Corbett Plan Would Cut Pa. Pensions by $12 Billion

Corbett plan would cut Pa. pensions by $12 billion 

Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 6:03 pm | Updated: 7:01 pm, Tue Feb 26, 2013.

Corbett plan would cut Pa. pensions by $12 billionAssociated Press |

State and school employees in Pennsylvania stand to lose nearly $12 billion worth of pension benefits over the next 30 years if Gov. Tom Corbett's pension reform plan is approved.The administration released a printed summary of the financial implications of Corbett's proposal late Tuesday afternoon.

The $12 billion in savings would come exclusively from the Republican governor's plan to reduce future benefits for current employees. It's unclear whether there is enough legislative support and, even if it's approved, unions have vowed a court challenge.
The summary says Corbett's plan to move new hires into a 401(k)-style plan would save more than $5 billion through 2043.
But those savings would be partly offset by proposed limits on how fast taxpayers' share of pension costs may grow in the next few years.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Pennsylvania's state treasurer and a labor-affiliated research group on Tuesday criticized Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's plan to cut costs by diverting newly hired state and school employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans.
Democratic Treasurer Rob McCord and economist Stephen Herzenberg of the Keystone Research Center said the proposal wouldn't save money but would instead cost taxpayers more. It's a key provision in Corbett's overhaul of the state's two largest public pension plans.
An administration spokesman countered that the critics ignored Corbett's companion proposal to reduce future pension benefits for employees in the current, defined-benefit plan to save an estimated $11.5 billion over 30 years.
"Their argument is based on only half the facts," said state budget office spokesman Jay Pagni.
That proposal, however, is fraught with legal and political challenges, ensuring it faces a steep uphill battle in the Legislature and possibly the courts.
In a teleconference with reporters, McCord and Herzenberg said the introduction of the new plan would reduce the return on investments needed to provide benefits for the aging employees enrolled in the current plan as fund managers seek less risky assets.
At the same time, the cost of the state's 4 percent matching contribution for new hires automatically enrolled in the new pension plan will come from existing pension fund assets, further increasing the cost to taxpayers, they said.
"The governor's proposal will dig a deeper pension hole with taxpayers on the hook," Herzenberg said.
McCord, who is considered a potential challenger to Corbett's re-election bid in 2014, voiced concern about the governor's plan to initially reduce the taxpayers' share of pension costs and limit annual increases for several years.
McCord said it would add $5 billion to what is currently a $41 billion unfunded liability in the Public School Employees' Retirement System and the State Employees' Retirement System, which together include more than 800,000 active and retired members.
"It's basically a planned tax hike on anybody who plans on living in Pennsylvania in 2019 and beyond," he said, citing the year Corbett would complete a potential second term.
Corbett's proposal to reduce future benefits of current employees is all but certain to prompt a legal challenge from public employee unions even if it passes the Legislsature. Many Democratic lawmakers oppose it, and it has received a cool reception from the leaders of the Legislature's GOP majority.
On Wednesday, representatives of the two major pension funds are scheduled to appear before legislative committees scrutinizing the governor's state budget plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Morrisville Schools Discuss Cyber School Option

MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Morrisville schools discuss cyber school option

Posted: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 5:15 pm | Updated: 7:45 pm, Wed Feb 13, 2013.

Morrisville schools discuss cyber school optionBy GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on February 13, 2013       

 

A group of parents this week got a glimpse into the possibility of Morrisville High School becoming a cyber school.As part of the Morrisville School District’s Education Committee monthly discussion series dealing with the district’s future, the panel of four touched on how such a move could fit into Morrisville.

“It would get more students back to our schools,” Superintendent Bill Ferrara said at this week's meeting. “It would reduce the cost per student. In the long run it changes your operating cost.”

Currently there are a number of students who attend school outside the borough.
The three school board members and the superintendent who make up the committee touched on the following issues in a conversation with a group of 14 residents at the Tuesday night meeting:

• Cyber classes could be offered at home or at school
• Students may or may not be provided with computers
• Costs per student would be lower
• Cyber classes would cover core subjects, and maybe a few others such as health and foreign language
• Classes could be offered as early as the beginning of the 2013-14 school year

Cyber classes would provide students with more schedule flexibility.
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:

• Keep the status quo
• Go to a five-period day (currently, the high school runs with six periods)
• Bring in cyber courses
• Increase the number of students attending Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township
• Send borough high school students to another district by paying their tuition to enroll
• Increase dual credit enrollment with Bucks County Community College
• Engage in a complete merger with another district
• Go to a split schedule (staggering school entrance times)
• Enroll students in multi-district cyber courses (a pool of districts offering a variety of online classes)

