The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
U-CF teachers, district continue negotiations
Association twice rejected factfinder's report
Friday, February 25, 2011
By Wm. Shawn Weigel
Staff Writer
Negotiations continue between the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and the education association, while the teachers continue on without an updated contract.
On Monday night, board member Frank Murphy said that both sides had met earlier that evening but did not give any idea as to how that meeting went.
Regarding the recently released factfinders report, twice rejected by the teachers' association, Murphy agreed the findings were more in line with what the district was willing to offer than with what the union was asking for.
He also said the report and the process proved more costly for the district than it initially thought.
"We believed that the additional money that was being requested by the factfinder from us was worth getting a contract and getting these negotiations behind us," Murphy said.
Where that puts things now, he said, is back at the starting point.
"We are going to continue to negotiate in good faith with our teachers. Our goal is to reach a contract that shows our teachers how much we respect them, want them and like them here," he said.
He added that while the board wanted the teachers to be happy in the district, that was only one element of the negotiations.
"We also need a contract that respects our taxpayers, and respects constituents … and that's the difficult part. But we will continue to try and get there."
Board member Jeff Hellrung said he felt the current contract offering from the union was unsustainable, and that he wanted to encourage the teachers to think seriously about the situation regarding the negotiations.
"If we did agree to a contract that was not sustainable over the long term, it would not be a good thing. It would have consequences in terms of jobs, in terms of class sizes … it's not good for the parents, it's not good for the students, and it's not good for the teachers."
On the economic side of the report, Hellrug said the factfinder gave the teachers "modest" pay increases, including scale movement, and preserved all key benefits except for the proposed new medical plan.
He added that all the noneconomic requests made by the board were denied in the interest of compromise.
"I just have to ask the teachers, isn't a three-year contract like that — the end of any labor conflict, the security of a three-year contract in very turbulent economic times — isn't that worth something?" Hellrung said. "Do you think that you'll get a lot more? How is that possible, with the revenue constraints that the school district is under? Do you think that you'll get a little bit more? Is it worth it to reject that contract to get a little bit more?"
Hellrung said that he couldn't imagine that any school board — or indeed any individual board member — would ever agree to a contract that is economically unsustainable.
"We know about the revenue stream coming in. If our biggest cost component is significantly more than that, it's a recipe for disaster," he said. "What school board would possibly agree to such a contract? How is that possible? What kind of worldview would make someone think that a school board would do this?"
He added that while the board often struggles with maintaining an economic balance, in this particular case there's no question.
"It's not close. Sometimes you have to agonize — should we do this? Is it worth it? Is this the right thing to do? It's not even close," he said.
Board member Keith Knauss responded to questions regarding a recent presentation he made to the school board, and whether he exaggerated some of his numbers.
"The district has examined the union's numbers (submitted to the factfinder) and has found that the union neglected to include the prescription plan, the vision plan, the dental plan, tuition reimbursement, and the whole cost of retirement contributions," Knauss said.
Simplifying the numbers, Knauss said that whether the proposed annual increase is 4.6 percent or 5.6 percent — figures proposed by the union and the district respectively — is immaterial.
"In this challenging economic environment, with the Act 1 index hovering around 1 percent, and with many residents experiencing cuts in their wages, it takes but a few seconds to look at the union's requests, look at the excessive costs, and say, 'no,'" Knauss said.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/25/news/srv0000011010676.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Teachers union rejects proposals in contract report (Downingtown) - Daily Local News 02/23/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Teachers union rejects proposals in contract report
Spokesman says half-step raises, changes to health care won't pass
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By Wm. Shawn Weigel, Staff Writer
Half-step increases in pay and an unwanted change in the medical plan are just two of the factors that led the Unionville-Chadds Ford teachers union to its second unanimous rejection of the fact-finders report.
The union was obliged by law to take a second vote on the contract no more than five and no less than 10 days after the initial vote on Monday, Feb. 7.
That same day, the school board voted unanimously 9-0 to accept those same findings.
Last week, the union again voted to reject the findings of the report they requested from the state last December.
Pat Clark, the teacher representative for the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association, said that the half-step raises scheduled for 2011-12 and 2012-13 would double the time it takes a newer teacher to reach maximum salary.
"Potentially, if you put that on paper, it would take (a new teacher) 32 years to hit the maximum salary," Clark said.
According to information from the fact-finders report, the half-step raises are equivalent to a raise of 1.04 percent.
Differences in the proposed health care plan were also a major snag, according to Clark.
The district proposes maintaining the current health care plan for the first year and then transitioning into the Keystone Direct Point of Service plan, where as the union would like to transition into the Personal Choice plan. Both proposals offer a "buy up" to the 10-20-70 plan, which Clark said both sides found favorable.
"We'd like to maintain a comparable plan, we're willing to pay more towards that plan, and we've offered concession from the current plan," Clark said.
He added that many teachers did not like the use of per-capita income date when formulating the salary matrix, particularly data from over 10 years ago.
"The comparison was faulty," Clark said, adding that the report used salary data of anyone in the district 15-years-old and up. They then take the total income of the community and divide it by the total number of people.
"The median income would maybe be a much better statistic use, or the household income may have been a better comparison point," he said.
Clark said that even though the union rejected the findings of the report, he was hopeful that the report could be used as a tool to help guide them towards settlement.
"We're trying to get back to the negotiating table, and we're still willing to negotiate a fair and equitable deal, it's just taking some time," Clark said.
Clark said that the situation, which has been ongoing since the last contract expired in June 2010, is starting to take its toll on the teachers and the community.
He added that while the teachers have discussed certain negotiation tactics like working only to contract, as did teachers in nearby Neshaminy School District, no decision has been made in that regard.
"The board is willing to get back to table to now," Clark said. "We're willing to be reasonable and hopefully get to a solution sooner rather than later."
Clark is hoping to schedule a negotiating session with the board sometime in the current week.
Attempts to contact U-CFSD board member Frank Murphy, who heads up the district faculties committee, have not been successful.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/23/news/srv0000010991525.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Teachers union rejects proposals in contract report
Spokesman says half-step raises, changes to health care won't pass
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By Wm. Shawn Weigel, Staff Writer
Half-step increases in pay and an unwanted change in the medical plan are just two of the factors that led the Unionville-Chadds Ford teachers union to its second unanimous rejection of the fact-finders report.
The union was obliged by law to take a second vote on the contract no more than five and no less than 10 days after the initial vote on Monday, Feb. 7.
That same day, the school board voted unanimously 9-0 to accept those same findings.
Last week, the union again voted to reject the findings of the report they requested from the state last December.
Pat Clark, the teacher representative for the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association, said that the half-step raises scheduled for 2011-12 and 2012-13 would double the time it takes a newer teacher to reach maximum salary.
"Potentially, if you put that on paper, it would take (a new teacher) 32 years to hit the maximum salary," Clark said.
According to information from the fact-finders report, the half-step raises are equivalent to a raise of 1.04 percent.
Differences in the proposed health care plan were also a major snag, according to Clark.
The district proposes maintaining the current health care plan for the first year and then transitioning into the Keystone Direct Point of Service plan, where as the union would like to transition into the Personal Choice plan. Both proposals offer a "buy up" to the 10-20-70 plan, which Clark said both sides found favorable.
"We'd like to maintain a comparable plan, we're willing to pay more towards that plan, and we've offered concession from the current plan," Clark said.
He added that many teachers did not like the use of per-capita income date when formulating the salary matrix, particularly data from over 10 years ago.
"The comparison was faulty," Clark said, adding that the report used salary data of anyone in the district 15-years-old and up. They then take the total income of the community and divide it by the total number of people.
"The median income would maybe be a much better statistic use, or the household income may have been a better comparison point," he said.
Clark said that even though the union rejected the findings of the report, he was hopeful that the report could be used as a tool to help guide them towards settlement.
"We're trying to get back to the negotiating table, and we're still willing to negotiate a fair and equitable deal, it's just taking some time," Clark said.
Clark said that the situation, which has been ongoing since the last contract expired in June 2010, is starting to take its toll on the teachers and the community.
He added that while the teachers have discussed certain negotiation tactics like working only to contract, as did teachers in nearby Neshaminy School District, no decision has been made in that regard.
"The board is willing to get back to table to now," Clark said. "We're willing to be reasonable and hopefully get to a solution sooner rather than later."
Clark is hoping to schedule a negotiating session with the board sometime in the current week.
Attempts to contact U-CFSD board member Frank Murphy, who heads up the district faculties committee, have not been successful.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/23/news/srv0000010991525.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Board Meeting 02/21/2011
OCTORARA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
February 21, 2011– 7:30 p.m.
Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
AGENDA
1.Lord’s Prayer
2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
3.Roll Call
1 absent. (Dr. Newcome was also not present).
4. Approval of Minutes from the Work Session of January 10, 2011, and the Regular Meeting of January 17, 2011.
Approved.
5. Presentations
None. There will be a presentation on the budget next month.
6. Information Items
None.
7. Treasurer’s Report
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the General Fund Report for period ending January 31, 2011.
Mr. Malone gave the report. Approved.
8. Business Manager’s Report
A.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the list of bills for payment.
Mr. Carsley gave the report. Approved.
9. Visitors’ Comments - Agenda Items Only
None.
10. Recommended Action Items: (Italicized items are new; they were not on the February 14, 2011 agenda.)
A - J: Approved.
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the addition of the Imprest Fund to the contract for the remote deposit between Fulton Bank and the Octorara Area School District.
B. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the removal of tax liens on the mobile home parcels listed below. The Chester County Commissioners exonerated the parcels because the original mobile home has either been removed from the parcel or demolished.
Parcel 44040000150T $ 620.51
Parcel 44070004250T $ 741.11
Parcel 46040026021T $3,539.76
Resignation Approvals:
C.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the resignation, with regret, of Dr. Judy Curiel as a Spanish teacher at the Octorara Area High School for the purpose of retirement effective March 8, 2011. (Hired August 26, 1986.)
Hiring Approvals:
D. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Beth Reburn as an instructional assistant at the Primary Learning Center effective February 2, 2011 through May 2, 2011. Ms. Reburn’s rate will be $11.40 per hour. (Extended medical leave.)
E.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Bridget Marowski as a long term substitute Spanish teacher at the Octorara Area High School. Ms. Marowski’s salary will be $46,914 which is Step 1of the Bachelor’s Scale pro-rated from December 17, 2010 through the end of the 20102011 school year. (Replacing Judy Curiel who retired.)
F. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Tammy Anthony as a long term substitute third grade teacher at the Octorara Elementary School effective approximately March 25, 2011 through the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Ms. Anthony’s rate will be $140 per day. (Replacing
Dena Schott who will be on child rearing leave.)
G.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Ms. Heidi Griest’s request for unpaid medical leave from February 3, 2011 through May 2, 2011. Ms. Griest is an instructional assistant at the Primary Learning Center.
H. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Ms. Danielle Carmella’s request to extend her Family Medical Leave from February 14, 2011 through February 28, 2011.
I. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Mr. Matt Walton as a volunteer for the Octorara Area High School girls’ basketball program.
J. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following changes in salary due to graduate credits earned:
Sarah Callaway From M+30 ($58,909) to M+45 ($61,502) Step 2
Ashlee DiRocco From M+45 ($67,077) to M+60 ($70,154) Step 9
Jennifer Haldeman From M+30 ($65,733) to M+45 ($68,622) Step 10
Alysyn Hoffman From B+15 ($48,873) to M ($50,811) Step 1
Nick Kluge From M+30 ($59,654) to M+45 (62,298) Step 3
Matthew Livingood From M+45 ($62,298) to M+60 ($65,278) Step 3
Sarah Morrissey From B ($46,914) to B+15 ($48,873) Step 1
Nina Thwaites From M+45 ($72,259) to M+60 ($75,385) Step 10
Sally Welk From M+45 ($68,622) to M+60 ($71,591) Step 10
Kyle Whary From B ($47,664) to B+15 ($49,759) Step 2
Dana Young From M+15 ($59,100) to M+30 ($61,143) Step 5
Jennifer Watson From M+15 ($59,906) to M+30($61,887) Step 6
K. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Karen Williamson as a long term substitute first grade teacher at the Octorara Primary Learning Center effective January 31, 2011 through approximately February 25, 2011. Ms. Williamson’s rate will be $140 per day. (Extended medical leave.)
Approved.
L. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following substitute support personnel for the 2010-2011 school year:
Lori Farish (Classroom assistant, clerical, personal care assistant)
Mr. McCartney asked why there isn't a salary attached to this. Ms. Hardy explained that there are different rates for each job per the contract.
The Board approved a lease agreement with Edwards Business Systems for the District Office copier.
The Board approved the termination of an employee as of 2/18/2011.
11. Facilities Committee Report
Mr. Stoltzfus gave the facilities report. The committee met tonight. The classroom portion of the renovation is running about a month ahead of schedule. There may be an issue with the electrical contractor. The project has been taken over by the bonding company. They are worried about the two projects coming up that will need a lot of electrical work (Gym & Auditorium). The work on the Gym starts this week. Work on the Auditorium starts in March.
There was some wind damage to the MS roof. They are waiting for the insurance company.
They are still working on possibly outsourcing custodial services.
They are looking at transportation packages to look at bus routes.
The terrazzo tile is still an issue. This will hopefully be taken care of over the summer.
The classrooms should be done by the end of March; the Gym by June and the Auditorium by August.
Mr. Rohrer said that graduation will be at school. The alternate site for bad weather is the Gym.
12. I.U./C.A.T. Board Representative’s Report
Mr. Stoltzfus reported that they met last week & went over the budgets. The I.U. has 3 budgets. One went up 1.4%. The other two decreased. Although they are not bound by the same rules as the districts, they don't want the budget to go over the index set by the State.
They have reduction in staff in the budget because other districts are doing the same as Octorara & are trying to bring in-house more services.
13. Old Business None
14. New Business None
15. Other Items and Announcements
Lisa McNamara said that First Grade's open house was great. There was a large turnout.
Ms. Bowman said that she met with John Lawrence last week. He will come speak to the Board; possibly in April.
16. Visitors’ Comments – General
None
17. Administrator Comments/Announcements
Mr. Rohrer talked about the SmartDrive program. There are 75 students participating at this time. Student Council has also done some things to promote safe driving.
18. Board Comments
Mr. McCartney asked Ms. Bowman if Mr. Lawrence had joined Representative Cox in the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Ms. Bowman replied that Mr. Lawrence didn't mention it. She said he did talk about the House Bill that is supposed to bring relief for Districts impacted by Act 319. He stated that only 6 people co-signed the bill this year, compared to 20-30 in prior years. This shows that other areas of the state aren't interested in helping us.
Mr. Ganow asked how much Clean & Green costs each taxpayer.
Mr. Carsley said that $5.4 million is shifted to other taxpayers from those whose property in covered under Act 319. In other words, for every dollar of assessed value that is protected under Act 319, parcels NOT protected have to make up the difference.
He took a look at the preliminary budget. If those assessed values were put back it, the millage would be below last year's numbers.
Mrs. Bowman said that some of this is out of the District's hands.
Mr. Carsley will be working some of this into next month's budget presentation.
Mr. Hume said that people need to contact their representatives. They need to hear from residents.
Chloe Dean said that the HS students enjoyed the assembly (motivational speaker) that Student Council provided last week.
Ms. Bowman congratulated the Boys' Basketball team for making Districts and being the top seed.
19. Adjournment
Facility Committee Meeting – Monday, February 21, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Policy Committee Meeting – Monday, February 21, 2011 – 7:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Facility Committee Meeting – Monday, March 14, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Work Session – Monday, March 14, 2011 – 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
Finance Committee Meeting – Monday, March 21, 2011 – 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting – Monday, March 21, 2011– 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
February 21, 2011– 7:30 p.m.
Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
AGENDA
1.Lord’s Prayer
2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
3.Roll Call
1 absent. (Dr. Newcome was also not present).
4. Approval of Minutes from the Work Session of January 10, 2011, and the Regular Meeting of January 17, 2011.
Approved.
5. Presentations
None. There will be a presentation on the budget next month.
6. Information Items
None.
7. Treasurer’s Report
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the General Fund Report for period ending January 31, 2011.
Mr. Malone gave the report. Approved.
8. Business Manager’s Report
A.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the list of bills for payment.
Mr. Carsley gave the report. Approved.
9. Visitors’ Comments - Agenda Items Only
None.
10. Recommended Action Items: (Italicized items are new; they were not on the February 14, 2011 agenda.)
A - J: Approved.
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the addition of the Imprest Fund to the contract for the remote deposit between Fulton Bank and the Octorara Area School District.
B. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the removal of tax liens on the mobile home parcels listed below. The Chester County Commissioners exonerated the parcels because the original mobile home has either been removed from the parcel or demolished.
Parcel 44040000150T $ 620.51
Parcel 44070004250T $ 741.11
Parcel 46040026021T $3,539.76
Resignation Approvals:
C.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the resignation, with regret, of Dr. Judy Curiel as a Spanish teacher at the Octorara Area High School for the purpose of retirement effective March 8, 2011. (Hired August 26, 1986.)
Hiring Approvals:
D. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Beth Reburn as an instructional assistant at the Primary Learning Center effective February 2, 2011 through May 2, 2011. Ms. Reburn’s rate will be $11.40 per hour. (Extended medical leave.)
E.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Bridget Marowski as a long term substitute Spanish teacher at the Octorara Area High School. Ms. Marowski’s salary will be $46,914 which is Step 1of the Bachelor’s Scale pro-rated from December 17, 2010 through the end of the 20102011 school year. (Replacing Judy Curiel who retired.)
F. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Tammy Anthony as a long term substitute third grade teacher at the Octorara Elementary School effective approximately March 25, 2011 through the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Ms. Anthony’s rate will be $140 per day. (Replacing
Dena Schott who will be on child rearing leave.)
G.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Ms. Heidi Griest’s request for unpaid medical leave from February 3, 2011 through May 2, 2011. Ms. Griest is an instructional assistant at the Primary Learning Center.
H. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Ms. Danielle Carmella’s request to extend her Family Medical Leave from February 14, 2011 through February 28, 2011.
I. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Mr. Matt Walton as a volunteer for the Octorara Area High School girls’ basketball program.
J. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following changes in salary due to graduate credits earned:
Sarah Callaway From M+30 ($58,909) to M+45 ($61,502) Step 2
Ashlee DiRocco From M+45 ($67,077) to M+60 ($70,154) Step 9
Jennifer Haldeman From M+30 ($65,733) to M+45 ($68,622) Step 10
Alysyn Hoffman From B+15 ($48,873) to M ($50,811) Step 1
Nick Kluge From M+30 ($59,654) to M+45 (62,298) Step 3
Matthew Livingood From M+45 ($62,298) to M+60 ($65,278) Step 3
Sarah Morrissey From B ($46,914) to B+15 ($48,873) Step 1
Nina Thwaites From M+45 ($72,259) to M+60 ($75,385) Step 10
Sally Welk From M+45 ($68,622) to M+60 ($71,591) Step 10
Kyle Whary From B ($47,664) to B+15 ($49,759) Step 2
Dana Young From M+15 ($59,100) to M+30 ($61,143) Step 5
Jennifer Watson From M+15 ($59,906) to M+30($61,887) Step 6
K. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Karen Williamson as a long term substitute first grade teacher at the Octorara Primary Learning Center effective January 31, 2011 through approximately February 25, 2011. Ms. Williamson’s rate will be $140 per day. (Extended medical leave.)
Approved.
L. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following substitute support personnel for the 2010-2011 school year:
Lori Farish (Classroom assistant, clerical, personal care assistant)
Mr. McCartney asked why there isn't a salary attached to this. Ms. Hardy explained that there are different rates for each job per the contract.
The Board approved a lease agreement with Edwards Business Systems for the District Office copier.
The Board approved the termination of an employee as of 2/18/2011.
11. Facilities Committee Report
Mr. Stoltzfus gave the facilities report. The committee met tonight. The classroom portion of the renovation is running about a month ahead of schedule. There may be an issue with the electrical contractor. The project has been taken over by the bonding company. They are worried about the two projects coming up that will need a lot of electrical work (Gym & Auditorium). The work on the Gym starts this week. Work on the Auditorium starts in March.
There was some wind damage to the MS roof. They are waiting for the insurance company.
They are still working on possibly outsourcing custodial services.
They are looking at transportation packages to look at bus routes.
The terrazzo tile is still an issue. This will hopefully be taken care of over the summer.
