Morrisville goes from Full- to Half-day Kindergarten

Morrisville goes from full- to half-day kindergarten

Posted: Thursday, March 28, 2013 4:23 pm | Updated: 7:58 pm, Thu Mar 28, 2013.

Morrisville goes from full- to half-day kindergartenBy GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on March 28, 2013

 

The upcoming class of Morrisville kindergarteners will be attending school half days.
The Morrisville school board voted 5-2 to move from full-day to half-day sessions, which will help balance the district's budget. Board members Ted Parker and Wanda Kartal voted against half-day kindergarten. School directors Steve Worob and John DeWilde weren’t at this week’s meeting.

Parker said he fears that “some children might fall through the cracks from a shorter day. Those students that might need additional help, that help might not be available to them, especially with their socials skills in today’s society.

"Children aren’t socializing as much as they did in the past and to shorten the day I think would hurt some children with their socialization skills," Parker continued. "As being the IU representative, I’ve learned a great deal about what’s picked up in kindergarten as far as learning disabilities. That’s my fear, that we might miss some of those fundamentals and they’ll go on to first and second grades and might not have been caught as early as it should have.”
Board President Damon Miller said that he voted in favor of the half-day program primarily because of the district’s budget restraints. Even though students will be attending half-day classes, he added, the district is making “sure that their programs are enriched as good as possible whether it’s while they are in class or in programs afterwards that can paid for with grants.”
Since the start of budget season, the school district has been dealing with a projected million-dollar deficit in its $18 million spending plan for the 2013-14 school year. For months, Worob and school board member Jack Buckman have been strong supporters of cutting down on kindergarten from full-day to help balance the budget.
A half day program will cost the district about $215,000, as opposed to $318,821 for a full-day program, according to Paul DeAngelo, the district’s business manager.
Classes will be two hours and 50 minutes shorter, according to officials. The time spent on the core subjects, such as reading, are a priority so when students go on to first and second grades they are up to speed. The limitations will be on specialty subjects such as art and music.

Potluck #75

Great fun and great turnout last night for the Harlem Wizards. 

What else?

Morrisville Working on Making Case to Pennsbury

MORRISVILLE/PENNSBURY SCHOOLS
Morrisville working on making case to Pennsbury

Posted: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 10:37 pm | Updated: 11:30 pm, Wed Mar 20, 2013.

Morrisville working on making case to Pennsbury

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on March 20, 2013

 

Pennsbury school officials are giving the Morrisville School District the opportunity to make its case for a possible merger.Over the next few months, Morrisville officials will be busy working on a document that will list the attributes that the district would bring to the table if a full-on merger with Pennsbury would occur.

The document will be reviewed by the Pennsbury administration, Morrisville school board President Damon Miller said at Wednesday's work session.

This is the furthest the two districts have ever gone in possible merger talks in recent history, he said.
“This is good,” Miller said after the meeting. “It means they haven't closed the door on us.”
Last week, Pennsbury school board President Allan Weisel phoned Miller with the request.
Miller said the document will highlight several key points: Morrisville would contribute more than $9.3 million annually to Pennsbury’s budget based on the borough’s property assessments and the current Pennsbury millage rate; Morrisville's school buildings are in good shape and ready to be moved into if needed, unlike Pennsbury's Pennwood Middle School that needs $20 million in repairs; and Morrisville's achievement of AYP.
Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, was facilitating a meeting between the two districts, according to Weisel, who has said he's not in favor of a merger but agreed to a meeting as a courtesy to the senator. But instead of meeting, Pennsbury will wait for Morrisville to make its argument.
Morrisville is researching the possibility of merging as part of the school board's effort to study several options for the district's future because status quo isn't an option, officials have said.

Morrisville Waits for Pennsbury for Talks

Morrisville waits for Pennsbury for talks

 

Posted: Sunday, March 17, 2013 7:00 pm

Morrisville waits for Pennsbury for talks

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on March 17, 2013       

 

