SCHOOL BOARD MONTHLY BUSINESS MEETING - Wed. Oct. 26
These meetings usually start at 7:30 pm, not 7:00 pm. The opposite of kudos to whoever's handling the website calendar this month. It's kind of important to get this stuff right.
ok morrisville angry yet? you have a chance to show it for real. I hear you have a board meeting tomorrow night in your borough. you gonna show up/ you angry? www.angryyet.net you only have so much time to save your school get busy and do something about it, get angrier
Please comfort me by reassuring me that every town all over America has a school board like so-called Stay on Course that ignores and treats people like dirt who chose to live here, establish roots here, raise families here, have their children attend public schools here, are involved in their childrens’ education, sports, and other extracurricular activities here, and don’t just remain silent when they disagree with decisions that effect the education of their children as well as every other child’s education, which has a big impact on the health and vitality of ... here.
Maybe not every town, but what happens in Morrisville is repeated all over PA and the country. Just read the courier Times to see the problems being faced in the surrounding districts. I do think Morrisville faces a few challenges that are unique to small districts, especially those located in areas where industry has abandoned a once thriving area, and there has not been sufficient commercial backfill to offset the losses in tax revenue. This places the burden of retaining the schools and services squarely on the backs of residents. Rather than look for a means to successfully adapt and evolve, it seems that Morrisville has stubbornly clung to outmoded ways of thinking and acting in the modern economy, and as a result, we've been left behind. Any time anyone comes along and tries to break the mold, you've seen the way in which these people are labeled, harassed, vilified, tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. What happens then? The same cockroaches crawl back out of the woodwork, and it's Deja-Vu all over again.
I hear Hellmann BS'd more for the cameras and Buckman spun yarns about the Tech School. Pretty standard really. Must have been after I had to leave around 8:30 pm. Hellmann had only bloviated a little by the time I left, and I don't think Buckman said much at all.
Stay on Course support is inversely proportional to how closely you follow what's really going on.
To the algebra eliminators, that means the further removed and unaware you are, the better they look; the more involved and aware you are, the worse they look.
I commend Mr. Ferrara for speaking out against the school vouchers bill that passed the PA Senate yesterday. I told him this in my public comments. He rightfully pointed out the unfair bias in the bill against public schools and in favor of private and charter schools.
Some interesting tidbits that I observed last night:
1. Paul DeAngelo's Business Mgr. contract approved at the Sept. 28 mtg. was a 3-year deal at $110,000/yr. The amount and duration weren't listed in the printed materials from the 9/28 mtg. Damon Miller asked about it last night. Previously, Mr. DeAngelo had been on 1-year deals.
2. Bill Hellmann and Al Radosti will play "living room chat" with a public speaker at the podium if they haven't already deemed you and out-group enemy and it's a topic they enjoy. The "useless fence" at Grandview this Kindergarten parent discussed? No, Bill & Al don't want to talk about that so much. Re-registration and weeding out kids that might be coming in from NJ (Trenton, anyone?) - hey let's chat like we're in our living rooms. First time I've ever seen that happen over the last 4 years.
Money is tight Mr. Hellman. We get that. Everybody gets that. You don't have a monopoly on getting that. Do you get that? But and this is a BIG BUT ----
THE ENDS DON'T JUSTIFY THE MEANS, SIR!!!!! The ends don't justify the means.
It is still very unclear who was mailed the recent District newsletter. Many School District parents didn't get it. Many non School District parents and residents did. Homeowners seemed more likely to to get it. Few if any renters got it even if they have kids in the schools.
Mr Ferrara said ads in the District newsletter were available to anyone who wants to help with the costs of the mailing. I wonder who the District asked besides Profy (Solicitor)'s Law Firm and the printing company?
I added libbed a little, but below are my prepared comments from last night's meeting, you know, for posterity:
Can someone please explain happening with the elementary level Reading Specialist situation? I’m concerned that there have been some changes that aren't for the better. I don't think early education reading assistance is something to take lightly. PSSA scores aren’t the only reason I’m concerned, but elementary level PSSA Reading scores have declined significantly over the last 4 years or so.
I’m proud of the people who come to board meeting after board meeting to speak their minds when they don’t agree with the board’s decisions. A lot of good legitimate comments and issues have been raised over the last 4 years, a lot of them by caring, involved parents and other citizens who love Morrisville and value quality education and are as concerned about taxes as you are. Unfortunately, many of these have been ignored, rejected, or unnecessarily delayed. It’s improved a little bit as of late, but then again, it’s an election year, so I don't know how long it will last.
