MORRISVILLE SCHOOLSNo school tax hike in Morrisville
Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2012 4:41 pm | Updated: 8:53 pm, Thu Jun 28, 2012.
Posted on June 28, 2012
Morrisville property owners will write their school tax checks for the same amount for the fifth year in a row.
The school board approved a 2012-13 $18 million spending plan with no tax increase, at Wednesday’s meeting.
The owner of a property assessed at the district’s average of $20,820 will again pay $3,691 in taxes.
Next year’s budget is slightly higher than the 2011-12 budget of $17.22 million, but grants will cover the additional amount, officials said. But the millage will remain the same, at 177.3. One mill is equal to $1 in taxation for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
In order to balance the budget, the board decided to use $718,869 from the fund balance, or savings.
The school administration has managed to keep taxes stable "not by cutting back, but through attrition and efficiencies," business manager Paul DeAngelo said.
For example, high school principal Donald Harm also will take on the duties of an educational adviser with the administration. The board approved that move Wednesday also.
Under his new title, Harm can handle most administrative duties except for heading special education and finances, Superintendent Bill Ferrara said Thursday morning. Harm will be able to help Ferrara with his human resources responsibilities, as well. Harm’s salary will be $65,000, plus $3,200 in benefits.
“We’re making (Harm’s) position more encompassing to allow (Harm) to address a whole lot of more things.… He’s going to have a lot of different responsibilities too,” Ferrara said.
Similarly, social studies teacher Jim Gober, who is certified as a secondary principal, will join the administration for at least the next school year. The board voted to give him a $5,000 stipend for the job, a move that helps the administration but at a low cost. With his certification, he’s allowed to handle observations and evaluations.
Two years ago, the district got rid of the dean of students position, an $85,000 job.
"We replaced an $85,000 position with a $5,000 increase," said Ferrara, adding that Gober earns $97,000 as a teacher.
The administration’s savings are part of a five-year plan.
One of the other moves in the plan was offering an early retirement incentive plan to employees, an important initiative because of the projected increases in Public School Employees’ Retirement System rates, DeAngelo said.
Since the 2008-09 school year, 22 teachers have taken early retirement and nine of them have been replaced with lower-paid teachers.
The district also returned $23 million of a $30 million bond that had been issued for construction of a new school, DeAngelo said. But the school was never built because of a change in school board membership.
“The defeasance of the $30 million bond reduced our debt service,” he said, adding that the district kept $7 million. “Unpopular at the time, but we are all grateful because the taxpayers would be paying much more had the $30 million been spent.”
18 comments:
It was expected to have SOC buy this garbage, but the MM are now feeling it? I think REM made a couple bucks off a song that just might fit here...
Losing My Religion? Thank GOD!
I don't think MM is buying the smoke blowing garbage. I'm not naming names but some non MM's aren't buying it either.
watch the videos I think you will see MMs are asking more questions and demanding answers than ever and not just voting blankly like prior board and current/old members. its great watching the meeting now and seeing progress thank you MMs for not letting them get things over on you if you can help it
Budget passed. Too late. Nothing else matters...don't want to offend the constituents. Stay in office, children be damned.
Indeed.
Guess who's real real keen on putting all his trust in the Admin and the Super, curtailing questions and deliberation, and hurrying up and voting, when he's not nodding off or ranting and raving and acting like a baby?
Steve Worob.
"Budget passed. Too late. Nothing else matters...don't want to offend the constituents. Stay in office, children be damned."
Unfair characterization. 4 of 9 is 44%, not a majority. Dealing with Admin & Super hired by former regime with residual loyalties. Agreed MM needs to keep pushing back, but the critical need is more seats on the board. Please don't throw in the towel, consider helping the cause instead. Nothing's perfect, nobody's perfect, change is hard, let's move forward together.
“The defeasance of the $30 million bond reduced our debt service,” he [DeAngelo] said, adding that the district kept $7 million. “Unpopular at the time, but we are all grateful because the taxpayers would be paying much more had the $30 million been spent.”
Bulls#!* It was unpopular because Hellmann did it without the other board members or the public knowing about it. Why is DeAngelo covering up for Hellmann?
You are exactly right.
Who hired him? Don't answer. I already know.