The future of Morrisville schools might be in the hands of the bordering Pennsbury district.And it will stay that way, unless or until Pennsbury says differently.For now, Morrisville has two things to talk about with its neighboring district: the possibility of merging the two districts and/or tuitioning out Morrisville high school students to Pennsbury.
Those options will remain possibilities for the small district's future unless Pennsbury axes them, Morrisville officials said last week.
If the two districts meet, and it could be months from now, the merger option would remain on the table, unless “we hear a definite 'no' from them,” Damon Miller, Morrisville’s school board president, said at last week’s board meeting.
In the meantime, the district will continue studying options for the future, such as providing advanced placement cyber classes, Miller said. Currently the district offers no AP courses due to budgetary constraints.
Morrisville could follow in the footsteps of a national trend in which economically distressed smaller districts are going the cheaper cyber alternative to solve their financial woes.
A merger would dissolve the Morrisville district. To tuition out, Morrisville would close its high school and send the high school students to Pennsbury, but keep the lower grades and still have a school district.
Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, is working as the middle man by calling a meeting between Morrisville and Pennsbury to consider merger possibilities.
"I'm here to facilitate," McIlhinney said, adding that he's not advocating any specific option. "If Morrisville calls me and needs me to set up a meeting, and I can, I will. The same goes for Pennsbury, if they need me to help with a meeting, I will."
As of Friday, a meeting between the two had not been set up, he said. Pennsbury had not gotten back to his office about meeting dates, he said.
By state law, Morrisville can merge with an abutting school district only, the senator said. That would be Pennsbury. However, if Morrisville wants to tuition out the high school students, it can do so to any district, he said.
McIlhinney said that Morrisville's school board is mostly made up of new members, so they are doing their due diligence in researching their options. He also pointed out that Pennsbury's school board is also fairly new, so past talks about such moves did not include current school directors either.
When news of McIhinney's initiative broke recently, Pennsbury school director Simon Campbell called for the rest of the board to vote against meeting with Morrisville. He's against a merger. That vote was taken March 7 and failed 8-1, leaving school board President Allan Weisel free to meet with Morrisville. Weisel has said he agreed to a meeting, as a courtesy to McIlhinney, but he's personally not in favor of a merger.
Miller said he attended Pennsbury’s March 7 agenda meeting and and highlighted two points.
First, if the districts merged, Morrisville would contribute more than $9.3 million annually to Pennsbury's budget based on the borough's property assessments and the current Pennsbury millage rate, he said.
That's about half of Morrisville's current $18 million operating budget.
Pennsbury's operating budget this year is $174.9 million. The Pennsbury school board used about $2.8 million in reserve funds (savings) to balance the budget this year without raising taxes.
Miller argued that if the schools merge, Pennsbury could close Pennwood Middle School, which holds 1,000 kids, forgoing $20 million in repairs, and move all students to Grandview Elementary/Intermediate school building in Morrisville, which holds 1,500 children, has a new heating system and new windows.
“I put it out there, just so that the Pennsbury people understood what we have to at least offer on the surface to begin with, before even any talks happened,” Miller said. “I did mention that we are not in need of being rescued at this point in time…. We are not at the stage where we are sitting here saying, ‘Please take us, we have no place to turn.’ "
"We don’t know what’s going to happen down the road with state funding and cost, and budget wise," he added. "So part of the goal of this committee is to try to find a solution, a path that we feel can take us farther down the road. Merger is one of those options. Obviously that removes the district, but it’s something that we would be offering more to the students of Morrisville. We would be saving taxpayers some money.”
Miller understands that a merger would face resistance, noting that any plan the administration considers wouldn't have 100 percent support from the Morrisville community.
While, Morrisville waits to hear from Pennsbury, the district continues to explore its options.
Because Morrisville doesn’t offer any advance placement classes, Miller told the education committee that cyber classes could fill that void at an economical cost.
One parent at the meeting said she'd rather her child be taught by “real teachers” who can provide students with “life lessons" from their person experiences. "That’s what kids need, a real person right in front of them,” the parent said.
She suggested raising taxes rather than go the cyber class route.
Currently, the blue collar town pays one of the highest tax rates in the state, officials have noted.

Underfunded public pensions: A ticking time bomb

CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Protesters, mainly from local unions, marched around City Hall on Thursday after forcing Mayor Nutter to halt his budget address in City Council chambers.

         

Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer

Posted: Sunday, March 17, 2013, 5:40 AM

Gov. Corbett calls it the "tapeworm" that will devour Pennsylvania's budget. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, created a cartoon figure, "Squeezy the Pension Python," to dramatize it. Mayor Nutter hasn't used a slogan for Philadelphia's problem, but he warned in last week's budget speech it was "consuming more and more" - his words drowned out by union protesters.

By any name, state and city governments across the nation are facing the same fiscal time bomb: unfunded liability for public-worker pensions.
Most leaders recognize the danger, but the politics of pensions are brutal. Politicians have no incentive to impose pain now to fix something that won't become a disaster until years after they have left office.
And trying to cut benefits buys intense opposition.
"It's nothing new: It's human nature," said Robert Strauss, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy, who is an expert on public finance. "Back to pre-democratic times, those in charge have liked to make people happy by giving them things financed by long-term debt."
This dynamic helps explain why even states that have made pension changes, such as Gov. Christie's New Jersey, are still projected to fall far short of the savings they have promised.
States were $1.38 trillion short of having enough to pay their public-employee retirement bills in 2010, the last year for which totals are available for all 50 states, according to the Pew Center on the States. That was up 9 percent over the previous year.
Between 2009 and last year, 44 states enacted changes to their pension systems, such as requiring higher employee contributions, making benefit formulas less generous and raising the retirement age, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eighteen, including New Jersey, reduced or eliminated cost-of-living allowances in pensions.
The problem's roots go deep. For years, experts say, many states increased benefits to buy labor peace and skipped making required contributions to pension funds when times got tight, hoping that the performance of those funds' investments would make up the difference.

