community.
This weekend on the calendar:
Saturday, August 16th
Come and strut with the "Uptown String Band"
Williamson Park Stage Pavilion 6-8pm
Bring a blanket or chair Rain date August 17th
No charge for this event
On deck:
Friday, August 22nd, and Saturday, August 23rd
The "Heritage Theater" presents "1776"
Raindate is August 24th
Williamson Park Stage Pavilion
Info call Joe or Cheryl Doyle @ 215-295-8181
No charge for this event
More info: visit www.actorsnetbucks.org
Neshaminy flunks scholastic goals
The 2008 PSSA scores are starting to emerge. The horrible, terrible, stupendously bad education that Morrisville provides? Well, not so bad after all.
2008 PSSA RESULTS
Neshaminy flunks scholastic goals
All other public school districts in Lower Bucks achieved No Child Left Behind benchmarks in this year’s state PSSA tests
By JOAN HELLYER
Seven out of eight school districts in Lower Bucks County earned Adequate Yearly Progress status on the 2008 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, according to information released Thursday by the state education department.
The Neshaminy School District is the lone public school system in the area that did not achieve AYP on the standardized mathematics and reading tests as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The tests are administered each spring to students in third through eighth grade and 11th grade.
In order to achieve AYP, at least one of the three grade spans identified by the state needs to meet specified performance and participation targets, state education officials said. The three grade spans are third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade. None of Neshaminy’s grade spans were able to meet every target, according to state information.
In addition, several Neshaminy schools are either in Corrective Action or School Improvement status or received a warning because not enough economically disadvantaged or special education students achieved proficiency on the PSSA tests.
Those schools are: Neshaminy High School, Carl Sandburg and Neshaminy middle schools and Albert Schweitzer, Oliver Heckman, Samuel Everitt, and Walter Miller elementary schools.
The state warning comes as Neshaminy is trying to reach a new contract agreement with its teachers union.
School board President Richard Eccles declined Thursday to comment about how the PSSA results will affect contract talks until the board has a chance to review the data. The Courier Times was unsuccessful Thursday in reaching Louise Boyd, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers leader, for comment after leaving a message at the union office.
Neshaminy Superintendent Paul Kadri said he doesn’t think the PSSA results will have an impact one way or another on the negotiations. “Student achievement is a focus onto its own,” Kadri said.
Most of the warnings have to do with special education students, he said. The district has already implemented a reading intervention program to address the issue.
Other area schools also received a warning or were put into School Improvement or Corrective Action status because either not enough of the overall student population achieved proficiency or because not enough minority, special education or economically disadvantaged students performed at grade level on the tests.
Those schools include: Bucks County Technical High School, Samuel K. Faust, Benjamin Rush, and Valley elementary schools in Bensalem; Bristol Borough Junior/Senior High School; Clara Barton, Lafayette and Abraham Lincoln elementary schools in Bristol Township; Centennial’s Log College Middle School and Willow Dale Elementary School; the Center for Student Learning at Pennsbury and Fallsington and Penn Valley elementary schools in the Pennsbury School District.
Fewer schools across Pennsylvania earned AYP status this year than in 2007, said Gerald L. Zahorchak, the state secretary of education, during a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. That’s because the proficiency rate targets were increased from 54 percent to 63 percent in reading and 45 percent to 56 percent in math, he said.
In 2007, 77 percent of schools across the state achieved proficiency. That dropped to 72 percent in 2008, Zahorchak said.
The state is slowly increasing the proficiency rate targets to ensure that all students achieve proficient or better on the PSSA tests by 2014, as required by No Child Left Behind. The current thresholds will be in place until 2011, and the education secretary said he expects a greater number of schools will achieve proficiency by then.
The focus needs to be on high school students, he said, because two out of every five Pennsylvania juniors are performing below grade level on the tests.
“Clearly, we need to do more to improve the high school experience and ensure those students stay engaged and challenged through graduation,” Zahorchak said. “We simply cannot afford to be content with the status quo.”
2008 PSSA RESULTS
Neshaminy flunks scholastic goals
All other public school districts in Lower Bucks achieved No Child Left Behind benchmarks in this year’s state PSSA tests
By JOAN HELLYER
Seven out of eight school districts in Lower Bucks County earned Adequate Yearly Progress status on the 2008 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, according to information released Thursday by the state education department.
The Neshaminy School District is the lone public school system in the area that did not achieve AYP on the standardized mathematics and reading tests as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The tests are administered each spring to students in third through eighth grade and 11th grade.
In order to achieve AYP, at least one of the three grade spans identified by the state needs to meet specified performance and participation targets, state education officials said. The three grade spans are third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade. None of Neshaminy’s grade spans were able to meet every target, according to state information.
In addition, several Neshaminy schools are either in Corrective Action or School Improvement status or received a warning because not enough economically disadvantaged or special education students achieved proficiency on the PSSA tests.
Those schools are: Neshaminy High School, Carl Sandburg and Neshaminy middle schools and Albert Schweitzer, Oliver Heckman, Samuel Everitt, and Walter Miller elementary schools.
The state warning comes as Neshaminy is trying to reach a new contract agreement with its teachers union.
School board President Richard Eccles declined Thursday to comment about how the PSSA results will affect contract talks until the board has a chance to review the data. The Courier Times was unsuccessful Thursday in reaching Louise Boyd, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers leader, for comment after leaving a message at the union office.
Neshaminy Superintendent Paul Kadri said he doesn’t think the PSSA results will have an impact one way or another on the negotiations. “Student achievement is a focus onto its own,” Kadri said.
Most of the warnings have to do with special education students, he said. The district has already implemented a reading intervention program to address the issue.
Other area schools also received a warning or were put into School Improvement or Corrective Action status because either not enough of the overall student population achieved proficiency or because not enough minority, special education or economically disadvantaged students performed at grade level on the tests.
Those schools include: Bucks County Technical High School, Samuel K. Faust, Benjamin Rush, and Valley elementary schools in Bensalem; Bristol Borough Junior/Senior High School; Clara Barton, Lafayette and Abraham Lincoln elementary schools in Bristol Township; Centennial’s Log College Middle School and Willow Dale Elementary School; the Center for Student Learning at Pennsbury and Fallsington and Penn Valley elementary schools in the Pennsbury School District.
Fewer schools across Pennsylvania earned AYP status this year than in 2007, said Gerald L. Zahorchak, the state secretary of education, during a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. That’s because the proficiency rate targets were increased from 54 percent to 63 percent in reading and 45 percent to 56 percent in math, he said.
In 2007, 77 percent of schools across the state achieved proficiency. That dropped to 72 percent in 2008, Zahorchak said.
The state is slowly increasing the proficiency rate targets to ensure that all students achieve proficient or better on the PSSA tests by 2014, as required by No Child Left Behind. The current thresholds will be in place until 2011, and the education secretary said he expects a greater number of schools will achieve proficiency by then.
The focus needs to be on high school students, he said, because two out of every five Pennsylvania juniors are performing below grade level on the tests.
“Clearly, we need to do more to improve the high school experience and ensure those students stay engaged and challenged through graduation,” Zahorchak said. “We simply cannot afford to be content with the status quo.”
WOW!! The PSSAs Are In!!!
From the Inquirer. Congratulations to Dr. Yonson, the staff, and the Morrisville class of 2009. Great work in spite of the distinct lack of support from your board of education!
"In Bucks County's 900-student Morrisville School District, this year's 11th-grade scores were a cause for celebration. They were among the top 10 most improved in the Philadelphia suburbs. In math, the students improved by 26 percentage points in one year.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said that the focus was on quarterly reviews of student performance, with "focused instruction on what they had not learned.""
Here's the link to the scores.
Phila. region improving its report card
By Dan Hardy, Kristen A. Graham and Dylan Purcell Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Inquirer Staff Writers
Even as standards rise, more schools in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs are making the grade in reading and math.
Still, weak spots remain. Across the state and around the region, high school scores and scores in underfunded districts continue to lag.
The region's gains buck a statewide trend. Overall, fewer Pennsylvania schools are reaching state goals - 72 percent of public schools passed, down from 78 percent last year, according to state data released yesterday.
In Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, 79 percent of all schools made the mark, up from 78 percent last year.
City scores also improved. Of the Philadelphia School District's 265 schools, 113 - 43 percent - made the grade, up from 40 percent last year.
When charter schools are added to the mix, the overall city number rises to a 45 percent passing rate.
Still, the majority of Philadelphia schools - 57 percent in the school district, 55 percent overall - failed.
"We are pleased overall, but there is much more work to do," said Fernando Gallard, a district spokesman. Beginning next month, the district is dedicating $12 million to its 23 lowest-performing schools.
Students in third through eighth grade, plus 11th graders, take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in reading and math annually.
To make "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools must have 56 percent of students scoring at proficiency in math, up from 45 percent; 63 percent for reading, up from 54 percent.
To pass, all students must score at grade level, including those in special-education classes, poor and minority children, and those who speak limited English.
Gerald Zahorchak, state education secretary, noted that the number of students who passed the tests statewide was up 29 percent since 2002, the first year of the law.
But, he said, efforts must be made "to bring students to grade level, as many low-income and minority students still lag behind academically."
There is good news, though. The region - city schools included - dominates the top-10 statewide list.
Masterman and Central Highs topped 11th-grade reading and math lists.
Sharon Parker, superintendent of the Unionville-Chadds Ford District, which also made both math and reading top-10 lists, said there is no complacency in the wealthy, high-achieving district.
The high school failed to meet state standards last year because of the performance of special-education students, and "it was a startling moment for us," Parker said. "We did a good bit of revision in instruction, looking at reinforcement of basic skills."
This year, all groups at the high school met the standards.
Schools with significant funding gaps fared poorly overall, Zahorchak said.
The districts with the largest funding gap, for instance, average 78 percent more students performing below grade level, compared with districts with adequate resources.
The solution is for the state to follow through on a six-year plan proposed by Gov. Rendell that would send more dollars to underfunded districts, Zahorchak said.
High schools remain the state's "greatest challenge," Zahorchak said, with 42 percent not making the grade.
In the region, 46 percent, or 72 of the region's 158 high schools, did not pass the state exams. In the suburbs, 35 percent of 82 high schools failed.
In the suburbs, Pottstown and Bristol saw the biggest declines in 11th-grade reading and math scores - Pottstown's math scores dipped 13 percent, and Bristol's reading dropped 16 percent.
Simon Gratz High in Philadelphia saw sharp declines, 24 points in math and 17 percent in reading.
"At the current pace, without significant intervention, it would take 40 years for all of our 11th graders to meet state standards," Zahorchak said.
To address the problem, the education secretary called for schools to "provide a rigorous curriculum . . . regardless of where the student lives."
That's in keeping with Rendell's stalled plan to require all students to pass tests to graduate.
Gallard, the Philadelphia spokesman, said that the district would attempt to address high school scores by adding an office devoted specifically to the city's large, comprehensive high schools, many of which did not pass the state exam.
And though some laud the progress made by Pennsylvania students, Ted Hershberg, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia and Operation Public Education, said the gains are "not good enough, not fast enough. Far, far too many kids are not getting the quality of education they need."
The state is not providing the kind of education needed to compete in a global economy, he said.
"There is no place for complacency here, yet that is what we find everywhere," Hershberg said.
Some schools that had not met the standards last year made the grade in 2008.
William Tennent High School, in Bucks County's Centennial School District, hit its goals for the first time in six years.
Jenny Foight-Cressman, Centennial's director of teaching and learning, said that the key was the work with special-education students, who raised their reading score at the high school by 18 percentage points. Data were monitored every two weeks, she said, and shared with students.
"That helps them set goals for themselves," she said. "They have responded very well; they have taken greater ownership over their own education. That's really exciting."
In Bucks County's 900-student Morrisville School District, this year's 11th-grade scores were a cause for celebration. They were among the top 10 most improved in the Philadelphia suburbs. In math, the students improved by 26 percentage points in one year.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said that the focus was on quarterly reviews of student performance, with "focused instruction on what they had not learned."
Even with the gains, the district still barely met proficiency standards on reading and was just below the benchmark in math. But Yonson said that for a district with high poverty and many transient students, "we're doing a great job, and we will continue to get better."
Montgomery County's Jenkintown district, which has an even smaller enrollment - 600 students - was among the top 10 in the suburbs for fifth grade, with increases of more than 30 percentage points.
"We say each individual child has to be accounted for and when a child is not getting it, we say, 'What are we going to do about it?' " said Superintendent Timothy Wade.
"In Bucks County's 900-student Morrisville School District, this year's 11th-grade scores were a cause for celebration. They were among the top 10 most improved in the Philadelphia suburbs. In math, the students improved by 26 percentage points in one year.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said that the focus was on quarterly reviews of student performance, with "focused instruction on what they had not learned.""
Here's the link to the scores.
Phila. region improving its report card
By Dan Hardy, Kristen A. Graham and Dylan Purcell Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Inquirer Staff Writers
Even as standards rise, more schools in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs are making the grade in reading and math.
Still, weak spots remain. Across the state and around the region, high school scores and scores in underfunded districts continue to lag.
The region's gains buck a statewide trend. Overall, fewer Pennsylvania schools are reaching state goals - 72 percent of public schools passed, down from 78 percent last year, according to state data released yesterday.
In Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, 79 percent of all schools made the mark, up from 78 percent last year.
City scores also improved. Of the Philadelphia School District's 265 schools, 113 - 43 percent - made the grade, up from 40 percent last year.
When charter schools are added to the mix, the overall city number rises to a 45 percent passing rate.
Still, the majority of Philadelphia schools - 57 percent in the school district, 55 percent overall - failed.
"We are pleased overall, but there is much more work to do," said Fernando Gallard, a district spokesman. Beginning next month, the district is dedicating $12 million to its 23 lowest-performing schools.
Students in third through eighth grade, plus 11th graders, take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in reading and math annually.
To make "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools must have 56 percent of students scoring at proficiency in math, up from 45 percent; 63 percent for reading, up from 54 percent.
To pass, all students must score at grade level, including those in special-education classes, poor and minority children, and those who speak limited English.
Gerald Zahorchak, state education secretary, noted that the number of students who passed the tests statewide was up 29 percent since 2002, the first year of the law.
But, he said, efforts must be made "to bring students to grade level, as many low-income and minority students still lag behind academically."
There is good news, though. The region - city schools included - dominates the top-10 statewide list.
Masterman and Central Highs topped 11th-grade reading and math lists.
Sharon Parker, superintendent of the Unionville-Chadds Ford District, which also made both math and reading top-10 lists, said there is no complacency in the wealthy, high-achieving district.
The high school failed to meet state standards last year because of the performance of special-education students, and "it was a startling moment for us," Parker said. "We did a good bit of revision in instruction, looking at reinforcement of basic skills."
This year, all groups at the high school met the standards.
Schools with significant funding gaps fared poorly overall, Zahorchak said.
The districts with the largest funding gap, for instance, average 78 percent more students performing below grade level, compared with districts with adequate resources.
The solution is for the state to follow through on a six-year plan proposed by Gov. Rendell that would send more dollars to underfunded districts, Zahorchak said.
High schools remain the state's "greatest challenge," Zahorchak said, with 42 percent not making the grade.
In the region, 46 percent, or 72 of the region's 158 high schools, did not pass the state exams. In the suburbs, 35 percent of 82 high schools failed.