Morrisville has offered cyber classes during summer school since 2011 with online make-up classes in the district’s Dropout Prevention Program. It started with six students; by summer 2012, enrollment increased to 16.
The summer school program is based on a curriculum developed by the district’s faculty and implemented with the use of Compass Learning software, officials said.
“The use of cyber courses have enabled us to assist students in graduating and provided the opportunity to try new programs and work out the problems,” said school board President Damon Miller said. “Therefore, should we decide to increase the use of cyber courses to reduce the cost of our high school students we are confident we can provide a variety of options to our students.”
Ferrara explained that the summer school model would be implemented in any year-round program, but not all features would be used.
In cyber summer school, students take a test at the beginning of the program and a follow-up test after the program has ended. A student must score 70 percent or higher on the post-test to receive credit for the course.
A teacher is available at the school once a week to meet and assist students with the course work during summer school. Students also can e-mail teachers if they face difficulties during the week.
To add to the district’s cyber experience last year, Morrisville became a member of the Bucks County IU Bridge Program, a county-wide cyber school.
Additionally, four home-based students in three years have been placed in Morrisville's cyber alternative school.
The first student was unable to function in a normal school setting and remained in cyber alternative school in her junior and senior years. Since then, three other students have done the same.
A parent at Tuesday's meeting asked if science would be taught as a cyber class, resulting in the elimination of hands-on experience of lab time such as dissecting an animal.
Ferrara explained the district is already moving into virtual labs, a move that would eliminate the material costs, therefore saving the district money.
He added that cyber classwork would be geared at the pace of individual students, and wouldn’t be offered in a period-by-period style.
Because previous committee meetings were poorly attended by parents and residents, before delving into the cyber school option, the committee rehashed last month’s discussion on tuitioning out students to other districts.
A parent asked how the committee is determining the pros and cons of each option.
Miller said that it’s based on “what we feel.”
Another parent asked if merging was an option.
Yes, Miller responded, adding that Morrisville would have to find another district it is willing to merge with.

Potluck #72

A fresh one.  Nice turnout at last night's Education Committee meeting, by the way.

Corbett shifts stance on cuts to school funds

Angela Couloumbis, INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU

Posted: Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 9:04 PM

HARRISBURG - The budget ax might not land on public schools after all.

For weeks, Gov. Corbett and members of his administration have sent strong signals that they would likely look to education funding for budget cuts if the legislature did not act to rein in the state's skyrocketing public-employee pension costs.
But on Tuesday, the governor softened his stance. Surrounded by school administrators at a news conference in the Capitol, he said it was the legislature that would ultimately have to choose where to cut in order to recoup dollars for the state's two major pension funds.
"In years past, the legislature has taken what we've said, and come in, and we've negotiated," Corbett said. "So it's now over in their camp. . . . We've made our proposal, now they get to massage it."
He added: "I've said this before: What goes at the front end into the budget isn't what comes out at the back end."
As recently as last month, the administration was offering a somewhat different narrative.
The Republican governor told the Inquirer Editorial Board on Jan. 23 that he would not be cutting aid, as he had in previous years, for public schools or the state-related universities - Pennsylvania State, Temple, Pittsburgh, and Lincoln. But he said he would not rule out changing that scenario if legislators fought his proposal to stem pension costs.
His budget secretary, Charles Zogby, also told a room full of lobbyists, advocates, and reporters at a Jan. 28 press club luncheon that pension reform was "essential" to avoiding deep and immediate budget cuts. When asked where those cuts might occur, he noted that the bulk of the next fiscal year's pension costs arise from benefits paid to public school teachers.
"There will be some who will argue that because it's a public-school funding cost, that maybe it ought to be borne in other things in public education," Zogby said.
That stance angered top Republican legislators, who balked at what they perceived as a strategy to force them to act on the complicated - and controversial - issue of changing pension benefits by holding public school funding hostage.   

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A number of legislators have concerns that Corbett's pension overhaul plan, which, among other things, calls for changing the way benefits for current employees are calculated, would not pass muster in the courts.
But Corbett used Tuesday's news conference mostly to sell his new education agenda - this after suffering politically for deep cuts to public schools over the last two years.
The governor noted that his $28.4 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1 devotes an additional $90 million to education.
And once again, he trumpeted his plan to sell the state liquor stores and turn the projected $1 billion in proceeds into block grants for public schools over the next four years.
That will be a heavy lift. Several governors before him have tried to privatize the liquor system, running into opposition from both Democrats siding with unions and conservative Republicans who favor strict controls on alcohol sales.
Corbett said he was optimistic, noting that public opinion is on his side. The latest poll to bear him out was announced Tuesday by the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg-based libertarian think tank, which found 60 percent of Pennsylvania voters strongly supported ending the state monopoly on the sale of liquor and wine.
"Selling liquor is not a core function of government," Corbett said. "Education is."

Morrisville Files Court Paper to Dissolve Pool Group

MORRISVILLE
Morrisville files court paper to dissolve pool group

Posted: Thursday, February 7, 2013 4:55 pm

Morrisville files court paper to dissolve pool groupBy GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on February 7, 2013

 

Morrisville Borough Council has filed a motion in Bucks County Court to take ownership of the former community pool's property inside the borough's 40-acre Williamson Park.
The petition is to legally dissolve the group that had managed and still owns the property.

Sean Kilkenny, the borough’s former solicitor working on the case, filed the petition last week for involuntary dissolution of the Morrisville Community Swimming Pool Inc. -- the nonprofit group created in 1955 to take over ownership and oversee the management of the pool property at 300 N. Delmorr Ave.

