Posted: Monday, March 4, 2013 6:30 pm
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.”
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.”
45 comments:
Them's the breaks! I think "brakes" is the correct word.
I'm absolutely shocked that Simon Campbell, Pennsbury's ideological equivalent to Bill Hellmann, Marlys Mihok, and Steve Worob all rolled into one but with a dash of British charm, would be dead-set opposed to even talking about a merger with Morrisville. NOT! This is about as predictable as you can get.
Luckily, despite what Simon Campbell probably thinks, he's not the only member of the Pennsbury School Board, and he's not the President of the Pennsbury School Board. I hope normal, reasonable, open-minded heads prevail and Morrisville gets a fair meeting, a chance to make a case, and a continuing dialogue.
I wonder how he feels about a tuition out arrangement with MSD?
Isn't it nice to know you are wanted? ;P
It's funny that they say they couldn't afford additional students. Don't they know that in a merger they would also be gaining tax payers?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say not so good.
Pennsbury doesn't want us now and they didn't want us the last time this was brought up either. It makes no difference whether we are talking tuitioning out or merger. How many times must our kids be rejected before we get the hint. This ship sailed a long time ago and this is not the direction we need to be looking in.
This is like the movie Groundhog Day, and (this time) Simon Campbell is playing the part of Bill Murray.
As for the the student to teacher ratio, I really wish the Courier Times would stop distorting that number.
"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."
It's about time Morrisville has had a school board that listens to the public and works openly. Maybe this ship has sailed before but its nice to hear that there are those willing to at least talk about it in the open instead of behind closed doors like the old group. Times change. People change. Who knows what the outcome will be but I'm glad to see some progress being done for the the education of Morrisville kids instead of the almighty dollar all the time.
I second that. This is a darn good board. Only 2 full fledged dudballs.
Anonymous above if the ship sailed please do enlighten us as to what you believe is the answer.,even better join your public at the next education mtg and share with those in th seats next to you
I'm proud of this board. Press on!
2 comments:
FairAndBalanced posted at 11:43 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
Posts: 110
Good ole Simon Campbell. I think it's great that a person can become a citizen of the USA when they come from a foreign land seeking the freedoms which are intrinsic to America. Like Free Speech. Oh, wait. Mr. Campbell believes in Free Speech if your name is Simon Campbell. If you're another American Citizen, then it's his goal to restrict to whom, and about what, you are entitled to speak.
I hope that they DO vote to restrict conversation. Then Mr. Campbell, in his official capacity as a School Board Director can be sued in Federal Court for civil rights violations.
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BCrefugee posted at 8:31 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
Posts: 8
"BREAKS"? Are you kidding?
Discussion and conversation in public are good, however talk is cheap and at some point we need to take action and eliminate ideas that will simply never fly. This school board is light years better than the prior one (barring about 3 members) and I just urge them to press on!
Crap or get off the pot. Merger or tuition out needs a willing partner. See if you've got one. If not, move on.
"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."
Is that how it would work with a merger? That sounds more like a tuition out scenario to me. With a merger, wouldn't we be absorbed into Pennsbury and its school tax structure? The current school tax for all municipalities in Pennsbury (Falls, Tullytown, L. Makefield, Yardley) is 150.3 mills. Ours is 177.3.
Here's the truth people. The old school board that preached that tuitioning out and merger talk didn't do the real work to make Morrisville an attractive merger partner and squandered what assets we had. Today all we bring to the table are old dilapidated schools and an empty bank account. I would not want to do any business with a place that can't manage its own affairs.
And so the wheel turns. The only way this will happen is via fiat from the state, and I don't think they're quite there yet. I do think consolidation is an inevitable future, as 501 districts in the state are too many, especially when so many are so small, and the taxes can't keep up with the costs. It's the same thing with the inner ring suburbs, and places like Morrisville as municipalities. As costs continue to escalate, and there are no more opportunities to add ratables, taxes will climb to untenable levels. Maybe we're at that cusp now, maybe not.
I think Simon is wrong to try to stop any conversations, as I doubt there will be any sudden change, and his stance just adds to his persona as an asshat. A better strategy would have been to ensure that he was at the table when the talks occurred, but he obviously prefers the press.