In the suburbs, Pottstown and Bristol saw the biggest declines in 11th-grade reading and math scores - Pottstown's math scores dipped 13 percent, and Bristol's reading dropped 16 percent.
Simon Gratz High in Philadelphia saw sharp declines, 24 points in math and 17 percent in reading.
"At the current pace, without significant intervention, it would take 40 years for all of our 11th graders to meet state standards," Zahorchak said.
To address the problem, the education secretary called for schools to "provide a rigorous curriculum . . . regardless of where the student lives."
That's in keeping with Rendell's stalled plan to require all students to pass tests to graduate.
Gallard, the Philadelphia spokesman, said that the district would attempt to address high school scores by adding an office devoted specifically to the city's large, comprehensive high schools, many of which did not pass the state exam.
And though some laud the progress made by Pennsylvania students, Ted Hershberg, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia and Operation Public Education, said the gains are "not good enough, not fast enough. Far, far too many kids are not getting the quality of education they need."
The state is not providing the kind of education needed to compete in a global economy, he said.
"There is no place for complacency here, yet that is what we find everywhere," Hershberg said.
Some schools that had not met the standards last year made the grade in 2008.
William Tennent High School, in Bucks County's Centennial School District, hit its goals for the first time in six years.
Jenny Foight-Cressman, Centennial's director of teaching and learning, said that the key was the work with special-education students, who raised their reading score at the high school by 18 percentage points. Data were monitored every two weeks, she said, and shared with students.
"That helps them set goals for themselves," she said. "They have responded very well; they have taken greater ownership over their own education. That's really exciting."
In Bucks County's 900-student Morrisville School District, this year's 11th-grade scores were a cause for celebration. They were among the top 10 most improved in the Philadelphia suburbs. In math, the students improved by 26 percentage points in one year.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson said that the focus was on quarterly reviews of student performance, with "focused instruction on what they had not learned."
Even with the gains, the district still barely met proficiency standards on reading and was just below the benchmark in math. But Yonson said that for a district with high poverty and many transient students, "we're doing a great job, and we will continue to get better."
Montgomery County's Jenkintown district, which has an even smaller enrollment - 600 students - was among the top 10 in the suburbs for fifth grade, with increases of more than 30 percentage points.
"We say each individual child has to be accounted for and when a child is not getting it, we say, 'What are we going to do about it?' " said Superintendent Timothy Wade.
Re-register at your peril
Kate Fratti and the Re-Registration Blues
Re-register at your peril
The latest insult added to injury in Morrisville — where recent school budget cuts still sting for parents — is a student re-registration under way.
As in 2005, parents must prove residency with multiple documents. The purpose is to ensure that children living across the river in Trenton aren’t enrolling illegally in the Morrisville system. School board member Joe Kemp believes it is a myth that numerous city kids are being dropped off here for school. The re-registration could serve to dispel the myth or correct the problem if it exists.
What’s bothersome is that the reregistration is being conducted by community volunteers and not school staff. You must hand over personal information — a driver’s license number, a mortgage payment stub, your utility bill, a lease agreement, bank statement, tax return, etc. — to a virtual stranger selected by the school board president. No background check, no clearances, no assurances your information is safe from thieves or gossips.
The information-taker will record your driver’s license number and have your home, work and private cell phone number. He or she will know if you have a custody issue. Perhaps that you were late with payment of your electric bill, and that you lease your home, don’t own it.
Do you care? There’s been no mass protest of the process. Of course, parents are not informed that the person taking their information is not on staff.
By law, there is no need for formal clearances of volunteers because parents are not asked to provide details about their children other than the school they will attend.
Still, there is the possibility that you might reveal to the information taker that while your child’s home school is, say M.R. Reiter, he attends some other school to deal with a disability. Do you care who knows about your son’s or daughter’s learning challenges?
I would not hand over my papers or information about my child’s condition to just anyone, particularly not in the rotten climate that pervades the borough these days.
This school board president demanded at one point in the budget process to know the addresses and specific needs and services provided special education students.
Why?
Bill Hellmann said he wanted to protect against administrators padding the special education budget. The release of confidential kid information is illegal, however. Mr. Hellmann was told that repeatedly and still insisted on it.
In the end, the board was provided only information that did not impinge on a child’s privacy rights. Which is to say Mr. Hellmann was blocked from knowing that Johnny Doe at 123 Civil Liberties Street is challenged by severe autism and goes to Hope For Tomorrow School. He was provided the total cost.
That’s as it should be. The specifics of Johnny’s educational needs, and whether his parents live in a house or a subsidized apartment, are none of Mr. Hellmann’s business. Johnny’s entitled to an education under the law.
Nor is it my neighbors’ business whether I own my home or lease it or from whom. I’d prefer my being on welfare not be up for chit-chat at a bridge club meeting.
I don’t mean to demean volunteers, who for one reason or another feel strongly enough about re-registration to help with it. They may be very nice people. But they were organized by leaders who think privacy laws are a nuisance. Do they feel the same way?
You have to ask why this re-registration was not voted on or discussed publicly. It was merely a directive from the majority.
A defender of the volunteer process opines that if one has nothing to hide, one would cheerfully hand over his papers to anyone who wished to see them. That kind of logic isn’t just dangerous, it’s un-American.
Trust just anyone with my personal information? Not a chance. And surely not this crowd.
Kate Fratti, whose column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, notes that if you ask that a district staff person handle your re-registration, the request will be granted.
Re-register at your peril
The latest insult added to injury in Morrisville — where recent school budget cuts still sting for parents — is a student re-registration under way.
As in 2005, parents must prove residency with multiple documents. The purpose is to ensure that children living across the river in Trenton aren’t enrolling illegally in the Morrisville system. School board member Joe Kemp believes it is a myth that numerous city kids are being dropped off here for school. The re-registration could serve to dispel the myth or correct the problem if it exists.
What’s bothersome is that the reregistration is being conducted by community volunteers and not school staff. You must hand over personal information — a driver’s license number, a mortgage payment stub, your utility bill, a lease agreement, bank statement, tax return, etc. — to a virtual stranger selected by the school board president. No background check, no clearances, no assurances your information is safe from thieves or gossips.
The information-taker will record your driver’s license number and have your home, work and private cell phone number. He or she will know if you have a custody issue. Perhaps that you were late with payment of your electric bill, and that you lease your home, don’t own it.
Do you care? There’s been no mass protest of the process. Of course, parents are not informed that the person taking their information is not on staff.
By law, there is no need for formal clearances of volunteers because parents are not asked to provide details about their children other than the school they will attend.
Still, there is the possibility that you might reveal to the information taker that while your child’s home school is, say M.R. Reiter, he attends some other school to deal with a disability. Do you care who knows about your son’s or daughter’s learning challenges?
I would not hand over my papers or information about my child’s condition to just anyone, particularly not in the rotten climate that pervades the borough these days.
This school board president demanded at one point in the budget process to know the addresses and specific needs and services provided special education students.
Why?
Bill Hellmann said he wanted to protect against administrators padding the special education budget. The release of confidential kid information is illegal, however. Mr. Hellmann was told that repeatedly and still insisted on it.
In the end, the board was provided only information that did not impinge on a child’s privacy rights. Which is to say Mr. Hellmann was blocked from knowing that Johnny Doe at 123 Civil Liberties Street is challenged by severe autism and goes to Hope For Tomorrow School. He was provided the total cost.
That’s as it should be. The specifics of Johnny’s educational needs, and whether his parents live in a house or a subsidized apartment, are none of Mr. Hellmann’s business. Johnny’s entitled to an education under the law.
Nor is it my neighbors’ business whether I own my home or lease it or from whom. I’d prefer my being on welfare not be up for chit-chat at a bridge club meeting.
I don’t mean to demean volunteers, who for one reason or another feel strongly enough about re-registration to help with it. They may be very nice people. But they were organized by leaders who think privacy laws are a nuisance. Do they feel the same way?
You have to ask why this re-registration was not voted on or discussed publicly. It was merely a directive from the majority.
A defender of the volunteer process opines that if one has nothing to hide, one would cheerfully hand over his papers to anyone who wished to see them. That kind of logic isn’t just dangerous, it’s un-American.
Trust just anyone with my personal information? Not a chance. And surely not this crowd.
Kate Fratti, whose column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, notes that if you ask that a district staff person handle your re-registration, the request will be granted.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Did I Do That?
As a follow-up to this post, the Education Law Center is posting more information regarding the enrollment of students in a Pennsylvania school district.
Here's a copy of their letter to the PDE.
The Basic Education Circular (known as "Da Rulez") for Enrollment of Students is available online as well. One of the minor items it mentioned is this:
"Enrollment procedures may not require social security number, picture identification, reason for a child’s placement if not living with natural or pre-adoptive or adoptive parents, court orders, guardianship or a visa."
Oh dear...Here's a snip from the Morrisville requirements: "You will need to bring proof of identification for yourself. This must be in the form of a PA state issued I.D. card or valid PA driver’s license, passport or military I.D."
Aren't they all photo ID?
There's a lot of reading here, so I'll check back in later, but Morrisville is already violating the state regulations.
Here's a copy of their letter to the PDE.
The Basic Education Circular (known as "Da Rulez") for Enrollment of Students is available online as well. One of the minor items it mentioned is this:
"Enrollment procedures may not require social security number, picture identification, reason for a child’s placement if not living with natural or pre-adoptive or adoptive parents, court orders, guardianship or a visa."
Oh dear...Here's a snip from the Morrisville requirements: "You will need to bring proof of identification for yourself. This must be in the form of a PA state issued I.D. card or valid PA driver’s license, passport or military I.D."
Aren't they all photo ID?
There's a lot of reading here, so I'll check back in later, but Morrisville is already violating the state regulations.
From the York Daily Record.
New year, new schools
Growing student bodies require new classrooms.
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Last Updated: 08/13/2008 12:23:14 AM EDT
Across the region, student enrollment has increased significantly in the last few years, and new schools are being built as classrooms fill up.
Here are a few facts and the status of some of the county's latest school building projects.
Spring Grove Area School District
--- The new high school was priced as the second-lowest Pennsylvania high school that was bid on in 2006. It cost about $147 per square foot, for a total of $49.8 million.
--- There are 80 classrooms, a 25-meter-long swimming pool and a 425-seat cafeteria. Lining the halls are 150 security cameras, and exterior cameras can zoom in to read a license plate a quarter-mile away. Season tickets with assigned seats will be available at the new 5,000-seat stadium.
York City School District
--- The school received bids last week for a new 800-capacity Ferguson Elementary. The estimated building cost is about $24 million.
--- School board and administration members will spend the next two weeks looking into details such as types of flooring and windows to be used. One option would place blinds inside the window panes, which would cut on maintenance costs, and energy savings could come from smart rooms that have lights that are in tune with natural lighting.
Dallastown Area High School
--- A new intermediate center has been planned for the district for the past two years, and the project could be finalized this year.
--- The project, which was estimated to cost $60 million two years ago, will house 1,800 fourth- through sixth-graders. The school district will open bids for the project Aug. 18, and officials are anticipating that inflation and a sharp increase in construction materials will escalate the cost.
Other projects
--- Eastern York School District high schoolers will go to a renovated building this year. About 85 percent of the building is new, and construction will continue, including the addition of an auditorium.
--- Central York School District students and community members should expect the natatorium to be completed this year. The tentative opening date is early December.
--- Rather than add on to their high school, the South Eastern York School District will use modular classrooms for some students. The hope is to avoid a costly construction project.
New year, new schools
Growing student bodies require new classrooms.
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Last Updated: 08/13/2008 12:23:14 AM EDT
Across the region, student enrollment has increased significantly in the last few years, and new schools are being built as classrooms fill up.
Here are a few facts and the status of some of the county's latest school building projects.
Spring Grove Area School District
--- The new high school was priced as the second-lowest Pennsylvania high school that was bid on in 2006. It cost about $147 per square foot, for a total of $49.8 million.
--- There are 80 classrooms, a 25-meter-long swimming pool and a 425-seat cafeteria. Lining the halls are 150 security cameras, and exterior cameras can zoom in to read a license plate a quarter-mile away. Season tickets with assigned seats will be available at the new 5,000-seat stadium.
York City School District
--- The school received bids last week for a new 800-capacity Ferguson Elementary. The estimated building cost is about $24 million.
--- School board and administration members will spend the next two weeks looking into details such as types of flooring and windows to be used. One option would place blinds inside the window panes, which would cut on maintenance costs, and energy savings could come from smart rooms that have lights that are in tune with natural lighting.
Dallastown Area High School
--- A new intermediate center has been planned for the district for the past two years, and the project could be finalized this year.
--- The project, which was estimated to cost $60 million two years ago, will house 1,800 fourth- through sixth-graders. The school district will open bids for the project Aug. 18, and officials are anticipating that inflation and a sharp increase in construction materials will escalate the cost.
Other projects
--- Eastern York School District high schoolers will go to a renovated building this year. About 85 percent of the building is new, and construction will continue, including the addition of an auditorium.
--- Central York School District students and community members should expect the natatorium to be completed this year. The tentative opening date is early December.
--- Rather than add on to their high school, the South Eastern York School District will use modular classrooms for some students. The hope is to avoid a costly construction project.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Re-Registration Privacy Complaints: Family Policy Compliance Office
Thanks to the emailer for this information.
If you feel the re-registration is being conducted in such a way that puts your privacy at risk, there is a federal office that handles such complaints.
Below is the address and phone number of the Family Policy Compliance Office.
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920
202 260 3887
If you feel the re-registration is being conducted in such a way that puts your privacy at risk, there is a federal office that handles such complaints.
Below is the address and phone number of the Family Policy Compliance Office.
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920
202 260 3887
Sentences Never Heard in the LGI
“You acted alone...You have no authority to do anything on your own."
“This puts us in a bad light with the...community,”
“We’re a team, and we all have to be on the same page
Panel removes provision for 30 advertising signs
The district goes to the Warminster zoning board today to have advertising signs for the high school baseball field removed from its application.
By MANASEE WAGH
Centennial school board’s finance committee unanimously voted to remove a provision the board president had added to a zoning board application without the board’s knowledge.
The original application to the Warminster board was for a new Coca-Cola scoreboard at Claude Lodge Field behind William Tennent High School.
Board President Michael Monaghan added a request for 30 advertising signs on the high school’s baseball field as well, but he didn’t inform the board of his intentions.
“We needed cheaper advertising than what’s to be available on the Coca-Cola sign,” Monaghan said Monday night at a board finance committee meeting.
The cost for each of the six advertising slots available on the football sign is $5,000. Presumably, it would be cheaper to advertise on the baseball diamond, said Monaghan. However, the price for an advertisement has not been determined.
Monaghan said he was also worried about incurring an additional zoning application fee for a separate advertising request for the baseball field. He said that former district Superintendent Michael Masko had encouraged combining both requests to facilitate the matter. So Monaghan instructed Victor Lasher, director of facilities, to add the 30 signs to the application.
The superintendent is responsible to the nine school directors. As such, both Masko and Monaghan should have notified the board immediately, said other board members.
“I appreciate you were trying to save the district money,” board member Thomas Reinboth said Monday. “His heart was in the right place, but maybe he should have informed the board.”
Some board members learned about the zoning board addition from other sources in the community and brought up the issue in mid-July at the board’s operations committee meeting.