It managed the property until 2009. Although the board of directors has since dissolved, Morrisville Community Swimming Pool Inc. is still legally an organization.
Under the petition, the borough is seeking the “distribution of the corporation’s assets to the borough as the sole creditor,” according to the petition.
Morrisville has paid the group’s state and federal liens and outstanding mortgages in the amount of $29,565 -- an amount that was negotiated after the pool's closing.
In the recent court filings, the government's lawyer said it needs the help of the one remaining corporation official and its treasurer until early January. That's Joni Cappuccio.
As treasurer, Cappuccio refused to sign the documents that would turn ownership over to the borough, Kilkenny's law office said Thursday.
"Despite the cooperation of Ms. Cappuccio," reads the petition. "Ms. Cappuccio refused to cooperate in the documentation required for conveyance of the property to the borough, including an agreement of sale, settlement documents and a deed."
Cappuccio said she has no authority to do such a thing.
"I have been more than cooperative. I've done everything they have asked me to do," she said. "They wanted me to sign the pool over, but I don't have the authority to do that because there is no board of directors and in accordance to the bylaws of the corporation I have no power or authority to do that, sign the pool over."
She added that she's puzzled as to why the borough would need her since the 1955 deed, according to Cappuccio, has a clause stating that if the pool is abandoned, ownership of the property would revert to the borough.
But that's not automatic, according to Kilkenny's law firm. Some sort of process needs to happen for the borough to obtain the title, the firm said Thursday.
Morrisville Community Swimming Pool has been dormant since 2009, when the board of directors was disbanded.
Cappuccio has continued overseeing the group’s bank account, which still has the approximately $600 left when the group ceased operations, according to the court filing.
“However, Cappuccio did not participate in, nor was she responsible for, any mismanagement of the corporation,” according to the court papers.
She submitted to the borough her letter of resignation from the group Jan. 2.
Morrisville Community Swimming Pool Inc. acquired two properties from the borough on Sept. 28, 1955, and May 8, 1963. The deeds had restrictions: The property could only be used for a nonprofit community swimming pool unless the borough permitted other usage; and the property would always remain a park, playground and swimming pool area, according to the filed petition.
The group constructed a swimming pool in 1955, then a second swimming pool in 1963. The latter was destroyed by flooding and removed from the property.
In 1999, the pool group obtained additional funding through two mortgages in the amounts of $30,000 and $10,000 held by Atlantic National Trust. What the money was used for has not been disclosed.
From about 2004 to 2006, the nonprofit group didn't pay its federal and state unemployment taxes. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry filed liens against the property for the unpaid taxes for those who worked at the pool, according to the court papers.
In 2007, Atlantic National Trust initiated foreclosure proceedings because of the group’s failure to pay on the two 1999 mortgages.
In December 2010, borough council expressed concern with the deteriorating condition of the property and initiated a takeover plan. The council, by increasing real estate taxes throughout the borough by 4.25 mills, raised $58,898 to acquire the property.
Cappuccio granted a power of attorney to the borough’s lawyer, Kilkenny, who negotiated the group’s debt with Atlantic National Trust, and federal and state agencies.
On Nov. 21, 2011, the borough agreed to pay Atlantic National Trust $18,500 for the two outstanding mortgages. The mortgage foreclosure action brought by the company was terminated by Bucks County Court last Dec. 13.
Meanwhile, the IRS compromised, agreeing to $2,500 as payment for the outstanding federal lien.
The state revenue department agreed to waive its actions against the pool group in return for $3,473. Labor and industry agreed to do the same for $5,092, according to the court filings.
The court papers do not mention the initial amount owed, and borough officials didn’t have the exact totals.
“The borough discharged all outstanding debts of the corporation, with the cooperation and acknowledgement of the corporation’s sole remaining officer. Accordingly, the borough’s status as a creditor of the corporation is clear, the corporation has admitted the borough’s status as creditor, and the borough is entitled … to seek issuance of articles of dissolution of the corporation and distribution of the corporation’s assets,” Kilkenny stated in the petition.
The borough is planning to involve the community in deciding what is to become of the property if the court approves the petition, council President Nancy Sherlock said.

Potluck #71

Corbett: Overhaul pensions — or else

      

Angela Couloumbis, INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU

Posted: Tuesday, February 5, 2013, 11:57 AM

HARRISBURG - Gov. Corbett on Tuesday unveiled a $28.4 billion budget for the next fiscal year that appears to hold fast to his campaign promise of no new taxes, and would send more dollars to public schools as well as health and social welfare services.

But the more generous spending - the governor's plan is about 2.7 percent more than this year's $27.65 billion budget - comes with a big caveat: the legislature must approve Corbett's proposed overhaul of Pennsylvania's public pension spending.The pension question will be controversial, as it would require all new employees to move into a 401-K-style retirement plan and make significant changes to the way future benefits are calculated for current employees."The rebuilding of the Commonwealth's programs and services begins today," Corbett said. But, he warned: "We must take action [on pensions] to provide budgetary relief, to prevent these costs from consuming our ability to fund core programs and services."He added: "Now is not the time to be timid in our approach. Now is not the time to cling to old ideas and the status quo . . . Now is the time to be bold. Every one of us had come here to make things better for all Pennsylvanians."As expected, the governor's budget also makes a pitch for several other big-ticket items, including privatizing Pennsylvania's wine and liquor stores and raising several billion dollars for roads, bridges and mass transit.Specifically, Corbett wants to sell off the state stores - and allow supermarkets, convenience stores and big-box stores to finally sell beer and wine - in order to raise $1 billion. That money would then be given to public schools, over four years, to spend on school safety, early learning programs and other designated areas. The first installment of roughly $200 million would be available for the 2014-15 school year.On transportation, the governor's plan would uncap the so-called oil franchise tax, a fee levied on the wholesale price of gas (which is now capped at $1.25 per gallon). The plan would be phased in over five years, and, coupled with cuts in some administrative costs, would produce a half billion in funding in the next fiscal year, the administration estimates.