And just for the lulz, a bit from Ray and Dave:
Standing in the middle of nowhere,
Wondering how to begin.
Lost between tomorrow and yesterday,
Between now and then.
And now we're back where we started,
Here we go round again.
Day after day I get up and I say
I better do it again.
Where are all the people going?
Round and round till we reach the end.
One day leading to another,
Get up, go out, do it again.
Then it's back where you started,
Here we go round again.
Back where you started,
Come on do it again.
And you think today is going to be better,
Change the world and do it again.
Give it all up and start all over,
You say you will but you don't know when.
Then it's back where you started,
Here we go round again.
Day after day I get up and I say
Come on do it again.
Kinky!
"Why do I believe reorganization (of the Morrisville Schools) is necessary? One must go back to 1956 when a survey was conducted by the Pennsylvania Economy league to determine whether a jointure should be approved with the Pennsbury Schools. Recommendations at that time indicated that the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages."?
Dr. Paul Phillips
Superintendent
Morrisville School District
November 29, 1971
A obscure Kinks tune by the Brother Davies. Someone didn't have music cut out of their School curriculm.
Not really that obscure. It charted.
It did seem appropriate for this situation, and I was a parochial school student way back when. We didn't have music. The only equipment we had was Act 195 stuff. Music was something that your parents paid for lessons.
Regardless of my parents' decision to send me to parochial school, I am a firm believer in the value of a well-rounded and complete publicly funded education for all children. I think that the way socio-economics dictates the quality of public education is to our great shame, and it is counter-productive. We've likely squandered great minds, and fostered a culture of privilege and materialism, elevating individuals based on their wealth rather than their abilities. Yes, this has been going on since the beginning of time, but we like to think we continue to evolve and improve, and yet this persists.
As I had noted, I believe that sooner or later school and municipal consolidation is coming to places like Morrisville, whether anyone likes it or not. I doubt it's imminent, but I believe it is inevitable.
Your results may vary.
And since we seem to have a few Kinkophiles, here is one that I think is appropriate and actually obscure, but none the less another great tune from the brothers Davies:
Here's a song for all the little men Who get forgotten time and time again Here's a message for the little guy Don't let this situation pass you by
You're in the middle while the big mouths fight You get it from the left and the right, ain't it crazy?
So get up off your easy chairs We've got a lot to do out there, well ain't we? Good's gone bad, right is wrong Don't know which side I'm on lately
Get up from the down you're in Come out of your homes and let's see your faces
Get up out of your easy chairs Get up and show 'em that you're there Get up it's your one salvation Wise up to the situation
Somebody gotta get up and shout Somebody gotta give us some clout You're the ones to make it all work out It all depends on you
Get up off your arses men Don't let 'em think you're getting lazy Get up out of your easy chairs We gotta lot to do out there, well ain't we?
Get up, get up, get up
Get Up From the Misfits album Good tune.
SOC Wanted you to believe
The Taxmans taken all my dough
and left me in my stately home
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And I can't even sell my yacht
He's taken all a got
All Ive got is this sunny afternoon
Lyrics by the kinks again, the have the pulse on what is going on in Morrisville.
Kinks Thread!!!
It was a matter of fact that when I paid all my tax
I held my world in the palm of my hand
And all of my debts were causing me to defect
To a land of bananas and sand
So I ran, yes I ran, yes I ran to a foreign land
Here I am, here I am
Here I am in a foreign land
I'm so glad we made it
I thought we'd never land
I grabbed all my cash
And I decided to dash far away
Far away, far away in a foreign land
Here I am, here I am, here I am in a foreign land
Goodbye to all of the rich men's daughters
Goodbye to my debts now I'm way across the water
Far away, far away in a foreign land
Here I am, here I am, here I am in a foreign land
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
Please tell my mother and all my ex-lovers
That I've finally made the grade
Please tell my debtors and the money collectors
That all of my bills will be paid some day
I'm away, I'm away in a foreign land
Goodbye champagne and the caviar set
I wanna slum and drink all of the rum I can get
I'm away, I'm away in a foreign land
Here I am, here I am, here I am in a foreign land
But I'm all out of my jack and I can't go back
I'm away, far away, far away in a foreign land
From Muswell Hillbillies, one of my favorite efforts by the Kinks:
Well I woke this morning with a pain in my neck,
A pain in my heart and a pain in my chest,
I went to the doctor and the good doctor said,
You gotta slow down your life or you're gonna be dead,
Cut out the struggle and strife,
It only complicates your life.
