Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bristol Twp: No to Tech School Budget
From the BCCT.
School board rejects budget
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
About one-third of students attending the technical training school come from Bristol Township.
The Bristol Township school board has rejected Bucks County Technical High School's proposed $22.4 million budget for 2009-10 to protest the added costs the district will be charged in the coming school year.
The township's share is scheduled to go up 15 percent over 2008-09 figures while overall costs at the comprehensive technical high school will increase 2.9 percent from the current year, officials said.
According to the tech school's funding formula, Bristol Township's added cost share is needed to cover increased enrollments from that district in recent years, officials said. Bristol Township sends about one third of the 1,500 students enrolled in the tech school, which also serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
"I don't think there's a single member on this board that is at all against the tech school," Bristol Township school board President W. Earl Bruck said Monday night after board voted 0-8-1 to reject the 2009-10 proposed budget. Board members would like to see Bristol Township's increase closer to the 2.9 percent figure.
Bruck, who voted no, said he realizes that despite the vote, enough of the other governing bodies from the sending districts will approve and enact the budget.
To make that happen, at least four boards from the sending districts and at least 28 board members of the governing bodies have to approve the proposed budget.
As of today, the Bristol and Morrisville boards have approved the tech school financial plan and 17 members of those two governing bodies have voted in favor of it.
Pennsbury's board is set to vote on it tonight. The Neshaminy and Bensalem boards are scheduled next week to vote on the proposed tech school budget.
Bensalem and Bristol also will pay more next year while Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury will pay less than in 2008-09, according to the funding formula, tech school officials said.
Local school districts cover the bulk of the operating budget for the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. State and federal funds and other sources make up the difference in the $22.4 budget.
Sharing the costs
Below is the proposed payment schedule per sending school district to balance the budget for the Bucks County Technical High School in the 2009-10 school year.
Bensalem $3,135,268 ($2,998,665 for 2008-9)
Bristol $733,313 ($691,360)
Bristol Township $6,503,272 ($5,646,491
Morrisville $528,077 ($607,612)
Neshaminy $3,921,993 ($4,048,804)
Pennsbury $3,643,532 ($3,950,799)
School board rejects budget
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
About one-third of students attending the technical training school come from Bristol Township.
The Bristol Township school board has rejected Bucks County Technical High School's proposed $22.4 million budget for 2009-10 to protest the added costs the district will be charged in the coming school year.
The township's share is scheduled to go up 15 percent over 2008-09 figures while overall costs at the comprehensive technical high school will increase 2.9 percent from the current year, officials said.
According to the tech school's funding formula, Bristol Township's added cost share is needed to cover increased enrollments from that district in recent years, officials said. Bristol Township sends about one third of the 1,500 students enrolled in the tech school, which also serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
"I don't think there's a single member on this board that is at all against the tech school," Bristol Township school board President W. Earl Bruck said Monday night after board voted 0-8-1 to reject the 2009-10 proposed budget. Board members would like to see Bristol Township's increase closer to the 2.9 percent figure.
Bruck, who voted no, said he realizes that despite the vote, enough of the other governing bodies from the sending districts will approve and enact the budget.
To make that happen, at least four boards from the sending districts and at least 28 board members of the governing bodies have to approve the proposed budget.
As of today, the Bristol and Morrisville boards have approved the tech school financial plan and 17 members of those two governing bodies have voted in favor of it.
Pennsbury's board is set to vote on it tonight. The Neshaminy and Bensalem boards are scheduled next week to vote on the proposed tech school budget.
Bensalem and Bristol also will pay more next year while Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury will pay less than in 2008-09, according to the funding formula, tech school officials said.
Local school districts cover the bulk of the operating budget for the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. State and federal funds and other sources make up the difference in the $22.4 budget.
Sharing the costs
Below is the proposed payment schedule per sending school district to balance the budget for the Bucks County Technical High School in the 2009-10 school year.
Bensalem $3,135,268 ($2,998,665 for 2008-9)
Bristol $733,313 ($691,360)
Bristol Township $6,503,272 ($5,646,491
Morrisville $528,077 ($607,612)
Neshaminy $3,921,993 ($4,048,804)
Pennsbury $3,643,532 ($3,950,799)
Bensalem: New Staff Contract Approved
From the BCCT.
Split board approves support staff contract
By: Joan Hellyer
Bensalem School District support staff employees will receive annual pay raises and contribute more toward their healthcare benefits, according to a new contract recently approved by the school board.
The four-year deal calls for members of the Bensalem Township Educational Support Professional Association to receive salary increases of three percent each of the first two years, a 3.5 percent increase in the third year and a four-percent pay hike in the fourth year, Superintendent James Lombardo said.
The agreement also includes equity adjustments of 50 cents per hour in the second year and 75 cents per hour in the third year for playground and cafeteria aides to make their salaries comparable to similar employees in other districts, Lombardo said.
The employees also agreed to go to the 10/20/70 insurance plan offered by Personal Choice to help reduce district expenses, the superintendent said. It is less expensive than the provider’s Option 15 plan previously available to the staff members.
In addition, the BTESPA members also agreed to pay $22 per month toward their healthcare premium if they have the Personal Choice plan and $17 per month if they have the less costly Keystone Point of Service plan, Lombardo said.
The new deal is retroactive to September 2008 and runs through August 2012.
The association represents 156 non-teaching assistants, registered nurses, personal care assistants, and cafeteria and library aides who work in the district’s nine schools.
With the new contract, starting salaries range from about $11 per hour to just under $19 per hour depending on the position, Lombardo said.
The board originally voted on the proposed agreement during its Feb. 25 meeting, but fell one “yes” vote short of approving the deal.
The deal was brought back before the board during its April 7 meeting after Carol McGuire, who was not present during the February meeting, asked that it be reconsidered.
It was approved 5-4 with McGuire, James Bodnar, Rose Jacobs, Carol Jones and Stephen Nowmos voting in favor of the pact. President Harry Kramer, Vice President Eugene Rothenberg, Dr. Lewis Brandt and Heather Nicholas voted against.
Split board approves support staff contract
By: Joan Hellyer
Bensalem School District support staff employees will receive annual pay raises and contribute more toward their healthcare benefits, according to a new contract recently approved by the school board.
The four-year deal calls for members of the Bensalem Township Educational Support Professional Association to receive salary increases of three percent each of the first two years, a 3.5 percent increase in the third year and a four-percent pay hike in the fourth year, Superintendent James Lombardo said.
The agreement also includes equity adjustments of 50 cents per hour in the second year and 75 cents per hour in the third year for playground and cafeteria aides to make their salaries comparable to similar employees in other districts, Lombardo said.
The employees also agreed to go to the 10/20/70 insurance plan offered by Personal Choice to help reduce district expenses, the superintendent said. It is less expensive than the provider’s Option 15 plan previously available to the staff members.
In addition, the BTESPA members also agreed to pay $22 per month toward their healthcare premium if they have the Personal Choice plan and $17 per month if they have the less costly Keystone Point of Service plan, Lombardo said.
The new deal is retroactive to September 2008 and runs through August 2012.
The association represents 156 non-teaching assistants, registered nurses, personal care assistants, and cafeteria and library aides who work in the district’s nine schools.
With the new contract, starting salaries range from about $11 per hour to just under $19 per hour depending on the position, Lombardo said.
The board originally voted on the proposed agreement during its Feb. 25 meeting, but fell one “yes” vote short of approving the deal.
The deal was brought back before the board during its April 7 meeting after Carol McGuire, who was not present during the February meeting, asked that it be reconsidered.
It was approved 5-4 with McGuire, James Bodnar, Rose Jacobs, Carol Jones and Stephen Nowmos voting in favor of the pact. President Harry Kramer, Vice President Eugene Rothenberg, Dr. Lewis Brandt and Heather Nicholas voted against.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Budget Q (Minus the A)
Here's a series of budget questions posed by one of our indefatigable commenters.
Will answers ever be found? Perhaps we'll know tonight at 7:30 when the monthly business meeting of the Court of Emperor William I is held.
Jon has left a new comment on your post "George Mount Retiring":
This belongs further down, but below are some Budget Thoughts & Questions, based on looking at the 4/8/09 Powerpoint presentation in the 2009-2010 Budget Links.
Revenues
1. Overall, budgeted revenues are up $124k over last year ($18,895k vs. $18,771k).
2. Where’s the extra revenue coming from? The Federal government.
3. Local revenues are down $211k ($11,962k vs. $12,173k).
4. State revenues are essentially flat (+2k, $5,553k vs. $5,551k).
5. Federal revenues are up $332k ($1,231k vs. $899k).
6. Why are Local revenues down $211k?
Even thought the millage rate stays the same as last year (187.3 mils), this budget assumes a $102k reduction in Real Estate Tax revenues ($10,617k vs. $10,719k). That and a $147.5k (50%) drop in Investment Earnings ($147.5k vs. $295k) overwhelm a $67k increase ($102k vs. 35k) in “Rentals”.
Question: How is this near-tripling of Rental revenue going to be achieved?
7. Why are State revenues flat (+2k)?
A $338k increase in basic education funding ($3,265k vs. $2,926k) is virtually wiped out by the loss of a $102k EAP Grant for Tutoring, and a $201k drop in Extra Grant funding ($530k vs. $329k).
Question: Why did we lose this $303k in grant funding? Hopefully it wasn’t from prior cuts in grant writing resources.
8. Why are Federal revenues up (+$331k)?
Mostly from a $297k increase in 21st Century Grant funding ($919k vs. $622k).
Question: Isn’t this grant funding targeted to certain programs, and not for basic education, so it doesn't necessarily replace lost Local & State revenue?
9. Conclusions: Overall revenues are up, but mostly from higher Federal 21st Century Grant funding. But this grant funding is likely "earmarked" for certain programs, so it doesn't necessarily replace lost Local & State revenue. That means overall basic education revenues look down.
Expenses
1. Overall, expenses are down $988k ($18,895k vs. 19,883k).
2. Where are the expenses dropping?
The 6 areas with changes > $50k are:
a. 1200 (Special Programs) is down $429k ($3,454k vs. $3,883k). Salaries are up $223k ($1,211k vs. $988k), but “Purchased Professional & Technical Services” dropped a whopping $694k ($1,205k vs. $1,899k).
Questions: What makes up these Purchased Professional & Technical Services? Why such a drastic drop?Is something being deferred until next year? Why? Was something pricey bought last year that isn't being bought this year?
b. 1300 (Vocational Education) is down $81k ($758k vs. $839k), mostly from an $89k drop in “Other Purchased Services ($537k vs. $626k).
Question: Is this from Morrisville’s reduced Tech School share under the funding formula this year?
c. 2100 (Support Services) is down $119k. Salaries are up $56k ($419k vs. $363k), but “Purchased Professional & Technical Services” dropped $176.5k (from $182k to $5.5k, a 97% drop).
Questions: Again, what makes up these Purchased Professional & Technical Services? Why such a drastic drop? Is something being deferred until next year? Why? Was something pricey bought last year that isn't being bought this year?
d. 2300 (Administration) is down $208k, mostly from a $164k drop in Salaries ($495k vs. $659k), and a $21k drop in Benefits ($148k vs. $169k).
Question: Is this from the loss of Kate Taylor and Karen Huggins, and not replacing Asst. Principals? If so, I just hope this 3.5 mil savings is worth it in the long run.
e. 2600 (Maintenance) is down $112k ($1,622k vs. $1,734k, mostly from reduced Purchased Property Services (-$53k) and reduced Supplies (-$59k).