All are major proposals that will require nimble negotiating with the legislature. And on his transportation plan, Corbett will have to beat back criticism from some corners that uncapping the oil franchise tax would result in an increase for consumers of gas at the pump - and buck the governor's no-tax pledge.

But the big fight with the legislature will likely center around pension changes. Corbett's plan would reduce future pension benefits for current employees by changing the way those benefits are calculated. Even if the legislature approves his proposal - a heavy lift to begin with, as legislators would also be reducing their own pensions - it will likely face a legal challenge and could be tied up in the courts for months or even years.That leaves this question: how will Corbett make up for the $175 million he estimates in savings from pension reforms in the next fiscal year if the legislature doesn't approve his pension proposal, or if it is held up by legal challenges.The governor and other administration officials have signaled that if the legislature does not act, they will likely have to look for cuts in education, setting the stage for a showdown come the summer. The budget must be approved by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.As it stands now, Corbett's proposal calls for a $90 million increase in basic education funding, and would increase spending on early childhood education, including a 5 percent increase for pre-kindergarten programs. Higher education would be funded at this year's levels, an improvement over the steep cuts over the last two years.Corbett's budget proposal would also boost funding by $40 million for people with intellectual and physical disabilities to live independently, and would expand community health services to help people in rural areas.His spending plan also calls for a series of continuing business tax cuts. Corbett's budget would end the capital stock and franchise tax, increase the amount of net operating losses businesses could carry forward from $3 million to $5 million; and begin in 2015 a long-term reduction of the corporate net income tax from the current 9.99 percent to 6.99 percent.

Education Politics will be Key in Corbett's Plans

Education politics will be key in Corbett's plans

    

Posted: Saturday, February 2, 2013 11:37 am

Education politics will be key in Corbett's plans

Associated Press |

                                                   

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The plight of Pennsylvania's public schools will dominate many of the Legislature's debates this spring as the politics of education grows increasingly volatile.It'll start with Gov. Tom Corbett releasing his budget proposal Tuesday.

Corbett has left open the possibility that he'll propose more aid for public schools. School districts continue to struggle a year after Republicans pushed through deep reductions in state support.
But he's also sent signals that cuts in aid to schools are possible if the Legislature doesn't approve the changes he'll propose to public pension benefits.
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, a Republican, is warning Corbett against balancing cuts to schools against the pension changes. Democrats say Corbett and Republican lawmakers are worried about a public perception that they've bungled their handling of public schools.

Corbett Promises Liquor Proceeds to Pa. Schools

Corbett promises liquor proceeds to Pa. schools

Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 6:10 pm | Updated: 7:03 pm, Wed Jan 30, 2013.

Corbett promises liquor proceeds to Pa. schoolsAssociated Press |

Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to end the state monopoly over the sale of liquor and wine by replacing hundreds of state-owned stores with twice as many private outlets and allowing beer and wine to be sold at a wide range of stores."I want Pennsylvanians to enjoy the same convenience that virtually every other American today has," said Corbett, who unveiled his proposal at a news conference halfway across the state from the Capitol in Harrisburg, where lawmakers will decide its fate.

The Republican governor said the plan would generate $1 billion in revenue that would be funneled to public schools over four years to create a proposed block grant program.
The money would help finance programs involving school safety, learning in reading and math through third grade, individualized learning programs and science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction in the sixth to 12th grades.
Most of the revenue, a projected $575 million, would come from the sale of wholesale liquor licenses.
An additional $224 million is anticipated from the auctioning of 1,200 wine and liquor licenses, with 800 reserved for large retail stores and 400 for smaller ones. Those licensees would be required to set up separate stores to sell wine and liquor.
Every county would be allocated at least as many wine and liquor stores as it now has and is likely to gain more, officials said.
Other revenue would flow from the sale of beer and wine licenses to retailers including big-box stores, grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores.
Beer distributors, which currently only sell beer by the case, could obtain an enhanced license that allows them to sell beer in smaller quantities.
Also, because they also are eligible to compete for the wine and liquor licenses, beer distributors could become the only one-stop sources of liquor, wine and beer.
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, the Legislature's leading liquor privatization advocate, and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley joined Corbett at the event.
Corbett's proposal, the latest in a battle that has raged off and on for decades, calls for shutting down the 620 existing state stores, a move fiercely opposed by employee unions. Corbett called the current system "a vestige of Prohibition."
One legislative critic, state Sen. John Yudichak, said the move would throw thousands of state-store employees out of work. He lumped it in with the administration's pending contract to turn over management of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a British firm.
"The governor's fixation with privatization now includes a bizarre and unhealthy attempt to tie education achievement to what can only be described as a one-time alcohol funded stimulus package," said Yudichak, D-Luzerne.
The transition to a fully privatized system could take as long as four years. However, the closing of the state stores would begin within six months and be completed in the second year, according to the administration.
Corbett touted the changes as enhancing convenience for people who want a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine, but officials said prices are not expected to change significantly.
Taxes on alcoholic beverages would remain unchanged under the proposal, but increased sales are projected to generate $13 million annually in new revenue.
The state will lose the $550 million annual markup on state-store sales, but officials said that would be offset by an expected $150 million increase in fees and fines, plus $400 million in savings from the termination of state wholesale and retail operations.
Interest groups were quick to respond to the governor's proposal.
"Our students shouldn't have to count on liquor being available on every corner in order to have properly funded schools," said the state's largest teachers' union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals said expanding the sale of alcoholic beverages would increase accidents and violence fueled by drinking.
"Our state does not need more liquor stores," said Patricia Eakin, the union's president.
The National Federation of Independent Business applauded the governor.
"We need to replace this bureaucratic and antiquated system with a more efficient and convenient private-sector model that meets the demands of modern society," the NFIB said.