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Corbett says the two Pennsylvania public pension plans, for state workers and school employees, are underfunded to the tune of $41 billion. The Republican governor is pushing to cut benefit levels for future retirees - not current ones, as he often points out - but has not released a specific plan. Nonetheless, the legislature has not appeared enthusiastic to act, and the public-employee unions are mobilizing.
They note that workers have contributed to the solution, in the form of future cuts in pension benefits, and say the state must stop skimping on its payments into the funds.
"The employees never skipped a payment," said Ted Kirsch, president of AFT Pennsylvania, one of two major teachers' unions in the state.
The need to find a way to fund the growing cost of all those pensions is real, pollster Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College warned - "the state is sitting on this volcano."
And yet, he said, the volcano goes unnoticed by the villagers. Pension reform has not emerged as an explosive issue that moves voters, though that could change as the "tapeworm" keeps eating into the state budget, and retiree costs begin pushing out other discretionary spending in earnest.
"If you're an average voter, and not a state employee or teacher, this is not something you're lying awake worrying about at night," Madonna said. "It's not a top-of-mind issue. You're not pounding on your legislator to fix it."
Corbett's situation is complicated by his weak political standing, as shown in two independent polls released last week that found a third or fewer Pennsylvania voters approved of the way the governor is handling his job. He has taken damage from a series of setbacks - state Attorney General Kathleen Kane's rejection of his plan to privatize management of the state lottery; lingering criticism, stoked by Democrat Kane, of his handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse investigation at Penn State; the continuing legal fight over the voter ID law he championed; and lukewarm legislative support for his ambitious plan to get the state out of the liquor business, a cause that has confounded several of his predecessors.
Taking on pension costs is "going to be very controversial along with everything else he's thrown out for the legislature to consider," said Nate Benefield, director of policy analysis at the conservative Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg. "The House leadership wants to get liquor privatization done first, and some senators want more money for transportation," he said. "A lot of it is, 'We're going to drag our feet until we can get what we want.' "
Plus, "It's easier to push off the cost into the future if you can," Benefield said. "What's the incentive to do otherwise?"
As a sign of how difficult the issue is, Nutter has asked the state Supreme Court to impose the city's contract terms on its biggest employee unions after four years of talks without an agreement. Philadelphia's proposal includes higher pension contributions from workers and a partial shift to a 401(k)-style plan.
On Thursday, the unions' power was on full display in the City Council chamber, when hundreds of union activists packed the galleries and overwhelmed the beginning of Nutter's budget address with whistles and chants. Council adjourned early and Nutter delivered his message in a reception room closed to the public.
Nutter, in his second term, won't face voters again unless he seeks another office. Analysts point out that the unions can outlast him - and use their sway to strike a deal with a candidate in the 2015 Democratic primary for his successor.
In 2011, New Jersey raised government workers' pension contributions from 5.5 percent of pay to 6.5 percent, with a gradual climb to 7.5 percent by 2018. Contributions rose to 10 percent from 8.5 percent for police and fire employees. The state also did away with automatic cost-of-living adjustments to pensions.
"There was a political will," said Ben Dworkin, a political scientist at Rider University who studies New Jersey politics.
"One of the reasons these things get put off so long is that it never reaches a crisis point," he said. "We talk about 'unfunded liability,' billions of dollars, but it's not happening yet. People don't all retire on the same day."
Dworkin said Christie made the state's retirement liability a priority and found common ground with State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), who also was concerned. They rounded up South Jersey Democrats who were willing to defy the public-employee unions and join with Republicans to get the changes passed.
Still, actuaries have said New Jersey's system, while on better footing now, remains underfunded.
But it's better off than in Illinois, which is underfunded by about $98 billion. Quinn, the governor, has been unable to get anything through his legislature - despite Squeezy.
"Ultimately, what will change things is capital-market discipline that puts a crimp in government borrowing," said Carnegie-Mellon's Strauss. Governors and mayors needing to fund pension plans will have to turn instead to taxpayers and future retirees.
When that day comes, Strauss said, "there's going to be conflict."

Potluck #74

C.P.A. (Confused, Petty, Angry)

New school board, old story

Posted: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 6:00 am

New school board, old story

I see the Morrisville School Board majority wants to start raising school taxes.Thank God we have an index limit. Even this they are trying to exceed with their wasteful spending.

A 1.7 percent increase is about $178,000. This tax increase is not for education. It is for more raises, more pensions and more health insurance.

Right now, Morrisville Borough has the highest combined borough/school tax millage in Bucks County.
When are Morrisville senior citizens going to receive their Morrisville school tax discount as presented in the school board election propaganda?
I suggest the Morrisville school board majority and the Morrisville Council majority along with their pro-new school friends get together and make a $178,000 contribution to the Morrisville School District general fund. They should easily find 178 of their supporters' households for this contribution for only $1,000 per household.
The Morrisville School Board from 2007-2011 saved them thousands of dollars on their school tax bills. Therefore a $1,000 contribution per household that supported the new school board does not seem unreasonable.
Bill Hellmann, CPA
Morrisville

Tech School Funding up for Debate

Tech school funding up for debate

Posted: Monday, March 11, 2013 5:00 pm | Updated: 8:00 pm, Mon Mar 11, 2013.