Question: Is this from not having to maintain MR Reiter as much? If so, it isn’t that big of a drop in overall maintenance spending (< 1.9 mils, < 6.5% drop in Maint. budget, but 1 out of 3 buildings is 33.3%, and MR Reiter’s 47,397 ft2 is 20% of the combined 237,689 ft2 of all 3 buildings). At < 1.9 mils, it’s certainly not the FORTUNE Bill Hellmann said we’d save.
f. 5100 (Debt Service) is up $67k ($997k vs. $930k).
Questions: Does this year's installment on paying off the $2.5 million in Bond Defeasement Expenses Hellmann didn't tell anybody about factor into this? Otherwise, why is Debt Sevice up when most of the bond money was defeased – didn’t that drastically reduce the debt?
3. Conclusions: reduced Administration and Maintenance cut expenses by $320k, about 1/3rd of the total $988k drop in expenses. Special Programs, Vocational Education, and Support Services dropped a combined $629k. Salaries are generally still rising, so a concern is that the cuts are coming from items that effect educational delivery.
Other Misc. Comments
1. p.6 --> some of the bar graph heights look wrong, based on other data in the presentation. For example, the 2008-09 Local Revenue is $12.17 million, but the bar height is over $14 million. State Revenues for 2008-09 ($5.551 million) and 2009-10 ($5.553 million) are virtually the same, but the bar is significantly higher for 2009-10.
2. p. 14 - Note that starting in 2005-06, everybody's property tax assessment was increased by a factor of 4, and the corresponding tax millage rate was reduced by a factor of 4. So if you really want to compare apples-to-apples on millage rates, you need to divide the years prior to 2005-06 by 4 - or multiply 2005-06 on by 4. Otherwise, some might be tempted to think that Sandy Gibson is really a hero because she presided over an astonishingly drastic cut in school taxes.
3. p. 38 - Looks like last year’s budget was helped by depleting the Fund Balance by $1.112 million (from $2.793 million to $1.681 million). Assuming 1 tax mil is about $60k, without this depletion of the Fund Balance, it looks like there would have been a 19 mil (~10%) tax increase last year.
So last year, the 2 main things the board did to balance the budget/hold the line on taxes were:
a. Get a ~$1+ million one-shot-deal from defeasing most of the bond money (at a long-term cost of $2.5 million);
b. Dip into the piggy bank to the tune of $1.112 million - money that was left to them by those evil "prior boards".
The budget projections from 2010-13 show the Fund Balance being further depleted by $1.456 million by 2013, all the way down to a mere $225k.
4. p. 38 - these budget figures show a Real Estate Tax collection rate of 93.5% throughout, but the earlier slides all seem based on a 94% collection rate (see p. 5). Why the difference? Which figure is right/more accurate?
Will answers ever be found? Perhaps we'll know tonight at 7:30 when the monthly business meeting of the Court of Emperor William I is held.
Jon has left a new comment on your post "George Mount Retiring":
This belongs further down, but below are some Budget Thoughts & Questions, based on looking at the 4/8/09 Powerpoint presentation in the 2009-2010 Budget Links.
Revenues
1. Overall, budgeted revenues are up $124k over last year ($18,895k vs. $18,771k).
2. Where’s the extra revenue coming from? The Federal government.
3. Local revenues are down $211k ($11,962k vs. $12,173k).
4. State revenues are essentially flat (+2k, $5,553k vs. $5,551k).
5. Federal revenues are up $332k ($1,231k vs. $899k).
6. Why are Local revenues down $211k?
Even thought the millage rate stays the same as last year (187.3 mils), this budget assumes a $102k reduction in Real Estate Tax revenues ($10,617k vs. $10,719k). That and a $147.5k (50%) drop in Investment Earnings ($147.5k vs. $295k) overwhelm a $67k increase ($102k vs. 35k) in “Rentals”.
Question: How is this near-tripling of Rental revenue going to be achieved?
7. Why are State revenues flat (+2k)?
A $338k increase in basic education funding ($3,265k vs. $2,926k) is virtually wiped out by the loss of a $102k EAP Grant for Tutoring, and a $201k drop in Extra Grant funding ($530k vs. $329k).
Question: Why did we lose this $303k in grant funding? Hopefully it wasn’t from prior cuts in grant writing resources.
8. Why are Federal revenues up (+$331k)?
Mostly from a $297k increase in 21st Century Grant funding ($919k vs. $622k).
Question: Isn’t this grant funding targeted to certain programs, and not for basic education, so it doesn't necessarily replace lost Local & State revenue?
9. Conclusions: Overall revenues are up, but mostly from higher Federal 21st Century Grant funding. But this grant funding is likely "earmarked" for certain programs, so it doesn't necessarily replace lost Local & State revenue. That means overall basic education revenues look down.
Expenses
1. Overall, expenses are down $988k ($18,895k vs. 19,883k).
2. Where are the expenses dropping?
The 6 areas with changes > $50k are:
a. 1200 (Special Programs) is down $429k ($3,454k vs. $3,883k). Salaries are up $223k ($1,211k vs. $988k), but “Purchased Professional & Technical Services” dropped a whopping $694k ($1,205k vs. $1,899k).
Questions: What makes up these Purchased Professional & Technical Services? Why such a drastic drop?Is something being deferred until next year? Why? Was something pricey bought last year that isn't being bought this year?
b. 1300 (Vocational Education) is down $81k ($758k vs. $839k), mostly from an $89k drop in “Other Purchased Services ($537k vs. $626k).
Question: Is this from Morrisville’s reduced Tech School share under the funding formula this year?
c. 2100 (Support Services) is down $119k. Salaries are up $56k ($419k vs. $363k), but “Purchased Professional & Technical Services” dropped $176.5k (from $182k to $5.5k, a 97% drop).
Questions: Again, what makes up these Purchased Professional & Technical Services? Why such a drastic drop? Is something being deferred until next year? Why? Was something pricey bought last year that isn't being bought this year?
d. 2300 (Administration) is down $208k, mostly from a $164k drop in Salaries ($495k vs. $659k), and a $21k drop in Benefits ($148k vs. $169k).
Question: Is this from the loss of Kate Taylor and Karen Huggins, and not replacing Asst. Principals? If so, I just hope this 3.5 mil savings is worth it in the long run.
e. 2600 (Maintenance) is down $112k ($1,622k vs. $1,734k, mostly from reduced Purchased Property Services (-$53k) and reduced Supplies (-$59k).
Question: Is this from not having to maintain MR Reiter as much? If so, it isn’t that big of a drop in overall maintenance spending (< 1.9 mils, < 6.5% drop in Maint. budget, but 1 out of 3 buildings is 33.3%, and MR Reiter’s 47,397 ft2 is 20% of the combined 237,689 ft2 of all 3 buildings). At < 1.9 mils, it’s certainly not the FORTUNE Bill Hellmann said we’d save.
f. 5100 (Debt Service) is up $67k ($997k vs. $930k).
Questions: Does this year's installment on paying off the $2.5 million in Bond Defeasement Expenses Hellmann didn't tell anybody about factor into this? Otherwise, why is Debt Sevice up when most of the bond money was defeased – didn’t that drastically reduce the debt?
3. Conclusions: reduced Administration and Maintenance cut expenses by $320k, about 1/3rd of the total $988k drop in expenses. Special Programs, Vocational Education, and Support Services dropped a combined $629k. Salaries are generally still rising, so a concern is that the cuts are coming from items that effect educational delivery.
Other Misc. Comments
1. p.6 --> some of the bar graph heights look wrong, based on other data in the presentation. For example, the 2008-09 Local Revenue is $12.17 million, but the bar height is over $14 million. State Revenues for 2008-09 ($5.551 million) and 2009-10 ($5.553 million) are virtually the same, but the bar is significantly higher for 2009-10.
2. p. 14 - Note that starting in 2005-06, everybody's property tax assessment was increased by a factor of 4, and the corresponding tax millage rate was reduced by a factor of 4. So if you really want to compare apples-to-apples on millage rates, you need to divide the years prior to 2005-06 by 4 - or multiply 2005-06 on by 4. Otherwise, some might be tempted to think that Sandy Gibson is really a hero because she presided over an astonishingly drastic cut in school taxes.
3. p. 38 - Looks like last year’s budget was helped by depleting the Fund Balance by $1.112 million (from $2.793 million to $1.681 million). Assuming 1 tax mil is about $60k, without this depletion of the Fund Balance, it looks like there would have been a 19 mil (~10%) tax increase last year.
So last year, the 2 main things the board did to balance the budget/hold the line on taxes were:
a. Get a ~$1+ million one-shot-deal from defeasing most of the bond money (at a long-term cost of $2.5 million);
b. Dip into the piggy bank to the tune of $1.112 million - money that was left to them by those evil "prior boards".
The budget projections from 2010-13 show the Fund Balance being further depleted by $1.456 million by 2013, all the way down to a mere $225k.
4. p. 38 - these budget figures show a Real Estate Tax collection rate of 93.5% throughout, but the earlier slides all seem based on a 94% collection rate (see p. 5). Why the difference? Which figure is right/more accurate?
Bristol Twp: New Business
From the BCCT.
Board backs KOZ designation
A drug distribution company promises to pay the school district a minimum of $195,000 a year if it’s approved.
By JOAN HELLYER
STAFF WRITER
The Bristol Township school board is backing Express Scripts’ effort to have its new distribution center site designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone.
The board unanimously threw its support behind the proposal Monday night after representatives of the pharmaceutical company promised it would pay the school district a minimum $195,000 a year in lieu of taxes.
That’s about $15,000 more than what the school district receives in tax revenue from the site off Route 413 near I-95, board solicitor David Truelove said.
The drug distribution company wants to move next year from its current location in Bensalem into the 241,000 square-foot building off Rittenhouse Circle in Bristol Township that formerly housed Jones New York. The KOZ designation would provide the company with tax relief through 2020.
The township council threw its support behind the proposal last week. The company still needs to secure county and state approval for the site to receive the KOZ designation.
A KOZ generally allows companies to pay no property taxes on future development, but Express Scripts representatives promised the annual payment.
The company also would consider paying more if the property’s assessment called for taxes in excess of $195,000, said Paul Acker, Express Scripts senior director of operations and project manager.
If the designation is approved, Express Scripts will hire at least 60 new employees, company officials said.
The new hires would be a mix of pharmacists, pharmaceutical technicians, data entry and shipping department workers, Acker said.
Trying to calm board concerns before the vote, the company representative said he didn’t expect Express Scripts to pack up and leave Bristol Township once its KOZ designation expires.
“We don’t want to do that,” Acker said.
Board backs KOZ designation
A drug distribution company promises to pay the school district a minimum of $195,000 a year if it’s approved.
By JOAN HELLYER
STAFF WRITER
The Bristol Township school board is backing Express Scripts’ effort to have its new distribution center site designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone.
The board unanimously threw its support behind the proposal Monday night after representatives of the pharmaceutical company promised it would pay the school district a minimum $195,000 a year in lieu of taxes.
That’s about $15,000 more than what the school district receives in tax revenue from the site off Route 413 near I-95, board solicitor David Truelove said.
The drug distribution company wants to move next year from its current location in Bensalem into the 241,000 square-foot building off Rittenhouse Circle in Bristol Township that formerly housed Jones New York. The KOZ designation would provide the company with tax relief through 2020.
The township council threw its support behind the proposal last week. The company still needs to secure county and state approval for the site to receive the KOZ designation.
A KOZ generally allows companies to pay no property taxes on future development, but Express Scripts representatives promised the annual payment.