Board member Jane Lynch was bewildered and upset when she discovered the additional request only through the zoning board, of which Lynch is also a member.
“The [football stadium] scoreboards are our top priority. The baseball signs came from nowhere. It’s embarrassing,” she said.
The baseball diamond was never part of the stadium complex.
Board member Cynthia Mueller also expressed her consternation.
“You acted alone,” she told Monaghan. “I was very taken aback and extremely disappointed. You have no authority to do anything on your own.
“This puts us in a bad light with the Warminster community,” she added. The matter at least should have been introduced before a committee of the school board for discussion before taking it to the zoning board, she said.
Board member Betty Huf encouraged the entire board to learn from the mistake and move forward together.
“We’re a team, and we all have to be on the same page,” she said.
Today, Lasher will request that the zoning hearing board remove the Tennent baseball field signs request from Centennial’s application.
Now that the board is aware that Monaghan was looking to raise funds for the district through less expensive signs on the baseball field, the issue might be revisited in the future, said Mueller.
“This puts us in a bad light with the...community,”
“We’re a team, and we all have to be on the same page
Panel removes provision for 30 advertising signs
The district goes to the Warminster zoning board today to have advertising signs for the high school baseball field removed from its application.
By MANASEE WAGH
Centennial school board’s finance committee unanimously voted to remove a provision the board president had added to a zoning board application without the board’s knowledge.
The original application to the Warminster board was for a new Coca-Cola scoreboard at Claude Lodge Field behind William Tennent High School.
Board President Michael Monaghan added a request for 30 advertising signs on the high school’s baseball field as well, but he didn’t inform the board of his intentions.
“We needed cheaper advertising than what’s to be available on the Coca-Cola sign,” Monaghan said Monday night at a board finance committee meeting.
The cost for each of the six advertising slots available on the football sign is $5,000. Presumably, it would be cheaper to advertise on the baseball diamond, said Monaghan. However, the price for an advertisement has not been determined.
Monaghan said he was also worried about incurring an additional zoning application fee for a separate advertising request for the baseball field. He said that former district Superintendent Michael Masko had encouraged combining both requests to facilitate the matter. So Monaghan instructed Victor Lasher, director of facilities, to add the 30 signs to the application.
The superintendent is responsible to the nine school directors. As such, both Masko and Monaghan should have notified the board immediately, said other board members.
“I appreciate you were trying to save the district money,” board member Thomas Reinboth said Monday. “His heart was in the right place, but maybe he should have informed the board.”
Some board members learned about the zoning board addition from other sources in the community and brought up the issue in mid-July at the board’s operations committee meeting.
Board member Jane Lynch was bewildered and upset when she discovered the additional request only through the zoning board, of which Lynch is also a member.
“The [football stadium] scoreboards are our top priority. The baseball signs came from nowhere. It’s embarrassing,” she said.
The baseball diamond was never part of the stadium complex.
Board member Cynthia Mueller also expressed her consternation.
“You acted alone,” she told Monaghan. “I was very taken aback and extremely disappointed. You have no authority to do anything on your own.
“This puts us in a bad light with the Warminster community,” she added. The matter at least should have been introduced before a committee of the school board for discussion before taking it to the zoning board, she said.
Board member Betty Huf encouraged the entire board to learn from the mistake and move forward together.
“We’re a team, and we all have to be on the same page,” she said.
Today, Lasher will request that the zoning hearing board remove the Tennent baseball field signs request from Centennial’s application.
Now that the board is aware that Monaghan was looking to raise funds for the district through less expensive signs on the baseball field, the issue might be revisited in the future, said Mueller.
Happy Birthdays and Sunny Days
With the potential for Mr. Rogers to nearly disappear from the airwaves, it's nice to see something else continue an unparalleled run on TV.
Why 'Sesame Street' still counts
Monday, August 11th 2008, 1:26 PM
I like the number 39 because Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella wore it.
It also seems to work pretty well for television.
Jack Benny, one of the great TV personalities, had a running gag about never getting older than 39.
The greatest sitcom ever, "The Honeymooners," is most famous for the 39 episodes it filmed in 1955-56.
This morning "Sesame Street" enters its 39th season, having lost nothing except its newness.
CLICK TO SEE CELEB STARS ON "SESAME STREET."
"Sesame Street" is such a part of the culture that to anyone born after 1965, Oscar and Bert and all the others are family.
So they rarely surprise us anymore.
But they do still delight.
This latest season kicks off with a show featuring "Telly Monster and the Golden Triangle of Destiny," a spoof of "Indiana Jones."
Many of its younger viewers won't get the Indiana Jones reference, or the hat. But they'll have fun, while their parents will find it at worst painless and often charming.
That's probably one reason "Sesame Street" has lasted so long. It doesn't overreach and aim for blinding brilliance with every line.
While it doesn't condescend to kids, it also recognizes that's what they are: kids. Sometimes they just want silly.
In one scene, when Texas Telly is looking for the Golden Triangle of Destiny, he gets a hint that it may be underneath something in the Laundromat.
An energetic search follows, during which piles of socks and neatly folded shirts are randomly tossed into the air and scattered on the floor. There, they are forgotten despite the pleas of Leela, an Indian-American, the show's newest cast member, who joins this season.
If "Sesame Street" went strictly by the rulebook, Telly and his cohorts would go back, pick up all that laundry and put it back neatly where they found it.
But if doesn't happen in life, "Sesame Street" figures, maybe sometimes it shouldn't happen on the show, either. There's always a little anarchy in the lives of children, however hard parents try to order, coax, plead and pound it out of them, and there's still a little anarchy on "Sesame Street."
"Sesame Street" doesn't shy away from good deeds, of course. When Telly finds the Golden Triangle of Destiny, he decides not to keep it but to donate it to the Museum of Triangular History so everyone can enjoy it.
Nor do the writers forget that however endearing we find the cute parts, their show's core mission is to teach fundamental things like letters and numbers.
This episode features the letter "L," and tempting as it might have been for the writers, it never slips in even a remote reference to the fact there's another L-word show out there in another part of television.
There's plenty of time for that later. On "Sesame Street," the fundamental things apply.
Why 'Sesame Street' still counts
Monday, August 11th 2008, 1:26 PM
I like the number 39 because Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella wore it.
It also seems to work pretty well for television.
Jack Benny, one of the great TV personalities, had a running gag about never getting older than 39.
The greatest sitcom ever, "The Honeymooners," is most famous for the 39 episodes it filmed in 1955-56.
This morning "Sesame Street" enters its 39th season, having lost nothing except its newness.
CLICK TO SEE CELEB STARS ON "SESAME STREET."
"Sesame Street" is such a part of the culture that to anyone born after 1965, Oscar and Bert and all the others are family.
So they rarely surprise us anymore.
But they do still delight.
This latest season kicks off with a show featuring "Telly Monster and the Golden Triangle of Destiny," a spoof of "Indiana Jones."
Many of its younger viewers won't get the Indiana Jones reference, or the hat. But they'll have fun, while their parents will find it at worst painless and often charming.
That's probably one reason "Sesame Street" has lasted so long. It doesn't overreach and aim for blinding brilliance with every line.
While it doesn't condescend to kids, it also recognizes that's what they are: kids. Sometimes they just want silly.
In one scene, when Texas Telly is looking for the Golden Triangle of Destiny, he gets a hint that it may be underneath something in the Laundromat.
An energetic search follows, during which piles of socks and neatly folded shirts are randomly tossed into the air and scattered on the floor. There, they are forgotten despite the pleas of Leela, an Indian-American, the show's newest cast member, who joins this season.
If "Sesame Street" went strictly by the rulebook, Telly and his cohorts would go back, pick up all that laundry and put it back neatly where they found it.
But if doesn't happen in life, "Sesame Street" figures, maybe sometimes it shouldn't happen on the show, either. There's always a little anarchy in the lives of children, however hard parents try to order, coax, plead and pound it out of them, and there's still a little anarchy on "Sesame Street."
"Sesame Street" doesn't shy away from good deeds, of course. When Telly finds the Golden Triangle of Destiny, he decides not to keep it but to donate it to the Museum of Triangular History so everyone can enjoy it.
Nor do the writers forget that however endearing we find the cute parts, their show's core mission is to teach fundamental things like letters and numbers.
This episode features the letter "L," and tempting as it might have been for the writers, it never slips in even a remote reference to the fact there's another L-word show out there in another part of television.
There's plenty of time for that later. On "Sesame Street," the fundamental things apply.
Galloway votes to eliminate school property taxes
Thanks to the emailer who reminds us all about this. Be sure to let Rep. Galloway know you're out there and you want relief. Check out the link below to HB1600 with the text of the bill.
State Rep. John T. Galloway, D-Bucks
www.pahouse.com/Galloway
Galloway votes to eliminate school property taxes
'Independence from school property taxes closer than ever'
HARRISBURG, July 3 – State Rep. John T. Galloway, D-Bucks, today voted to move a bill out of the House Finance Committee that would eliminate school property taxes for Pennsylvania homeowners.
House Bill 1600, introduced by state Rep. David Levdansky, D-Allegheny, and co-sponsored by Galloway, would establish the Supplemental Homeowner Property Tax Relief Act and would cut school property taxes on homesteads by increasing income and sales taxes.
"I am pleased that on the eve of our Independence Day holiday that independence from school property taxes is closer than it has ever been," said Galloway, who is a member of the House Finance Committee. "This issue has been a political football for more than 30 years and the state legislature has done little but fumble. But with the dedication and ambition of the freshmen lawmakers, and the cooperation of seasoned House members from both sides of the aisle, it looks like we are about to score a touchdown for homeowners across the Commonwealth."
Galloway said an amendment added to the bill by Levdansky, and approved by the Finance Committee, would take away school districts' authority to impose school property taxes and set a date of Dec. 31, 2009, for the legislature to come up with an alternative way to fund education, such as increasing the personal income and/or sales tax.
House Bill 1600 now moves to the House Appropriations Committee, where Galloway is also a member.
"I am hopeful the bill will quickly move to the House floor for a vote," he said.
State Rep. John T. Galloway, D-Bucks
www.pahouse.com/Galloway
Galloway votes to eliminate school property taxes
'Independence from school property taxes closer than ever'
HARRISBURG, July 3 – State Rep. John T. Galloway, D-Bucks, today voted to move a bill out of the House Finance Committee that would eliminate school property taxes for Pennsylvania homeowners.
House Bill 1600, introduced by state Rep. David Levdansky, D-Allegheny, and co-sponsored by Galloway, would establish the Supplemental Homeowner Property Tax Relief Act and would cut school property taxes on homesteads by increasing income and sales taxes.
"I am pleased that on the eve of our Independence Day holiday that independence from school property taxes is closer than it has ever been," said Galloway, who is a member of the House Finance Committee. "This issue has been a political football for more than 30 years and the state legislature has done little but fumble. But with the dedication and ambition of the freshmen lawmakers, and the cooperation of seasoned House members from both sides of the aisle, it looks like we are about to score a touchdown for homeowners across the Commonwealth."
Galloway said an amendment added to the bill by Levdansky, and approved by the Finance Committee, would take away school districts' authority to impose school property taxes and set a date of Dec. 31, 2009, for the legislature to come up with an alternative way to fund education, such as increasing the personal income and/or sales tax.
House Bill 1600 now moves to the House Appropriations Committee, where Galloway is also a member.
"I am hopeful the bill will quickly move to the House floor for a vote," he said.
Education Law Center questions school enrollment policies
From the Lebanon Daily News.
Advocates question Pa. school enrollment policies
By MARTHA RAFFAELE AP Education Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa.—A legal advocacy group for public school students has asked the state to examine whether enrollment policies in some of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts are unnecessarily preventing children from going to class.
In the last school year alone, the Education Law Center has been asked to intervene in 270 cases where questionable policies and practices delayed the enrollment of new students by up to a month or longer, according to a complaint the center sent to the state Education Department.
State law requires families to provide proof of age, residency and immunizations for new students before they can enroll in public schools. It also requires districts to enroll students who live with caregivers other than their parents if the caregivers meet certain qualifications.
But some families have encountered requirements that are too rigid, exceed what the law requires or are specifically banned by the law, said Janet Stotland, co-director of the Philadelphia-based center.
"The whole point is not to make it a crapshoot to enroll students in school districts in Pennsylvania," Stotland said.
The Education Department was reviewing the complaint, but had no immediate comment Tuesday, spokesman Michael Race said.
The complaint, sent on Friday, cites four examples of its concerns without identifying school districts or students.
In one case, a mother of twins could not comply with a requirement to provide photo identification because she did not have a driver's license or other ID. The children missed one month of school until the law center got involved, according to the complaint.
Children who move frequently due to poverty, homelessness or foster care placements are most often caught in the middle of enrollment disputes, Stotland said. Nearly 13,600 Pennsylvania school-age children are in foster care, according to the Department of Public Welfare.
The complaint also suggests that the enrollment policies of at least 162 school districts may be illegal, based on the law center's review of policies posted on district Web sites. Since about 40 percent of all districts do not post enrollment policies online, the complaint said, the problem could be more widespread.
Common problems include many districts' insistence that only a birth certificate is acceptable proof of a student's age, the complaint said. Guidelines published by the state education department in 2002 say documents such as baptism certificates and notarized statements also can be accepted.
Nearly 60 school districts asked for a student's Social Security number, 34 required parental identification, and less than a handful demanded documentation of a student's immigration status—all prohibited by law in order to streamline the enrollment process, the complaint said.
The center wants the department to inform all school districts about the legal requirements for enrollment, review all enrollment policies and ask for revisions from districts not in compliance with state law, Stotland said.
Emily Leader, an attorney with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said determining whether a student can legally enroll in a school district can be tricky, but that most districts contact the association "at least once a year" to seek guidance.
"I think most schools are enrolling most children when they come in," Leader said. "My guess is that some enrollment policies and procedures go back to the beginning of time ... and there may need to be modifications."
———
On the Net:
Education Law Center: http://www.elc-pa.org
Pennsylvania Department of Education: http://www.pde.state.pa.us
Advocates question Pa. school enrollment policies
By MARTHA RAFFAELE AP Education Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa.—A legal advocacy group for public school students has asked the state to examine whether enrollment policies in some of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts are unnecessarily preventing children from going to class.
In the last school year alone, the Education Law Center has been asked to intervene in 270 cases where questionable policies and practices delayed the enrollment of new students by up to a month or longer, according to a complaint the center sent to the state Education Department.
State law requires families to provide proof of age, residency and immunizations for new students before they can enroll in public schools. It also requires districts to enroll students who live with caregivers other than their parents if the caregivers meet certain qualifications.
But some families have encountered requirements that are too rigid, exceed what the law requires or are specifically banned by the law, said Janet Stotland, co-director of the Philadelphia-based center.
"The whole point is not to make it a crapshoot to enroll students in school districts in Pennsylvania," Stotland said.
The Education Department was reviewing the complaint, but had no immediate comment Tuesday, spokesman Michael Race said.
The complaint, sent on Friday, cites four examples of its concerns without identifying school districts or students.
In one case, a mother of twins could not comply with a requirement to provide photo identification because she did not have a driver's license or other ID. The children missed one month of school until the law center got involved, according to the complaint.