Tech school funding up for debateBy DANNY ADLER Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

           

Talks have started about the complex funding formula that regulates how much the six sending districts pay for students to attend Bucks County Technical High School.Smaller districts in Lower Bucks County claim the formula is outdated and unfairly burdens them. But an official with a larger district said it pays its fair share.

Morrisville was withholding nearly $90,000 in payments in protest of the formula. That ultimately led to a vote a few months ago to stop new Morrisville Borough School District students from attending, but the vote failed.

Any such move to alter the Bucks County Technical High School Joint School Board's governing rules requires approval by the school boards of each sending district.
"It's the districts that don't meet their quotas that hurt us, because they're not paying for those full seats," BCTHS joint school board President John Doyle of the Bristol Borough School District said recently.
One of those districts is Neshaminy, which has been allotted 460 seats but currently sends only 275 students. Bristol is allotted 72 seats but sends 56 students this school year, according to tech school records.
Neshaminy school board President Ritchie Webb, a former board member for the tech school, said his district is paying "more than our fair share" even though it does not send as many students as it can. He also noted that the tech school probably couldn't handle as many students as Neshaminy is allotted.
A newly formed committee to try to resolve the dispute meets for the second time at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the technical school's administrative offices, 610 Wistar Road, in Fairless Hills.
The committee met for the first time March 4, and officials then said they will consider putting a sunset date on its governing rules in order to bring officials from the six public school systems to the table to revamp regulations on how to fund operations.
The joint board's governing rules were last updated in 2005, which officials said helped the smaller districts -- Bristol and Morrisville.
Four joint school board members — one each from Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Bensalem and Morrisville — were at last week's meeting to jump start the conversation. Officials from Neshaminy and Pennsbury did not attend.
Doyle, of the Bristol Borough School District, said the current Articles of Agreement, which maintains the complex formula and other governing regulations, is outdated.
The formula assigns each district a certain fixed percentage of the school's fixed costs, and a variable payment that depends on the number of students each district sends to the technical school in any given year.
For 2012-13, Bristol Township will pay 35.5 percent of the $15 million in total variable costs. Neshaminy will pay 19.6 percent; Bensalem, 18.5 percent; Pennsbury, 18 percent; Bristol Borough, 4.6 percent; and Morrisville, 3.8 percent.
For the $4.6 million in fixed costs, the breakdown is as follows: Bristol Township, 28.4 percent; Neshaminy, 23.9 percent; Pennsbury, 23.9 percent; Bensalem, 18 percent; Bristol Borough, 3.7 percent; and Morrisville, 2.1 percent.
The tech school can hold up to 1,570 students, officials said. Enrollment is projected to increase from 1,400-plus students this year to more than 1,500 next year. According to figures from the tech school's administration, the total number of allotments for the entire school is 1,990, which is more than the building can hold.
If the board establishes a deadline as some officials suggested, and nothing is done by then, it is possible that the school wouldn't open, officials said. The tech school's lawyer is looking into this and other issues brought up at that meeting, they added.
After some discussion, the committee said it is looking to set a date to have the Articles of Agreement reconsidered by the joint school board with the goal of gaining unanimous approval by the school boards of the six sending districts before the end of June 2014.
Additionally, committee members showed an interest in exploring a concept in which a district would be charged for each seat it is allotted, regardless of whether or not the district fills those seats.
The committee might also explore a system by which districts can "sell" their unused seats to others that need extra slots.
Webb, of Neshaminy, said his district is not willing to revisit the formula if it's going to cost Neshaminy taxpayers any more than what they are currently paying.
Tech school Administrative Director Leon Poeske and business manager Sharon Rendeiro on Monday said that the tech school operates on a $21.7-million budget. The net share of the six sending districts is $18.2 million. Twenty-one percent of the budget is for fixed costs, which pays for things such as the administration and the school's facilities. Variable costs — everything else — account for 68 percent to 72 percent of the budget.
Wanda Kartal, a board member from the Morrisville School District, said she wants equal say on the tech board.
Currently, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, Bristol Township and Bensalem each have three members on the joint school board. The small borough districts, Morrisville and Bristol, each have one member, thus giving them less voice on matters.
In December, two board members from Pennsbury brought up measure to a vote to prevent new Morrisville students from attending the tech school in 2013-14 and beyond because Morrisville hadn't paid a $94,862 bill from fiscal year 2010-11. The motion failed 7-2. Eight votes are needed to pass any motion on the tech board.
In January, the joint school board agreed to withdraw a lawsuit against Morrisville if the small district made the payment. BCTHS received the payment last month, officials said.

Morrisville School Board president addresses Pennsbury School Board on proposed merger talks

Published: Sunday, March 10, 2013

By Petra Chesner Schlatter
BucksLocalNews.com

PENNSBURY - In an unusual appearance, Damon Miller, president of the Morrisville School Board, addressed the Pennsbury School Board during public comment on March 7 regarding proposed merger talks between the two school districts.

Miller, who is requesting a meeting with Pennsbury officials on the issue, said he would not want to pursue the talks only with Allan Weisel, the Pennsbury School Board president. He also would like other Pennsbury officials involved.

Weisel said during the meeting that he is willing to meet with Miller, but emphasized that no meeting has been scheduled.