The company also would consider paying more if the property’s assessment called for taxes in excess of $195,000, said Paul Acker, Express Scripts senior director of operations and project manager.
If the designation is approved, Express Scripts will hire at least 60 new employees, company officials said.
The new hires would be a mix of pharmacists, pharmaceutical technicians, data entry and shipping department workers, Acker said.
Trying to calm board concerns before the vote, the company representative said he didn’t expect Express Scripts to pack up and leave Bristol Township once its KOZ designation expires.
“We don’t want to do that,” Acker said.
Stay in School
From the BCCT.
Dropouts tell at-risk students to stay in school
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Daniel Harris feels he had a life-changing moment Monday as he listened to area residents talk about the challenges they’ve faced since they dropped out of school.
“I need to step up my game. No more bad grades,” said Daniel, 15, a student at the Benjamin Franklin Freshman Academy, after listening to the speakers with the “Stay in School for Success!” campaign.
“I don’t want to be like that when I grow up,” said Katie Morrisey, 15, a freshman at the academy.
They were among more than two dozen Bristol Township freshmen at risk academically who were invited to listen to the speakers, school representatives said.
Each speaker left school for a different reason: John Simmons did not return to Bristol Township’s Harry S Truman High School in 2007 after he was arrested. Michon Darnell left Truman after putting a job before her studies. Lindsey Sierra dropped out of Pennsbury High School a year ago while battling a drug addition and going through rehab.
Each regrets dropping out. They now are pursuing their high school GED through the Pennsylvania CareerLink Bucks County Youth Center in the Bucks County Office Center off Veterans Highway in Bristol Township.
All are planning to go to college or secure a steady well-paying job once they receive their GED.
A high school diploma or the equivalency will improve a person’s earning ability by about $3 per hour compared with someone who has dropped out, according to CareerLink statistics. Plus, it likely will reduce the amount of time a person will be unemployed during their working years, campaign organizers said.
The speakers also includ- ed Oklahoma native Ken Perry who is working through CareerLink to secure gainful employment. All four said: Stay in school.
“I know it sounds corny, but staying in school will probably be the best decision you’ll ever make,” Lindsey, 17, said.
The workforce investment boards of Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties and Regional Career Education Partnership partners are sponsoring the Stay in School effort.
The project also includes an online resource guide to services for dropouts in the greater Philadelphia area. There will be a “Re-Engaging Disconnected Youth Symposium” at Bucks County Technical High School on Friday. The brain-storming session is for community and faith-based organizations serving students at risk of not finishing school.
The initiative is necessary, even in Bucks County, where the dropout rate is generally less than 1 percent, because those who have dropped out are seeking resources in greater numbers, organizers said.
Dropouts cost the state on average $32,000 per person during their lifetime in welfare, food stamps, Medicare and other costs, officials said.
The biggest setback is a lack of well-paying jobs. Plus, dropouts miss out on the many social memories from the high school years, said Lindsey, who would have gone to her senior prom and graduated from Pennsbury this year had she stayed in school. “It’s really upsetting not being there,” she said.
Dropouts tell at-risk students to stay in school
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Daniel Harris feels he had a life-changing moment Monday as he listened to area residents talk about the challenges they’ve faced since they dropped out of school.
“I need to step up my game. No more bad grades,” said Daniel, 15, a student at the Benjamin Franklin Freshman Academy, after listening to the speakers with the “Stay in School for Success!” campaign.
“I don’t want to be like that when I grow up,” said Katie Morrisey, 15, a freshman at the academy.
They were among more than two dozen Bristol Township freshmen at risk academically who were invited to listen to the speakers, school representatives said.
Each speaker left school for a different reason: John Simmons did not return to Bristol Township’s Harry S Truman High School in 2007 after he was arrested. Michon Darnell left Truman after putting a job before her studies. Lindsey Sierra dropped out of Pennsbury High School a year ago while battling a drug addition and going through rehab.
Each regrets dropping out. They now are pursuing their high school GED through the Pennsylvania CareerLink Bucks County Youth Center in the Bucks County Office Center off Veterans Highway in Bristol Township.
All are planning to go to college or secure a steady well-paying job once they receive their GED.
A high school diploma or the equivalency will improve a person’s earning ability by about $3 per hour compared with someone who has dropped out, according to CareerLink statistics. Plus, it likely will reduce the amount of time a person will be unemployed during their working years, campaign organizers said.
The speakers also includ- ed Oklahoma native Ken Perry who is working through CareerLink to secure gainful employment. All four said: Stay in school.
“I know it sounds corny, but staying in school will probably be the best decision you’ll ever make,” Lindsey, 17, said.
The workforce investment boards of Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties and Regional Career Education Partnership partners are sponsoring the Stay in School effort.
The project also includes an online resource guide to services for dropouts in the greater Philadelphia area. There will be a “Re-Engaging Disconnected Youth Symposium” at Bucks County Technical High School on Friday. The brain-storming session is for community and faith-based organizations serving students at risk of not finishing school.
The initiative is necessary, even in Bucks County, where the dropout rate is generally less than 1 percent, because those who have dropped out are seeking resources in greater numbers, organizers said.
Dropouts cost the state on average $32,000 per person during their lifetime in welfare, food stamps, Medicare and other costs, officials said.
The biggest setback is a lack of well-paying jobs. Plus, dropouts miss out on the many social memories from the high school years, said Lindsey, who would have gone to her senior prom and graduated from Pennsbury this year had she stayed in school. “It’s really upsetting not being there,” she said.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
George Mount Retiring
From the BCCT.
Best wishes to you and thank you for your service.
Borough manager stepping down
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville's top administrator for the borough and the Morrisville Municipal Authority is retiring later this spring.
But borough council voted unanimously Monday night to pay George Mount III, the 12-year part-time borough manager and 17-year executive director of the municipal authority, $75 an hour if the borough needs to consult him after his retirement, effective June 1.
Both the borough and the authority will look to fill Mount's posts - but it's unclear if it will be the same person doing both jobs, such as it is with Mount.
Councilwoman Jane Burger asked Mount to consider staying on as borough manager until someone is hired to fill his spot, worrying that there are certain documents and contracts that need to be signed by him.
Mount didn't say yes or no. Council President Nancy Sherlock said such a question at the meeting was "putting him on the spot."
Borough solicitor James Downey noted that assistant borough secretary Dorothy Gaydula has the authority to sign a "fair percentage" of borough documents.
"My offer was just to help in the event that you don't get anyone, to help with the transition," Mount told the council during Monday's meeting. He added, "I want to see a very smooth transition."
Earlier in the day, Mount's colleagues had nothing but good things to say.
"He really has been very efficient," municipal authority Chairman John Warenda said Monday afternoon. "He's been an excellent director and manager for a long time."
"We will miss him," said Sherlock before the meeting. "He's done a very good job for us."
Mount was a 3rd Ward borough councilman from 1981 to 1992, when he resigned to take the executive director gig with the municipal authority. He was hired as borough manager in 1997. Mount also has served on the Bucks County Enterprise Zone committee and the Landmark Towns of Bucks County board of directors.
According to a press release by the municipal authority, Mount is hoping to use his new-found time to travel more.
Mount, who graduated from Morrisville High School in 1962, lives in the borough with his wife, Margaret.
Best wishes to you and thank you for your service.
Borough manager stepping down
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville's top administrator for the borough and the Morrisville Municipal Authority is retiring later this spring.
But borough council voted unanimously Monday night to pay George Mount III, the 12-year part-time borough manager and 17-year executive director of the municipal authority, $75 an hour if the borough needs to consult him after his retirement, effective June 1.
Both the borough and the authority will look to fill Mount's posts - but it's unclear if it will be the same person doing both jobs, such as it is with Mount.
Councilwoman Jane Burger asked Mount to consider staying on as borough manager until someone is hired to fill his spot, worrying that there are certain documents and contracts that need to be signed by him.
Mount didn't say yes or no. Council President Nancy Sherlock said such a question at the meeting was "putting him on the spot."
Borough solicitor James Downey noted that assistant borough secretary Dorothy Gaydula has the authority to sign a "fair percentage" of borough documents.
"My offer was just to help in the event that you don't get anyone, to help with the transition," Mount told the council during Monday's meeting. He added, "I want to see a very smooth transition."
Earlier in the day, Mount's colleagues had nothing but good things to say.
"He really has been very efficient," municipal authority Chairman John Warenda said Monday afternoon. "He's been an excellent director and manager for a long time."
"We will miss him," said Sherlock before the meeting. "He's done a very good job for us."
Mount was a 3rd Ward borough councilman from 1981 to 1992, when he resigned to take the executive director gig with the municipal authority. He was hired as borough manager in 1997. Mount also has served on the Bucks County Enterprise Zone committee and the Landmark Towns of Bucks County board of directors.
According to a press release by the municipal authority, Mount is hoping to use his new-found time to travel more.
Mount, who graduated from Morrisville High School in 1962, lives in the borough with his wife, Margaret.
It's Much Easier With the Answer Key
From the BCCT.
Pa. boy orders secret state tests to 'play school'
The Associated Press
The Pennsylvania Education Department plans to tighten security after a fifth-grader who wanted to "play school" ordered a batch of secret state school assessment tests from his western Pennsylvania home.
The shrink-wrapped tests were delivered to the Hempfield Area School District's warehouse, not to the 10-year-old boy's home, which department spokeswoman Leah Harris said shows the existing security system works.
The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, which are administered annually to youngsters in fourth, eighth and 11th grades, are automatically shipped to districts or individuals schools and "can't be shipped anywhere else," Harris said.
The boy, whom officials did not identify, wasn't trying to cheat, said the district's director of pupil services, Rebecca Costello.
"He wants to be a teacher. He wanted to play school," she said.
The boy even requested that the exams be delivered on the last day of testing so that he wouldn't see it before he took it in March, she said.
The incident was the first of its kind. Because of it, the department plans to require people ordering tests, which measure student achievement and how well schools are educating students, to enter a personal identification code, Harris said.
"We take security breaches very seriously," Harris said.
The boy completed an order form on the Education Department Web site, where he found two codes needed to complete the transaction _ one identifying the school district, the other identifying Bovard Elementary School, where he is in the fifth grade. He listed his home address and the names of his school and teacher, officials said.
He faxed the form to Data Recognition Corp., of Maple Grove, Minn., the company that produces the exams for Pennsylvania several other states, Costello said.
District officials traced the order to the boy when they discovered they received more tests than they had ordered, said Barbara Marin, assistant superintendent for elementary education.
Officials declined to say if the boy faced discipline as a result.
"The child was upset. He meant no harm. The parents were upset with the child," Costello said.
Pa. boy orders secret state tests to 'play school'
The Associated Press
The Pennsylvania Education Department plans to tighten security after a fifth-grader who wanted to "play school" ordered a batch of secret state school assessment tests from his western Pennsylvania home.
The shrink-wrapped tests were delivered to the Hempfield Area School District's warehouse, not to the 10-year-old boy's home, which department spokeswoman Leah Harris said shows the existing security system works.
The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, which are administered annually to youngsters in fourth, eighth and 11th grades, are automatically shipped to districts or individuals schools and "can't be shipped anywhere else," Harris said.
The boy, whom officials did not identify, wasn't trying to cheat, said the district's director of pupil services, Rebecca Costello.
"He wants to be a teacher. He wanted to play school," she said.
The boy even requested that the exams be delivered on the last day of testing so that he wouldn't see it before he took it in March, she said.