State Education Secretary Says Corbett’s Budget has Good News for Schools

State education secretary says Corbett’s budget has good news for schools

Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 5:11 pm | Updated: 9:27 pm, Tue Jan 29, 2013.

State education secretary says Corbett’s budget has good news for schools

By Mark Shade Staff WriterPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on January 29, 2013

 

LANDISVILLE -- With state revenues exceeding expectations, Pennsylvania’s education secretary on Tuesday said that Gov. Tom Corbett will propose an increase in public education funding when he unveils his 2013-14 spending plan next week.“I think that many people will be pleased to see some of the things … in the budget address,” Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said following a visit to the Hempfield School District in Lancaster County.

Tomalis wouldn't say how much of an increase Corbett will propose during his address to the General Assembly Tuesday. Corbett allocated $11.4 billion for early, basic and higher education for the current budget year.
“This is a transformative time in education and we do need to invest in our students in a way that’s a little bit different,” Tomalis said.
Some of that investment will come in the form of local relief from some mandates; increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math; and investments in a new educator evaluation system.
Mandate relief, he said, could be the keystone of the administration’s new education emphasis.
“The reason why laws get passed is they get put in place to address an issue. Sometimes, those issues have been in place for a long, long time and we get used to dealing with things in a certain way,” Tomalis said. “What we want to say to a school district is, come to us and look for an opportunity for you to do things better for your kids, for the operations of your district and we’ll see what we can do to relieve those mandates.”
Tomalis admitted the state’s ability to extend mandate relief to school districts depends on whether legislators will change state law. He said the administration will work with legislators to make sure that happens.
“We really shouldn’t have to think about creating a statute in the school code to get things out of the way so that people can be innovative at the front lines,” he said, noting that the state couldn't supersede federal mandates.
Lower Bucks school district officials said they would welcome that reprieve.
“I believe we would welcome the ability to apply some flexibility to our operations against the many mandates that are imposed on school districts by the Department of Education,” said Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein.
Samuel Lee, superintendent of schools for Bristol Township School District, expressed his optimism as well. "I'm encouraged by the secretary's words and look forward to the details related to them," he said.
David Baugh, Bensalem Township School District superintendent, also expressed hope of easing up on state mandates.
"We would welcome relief from any unfunded mandates and the opportunity to be more flexible and creative to meet the needs of our students," he said. "We are slowly implementing STEM so grants and support could really help us jump start our efforts in this vital area of curriculum and instruction."
On other elements of the governor's message, Baugh said he was "delighted" with the promise of additional state funding for public education.
But he expressed "grave reservations" about the push for teacher evaluations. "Top experts around the nation believe that these sorts of evaluations are neither helpful nor constructive for improving teaching and learning," Baugh said.
Tomalis said the governor’s educator evaluation system would reward educators and districts that break norms and innovate and bring those innovations to other educators and districts.
“More than anything else, it’s that quality of instruction that we see in the classroom that’s going to change the life of those students. Administrators want to make sure the tools are in place so that we can do more and more strong professional development,” Tomalis said.
Tomalis said there must also be pension reform, though it might not happen simultaneously with the adoption of the 2013-14 budget. The state Constitution requires that a balanced budget be adopted by June 30. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
“We are, today, spending record amounts of state funding on K-12 public education. We’re at a level we’ve never been before. A lot of those dollars are dedicated to our obligations to meet the pension requirements. We may see a $500 million-a-year increase to meet those pension requirements if we don’t get changes to pension reform,” the education secretary said.
The Public School Employees’ Retirement System, known as PSERS, has seen its annual pension line jump from $260 million in 2011, Tomalis said, to $800 million now. Without pension reform, he said the system’s pension budget line would soon balloon to $1.2 billion.
Corbett has suffered politically with his past two education budgets, but Tomalis argued that the Republican governor has done what he could to offset dramatic drops in the economy and the disappearance of federal stimulus dollars. He said the lack of stimulus, the pension explosion, and the drop in state revenue were “whammies.”
“The biggest cut in public education funding that happened in PA happened two years before the governor took office. The governor increased the funding to basic education to get back to the pre-stimulus level in the first year but in addition to that we had the pension obligations,” Tomalis said.
“Now, we see the changes in the revenue coming in because of the changes in the economy and the governor wants to support, and is going to be supporting, increased commitments to pub education all across the board,” he said.

Morrisville Keeps Budget Options Open

MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS

Morrisville keeps budget options open

Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 5:31 pm | Updated: 7:36 pm, Tue Jan 29, 2013.

Morrisville keeps budget options open

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on January 29, 2013 

 

Morrisville School District officials who are working to close a $1 million deficit in the next school year are keeping all options open.Like many districts statewide, Morrisville won’t know, in full, what it’s up against until Gov. Tom Corbett releases his education budget Tuesday.