Weisel had been contacted by State Senator Chuck McIlhinney's office regarding a possible meeting between the two board presidents.

Board member Simon Campbell, who opposes the idea of a merger, attempted to block any future meeting from taking place by making a motion that would have barred "any representative of the Pennsbury School District from entering into discussions relating to a possible merger between the Pennsbury School District and the Morrisville School District."

Campbell's motion failed to receive a second.

Miller said to date that there have been no discussions between Weisel and himself.

The Morrisville School Board's Education Committee, he said, is in the process of looking at options for the future of the Morrisville School District. "One of the options that was discussed was a merge," he said.

As part of that discussion, the committee reached out to State Sen. Chuck McIlhinney's office to discuss options and to see if the senator would be open to faciliating a meeting between the board presidents on the merger issue.

But Miller emphasized that there “is nothing going on at this time between anybody.  

“I would expect Mr. Weisel will do the same diligence that I have been doing in getting information and reporting back to the school board,” he said.

Miller said Morrisville is "not looking to be rescued. We’re not at that stage. Possibly, down the road -- who knows what happens with mandates and such, but we’re not at that stage. “

He also said that Morrisville is not asking for a merger to be done next year.

“This may be a long-term project that we could possibly work out together," he said.

Miller said he is surprised when he hears people talking about the economic disadvantages of such a jointure.

“Morrisville residents would be able to contribute over $9.3 million yearly,” he said, stressing that this would “not just be a one-time injection of money.”

Miller brought up the Pennsbury School Board’s discussion about potential renovations and the cost involved with the Pennwood Middle School.

“All I can say is we have a newly renovated middle school/high school that has brand new boilers and brand new windows,” he noted. “It could hold about 1500 students.”

Academically, Miller said that Morrisville has basically met Average Yearly Progress (AYP) since 2006 much like Pennsbury.

He said he would “certainly hope and welcome the opportunity” for the Morrisville School District to meet with the Pennsbury School District.

Campbell asked if Miller had been authorized by the Morrisville School Board to meet with Weisel.

Miller said his board and the Morrisville residents are aware of what the education committee is doing.

“Mr. Weisel or anybody can meet with me as well as representatives of our board and administration anytime,” Miller said. “I would welcome the opportunity if you have an education committee or a merge or finance committee -- whatever committee you want to form, I would be more than happy to have equal representation from Morrisville School District as well as the Pennsbury School District to meet.”

Pennsbury School Board member Dr. Stephan Kosmorsky said the discussion about Morrisville is “a little off track. If the state senator sends a letter regarding speaking to the Morrisville School Board, that information should go to the entire board.

“I have no problem meeting with anybody,” he said, noting that matters like this “should be shared with everyone.”

An e-mail from the state senator’s office to the board president was part of a string of e-mails about a potential meeting between the two school districts.

Simon Says, But Nobody Else Listens

Pennsbury Schools
Board majority refuses to consider Campbell's merger restriction

Steve Gengler

 

contributed

Allan Weisel

Allan Weisel, the current Pennsbury school board president.

Pennsbury Morrisville Schools comparison chart

 

Posted: Friday, March 8, 2013 3:30 pm | Updated: 6:16 pm, Fri Mar 8, 2013.           

 

Board majority refuses to consider Campbell's merger restriction

 

 

By Joan Hellyer Staff WriterPhillyBurbs.com

March 8, 2013

 

Pennsbury school board member Simon Campbell failed in his attempt to restrict any district representative from participating in discussions about a possible merger with the Morrisville School District.He proposed the restriction after learning that a representative of Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, contacted board President Allan Weisel to coordinate a meeting between Morrisville and Pennsbury officials to discuss a potential merger.Weisel apprized all board members of the inquiry via email. The board president indicated to the newspaper earlier in the week that he would be open to such a meeting.
Campbell felt Weisel was acting “inappropriately in making a unilateral decision” about the issue. He asked that the restriction proposal be included on the board’s March 14 action meeting agenda.
The board considered the request late Thursday night during its planning session while deciding what issues it would handle at the upcoming action meeting.
Campbell argued that Weisel had already indicated he wanted to have a meeting to discuss the potential merger.
No meeting has been scheduled, said the board president. “There is no ambiguity,” Weisel said Thursday night. “I never said I was going to meet with them.”
When the request was put to a vote, eight of the nine board members voted against considering the restriction on March 14. Campbell was the only board member to vote in favor of considering such a restriction.
Campbell did not comment after failing to get the restriction proposal on the agenda.
Weisel said even though the restriction on potential merger talks would not be considered during the voting portion of the meeting Campbell could still bring up the issue during the comment portion of the session.
Morrisville board President Damon Miller told the Pennsbury board before the Thursday night vote that his district is looking for a way to work with the Pennsbury school system.
“We are not looking to be rescued. We are not at that stage,” Miller said.
He pointed to how Morrisville has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress for seven years in a row to satisfy federal requirements as well as the benefits of having a recently renovated middle/high school in the district.
Like Weisel, he said no meeting has been set up for representatives of the two districts.
This isn’t the first time Morrisville has reached out to Pennsbury to discuss a possible merger.
During a previous attempt several years back, Greg Lucidi was the Pennsbury board president.
Veteran Pennsbury board members said on Thursday night that Lucidi met with Morrisville representatives and then reported back to the district’s governing body.
A similar scenario could play out if a merger discussion takes place in the coming weeks, officials said.