Children who move frequently due to poverty, homelessness or foster care placements are most often caught in the middle of enrollment disputes, Stotland said. Nearly 13,600 Pennsylvania school-age children are in foster care, according to the Department of Public Welfare.
The complaint also suggests that the enrollment policies of at least 162 school districts may be illegal, based on the law center's review of policies posted on district Web sites. Since about 40 percent of all districts do not post enrollment policies online, the complaint said, the problem could be more widespread.
Common problems include many districts' insistence that only a birth certificate is acceptable proof of a student's age, the complaint said. Guidelines published by the state education department in 2002 say documents such as baptism certificates and notarized statements also can be accepted.
Nearly 60 school districts asked for a student's Social Security number, 34 required parental identification, and less than a handful demanded documentation of a student's immigration status—all prohibited by law in order to streamline the enrollment process, the complaint said.
The center wants the department to inform all school districts about the legal requirements for enrollment, review all enrollment policies and ask for revisions from districts not in compliance with state law, Stotland said.
Emily Leader, an attorney with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said determining whether a student can legally enroll in a school district can be tricky, but that most districts contact the association "at least once a year" to seek guidance.
"I think most schools are enrolling most children when they come in," Leader said. "My guess is that some enrollment policies and procedures go back to the beginning of time ... and there may need to be modifications."
———
On the Net:
Education Law Center: http://www.elc-pa.org
Pennsylvania Department of Education: http://www.pde.state.pa.us
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tales From the Re-Registration
Now that we're a week into re-registration, are there any stories you have to share?
Grading our schools
From the Towanda Daily Review. Before you dismiss this as just a report on the Scranton area schools, the Review has also provided a searchable database on all 501 districts.
Grading our schools
Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008 4:28 AM EDT
Times-Shamrock’s Grading our Schools project looked at the local districts’ performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test for all grade levels and subject areas, as well as on the SAT.
Specifically, Grading our Schools examined the results on 17 PSSA tests as well as each district’s average combined math and verbal SAT score.
Officials from several local school districts objected to the methodology used in Grading our Schools, which focused to a large extent on whether school districts scored above or below the state average for each test.
These officials said school districts should instead be evaluated on whether they met the state targets for proficiency in math and reading on the PSSA, which is the basis for determining if a district is making "Adequate Yearly Progress." Since the state averages on PSSA tests are higher than the state AYP targets, school districts appear to be doing better when evaluated in relation to the AYP targets. The adequate progress guage is included in the report, and is the focus of other stories during the course of the year. State averages are part of the state Department of Education’s listings.
The Sullivan County School District exceeded state averages on 15 of 18 test areas examined – a better performance than any other local school district — and was also the top-ranked district in Bradford and Sullivan counties on seven of those tests areas.
"I don’t know if we have anything different from any other district" that would explain the Sullivan County School District’s success, said Kathryn Gruber, superintendent of the Sullivan County School District. "We just have a high commitment to the state standards and we have high expectations for all students."
The PSSA tests correlate to state educational standards and the school district has incorporated all the state standards into the district’s curriculum and teaching practices, she explained.
The Daily & Sunday Review’s Grading our Schools project analyzed SAT and PSSA scores from the 2006-07 school year for all districts and schools statewide, as well as a dozen other key educational factors. The 2006-07 data is the most recent available.
While a couple of school districts stand out locally, the region’s schools as a rule have a long way to go before they meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014.
Three local schools, however, did achieve 100 percent proficiency on specific PSSA tests. In Pennsylvania, the PSSAs, which are used to determine proficiency, are taken by third- through eighth-graders and 11th-graders.
In its eighth year of publication, this year’s Grading Our Schools report includes charts on the area’s eight public school districts on page A13, as well as comprehensive online databases with searchable information on all 501 school districts in the state, which are available at www.thedailyreview.com. The databases include educators’ profiles, financial information, district and student demographics and test scores. Users can tailor search results in the databases to compare districts.
The newspaper analyzed how well the state’s 501 districts and more than 3,000 elementary, middle and high schools performed on PSSA and SAT tests and ranked their results statewide.
The results show how far Pennsylvania has come to meeting the goal of 100-percent proficiency, said Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak. "In Pennsylvania, we’ve seen great results," Zahorchak said. "It’s absolutely going to continue. ... We can count on that."
In order to maintain funding and not fall into penalty, districts must meet the state’s proficiency targets on the PSSAs.
For the 2006-07 year, Pennsylvania’s target was for at least 54 percent of students to score proficiently in reading and at least 45 percent in math. Across the state, 69.2 percent of students are now proficient in math, and 67.7 percent in reading.
The state periodically raises the targets as it seeks to move the state’s students toward 100 percent proficiency by 2014.
[Moderator note: Local district discussion removed]
100-PERCENT PROFICENCY
While no local district had 100-percent proficiency on the math, reading or writing PSSAs at any grade level, each of the following three schools had 100-percent proficiency on a specific PSSA test:
Third–grade reading: Harriet Child Elementary School, Athens District
Third-grade math: Laceyville Elementary School, Wyalusing District
Fourth-grade reading: New Albany Elementary School, Wyalusing District
ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
All school districts in Bradford and Sullivan counties made Adequate Yearly Progress for the 2006-07 school year, which is based in part on their performance on the 2006-07 PSSA tests, according to the state Department of Education’s Web site.
Adequate Yearly Progress is also based on high school graduation rates, attendance rates, and student participation on taking the PSSA tests.
However, three schools in Bradford County – the S.R.U. Middle School, the Towanda Area Elementary School, and the Troy Area Middle School -- failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress for 2006-07, according to the Department of Education Web site.
The Athens School District’s S.R.U. Middle School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress because its special education sub-group did not meet the AYP targets for either math or reading, said Michael Race, a spokesman for the Department of Education.
The Towanda Area Elementary School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress because its special education and economically disadvantaged subgroups failed to make the AYP target in reading, Race said.
FUNDING AND LAWS
Although the goals of No Child Left Behind "are terrific," some changes need to be made, Zahorchak, the state education official, said.
Those changes include additional federal funding, having flexibility in determining the consequences for districts that do not meet goals, and having flexibility in testing special-education students.
Despite the needed changes, the state can meet the 100-percent proficiency requirement — if the funding is available, Dr. Zahorchak said.
Grading our schools
Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008 4:28 AM EDT
Times-Shamrock’s Grading our Schools project looked at the local districts’ performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test for all grade levels and subject areas, as well as on the SAT.
Specifically, Grading our Schools examined the results on 17 PSSA tests as well as each district’s average combined math and verbal SAT score.
Officials from several local school districts objected to the methodology used in Grading our Schools, which focused to a large extent on whether school districts scored above or below the state average for each test.
These officials said school districts should instead be evaluated on whether they met the state targets for proficiency in math and reading on the PSSA, which is the basis for determining if a district is making "Adequate Yearly Progress." Since the state averages on PSSA tests are higher than the state AYP targets, school districts appear to be doing better when evaluated in relation to the AYP targets. The adequate progress guage is included in the report, and is the focus of other stories during the course of the year. State averages are part of the state Department of Education’s listings.
The Sullivan County School District exceeded state averages on 15 of 18 test areas examined – a better performance than any other local school district — and was also the top-ranked district in Bradford and Sullivan counties on seven of those tests areas.
"I don’t know if we have anything different from any other district" that would explain the Sullivan County School District’s success, said Kathryn Gruber, superintendent of the Sullivan County School District. "We just have a high commitment to the state standards and we have high expectations for all students."
The PSSA tests correlate to state educational standards and the school district has incorporated all the state standards into the district’s curriculum and teaching practices, she explained.
The Daily & Sunday Review’s Grading our Schools project analyzed SAT and PSSA scores from the 2006-07 school year for all districts and schools statewide, as well as a dozen other key educational factors. The 2006-07 data is the most recent available.
While a couple of school districts stand out locally, the region’s schools as a rule have a long way to go before they meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014.
Three local schools, however, did achieve 100 percent proficiency on specific PSSA tests. In Pennsylvania, the PSSAs, which are used to determine proficiency, are taken by third- through eighth-graders and 11th-graders.
In its eighth year of publication, this year’s Grading Our Schools report includes charts on the area’s eight public school districts on page A13, as well as comprehensive online databases with searchable information on all 501 school districts in the state, which are available at www.thedailyreview.com. The databases include educators’ profiles, financial information, district and student demographics and test scores. Users can tailor search results in the databases to compare districts.
The newspaper analyzed how well the state’s 501 districts and more than 3,000 elementary, middle and high schools performed on PSSA and SAT tests and ranked their results statewide.
The results show how far Pennsylvania has come to meeting the goal of 100-percent proficiency, said Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak. "In Pennsylvania, we’ve seen great results," Zahorchak said. "It’s absolutely going to continue. ... We can count on that."
In order to maintain funding and not fall into penalty, districts must meet the state’s proficiency targets on the PSSAs.
For the 2006-07 year, Pennsylvania’s target was for at least 54 percent of students to score proficiently in reading and at least 45 percent in math. Across the state, 69.2 percent of students are now proficient in math, and 67.7 percent in reading.
The state periodically raises the targets as it seeks to move the state’s students toward 100 percent proficiency by 2014.
[Moderator note: Local district discussion removed]
100-PERCENT PROFICENCY
While no local district had 100-percent proficiency on the math, reading or writing PSSAs at any grade level, each of the following three schools had 100-percent proficiency on a specific PSSA test:
Third–grade reading: Harriet Child Elementary School, Athens District
Third-grade math: Laceyville Elementary School, Wyalusing District
Fourth-grade reading: New Albany Elementary School, Wyalusing District
ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
All school districts in Bradford and Sullivan counties made Adequate Yearly Progress for the 2006-07 school year, which is based in part on their performance on the 2006-07 PSSA tests, according to the state Department of Education’s Web site.
Adequate Yearly Progress is also based on high school graduation rates, attendance rates, and student participation on taking the PSSA tests.
However, three schools in Bradford County – the S.R.U. Middle School, the Towanda Area Elementary School, and the Troy Area Middle School -- failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress for 2006-07, according to the Department of Education Web site.
The Athens School District’s S.R.U. Middle School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress because its special education sub-group did not meet the AYP targets for either math or reading, said Michael Race, a spokesman for the Department of Education.
The Towanda Area Elementary School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress because its special education and economically disadvantaged subgroups failed to make the AYP target in reading, Race said.
FUNDING AND LAWS
Although the goals of No Child Left Behind "are terrific," some changes need to be made, Zahorchak, the state education official, said.
Those changes include additional federal funding, having flexibility in determining the consequences for districts that do not meet goals, and having flexibility in testing special-education students.
Despite the needed changes, the state can meet the 100-percent proficiency requirement — if the funding is available, Dr. Zahorchak said.
Monday, August 11, 2008
But they're somewhere in the top ten...
This story came across my screen earlier today. Check out the sidebar story.
I am forced to concede that Morrisville does not have the worst behaved school board members in the world.
MEETING HALTED BECAUSE OF CONDUCT
As members of the public listened to a complex policy discussion on charter schools, Nevada Board of Education member Greg Nance dangled a piece of jewelry in the face of his newlywed wife, ringing a tiny bell on a bracelet as she giggled.
The distraction caused fellow board member Cindy Reid to call for an immediate halt to Saturday's video-conference of the state Board of Education; all members but Reid and Nance were meeting in Carson City.
"I don't know what to say," Reid said from a conference room on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. "I'm embarrassed the public has to watch this. This is so inappropriate."
Nance, who represents District 5, was unapologetic. "I will entertain my wife. I love my wife," he said, adding that he was only answerable to the members of his Las Vegas district.
Bill Irvin, a deputy attorney general who advises the board, urged Nance to follow decorum. "I will tell you I love my wife, but she's not sitting next to me," Irvin said.
Nance responded that there was no law saying his wife could not sit next to him at board meetings. "Therefore, bite me!" Nance told the attorney.
Vice President Anthony Ruggiero, who was acting president for the absent President Marcia Washington, advised members of the public to file complaints and continued the meeting.
During a break, Nance, 49, told the Review-Journal that he married the 20-year-old woman 12 days ago. She has cerebral palsy and came to the meeting in a motorized wheelchair.
He said "too much partying and rock 'n' roll" over his honeymoon explained why he could not always stay awake or hear what was going on.
Because he was dozing during one policy discussion, Reid demanded that he take back his vote on his issue. The board agreed with Reid, but the issue passed by a wide margin anyway.
Nance met his future wife last fall at a nursing home where he was recovering from a heart attack. He said the heart attack temporarily left him dead but he returned to consciousness just before the embalmer was about to treat his body.
His wife was a patient at the same nursing home, he said.
I am forced to concede that Morrisville does not have the worst behaved school board members in the world.
MEETING HALTED BECAUSE OF CONDUCT
As members of the public listened to a complex policy discussion on charter schools, Nevada Board of Education member Greg Nance dangled a piece of jewelry in the face of his newlywed wife, ringing a tiny bell on a bracelet as she giggled.
The distraction caused fellow board member Cindy Reid to call for an immediate halt to Saturday's video-conference of the state Board of Education; all members but Reid and Nance were meeting in Carson City.
"I don't know what to say," Reid said from a conference room on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. "I'm embarrassed the public has to watch this. This is so inappropriate."
Nance, who represents District 5, was unapologetic. "I will entertain my wife. I love my wife," he said, adding that he was only answerable to the members of his Las Vegas district.
Bill Irvin, a deputy attorney general who advises the board, urged Nance to follow decorum. "I will tell you I love my wife, but she's not sitting next to me," Irvin said.
Nance responded that there was no law saying his wife could not sit next to him at board meetings. "Therefore, bite me!" Nance told the attorney.
Vice President Anthony Ruggiero, who was acting president for the absent President Marcia Washington, advised members of the public to file complaints and continued the meeting.
During a break, Nance, 49, told the Review-Journal that he married the 20-year-old woman 12 days ago. She has cerebral palsy and came to the meeting in a motorized wheelchair.
He said "too much partying and rock 'n' roll" over his honeymoon explained why he could not always stay awake or hear what was going on.
Because he was dozing during one policy discussion, Reid demanded that he take back his vote on his issue. The board agreed with Reid, but the issue passed by a wide margin anyway.
Nance met his future wife last fall at a nursing home where he was recovering from a heart attack. He said the heart attack temporarily left him dead but he returned to consciousness just before the embalmer was about to treat his body.
His wife was a patient at the same nursing home, he said.
Taxes up everywhere except in Morrisville
From the BCCT this morning: Marlys Mihok, secretary of the Morrisville school board, stop the school member, and taxpayer advocate trumpeting the budgetary successes of the Emperor and the board of chosen accomplices.
There's two problems with this. The first is that a fresh set of eyes can find things to cut from any budget. It's the second year when things get harder to cut. Among the things that can still be cut are the sports programs, the band and chorus programs, any other extra curricular activities, and utilities. We can choose to fire half the teachers and staff, make the classroom size up to 45 students, and have Ferris Bueller's economics teacher providing the education. It's not the fact that cuts were made, it's where the cuts came from and what will be defunded. What is your focus?