As of last week, the district was facing a $1 million deficit with expenditures expected to be $18 million and revenue $17 million.
In the meantime, the school board failed to pass a resolution that would have capped a tax increase at 2 percent for fiscal year 2013-14, which is the maximum amount allowed for Morrisville without applying for exceptions or putting the issue to a voter referendum.
The vote wasn’t unanimous, though. School Directors John "Jack" Buckman, Steve Worob and Ron Stout voted in favor of the cap.
The board still has time to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for exceptions to raise school property taxes above the state index. The deadline is March 7.
Just because the district applies for exceptions to Act 1 does not mean it has to raise taxes beyond the limit. In fact, this is the beginning of budget season and there are still several months to craft a final spending plan. The board will vote on a final budget in June. State law requires districts approve a final budget by the end of June.
School taxes in the district have remained stable, at 177.3 mills, since the 2009-10 school year. Since then savings have helped the school district balance the budget. But the $478,550 left in the fund balance won’t cover the district’s shortfall for the next school year.
For salaries and benefits for all employees, the district is expecting to pay $10.87 million. Regular education could cost $7.48 million, with $5.88 million of that covering salary and benefits. Special education looks like it could cost the district $3.67 million, with $1.79 million of that salary and benefits. Vocational education could run $827,443, with $120,000 covering salary and benefits.

Potluck #70

Morrisville Looks for New Classroom Setup

Morrisville looks for new classroom setup

Posted: Monday, January 21, 2013 3:57 pm

Morrisville looks for new classroom setup

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on January 21, 2013       

 

The Morrisville School District administration is rethinking the educational setup in third to sixth grades.
Currently, all but third grade are departmentalized, meaning classrooms are grouped by each subject and lesson is taught for an hour each day. The administration is proposing a change to self-contained classrooms instead, which involves one teacher covering all subjects for a single classroom.

The administration is considering such a switch to take effect in the 2013-14 school year.
Both setups have pros and cons, Todd DuPell, administrator interim, told the school board recently.
DuPell, who is leading the research for Morrisville schools, said the district’s classes aren’t big enough to continue departmentalizing. And because the district is small, it could utilize the teachers better with self-containing classrooms, he said.
With such setup, there’s an opportunity for looping, which involves a teacher remaining with a group of students for more than one school year.
The district is considering looping third and fourth grades, as well as fifth and sixth grades, he said.
In his research, DuPell found that with looping, teachers get to know their students and better identify their strengths and weaknesses. And the kids build a relationship with their teachers, making it less stressful on some students. Research indicates looping helps boost test scores as well, DuPell added.
In addition, looping allows educators to assign projects during summer break to keep students engaged and making it easier to transition into the fall semester, DuPell said.
But there are cons, too.
Students wouldn’t be exposed to different styles of teaching, and some students could face difficulties detaching from teachers after two years. There's also the possibility of a student and teacher clashing, making it uncomfortable for the pair to be together for two years.
Departmentalizing has its pros and cons as well.
Some cons: the need for heavy planning and communication between teachers -- a daily briefing would be almost necessary; and difficulty for some students to keep up with lessons.
The pros: because individual subjects are taught for an hour, students could have a better understanding of each subject; teachers and students are exposed to more diversity, not just one group; and teachers have to grade only one or two subjects.

Will longer school year help or hurt US students?

By JULIE CARR SMYTH | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago

 

View Photo

Associated Press/Michael Conroy - In this Friday, April 15, 2011 photo, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan is questioned by student Trebor Goodall, right, as he's videotaped by fellow student …more Faith Brown during a tour of the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis. Duncan is a chief proponent of extended hours and a longer school year. The school in Indianapolis has extended hours. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) 

 

Did your kids moan that winter break was way too short as you got them ready for the first day back in school? They might get their wish of more holiday time off under proposals catching on around the country to lengthen the school year.

But there's a catch: a much shorter summer vacation.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a chief proponent of the longer school year, says American students have fallen behind the world academically.

"Whether educators have more time to enrich instruction or students have more time to learn how to play an instrument and write computer code, adding meaningful in-school hours is a critical investment that better prepares children to be successful in the 21st century," he said in December when five states announced they would add at least 300 hours to the academic calendar in some schools beginning this year.
The three-year pilot project will affect about 20,000 students in 40 schools in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.

Proponents argue that too much knowledge is lost while American kids wile away the summer months apart from their lessons. The National Summer Learning Association cites decades of research that shows students' test scores are higher in the same subjects at the beginning of the summer than at the end.

"The research is very clear about that," said Charles Ballinger, executive director emeritus of the National Association for Year-Round School in San Diego. "The only ones who don't lose are the upper 10 to 15 percent of the student body. Those tend to be gifted, college-bound, they're natural learners who will learn wherever they are."

Supporters also say a longer school year would give poor children more access to school-provided healthy meals.
Yet the movement has plenty of detractors — so many that Ballinger sometimes feels like the Grinch trying to steal Christmas.
"I had a parent at one meeting say, 'I want my child to lie on his back in the grass watching the clouds in the sky during the day and the moon and stars at night,'" Ballinger recalled. "I thought, 'Oh, my. Most kids do that for two, three, maybe four days, then say, 'What's next?''"
But opponents aren't simply dreamy romantics.
Besides the outdoor opportunities for pent up youngsters, they say families already are beholden to the school calendar for three seasons out of four. Summer breaks, they say, are needed to provide an academic respite for students' overwrought minds, and to provide time with family and the flexibility to travel and study favorite subjects in more depth. They note that advocates of year-round school cannot point to any evidence that it brings appreciable academic benefits.
"I do believe that if children have not mastered a subject that, within a week, personally, I see a slide in my own child," said Tina Bruno, executive director of the Coalition for a Traditional School Calendar. "That's where the idea of parental involvement and parental responsibility in education comes in, because our children cannot and should not be in school seven days a week, 365 days a year."
Bruno is part of a "Save Our Summers" alliance of parents, grandparents, educational professionals and some summer-time recreation providers fighting year-round school. Local chapters carry names such as Georgians Need Summers, Texans for a Traditional School Year and Save Alabama Summers.
Camps, hotel operators and other summer-specific industries raise red flags about the potential economic effect.
The debate has divided parents and educators.
School days shorter than work days and summer breaks that extend to as many as 12 weeks in some areas run up against increasing political pressure from working households — 30 percent of which are headed by women. These families must fill the gaps with afterschool programs, day care, babysitters and camps.
"Particularly where there are single parents or where both parents are working, they prefer to provide care for three weeks at a time rather than three months at a time," Ballinger said.