Pennsbury, Morrisville school board presidents planning sit-down discussion on merger question

Published: Wednesday, March 06, 2013

By Petra Chesner Schlatter
BucksLocalNews.com

MORRISVILLE – The board presidents of the Morrisville and Pennsbury school districts are expected to sit down to discuss the merger question during a meeting coordinated by State Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-10).

The meeting is being requested by Morrisville School Board President Damon Miller who recently spoke with the senator as part of the district’s ongoing dialogue regarding the future of education in Morrisville..

“That discussion has ranged from keeping Morrisville as a small district, to the tuition of high school students, to a possible merger with another district,” said Miller, who added that these were all options originally discussed by the education committee at its first meeting.

“The committee felt it would be beneficial to discuss them with the senator and get his opinion on them,” Miller said.

Miller could not be specific about who would attend the meeting, since no date has been set.

“I would like to see not only the school board presidents but also members of the administration attend the meeting,” Miller said. “I would welcome members of the Morrisville Education Committee and Pennsbury’s as well if they should wish to attend.”

Miller said his committee is being up front about any and all possibilities for his district’s future.

“There are no secret deals going on,” he said. “The Morrisville Education Committee has discussed this option publicly and is at the discussion stage with all of the options. If Pennsbury is not interested in discussing this option, they have every right to back out at any time.”

Miller said that he would be doing a “disservice” to those he represents if he did not explore all options presented to the committee despite whatever the outcome may be.

Allan Weisel, president of the Pennsbury School Board said he has agreed to meet with the Senator and the Morrisville School Board president.  

On the issue of a merger with Morrisville, Weisel said he is “not personally in favor of a merger and I have no indication from any board director that they are either.”

Weisel said he would speak with Pennsbury superintendent Kevin McHugh and Pennsbury business manager Dan Rodgers regarding their attendance at the meeting.

Not everyone from Pennsbury’s side is on board with the idea of such a meeting, though. Pennsbury school board member Simon Campbell took issue with Weisel agreeing to a meeting.

Campbell suggested discussion and a motion at Pennsbury’s March 14 meeting that ultimately would prohibit “any representative of the Pennsbury School District from entering into discussions relating to a possible merger between the Pennsbury School District and the Morrisville School District.”

The school board will vote March 7 whether to put Campbell’s motion on the March 14 agenda.

Campbell opposes a merger with the Morrisville School District.

“A merger with Morrisville is a bad idea for Pennsbury,” Campbell said. “There is no way that Pennsbury could afford a merger.”

Campbell said a merger would in no way be beneficial to his school district.

“[A merger] would have a negative impact on taxpayers and it would compromise the quality of educational programming to all students because we have no way to cope with a sudden influx of an additional 1,000 students,” Campbell said.

Campbell said he also doesn’t want rumors of a merger spreading, which he considers a potential by-product of any potential meeting with Morrisville.  “It creates confusion and uncertainty in the community when people hear that a representative of Pennsbury is in merger discussion,” he said. “We need to operate as a governing body, and that means the full school board either approves or disapproves merger discussions.”

Campbell said he thinks Weisel was wrong to consider meeting with the senator and the Morrisville School Board president without the Pennsbury School Board’s approval.

“The board president acted inappropriately in making a unilateral decision about such a contentious issue,” he said. “He should only have entertained the request from Sen. McIlhinney’s office if he had first obtained approval from the full school board at a public meeting under the Sunshine Act.”

In response to Campbell’s remarks, Weisel said every board member has a right to their opinion.

“What matters is what the majority of the school board feels,” he said.

Weisel said he agreed to meet with the senator because it is common business protocol.

“As a school board director and as school board president I agreed to work with local politicians of both parties so I agreed to sit down with him and hear what he has to say,” Weisel said. “It’s a common courtesy to sit down and talk with other people. That’s how I prefer to conduct the district’s business.”

Weisel found Campbell’s comments unnecessary.

“[Campbell is] trying to create controversy where there is none,”’ Weisel said.

Pennsbury Puts Breaks (sic) on Possible Merger Discussion With Morrisville

Pennsbury puts breaks on possible merger discussion with Morrisville

Posted: Monday, March 4, 2013 6:30 pm

Pennsbury puts breaks on possible merger discussion with Morrisville

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on March 4, 2013       

 

A Pennsbury schools director doesn’t want the district to even consider being part of possible merger talks with neighboring Morrisville that are being set up by the office of state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10.Simon Campbell, Pennsbury school director, believes “a merger with Morrisville is a bad idea for Pennsbury” because besides budgetary reasons, such a move would compromise the education of the district which includes Lower Makefield, Yardley, Falls and Tullytown.