When the state is investigating why we ran out of money early in 2009, we can point to this op-ed piece as one piece of the puzzle. "None of next year’s projections factored the amount of students graduating out of these programs and therefore, in my opinion we have grossly over budgeted in these areas." Of course not! Just in inflation alone, the costs have risen significantly. Still buying the same gallon of milk each week costs much more than it used to. It's the same with special ed, copier paper, and number 2 pencils. Only time will tell if "grossly over budgeted" is right or not. It's standard practice to budget conservatively using at least the same number as last year unless there is significant evidence to not do so. Paging the Auditor General: Your reservations are ready.
The second item is defeasement. The centerpiece of their election campaign is never even mentioned. That's where the cut in taxes really came from.
Instead of making the investments in a new building, we're plunging ahead recklessly without a plan and without receiving state reimbursement making piecemeal emergency renovations among two or three existing buildings. Add back in the millage from not investing in the future and what's the real savings? Every dollar spent today in any repairs, major or minor, "emergency" or routine, is wasted money in the sense that the repair is only temporary. It's a band-aid on failing infrastructure that will need complete replacement sooner than you realize.
Does anyone want to examine this article further and point out the fallacies?
It's not a windfall when you purposefully choose to ignore the needs of the future.
UPDATE 6:30 PM. Scroll down to the bottom of the post.
Taxes up everywhere except in Morrisville
As sure as fireworks on the fourth, Bucks County homeowners have received their school tax bills for the 2008-2009 school year. Every school board in the county has raised taxes for the next year, some significantly, with the exception of tiny Morrisville Borough. In fact, Morrisville School District taxes have plummeted. Let’s examine the phenomenon.
At the first regular meeting of the new school board, Business Administrator Reba Dunford presented the new board with a preliminary budget including a 21-mil increase equaling approximately $425 to the average assessed household of $20,000. State law allowed a 4.4 percent increase without going to referendum by the voters to increase that percentage. This budget was presented to the board as a bare bones, no frills estimate of expenditures for the next school year, on the heels of two consecutive years of outrageous tax increases.
Since that December meeting until June 25 when the final budget was approved, the majority members of the Morrisville School Board dropped the proposed 21-mil increase to zero and further reduced the budget by another 18.7 mils for a total reduction of 39.7 mils.
The administration has acknowledged that we did not disrupt any educational programs with the cuts; however, we are being unfairly criticized for not fully funding the increases requested for special education, charter schools, and alternative schools, although the business administrator is satisfied with the increase the board has provided. None of next year’s projections factored the amount of students graduating out of these programs and therefore, in my opinion we have grossly over budgeted in these areas.
After six months of diligent number crunching with the projected $21 million budget, board President Bill Hellmann found “extra expenditures” that we could eliminate without affecting educational programs in the district. Reducing 39.7 mils in my opinion cut deeply into a bloated budget. The school board did its fiduciary duty but has been relentlessly criticized by a vocal minority for not raising taxes.
Adding the first year of Homestead Rebate from gambling revenue is an additional $241 decrease as the proverbial cherry on top; $600 less is about what the average assessed homeowners have saved in Morrisville school taxes. [Moderator note: The BCCT claims a $218 Act I credit for a $539 decrease. To put it into perspective, that's $1.47 a day. A large coffee at 7-Eleven costs more. We're selling the future of the town for the price of a large coffee. ]
To unify the borough I have a proposal. Parents who are not happy with the extra money and are experiencing guilt about keeping their windfall can purge themselves of that money by donating it to the Morrisville Education Foundation, which will provide our district with additional educational tools not funded by the taxpayers. I suggest that the residents who are not satisfied with the new school board tax reductions donate it back to the district. Donations in the amount of your reduction may be sent to the Morrisville Education Foundation, 550 Palmer St., Morrisville, Pa. 19067. Tax deductions for donations will be less guilt ridden than the actual money itself.
Let’s get this foundation off to a wonderful start. Thank you in advance for your participation in funding the Morrisville Education Foundation.
MARLYS MIHOK
Resident of Morrisville for 25 years and member of the Morrisville School Board
UPDATE 6:30 PM
Great comment posted for this story at the BCCT website.
No Bob, the teachers union isn't the "vocal minority", it's citizens who have been critical of the methods used by the school board. I'll give you a few examples, which Mihok didn't mention in her article, because they don't make her or her compadres of the board members look too good:
1. The lion's share of the tax reduction is a "one shot deal" from the board "defeasing" (giving back to bondholders) $20+ million in bond money set aside for construction of a new, space-efficient K-12 campus. Defeasement reduced taxes this year only, but cost taxpayers about $2.5 million, a fact that was NOT shared with the public before the board voted on it;
2. The board is plowing ahead with replacing boilers based on a cursory $2,500 walk-through by an engineering company unilaterally hired by board president Bill Hellmann, whom Mihok staunchly supports. The board had to vote "after-the-fact" to authorize the work and pay the company because the work was already completed. The bidding for the boiler work did NOT follow procedures that would have resulted in reimbursement by the PA Dept. of Ed., so it will cost taxpayers additional money that could easily have been saved;
3. To date, I believe Mihok has kept the $250 stipend she receives as board secretary (something other board members almost always donate back to the district), yet she was unable to produce timely meeting minutes (one of her main responsibilities as secretary), resulting in the board hiring someone to take notes and write minutes;
4. Mihok was caught in a lie claiming that Superintendent Dr. Beth Yonson hadn’t notified the board about a deadline to pass a resolution capping the district’s budget increase to 4.4% when in fact she had informed the board – it was all caught on tape with reporters present. Those who are familiar with her know that that's just one instance in which she was CAUGHT lying;
It's simply assinine for Mihok to state that the criticism is for NOT raising taxes. Nobody wants their taxes to go up. But people do want school boards to make prudent decisions that balance both educational and financial concerns, not boards that make irresponsible decisions for short-term gain and long-term pain. We've got the latter in Morrisville right now.
There's two problems with this. The first is that a fresh set of eyes can find things to cut from any budget. It's the second year when things get harder to cut. Among the things that can still be cut are the sports programs, the band and chorus programs, any other extra curricular activities, and utilities. We can choose to fire half the teachers and staff, make the classroom size up to 45 students, and have Ferris Bueller's economics teacher providing the education. It's not the fact that cuts were made, it's where the cuts came from and what will be defunded. What is your focus?
When the state is investigating why we ran out of money early in 2009, we can point to this op-ed piece as one piece of the puzzle. "None of next year’s projections factored the amount of students graduating out of these programs and therefore, in my opinion we have grossly over budgeted in these areas." Of course not! Just in inflation alone, the costs have risen significantly. Still buying the same gallon of milk each week costs much more than it used to. It's the same with special ed, copier paper, and number 2 pencils. Only time will tell if "grossly over budgeted" is right or not. It's standard practice to budget conservatively using at least the same number as last year unless there is significant evidence to not do so. Paging the Auditor General: Your reservations are ready.
The second item is defeasement. The centerpiece of their election campaign is never even mentioned. That's where the cut in taxes really came from.
Instead of making the investments in a new building, we're plunging ahead recklessly without a plan and without receiving state reimbursement making piecemeal emergency renovations among two or three existing buildings. Add back in the millage from not investing in the future and what's the real savings? Every dollar spent today in any repairs, major or minor, "emergency" or routine, is wasted money in the sense that the repair is only temporary. It's a band-aid on failing infrastructure that will need complete replacement sooner than you realize.
Does anyone want to examine this article further and point out the fallacies?
It's not a windfall when you purposefully choose to ignore the needs of the future.
UPDATE 6:30 PM. Scroll down to the bottom of the post.
Taxes up everywhere except in Morrisville
As sure as fireworks on the fourth, Bucks County homeowners have received their school tax bills for the 2008-2009 school year. Every school board in the county has raised taxes for the next year, some significantly, with the exception of tiny Morrisville Borough. In fact, Morrisville School District taxes have plummeted. Let’s examine the phenomenon.
At the first regular meeting of the new school board, Business Administrator Reba Dunford presented the new board with a preliminary budget including a 21-mil increase equaling approximately $425 to the average assessed household of $20,000. State law allowed a 4.4 percent increase without going to referendum by the voters to increase that percentage. This budget was presented to the board as a bare bones, no frills estimate of expenditures for the next school year, on the heels of two consecutive years of outrageous tax increases.
Since that December meeting until June 25 when the final budget was approved, the majority members of the Morrisville School Board dropped the proposed 21-mil increase to zero and further reduced the budget by another 18.7 mils for a total reduction of 39.7 mils.
The administration has acknowledged that we did not disrupt any educational programs with the cuts; however, we are being unfairly criticized for not fully funding the increases requested for special education, charter schools, and alternative schools, although the business administrator is satisfied with the increase the board has provided. None of next year’s projections factored the amount of students graduating out of these programs and therefore, in my opinion we have grossly over budgeted in these areas.
After six months of diligent number crunching with the projected $21 million budget, board President Bill Hellmann found “extra expenditures” that we could eliminate without affecting educational programs in the district. Reducing 39.7 mils in my opinion cut deeply into a bloated budget. The school board did its fiduciary duty but has been relentlessly criticized by a vocal minority for not raising taxes.
Adding the first year of Homestead Rebate from gambling revenue is an additional $241 decrease as the proverbial cherry on top; $600 less is about what the average assessed homeowners have saved in Morrisville school taxes. [Moderator note: The BCCT claims a $218 Act I credit for a $539 decrease. To put it into perspective, that's $1.47 a day. A large coffee at 7-Eleven costs more. We're selling the future of the town for the price of a large coffee. ]
To unify the borough I have a proposal. Parents who are not happy with the extra money and are experiencing guilt about keeping their windfall can purge themselves of that money by donating it to the Morrisville Education Foundation, which will provide our district with additional educational tools not funded by the taxpayers. I suggest that the residents who are not satisfied with the new school board tax reductions donate it back to the district. Donations in the amount of your reduction may be sent to the Morrisville Education Foundation, 550 Palmer St., Morrisville, Pa. 19067. Tax deductions for donations will be less guilt ridden than the actual money itself.
Let’s get this foundation off to a wonderful start. Thank you in advance for your participation in funding the Morrisville Education Foundation.
MARLYS MIHOK
Resident of Morrisville for 25 years and member of the Morrisville School Board
UPDATE 6:30 PM
Great comment posted for this story at the BCCT website.
No Bob, the teachers union isn't the "vocal minority", it's citizens who have been critical of the methods used by the school board. I'll give you a few examples, which Mihok didn't mention in her article, because they don't make her or her compadres of the board members look too good:
1. The lion's share of the tax reduction is a "one shot deal" from the board "defeasing" (giving back to bondholders) $20+ million in bond money set aside for construction of a new, space-efficient K-12 campus. Defeasement reduced taxes this year only, but cost taxpayers about $2.5 million, a fact that was NOT shared with the public before the board voted on it;
2. The board is plowing ahead with replacing boilers based on a cursory $2,500 walk-through by an engineering company unilaterally hired by board president Bill Hellmann, whom Mihok staunchly supports. The board had to vote "after-the-fact" to authorize the work and pay the company because the work was already completed. The bidding for the boiler work did NOT follow procedures that would have resulted in reimbursement by the PA Dept. of Ed., so it will cost taxpayers additional money that could easily have been saved;
3. To date, I believe Mihok has kept the $250 stipend she receives as board secretary (something other board members almost always donate back to the district), yet she was unable to produce timely meeting minutes (one of her main responsibilities as secretary), resulting in the board hiring someone to take notes and write minutes;
4. Mihok was caught in a lie claiming that Superintendent Dr. Beth Yonson hadn’t notified the board about a deadline to pass a resolution capping the district’s budget increase to 4.4% when in fact she had informed the board – it was all caught on tape with reporters present. Those who are familiar with her know that that's just one instance in which she was CAUGHT lying;
It's simply assinine for Mihok to state that the criticism is for NOT raising taxes. Nobody wants their taxes to go up. But people do want school boards to make prudent decisions that balance both educational and financial concerns, not boards that make irresponsible decisions for short-term gain and long-term pain. We've got the latter in Morrisville right now.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Talking in the dark
From the BCCT. This is a bit of a sticky wicket, eh? No one wants contract negotiations to take place in the bright lights of public scrutiny. That's most definitely a time where quiet negotiations should take place without the nonsense of public posturing that public officials are prone to.
We also need to trust the negotiators to do the right thing. Here's where the Morrisville board would fail the test. Public trust in the Emperor and his board of chosen accomplices is falling to new lows each time one of them opens their mouth. Will and can the Bristol Borough board do better? Time will tell.
Let's be fair though. Teaching is not a part time job despite the nine month calendar.
Teaching is not for the faint-hearted: Would you want to be locked away with your children and 30 of their friends for most of the day, trying to make the time productive? Yeah...Didn't think so.
Teaching is not for the uneducated. The bachelors degree they first bring to the job is only the start. There's the masters courses, and for some, the doctorate. Do you want the village idiot to teach our children? Yeah...Didn't think so on that one either.
The rate of inflation is pretty steep too. I'm pretty sure at year's end, you'll be expecting a raise from the boss. It's only "fair", right? You put in your time. And the benefits? They're fair too! Gimme my hospitalization and prescription coverage. Gimme, gimme, gimme. And gimme more.
It's fair to question how and why the taxpayers should be involved in the process. After all, we do foot the bill. Aren't the elected board members supposed to be the taxpayer representatives though? At least part time, while they are education advocates the rest of the time. (Well, in Morrisville, they're taxpayers advocates 100% of the time, but I digress.) Do company shareholders sit in on employee performance reviews and wage negotiations? Yet they foot the bill, too.
It's just like any other election oriented activity. It's not perfect and it most certainly isn't foolproof or pretty. The only time we get to have our say is behind the curtain on Election Day.
Talking in the dark
Contract negotiations could benefit from openness.
Bristol Borough residents received encouraging news this week when we reported that the school board made a ‘fair offer’ to teachers. If so, teachers might swiftly agree to a new contract (the old one expires Aug. 31), which would ensure the school year won’t be disrupted by any sort of labor strife.
On second thought, we’re not really sure how encouraging the news is because we don’t know what the school board offered the teachers. Maybe it’s a “fair offer;” maybe it isn’t. We’re not really sure since the school board won’t elaborate on the offer. And that’s the problem with the way school boards handle contract negotiations. It’s all a big secret.
That means taxpayers are shut out of the process — until it’s time to pay the bill, of course. That’s a fact of life in Pennsylvania. Teachers make demands. School boards respond with offers. Taxpayers sitting on the sideline are obligated to cover the cost — whatever it is.
In the minds of some people, that’s not the way it should be.
Since taxpayers are footing the bill, they argue, taxpayers ought to get a say along the way. This could hasten fair offers and also reasonable demands because neither side will want to appear unrealistic or selfish in the light of public scrutiny. And whatever eventually is agreed to won’t come as a costly surprise to taxpayers. Sounds like an idea well worth exploring.
By the way, negotiators will meet again Tuesday — behind closed doors.
We also need to trust the negotiators to do the right thing. Here's where the Morrisville board would fail the test. Public trust in the Emperor and his board of chosen accomplices is falling to new lows each time one of them opens their mouth. Will and can the Bristol Borough board do better? Time will tell.
Let's be fair though. Teaching is not a part time job despite the nine month calendar.
Teaching is not for the faint-hearted: Would you want to be locked away with your children and 30 of their friends for most of the day, trying to make the time productive? Yeah...Didn't think so.
Teaching is not for the uneducated. The bachelors degree they first bring to the job is only the start. There's the masters courses, and for some, the doctorate. Do you want the village idiot to teach our children? Yeah...Didn't think so on that one either.