The classrooms should be done by the end of March; the Gym by June and the Auditorium by August.
Mr. Rohrer said that graduation will be at school. The alternate site for bad weather is the Gym.
12. I.U./C.A.T. Board Representative’s Report
Mr. Stoltzfus reported that they met last week & went over the budgets. The I.U. has 3 budgets. One went up 1.4%. The other two decreased. Although they are not bound by the same rules as the districts, they don't want the budget to go over the index set by the State.
They have reduction in staff in the budget because other districts are doing the same as Octorara & are trying to bring in-house more services.
13. Old Business None
14. New Business None
15. Other Items and Announcements
Lisa McNamara said that First Grade's open house was great. There was a large turnout.
Ms. Bowman said that she met with John Lawrence last week. He will come speak to the Board; possibly in April.
16. Visitors’ Comments – General
None
17. Administrator Comments/Announcements
Mr. Rohrer talked about the SmartDrive program. There are 75 students participating at this time. Student Council has also done some things to promote safe driving.
18. Board Comments
Mr. McCartney asked Ms. Bowman if Mr. Lawrence had joined Representative Cox in the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Ms. Bowman replied that Mr. Lawrence didn't mention it. She said he did talk about the House Bill that is supposed to bring relief for Districts impacted by Act 319. He stated that only 6 people co-signed the bill this year, compared to 20-30 in prior years. This shows that other areas of the state aren't interested in helping us.
Mr. Ganow asked how much Clean & Green costs each taxpayer.
Mr. Carsley said that $5.4 million is shifted to other taxpayers from those whose property in covered under Act 319. In other words, for every dollar of assessed value that is protected under Act 319, parcels NOT protected have to make up the difference.
He took a look at the preliminary budget. If those assessed values were put back it, the millage would be below last year's numbers.
Mrs. Bowman said that some of this is out of the District's hands.
Mr. Carsley will be working some of this into next month's budget presentation.
Mr. Hume said that people need to contact their representatives. They need to hear from residents.
Chloe Dean said that the HS students enjoyed the assembly (motivational speaker) that Student Council provided last week.
Ms. Bowman congratulated the Boys' Basketball team for making Districts and being the top seed.
19. Adjournment
Facility Committee Meeting – Monday, February 21, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Policy Committee Meeting – Monday, February 21, 2011 – 7:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Facility Committee Meeting – Monday, March 14, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Work Session – Monday, March 14, 2011 – 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
Finance Committee Meeting – Monday, March 21, 2011 – 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting – Monday, March 21, 2011– 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Pottstown teacher contract talks stumble - Daily Local News 2/20/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Pottstown teacher contract talks stumble
Sunday, February 20, 2011
By Evan Brandt
POTTSTOWN — With the second rejection of a fact-finders report by the Pottstown teachers union, contract negotiations are entering uncharted waters, and both sides seem to be sharpening their rhetoric.
Positions are becoming less veiled, with the school board granting raises Thursday night to administrators and support staff in exchange for their acceptance of a less expensive health care plan that is at the center of the teacher contract impasse and which the teachers union has repeatedly rejected.
On the union side of the equation, Beth Yoder, president of the Federation of Pottstown Teachers, again suggested that the district’s negotiating team may not be bringing the full breadth of the union’s proposals back to the school board.
Yoder, who two weeks ago said the union has “no intention whatsoever of striking,” said that statement holds, but noted that “some of the members have started asking about having a strike. We don’t want to do that. We know it’s not good for the kids, it’s not good for the community, it’s not good for us.”
She also took a poke at administrator salaries, pointing out that Business Manager Linda Adams, who is on the district’s negotiating team, “has received a 66 percent raise over the last four years.”
Yoder said the second vote to reject the fact-finding report, held Wednesday after school, was “overwhelming,” which is how she described the Feb. 4 vote.
The first time, Yoder said 95 percent of the union membership was present to vote and that about 85 percent was present for the second vote on Feb. 16.
However, she said the union’s by-laws prevent her from revealing the actual vote total.
“It’s confidential. Our members don’t even know what the numbers are,” she said.
As for what’s next, Yoder said “hopefully, we can head back to the table for further negotiations and hopefully, our offers will go to the full board. We would welcome having some board members come to the table because we feel like the board has not heard any of our offers.”
Asked about what offers she does not feel the board is aware of, Yoder noted that in order to keep its current health care plan, the union had offered “pay cuts to our co-curricular stipends” and to hold constant reimbursement for continuing education.
“We can recoup as much as $3,000 for continuing our education, which we have to do to keep our license current,” said Yoder. “The administration gets $7,500.”
“We’ve made as many concessions as we can,” she said, noting the union tried to reach an agreement with the district with an offer to “doubling the teacher contribution, but it just wasn’t good enough for them.”
Coincidentally, that phrase was the exact same one used by district Solicitor Stephen Kalis, who also sits on the negotiating team.
“Although this is the same core plan now in effect for every other employee of the district,” Kalis said, “the federation for whatever reason doesn’t believe the insurance plan offered as the designated core plan to be good enough for them.”
The fact-finder’s report backed the district’s offer for a new plan and in exchange offered a higher raise for the teachers than either side was proposing.
Kalis added, “although the recommendations contained in the report of the fact-finder reflect, in my opinion, the best offer the federation will ever receive for the two years noted in the report, the bargaining team for the board is nevertheless ready to meet again with the federation’s bargaining team, if directed by the state-appointed mediator.”
News of the rejection was met with “disappointment” at the school board meeting Thursday night.
“I’m disappointed in the federation not accepting the fact-finding report, but that’s all I’ll say about that,” said school board President Rick Huss as the meeting came to a close.
Kalis, who reported to the board publicly Thursday night after a closed-door executive session, agreed.
“To say the least, the board’s bargaining team, and I’m sure all the board members, are disappointed that the federation elected not to accept the recommendations of the fact-finder, as the request to proceed through the fact-finding process was one that the federation, and not the board, initiated in order to receive recommendations from a neutral third party,” Kalis said.
He said the rejection “concludes” the fact-finding process but that “the parties are encouraged to resume negotiations with the assistance of the state-appointed mediator who has been overseeing the negotiation process since the spring of 2010.”
Kalis suggested, and the board agreed, it might be wise to have an insurance consultant provide a comparison of the plans at a future board meeting.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/20/news/doc4d618e9a36fc9851974440.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Pottstown teacher contract talks stumble
Sunday, February 20, 2011
By Evan Brandt
POTTSTOWN — With the second rejection of a fact-finders report by the Pottstown teachers union, contract negotiations are entering uncharted waters, and both sides seem to be sharpening their rhetoric.
Positions are becoming less veiled, with the school board granting raises Thursday night to administrators and support staff in exchange for their acceptance of a less expensive health care plan that is at the center of the teacher contract impasse and which the teachers union has repeatedly rejected.
On the union side of the equation, Beth Yoder, president of the Federation of Pottstown Teachers, again suggested that the district’s negotiating team may not be bringing the full breadth of the union’s proposals back to the school board.
Yoder, who two weeks ago said the union has “no intention whatsoever of striking,” said that statement holds, but noted that “some of the members have started asking about having a strike. We don’t want to do that. We know it’s not good for the kids, it’s not good for the community, it’s not good for us.”
She also took a poke at administrator salaries, pointing out that Business Manager Linda Adams, who is on the district’s negotiating team, “has received a 66 percent raise over the last four years.”
Yoder said the second vote to reject the fact-finding report, held Wednesday after school, was “overwhelming,” which is how she described the Feb. 4 vote.
The first time, Yoder said 95 percent of the union membership was present to vote and that about 85 percent was present for the second vote on Feb. 16.
However, she said the union’s by-laws prevent her from revealing the actual vote total.
“It’s confidential. Our members don’t even know what the numbers are,” she said.
As for what’s next, Yoder said “hopefully, we can head back to the table for further negotiations and hopefully, our offers will go to the full board. We would welcome having some board members come to the table because we feel like the board has not heard any of our offers.”
Asked about what offers she does not feel the board is aware of, Yoder noted that in order to keep its current health care plan, the union had offered “pay cuts to our co-curricular stipends” and to hold constant reimbursement for continuing education.
“We can recoup as much as $3,000 for continuing our education, which we have to do to keep our license current,” said Yoder. “The administration gets $7,500.”
“We’ve made as many concessions as we can,” she said, noting the union tried to reach an agreement with the district with an offer to “doubling the teacher contribution, but it just wasn’t good enough for them.”
Coincidentally, that phrase was the exact same one used by district Solicitor Stephen Kalis, who also sits on the negotiating team.
“Although this is the same core plan now in effect for every other employee of the district,” Kalis said, “the federation for whatever reason doesn’t believe the insurance plan offered as the designated core plan to be good enough for them.”
The fact-finder’s report backed the district’s offer for a new plan and in exchange offered a higher raise for the teachers than either side was proposing.
Kalis added, “although the recommendations contained in the report of the fact-finder reflect, in my opinion, the best offer the federation will ever receive for the two years noted in the report, the bargaining team for the board is nevertheless ready to meet again with the federation’s bargaining team, if directed by the state-appointed mediator.”
News of the rejection was met with “disappointment” at the school board meeting Thursday night.
“I’m disappointed in the federation not accepting the fact-finding report, but that’s all I’ll say about that,” said school board President Rick Huss as the meeting came to a close.
Kalis, who reported to the board publicly Thursday night after a closed-door executive session, agreed.
“To say the least, the board’s bargaining team, and I’m sure all the board members, are disappointed that the federation elected not to accept the recommendations of the fact-finder, as the request to proceed through the fact-finding process was one that the federation, and not the board, initiated in order to receive recommendations from a neutral third party,” Kalis said.
He said the rejection “concludes” the fact-finding process but that “the parties are encouraged to resume negotiations with the assistance of the state-appointed mediator who has been overseeing the negotiation process since the spring of 2010.”
Kalis suggested, and the board agreed, it might be wise to have an insurance consultant provide a comparison of the plans at a future board meeting.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/20/news/doc4d618e9a36fc9851974440.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Corbett administration backs school vouchers - Daily Local News 2/17/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Corbett administration backs school vouchers
Governor endorses the funding for students in failing public schools to transfer to private schools
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett's month-old administration on Wednesday officially endorsed the use of taxpayers' money to enable low-income students in failing public schools to transfer to private schools, but stopped short of backing a more far-reaching legislative plan.