I don’t need a newsletter, a flier, a blog, or a neighbor to tell me this: over the last 4 years, on a wide range of issues, such as traffic safety, cutting down the donated Grandview basketball court to make a parking lot, exploring Farming-Out the High School Students, Superintendent termination and hiring processes, budget issues, playground equipment for 4th and 5th graders, M.R. Reiter’s explosion and permanent closing, the Manor Park School’s vacancy, Tech School payment and busing issues, sports, education, and staffing decisions, Intermediate Unit representation, general public communications, honesty, transparency, and trust, many other things I can’t cover in 3 minutes, I think the way this board has handled things leaves a lot to be desired. That’s hard to put a price tag on, but I think the cost to the community is tremendously high. Thank you.
Mr. Hellman, The parents really do understand how tight the budget is and that it will probably get worse. However, that certainly does not mean that SIC candidates are the only group in town that can handle the school director positions. As I have learned from my years of experience in the accounting industry everyone is expendible! And, there are plenty of talented people, Yes EVEN IN MORRISVILLE, who can easily replace you and do a better job. That applies to you as well Mr Hellman. At best you have done a mediocore job of keeping down the costs. You and the rest of the board have failed time, and time, and time, and time again to adequately consider and plan for what will happen after your cost cutting measures are implemented. Quality of ecuation and safety need to be considered along with cost savings. More often than not that can be accomplished when you put some effort into planning it all out. I don't know why you continually choose to skimp on that. I can only surmise that you just don't care about that part of the equation, or you really don't understand the big picture. As far as the rest of the SIC school board are concerned they are even easier to replace as they don't have any ideas of their own. They simply follow your lead without question, as you have told them to. They enjoy holding a postion of power while not having to think about anything. One board member has even stated that the hand book requires a school board member to vote with the majority.
I agree. There are plenty of intelligent people in this town who can do a far better job than these SIC folks. Taking all the facts and consequences into consideration and having open exchaning of ideas goes a long way. None of that has been going on for the last 4 years. Its the SIC unplanned, haphazard way, or the Highway. They reign supreme so what they say and only what they say shall pass. Can our school district really sustain 4 more years of this? I think not. Vote the Morrisville Matters newcomers in and give them a chance. They are intelligent, caring, people who are willing to listen and work hard to make this district the best it can be while getting the best bang for your buck. Besides, anything is better than what we have now.
"Mr Ferrara said ads in the District newsletter were available to anyone who wants to help with the costs of the mailing. I wonder who the District asked besides Profy (Solicitor)'s Law Firm and the printing company?"
I'm sure there is a procedure for the way in which this should be offered to the public. Obviously this procedure was not followed because nobody knew about the availability of ad space in the mailer.
I am unable to attend school board meetings at this time. If space was available to all I would like to know how the availability of space was put out to the public. I didn't see this anywhere. (Yes, I know the answer is that it wasn't.)
"The parents really do understand how tight the budget is and that it will probably get worse."
My first thought was that its not that the budget is just tight, its that Hellman has made the budget tight. Its of his own doing. I get tired of hearing that the sky is falling when coming from him when he's the one who made it that way.
I know of the tiniest, sweetest little girl in town who recently had to endore having part of her lunch stolen by a bully. There was only a teacher in the lunchroom with no help, no extra eyes on the children. This wonderful little girl sat without help for the rest of the lunchtime. This is simply unacceptable.
To a master C.P.A. like our School Board President Bob Melman, I mean Bill Hellmann, in terms of economics, this is known as an externality (or transaction spillover).
An externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit. A benefit is called a positive externality or external benefit, while a cost is called a negative externality or external cost.
So, in this particular case of a bullied child with a stolen lunch and no help, the little girl experienced a negative externality. She incurred a “cost” due to our glorious School Board’s cuts in staff and aides, which he deemed “unnecessary expenses” in his “Report from Morrisville School Board President Bill Hellmann, CPA”.
26 comments:
ok morrisville angry yet? you have a chance to show it for real. I hear you have a board meeting tomorrow night in your borough. you gonna show up/ you angry? www.angryyet.net you only have so much time to save your school get busy and do something about it, get angrier
....or you can remain calm and just get out and VOTE for Morrisville Matters.
Tell your friends and neighbors, this is important!!!!
MORRISVILLE MATTERS...