The rate of inflation is pretty steep too. I'm pretty sure at year's end, you'll be expecting a raise from the boss. It's only "fair", right? You put in your time. And the benefits? They're fair too! Gimme my hospitalization and prescription coverage. Gimme, gimme, gimme. And gimme more.
It's fair to question how and why the taxpayers should be involved in the process. After all, we do foot the bill. Aren't the elected board members supposed to be the taxpayer representatives though? At least part time, while they are education advocates the rest of the time. (Well, in Morrisville, they're taxpayers advocates 100% of the time, but I digress.) Do company shareholders sit in on employee performance reviews and wage negotiations? Yet they foot the bill, too.
It's just like any other election oriented activity. It's not perfect and it most certainly isn't foolproof or pretty. The only time we get to have our say is behind the curtain on Election Day.
Talking in the dark
Contract negotiations could benefit from openness.
Bristol Borough residents received encouraging news this week when we reported that the school board made a ‘fair offer’ to teachers. If so, teachers might swiftly agree to a new contract (the old one expires Aug. 31), which would ensure the school year won’t be disrupted by any sort of labor strife.
On second thought, we’re not really sure how encouraging the news is because we don’t know what the school board offered the teachers. Maybe it’s a “fair offer;” maybe it isn’t. We’re not really sure since the school board won’t elaborate on the offer. And that’s the problem with the way school boards handle contract negotiations. It’s all a big secret.
That means taxpayers are shut out of the process — until it’s time to pay the bill, of course. That’s a fact of life in Pennsylvania. Teachers make demands. School boards respond with offers. Taxpayers sitting on the sideline are obligated to cover the cost — whatever it is.
In the minds of some people, that’s not the way it should be.
Since taxpayers are footing the bill, they argue, taxpayers ought to get a say along the way. This could hasten fair offers and also reasonable demands because neither side will want to appear unrealistic or selfish in the light of public scrutiny. And whatever eventually is agreed to won’t come as a costly surprise to taxpayers. Sounds like an idea well worth exploring.
By the way, negotiators will meet again Tuesday — behind closed doors.
Coercion in Morrisville: Another unilateral decision
From the BCCT
Coercion in Morrisville: Another unilateral decision
The Morrisville School District is conducting a re-registration for its existing students in an effort to identify and remove nonresidents from our schools and lessen the tax burden. While I appreciate the idea, I am concerned with how this is being handled by the school board.
The largest concern I have with the re-registration, besides the hassle itself, is regarding the use of volunteers for the re-registration process and their handling of confidential personal information. According to the 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report published in November 2007 by the Federal Trade Commission, 8.3 million people had fallen victim of identity theft. While we would all like to trust our neighbors — and I do sincerely thank them for volunteering their time — we also must not be naive to the risks of giving out personal information.
When my wife contacted school Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson with our concerns, she was told that this was a decision made by the school board and that her recommendation was to come in during daytime hours when district employees would be available to handle the re-registration process. If this were a board decision then I would expect that a motion would have been made and voted on; to my knowledge no such vote occurred.
Instead we are being coerced to comply with the re-registration, at the whim of select board members, because, according to the article in the Courier Times and the public notice on the district’s Web site, “class schedules and assignments will not be sent until your student is re-registered.”
This appears to be the latest in a string of unilateral decisions by board President Bill Hellmann, and it needs to stop. Re-registration should only be handled by district employees and the school board must begin to follow due process.
Peter Eisengrein Morrisville
Coercion in Morrisville: Another unilateral decision
The Morrisville School District is conducting a re-registration for its existing students in an effort to identify and remove nonresidents from our schools and lessen the tax burden. While I appreciate the idea, I am concerned with how this is being handled by the school board.
The largest concern I have with the re-registration, besides the hassle itself, is regarding the use of volunteers for the re-registration process and their handling of confidential personal information. According to the 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report published in November 2007 by the Federal Trade Commission, 8.3 million people had fallen victim of identity theft. While we would all like to trust our neighbors — and I do sincerely thank them for volunteering their time — we also must not be naive to the risks of giving out personal information.
When my wife contacted school Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson with our concerns, she was told that this was a decision made by the school board and that her recommendation was to come in during daytime hours when district employees would be available to handle the re-registration process. If this were a board decision then I would expect that a motion would have been made and voted on; to my knowledge no such vote occurred.
Instead we are being coerced to comply with the re-registration, at the whim of select board members, because, according to the article in the Courier Times and the public notice on the district’s Web site, “class schedules and assignments will not be sent until your student is re-registered.”
This appears to be the latest in a string of unilateral decisions by board President Bill Hellmann, and it needs to stop. Re-registration should only be handled by district employees and the school board must begin to follow due process.
Peter Eisengrein Morrisville
Reassesment, Act I, and Taxes
From the Wilkes Barre Times Leader
Reassessment won’t affect state’s Act 1 tax cut
Gambling revenue will be doled out to Pennsylvania’s school districts based on their economic situations.
By Mark Guydish, Education Reporter, August 10
Amid the confusion and tumult of countywide property reassessment, one question has repeatedly bubbled up: Does it affect Act 1, the 2006 state law that promised to use money from legalized gambling to lower property taxes for homeowners?
Alternatively, some have asked if Act 1 affects reassessment.
The short answer to both is no.
Act 1 property tax relief is doled out as a specific dollar amount to each district, and that amount is determined first and foremost by the amount of money available from gambling revenue. The state has projected there will be as much as $1 billion available a year, but that amount likely won’t be reached until all licensed casinos are open.
The law required a minimum amount of money ($500 million, when first enacted) to be available before any could be spent on tax relief, which is why no one saw a penny in property tax savings until this coming school year, even though the law was signed in 2006. This is the first year the minimum was reached.
Now that enough money is available, the state is using a complex formula to determine how much each school district receives.
In a nutshell, the formula looks at a district’s wealth and tax rates in relation to other districts to determine which districts need more money to level the playing field. That is, a district with booming economic growth is apt to get less Act 1 money than one with declining population and high unemployment.
The district, in turn, distributes its share of the money equally to all eligible homeowners. To be eligible, you had to fill out an application and be approved by the county. Your tax bill and your assessed property value are irrelevant. If you’re eligible and live in a $10,000 hovel, you get as much knocked off your tax bill as the eligible rich guy in a million-dollar mansion.
That will hold true after reassessment. The amount you get will depend on how much money your school district gets from the state, and how many property owners are eligible for the tax exemption.
Act 1 only applies to school district taxes. The property taxes you pay to the county and your municipality are not affected.
One more thing that seems to cause confusion: Reassessment cannot affect your school taxes this autumn.
That’s because school districts budget on a fiscal year that runs July 1 through June 30. If reassessment is done on schedule, the values won’t be certified until November, long after school district property tax bills have been prepared and sent. New reassessed values can’t be used for school district budgets until next year.
Reassessment won’t affect state’s Act 1 tax cut
Gambling revenue will be doled out to Pennsylvania’s school districts based on their economic situations.
By Mark Guydish, Education Reporter, August 10
Amid the confusion and tumult of countywide property reassessment, one question has repeatedly bubbled up: Does it affect Act 1, the 2006 state law that promised to use money from legalized gambling to lower property taxes for homeowners?
Alternatively, some have asked if Act 1 affects reassessment.
The short answer to both is no.
Act 1 property tax relief is doled out as a specific dollar amount to each district, and that amount is determined first and foremost by the amount of money available from gambling revenue. The state has projected there will be as much as $1 billion available a year, but that amount likely won’t be reached until all licensed casinos are open.
The law required a minimum amount of money ($500 million, when first enacted) to be available before any could be spent on tax relief, which is why no one saw a penny in property tax savings until this coming school year, even though the law was signed in 2006. This is the first year the minimum was reached.
Now that enough money is available, the state is using a complex formula to determine how much each school district receives.
In a nutshell, the formula looks at a district’s wealth and tax rates in relation to other districts to determine which districts need more money to level the playing field. That is, a district with booming economic growth is apt to get less Act 1 money than one with declining population and high unemployment.
The district, in turn, distributes its share of the money equally to all eligible homeowners. To be eligible, you had to fill out an application and be approved by the county. Your tax bill and your assessed property value are irrelevant. If you’re eligible and live in a $10,000 hovel, you get as much knocked off your tax bill as the eligible rich guy in a million-dollar mansion.
That will hold true after reassessment. The amount you get will depend on how much money your school district gets from the state, and how many property owners are eligible for the tax exemption.
Act 1 only applies to school district taxes. The property taxes you pay to the county and your municipality are not affected.
One more thing that seems to cause confusion: Reassessment cannot affect your school taxes this autumn.
That’s because school districts budget on a fiscal year that runs July 1 through June 30. If reassessment is done on schedule, the values won’t be certified until November, long after school district property tax bills have been prepared and sent. New reassessed values can’t be used for school district budgets until next year.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Back to the Future...Circa 1955
Pearls Before Swine today explains what so many long time Morrisville residents are thinking.
Funny or sad? We report...you decide.
Funny or sad? We report...you decide.
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Writing Off Disabled Children
New York Times
In Texas and throughout the country, disabled children should be given the school services they are entitled to under federal law. Many of America's juvenile jails would be empty if the public schools obeyed federal law and provided disabled children with the special instruction that they need. Instead, these children are allowed to fall behind. When they act out, they are often suspended or expelled, which makes them more likely to commit crimes and land in jails where they can count on even less help.
Over-cautious parents stop play
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Children are being denied the chance to climb trees and play conkers by over-cautious parents, a new survey claims.
"A Program That Pays." [PDF format]
Providing a world-class education for all kids may no longer be possible without outside financial help, says Stan Levenson, Fundraising Consultant to the Public Schools in his latest article appearing in the July 2008 issue of the American School Board Journal. In this article, Levenson recommends that school districts consider a large-scale fundraising effort coordinated and articulated across district lines.
Growing hesitancy over a military test
Philadelphia Inquirer
Every school year, at hundreds of high schools across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, students are asked - and sometimes required - to take a vocational aptitude test with a strange-sounding name - the ASVAB, which stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
Students 'robbed of their childhood'
Chicago Sun-Times
Maybe kids do know best. For a social studies project this year, fifth-graders at Little Village Academy plotted a cost-free way to counter the guns and gangs that plague their neighborhood: They asked parents to volunteer to lead after-school programs in drawing, painting, handcrafts, dancing, sports, cheerleading and chess.
College Board to debut an 8th-grade PSAT exam
Los Angeles Times
By Gale Holland
The test, expected to be released in 2010, aims to identify talented students and get them into college-prep classes early. But many critics say students already face too many tests and too much stress
New York Times
In Texas and throughout the country, disabled children should be given the school services they are entitled to under federal law. Many of America's juvenile jails would be empty if the public schools obeyed federal law and provided disabled children with the special instruction that they need. Instead, these children are allowed to fall behind. When they act out, they are often suspended or expelled, which makes them more likely to commit crimes and land in jails where they can count on even less help.
Over-cautious parents stop play
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Children are being denied the chance to climb trees and play conkers by over-cautious parents, a new survey claims.
"A Program That Pays." [PDF format]
Providing a world-class education for all kids may no longer be possible without outside financial help, says Stan Levenson, Fundraising Consultant to the Public Schools in his latest article appearing in the July 2008 issue of the American School Board Journal. In this article, Levenson recommends that school districts consider a large-scale fundraising effort coordinated and articulated across district lines.
Growing hesitancy over a military test
Philadelphia Inquirer
Every school year, at hundreds of high schools across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, students are asked - and sometimes required - to take a vocational aptitude test with a strange-sounding name - the ASVAB, which stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
Students 'robbed of their childhood'
Chicago Sun-Times
Maybe kids do know best. For a social studies project this year, fifth-graders at Little Village Academy plotted a cost-free way to counter the guns and gangs that plague their neighborhood: They asked parents to volunteer to lead after-school programs in drawing, painting, handcrafts, dancing, sports, cheerleading and chess.
College Board to debut an 8th-grade PSAT exam
Los Angeles Times
By Gale Holland
The test, expected to be released in 2010, aims to identify talented students and get them into college-prep classes early. But many critics say students already face too many tests and too much stress
Makefield Elementary Goes Green
From the BCCT
School getting $12.7M green renovation
The work will be done according to environmental standards set up by the U.S. Green Building Council.
By CHRIS ENGLISH
A “green” makeover is coming to Makefield Elementary School after the Lower Makefield supervisors granted final land development approval for a $12.7 million renovation-expansion at the Pennsbury school on Makefield Road.
Supervisors Pete Stainthorpe, Ron Smith, Steve Santarsiero and Matt Maloney voted 4-0 for approval at Wednesday night’s meeting. Board Chairman Greg Caiola was absent.
Construction is scheduled to include many green, or environmentally friendly, elements, Pennsbury officials have said. Among them are solar panels that will provide about 12 percent of the school’s power, lowflow features in bathrooms that will reduce water use by 20 percent and some permeable pavement in the parking lots that will allow rainwater to soak through.
“I appreciate the fact the school district decided to go in that direction,” said Santarsiero. “I was impressed with the design of the building.”
Santarsiero said he had some concern there wasn’t enough space being added to accommodate future enrollment increases at the 74-year-old school.
“The school district acknowledged that anywhere between three and five years from now, even the expanded space might be inadequate,” he said. “I don’t want to see Makefield kids get redistricted to other schools because I think neighborhood schools are important. I would have preferred they increase the space even more, but that ultimately is not our decision as a board of supervisors. I asked Dr. [Paul] Long [Pennsbury’s chief executive officer] to consider anything possible to avoid redistricting at any of the Lower Makefield schools.”
Long said the amount of added space, about 7,000 square feet to a school now 68,000 square feet, was decided on after much deliberation among school board members and administrators and with input from residents.
“I believe it will be sufficient for at least five years,” he said. “People ask why not add more space than that, but you’re limited by the size of the tract. You can’t overbuild the property.”
The township planning commission had expressed concerns with some parts of the project’s storm water management plan and took a neutral position on the project rather than recommending to approve or reject it. The supervisors didn’t think those concerns were serious enough to warrant voting against the project.
“The positives far outweighed the negatives in my mind,” said Stainthorpe. “There are some pretty progressive pieces to this project and the building is definitely in need of an update.”
The project includes a new and larger cafeteria and kitchen. Some empty space will be renovated to create a new library and music room, and there will be lots of other work throughout the entire building, including overhauls to the heating, ventilation and other mechanical systems. Also, the entire building will be air conditioned.
The renovation-expansion is scheduled to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification under a program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Pennsbury officials hope to start work sometime late next spring and finish by the end of summer in 2010. The $12.7 million price estimate is only for construction and does not include engineering, architectural and other fees and contingencies, Long said.
He said the project will be funded through a bond issue that hasn’t been approved by the school board yet.
School getting $12.7M green renovation
The work will be done according to environmental standards set up by the U.S. Green Building Council.
By CHRIS ENGLISH
A “green” makeover is coming to Makefield Elementary School after the Lower Makefield supervisors granted final land development approval for a $12.7 million renovation-expansion at the Pennsbury school on Makefield Road.
Supervisors Pete Stainthorpe, Ron Smith, Steve Santarsiero and Matt Maloney voted 4-0 for approval at Wednesday night’s meeting. Board Chairman Greg Caiola was absent.