State Education Secretary-nominee Ronald Tomalis, the first speaker at a Senate Education Committee hearing that drew a standing-room-only crowd, said targeting school vouchers at low-income youngsters in the worst-performing public schools would intensify competition within the state's educational system to produce "exponential benefits" for all students.
"With competition comes diversity, and with diversity adoption of programs to meet the individual needs of the student," he said.
Tomalis did not endorse a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola that in the third year would allow any low-income public-school student to use the per-pupil subsidy the state government sends to his or her school district to attend a different private, public or religious school. Tomalis said the bill "starts the conversation" about how to expand choices for students.
Piccola said his bill would create an "educational free market" that would greatly expand options for students and derided the present system as a "monopoly" guarded by teacher unions and school boards.
"There are thousands of open seats in non-public schools, ready to educate kids trapped in failure because of their ZIP code," said Piccola, R-Dauphin, the committee's chairman.
Sen. Anthony Williams, a Philadelphian who campaigned on the issue of school choice in a losing bid for the Democratic nomination for governor last year and is a co-sponsor of Piccola's bill, said the issue is about civil rights.
"Separate but unequal is what we have," he said.
Opponents said the bill could cost taxpayers as much as $1 billion a year once fully implemented. It also would undermine public education by draining money from local districts; would fail to hold the non-public schools accountable for students' academic progress or how the voucher money is spent; and would leave it up to those schools to decide which students should be accepted, they said.
"Public schools must enroll everyone who shows up at the door and provide them with the best education possible. Nonpublic schools can accept whom they wish and reject those who, for whatever reason, do not fit in their schools," said Thomas J. Gentzel, director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
"Pennsylvania might have a chance to really provide an equal opportunity to learn for disadvantaged children, if all of the time, effort and expense being invested in pursuit of vouchers could be put toward more effective, proven and practical reforms," the Education Law Center, a legal advocacy group for public school students with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, said in a statement to the committee.
Piccola said the estimated bill's cost has yet to be calculated, but that it would not reach $1 billion a year.
The bill also would increase state funding for an existing program that provides tax breaks to businesses that sponsor tuition scholarships for children in lower-income families.
Tomalis said the "factory model" approach to education — in which a student's residence determines which public schools he or she attends — is becoming outmoded with the expansion of charter schools and other alternatives to public schools. Modern parents who are used to having abundant choices in other aspects of their lives are demanding more in the education that their taxes finance, he said.
"We are about to face a clash between the ideals and expectations of the new generation of parents and a system that is designed for a generation of the past," he said.
At one point in the daylong hearing, Williams pointedly questioned a representative of the state's largest teacher union — the Pennsylvania State Education Association — about, among other things, why he had not contacted him prior to the hearing to discuss the PSEA's opposition to the bill.
"How credible am I supposed to take your testimony?" Williams asked Michael J. Crossey, a PSEA vice president.
Later, responding to Williams' comments, Sen. Daylin Leach noted that none of the groups supporting the bill had sought to discuss it with him in advance.
"I'm available and easy to find. I'm a lonely, lonely man," said Leach, D-Montgomery, drawing chuckles from the audience.
Corbett, a Republican who previously was state attorney general, had supported vouchers for low-income students in failing schools during his 2010 campaign for governor. Tomalis' comments made it official.
Tomalis is tentatively scheduled to appear before the committee for his confirmation hearing on March 7, Piccola said.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/17/news/srv0000010943030.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Corbett administration backs school vouchers
Governor endorses the funding for students in failing public schools to transfer to private schools
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett's month-old administration on Wednesday officially endorsed the use of taxpayers' money to enable low-income students in failing public schools to transfer to private schools, but stopped short of backing a more far-reaching legislative plan.
State Education Secretary-nominee Ronald Tomalis, the first speaker at a Senate Education Committee hearing that drew a standing-room-only crowd, said targeting school vouchers at low-income youngsters in the worst-performing public schools would intensify competition within the state's educational system to produce "exponential benefits" for all students.
"With competition comes diversity, and with diversity adoption of programs to meet the individual needs of the student," he said.
Tomalis did not endorse a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola that in the third year would allow any low-income public-school student to use the per-pupil subsidy the state government sends to his or her school district to attend a different private, public or religious school. Tomalis said the bill "starts the conversation" about how to expand choices for students.
Piccola said his bill would create an "educational free market" that would greatly expand options for students and derided the present system as a "monopoly" guarded by teacher unions and school boards.
"There are thousands of open seats in non-public schools, ready to educate kids trapped in failure because of their ZIP code," said Piccola, R-Dauphin, the committee's chairman.
Sen. Anthony Williams, a Philadelphian who campaigned on the issue of school choice in a losing bid for the Democratic nomination for governor last year and is a co-sponsor of Piccola's bill, said the issue is about civil rights.
"Separate but unequal is what we have," he said.
Opponents said the bill could cost taxpayers as much as $1 billion a year once fully implemented. It also would undermine public education by draining money from local districts; would fail to hold the non-public schools accountable for students' academic progress or how the voucher money is spent; and would leave it up to those schools to decide which students should be accepted, they said.
"Public schools must enroll everyone who shows up at the door and provide them with the best education possible. Nonpublic schools can accept whom they wish and reject those who, for whatever reason, do not fit in their schools," said Thomas J. Gentzel, director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
"Pennsylvania might have a chance to really provide an equal opportunity to learn for disadvantaged children, if all of the time, effort and expense being invested in pursuit of vouchers could be put toward more effective, proven and practical reforms," the Education Law Center, a legal advocacy group for public school students with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, said in a statement to the committee.
Piccola said the estimated bill's cost has yet to be calculated, but that it would not reach $1 billion a year.
The bill also would increase state funding for an existing program that provides tax breaks to businesses that sponsor tuition scholarships for children in lower-income families.
Tomalis said the "factory model" approach to education — in which a student's residence determines which public schools he or she attends — is becoming outmoded with the expansion of charter schools and other alternatives to public schools. Modern parents who are used to having abundant choices in other aspects of their lives are demanding more in the education that their taxes finance, he said.
"We are about to face a clash between the ideals and expectations of the new generation of parents and a system that is designed for a generation of the past," he said.
At one point in the daylong hearing, Williams pointedly questioned a representative of the state's largest teacher union — the Pennsylvania State Education Association — about, among other things, why he had not contacted him prior to the hearing to discuss the PSEA's opposition to the bill.
"How credible am I supposed to take your testimony?" Williams asked Michael J. Crossey, a PSEA vice president.
Later, responding to Williams' comments, Sen. Daylin Leach noted that none of the groups supporting the bill had sought to discuss it with him in advance.
"I'm available and easy to find. I'm a lonely, lonely man," said Leach, D-Montgomery, drawing chuckles from the audience.
Corbett, a Republican who previously was state attorney general, had supported vouchers for low-income students in failing schools during his 2010 campaign for governor. Tomalis' comments made it official.
Tomalis is tentatively scheduled to appear before the committee for his confirmation hearing on March 7, Piccola said.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/17/news/srv0000010943030.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Preliminary budget hikes taxes 3.85 percent (Kennett) - Daily Local News 2/16/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Preliminary budget hikes taxes 3.85 percent
Kennett Consolidated officials predict more changes
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Wm. Shawn Weigel, Staff Writer
Kennett Consolidated school officials say they want to lower the proposed 2011-12 property tax rates with additional state funding and spending cuts before the budget's June deadline.
Monday night, the board unanimously accepted a preliminary 2011-12 budget that calls for a 3.85 percent property tax increase.
The plan would hike the tax rate by 0.95 mills, with a mill equal to a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed real estate value.
That means a homeowner with a property assessed for tax purposes at $198,000 would pay $5,094 in real estate taxes next year.
The $72.2 million budget represents a $553,000 increase over the 2010-11 budget, according to district Business Manager Mark Tracy.
School board member Mike Finnegan, who heads the district's finance committee, said funding cuts totalling $1.06 million at the state and federal level have shifted the tax burden to local government.
"Kennett is not alone, nor has it been isolated, from the downward trend of the economy," Finnegan said. "However, our commitment and resolve to provide the best educational opportunities for our students remains unwavering."
That goal must be met, in an efficient, economical fashion, he said.
The 2011-12 school year also represents an "incredible change" in the district, Finnegan said, with the opening of Bancroft Elementary and the renovation of Mary D. Lang into a fulltime kindergarten center this fall. These improvements have been years in the making, Finnegan said, and constitute a major financial change.
In constructing the new budget, Finnegan said, the finance committee's proposed tax rate goes beyond the state-mandated Act 1 index and is therefore subject to exceptions from the state to remain at that level.
He said officials also restricted expenditure growth to less than 1 percent, which includes the necessary staffing and operational costs associated with Bancroft Elementary.
The district has also joined with area counties and schools in a competitive energy supplier pricing bid, Finnegan said, and officials have tried to offset salary increases by offering early retirement incentive packages.
"The objective between today and the final budget is to continue looking, searching and being innovative, to drive costs down without sacrificing our overarching mission and adversely affecting our program offerings," Finnegan said.
The state's current public education funding scheme pulls more than 80 percent of its revenue from local sources, Finnegan said, and that figure has risen steadily over recent years.
"Yet we're mandated by the state to provide many unfunded or under-funded programs," he said. "The stagnant real estate market and assessment appeals have eroded a once stable source of new revenue. In fact this year, with no tax increase, the district would recognize a loss over last year's revenue of $581,000 in real estate taxes."
A major problem to the budget's development is the unknown amount allotted for public schools under Goc. Tom Corbett's new budget.
Finnegan said $380 million previously earmarked for the Pennsylvania Department of Education's EduJobs program is now being absorbed into the state's budgetary reserve fund and is no longer available to schools statewide.
"Again, I want to remind everybody that this is a preliminary budget and can be viewed as a starting point for budgetary discussion," Finnegan said. "Just as last year, we will continue to search for ways to reduce the tax increase before we pass the final budget on June 13," Finnegan said.
The budget is available for public review at the district's office, which is open9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/16/news/srv0000010931409.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Preliminary budget hikes taxes 3.85 percent
Kennett Consolidated officials predict more changes
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Wm. Shawn Weigel, Staff Writer
Kennett Consolidated school officials say they want to lower the proposed 2011-12 property tax rates with additional state funding and spending cuts before the budget's June deadline.