The incident was the first of its kind. Because of it, the department plans to require people ordering tests, which measure student achievement and how well schools are educating students, to enter a personal identification code, Harris said.
"We take security breaches very seriously," Harris said.
The boy completed an order form on the Education Department Web site, where he found two codes needed to complete the transaction _ one identifying the school district, the other identifying Bovard Elementary School, where he is in the fifth grade. He listed his home address and the names of his school and teacher, officials said.
He faxed the form to Data Recognition Corp., of Maple Grove, Minn., the company that produces the exams for Pennsylvania several other states, Costello said.
District officials traced the order to the boy when they discovered they received more tests than they had ordered, said Barbara Marin, assistant superintendent for elementary education.
Officials declined to say if the boy faced discipline as a result.
"The child was upset. He meant no harm. The parents were upset with the child," Costello said.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Columbine aftereffects reach local schools
From the BCCT.
Columbine aftereffects reach local schools
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
Security has been transformed in Bucks County schools. But one violence prevention group gives a grade of D+ to a $10 billion effort to improve safety in the nation's schools.
More than 10 years ago, Lou Muenker was watching a group of eighth-graders stroll into a Neshaminy school just like any other morning.
Then an administrator, Muenker noticed one of the students had a cell phone. Since mobiles were rare and prohibited in the mid-1990s, he asked the boy why he needed it.
In case my mom needs to reach me for an emergency, the young man said. Muenker light-heartedly teased back that the school already had that covered with a phone in the office.
If only life were still that simple, said Muenker, the district's acting superintendent.
"Now, I can't argue," he said. "[Having a phone] could be very valuable [in a crisis] and we have to be conscious of that."
In the aftermath of Columbine, school officials have been forced to take a step back from their assumed sense of security. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into their Colorado high school with guns 10 years ago today, killing 13 and wounding 24, their massacre altered authorities' skewed views of safety across the country.
Administrators began implementing tougher procedures such as locked doors and surveillance cameras. They've instituted security personnel and crisis drills.
And since authorities originally thought Harris and Klebold were taking revenge on popular teens for being bullied, officials also got involved in anti-bullying plans.
Not enough
After $10 billion has been spent on security nationwide, one nonprofit says it's still not enough.
A report card on school violence and prevention by Community Matters gives America's efforts a D-plus. Even though zero-tolerance laws have been passed in more than 28 states, with at least 19 also having anti-bullying legislation, kids are bullying at younger ages and using electronics to do so, the study said.
Between 1999 and 2007, the percentage of students who didn't go to school because of safety concerns increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2000 to 2005, there was a 50 percent increase in the percentage of youth who were victims of online harassment.
What's lacking, according to the foundation, is funding and an emphasis on emotional, social and behavioral skills.
Many Bucks County school officials, though, disagreed with the grade and said they are doing everything they can to protect children.
For districts like Morrisville, Quakertown and Bensalem and schools, including Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township and Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem, that has meant increasing awareness, cooperation and prevention through emergency plans, training, safety committees, and mentoring and anti-bullying programs, administrators said.
Bensalem staff also must wear ID badges, and people have one entry point only to each building, said Superintendent James Lombardo.
In Neshaminy, where officials continue to offer peer mediation, Internet safety forums and a sanctuary room for immediate intervention, visitors must be buzzed into facilities, Muenker said.
Monitoring visitors
It's a policy similar to Bristol Township's, where greeters have been hired to watch the doors and grant or deny access to the district's nine elementary schools, and monitor guests' visits, said Jim White, operations, safety, environmental and training coordinator.
Their visitors' passes also change color if people stay more than an hour. Though it's rare, greeters could spot the color changing IDs and make sure guests are where they're supposed to be and not just hanging around for no reason.
"Security has changed drastically," said White. "Years ago, when we talked about safety, we meant falling on the playground, not keeping intruders and weapons out. It was assumed and that's sad."
White said he also never dreamed that Bristol Township would own metal detectors, even if they're mostly used on suspicion and not a regular basis.
"What's dramatic and profound is that the effect of Columbine has been for every asset of education," said White. "It's almost become a part of the curriculum and as important as reading, writing and arithmetic."
But security experts say there's still always so much more schools can do - like install mass notification systems and locators into laptops.
That's what Tony Ciambrello, a senior technician for THREE sigma LLC recommends. The Morrisville-based company distributes security products, including fire alarm systems and motion detectors, to mainly higher educational institutions like Delaware Valley College.
"The concern has increased, but I'd say a D-plus is just about right for how well schools are doing," said Ciambrello. "I realize there's money involved and they're limited without alarming parents too much, but they could do more."
A basic system could start at a few thousand dollars. That would increase by several hundred with each location included and speakers for a wireless broadcast system that could transmit pre-recorded messages in emergencies, specifically on college campuses, Ciambrello said.
However, studies show that schools are still the safest place for kids, said Lombardo.
Investigators now know that the Columbine boys weren't bullied and seeking retaliation. But they also know that Klebold was suicidal and Harris had psychological problems.
It is that understanding that convinces schools like Neshaminy and Pennsbury to maintain participation in events like Challenge Day to increase tolerance and understanding, officials said.
"It's difficult to suggest that kids at all times are safe from people who want to do them harm," said Muenker. "I'm not sure what prevents it in the long run. We can only minimize by anticipating. There are no guarantees. We've just got to wake up every day, and hope that they'll be safe by the end of it."
"Years ago, when we talked about safety, we meant falling on the playground, not keeping intruders and weapons out." - Jim White, safety coordinator for Bristol Township schools
Columbine aftereffects reach local schools
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
Security has been transformed in Bucks County schools. But one violence prevention group gives a grade of D+ to a $10 billion effort to improve safety in the nation's schools.
More than 10 years ago, Lou Muenker was watching a group of eighth-graders stroll into a Neshaminy school just like any other morning.
Then an administrator, Muenker noticed one of the students had a cell phone. Since mobiles were rare and prohibited in the mid-1990s, he asked the boy why he needed it.
In case my mom needs to reach me for an emergency, the young man said. Muenker light-heartedly teased back that the school already had that covered with a phone in the office.
If only life were still that simple, said Muenker, the district's acting superintendent.
"Now, I can't argue," he said. "[Having a phone] could be very valuable [in a crisis] and we have to be conscious of that."
In the aftermath of Columbine, school officials have been forced to take a step back from their assumed sense of security. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into their Colorado high school with guns 10 years ago today, killing 13 and wounding 24, their massacre altered authorities' skewed views of safety across the country.
Administrators began implementing tougher procedures such as locked doors and surveillance cameras. They've instituted security personnel and crisis drills.
And since authorities originally thought Harris and Klebold were taking revenge on popular teens for being bullied, officials also got involved in anti-bullying plans.
Not enough
After $10 billion has been spent on security nationwide, one nonprofit says it's still not enough.
A report card on school violence and prevention by Community Matters gives America's efforts a D-plus. Even though zero-tolerance laws have been passed in more than 28 states, with at least 19 also having anti-bullying legislation, kids are bullying at younger ages and using electronics to do so, the study said.
Between 1999 and 2007, the percentage of students who didn't go to school because of safety concerns increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2000 to 2005, there was a 50 percent increase in the percentage of youth who were victims of online harassment.
What's lacking, according to the foundation, is funding and an emphasis on emotional, social and behavioral skills.
Many Bucks County school officials, though, disagreed with the grade and said they are doing everything they can to protect children.
For districts like Morrisville, Quakertown and Bensalem and schools, including Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township and Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem, that has meant increasing awareness, cooperation and prevention through emergency plans, training, safety committees, and mentoring and anti-bullying programs, administrators said.
Bensalem staff also must wear ID badges, and people have one entry point only to each building, said Superintendent James Lombardo.
In Neshaminy, where officials continue to offer peer mediation, Internet safety forums and a sanctuary room for immediate intervention, visitors must be buzzed into facilities, Muenker said.
Monitoring visitors
It's a policy similar to Bristol Township's, where greeters have been hired to watch the doors and grant or deny access to the district's nine elementary schools, and monitor guests' visits, said Jim White, operations, safety, environmental and training coordinator.
Their visitors' passes also change color if people stay more than an hour. Though it's rare, greeters could spot the color changing IDs and make sure guests are where they're supposed to be and not just hanging around for no reason.
"Security has changed drastically," said White. "Years ago, when we talked about safety, we meant falling on the playground, not keeping intruders and weapons out. It was assumed and that's sad."
White said he also never dreamed that Bristol Township would own metal detectors, even if they're mostly used on suspicion and not a regular basis.
"What's dramatic and profound is that the effect of Columbine has been for every asset of education," said White. "It's almost become a part of the curriculum and as important as reading, writing and arithmetic."
But security experts say there's still always so much more schools can do - like install mass notification systems and locators into laptops.
That's what Tony Ciambrello, a senior technician for THREE sigma LLC recommends. The Morrisville-based company distributes security products, including fire alarm systems and motion detectors, to mainly higher educational institutions like Delaware Valley College.
"The concern has increased, but I'd say a D-plus is just about right for how well schools are doing," said Ciambrello. "I realize there's money involved and they're limited without alarming parents too much, but they could do more."
A basic system could start at a few thousand dollars. That would increase by several hundred with each location included and speakers for a wireless broadcast system that could transmit pre-recorded messages in emergencies, specifically on college campuses, Ciambrello said.
However, studies show that schools are still the safest place for kids, said Lombardo.
Investigators now know that the Columbine boys weren't bullied and seeking retaliation. But they also know that Klebold was suicidal and Harris had psychological problems.
It is that understanding that convinces schools like Neshaminy and Pennsbury to maintain participation in events like Challenge Day to increase tolerance and understanding, officials said.
"It's difficult to suggest that kids at all times are safe from people who want to do them harm," said Muenker. "I'm not sure what prevents it in the long run. We can only minimize by anticipating. There are no guarantees. We've just got to wake up every day, and hope that they'll be safe by the end of it."
"Years ago, when we talked about safety, we meant falling on the playground, not keeping intruders and weapons out." - Jim White, safety coordinator for Bristol Township schools
Ten years after Columbine, school security stepped up
From the Inquirer.
10 years after Columbine, school security stepped up
By Kristen A. Graham and Bonnie L. Cook, Posted on Sun, Apr. 19, 2009
Some schools have banned backpacks. Others have locked doors, installed cameras, bought metal detectors, and started disaster drills.
Ten years ago tomorrow, two teenagers killed 13 people and wounded 23 others inside Columbine High School in suburban Littleton, Colo., a massacre that forever altered the nation's school-security landscape.
"We used to just worry about drugs and alcohol, but now we're all overwhelmed by this fear that our children aren't safe in schools," said Al Hall, director of security for the Hatboro-Horsham School District.
While some national experts say schools are no safer now than they were a decade ago, educators from around the region point to new efforts to keep students out of harm's way. Among other things, they're training staffers, attending safety conferences, putting cameras on buses, and setting up emergency-notification systems.
Like many regional districts, Hatboro-Horsham has never had tragedy, but it has opted for a proactive approach - just in case. Hall's position is new, and the district also stresses security in small and large ways.
Visitors must now surrender IDs when they enter schools. Emergency plans are updated frequently. Students drill for specific events - a suspicious package found, an intruder inside the building. There's a hotline to report worrisome activity, and reminders for school staff to keep an eye out for troubled students.
"We're constantly monitoring. What are our students drawing in art class? Are they drawing a stick person with a knife stuck in, or are they drawing flowers in a field?" Hall said.