The National Center on Time & Learning has estimated that about 1,000 districts have adopted longer school days or years.

Some places that have tried the year-round calendar, including Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and parts of California, have returned to the traditional approach. Strapped budgets and parental dissatisfaction were among reasons.
School years are extended based on three basic models:
—stretching the traditional 180 days of school across the whole calendar year by lengthening spring and winter breaks and shortening the one in the summer.
—adding 20 to 30 actual days of instruction to the 180-day calendar.
—dividing students and staff into groups, typically four, and rotating three through at a time, with one on vacation, throughout the calendar year.
At the heart of the debate is nothing less than the ability of America's workforce to compete globally.
The U.S. remains in the top dozen or so countries in all tested subjects. But even where U.S. student scores have improved, many other nations have improved much faster, leaving American students far behind peers in Asia and Europe.
Still, data are far from clear that more hours behind a desk can help.
A Center for Public Education review found that students in India and China — countries Duncan has pointed to as giving children more classroom time than the U.S. — don't actually spend more time in school than American kids, when disparate data are converted to apples-to-apples comparisons.

The center, an initiative of the National School Boards Association, found 42 U.S. states require more than 800 instructional hours a year for their youngest students, and that's more than India does.

Opponents of extended school point out that states such as Minnesota and Massachusetts steadily shine on standardized achievement tests while preserving their summer break with a post-Labor Day school start.
"It makes sense that more time is going to equate to more learning, but then you have to equate that to more professional development for teachers — will that get more bang for the buck?" said Patte Barth, the center's director. "I look at it, and teachers and instruction are still the most important factor more so than time."
The center's study also found that some nations that outperform the U.S. academically, such as Finland, require less school.
Many schools are experimenting with the less controversial, less costly interim step of lengthening the school day instead of adding days to the school year.

Chicago's public schools extended the school day from 5 hours and 45 minutes to 7 hours last year after a heated offensive by unionized teachers and some parents. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff to Duncan's boss, President Barack Obama, initially pushed an even longer school day — a major sticking point in this year's seven-day teachers' strike. He and other proponents argued that having the shortest school day among the nation's 50 largest districts and one of the shortest school years had put Chicago's children at a competitive disadvantage.

Wendy Katten, executive director of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, said opponents held back a push for a 7.5-hour school day, and got an extra staff person assigned to each school to handle the additional hour and 15 minutes of school time.

In San Diego, year-round school has been a reality since the 1970s.

District spokesman Jack Brandais said the concept was initially intended to relieve crowding, not improve performance test scores. The student body and staff were divided into four groups, with three attending school at any given time.

Through decades of fine-tuning, Brandais said the district now runs both traditional and year-round tracks simultaneously.

A 2007 study by Ohio State University sociologist Paul von Hippel found virtually no difference in the academic gains of students who followed a traditional nine-month school calendar and those educated the same number of days spread across the entire year.

Amid budget cuts and teacher layoffs, San Diego has cut five instructional days from both year-round and traditional schedules since last year.

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.

Potluck #69

Happy 2013!

School firm faces loss of Pa. approval

Delaware Valley High School's alternative-education site in Reading is accused of violating state and U.S. laws.

DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

David T. Shulick, an attorney, is Delaware Valley High School's chief executive officer.   

Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Sunday, January 6, 2013, 6:12 AM

A Bala Cynwyd alternative-education company under federal investigation has been warned it could lose its approval for a disciplinary school in Reading because it allegedly is not complying with state and federal laws.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has told the for-profit Delaware Valley High School it has begun proceedings to revoke its approval because the school did not provide required academic and counseling programs and failed to address violent incidents that endanger students and staff.
According to documents obtained by The Inquirer, state officials sent a letter, reports, and an order Dec. 21 to Delaware Valley's owner - lawyer David T. Shulick - that said its approval to operate a private alternative-education school in Reading should be revoked.
Under state law, private providers need approval from the Education Department to run disciplinary programs for students with problems including chronic truancy and fighting. Delaware Valley has a $1.1 million contract with the Reading School District to run a school for 125 students in grades six to 12.
During a Dec. 11 and 12 site inspection, state officials said they found evidence Delaware Valley administrators had directed staff to falsify incident reports and to exclude incidents from daily logs "to conceal the true nature and extent of violence" and had threatened to sue employees if they called police or discussed their concerns with anyone outside the school.
A report prepared by Drew Schuckman, state coordinator of alternative-education programs, said every Delaware Valley staff member interviewed in Reading "stated that the environment of this facility is dangerous, not safe for students, and most felt unsafe working there."
The state has ordered Shulick's company to respond by Thursday and make major changes by Jan. 14. Tim Eller, department spokesman, said Delaware Valley had not yet replied.