Construction is scheduled to include many green, or environmentally friendly, elements, Pennsbury officials have said. Among them are solar panels that will provide about 12 percent of the school’s power, lowflow features in bathrooms that will reduce water use by 20 percent and some permeable pavement in the parking lots that will allow rainwater to soak through.
“I appreciate the fact the school district decided to go in that direction,” said Santarsiero. “I was impressed with the design of the building.”
Santarsiero said he had some concern there wasn’t enough space being added to accommodate future enrollment increases at the 74-year-old school.
“The school district acknowledged that anywhere between three and five years from now, even the expanded space might be inadequate,” he said. “I don’t want to see Makefield kids get redistricted to other schools because I think neighborhood schools are important. I would have preferred they increase the space even more, but that ultimately is not our decision as a board of supervisors. I asked Dr. [Paul] Long [Pennsbury’s chief executive officer] to consider anything possible to avoid redistricting at any of the Lower Makefield schools.”
Long said the amount of added space, about 7,000 square feet to a school now 68,000 square feet, was decided on after much deliberation among school board members and administrators and with input from residents.
“I believe it will be sufficient for at least five years,” he said. “People ask why not add more space than that, but you’re limited by the size of the tract. You can’t overbuild the property.”
The township planning commission had expressed concerns with some parts of the project’s storm water management plan and took a neutral position on the project rather than recommending to approve or reject it. The supervisors didn’t think those concerns were serious enough to warrant voting against the project.
“The positives far outweighed the negatives in my mind,” said Stainthorpe. “There are some pretty progressive pieces to this project and the building is definitely in need of an update.”
The project includes a new and larger cafeteria and kitchen. Some empty space will be renovated to create a new library and music room, and there will be lots of other work throughout the entire building, including overhauls to the heating, ventilation and other mechanical systems. Also, the entire building will be air conditioned.
The renovation-expansion is scheduled to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification under a program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Pennsbury officials hope to start work sometime late next spring and finish by the end of summer in 2010. The $12.7 million price estimate is only for construction and does not include engineering, architectural and other fees and contingencies, Long said.
He said the project will be funded through a bond issue that hasn’t been approved by the school board yet.
PSSA Results Due Thursday
Anyone have info on Morrisville's scores?
Districts celebrate PSSA success
The state education department will release the official standardized test results that determine whether schools achieve Adequate Yearly Progress on Thursday, a PDE spokesman said.
By JOAN HELLYER
The Bristol Township, Centennial, Council Rock and Pennsbury school districts have earned Adequate Yearly Progress status because of their students’ performance on the state’s 2008 standardized tests, according to preliminary results.
Representatives of the four districts provided the preliminary information to the paper in advance of Thursday’s official release of the scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment mathematics and reading tests.
Officials of other local school systems either declined to provide the information or didn’t respond to the paper’s request for the preliminary results.
AYP is used to ensure students have the math and reading skills necessary to prepare them for the future, state education department officials said.
It also measures whether schools and districts have met improvement goals established by the federal No Child Left Behind act. AYP has three goals: academic performance; test participation; and graduation rates or attendance rates for schools without a high school graduating class.
Students in third- through eighth-grades and 11th grade take the tests each spring. They can score either below basic, basic, proficient or advanced on the tests.
This year’s goal is to have at least 63 percent of students in a grade level score proficient or better on the reading test and 56 percent of the students earn proficiency or better status on the math tests, education officials said.
Ultimately, the NCLB goal is for 100 percent of students who take the tests to achieve proficiency by 2014.
Bristol Township, Centennial and Pennsbury officials said various techniques, including intensive reading sessions and periodic testing periods designed to mirror the PSSA exams, are being used in their respective districts to ensure AYP is achieved.
Each district has seen improvement because of the efforts:
Harry S Truman High School in Bristol Township earned AYP status after spending five years in one form or another of school improvement status.
Centennial’s William Tennent High School made enough strides with its student achievement, even among its special education population, to earn a “Making Progress” designation.
Pennsbury High School also is in “Making Progress” status for its efforts to improve test scores and the district’s Charles Boehm and Pennwood middle schools achieved AYP this year after being put in “Warning” status in 2007.
Each district, however, still has some work to do, the representatives said.
In Bristol Township, Abraham Lincoln and Lafayette elementary schools received a “Warning” status because not enough English language learners achieved PSSA proficiency, said Karen Hessel. She’s a Pennsylvania distinguished educator who has been working with Bristol Township educators to improve student performance.
Additionally, Clara Barton Elementary School is in School Improvement I status because not enough students at each grade level showed improvement on the tests, she said.
Elsewhere, Centennial’s Log College Middle School and Willow Dale Elementary School are in “Warning” status because of their special education students’ PSSA test results, said Jennifer Foight-Cressman, the district’s director of teaching and learning.
In Pennsbury, Penn Valley and Fallsington elementary schools, not enough students achieved proficiency on the PSSA reading tests, said spokeswoman Ann Langtry.
Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein confirmed that each district school achieved AYP, but declined to discuss specifics because he wants to provide that information to the school board before releasing it to the public.
In addition to the four local districts, the Center for Student Learning Charter School at Pennsbury reported that it’s in School Improvement II status because not enough of its students achieved proficiency on the PSSA tests.
Elsewhere in Lower Bucks County:
Bensalem declined to release its PSSA information until after administrators review the results during a Tuesday retreat, spokeswoman Susan Phy said.
Neshaminy Superintendent Paul Kadri declined to release information about student performance because administrators are “identifying trends and action plans” in response to the results. In addition, Kadri said, he didn’t want to release the results before he provided the Neshaminy school board and staff with the information.
Bristol Superintendent Broadus Davis, Bucks County Technical High School Principal Connie Rinker declined to discuss their respective schools’ results before the state’s expected release of the information Thursday.
Morrisville,School Lane Charter School and Bucks County Montessori Charter School representatives didn’t respond to the paper’s request for information about the PSSA
Districts celebrate PSSA success
The state education department will release the official standardized test results that determine whether schools achieve Adequate Yearly Progress on Thursday, a PDE spokesman said.
By JOAN HELLYER
The Bristol Township, Centennial, Council Rock and Pennsbury school districts have earned Adequate Yearly Progress status because of their students’ performance on the state’s 2008 standardized tests, according to preliminary results.
Representatives of the four districts provided the preliminary information to the paper in advance of Thursday’s official release of the scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment mathematics and reading tests.
Officials of other local school systems either declined to provide the information or didn’t respond to the paper’s request for the preliminary results.
AYP is used to ensure students have the math and reading skills necessary to prepare them for the future, state education department officials said.
It also measures whether schools and districts have met improvement goals established by the federal No Child Left Behind act. AYP has three goals: academic performance; test participation; and graduation rates or attendance rates for schools without a high school graduating class.
Students in third- through eighth-grades and 11th grade take the tests each spring. They can score either below basic, basic, proficient or advanced on the tests.
This year’s goal is to have at least 63 percent of students in a grade level score proficient or better on the reading test and 56 percent of the students earn proficiency or better status on the math tests, education officials said.
Ultimately, the NCLB goal is for 100 percent of students who take the tests to achieve proficiency by 2014.
Bristol Township, Centennial and Pennsbury officials said various techniques, including intensive reading sessions and periodic testing periods designed to mirror the PSSA exams, are being used in their respective districts to ensure AYP is achieved.
Each district has seen improvement because of the efforts:
Harry S Truman High School in Bristol Township earned AYP status after spending five years in one form or another of school improvement status.
Centennial’s William Tennent High School made enough strides with its student achievement, even among its special education population, to earn a “Making Progress” designation.
Pennsbury High School also is in “Making Progress” status for its efforts to improve test scores and the district’s Charles Boehm and Pennwood middle schools achieved AYP this year after being put in “Warning” status in 2007.
Each district, however, still has some work to do, the representatives said.
In Bristol Township, Abraham Lincoln and Lafayette elementary schools received a “Warning” status because not enough English language learners achieved PSSA proficiency, said Karen Hessel. She’s a Pennsylvania distinguished educator who has been working with Bristol Township educators to improve student performance.
Additionally, Clara Barton Elementary School is in School Improvement I status because not enough students at each grade level showed improvement on the tests, she said.
Elsewhere, Centennial’s Log College Middle School and Willow Dale Elementary School are in “Warning” status because of their special education students’ PSSA test results, said Jennifer Foight-Cressman, the district’s director of teaching and learning.
In Pennsbury, Penn Valley and Fallsington elementary schools, not enough students achieved proficiency on the PSSA reading tests, said spokeswoman Ann Langtry.
Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein confirmed that each district school achieved AYP, but declined to discuss specifics because he wants to provide that information to the school board before releasing it to the public.
In addition to the four local districts, the Center for Student Learning Charter School at Pennsbury reported that it’s in School Improvement II status because not enough of its students achieved proficiency on the PSSA tests.
Elsewhere in Lower Bucks County:
Bensalem declined to release its PSSA information until after administrators review the results during a Tuesday retreat, spokeswoman Susan Phy said.
Neshaminy Superintendent Paul Kadri declined to release information about student performance because administrators are “identifying trends and action plans” in response to the results. In addition, Kadri said, he didn’t want to release the results before he provided the Neshaminy school board and staff with the information.
Bristol Superintendent Broadus Davis, Bucks County Technical High School Principal Connie Rinker declined to discuss their respective schools’ results before the state’s expected release of the information Thursday.
Morrisville,School Lane Charter School and Bucks County Montessori Charter School representatives didn’t respond to the paper’s request for information about the PSSA
Friday, August 8, 2008
This is no way to build a school
From the Curwinsville, Clearfield County Progress.
Can you imagine any responsible school district waiting for 30 or 40 years before doing repairs? Not only that, they're taking their time to think about a plan, seek state reimbursement, and, even exploring a geo-thermal energy system.
Where's the safe, sober, and responsible stop the school people here to whip up some civic frenzy and needlessly split the town? They're doing it wrong in Curwinsville.
Let's take donations for a road trip so the Emperor, Angry Al, and the rest of the stop the school professionals can take their act on the road and show Curwinsville how to destroy a town and its school system.
Price tag for Curwensville school fixes more than $20 million
Thursday, August 07, 2008
By Dianne Byers Staff Writer
CURWENSVILLE - The age and condition of the components of school buildings was the focus of Curwensville Area School Board as members met for a buildings and grounds committee meeting last night.
Curwensville Area High School and Penn Grampian Elementary School were constructed in 1955, the lower level of Curwensville Area Elementary School was built in 1962 and the upper level in 1972. All the buildings are showing their maturity, especially the high school and Penn-Grampian. In January, the board authorized contracting with Robert T. Scheeren A.I.A., Indiana, to assess the school complex and Penn-Grampian related to an overhaul of the structures and the possibility of additions to the Curwensville buildings to allow them to be brought up to state codes.
Last night, the board had an opportunity to review details of the report, which contains three options for renovations. Norman Hatten, superintendent of schools, said the report analyzed the needs of the school district and provided information to "allow the board to determine what direction to go, if any."
He stressed that the information presented last night is "extremely preliminary." "We are very early in this process and we are trying to make sense of all this," he noted.
He told the board, "There are a considerable amount of things that need to be done. The roofs, windows, doors, steam pipes, plumbing, electricity need to be replaced to allow the building to function properly for the next 20 years. ... This is a conservative project - mainly infrastructure. These things need to be done to keep the building from failing and keep the school operating," he explained.
Mentioned several times last night was the age and state of the roof on the high school building. In January a representative from the architectural firm, during his proposal, presented a section of the steam pipe heating system that was marked with numerous rusted holes.
If the board were to do everything listed in the initial proposal of work to modernize the three buildings and bring them into compliance with state codes it would be spending approximately $21 million to $23 million. The board tentatively examined the possibility of making some cuts to the project and whittling down the price but noted most of what the project contains is necessary to the safe and functional operation of the building.
One of the options noted in the report is to close the Penn-Grampian Elementary School and build additions to the Curwensville Area Elementary School.
Paul Carr, business manager, presented a number of financial details to the board including the repayment of its current bond issues, millage options under Act 1 and possible reimbursement from the state for the building project.
The board made no decisions last night. Members said they would be looking at the report to determine whether they have additional questions for the architect and would revisit the matter at a future meeting, possibly the Aug. 14 work session.
Several members asked about a timeline for the project. Mr. Hatten said the first step is to determine the extent of the project to be done then the details, including a schedule and financing, could be determined.
Other board members said they would like information on a geo-thermal system to be presented as a possible addition to the project, saying they believe it would be a cost effective method for heating and cooling the buildings.
Ken Veihdeffer, board president, said members would need to make a decision soon on what they want to do. "The longer we wait (the more expensive the project will be). Prices are not going to go down," he said.
Can you imagine any responsible school district waiting for 30 or 40 years before doing repairs? Not only that, they're taking their time to think about a plan, seek state reimbursement, and, even exploring a geo-thermal energy system.
Where's the safe, sober, and responsible stop the school people here to whip up some civic frenzy and needlessly split the town? They're doing it wrong in Curwinsville.
Let's take donations for a road trip so the Emperor, Angry Al, and the rest of the stop the school professionals can take their act on the road and show Curwinsville how to destroy a town and its school system.
Price tag for Curwensville school fixes more than $20 million
Thursday, August 07, 2008
By Dianne Byers Staff Writer
CURWENSVILLE - The age and condition of the components of school buildings was the focus of Curwensville Area School Board as members met for a buildings and grounds committee meeting last night.
Curwensville Area High School and Penn Grampian Elementary School were constructed in 1955, the lower level of Curwensville Area Elementary School was built in 1962 and the upper level in 1972. All the buildings are showing their maturity, especially the high school and Penn-Grampian. In January, the board authorized contracting with Robert T. Scheeren A.I.A., Indiana, to assess the school complex and Penn-Grampian related to an overhaul of the structures and the possibility of additions to the Curwensville buildings to allow them to be brought up to state codes.
Last night, the board had an opportunity to review details of the report, which contains three options for renovations. Norman Hatten, superintendent of schools, said the report analyzed the needs of the school district and provided information to "allow the board to determine what direction to go, if any."
He stressed that the information presented last night is "extremely preliminary." "We are very early in this process and we are trying to make sense of all this," he noted.
He told the board, "There are a considerable amount of things that need to be done. The roofs, windows, doors, steam pipes, plumbing, electricity need to be replaced to allow the building to function properly for the next 20 years. ... This is a conservative project - mainly infrastructure. These things need to be done to keep the building from failing and keep the school operating," he explained.
Mentioned several times last night was the age and state of the roof on the high school building. In January a representative from the architectural firm, during his proposal, presented a section of the steam pipe heating system that was marked with numerous rusted holes.
If the board were to do everything listed in the initial proposal of work to modernize the three buildings and bring them into compliance with state codes it would be spending approximately $21 million to $23 million. The board tentatively examined the possibility of making some cuts to the project and whittling down the price but noted most of what the project contains is necessary to the safe and functional operation of the building.
One of the options noted in the report is to close the Penn-Grampian Elementary School and build additions to the Curwensville Area Elementary School.
Paul Carr, business manager, presented a number of financial details to the board including the repayment of its current bond issues, millage options under Act 1 and possible reimbursement from the state for the building project.