Well I cut down women, I cut out booze,
I stopped ironing my shirts, cleaning my shoes,
I stopped going to work, stopped reading the news,
I sit and twiddle my thumbs cos I got nothing to do,
Minimal exercise,
To help uncomplicate my life,
Gotta stand and face it life is so complicated,
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah,
You gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
Must alleviate this complicated life.
Cut out the struggle and strife,
It's such a complicated life.
Like old Mother Hubbard
I got nothin' in the cupboard,
Got no dinner and I got no supper,
Holes in my shoes, I got holes in my socks,
I can't go to work cos I can't get a job,
The bills are rising sky high,
It's such a complicated life,
Gotta stand and face it,
Life is so complicated.
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah
Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
Must alleviate this complicated life.
Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Gotta get away from the complicated life.
Just for the sake of argument, let's present an "option" to the committee, maybe a completely ridiculous one, just so that it can be explored? C'mon, some options are simply not feasible and discussing them month after month, meeting after meeting is not progress but merely spinning your wheels. Clean house from the top (administration) and bring in a few competent, innovative and highly motivated leaders who want to see the district succeed. There is so much untapped potential here. Get the right people in place to help Morrisville reach it.
firing the top is not going to help with what funds the district has to work with bottom line it's not enough. the district has we now know it doesn't work it costs more to run the district then what it takes in so how is firing anyone going to change that
To the person who wrote this please start getting signatures so you can run for a seat and with all your knowledge you can figure it all for the rest of the community """"Just for the sake of argument, let's present an "option" to the committee, maybe a completely ridiculous one, just so that it can be explored? C'mon, some options are simply not feasible and discussing them month after month, meeting after meeting is not progress but merely spinning your wheels. Clean house from the top (administration) and bring in a few competent, innovative and highly motivated leaders who want to see the district succeed. There is so much untapped potential here. Get the right people in place to help Morrisville reach it.
PA Sen. Chuck McIlhenney is the only local PA rep still in office who voted for the PSERS legislation that school districts are struggling with. It's going to get worse before it gets better - if it gets better.
The origin of the PSERS crisis was legislation passed and signed into law on May 17, 2001 by Governor Tom Ridge. Chuck McIlhenney voted yes for it. At the time he represented the 143rd PA House District.
Merger? Don't even talk about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_MFi35XA-s
"No, and stop asking!"
Simon doesn't speak for everyone.
Simon doesn't have final say.
Eff Simon.
Merger talks should be open
Posted: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 6:00 am
School closings and mergers are among the most volatile issues that a school district can take on. They are fraught with emotion and, as a result, often draw more heat than light during public discussions.
Nonetheless, those discussions must be held — and they must be held in the open.
That’s our advice to Pennsbury School Board President Allan Weisel, who agreed to meet with the Morrisville School Board president to discuss a possible merger, though Morrisville winces at the term. Weisel said he agreed to the talks as a courtesy to state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, who made the request. (The state Department of Education has encouraged mergers as a lifeline for struggling small districts and to reduce the number of districts statewide.)
Noting his personal opposition to a merger, Weisel said he is nonetheless committed to working with local officials. He said he’d use the session as an opportunity to “listen”.
It’s commendable that Weisel is eager to play nice with others, a standard our leaders in Washington should adopt. It is likewise commendable that the Pennsbury president is willing to listen. The problem with closed meetings for invited guests is that they raise suspicion, if not resentment. And evidence of animosity already has appeared in the form of one very angry fellow board member.
Simon Campbell, Pennsbury’s most vocal member, has challenged Weisel’s decision, calling it “inappropriate” and “unilateral.” He intends to make a motion at this week’s board meeting prohibiting the discussion from taking place.