Last week, dozens of school staffers from around Montgomery County gathered in a King of Prussia conference room to hear security expert Kenneth Trump talk about the post-Columbine security landscape and answer questions about lockdown drills, safety fixes on a tight budget, and cyberbullying.
"Some people are dealing with communities that still have the philosophy 'It can't happen here,' " Trump told the educators. "There are glaring gaps, and lots of work remaining."
Just after Columbine, school safety was the hot topic, with awareness at an all-time high and money readily available.
Then came 9/11, and the nation's focus shifted to terrorism, Trump said.
These days, school security is a mixed bag, he said.
Some schools fall short, mostly at keeping safety plans updated and well-practiced, and at investing in training.
It's easy to slip on the basics - failing to enforce a universal ID policy, allowing visitors to enter a building without signing in, leaving a door unlocked by mistake.
Steven Beck, school-safety coordinator with the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, sees that firsthand.
"At times, I still have to go out and convince school personnel that this is important, that there isn't a guarantee it won't happen in your particular location," Beck said.
But in general, Beck said, school shootings and narrow misses elsewhere have served as wake-up calls.
Locally, in 2006, a multi-student plot was averted in Winslow, and a Springfield Township student killed himself at school with an AK-47.
In 2007, a plot by a home-schooled student to kill people at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School was thwarted, and last year, a student's plan to kill individuals he did not like at Pottstown High also was averted.
Now, there's much better communication among schools and police and fire departments, Beck said.
Students are kept aware of the importance of a safe school environment and warned of tough stances on bullying.
In Radnor, Leo Bernabei, the school district's director of operations, has seen a sea change in the 30 years he's been around.
Gone is the custodian with the overflowing key ring to secure buildings; now, codes are digital. Professional security consultants are hired.
"As a parent, I would say hi to the secretary and walk right to my child's classroom," Bernabei said. "Not anymore. You have to have a background check to go deep in the building."
In Cherry Hill, staff are reminded to be on the lookout for mental-health issues, and students are schooled in stopping bullying before it starts, said Michael Nuzzo, director of security for the district.
New to the district this year is an emergency parent-notification system - should a school be locked down or evacuated, for instance, parents would get the message automatically.
"A lot of school districts are moving in that direction," Nuzzo said. "The mind-set has changed. We know a tragedy can happen any time, any place."
Urban districts have their own set of safety challenges - violence in school communities, huge buildings with dozens of doors - but Columbine still jarred Philadelphia into beefing up security measures.
"And every year, the anniversary of the event is a poignant reminder for us to focus on school safety," said James Golden, who heads that department for the Philadelphia School District.
Before Columbine, the district had metal detectors in some schools.
Afterward, it went to universal metal detection in high schools. With cameras, locked doors, and IDs, it has adopted the same strategies most suburban schools are using, Golden said.
Golden also said the district had sent more than 1,000 administrators and staff to federal emergency-preparedness training.
"They go through training as if they're first responders," he said.
In Washington Township, where voters endorsed a tax hike in 2004 for upgrades to school safety, including cameras for buses and high school hallways, Superintendent Cheryl Simone said safety was "foremost."
"Securing the building, securing the kids, is your number-one job," Simone said. "You have to do that before you can attend to your primary mission, educating kids."
School shootings during the last 10 years also have "upped the ante for the severity of discipline."
Now, zero-tolerance policies mean that a penknife on a key chain or a pair of scissors in a kindergartner's backpack equal an automatic suspension.
"It's a very different perspective," Simone said. "We do take these things seriously, at all grade levels."
Jim White, who handles security for Bristol Township schools, has seen "drastic changes" since Columbine.
From ID badges and surveillance cameras to a portable metal detector and more regular locker checks, it's a new world order, White said, with staff required to be on alert about safety.
"Teachers, the custodial staff, are constantly looking for something out of place," White said. "The guidance counselors are trying to get students to say, 'Hey, this person is a threat.' "
Children are different, too, White said - no longer innocent about the danger that's out there.
And though there was some initial parent pushback on stepped-up security measures, White said, that has faded.
"People appreciate your trying to protect their kids," he said.
10 years after Columbine, school security stepped up
By Kristen A. Graham and Bonnie L. Cook, Posted on Sun, Apr. 19, 2009
Some schools have banned backpacks. Others have locked doors, installed cameras, bought metal detectors, and started disaster drills.
Ten years ago tomorrow, two teenagers killed 13 people and wounded 23 others inside Columbine High School in suburban Littleton, Colo., a massacre that forever altered the nation's school-security landscape.
"We used to just worry about drugs and alcohol, but now we're all overwhelmed by this fear that our children aren't safe in schools," said Al Hall, director of security for the Hatboro-Horsham School District.
While some national experts say schools are no safer now than they were a decade ago, educators from around the region point to new efforts to keep students out of harm's way. Among other things, they're training staffers, attending safety conferences, putting cameras on buses, and setting up emergency-notification systems.
Like many regional districts, Hatboro-Horsham has never had tragedy, but it has opted for a proactive approach - just in case. Hall's position is new, and the district also stresses security in small and large ways.
Visitors must now surrender IDs when they enter schools. Emergency plans are updated frequently. Students drill for specific events - a suspicious package found, an intruder inside the building. There's a hotline to report worrisome activity, and reminders for school staff to keep an eye out for troubled students.
"We're constantly monitoring. What are our students drawing in art class? Are they drawing a stick person with a knife stuck in, or are they drawing flowers in a field?" Hall said.
Last week, dozens of school staffers from around Montgomery County gathered in a King of Prussia conference room to hear security expert Kenneth Trump talk about the post-Columbine security landscape and answer questions about lockdown drills, safety fixes on a tight budget, and cyberbullying.
"Some people are dealing with communities that still have the philosophy 'It can't happen here,' " Trump told the educators. "There are glaring gaps, and lots of work remaining."
Just after Columbine, school safety was the hot topic, with awareness at an all-time high and money readily available.
Then came 9/11, and the nation's focus shifted to terrorism, Trump said.
These days, school security is a mixed bag, he said.
Some schools fall short, mostly at keeping safety plans updated and well-practiced, and at investing in training.
It's easy to slip on the basics - failing to enforce a universal ID policy, allowing visitors to enter a building without signing in, leaving a door unlocked by mistake.
Steven Beck, school-safety coordinator with the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, sees that firsthand.
"At times, I still have to go out and convince school personnel that this is important, that there isn't a guarantee it won't happen in your particular location," Beck said.
But in general, Beck said, school shootings and narrow misses elsewhere have served as wake-up calls.
Locally, in 2006, a multi-student plot was averted in Winslow, and a Springfield Township student killed himself at school with an AK-47.
In 2007, a plot by a home-schooled student to kill people at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School was thwarted, and last year, a student's plan to kill individuals he did not like at Pottstown High also was averted.
Now, there's much better communication among schools and police and fire departments, Beck said.
Students are kept aware of the importance of a safe school environment and warned of tough stances on bullying.
In Radnor, Leo Bernabei, the school district's director of operations, has seen a sea change in the 30 years he's been around.
Gone is the custodian with the overflowing key ring to secure buildings; now, codes are digital. Professional security consultants are hired.
"As a parent, I would say hi to the secretary and walk right to my child's classroom," Bernabei said. "Not anymore. You have to have a background check to go deep in the building."
In Cherry Hill, staff are reminded to be on the lookout for mental-health issues, and students are schooled in stopping bullying before it starts, said Michael Nuzzo, director of security for the district.
New to the district this year is an emergency parent-notification system - should a school be locked down or evacuated, for instance, parents would get the message automatically.
"A lot of school districts are moving in that direction," Nuzzo said. "The mind-set has changed. We know a tragedy can happen any time, any place."
Urban districts have their own set of safety challenges - violence in school communities, huge buildings with dozens of doors - but Columbine still jarred Philadelphia into beefing up security measures.
"And every year, the anniversary of the event is a poignant reminder for us to focus on school safety," said James Golden, who heads that department for the Philadelphia School District.
Before Columbine, the district had metal detectors in some schools.
Afterward, it went to universal metal detection in high schools. With cameras, locked doors, and IDs, it has adopted the same strategies most suburban schools are using, Golden said.
Golden also said the district had sent more than 1,000 administrators and staff to federal emergency-preparedness training.
"They go through training as if they're first responders," he said.
In Washington Township, where voters endorsed a tax hike in 2004 for upgrades to school safety, including cameras for buses and high school hallways, Superintendent Cheryl Simone said safety was "foremost."
"Securing the building, securing the kids, is your number-one job," Simone said. "You have to do that before you can attend to your primary mission, educating kids."
School shootings during the last 10 years also have "upped the ante for the severity of discipline."
Now, zero-tolerance policies mean that a penknife on a key chain or a pair of scissors in a kindergartner's backpack equal an automatic suspension.
"It's a very different perspective," Simone said. "We do take these things seriously, at all grade levels."
Jim White, who handles security for Bristol Township schools, has seen "drastic changes" since Columbine.
From ID badges and surveillance cameras to a portable metal detector and more regular locker checks, it's a new world order, White said, with staff required to be on alert about safety.
"Teachers, the custodial staff, are constantly looking for something out of place," White said. "The guidance counselors are trying to get students to say, 'Hey, this person is a threat.' "
Children are different, too, White said - no longer innocent about the danger that's out there.
And though there was some initial parent pushback on stepped-up security measures, White said, that has faded.
"People appreciate your trying to protect their kids," he said.
Board to vote on allowing members to phone it in
From the BCCT.
Board to vote on allowing members to phone it in
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
Other districts, including Council Rock, have allowed board members to participate in meetings via phone.
When it comes to a policy letting board members remotely participate in meetings, Neshaminy officials hung up and are trying again.
After debating the rule's language last month, the school board expects to vote on it during the April 28 meeting.
The process would let no more than one director per meeting call into a public board meeting and vote via phone. And each board member would be able to make such a request only once a year through the board president or superintendent, according to the policy.
Board member William O'Connor requested the guideline so he wouldn't have to miss too many board meetings for unexpected business trips. O'Connor wanted the rule to allow two directors per meeting to vote by phone twice a year.
The policy gives the board the ability to increase those numbers in the future, administrators said.
Board member Richard Eccles expressed concerns that board members would miss too many meetings. But district solicitor Thomas J. Profy III said it wouldn't count as an absence if a board member participated via phone.
Profy also said the board member participating remotely cannot be used to reach a quorum. At least five other board members must be present to hold the meeting, said Profy.
Board member William Spitz said he favors remote participation, which he believes could be monitored and adjusted to avoid abuse.
The concept already is used in some districts, including Council Rock, where a board member recently participated by phone for more than one meeting after having surgery, officials said.
And Neshaminy allowed board member Joseph Blasch to attend an executive session by phone, Blasch said.
Representatives of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association said 35 school districts across the state have adopted similar protocols.
After not allowing a councilman who was on military duty overseas to vote from his post, the Tullytown council later agreed to let members on active military duty vote by phone early last year.
But Neshaminy board member Frank Koziol argued the policy isn't necessary. By his calculations, only five votes out of more than 200 in the past few years failed due to a director's absence.
Board President Ritchie Webb said he could see why the policy might be beneficial, but he'll be voting against the policy, too, because voting over the phone doesn't allow directors to look residents in the eyes.
Board to vote on allowing members to phone it in
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
Other districts, including Council Rock, have allowed board members to participate in meetings via phone.
When it comes to a policy letting board members remotely participate in meetings, Neshaminy officials hung up and are trying again.
After debating the rule's language last month, the school board expects to vote on it during the April 28 meeting.