The board made no decisions last night. Members said they would be looking at the report to determine whether they have additional questions for the architect and would revisit the matter at a future meeting, possibly the Aug. 14 work session.
Several members asked about a timeline for the project. Mr. Hatten said the first step is to determine the extent of the project to be done then the details, including a schedule and financing, could be determined.
Other board members said they would like information on a geo-thermal system to be presented as a possible addition to the project, saying they believe it would be a cost effective method for heating and cooling the buildings.
Ken Veihdeffer, board president, said members would need to make a decision soon on what they want to do. "The longer we wait (the more expensive the project will be). Prices are not going to go down," he said.
Solving Pennsylvania's problems
From the Pottstown Mercury
Solving Pennsylvania's problems
Rob Wonderling has the answers. Really, he does. It's all right there in his book.
"Talking Pennsylvania: 21 Conversations for the 21st Century" offers practical solutions to most of the major problems facing the Keystone State.
From health care to education to open space preservation to economic opportunity, the goal of the book and its companion Web site is to "help the people of Pennsylvania build a better 21st Century."
That may sound like a tall order, but it can be done, Wonderling argues.
Instead of telling people how government can solve all their problems, Wonderling took a different approach.
The two-term state senator went to the people of Pennsylvania and asked them to offer solutions. Real Pennsylvanians — 21 in all — who have the daily challenge of running their homes, farms and businesses.
If you want to address about farmland preservation, sit at the kitchen table with a farm couple trying to save the family dairy farm for their children.
How to keep young people from leaving Pennsylvania after they graduate from college? Talk to a recent graduate who says she will probably need at least a decade to pay off her student loans.
Welfare reform? Talk to a 21-year-old single mother of two who is trying to move off welfare by earning an associate's degree from a community college.
How to improve public education in Pennsylvania? Talk to the principal of a charter school about why the educational establishment is still trying to undermine Pennsylvania's charter school movement despite a decade of success.
Wonderling collected the conversations he had with everyday Pennsylvanians into a slim, 147-page book available free of charge through his offices or online at the companion Web site, www.talkingpa.com
Before you start complaining about how your tax dollars are being spent, the project was paid for by Friends of Rob Wonderling, which funded the senator's successful 2002 and 2006 election campaigns.
Wonderling spent a year traveling to all parts of Pennsylvania. He listened to people. He took notes. He recounts what he learned in 21 short (5-7 pages long) chapters in the book.
The best hope of building a brighter future for Pennsylvania lies not politicians but with the people of Pennsylvania, Wonderling says.
"While they are not politicians in any sense of the word, their lives are intersect with matters of public concern in Harrisburg," Wonderling writes. "In a very real sense, their stories can serve as a road map for our collective future as citizens of this Commonwealth."
What did Wonderling learn during his journey? The solutions to many of the state's most pressing problems are here already.
The problem is that state government doesn't listen. It's a one-way street with "ideas" coming from Harrisburg instead of the other way around. In the end, politicians need to talk less and listen more. And most importantly, they have to stop talking down to the rest of us. What are the chances of that happening?
Visit the TalkingPA Web site for more information.
Solving Pennsylvania's problems
Rob Wonderling has the answers. Really, he does. It's all right there in his book.
"Talking Pennsylvania: 21 Conversations for the 21st Century" offers practical solutions to most of the major problems facing the Keystone State.
From health care to education to open space preservation to economic opportunity, the goal of the book and its companion Web site is to "help the people of Pennsylvania build a better 21st Century."
That may sound like a tall order, but it can be done, Wonderling argues.
Instead of telling people how government can solve all their problems, Wonderling took a different approach.
The two-term state senator went to the people of Pennsylvania and asked them to offer solutions. Real Pennsylvanians — 21 in all — who have the daily challenge of running their homes, farms and businesses.
If you want to address about farmland preservation, sit at the kitchen table with a farm couple trying to save the family dairy farm for their children.
How to keep young people from leaving Pennsylvania after they graduate from college? Talk to a recent graduate who says she will probably need at least a decade to pay off her student loans.
Welfare reform? Talk to a 21-year-old single mother of two who is trying to move off welfare by earning an associate's degree from a community college.
How to improve public education in Pennsylvania? Talk to the principal of a charter school about why the educational establishment is still trying to undermine Pennsylvania's charter school movement despite a decade of success.
Wonderling collected the conversations he had with everyday Pennsylvanians into a slim, 147-page book available free of charge through his offices or online at the companion Web site, www.talkingpa.com
Before you start complaining about how your tax dollars are being spent, the project was paid for by Friends of Rob Wonderling, which funded the senator's successful 2002 and 2006 election campaigns.
Wonderling spent a year traveling to all parts of Pennsylvania. He listened to people. He took notes. He recounts what he learned in 21 short (5-7 pages long) chapters in the book.
The best hope of building a brighter future for Pennsylvania lies not politicians but with the people of Pennsylvania, Wonderling says.
"While they are not politicians in any sense of the word, their lives are intersect with matters of public concern in Harrisburg," Wonderling writes. "In a very real sense, their stories can serve as a road map for our collective future as citizens of this Commonwealth."
What did Wonderling learn during his journey? The solutions to many of the state's most pressing problems are here already.
The problem is that state government doesn't listen. It's a one-way street with "ideas" coming from Harrisburg instead of the other way around. In the end, politicians need to talk less and listen more. And most importantly, they have to stop talking down to the rest of us. What are the chances of that happening?
Visit the TalkingPA Web site for more information.
Meet the Czar
From the Inquirer.
This is the place where requests for state records will be handled. I wonder if local records requests will be arbitrated through here as well.
Chief begins work on Pa.'s new open records office
Posted on Fri, Aug. 8, 2008 By Matthew Spolar
Inquirer Staff Writer
HARRISBURG - Inside a temporary cubicle in a state office building, Terry Mutchler is for the moment less concerned with prying open long-sealed government documents than she is with opening for business.
The state's new open public records czar is picking out chair colors and analyzing floor blueprints. She is combing resumes and conducting interviews.
"I feel like I'm getting married to something," she said, "but I'm not sure what."
For Mutchler, life these days is about building a state agency from scratch.
Since Gov. Rendell approved a new law in February to increase public access to government documents, Mutchler, 42, has been tasked with bringing the effort to fruition by Jan. 1 with the launch of the state's first Office of Open Records.
The office will act as the middleman between government and the people, mediating in disputes over which documents are public domain. And Mutchler, a reporter-turned-lawyer who will run the office for the next six years, will have to do so in a state that used to have one of the worst open-records laws in the nation.
So far, it hasn't been easy.
"My colleagues in the government don't trust me because I've been with the press, and the people in the press don't trust me because I'm with the government," said Mutchler, whose salary is $120,000. "I'm in this unique, weird bubble."
In some ways, the Poconos native finds herself in a familiar quagmire. The post she left earlier this year to come to Pennsylvania was as Illinois' public access counselor.
But Mutchler's new office in Pennsylvania is more than a governmental appointment. It is mandated by a new law propelled by independent reform advocates buzzing around the Capitol. And now their eyes are trained on her.
"What she does with that law over the next six months will determine how it is respected and interpreted by public officials from the Capitol to township supervisors," said Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising PA, one of the reform groups.
"It's that old saying: You don't get a second chance at a first impression."
Mutchler is trying to plant the seeds for that impression by crisscrossing the state to meet with government officials and media outlets.
So far, she says, she has found she has a long way to go to ensure that local governments - which must name a right-to-know officer under the new law - are ready to embrace the new brand of openness she represents.
"If I make a mistake, it's going to be on the side of openness," Mutchler said.
The state's new open records law essentially flips the burden of proof onto governmental agencies: Where reporters and citizens once had to make a case for obtaining government documents, government agencies now have to prove why records should be shielded from public view.
An aggressive training program that teaches public officials and citizens what the law means will be critical in cultivating an open government culture, said Bill Chamberlin, former director of the University of Florida's Citizen Access Project.
Additionally, he said, if Mutchler doesn't establish her political weight and get strong judicial backing in cases in which decisions are appealed, the law will lose its firmness.
Her background, at least, puts her in a good position to walk that tightrope.
By the time she was 10, all within earshot knew that Mutchler wanted to be a lawyer. But that changed when she arrived at Penn State in 1983.
"I got bit by the journalism bug," she said. She joined the college newspaper, and within a month had switched from pre-law to journalism.
After college, her professional career became a whirlwind of locations and occupations. She worked for the Allentown Morning Call, and as a cub reporter, she once went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend her right to a leaked police report. She arrived at the Associated Press's Harrisburg bureau in 1989, moved to Atlantic City with the organization in 1992, and later wound up as the AP's state Capitol bureau chief in Springfield, Ill.
It was there that her life changed upon meeting state Sen. Penny Severns, who ran for Illinois lieutenant governor in 1994. Mutchler said she fell in love with Severns and, worried that her emotions were potentially creeping into her livelihood, relocated to Alaska and continued with the AP.
"We wanted to end that situation as soon as possible," she said.
In Alaska, she decided to realize her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. She returned to Illinois in 1995 to attend law school, and both work for and continue her relationship with Severns. Severns died of breast cancer in 1998. Mutchler finished law school the next year.
After practicing law privately and publicly, Mutchler was tapped by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in 2003 for the newly minted role of public access counselor.
Over time, Mutchler will leave her own mark in Pennsylvania, say those who know her.
Ann Spillane, chief of staff to the Illinois attorney general, said Mutchler's former office thrived on her stubborn forthrightness.
"There was a need for Terry and her staff to say, 'No, we're not going away,' " Spillane said.
Once Pennsylvania's office opens in January, Mutchler anticipates that the media will test the office with an initial wave of information requests. But after 18 months, she said she expects the vast majority of requests to be filed by citizens.
To help respond to those requests, she plans to assemble a staff of up to 10. She has already hired two.
"I want the best pool to do this, because I think we're going to be a very unpopular group," she said.
How the New Law Works
A resident requests a record from a government agency.
Within five days, although it may request a 30-day extension, the agency must respond with the record or an explanation as to why that record is not public.
If the agency denies the request, the citizen may contact the Office of Open Records, which then has 30 days to make a decision.
If the request is again denied, the citizen may appeal to a court within 30 days. The court will take into account the Office of Open Records' opinion.
If the court determines the document must be opened, the agency must comply or face a $500-per-day civil penalty until the records are opened.
If the court determines that the records were denied by the agency in bad faith, the court may fine the agency up to $1,500.
This is the place where requests for state records will be handled. I wonder if local records requests will be arbitrated through here as well.
Chief begins work on Pa.'s new open records office
Posted on Fri, Aug. 8, 2008 By Matthew Spolar
Inquirer Staff Writer
HARRISBURG - Inside a temporary cubicle in a state office building, Terry Mutchler is for the moment less concerned with prying open long-sealed government documents than she is with opening for business.
The state's new open public records czar is picking out chair colors and analyzing floor blueprints. She is combing resumes and conducting interviews.
"I feel like I'm getting married to something," she said, "but I'm not sure what."
For Mutchler, life these days is about building a state agency from scratch.
Since Gov. Rendell approved a new law in February to increase public access to government documents, Mutchler, 42, has been tasked with bringing the effort to fruition by Jan. 1 with the launch of the state's first Office of Open Records.
The office will act as the middleman between government and the people, mediating in disputes over which documents are public domain. And Mutchler, a reporter-turned-lawyer who will run the office for the next six years, will have to do so in a state that used to have one of the worst open-records laws in the nation.
So far, it hasn't been easy.
"My colleagues in the government don't trust me because I've been with the press, and the people in the press don't trust me because I'm with the government," said Mutchler, whose salary is $120,000. "I'm in this unique, weird bubble."
In some ways, the Poconos native finds herself in a familiar quagmire. The post she left earlier this year to come to Pennsylvania was as Illinois' public access counselor.
But Mutchler's new office in Pennsylvania is more than a governmental appointment. It is mandated by a new law propelled by independent reform advocates buzzing around the Capitol. And now their eyes are trained on her.
"What she does with that law over the next six months will determine how it is respected and interpreted by public officials from the Capitol to township supervisors," said Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising PA, one of the reform groups.
"It's that old saying: You don't get a second chance at a first impression."
Mutchler is trying to plant the seeds for that impression by crisscrossing the state to meet with government officials and media outlets.
So far, she says, she has found she has a long way to go to ensure that local governments - which must name a right-to-know officer under the new law - are ready to embrace the new brand of openness she represents.
"If I make a mistake, it's going to be on the side of openness," Mutchler said.
The state's new open records law essentially flips the burden of proof onto governmental agencies: Where reporters and citizens once had to make a case for obtaining government documents, government agencies now have to prove why records should be shielded from public view.
An aggressive training program that teaches public officials and citizens what the law means will be critical in cultivating an open government culture, said Bill Chamberlin, former director of the University of Florida's Citizen Access Project.
Additionally, he said, if Mutchler doesn't establish her political weight and get strong judicial backing in cases in which decisions are appealed, the law will lose its firmness.
Her background, at least, puts her in a good position to walk that tightrope.
By the time she was 10, all within earshot knew that Mutchler wanted to be a lawyer. But that changed when she arrived at Penn State in 1983.
"I got bit by the journalism bug," she said. She joined the college newspaper, and within a month had switched from pre-law to journalism.
After college, her professional career became a whirlwind of locations and occupations. She worked for the Allentown Morning Call, and as a cub reporter, she once went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend her right to a leaked police report. She arrived at the Associated Press's Harrisburg bureau in 1989, moved to Atlantic City with the organization in 1992, and later wound up as the AP's state Capitol bureau chief in Springfield, Ill.
It was there that her life changed upon meeting state Sen. Penny Severns, who ran for Illinois lieutenant governor in 1994. Mutchler said she fell in love with Severns and, worried that her emotions were potentially creeping into her livelihood, relocated to Alaska and continued with the AP.
"We wanted to end that situation as soon as possible," she said.
In Alaska, she decided to realize her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. She returned to Illinois in 1995 to attend law school, and both work for and continue her relationship with Severns. Severns died of breast cancer in 1998. Mutchler finished law school the next year.
After practicing law privately and publicly, Mutchler was tapped by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in 2003 for the newly minted role of public access counselor.
Over time, Mutchler will leave her own mark in Pennsylvania, say those who know her.
Ann Spillane, chief of staff to the Illinois attorney general, said Mutchler's former office thrived on her stubborn forthrightness.
"There was a need for Terry and her staff to say, 'No, we're not going away,' " Spillane said.
Once Pennsylvania's office opens in January, Mutchler anticipates that the media will test the office with an initial wave of information requests. But after 18 months, she said she expects the vast majority of requests to be filed by citizens.
To help respond to those requests, she plans to assemble a staff of up to 10. She has already hired two.
"I want the best pool to do this, because I think we're going to be a very unpopular group," she said.
How the New Law Works
A resident requests a record from a government agency.
Within five days, although it may request a 30-day extension, the agency must respond with the record or an explanation as to why that record is not public.
If the agency denies the request, the citizen may contact the Office of Open Records, which then has 30 days to make a decision.
If the request is again denied, the citizen may appeal to a court within 30 days. The court will take into account the Office of Open Records' opinion.
If the court determines the document must be opened, the agency must comply or face a $500-per-day civil penalty until the records are opened.
If the court determines that the records were denied by the agency in bad faith, the court may fine the agency up to $1,500.
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