THE "B"EST CHOICE FOR MORRISVILLE
KARTAL 13B
PARKER 15B
MILLER 12B
STONEBURNER 14B
VOTE NOVEMBER 8,2011
Please comfort me by reassuring me that every town all over America has a school board like so-called Stay on Course that ignores and treats people like dirt who chose to live here, establish roots here, raise families here, have their children attend public schools here, are involved in their childrens’ education, sports, and other extracurricular activities here, and don’t just remain silent when they disagree with decisions that effect the education of their children as well as every other child’s education, which has a big impact on the health and vitality of ... here.
Maybe not every town, but what happens in Morrisville is repeated all over PA and the country. Just read the courier Times to see the problems being faced in the surrounding districts. I do think Morrisville faces a few challenges that are unique to small districts, especially those located in areas where industry has abandoned a once thriving area, and there has not been sufficient commercial backfill to offset the losses in tax revenue. This places the burden of retaining the schools and services squarely on the backs of residents. Rather than look for a means to successfully adapt and evolve, it seems that Morrisville has stubbornly clung to outmoded ways of thinking and acting in the modern economy, and as a result, we've been left behind. Any time anyone comes along and tries to break the mold, you've seen the way in which these people are labeled, harassed, vilified, tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. What happens then? The same cockroaches crawl back out of the woodwork, and it's Deja-Vu all over again.
Good post. I feel much better now?
How was the meeting?
The minutes don't tell you much. What really happened?
I hear Hellmann BS'd more for the cameras and Buckman spun yarns about the Tech School. Pretty standard really. Must have been after I had to leave around 8:30 pm. Hellmann had only bloviated a little by the time I left, and I don't think Buckman said much at all.
Stay on Course support is inversely proportional to how closely you follow what's really going on.
To the algebra eliminators, that means the further removed and unaware you are, the better they look; the more involved and aware you are, the worse they look.
I commend Mr. Ferrara for speaking out against the school vouchers bill that passed the PA Senate yesterday. I told him this in my public comments. He rightfully pointed out the unfair bias in the bill against public schools and in favor of private and charter schools.
Some interesting tidbits that I observed last night:
1. Paul DeAngelo's Business Mgr. contract approved at the Sept. 28 mtg. was a 3-year deal at $110,000/yr. The amount and duration weren't listed in the printed materials from the 9/28 mtg. Damon Miller asked about it last night. Previously, Mr. DeAngelo had been on 1-year deals.
2. Bill Hellmann and Al Radosti will play "living room chat" with a public speaker at the podium if they haven't already deemed you and out-group enemy and it's a topic they enjoy. The "useless fence" at Grandview this Kindergarten parent discussed? No, Bill & Al don't want to talk about that so much. Re-registration and weeding out kids that might be coming in from NJ (Trenton, anyone?) - hey let's chat like we're in our living rooms. First time I've ever seen that happen over the last 4 years.
From 10/27/2010 Board Business Meeting minutes:
The Board approved a motion to approve the 2010-2011 salary of $110,323.20 for Mr. Paul DeAngelo, Business Administrator, effective November 18, 2010.
Money is tight Mr. Hellman. We get that. Everybody gets that. You don't have a monopoly on getting that. Do you get that? But and this is a BIG BUT ----
THE ENDS DON'T JUSTIFY THE MEANS, SIR!!!!! The ends don't justify the means.
It is still very unclear who was mailed the recent District newsletter.
Many School District parents didn't get it.
Many non School District parents and residents did.
Homeowners seemed more likely to to get it.
Few if any renters got it even if they have kids in the schools.
Mr Ferrara said ads in the District newsletter were available to anyone who wants to help with the costs of the mailing.
I wonder who the District asked besides Profy (Solicitor)'s Law Firm and the printing company?
Ruthruff wasn't keen on bringing back the Bonfire
No, she wasn't. Jack Buckman didn't seem too keen on it either.
Does Bonfire approval require a School Board vote?
Mihok and Worob were both absent.
Is it just me or are board meetings noticeably less unpleasant when Mihok is ABSENT???
I added libbed a little, but below are my prepared comments from last night's meeting, you know, for posterity:
Can someone please explain happening with the elementary level Reading Specialist situation? I’m concerned that there have been some changes that aren't for the better. I don't think early education reading assistance is something to take lightly. PSSA scores aren’t the only reason I’m concerned, but elementary level PSSA Reading scores have declined significantly over the last 4 years or so.