At a meeting Thursday, Pennsbury’s school board will consider if it will vote on a motion later in the month that would read: “The Pennsbury Board of School Directors prohibits any representative of the Pennsbury School District from entering into discussions relating to a possible merger between the Pennsbury School District and the Morrisville School District.”
A representative of McIlhinney reached out to Allan Weisel, Pennsbury’s board president, to coordinate a meeting with Damon Miller, Morrisville's board president, and the Pennsbury administration to discuss the possibility of a merger between the two districts.
Weisel is open to such a meeting.
Campbell believes that Weisel is acting “inappropriately in making a unilateral decision about such a contentious issue. He should only have entertained the request from Sen. McIlhinney's office if he had first obtained approval from the full school board at a public meeting under the Sunshine Act.”
Weisel said Campbell "is entitled to his personal opinion” but that “in my opinion (he) is creating controversy once again to place his name in a newspaper.”
Weisel said he agreed to the meeting as a courtesy to McIlhinney’s office. The board is committed to working with local politicians from both parties. And at the meeting, Pennsbury will listen, he said.
“I personally never have been in favor or will be in favor of a merger between Pennsbury and Morrisville school districts,” Weisel said.
For Morrisville, the meeting would serve as a fact-finding session.
“The Morrisville Education Committee has discussed the option of a merge publicly,” district Superintendent William Ferrara said Monday. “Furthermore, the education committee is at the discussion stage with various options ... Since merging is one of the options discussed at the committee level, it is only fair to those involved to discuss the merger option. Members of the education committee feel as members of the Morrisville school board, they would be doing a disservice to those they represent if they did not explore all options presented to the committee."
If the agenda vote fails Thursday, then the Pennsbury board “would have legally said that it has no problem with Allan Weisel engaging in a merger discussion. If the agenda vote passes, then the issue moves forward to March 14th and at that meeting the Board would either take official action or not with respect to merger discussion,” Campbell said Monday.
The school director said there is no way Pennsbury could afford a merger.
“It would have a negative impact on taxpayers and it would compromise the quality of educational programming to all students because we have no way to cope with a sudden influx of an additional 1,000 students,” he said.
In recent months, state officials have said that enrollment in many districts is dwindling and if large districts take on more students it would keep taxes steady in receiving school district communities.
At the Morrisville committee meetings it has been discussed the possibility of only merging the high school and keeping the elementary school open.
As of late February, there were 202 students enrolled in the high school — that’s ninth through 12th grade. There are 1,071 student enrolled in the entire district.
Morrisville's current operating budget is $18 million. The per-pupil cost in Morrisville is $10,034 at the elementary level and $18,901 at the high school level.
If there were a merger, it wouldn’t come free to Morrisville taxpayers. Each student would carry that money to the school they attend. For example, if a Morrisville student attends a charter school, Morrisville School District has to pay for that student to attend that school.
Some in Morrisville have argued that sending high school students to a large district like Pennsbury, which nearly surrounds the 2-square-mile borough, would provide them with academic advantages not available in the borough because it can't afford them.
The district is unable to provide any Advanced Placement courses, although the student-to-teacher ratio in Morrisville is low -- 11:1 in the elementary school and 13:1 in the secondary.
In Pennsbury, it costs $10,356 to teach one elementary student and $13,209 for a high school pupil. The larger district offers 19 AP classes. The student-to-teacher is 23:1 at the elementary level and 25:1 in secondary level.
Campbell doesn’t want anyone from Pennsbury to discuss a merger with Morrisville “because it creates confusion and uncertainty in the community when people hear that a representative of Pennsbury is in merger discussion. We need to operate as a governing body and that means the full school board either approves or disapproves merger discussions.”

Potluck #73

Senators Call for Scrutiny of Pa. Charter Schools

Senators call for scrutiny of Pa. charter schools

 

Posted: Monday, March 4, 2013 1:16 pm

Senators call for scrutiny of Pa. charter schools

Associated Press |

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some state senators say that state regulation of charter schools and cyber charters is inadequate.At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Monday, several lawmakers cited a lack of financial and academic accountability for the privately run public schools.

Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon County Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee, says GOP Gov. Tom Corbett didn't renew his call for charter reform in his pending state budget plan and asked whether it is still a priority of the administration.

State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis says charter reform is important. But he says barely 100,000 youngsters attend charter schools compared to 1.7 million who attend public schools. He says policy makers must consider all modes and methods of education.

Morrisville Keeps its Budget Options Open

Morrisville keeps its budget options open

 

Posted: Sunday, March 3, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 12:57 am, Sun Mar 3, 2013.

Morrisville keeps its budget options open

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

           

Morrisville School District has applied for exceptions so taxes can be hiked above the Act I index mandated by the state, if they ultimately choose to go that route.
If the move is approved by the Department of Education, the district could increase taxes above the 2 percent Act I index rate set by the state.

But that doesn’t mean a tax hike would be a given, just an option.