Monday night, the board unanimously accepted a preliminary 2011-12 budget that calls for a 3.85 percent property tax increase.
The plan would hike the tax rate by 0.95 mills, with a mill equal to a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed real estate value.
That means a homeowner with a property assessed for tax purposes at $198,000 would pay $5,094 in real estate taxes next year.
The $72.2 million budget represents a $553,000 increase over the 2010-11 budget, according to district Business Manager Mark Tracy.
School board member Mike Finnegan, who heads the district's finance committee, said funding cuts totalling $1.06 million at the state and federal level have shifted the tax burden to local government.
"Kennett is not alone, nor has it been isolated, from the downward trend of the economy," Finnegan said. "However, our commitment and resolve to provide the best educational opportunities for our students remains unwavering."
That goal must be met, in an efficient, economical fashion, he said.
The 2011-12 school year also represents an "incredible change" in the district, Finnegan said, with the opening of Bancroft Elementary and the renovation of Mary D. Lang into a fulltime kindergarten center this fall. These improvements have been years in the making, Finnegan said, and constitute a major financial change.
In constructing the new budget, Finnegan said, the finance committee's proposed tax rate goes beyond the state-mandated Act 1 index and is therefore subject to exceptions from the state to remain at that level.
He said officials also restricted expenditure growth to less than 1 percent, which includes the necessary staffing and operational costs associated with Bancroft Elementary.
The district has also joined with area counties and schools in a competitive energy supplier pricing bid, Finnegan said, and officials have tried to offset salary increases by offering early retirement incentive packages.
"The objective between today and the final budget is to continue looking, searching and being innovative, to drive costs down without sacrificing our overarching mission and adversely affecting our program offerings," Finnegan said.
The state's current public education funding scheme pulls more than 80 percent of its revenue from local sources, Finnegan said, and that figure has risen steadily over recent years.
"Yet we're mandated by the state to provide many unfunded or under-funded programs," he said. "The stagnant real estate market and assessment appeals have eroded a once stable source of new revenue. In fact this year, with no tax increase, the district would recognize a loss over last year's revenue of $581,000 in real estate taxes."
A major problem to the budget's development is the unknown amount allotted for public schools under Goc. Tom Corbett's new budget.
Finnegan said $380 million previously earmarked for the Pennsylvania Department of Education's EduJobs program is now being absorbed into the state's budgetary reserve fund and is no longer available to schools statewide.
"Again, I want to remind everybody that this is a preliminary budget and can be viewed as a starting point for budgetary discussion," Finnegan said. "Just as last year, we will continue to search for ways to reduce the tax increase before we pass the final budget on June 13," Finnegan said.
The budget is available for public review at the district's office, which is open9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/16/news/srv0000010931409.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Spring-Ford's early budget includes 7.6 percent tax hike - Daily Local News 2/16/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Spring-Ford's early budget includes 7.6 percent tax hike
School officials emphasize more work coming on $131.6 million spending plan
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Phil Ellingsworth Jr., Special to the Local News
ROYERSFORD — The Spring-Ford School Board voted 7-0 Monday night to approve a 2011-12 preliminary budget that includes a proposed 7.6 percent tax hike to close a $10.4 million budget gap.
Members Bernard F. Pettit and Mark P. Dehnert were absent from the meeting.
Board President Joseph P. Ciresi reaffirmed the $131.6 million budget passed Monday is preliminary and the board will "dive into it" during the next few months to see where cuts can be made that will not affect the quality of education.
A multitude of items affecting the district's budget include property reassessments and uncertainty about how much funding to expect from the state and federal government, Ciresi said.
During a previous school board meeting, district Business Manager Timothy C. Anspach informed school officials that property reassessments could cost Spring-Ford Area as much as $4 million because companies based inside the school district are applying to Montgomery County for tax re-examination.
"We are being killed by the reassessments," Ciresi said.
Ciresi said Gov. Tom Corbett has warned "catastrophic" cuts will be made in the state's budget, and Ciresi said that will not help in a time when school districts are trying to balance their own budgets.
School board members also unanimously voted to apply to the state for Act 1 exceptions. These exceptions include allowances for special education, instruction, health care and contributions to the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System to avoid a local referendum on a tax increase.
Even with the proposed tax increase, Spring-Ford Area is facing a $4 million budget deficit, Anspach said during a Jan. 18 budget presentation.
The district must submit a final budget to the state by June 30.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/16/news/srv0000010933661.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Spring-Ford's early budget includes 7.6 percent tax hike
School officials emphasize more work coming on $131.6 million spending plan
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Phil Ellingsworth Jr., Special to the Local News
ROYERSFORD — The Spring-Ford School Board voted 7-0 Monday night to approve a 2011-12 preliminary budget that includes a proposed 7.6 percent tax hike to close a $10.4 million budget gap.
Members Bernard F. Pettit and Mark P. Dehnert were absent from the meeting.
Board President Joseph P. Ciresi reaffirmed the $131.6 million budget passed Monday is preliminary and the board will "dive into it" during the next few months to see where cuts can be made that will not affect the quality of education.
A multitude of items affecting the district's budget include property reassessments and uncertainty about how much funding to expect from the state and federal government, Ciresi said.
During a previous school board meeting, district Business Manager Timothy C. Anspach informed school officials that property reassessments could cost Spring-Ford Area as much as $4 million because companies based inside the school district are applying to Montgomery County for tax re-examination.
"We are being killed by the reassessments," Ciresi said.
Ciresi said Gov. Tom Corbett has warned "catastrophic" cuts will be made in the state's budget, and Ciresi said that will not help in a time when school districts are trying to balance their own budgets.
School board members also unanimously voted to apply to the state for Act 1 exceptions. These exceptions include allowances for special education, instruction, health care and contributions to the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System to avoid a local referendum on a tax increase.
Even with the proposed tax increase, Spring-Ford Area is facing a $4 million budget deficit, Anspach said during a Jan. 18 budget presentation.
The district must submit a final budget to the state by June 30.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/16/news/srv0000010933661.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Parents decry Eastern Lancaster County School District budget cuts - Lancaster Online 2/15/2011
Parents decry Eastern Lancaster County School District budget cuts
Board publicly unveils cost-saving plan to furlough 15 teachers, reduce programs
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 15, 2011 20:41
By PATRICK BURNS, Correspondent
The Eastern Lancaster County School Board's worst-kept secret — a proposal to furlough 15 teachers at the end of the school year — was unveiled to the public Monday at a packed board meeting.
The board disclosed what it had been deliberating for weeks in closed-door executive sessions: "Elanco is cutting staff to help balance the budget."
Word of the cuts — disclosed to teachers on Jan. 20 and reported in the media — generated a groundswell of reaction from parents who oppose them. They launched a wave of e-mails and phone calls, initiated a Facebook dialogue and held a hastily organized Super Bowl Sunday meeting intended to organize a unified response to save the teachers' jobs.
On Monday, about 250 residents packed the Blue Ball Elementary School gymnasium to express displeasure and plead that the board find alternative solutions to resolve a $1.2 million budget deficit for 2011-12.
Lourdes Vargas of New Holland, one of 28 people who addressed the board during the nearly three-hour session, suggested that the district reduce administrative staff and salaries before cutting teachers.
"Elanco's teachers' salaries are lower than their counterparts in Lancaster County, however our administrators' salaries are much higher than their counterparts'," Vargas said.
On Feb. 28, the board will vote on whether to approve the furloughs, which would save the district $1.31 million. Other measures could result in a total budget reduction of $1.43 million, said Keith Ramsey, district business manager.
Even with the cuts, Elanco residents face a real estate tax increase of 2.8 percent to 4.22 percent next year, Ramsey said. Elanco's current preliminary budget of $44.1 million increases expenditures by 9.6 percent.
The proposed cuts include staff at New Holland Elementary School and Garden Spot middle and high schools. The hardest hit departments are physical education, agriculture, music, and family consumer science programs.
Elanco also plans to reduce the number of advanced-placement courses at Garden Spot High School from nine to six, and eliminate the classroom segment of its driver education program.
"The bottom line is we've put a lot of time into this and tried to figure out what's best for kids within the confines that we have," Superintendent Robert Hollister said.
But Trish Doll, of Bowmansville, criticized proposals that would cut music programs and reduce advanced-placement classes.
"If Garden Spot wants to remain competitive and stand out and impress college admission counselors, why are AP classes being cut or realigned?" Doll asked.
Jim Shirk, of New Holland, president of Elanco's agricultural advisory board, said it's a mistake to cut the agriculture program because it is woven into the fabric of the district's farming community.
"These are very high-level curriculums that combine both academic and hands-on experience," Shirk said. "Students from Garden Spot are continually recognized in state and national competitions, including the 2010 state agribusiness award winner."
The proposed cuts would eliminate the adult farm program and reduce the agriculture department to 1.5 teachers —down from 3.5 teachers a year ago.
Hollister said the cuts target programs with low enrollment. For instance, teachers in the physical education program had "light schedules" and three of the advanced-placement classes on the chopping block have a total of 22 students.
Advanced-placement classes would be replaced partially by online courses, Hollister said.
Hollister said the cuts are inevitable because expenditures are increasing — due mostly to cyber school tuition obligations and rising teachers' compensation costs — while revenues from state and federal funding and local real estate and earned-income taxes are expected to dwindle in the years to come.
The layoffs are believed to be the first across-the-board teacher furloughs to be implemented in Lancaster County as a result of the economic downturn.
Manheim Township School District last week announced it is planning to furlough five teachers to trim about $150,000 from its 2011-12 budget.
Elanco did not disclose the names of the teachers to be furloughed.
Hollister said the cuts would be made on a seniority basis, but that "certification plays into it."
"It's essentially first out, last in per subject," Hollister said. "Somebody could theoretically bump from one subject area to another if they have the right certification."
State law prohibits school boards from laying off teachers merely for economic reasons, but districts can cut their teaching staff if enrollment drops by 10 percent or more.
Elanco's enrollment has declined 10.6 percent, from 3,575 students in 2001 to 3,194 today. Districts that don't meet the declining enrollment benchmarks may furlough teachers only if a program is cut or eliminated — something other districts in the state may be forced to do because of budget deficits, Hollister said.
"We're all in the same boat and, quite frankly, I think we're ahead of it." Hollister said. "I think we're being more honest than most (districts)."
