Morrisville School Board Talks About Potential Changes to District

MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Morrisville school board talks about potential changes to district

Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 6:32 pm

Morrisville school board talks about potential changes to district
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on January 9, 2013       

by Gema Duarte

There’s one certainty about Morrisville schools: There is no status quo when it comes to the district’s finance and educational operations.That’s what the district’s Education Committee concluded at this week’s meeting, which was attended by two parents who also routinely attend work sessions and agenda meetings each month. Also in the audience were two board members wearing their parent hats.

The closest to status quo the district can remain is keeping the small district intact, school board President Damon Miller said. He sits on the committee with school directors Daniel Dingle and Jack Buckman and Superintendent Bill Ferrara.
But such a scenario is not sustainable, and would come with a false sense of security because each year the administration would have to make adjustments to the educational aspect to balance the budget, officials said.
How much longer can Morrisville schools hold up?
“The question is do we want to survive or thrive?” Ferrara said, adding that thus far the administration hasn’t cut educational programs like other districts have to make ends meet.
The committee has been discussing the future of the district since November. Since then, members have come up with nine options. Each month, they discuss the pros and cons of each. For now, there's no hard deadline as to when changes might happen once the district decides on a route. The options are:

• Status quo;

• Five-period day (currently, the high school runs with six periods);

• Cyber courses;

• Increasing the number of students attending Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township;

• Tuition out high school students;

• Increase dual enrollment with Bucks County Community College;

• Full district merger;

• Split schedule (staggering school entrance times);

• Multi-district cyber courses (a pool of districts offering a variety of cyber classes).

At the December meeting, committee members discussed the possibility of paying tuition to other school districts to educate Morrisville high school students. Under that option, students would be able to choose which public school to attend. Private schools wouldn’t be an option.
The discussion continued at this week’s meeting, and committee member didn't have answers to questions that were raised.
Some of the questions concerned transportation, contracts, diplomas, and property taxes and values.
One of the cons for the tuition option was concern that Morrisville wouldn’t have administrative or school board representation at participating districts, leading to possible problems such as tax increases.
Ferrara said Morrisville would continue to have a school board because the district would keep the elementary and middle school students in the borough.
Another con revolved around busing high school students involved in after-school activities in other districts.
But there are some pros to the option. One is the educational opportunities for the the students. Surrounding districts provide various Advance Placement classes, a perk that Morrisville can’t afford. Another is that sending students to another district could be less expensive because a bigger district has a bigger pool of taxpayers.
There were many "what ifs" also during the meeting.
If the high school closes, would property values in Morrisville decrease? If Pennsbury and/or Council Rock school districts agreed to take Morrisville student what would it do to Morrisville property values? These answers were unknown.
What if a participating district “cherry picks” the students it wants to host based on academics? That wouldn't happen because students would be allowed to choose the schools they want to attend, Ferrara said.
Would each participating school have a cap? No, Ferrara said, adding that most surrounding districts are experiencing low enrollment so most likely there would be room for incoming students each year.
What if there’s a moving boom into Morrisville because high school students can attend Pennsbury or Council Rock school districts and a lot of students decide to go to only one school? That wouldn’t be a problem, he said.
What if a participating district wants out, what happens to students who are in the middle of their high school curriculum? Once a student starts attending a school, that student would graduate from the chosen high school.
What if the high school stays the same? Every year, to make ends meet, the educational programs would change. Staying status quo could lead to a five-day period, the superintendent said.
The only pro to that would be that “we would remain a small district,” Miller said.
The administration is looking into whether to suggest to the board to change to a five-period day at the high school, instead of the current six periods for next school year. The change would reduce staff because students would have fewer elective options.
At the Feb. 12 meeting, the committee will continue the discussion of five-period day and the status quo.
The committee meets at 7 p.m. at Morrisville High School, LGI conference room, 550 West Palmer St. Meetings are not video recorded.