The process would let no more than one director per meeting call into a public board meeting and vote via phone. And each board member would be able to make such a request only once a year through the board president or superintendent, according to the policy.
Board member William O'Connor requested the guideline so he wouldn't have to miss too many board meetings for unexpected business trips. O'Connor wanted the rule to allow two directors per meeting to vote by phone twice a year.
The policy gives the board the ability to increase those numbers in the future, administrators said.
Board member Richard Eccles expressed concerns that board members would miss too many meetings. But district solicitor Thomas J. Profy III said it wouldn't count as an absence if a board member participated via phone.
Profy also said the board member participating remotely cannot be used to reach a quorum. At least five other board members must be present to hold the meeting, said Profy.
Board member William Spitz said he favors remote participation, which he believes could be monitored and adjusted to avoid abuse.
The concept already is used in some districts, including Council Rock, where a board member recently participated by phone for more than one meeting after having surgery, officials said.
And Neshaminy allowed board member Joseph Blasch to attend an executive session by phone, Blasch said.
Representatives of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association said 35 school districts across the state have adopted similar protocols.
After not allowing a councilman who was on military duty overseas to vote from his post, the Tullytown council later agreed to let members on active military duty vote by phone early last year.
But Neshaminy board member Frank Koziol argued the policy isn't necessary. By his calculations, only five votes out of more than 200 in the past few years failed due to a director's absence.
Board President Ritchie Webb said he could see why the policy might be beneficial, but he'll be voting against the policy, too, because voting over the phone doesn't allow directors to look residents in the eyes.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Council Meeting Reminder
Morrisville Council: Monday, April 20, 2009
7:30 p.m., borough hall, 35 Union St.
Agenda: regular business items. 215-295-8181
7:30 p.m., borough hall, 35 Union St.
Agenda: regular business items. 215-295-8181
U.S. Supreme Court to hear school strip-search case
From the Austin (TX) Statesman via the Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court to hear school strip-search case
By David G. Savage
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sunday, April 19, 2009
SAFFORD, Ariz. — When Savana Redding, now 19, talks of what happened to her in eighth grade, it is clear that the painful memories linger.
She speaks of being embarrassed and fearful, and of staying away from school for two months. And she recalls the "whispers" and "stares" from others in this small eastern Arizona mining town after she was strip-searched in the nurse's office because a vice principal suspected she might be hiding an extra-strength ibuprofen in her underwear.
The Supreme Court will hear her case Tuesday. Its decision, the first to address the issue of strip-searches in schools, will set legal limits, if any, on the authority of school officials to search for drugs or weapons on campus.
If limits on searches are imposed, the school district warns, its ability to keep all drugs out of its schools would be reduced. In this case, said district lawyer Matthew Wright, the vice principal was concerned because one student had gotten seriously ill from taking unidentified pills.
"That was the driving force for him. If nothing had been done, and this happened to another kid, parents would have been outraged," Wright said.
Only once in the past has the high court ruled on a school search case. In 1980 a New Jersey girl was caught smoking in the bathroom, and her principal searched her purse for cigarettes.
The justices upheld that search because the principal had a specific reason for looking in her purse. But they did not say how far officials could go, and how much of a student's privacy could be sacrificed, to maintain safety at school. That's the issue in Safford Unified School District v. Redding.
Judges have been split over whether Redding's rights were violated. A federal magistrate in Tucson, Ariz., upheld the search because the vice principal was relying on a student's tip. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
Last year, however, the full 9th Circuit Court took up the case and ruled 6-5 for Redding. Last fall, the school district appealed to the high court, saying it "finds itself on the front lines of the decades-long war against drug abuse among students."
Also on the docket
This week, the Supreme Court will consider the reverse-discrimination claim of Matthew Marcarelli and a group of white firefighters from the New Haven, Conn., department. They all passed a promotion exam, but the city threw out the test because no blacks would have been promoted, saying the exam had a "disparate impact" on minorities likely to violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Mary Frances Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania and head of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during the Clinton administration, said the firefighters' case has broad implications.
"This is about whether we are going to see a sea change in how the judiciary looks at the need for these (protections), and how the popular culture and electoral politics influence their perceptions," Berry said.
Besides the firefighters' lawsuit, the Supreme Court will soon hear a case seeking to overturn a Voting Rights Act requirement that all or parts of 16 states, including Texas, with a history of discrimination must get approval from the Justice Department before changing election procedures.
Supreme Court to hear school strip-search case
By David G. Savage
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sunday, April 19, 2009
SAFFORD, Ariz. — When Savana Redding, now 19, talks of what happened to her in eighth grade, it is clear that the painful memories linger.
She speaks of being embarrassed and fearful, and of staying away from school for two months. And she recalls the "whispers" and "stares" from others in this small eastern Arizona mining town after she was strip-searched in the nurse's office because a vice principal suspected she might be hiding an extra-strength ibuprofen in her underwear.
The Supreme Court will hear her case Tuesday. Its decision, the first to address the issue of strip-searches in schools, will set legal limits, if any, on the authority of school officials to search for drugs or weapons on campus.
If limits on searches are imposed, the school district warns, its ability to keep all drugs out of its schools would be reduced. In this case, said district lawyer Matthew Wright, the vice principal was concerned because one student had gotten seriously ill from taking unidentified pills.
"That was the driving force for him. If nothing had been done, and this happened to another kid, parents would have been outraged," Wright said.
Only once in the past has the high court ruled on a school search case. In 1980 a New Jersey girl was caught smoking in the bathroom, and her principal searched her purse for cigarettes.
The justices upheld that search because the principal had a specific reason for looking in her purse. But they did not say how far officials could go, and how much of a student's privacy could be sacrificed, to maintain safety at school. That's the issue in Safford Unified School District v. Redding.
Judges have been split over whether Redding's rights were violated. A federal magistrate in Tucson, Ariz., upheld the search because the vice principal was relying on a student's tip. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
Last year, however, the full 9th Circuit Court took up the case and ruled 6-5 for Redding. Last fall, the school district appealed to the high court, saying it "finds itself on the front lines of the decades-long war against drug abuse among students."
Also on the docket
This week, the Supreme Court will consider the reverse-discrimination claim of Matthew Marcarelli and a group of white firefighters from the New Haven, Conn., department. They all passed a promotion exam, but the city threw out the test because no blacks would have been promoted, saying the exam had a "disparate impact" on minorities likely to violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Mary Frances Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania and head of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during the Clinton administration, said the firefighters' case has broad implications.
"This is about whether we are going to see a sea change in how the judiciary looks at the need for these (protections), and how the popular culture and electoral politics influence their perceptions," Berry said.
Besides the firefighters' lawsuit, the Supreme Court will soon hear a case seeking to overturn a Voting Rights Act requirement that all or parts of 16 states, including Texas, with a history of discrimination must get approval from the Justice Department before changing election procedures.
Tea and taxes
From the Inquirer.
Editorial: Tea and taxes Posted on Sun, Apr. 19, 2009
Tax protesters who held "tea parties" in Philadelphia and other cities are both right and wrong.
They're right that the national debt is out of control. But they're wrong about taxpayers now bearing an especially heavy burden.
The demonstrations ignited partisan disagreements about motives, but they also raised a point that's beyond dispute: The federal government must get serious about balancing its books, soon.
Despite bailouts and massive government spending to combat the recession, overall tax burdens today are not as high as in previous years. That's because the federal government, instead of paying its way, habitually takes the easy way out by borrowing too much.
Still, the average taxpayer this year will pay 28.2 percent of his or her income in federal, state, and local taxes, according to the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in Washington. That's the lowest overall tax burden since 1967. The high was 33.6 percent in 2000.
Middle-income households in 2006 paid an average of 14.2 percent of their income in federal taxes, the lowest level since 1979, according to the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
Tax Freedom Day, billed as the day each year when Americans have worked enough to pay off all of their taxes, was April 13. That's two weeks earlier than 2007, and the earliest date since 1967.
That doesn't mean taxes are low everywhere. Certain states and cities have chronically high taxes. New Jersey ranks second behind Connecticut in overall tax burden (Pennsylvania is 11th). Philadelphia, with its wage and business privilege taxes, is one of the highest-taxing cities in the nation.
Overall tax rates are lower than in the past, but what's high is the government's credit-card balance. Federal spending has soared in the past decade, and tax revenue hasn't kept pace.
If taxes funded all of Washington's spending this year, Tax Freedom Day wouldn't arrive until May 29, which would be the latest ever.
When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, the national debt stood at $5.7 trillion. Bush cut taxes but boosted spending dramatically. When he left office, the national debt had risen to more than $10 trillion, with nary a tea party in sight. For most of that time, Republicans controlled Congress.
With Democrats now in charge of Congress and the White House, the deficit in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 will hit $1.85 trillion. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office calculates that President Obama's budget would add $9.2 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, a level that can't be sustained.
Overall tax rates are lower now than in previous years, but deficits are a looming tax bill that must be paid eventually. Faced with that, arguing whether tea-party protesters have partisan motives is like playing the violin badly while Rome burns.
Spending to fight the recession and create jobs was necessary. And anti-tax protesters don't talk enough about what spending they'd like to cut. The Pentagon's half-trillion-dollar budget? Government pensions or Medicare's prescription-drug program?
The deficit problem didn't begin with the economic-stimulus plan. Nor will it be solved without public pressure, including tea parties.
Editorial: Tea and taxes Posted on Sun, Apr. 19, 2009
Tax protesters who held "tea parties" in Philadelphia and other cities are both right and wrong.
They're right that the national debt is out of control. But they're wrong about taxpayers now bearing an especially heavy burden.
The demonstrations ignited partisan disagreements about motives, but they also raised a point that's beyond dispute: The federal government must get serious about balancing its books, soon.
Despite bailouts and massive government spending to combat the recession, overall tax burdens today are not as high as in previous years. That's because the federal government, instead of paying its way, habitually takes the easy way out by borrowing too much.
Still, the average taxpayer this year will pay 28.2 percent of his or her income in federal, state, and local taxes, according to the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in Washington. That's the lowest overall tax burden since 1967. The high was 33.6 percent in 2000.
Middle-income households in 2006 paid an average of 14.2 percent of their income in federal taxes, the lowest level since 1979, according to the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
Tax Freedom Day, billed as the day each year when Americans have worked enough to pay off all of their taxes, was April 13. That's two weeks earlier than 2007, and the earliest date since 1967.
That doesn't mean taxes are low everywhere. Certain states and cities have chronically high taxes. New Jersey ranks second behind Connecticut in overall tax burden (Pennsylvania is 11th). Philadelphia, with its wage and business privilege taxes, is one of the highest-taxing cities in the nation.
Overall tax rates are lower than in the past, but what's high is the government's credit-card balance. Federal spending has soared in the past decade, and tax revenue hasn't kept pace.
If taxes funded all of Washington's spending this year, Tax Freedom Day wouldn't arrive until May 29, which would be the latest ever.
When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, the national debt stood at $5.7 trillion. Bush cut taxes but boosted spending dramatically. When he left office, the national debt had risen to more than $10 trillion, with nary a tea party in sight. For most of that time, Republicans controlled Congress.
With Democrats now in charge of Congress and the White House, the deficit in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 will hit $1.85 trillion. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office calculates that President Obama's budget would add $9.2 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, a level that can't be sustained.
Overall tax rates are lower now than in previous years, but deficits are a looming tax bill that must be paid eventually. Faced with that, arguing whether tea-party protesters have partisan motives is like playing the violin badly while Rome burns.