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/352265#ixzz1EYGjyXUf
Board publicly unveils cost-saving plan to furlough 15 teachers, reduce programs
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 15, 2011 20:41
By PATRICK BURNS, Correspondent
The Eastern Lancaster County School Board's worst-kept secret — a proposal to furlough 15 teachers at the end of the school year — was unveiled to the public Monday at a packed board meeting.
The board disclosed what it had been deliberating for weeks in closed-door executive sessions: "Elanco is cutting staff to help balance the budget."
Word of the cuts — disclosed to teachers on Jan. 20 and reported in the media — generated a groundswell of reaction from parents who oppose them. They launched a wave of e-mails and phone calls, initiated a Facebook dialogue and held a hastily organized Super Bowl Sunday meeting intended to organize a unified response to save the teachers' jobs.
On Monday, about 250 residents packed the Blue Ball Elementary School gymnasium to express displeasure and plead that the board find alternative solutions to resolve a $1.2 million budget deficit for 2011-12.
Lourdes Vargas of New Holland, one of 28 people who addressed the board during the nearly three-hour session, suggested that the district reduce administrative staff and salaries before cutting teachers.
"Elanco's teachers' salaries are lower than their counterparts in Lancaster County, however our administrators' salaries are much higher than their counterparts'," Vargas said.
On Feb. 28, the board will vote on whether to approve the furloughs, which would save the district $1.31 million. Other measures could result in a total budget reduction of $1.43 million, said Keith Ramsey, district business manager.
Even with the cuts, Elanco residents face a real estate tax increase of 2.8 percent to 4.22 percent next year, Ramsey said. Elanco's current preliminary budget of $44.1 million increases expenditures by 9.6 percent.
The proposed cuts include staff at New Holland Elementary School and Garden Spot middle and high schools. The hardest hit departments are physical education, agriculture, music, and family consumer science programs.
Elanco also plans to reduce the number of advanced-placement courses at Garden Spot High School from nine to six, and eliminate the classroom segment of its driver education program.
"The bottom line is we've put a lot of time into this and tried to figure out what's best for kids within the confines that we have," Superintendent Robert Hollister said.
But Trish Doll, of Bowmansville, criticized proposals that would cut music programs and reduce advanced-placement classes.
"If Garden Spot wants to remain competitive and stand out and impress college admission counselors, why are AP classes being cut or realigned?" Doll asked.
Jim Shirk, of New Holland, president of Elanco's agricultural advisory board, said it's a mistake to cut the agriculture program because it is woven into the fabric of the district's farming community.
"These are very high-level curriculums that combine both academic and hands-on experience," Shirk said. "Students from Garden Spot are continually recognized in state and national competitions, including the 2010 state agribusiness award winner."
The proposed cuts would eliminate the adult farm program and reduce the agriculture department to 1.5 teachers —down from 3.5 teachers a year ago.
Hollister said the cuts target programs with low enrollment. For instance, teachers in the physical education program had "light schedules" and three of the advanced-placement classes on the chopping block have a total of 22 students.
Advanced-placement classes would be replaced partially by online courses, Hollister said.
Hollister said the cuts are inevitable because expenditures are increasing — due mostly to cyber school tuition obligations and rising teachers' compensation costs — while revenues from state and federal funding and local real estate and earned-income taxes are expected to dwindle in the years to come.
The layoffs are believed to be the first across-the-board teacher furloughs to be implemented in Lancaster County as a result of the economic downturn.
Manheim Township School District last week announced it is planning to furlough five teachers to trim about $150,000 from its 2011-12 budget.
Elanco did not disclose the names of the teachers to be furloughed.
Hollister said the cuts would be made on a seniority basis, but that "certification plays into it."
"It's essentially first out, last in per subject," Hollister said. "Somebody could theoretically bump from one subject area to another if they have the right certification."
State law prohibits school boards from laying off teachers merely for economic reasons, but districts can cut their teaching staff if enrollment drops by 10 percent or more.
Elanco's enrollment has declined 10.6 percent, from 3,575 students in 2001 to 3,194 today. Districts that don't meet the declining enrollment benchmarks may furlough teachers only if a program is cut or eliminated — something other districts in the state may be forced to do because of budget deficits, Hollister said.
"We're all in the same boat and, quite frankly, I think we're ahead of it." Hollister said. "I think we're being more honest than most (districts)."
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/352265#ixzz1EYGjyXUf
SDL administrators agree to wage freeze - Lancaster Online 2/16/2011
SDL administrators agree to wage freeze
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 16, 2011 14:31
By BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer
For the second year in a row, School District of Lancaster administrators have agreed to a wage freeze that will save the district about $250,000.
The move, announced Tuesday night, is the latest by school administrators to forego raises to help Lancaster County school districts reduce expenses in the face of declining state, federal and local revenue.
Administrators in at least three other large districts, including Conestoga Valley, Hempfield and Manheim Township, also have agreed to wage freezes.
The move in SDL affects about 130 positions, including the chief financial officer, principals and their assistants, curriculum coordinators and other staff members, who were slated to get raises averaging about 2 percent.
Superintendent Pedro Rivera, who has a separate contract, also has agreed to freeze his salary at the current rate of $164,800.
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 16, 2011 14:31
By BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer
For the second year in a row, School District of Lancaster administrators have agreed to a wage freeze that will save the district about $250,000.
The move, announced Tuesday night, is the latest by school administrators to forego raises to help Lancaster County school districts reduce expenses in the face of declining state, federal and local revenue.
Administrators in at least three other large districts, including Conestoga Valley, Hempfield and Manheim Township, also have agreed to wage freezes.
The move in SDL affects about 130 positions, including the chief financial officer, principals and their assistants, curriculum coordinators and other staff members, who were slated to get raises averaging about 2 percent.
Superintendent Pedro Rivera, who has a separate contract, also has agreed to freeze his salary at the current rate of $164,800.
Schools Face More Financial Woes - Lancaster Online 2/16/2011
Schools face more financial woes
State could cut funding by 20%
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 16, 2011 23:41
By BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer
School district officials planning for a tough budget year recently got some bad news.
They were hoping for a share of a $387 million federal stimulus grant awarded to the state this year to help schools minimize staff cuts.
But Gov. Tom Corbett recently directed that the Education Jobs Fund grant be used, instead, to shore up the current state education budget.
He also requested that $364 million in state funds be diverted from the education budget into the general fund to help offset a projected $4 billion deficit.
The funding swap, which must be approved by the Legislature, will not only leave districts without the federal money they had sought, it will create a potential $364 million hole in the education budget next year.
That's in addition to the $654 million gap that will result when other federal stimulus grants used to fund the education budget this year expire.
Unless the cash-strapped state comes up with the money to fill those gaps, school districts could face a shortfall of $1 billion or more in their state basic education subsidies in 2011-12.
That could mean a nearly 20 percent cut in funding, to 2006-2007 levels.
What happens with the budget remains to be seen, but district officials in Lancaster County are taking seriously the threat of a huge decline in a funding source that pumped $164 million into county public schools this year.
Penn Manor superintendent Michael Leichliter said he "absolutely" considers the $1 billion cut a possibility.
"Indications from local legislators have been that there is no money to fill the hole left by the stimulus funds," he said in an e-mail.
Fortunately for Penn Manor, the district budgeted for about $2 million less in state funding in 2011-12 — $10.2 million, compared with $12.1 million this year.
Nonetheless, the district is considering a variety of cuts to its programs and staff as well as an administrative pay freeze to help balance next year's budget.
Other districts are not so fortunate.
Octorara budgeted for $5.5 million in state aid next year — the same amount it received this year, superintendent Thomas Newcome said.
It now faces a $600,000 state funding shortfall.
Lampeter-Strasburg could receive nearly $800,000 less than anticipated, and Pequea Valley might find itself $200,000 short, officials said.
Districts already struggling with weak local revenue streams, declining federal aid and increasing pension, health care and salary costs now face the prospect of having to make more budget cuts.
It is possible that some, if not all, of the lost stimulus education funds will be restored with state money, but school officials aren't counting on it. They will know more after Corbett releases the state's 2011-12 budget March 8.
To help ease the economic burden on schools, the state Legislature is planning to introduce a series of bills designed to free districts of some expensive mandates.
Among them is legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon Republican, that would allow schools to furlough teachers for economic reasons.
Currently, the Pennsylvania School Code allows districts to lay off teachers only in response to enrollment declines, school mergers or the elimination of programs.
Layoffs also must be conducted by seniority, with the shortest-tenured teachers furloughed first.
Folmer's bill, which has yet to be introduced, would not eliminate that provision, but it's likely to be amended to allow school districts to determine who is furloughed, regardless of tenure, according to Beth Williams, Folmer's spokeswoman.
Superintendents have said the changes would make it easier to respond to economic conditions without the need to eliminate entire programs.
The state teachers' union opposes the proposal, claiming it would increase class sizes and "politicize" the teacher evaluation process by encouraging administrators to give lower ratings to more senior — and better paid — teachers.
Folmer's bill also would compel districts that furlough teachers to reduce administrative staffs by the same percentage.
The legislation is expected to be introduced next week, Williams said.
It's not clear when the other bills designed to cut red tape, and expenses, for school districts will be introduced.
bwallace@lnpnews.com
State could cut funding by 20%
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 16, 2011 23:41
By BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer
School district officials planning for a tough budget year recently got some bad news.
They were hoping for a share of a $387 million federal stimulus grant awarded to the state this year to help schools minimize staff cuts.
But Gov. Tom Corbett recently directed that the Education Jobs Fund grant be used, instead, to shore up the current state education budget.
He also requested that $364 million in state funds be diverted from the education budget into the general fund to help offset a projected $4 billion deficit.
The funding swap, which must be approved by the Legislature, will not only leave districts without the federal money they had sought, it will create a potential $364 million hole in the education budget next year.
That's in addition to the $654 million gap that will result when other federal stimulus grants used to fund the education budget this year expire.
Unless the cash-strapped state comes up with the money to fill those gaps, school districts could face a shortfall of $1 billion or more in their state basic education subsidies in 2011-12.
That could mean a nearly 20 percent cut in funding, to 2006-2007 levels.
What happens with the budget remains to be seen, but district officials in Lancaster County are taking seriously the threat of a huge decline in a funding source that pumped $164 million into county public schools this year.
Penn Manor superintendent Michael Leichliter said he "absolutely" considers the $1 billion cut a possibility.