And so a topic already complicated by non-educational issues has been fueled with emotion before a single word has been exchanged.
Said Campbell of the prospect, “We are millions of dollars in the hole this budget cycle. We’ve got huge issues like intransigent labor union demands, the shutting of a school, redistricting kids. There’s no way we should add a massive thing like a Morrisville merger into the mix. My intention, “ he added, “is to get this issue off our plate to avoid giving anyone in Morrisville false hope, and to not inject chaos in an already challenging environment.”
Campbell makes a logical case. However, he overlooks that Morrisville officials already have signaled their desire to keep their elementary school open and pay Pennsbury tuition to educate their 200 or so high school students. That would be a small addition to highly populated Pennsbury High School. Hardly noticeable, in fact.
Bottom line: It takes a village to raise a child — and everyone in the village should get to listen and have a say.
from phillyburbs.com 3/6/13
Hopefully, for Pennsbury's sake, it will never happen, but I'd bet dollars to donuts if Simon Campbell were Pennsbury School Board President, he'd set their all time record for unilateral decisions by a School Board President. And it would be OK because he would be the one doing it. It would not only be OK, it would be approaching treasonous to disagree with him.
Am I missing something, or is the Courier Times mixing up "merger" and "tuitioning out"?
Bill Ferrara is not a leader he is a follower, he was Hellman's hand picked soldier. DeAngelo never told anyone that they are running the District dry, not a good thing from you business manager. Those two have to go, the sooner the better. Get Leadership who care about the Morrisville School District not about their political allies.
All due respect to the Kinks, but I think David Byrne's lyrics might be more apt here:
"You start a conversation you can't even finish it.
You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything.
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?"
I don't have a problem with initial exploratory discussions between reps of the 2 districts not in a public forum. As long as the public is made aware that they are occurring. Would have been nice to be out ahead of the newspapers on it, but the public is aware of them now and they haven't even taken place yet. If it gets into nitty gritty it's going to be in behind closed doors exec sessions anyway. Simon is exaggerating and blowing it out of proportion as usual. Let the quiet reasonable non attention whores talk and keep it above board. Don't let the terrorists win before you even start. If it doesn't go anywhere as somewhat expected, move on.
Baby bully Simon is already halfway to taking his toys and going home because he's not getting his way in Pennsbury. He already lost his VP slot. He said he didn't want it. He wasn't getting it anyway. Pennsbury's getting sick of him, just like Morrisville got sick of Hellman, Mihok, Worob, Stout, etc etc etc.............
It does seem like Simon has sand in his nethers, doesn't it?
What is it about small time politics that seems to draw these narrow-minded napoleonic egoists in such great numbers? It seems like every SB and town council has at least one.
Unfortunately for us, Morrisville has always seemed to have several at the same time, and more waiting in the wings.
Yeah. They capture the imaginations of the angry and the gullible, but eventually flame out. Sometimes it takes decades. Even Joe McCarty had a 5 year run.
We could sure use a few more demented Elmer Gantry McCarthy's to sell us completely down the river.
Brody Bruce · Top Commenter
This is not a negotiation session and it is merely an introduction to discuss the possibility of talking about a merger.
Simon Campbell should worry about trying to make all the meetings instead of creating hyperbole.
"This is not a negotiation session and it is merely an introduction to discuss the possibility of talking about a merger.
Simon Campbell should worry about trying to make all the meetings instead of creating hyperbole."
Agreed, but angry hyperbole is what he does best. He is the Pennsbury equivalent of Angry Al. In my short stint on the MV board, I had the privilege of interacting with Mr. Campbell. This was before he was a bully board member and was just a bully. And bully he did. He was downright mean to our then busyiness administrator, Reba Dunford. His demands were legal and we had to comply. But his tactics were questionable. It appears his demeanor and his attitude toward Morrisville hasn't changed much.
Simon says, "No merger!"
Simon says, "I won't even consider it!"
"You can't talk to them either!"
.... you didn't say Simon Says...
America, what a country! A place where if you come here and work hard at it, you can achieve your maximum potential. Even if it's as a douche.
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