Spending to fight the recession and create jobs was necessary. And anti-tax protesters don't talk enough about what spending they'd like to cut. The Pentagon's half-trillion-dollar budget? Government pensions or Medicare's prescription-drug program?
The deficit problem didn't begin with the economic-stimulus plan. Nor will it be solved without public pressure, including tea parties.
A National Education Standard?
From TIME.com
How to Raise the Standard in America's Schools
By Walter Isaacson Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009
National standards have long been the third rail of education politics. The right chokes on the word national, with its implication that the feds will trample on the states' traditional authority over public schools. And the left chokes on the word standards, with the intimations of assessments and testing that accompany it. The result is a K-12 education system in the U.S. that is burdened by an incoherent jumble of state and local curriculum standards, assessment tools, tests, texts and teaching materials. Even worse, many states have bumbled into a race to the bottom as they define their local standards downward in order to pretend to satisfy federal demands by showing that their students are proficient.
It's time to take another look. Without national standards for what our students should learn, it will be hard for the U.S. to succeed in the 21st century economy. Today's wacky patchwork makes it difficult to assess which methods work best or how to hold teachers and schools accountable. Fortunately, there are glimmers of hope that the politics surrounding national standards has become a little less contentious. A growing coalition of reformers — from civil rights activist Al Sharpton to Georgia Republican governor Sonny Perdue — believe that some form of common standards is necessary to achieve a wide array of other education reforms, including merit pay for good teachers and the expansion of the role of public charter schools. (See pictures of inside a public boarding school.)
The idea of "common schools" that adopt the same curriculum and standards isn't new. It first arose in the 1840s, largely owing to the influence of the reformer Horace Mann. But the U.S. Constitution leaves public education to the states, and the states devolve much of the authority to local school districts, of which there are now more than 13,000 in the U.S. The Federal Government provides less than 9% of the funding for K-12 schools. That is why it has proved impossible thus far to create common curriculum standards nationwide. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush summoned the nation's governors to Charlottesville, Va., to attempt a standards-based approach to school reform. The result was only a vague endorsement of "voluntary national standards," which never gained much traction. In 1994, President Bill Clinton got federal money for standards-based reform, but the effort remained in the hands of the states, leading to a wildly varying hodgepodge of expectations for — as well as ideological battles over — math and English curriculums.
The No Child Left Behind Act pushed by President George W. Bush unintentionally exacerbated the problem. It required each state to ensure that its students achieve "universal proficiency" in reading and math — but allowed each to define what that meant. The result was that many states made their job easier by setting their bar lower. This race to the bottom resulted in a Lake Wobegon world where every state declared that its kids were better than average. Take the amazing case of Mississippi. According to the standards it set for itself, 89% of its fourth-graders were proficient or better in reading, making them the best in the nation. Yet according to the random sampling done every few years by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test, a mere 18% of the state's fourth-graders were proficient, making them the worst in the nation. Even in Lake Wobegon that doesn't happen. Only in America. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, led by reformer Chester Finn Jr., has been analyzing state standards for more than a decade and concludes, "Two-thirds of U.S. children attend schools in states with mediocre standards or worse."
See the rest at TIME.com
How to Raise the Standard in America's Schools
By Walter Isaacson Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009
National standards have long been the third rail of education politics. The right chokes on the word national, with its implication that the feds will trample on the states' traditional authority over public schools. And the left chokes on the word standards, with the intimations of assessments and testing that accompany it. The result is a K-12 education system in the U.S. that is burdened by an incoherent jumble of state and local curriculum standards, assessment tools, tests, texts and teaching materials. Even worse, many states have bumbled into a race to the bottom as they define their local standards downward in order to pretend to satisfy federal demands by showing that their students are proficient.
It's time to take another look. Without national standards for what our students should learn, it will be hard for the U.S. to succeed in the 21st century economy. Today's wacky patchwork makes it difficult to assess which methods work best or how to hold teachers and schools accountable. Fortunately, there are glimmers of hope that the politics surrounding national standards has become a little less contentious. A growing coalition of reformers — from civil rights activist Al Sharpton to Georgia Republican governor Sonny Perdue — believe that some form of common standards is necessary to achieve a wide array of other education reforms, including merit pay for good teachers and the expansion of the role of public charter schools. (See pictures of inside a public boarding school.)
The idea of "common schools" that adopt the same curriculum and standards isn't new. It first arose in the 1840s, largely owing to the influence of the reformer Horace Mann. But the U.S. Constitution leaves public education to the states, and the states devolve much of the authority to local school districts, of which there are now more than 13,000 in the U.S. The Federal Government provides less than 9% of the funding for K-12 schools. That is why it has proved impossible thus far to create common curriculum standards nationwide. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush summoned the nation's governors to Charlottesville, Va., to attempt a standards-based approach to school reform. The result was only a vague endorsement of "voluntary national standards," which never gained much traction. In 1994, President Bill Clinton got federal money for standards-based reform, but the effort remained in the hands of the states, leading to a wildly varying hodgepodge of expectations for — as well as ideological battles over — math and English curriculums.
The No Child Left Behind Act pushed by President George W. Bush unintentionally exacerbated the problem. It required each state to ensure that its students achieve "universal proficiency" in reading and math — but allowed each to define what that meant. The result was that many states made their job easier by setting their bar lower. This race to the bottom resulted in a Lake Wobegon world where every state declared that its kids were better than average. Take the amazing case of Mississippi. According to the standards it set for itself, 89% of its fourth-graders were proficient or better in reading, making them the best in the nation. Yet according to the random sampling done every few years by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test, a mere 18% of the state's fourth-graders were proficient, making them the worst in the nation. Even in Lake Wobegon that doesn't happen. Only in America. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, led by reformer Chester Finn Jr., has been analyzing state standards for more than a decade and concludes, "Two-thirds of U.S. children attend schools in states with mediocre standards or worse."
See the rest at TIME.com
Saturday, April 18, 2009
I'm Looking for a Few Good Men (Women Too)
This is not Texas and they're called school directors here. It looks like the job requirements are the same.
One quoted quality really stepped out and saluted: "School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district)"
Ask yourself: What values do the people I voted for in 2007 represent?
Ask yourself again: What do I want in 2009?
What does it take to be an Effective School Board Trustee?
Posted on April 16, 2009 at 8:59 pm
By PHYLLIS SNODGRASS
President, San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce
It’s that time again – the time when candidates run for school board trustee for the San Marcos CISD. Why should the Chamber of Commerce care? Because school board trustees put into motion actions which ultimately lead to the success or failure of our schools. They are the governing body that the Superintendent of Schools reports to. If education is truly the number one economic development tool of our community– then school board trustees are absolutely critical to the future success of our community.
The quality and equity of education is a priority concern of educators, parents, business and community leaders and public officials in San Marcos. To ensure high quality education, the citizens of San Marcos must identify and elect Board Trustees who are qualified to meet the many difficult challenges facing the district. In an effort to identify and define the attributes that a school Board Trustee needs to meet these challenges, more than sixty leaders from 30 community organizations and many businesses came together in 1993, then again in 2007, to develop an Attribute Profile of an Effective School Board Trustee. Based on national best practices, regional experience, and the expertise of these leaders, this Attribute Profile was created.
The following organizations participated in the collaborative development of and/or endorsed this profile:
• Austin Area Research Organization (AARO)
• Austin Area Urban League
• Austin Council of PTA’s
• Austin Independent School District
• Austin Interfaith
• Austin Partners in Education
• Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce
• Capital Metro
• City of Austin Mayor’s Office
• Community Action Network
• E3 Alliance
• Executive Women International
• Greater Austin Chamber
• Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Junior League
• Leadership Austin
• League of Women Voters in Austin
• Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)
• Ready By 21 Coalition
• Southwest Key
• Texas Business & Education Coalition (TBEC)
• The Austin Project
• The University of Texas at Austin
• United Way – Capital Area
• Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas
• Community, Civic and Business Leaders
• Other regional school district representatives
This representative and very knowledgeable group has created a brochure to help communities in Central Texas choose the very best possible school board trustees. The brochure details the qualities highlighted by this broad range of community partners as the most important attributes of a successful school board trustee.
An Effective School Board Trustee Should:
• Be a visionary, goal-directed, and willing to take risks. Be willing to set and have experience setting policy priorities.
• Have proven and appropriate organizational, fiscal and leadership skills suitable for the size and complexity of the school district.
• Demonstrate commitment to equity and access to quality education and world-class standards of achievement for all students.
• Demonstrate the ability to build consensus and to achieve collaborative outcomes.
• Value diversity and equity as criteria for decision-making.
• Be willing to set an example and establish accountability at all levels for achievement of all students, by understanding how to identify relevant data and use it appropriately.
• Practice good and efficient governance, understanding the role of policy-maker versus administrator.
• Represent the population served by our district and be a strong advocate for public education.
• Understand the need for alignment from early childhood through college and career success and across education providers to create a continuum of success for students.
• Exhibit personal qualities that embody a positive role model for our children and our community.
School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district) nor should they be used merely as a stepping stone for future public office. Our schools deserve quality candidates that possess the above attributes and are willing to bring their knowledge and skills to the table to benefit the students of San Marcos CISD. There is a huge time commitment involved in serving as a school board trustee and each and every one of us should be thankful to our current trustees for the dedicated service that they provide to our community. A full list of questions that should be asked of every candidate for school board trustee can be found on the chamber’s website at www.sanmarcostexas.com. Our students deserve the best, and it is up to us to support the candidates that will best meet the needs of those students.
One quoted quality really stepped out and saluted: "School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district)"
Ask yourself: What values do the people I voted for in 2007 represent?
Ask yourself again: What do I want in 2009?
What does it take to be an Effective School Board Trustee?
Posted on April 16, 2009 at 8:59 pm
By PHYLLIS SNODGRASS
President, San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce
It’s that time again – the time when candidates run for school board trustee for the San Marcos CISD. Why should the Chamber of Commerce care? Because school board trustees put into motion actions which ultimately lead to the success or failure of our schools. They are the governing body that the Superintendent of Schools reports to. If education is truly the number one economic development tool of our community– then school board trustees are absolutely critical to the future success of our community.
The quality and equity of education is a priority concern of educators, parents, business and community leaders and public officials in San Marcos. To ensure high quality education, the citizens of San Marcos must identify and elect Board Trustees who are qualified to meet the many difficult challenges facing the district. In an effort to identify and define the attributes that a school Board Trustee needs to meet these challenges, more than sixty leaders from 30 community organizations and many businesses came together in 1993, then again in 2007, to develop an Attribute Profile of an Effective School Board Trustee. Based on national best practices, regional experience, and the expertise of these leaders, this Attribute Profile was created.
The following organizations participated in the collaborative development of and/or endorsed this profile:
• Austin Area Research Organization (AARO)
• Austin Area Urban League
• Austin Council of PTA’s
• Austin Independent School District
• Austin Interfaith
• Austin Partners in Education
• Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce
• Capital Metro
• City of Austin Mayor’s Office
• Community Action Network
• E3 Alliance
• Executive Women International
• Greater Austin Chamber
• Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Junior League
• Leadership Austin
• League of Women Voters in Austin
• Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)
• Ready By 21 Coalition
• Southwest Key
• Texas Business & Education Coalition (TBEC)
• The Austin Project
• The University of Texas at Austin
• United Way – Capital Area
• Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas
• Community, Civic and Business Leaders
• Other regional school district representatives
This representative and very knowledgeable group has created a brochure to help communities in Central Texas choose the very best possible school board trustees. The brochure details the qualities highlighted by this broad range of community partners as the most important attributes of a successful school board trustee.