"Indications from local legislators have been that there is no money to fill the hole left by the stimulus funds," he said in an e-mail.
Fortunately for Penn Manor, the district budgeted for about $2 million less in state funding in 2011-12 — $10.2 million, compared with $12.1 million this year.
Nonetheless, the district is considering a variety of cuts to its programs and staff as well as an administrative pay freeze to help balance next year's budget.
Other districts are not so fortunate.
Octorara budgeted for $5.5 million in state aid next year — the same amount it received this year, superintendent Thomas Newcome said.
It now faces a $600,000 state funding shortfall.
Lampeter-Strasburg could receive nearly $800,000 less than anticipated, and Pequea Valley might find itself $200,000 short, officials said.
Districts already struggling with weak local revenue streams, declining federal aid and increasing pension, health care and salary costs now face the prospect of having to make more budget cuts.
It is possible that some, if not all, of the lost stimulus education funds will be restored with state money, but school officials aren't counting on it. They will know more after Corbett releases the state's 2011-12 budget March 8.
To help ease the economic burden on schools, the state Legislature is planning to introduce a series of bills designed to free districts of some expensive mandates.
Among them is legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon Republican, that would allow schools to furlough teachers for economic reasons.
Currently, the Pennsylvania School Code allows districts to lay off teachers only in response to enrollment declines, school mergers or the elimination of programs.
Layoffs also must be conducted by seniority, with the shortest-tenured teachers furloughed first.
Folmer's bill, which has yet to be introduced, would not eliminate that provision, but it's likely to be amended to allow school districts to determine who is furloughed, regardless of tenure, according to Beth Williams, Folmer's spokeswoman.
Superintendents have said the changes would make it easier to respond to economic conditions without the need to eliminate entire programs.
The state teachers' union opposes the proposal, claiming it would increase class sizes and "politicize" the teacher evaluation process by encouraging administrators to give lower ratings to more senior — and better paid — teachers.
Folmer's bill also would compel districts that furlough teachers to reduce administrative staffs by the same percentage.
The legislation is expected to be introduced next week, Williams said.
It's not clear when the other bills designed to cut red tape, and expenses, for school districts will be introduced.
bwallace@lnpnews.com
Perkiomen Valley Education Association warns of looming strike - Daily Local News 2/15/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Perkiomen Valley Education Association warns of looming strike
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
By Phil Ellingsworth Jr.
Special to the Local News
COLLEGEVILLE — A room packed full of teachers, parents and residents turned out to Monday night’s Perkiomen Valley School Board meeting, voicing disapproval about the ongoing contract dispute and supporting the members of the Perkiomen Valley Education Association’s bid for a “fair” contract.
About 125 people turned out to support district educators who have been working without a new contract since June 30. Negotiations have reached an impasse, leading the union to say the district has until Feb. 28 to meet its demands or they will go on strike.
Education Association President Bill McGill said he was attending Monday night’s meeting on behalf of the 435 "highly qualified and dedicated professionals" who work with students on a daily basis.
"We are the teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists and therapists," McGill said.
Members want a "fair and equitable" contract, much like the two-year agreement given to district administrators last summer that included a 2.9 percent salary raise and contained no concessions, he said.
"That is all we're looking for. We want to be treated as fairly as you treated the administrators last year," he said.
McGill said it is "worthy to note" that when the administrators’ agreement was reached, it was during the same time educators were trying to reach their own contract.
"It is easy to see by the actions of this board that you view the admin team as being a more important piece of this educational system," he said.
McGill once again warned the board if an agreement is not reached by Feb. 28, it "will strike after providing the required 48-hour notice."
"We do not want to strike, but will in order to get a fair and equitable contract like the one you gave the admin team," he said. "We may bend, but we will not break."
McGill said during the last time the two parties met Feb. 4, the union gave its “rock bottom” proposal to help "expedite" the negotiation process, but it was rejected by the board.
"We have nowhere to go after that offer because we would be bargaining against ourselves," he said.
Several parents echoed McGill’s statements, including Collegeville resident Mindy Strohecker, who said she was upset to see the district's website does not accurately tell what is occurring during negotiations, painting educators in a negative light.
"This didn't seem right," Strohecker said. "Where's the appreciation?"
The teachers are not fighting because they want to, but to achieve salary and benefits they deserve, she said.
Many parents expressed concerned that a disruption due to a strike would affect their children, including Skippack parent Cindi Veverka.
Perkiomen Valley teachers are still doing a "tremendous" job, despite the stress that comes along with the negotiation process, explaining it has not hindered the education of the students, Veverka said.
"There's a lot of stress there, not knowing what is going on," she said.
It is not fair to students to miss school for a few days because of a strike, then have them return and have to pick up where they left off in their lessons, she said.
"It is the children that are going to suffer," she said. "We would love to have this settled."
Skippack resident Pam Kirkman felt the same as Veverka. "We do want an end to this as a taxpayer, as a parent," Kirkman said.
Kirkman asked the school board what concessions have been made during the negotiation process, with board solicitor Brian Subers saying there have been concessions made in salary.
The board wanted salaries to come in below the Act 1 index and the fact-finder's report came in above that, so that was one of the concessions agreed up, Subers said.
Subers did not give any additional details on any other concessions.
The board did not comment on the public’s remarks, and Subers said to another person who asked the board a question that this is "a public comment period" where the board accepts comments and will not answer all of the questions brought before them.
"It is not a public debate, period. The board is not required to debate every issue the public wishes to debate," he said.
Subers also gave insight into the negotiation process, saying there are four school board members on the contract negotiation team who then report back to the entire board.
More negotiation sessions are scheduled between the two parties' lead negotiators and the third-party mediator, but Subers said the meetings are “informal.”
According to the district’s website, if a work stoppage does occur, the Freedom Valley and North Penn YMCAs will run full-day childcare programs for students in grades kindergarten through eighth.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/15/news/doc4d5b02bfc9b66786924972.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Perkiomen Valley Education Association warns of looming strike
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
By Phil Ellingsworth Jr.
Special to the Local News
COLLEGEVILLE — A room packed full of teachers, parents and residents turned out to Monday night’s Perkiomen Valley School Board meeting, voicing disapproval about the ongoing contract dispute and supporting the members of the Perkiomen Valley Education Association’s bid for a “fair” contract.
About 125 people turned out to support district educators who have been working without a new contract since June 30. Negotiations have reached an impasse, leading the union to say the district has until Feb. 28 to meet its demands or they will go on strike.
Education Association President Bill McGill said he was attending Monday night’s meeting on behalf of the 435 "highly qualified and dedicated professionals" who work with students on a daily basis.
"We are the teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists and therapists," McGill said.
Members want a "fair and equitable" contract, much like the two-year agreement given to district administrators last summer that included a 2.9 percent salary raise and contained no concessions, he said.
"That is all we're looking for. We want to be treated as fairly as you treated the administrators last year," he said.
McGill said it is "worthy to note" that when the administrators’ agreement was reached, it was during the same time educators were trying to reach their own contract.
"It is easy to see by the actions of this board that you view the admin team as being a more important piece of this educational system," he said.
McGill once again warned the board if an agreement is not reached by Feb. 28, it "will strike after providing the required 48-hour notice."
"We do not want to strike, but will in order to get a fair and equitable contract like the one you gave the admin team," he said. "We may bend, but we will not break."
McGill said during the last time the two parties met Feb. 4, the union gave its “rock bottom” proposal to help "expedite" the negotiation process, but it was rejected by the board.
"We have nowhere to go after that offer because we would be bargaining against ourselves," he said.
Several parents echoed McGill’s statements, including Collegeville resident Mindy Strohecker, who said she was upset to see the district's website does not accurately tell what is occurring during negotiations, painting educators in a negative light.
"This didn't seem right," Strohecker said. "Where's the appreciation?"
The teachers are not fighting because they want to, but to achieve salary and benefits they deserve, she said.
Many parents expressed concerned that a disruption due to a strike would affect their children, including Skippack parent Cindi Veverka.
Perkiomen Valley teachers are still doing a "tremendous" job, despite the stress that comes along with the negotiation process, explaining it has not hindered the education of the students, Veverka said.
"There's a lot of stress there, not knowing what is going on," she said.
It is not fair to students to miss school for a few days because of a strike, then have them return and have to pick up where they left off in their lessons, she said.
"It is the children that are going to suffer," she said. "We would love to have this settled."
Skippack resident Pam Kirkman felt the same as Veverka. "We do want an end to this as a taxpayer, as a parent," Kirkman said.
Kirkman asked the school board what concessions have been made during the negotiation process, with board solicitor Brian Subers saying there have been concessions made in salary.
The board wanted salaries to come in below the Act 1 index and the fact-finder's report came in above that, so that was one of the concessions agreed up, Subers said.
Subers did not give any additional details on any other concessions.
The board did not comment on the public’s remarks, and Subers said to another person who asked the board a question that this is "a public comment period" where the board accepts comments and will not answer all of the questions brought before them.
"It is not a public debate, period. The board is not required to debate every issue the public wishes to debate," he said.
Subers also gave insight into the negotiation process, saying there are four school board members on the contract negotiation team who then report back to the entire board.
More negotiation sessions are scheduled between the two parties' lead negotiators and the third-party mediator, but Subers said the meetings are “informal.”
According to the district’s website, if a work stoppage does occur, the Freedom Valley and North Penn YMCAs will run full-day childcare programs for students in grades kindergarten through eighth.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/15/news/doc4d5b02bfc9b66786924972.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Budget Presentation 2/10/2011
The entire package can be found at Budget Presentation Package
I tried several ways of adding the slides, but the print was too small no matter what I did to them.
[Page 2]
The two biggest things are the loss of stimulus funds and PSERS rates. A new challenge is the health care legislation.
[Page 3]
The first 3 bullet points are important.
If the assessed values decrease , then the same millage will not bring in the same revenue.
[Page 5]
For the 2009-10 school year, the budget called to use $ 712,479 of fund balance. The actual broke even.
Basic education funding came in below budget, but was made up in Federal funding. Local revenue is declining.
[Page 7]
89% of local funding comes from Real Estate taxes.
Earned Income Tax (EIT) was $1.9M (million) two years ago. We lost $400,000 over two years due to wage cuts & unemployment.
Investments brought in $570,000 in revenue two years ago. We lost another $400,000 here over two years.