What DeAngelo needs to know, if he doesn't already, is that the people who hired him are the people who ushered in crucial votes for the new school. They are also the people that for 30 years did DIDDLY SQUAT to address the buildings and infrastructure while it deteriorated. Never a plan, besides do DIDDLY SQUAT and pin hopes on a merger with Pennsbury. Well, that and massively amped up crusades against corruption that resulted in bad books and big personal losses in slander lawsuits, and a whole lot of political nonsense. Well, that and blowing money illegally locking out workers, churning through Supertintendents, deferring maintenance, etc., while allowing academics to deteriorate.
Maybe, just maybe, if any of these recalcitrant retreads ever had a decent plan to do something over the last 30 years, instead of embarking on self-promotional attention seeking, tax fervor crusades, and political dirty tricks, maybe the new school idea never ever ever would have surfaced in the first place and been given a huge push by people they helped elect.
Yeah, because getting rid of the new school idea has really helped here. If the short-sighted individuals in this town had an ounce of foresight, perhaps they'd see the value in investing in the future. Instead we still have dilapidated buildings, propped up by over-priced renovations that did little to improve anything, and guess what? we now have grades 3-12 in one building that was never designed to accommodate them. We have a bunch of debt, and less to show for it. The SB that voted for the new school tried to make a difference and break the cycle, but NOOOO!! they're evil. Excuse me, but I think your hypocrisy is showing!!!
Amen! I could have easily gotten behind renovations, good solid well done renovations.
But no, it never got anywhere, always got squashed, trumped by smears, insinuations, pointless vendettas, political shenanigans and tomfoolery, lies, lies, and more lies. It had to be THEIR idea, THEIR way.
I truly believe they would have continued to do NOTHING to this day if someone (who THEY made and THEY built up in the first place) hadn't come along and upset their rotten apple cart.
Until the elected officials in this town and the voters that elect them learn the difference between "investment" and "spending" we are doomed to a downward cycle of failure.
Exactly!
Case in point:
In an October 9, 2003 (yes, 2003) newspaper article about the Morrisville School Board evaluating options (new, renovate, etc.), Steve Worob was quoted as follows:
"But Stephen Worob, a borough councilman who was a member of the school board, said the board had no right to have that conversation since some of its members will be gone after November's elections. He also chided them for using a feasibility study that he called a "sham" used by Superintendent John Gould to trick the board into approving a bond issue.
"I'm concerned that a lame-duck school board is dicsussing this," he said. You should wait until December so that the new board can decide how our dollars are spent".
And the rest is history. The "new board" he and many current Stay on Trackers helped get elected voted for the $30 million new school bond issue. At a post-victory party at HIS HOUSE, he got up on his furniture and proclaimed himself the "King of Morrisville".
How did that work out for Morrisville?
Too bad we don't have that $30 Million school now, huh?
No, not really. Too bad the same people who lecture us about respect didn't have any, or any vision, or much care beyond their own wallets to have maintained the schools all along.
I was not in favor of any plan that included putting the young children in with the older children. Today, my opinion of this has not changed.
Honestly, in reading this, my opinion is that it is a dangerous conversation to talk about the building of a new school in any form. People worked hard during the last election to position themselves into school board seats to help save the community from the likes of Mihok & crew. Work has to continue to be done to fill the remaining seats with people who care about Morrisville and not their ego. I believe filling these seats is made even harder when there is talk about a new building. I know you have your heart in the right place.
Lastly, to Jon...
"embarking on self-promotional attention seeking, tax fervor crusades, and political dirty tricks, maybe the new school idea never ever ever would have surfaced in the first place and been given a huge push by people they helped elect."
&
"But no, it never got anywhere, always got squashed, trumped by smears, insinuations, pointless vendettas, political shenanigans and tomfoolery, lies, lies, and more lies. It had to be THEIR idea, THEIR way."
WOW! You nailed it in both of these. I would love it if more people knew these obstructionists this way, the way they really are.
I know it's very unpopular, and I don't like putting little with big together in a building that was never designed for it, but ...
You know who I have the most faith in in this situation?
The kids.
You know who I have the least faith in?
Mihok, Worob, and their hypocritical, crap slinging, lie and fear-mongering allies, which are dwindling in number with each passing day.
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