An Effective School Board Trustee Should:
• Be a visionary, goal-directed, and willing to take risks. Be willing to set and have experience setting policy priorities.
• Have proven and appropriate organizational, fiscal and leadership skills suitable for the size and complexity of the school district.
• Demonstrate commitment to equity and access to quality education and world-class standards of achievement for all students.
• Demonstrate the ability to build consensus and to achieve collaborative outcomes.
• Value diversity and equity as criteria for decision-making.
• Be willing to set an example and establish accountability at all levels for achievement of all students, by understanding how to identify relevant data and use it appropriately.
• Practice good and efficient governance, understanding the role of policy-maker versus administrator.
• Represent the population served by our district and be a strong advocate for public education.
• Understand the need for alignment from early childhood through college and career success and across education providers to create a continuum of success for students.
• Exhibit personal qualities that embody a positive role model for our children and our community.
School board elections are not the place to resolve personal grievances against the schools (or district) nor should they be used merely as a stepping stone for future public office. Our schools deserve quality candidates that possess the above attributes and are willing to bring their knowledge and skills to the table to benefit the students of San Marcos CISD. There is a huge time commitment involved in serving as a school board trustee and each and every one of us should be thankful to our current trustees for the dedicated service that they provide to our community. A full list of questions that should be asked of every candidate for school board trustee can be found on the chamber’s website at www.sanmarcostexas.com. Our students deserve the best, and it is up to us to support the candidates that will best meet the needs of those students.
Community Craftsmen Award
From the BCCT.
Congratulations to the teachers and students who give of their time and talent. Good show!
Morrisville students show off toy-making talents
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School students have been recognized for volunteering their time and toy-making talents to benefit kids in the community.
The school recently achieved runner-up status in the national Minwax Community Craftsman Award, which rewards groups or individuals who are "doing good with wood" for other people.
Fourteen Morrisville students enrolled in woodworking made 48 toys, ranging from wooden Flintstone cars to Tic-Tac-Toe boards and two large alphabet trains. They gave the trains to displaced M.R. Reiter Elementary School Pre-K and kindergarten children to use during the school day. All the toys started as wood grown in Morrisville that was sawed by a Morrisville graduate, said technology education teacher Kevin Jones.
Some of the toy ideas come from woodworking books and the Internet, while others are unique student creations, said Jones.
This is the fourth year the students have worked on an annual toy drive in conjunction with Ivin's House, a community service organization that distributes the toys to needy children each year.
As an award, the school's technology education department will receive $1,500 worth of Minwax products. The top prize is a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products and a consultation with leading finishing expert Bruce Johnson.
Congratulations to the teachers and students who give of their time and talent. Good show!
Morrisville students show off toy-making talents
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School students have been recognized for volunteering their time and toy-making talents to benefit kids in the community.
The school recently achieved runner-up status in the national Minwax Community Craftsman Award, which rewards groups or individuals who are "doing good with wood" for other people.
Fourteen Morrisville students enrolled in woodworking made 48 toys, ranging from wooden Flintstone cars to Tic-Tac-Toe boards and two large alphabet trains. They gave the trains to displaced M.R. Reiter Elementary School Pre-K and kindergarten children to use during the school day. All the toys started as wood grown in Morrisville that was sawed by a Morrisville graduate, said technology education teacher Kevin Jones.
Some of the toy ideas come from woodworking books and the Internet, while others are unique student creations, said Jones.
This is the fourth year the students have worked on an annual toy drive in conjunction with Ivin's House, a community service organization that distributes the toys to needy children each year.
As an award, the school's technology education department will receive $1,500 worth of Minwax products. The top prize is a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products and a consultation with leading finishing expert Bruce Johnson.
Neshaminy Budget: Good News and Bad News
From the BCCT.
Board facing tough budget decisions
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Burlington County Times
Good news! Neshaminy’s budget should fall within the Act 1 tax spending limit. The bad news: Everybody won’t like something about it. That’s what business administrator Joseph Paradise told the Neshaminy school board this week about the district’s previously projected $167 million spending plan. To meet the tax law’s allowable 4.1 percent increase, which equals 6 mills or $4.6 million in Neshaminy, officials said they need to shrink a $14 million deficit to $4.5 million.
It’s unclear who, or what, will suffer the most. But administrators said the cuts will involve program changes and elimination and service reductions from the cabinet to the custodians, including teachers.
“We’re not sure how we’re going to do that yet,” said Paradise. “It’s still a work in progress. Every part of the district will be affected. But there’s no other way to do it. There’s no magic bullet.”
Revenues, including property and business taxes, are down almost $3 million to about $153 million, Paradise reported last month. Since officials don’t want to use any more of the dwindling $1.2 million savings account, taxpayers would see an average $500 increase to help fill that gap, administrators said.
For that reason, some homeowners, many senior citizens, have been petitioning the board for a zero percent budget/tax increase.
To ease the burden, board members and administrators have discussed sharing elementary art, music and gym teachers, advertising at sporting events, reducing the pre-first program, going paperless, increasing class size, charging community groups to use facilities, eliminating lead teachers, decreasing bus routes and charging for extra-curricular activities.
Neshaminy qualifies, though, for about $3.3 million in exceptions, including for special education. So, that could bump the district’s allowable total increase to 7 percent, or 10.32 mills. But the board members previously voted to try their best not to use those.
Paradise is expected to present the updated budget to the board during its April 28 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., in Maple Point Middle School’s board room.
Board facing tough budget decisions
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Burlington County Times
Good news! Neshaminy’s budget should fall within the Act 1 tax spending limit. The bad news: Everybody won’t like something about it. That’s what business administrator Joseph Paradise told the Neshaminy school board this week about the district’s previously projected $167 million spending plan. To meet the tax law’s allowable 4.1 percent increase, which equals 6 mills or $4.6 million in Neshaminy, officials said they need to shrink a $14 million deficit to $4.5 million.
It’s unclear who, or what, will suffer the most. But administrators said the cuts will involve program changes and elimination and service reductions from the cabinet to the custodians, including teachers.
“We’re not sure how we’re going to do that yet,” said Paradise. “It’s still a work in progress. Every part of the district will be affected. But there’s no other way to do it. There’s no magic bullet.”
Revenues, including property and business taxes, are down almost $3 million to about $153 million, Paradise reported last month. Since officials don’t want to use any more of the dwindling $1.2 million savings account, taxpayers would see an average $500 increase to help fill that gap, administrators said.
For that reason, some homeowners, many senior citizens, have been petitioning the board for a zero percent budget/tax increase.
To ease the burden, board members and administrators have discussed sharing elementary art, music and gym teachers, advertising at sporting events, reducing the pre-first program, going paperless, increasing class size, charging community groups to use facilities, eliminating lead teachers, decreasing bus routes and charging for extra-curricular activities.
Neshaminy qualifies, though, for about $3.3 million in exceptions, including for special education. So, that could bump the district’s allowable total increase to 7 percent, or 10.32 mills. But the board members previously voted to try their best not to use those.
Paradise is expected to present the updated budget to the board during its April 28 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., in Maple Point Middle School’s board room.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Baseball in the Schools
From the BCCT.
Seems like Morrisville is in the bottom the ninth with two out, bases empty, the bottom of the order coming up, and three back to back grand slams needed to tie.
Architect says new school project is in ‘great shape’
The district has used about half of the contingency funds it set aside to cover unforeseen costs.
By JOAN HELLYER
The Bristol School District is “in the top of the ninth inning” with the construction of its new $33 million-plus school, the project’s chief architect said Thursday night.
Most of the work should be completed by June, added Angelo Rago, the district’s project representative, during the school board meeting.
The building at 450 Beaver St. will open in September and will serve approximately 1,100 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade.
School board members asked the chief architect, Michael Minton, to address rumors that the project was way over budget. It’s not, the Vitetta architect said. The district has used only about half of the contingency funds it had set aside to cover unforeseen costs in the project, Minton said.
That amounts to about 2.5 percent of the project’s entire cost.
The contingency funds, as well as capital reserve funds are being used to cover costs relating to a soil remediation delay in 2007, change orders and contractor claims, officials said.
Seems like Morrisville is in the bottom the ninth with two out, bases empty, the bottom of the order coming up, and three back to back grand slams needed to tie.
Architect says new school project is in ‘great shape’
The district has used about half of the contingency funds it set aside to cover unforeseen costs.
By JOAN HELLYER
The Bristol School District is “in the top of the ninth inning” with the construction of its new $33 million-plus school, the project’s chief architect said Thursday night.
Most of the work should be completed by June, added Angelo Rago, the district’s project representative, during the school board meeting.
The building at 450 Beaver St. will open in September and will serve approximately 1,100 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade.
School board members asked the chief architect, Michael Minton, to address rumors that the project was way over budget. It’s not, the Vitetta architect said. The district has used only about half of the contingency funds it had set aside to cover unforeseen costs in the project, Minton said.
That amounts to about 2.5 percent of the project’s entire cost.
The contingency funds, as well as capital reserve funds are being used to cover costs relating to a soil remediation delay in 2007, change orders and contractor claims, officials said.
Mayoral Candidate Question
This was posted as a comment to the post and was prepared by one of our more perspicacious observers. It deserves open and serious consideration from all of us.
Peter has left a new comment on your post "Mayoral Candidate Speaks":
Mr. Thomson,
Let me start by saying thank you for reaching out to our little community of blogheads. I am hoping we can engage in some discussion and better understand your candidacy.
I'll be frank, your association with the QSRE makes me skeptical. I realize this may be unfair as we've never met (AFAIK) and I know nothing about you other than your name is attached to the QSRE and Stop The School crowd. In my experience, people can generally be judged by the company they keep, and in my opinion the QSRE/STS crowd is what this town does not need; they (or at least the most vocal among them) stand for stagnation, status quo, anti-progress.
That said, I am interested in knowing how you would improve Morrisville's position in the world. How did you feel about the Gateway project? How would you handle the legal wrangling of the proposed burlesque club? Smoke shops? In your mind, what are the top 3 things that are wrong with MV and how do we fix them? (notice the inclusion -- this is task for us all) What are the top 3 things that are RIGHT? And how do we capitalize on them? Have you read the 10 year improvement plan that was done last year? Please give us your thoughts on that.
If the other candidates are out there reading, I'd love to hear your responses too.
I suspect most of this blog readership will be voting in May and November. I know I certainly will.
Peter has left a new comment on your post "Mayoral Candidate Speaks":
Mr. Thomson,
Let me start by saying thank you for reaching out to our little community of blogheads. I am hoping we can engage in some discussion and better understand your candidacy.
I'll be frank, your association with the QSRE makes me skeptical. I realize this may be unfair as we've never met (AFAIK) and I know nothing about you other than your name is attached to the QSRE and Stop The School crowd. In my experience, people can generally be judged by the company they keep, and in my opinion the QSRE/STS crowd is what this town does not need; they (or at least the most vocal among them) stand for stagnation, status quo, anti-progress.
That said, I am interested in knowing how you would improve Morrisville's position in the world. How did you feel about the Gateway project? How would you handle the legal wrangling of the proposed burlesque club? Smoke shops? In your mind, what are the top 3 things that are wrong with MV and how do we fix them? (notice the inclusion -- this is task for us all) What are the top 3 things that are RIGHT? And how do we capitalize on them? Have you read the 10 year improvement plan that was done last year? Please give us your thoughts on that.
If the other candidates are out there reading, I'd love to hear your responses too.
I suspect most of this blog readership will be voting in May and November. I know I certainly will.
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