I’m proud of the people who come to board meeting after board meeting to speak their minds when they don’t agree with the board’s decisions. A lot of good legitimate comments and issues have been raised over the last 4 years, a lot of them by caring, involved parents and other citizens who love Morrisville and value quality education and are as concerned about taxes as you are. Unfortunately, many of these have been ignored, rejected, or unnecessarily delayed. It’s improved a little bit as of late, but then again, it’s an election year, so I don't know how long it will last.
I don’t need a newsletter, a flier, a blog, or a neighbor to tell me this: over the last 4 years, on a wide range of issues, such as traffic safety, cutting down the donated Grandview basketball court to make a parking lot, exploring Farming-Out the High School Students, Superintendent termination and hiring processes, budget issues, playground equipment for 4th and 5th graders, M.R. Reiter’s explosion and permanent closing, the Manor Park School’s vacancy, Tech School payment and busing issues, sports, education, and staffing decisions, Intermediate Unit representation, general public communications, honesty, transparency, and trust, many other things I can’t cover in 3 minutes, I think the way this board has handled things leaves a lot to be desired. That’s hard to put a price tag on, but I think the cost to the community is tremendously high. Thank you.
By the way, it's not just you. I feel the same way that Mihok's presence makes more unpleasance.
Mr. Hellman,
The parents really do understand how tight the budget is and that it will probably get worse. However, that certainly does not mean that SIC candidates are the only group in town that can handle the school director positions.
As I have learned from my years of experience in the accounting industry everyone is expendible! And, there are plenty of talented people, Yes EVEN IN MORRISVILLE, who can easily replace you and do a better job. That applies to you as well Mr Hellman. At best you have done a mediocore job of keeping down the costs. You and the rest of the board have failed time, and time, and time, and time again to adequately consider and plan for what will happen after your cost cutting measures are implemented. Quality of ecuation and safety need to be considered along with cost savings. More often than not that can be accomplished when you put some effort into planning it all out. I don't know why you continually choose to skimp on that. I can only surmise that you just don't care about that part of the equation, or you really don't understand the big picture.
As far as the rest of the SIC school board are concerned they are even easier to replace as they don't have any ideas of their own. They simply follow your lead without question, as you have told them to. They enjoy holding a postion of power while not having to think about anything. One board member has even stated that the hand book requires a school board member to vote with the majority.
Great post! But please, call Mr. Melman "Bob". He can't seem to get other peoples' names right.
I agree. There are plenty of intelligent people in this town who can do a far better job than these SIC folks. Taking all the facts and consequences into consideration and having open exchaning of ideas goes a long way. None of that has been going on for the last 4 years. Its the SIC unplanned, haphazard way, or the Highway. They reign supreme so what they say and only what they say shall pass. Can our school district really sustain 4 more years of this? I think not. Vote the Morrisville Matters newcomers in and give them a chance. They are intelligent, caring, people who are willing to listen and work hard to make this district the best it can be while getting the best bang for your buck. Besides, anything is better than what we have now.
"Mr Ferrara said ads in the District newsletter were available to anyone who wants to help with the costs of the mailing.
I wonder who the District asked besides Profy (Solicitor)'s Law Firm and the printing company?"
I'm sure there is a procedure for the way in which this should be offered to the public. Obviously this procedure was not followed because nobody knew about the availability of ad space in the mailer.
I am unable to attend school board meetings at this time. If space was available to all I would like to know how the availability of space was put out to the public. I didn't see this anywhere. (Yes, I know the answer is that it wasn't.)
"The parents really do understand how tight the budget is and that it will probably get worse."
My first thought was that its not that the budget is just tight, its that Hellman has made the budget tight. Its of his own doing. I get tired of hearing that the sky is falling when coming from him when he's the one who made it that way.
I know of the tiniest, sweetest little girl in town who recently had to endore having part of her lunch stolen by a bully. There was only a teacher in the lunchroom with no help, no extra eyes on the children. This wonderful little girl sat without help for the rest of the lunchtime. This is simply unacceptable.
That's heartbreakingly unacceptable.
To a master C.P.A. like our School Board President Bob Melman, I mean Bill Hellmann, in terms of economics, this is known as an externality (or transaction spillover).
An externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit. A benefit is called a positive externality or external benefit, while a cost is called a negative externality or external cost.
So, in this particular case of a bullied child with a stolen lunch and no help, the little girl experienced a negative externality. She incurred a “cost” due to our glorious School Board’s cuts in staff and aides, which he deemed “unnecessary expenses” in his “Report from Morrisville School Board President Bill Hellmann, CPA”.
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