"We are asking for exceptions for the million dollar budgetary shortfall," said Business Manager Paul DeAngelo referring to the 2013-14 proposed budget for Morrisville schools.
The school board approved the preliminary budget late last month. It includes $18.36 million in expenditures and $17.29 million in revenue. Revenue additions or cuts need to occur to get to a balanced budget by June 30, the state deadline for final budget approval.
They requested the options to exceed the 2 percent index for special education and Public School Employees' Retirement System costs.
Morrisville's contribution to PSERS will increase 4 percent, or $400,000, for the next school year, DeAngelo said. According to district calculations, an additional 4 percent increase is expected by 2015.
The owners of the 2,998 properties in Morrisville that pay taxes haven’t seen a tax increase in five years. During the 2008-09 school year, the millage was 187.3; each year after that the millage was 177.3.
But that came with a price.
To balance the budget each of those years, the district took from its fund balance, or savings. Since then, the fund balance has dropped to $478,550 from $3 million.
“The honeymoon is over,” Jon Perry, a parent, said last week.
School board Director Steve Worob and board members Ronald Stout and Jack Buckman have repeatedly said that increasing taxes shouldn’t even be an option because the blue-collar community can’t afford it. They strongly have suggested making cuts such as going with half-day kindergarten, instead of full-day.

Kindergarten is being Debated in Morrisville Schools

Kindergarten is being debated in Morrisville schools

Posted: Sunday, March 3, 2013 5:00 am | Updated: 7:02 am, Sun Mar 3, 2013.

Kindergarten is being debated in Morrisville schools

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer PhillyBurbs.com

                  

Morrisville School District officials have yet to decide whether to offer full- or half-day kindergarten in the 2013-14 school year.

The decision could come later this month after the board hears from parents through a survey being disseminated by the administration.

In the meantime, the district is going ahead with registration from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at Grandview Elementary School, 80 Grandview Ave.

School directors are holding up the decision because they want to have options, if they go for the half-day program, for working parents. One option being researched involves education programs for a fee to parents.
In addition, there’s the budget concern. As of late January, the district had a $1 million deficit in the proposed 2013-14 budget. Expenditures are estimated to be $18.36 million.
A full-day program would cost $318,821 for the year. A half-day program would cost about $215,000, said district business manager Paul DeAngelo.
Also, the district’s administration says full-day kindergarten doesn’t offer much of an academic advantage over a half-day program.
One thing is for sure, the district will provide at least half-day kindergarten, officials said.
Parents or guardians enrolling their student will need to present photo identification and four proofs of residency — one must be a deed or a current lease with the child’s name included. Other accepted IDs are a moving permit, Pennsylvania driver’s license, bank statement, utility or tax bill, and auto insurance or registration.
The enrolling child must be present at registration, also. Additional documents needed are the child’s birth certificate, Social Security number and immunization records.
According to the district, a child entering school must undergo physical and dental exams, as well as be immunized for polio, measles, mumps, rubella, Hepatitis B and varicella, also known as chickenpox, diphtheria and tetanus. The health requirements need to be completed by the start of the school year in September.
The only exemptions to the Pennsylvania school law for immunizations are medical reasons and religious beliefs. If that is the case, parents or guardians need to submit proper documentation.

Bucks County Technical High School adds Keystone Exam to Graduation Requirements

Bucks County Technical High School adds Keystone Exam to graduation requirements

Posted: Friday, March 1, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 6:02 am, Fri Mar 1, 2013.

Bucks County Technical High School adds Keystone Exam to graduation requirementsBy Diane Davis-Dixon CorrespondentPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on March 1, 2013

 

Passing the Keystone Exam will be a state requirement for graduation beginning the class of 2017. The Keystone Exams are one component of Pennsylvania’s high school graduation requirements.Earlier this week, Samuel Lee, superintendent for Bristol Township School District, joint board member for Bucks County Technical School, discussed the future graduation requirement for Pennsylvania students at a meeting held at BCTHS on Wistar Road in Fairless Hills.

If students do not demonstrate proficiency and do not pass remedial work, interventions must be provided for student before they take test again, said Lee.
This year the state transitioned from Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) to Keystone Exams. Keystones are the end of course assessments designed to assess proficiency in several subjects.
Current juniors (students graduating in 2014) had to take three Keystones: Algebra 1, Literature and Biology, according to Lee.
“The challenge for those students in the districts could have and would have occurred in eighth grade,” said Lee. “Depending on the student or the district, some kids had algebra 1 in eighth grade so they had to go back and regroup and take the algebra 1 exam in 11th grade.
“For most kids that is not a big deal because you continue your mathematical progression,” said Lee. “That wasn’t the biggest challenge.”
According to Lee, biology was a huge stretch because you take it in eighth or ninth grade and the core curriculum content did not align well with the content on the Keystone Exam. The kids were saying “we never saw this before.”
Literature was a mixed response.
Those scores determine whether or not a district makes average yearly progress. Results are not back yet and there is no clear definition of what making AYP is yet in relation to Keystone scores, according to Lee.
Lee is hoping the state is lenient with achieving the AYP scores, and is optimistic for a fair response.
Later this year freshmen will sit for Keystones. And their course content will be better aligned particularly in biology because they had time to make adjustments to the actual test, said Lee.
“The plan is to expand Keystone Exams in 2010 to include, civics, U.S. history and government among other things,” said Lee.