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'No factual' basis

"DVHS is prepared to respond to all allegations, and will be doing so in a reply with evidentiary support," Shulick wrote in an e-mail to The Inquirer on Friday. "DVHS believes there is no factual or legal basis for the order to show cause. DVHS declines further comment, but will be responding on Monday."
Sources with knowledge of Delaware Valley's operations said Shulick was expected to vigorously defend operations of the Reading site, which accounts for more than half the private company's annual revenue.
Eller said that when the Education Department receives complaints about alternative-education providers, it usually works with them to address the problems.
He said the department took the unusual step of moving to revoke Delaware Valley's approval in Reading because the violations and concerns "were so egregious and threatened the safety of the students."
He said Education Secretary Ron Tomalis would decide whether Delaware Valley would be allowed to continue operating in Reading.
The department's action does not affect Delaware Valley's site in Warminster, which serves students from districts in Montgomery and Bucks Counties.
But Eller said the problems in Reading were so serious the department was launching an investigation into the Delaware Valley's Warminster campus.
Districts in Montgomery and Bucks are expected to pay the firm approximately $958,000 for 100 students this academic year.
The state's move is the latest development in a recent Delaware Valley saga that includes a federal investigation into the school's operations and its relationship with Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr., massive layoffs, the loss of lucrative contracts with the Philadelphia School District, and a lawsuit Shulick's firm filed against six former Reading employees in September that blamed them for inciting student violence.
State officials scheduled last month's visit to Reading after receiving complaints from Delaware Valley employees in mid-November about a lack of special-education services and persistent problems with violence, including a brawl that resulted in the arrests of eight students.
State documents show that Schuckman and four other officials from Harrisburg, Reading Superintendent Carlinda Purcell, and five other district representatives reviewed Delaware Valley's operations, examined records, and interviewed staff members.
Among other things the department found in Reading:
Delaware Valley had one counselor for 108 students and that counselor was spending "little if any time" counseling students about disruptive behavior.
Students were receiving less than three hours of daily academic instruction, with afternoons devoted to clubs and unstructured activities the staff called "free for all"; afternoon classes began in late November.
Delaware Valley failed to address violent incidents, including harassment of staff, as well as students defecating in classrooms, roaming the hallways, and engaging in "riots" involving dozens.
Delaware Valley's 14-member staff includes many first-year teachers who were not trained how to deal with disruptive students; a top administrator said training was set to begin Feb. 14.
Although 30 of the 108 students were supposed to receive special-education services, classroom teachers did not know which students qualified; there was only one special-education teacher on the staff.
Students at disciplinary schools are required to receive 21/2 hours of counseling per week, but counseling services were not offered until early December.

Lack of oversight

Overall, state officials said the program Delaware Valley was offering in Reading did not match what the company had described in documents it submitted in 2011 to obtain approval.
The Education Department review also found that the Reading district had failed to provide oversight of the education its students received at Delaware Valley and had not followed federal requirements when it sent special-education students to the school.
The department directed the district to address its own shortcomings and ordered it not to send any more special-education students to Delaware Valley.
And, if the Reading district determines Delaware Valley cannot provide the necessary special-education services, the department said it must remove all its special-education students by Jan. 14.
A spokeswoman for the Reading district did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.

Morrisville School District Reviews 2013-14 School Year Budget

MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS

Morrisville school district reviews 2013-14 school year budget
       

Posted: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 10:12 pm, Mon Dec 31, 2012.

Morrisville school district reviews 2013-14 school year budgetBy GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writerPhillyBurbs.com

Posted on January 1, 2013       

 

The Morrisville School District is facing its own fiscal cliff — one it hopes to avoid going over for the upcoming 2013-14 school year.In December, the estimated budget deficit stood at $970,144, said Paul DeAngelo, the district’s business manager.

The preliminary numbers show expenditures at $18 million, with revenues at $17.3 million, a difference of $723,397. The gap increases with a calculation of $246,747 based on the district’s first look at rising health care insurance costs.
The district will have a budget discussion at the school board’s Jan. 16 work session, at which time numbers could be adjusted from the December calculations.
At the Jan. 23 regular meeting of the board, it is expected to approve a resolution indicating the district will not raise taxes above the state’s Act 1 index, according to the budget calendar. The board also will vote to make the preliminary budget available to the public. The final budget has to be balanced and voted on by June 30.
In 2013-14, it’s estimated salaries and benefits will cost taxpayers $10.36 million.
Morrisville’s current operating budget is $18 million. The owner of the borough’s average assessed property of $20,820 paid $3,691 in taxes this school year.
In December, the district was awaiting decisions on possible administration staffing adjustments, moving to half-day kindergarten from full day, and changes in the district allocation to Bucks County Technical School. Other contracts for maintenance and transportation were unresolved as well.
Since the 2009-10 school year, the district has managed to keep taxes steady at 177.3 mills, by dipping into its reserves. During the 2009-10 school year, the district had $2.86 million in its rainy day fund. Since then, that number has dwindled. This school year, the district has a remaining balance of $478,550 in the fund.
The school board meets at Morrisville High School, in the LGI conference room, 550 West Palmer St. School board meetings are the third and fourth Wednesday of each month.
The budget calendar can be reviewed at: www.mv.org/district.cfm?subpage=537779.