[Page 9]
Variances - Since the District did not know where the funds were coming from, they budgeted in Dues/Fees. As the funds came in, they were booked in the appropriate categories.
This was the first year the District budgeted for staff moving through the scale. They never budgeted it before as staff would come and go. As teachers left, others would be hired at a lower step and it evened out. They expected there would be less people leaving, so they budgeted for the increase in salaries for credits earned.
[Page 10]
Approx. $ 190,000
December 2010 over $ 200,000
[Page 11]
Estimated 16% increase in healthcare costs.
In 2006, the District had a negative fund balance.
They started restricting funds for fringe benefits & other spikes in costs.
The State changed the PSERS rate after the preliminary budget was run. This will save $500,000 this year.
The District needs 2 months worth of expenses in fund balance to get through the summer.
[Page 16]
The State reduced funding by $50,000.
Demand Response- The District signed an agreement with PECO. During peak times in the summer, the District will curtail electric use 100% when asked. They were asked once during this past summer on July 6th. The District received $47,000 for 4 hours. There is the potential for the school to have to shut down during the school year as the program runs from June 1 - Sept. 30. It is a two-year program.
Retirement expense is down because of the change of rate.
[Page 19]
A quick & dirty calculation shows a need of $952,000.
[Page 20]
It is possible that Basic Ed funding could go back to 2007-08 levels.* That has been taken into account.
The shortfall of revenue is $548,108. The District probably will not find out final numbers until later than normal. The new Governor has an extra month to submit the PA Budget.
[Page 21]
Act 319
16% of the parcels in Lancaster County fall under this. The assessed value is $105M. The tax value is $47M. That is an exemption of $58M assessed value. There is a property tax shif of $1.6M. That equals $1,300 for each homeowner in Lancaster County.
In Chester County, there 5400 parcels. There are 812 in Act 310 (14.8%). The assessed value is $123M. The tax value is $13M. That is $109M in exceptions. $3.8M is shifted to the other parcels. $825/parcel shifted.
There is a total of $5.4M spread to the residents not in Act 319.
[Page 23]
HB 2497 passed in December.
2014-15 $2,000,000
The State will also be increasing $2M.
The Annual Change in the Chester County Tax Base
prepared by the CCIU
The County has lost tax base since 2002.
Kennett has lost $20M in tax base. They had 29% increase in healthcare costs.
5-Year Financial Projections
The model is based on the current budget. We are starting off with no reduction in spending. The numbers will improve as we make changes. We needed to see where we would end up with no changes.
Budget Reduction Memo
________________________________________________________________________________
Questions/Comments/Discussion
(I didn't get this person's name): Why the difference between Chester & Lancaster Counties?
It is a state formula based on assessed values. The assessed values get rebalanced by the formula.
Larry Lavenberg (Atglen) had some suggestions:
1. He feels the Budget Reduction Memo nibbles at athletics. He thinks they should be eliminated. The School Code doesn't say that districts have to support athletics.
2. There should be a 4-day school week. Students would go longer days. There would be savings in transportation, maintenance & other expenses.
3. Transportation - The School Code says that if you bus 1 person, you have to bus everyone. It costs $2.7M per year. Buses should be eliminated. School hours could be changed to keep everyone from showing up at the same time. The other option would be for parents to pay for transportation ($1000/child).
Another gentleman asked about the student/teacher ratio. He asked about the possibility of raising it to cut staff. Dr. Newcome referred him to the budget reduction memo.
Judy Stuehrmann asked how many districts are impacted by Act 319 in the way that Octorara is. Dr. Newcome said that Solanco, Oxford & Pequea are in this bi-county area.
Mrs. Stuerhmann asked why the state does not give districts something back for that. Dr. Newcome stated that Mr. Hume has been very vigilant on this topic. He's been in contact with Harrisburg over the past 5 years. Dr. Newcome had testified. Representative Hershey has introduced legislation. Representatives Houghton and Cutler continued. A bill is not out of committee yet. This is legislation that does not interest representatives in areas not impacted by this.
Another gentleman asked about the student/teacher ratio. He asked about the possibility of raising it to cut staff. Dr. Newcome referred him to the budget reduction memo.
Judy Stuehrmann asked how many districts are impacted by Act 319 in the way that Octorara is. Dr. Newcome said that Solanco, Oxford & Pequea are in this bi-county area.
Mrs. Stuerhmann asked why the state does not give districts something back for that. Dr. Newcome stated that Mr. Hume has been very vigilant on this topic. He's been in contact with Harrisburg over the past 5 years. Dr. Newcome had testified. Representative Hershey has introduced legislation. Representatives Houghton and Cutler continued. A bill is not out of committee yet. This is legislation that does not interest representatives in areas not impacted by this.
Dr. Newcome further explained that a couple of years ago, an economic summit was held at the High School with munipal authorities & the public. Out of that summit, the Octorara Region Planning Commission was started. The goal is to bring rateables to the district. (A rateable is a commercial property for real estate tax purposes). The idea is to target areas that are zoned for business without hurting the agricultural nature of the district.
School financing will not change in the near future. Residents need to talk with their elected municipal officials to work on commercial development.
Anita Grimes asked about the increase in the projection for charter schools. She asked for a breakdown of charter school students between elementary & secondary.
Dr. Newcome said they would get the breakdown.
Mr. Carsley - the tuition rate is based on the district's budget. For this year the rate is approx. $12,000 per student. Special needs students are approx. $28,000. Enrollment is increasing. They have seen a lot of families who had students in private school switch to charter schools when a parent became unemployed.
One mill is worth different amounts in in different districts. In West Chester, one mill is worth $ 8 million. At Octorara, it is worth $900 thousand.
A question was asked about the possibility of merging districts. Dr. Newcome said he has not been given the direction to pursue that. He doesn't believe it would improve Octorara's situation as the most likely merger candidates would be Solanco, Pequea and Oxford (the same three that have the same issues as we do with Act 319). While there would only be one superintendent, there would be an increase in the number of assistant superintendents. There would also be additional positions added such as a student assignment director (the person who would determine boundaries & which schools students would go to).
He said that a county system wouldn't really save any money, but would change the amount of money that would be allocated to our area.
Dr. Newcome offered the opportunity for residents to meet with the district administrators to go over the budget and ask questions.
The discussion moved to athletics. Dr. Newcome feels that the PIAA will not exist in 10 years.
There will probably be significant changes to the budget given the information in this article (it will also be posted in a separate post on this blog) : http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/352788
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Work Session 02/14/2011
I wasn't able to attend the meeting last night, but Ken Knickerbocker was there & took notes. He has them posted on his blog at http://www.parkesburgtoday.com/.
I'm still working on the notes from the budget meeting last week. They will be posted as soon as I can complete them.
I'm still working on the notes from the budget meeting last week. They will be posted as soon as I can complete them.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Coatesville school board approves preliminary budget - Daily Local News 2/10/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Coatesville school board approves preliminary budget
Spending plan includes a tentative 3.5 percent tax hike and anticipates district using $3.4 million from general fund balance
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By ERIC S. SMITH
Staff Writer
CALN — The Coatesville Area School Board approved its preliminary budget for the 2011-2012 school year during a special meeting Tuesday by a 6-1 vote.
The preliminary budget includes a tentative tax increase of 3.5 percent, according to Ken Lupold, director of business administration. Board member Diane Brownfield voted against the budget and members Laurie and Robert Knecht were not in attendance. Brownfield did not return requests for comment about her dissenting vote.
The preliminary budget also shows the district using about $3.4 million of its general fund balance. That would bring the district's fund balance below $500,000, according to the preliminary budget.
"This budget is only tentative and anything can change before we vote on the final budget," said board member Richard Ritter.
The board's vote on Tuesday does set the ceiling for a tax increase at 3.5 percent, but that hike can be lowered before the board approves a final budget. Under the state's Act 1 index, the board cannot increase taxes beyond 1.7 percent unless it asks the state for exceptions, Lupold said. The district would be seeking exceptions for special education and the increasing pension obligations for the district, he said.
According to the preliminary budget, the district expects a more than 5 percent increase in local revenues for 2011-2012 over the current school year. Some of this increase is accounted for with the proposed real-estate tax increases, but a large majority comes from the district's anticipation of a 50 percent increase in real-estate transfer taxes. The district is budgeting for 1.5 million in transfer taxes for 2011-2012.
The district is also anticipating a small decrease in state revenues and a rather large decrease in federal revenues due to the termination of the federal stimulus package.
Overall revenues are expected to increase by slightly less than 2 percent from the budgeted figures of 2010-2011. Projected revenues from this year are slightly lower than what was originally budgeted.
Expenditures are expected to increase by about 2 percent over what was budgeted for this year. Both special education and debt service costs are expected to go up by about 6 percent each.
The expected fund balance usage is still only half as much as the district needed to balance its budget in 2009-2010, but at that time the district had about $12 million in reserves. Therefore, when it used $6 million it had $6 million left for future needs.
To contact staff writer Eric S. Smith, send an e-mail to esmith@dailylocal.com.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/10/news/srv0000010891854.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Coatesville school board approves preliminary budget
Spending plan includes a tentative 3.5 percent tax hike and anticipates district using $3.4 million from general fund balance
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By ERIC S. SMITH
Staff Writer
CALN — The Coatesville Area School Board approved its preliminary budget for the 2011-2012 school year during a special meeting Tuesday by a 6-1 vote.
The preliminary budget includes a tentative tax increase of 3.5 percent, according to Ken Lupold, director of business administration. Board member Diane Brownfield voted against the budget and members Laurie and Robert Knecht were not in attendance. Brownfield did not return requests for comment about her dissenting vote.
The preliminary budget also shows the district using about $3.4 million of its general fund balance. That would bring the district's fund balance below $500,000, according to the preliminary budget.
"This budget is only tentative and anything can change before we vote on the final budget," said board member Richard Ritter.
The board's vote on Tuesday does set the ceiling for a tax increase at 3.5 percent, but that hike can be lowered before the board approves a final budget. Under the state's Act 1 index, the board cannot increase taxes beyond 1.7 percent unless it asks the state for exceptions, Lupold said. The district would be seeking exceptions for special education and the increasing pension obligations for the district, he said.
According to the preliminary budget, the district expects a more than 5 percent increase in local revenues for 2011-2012 over the current school year. Some of this increase is accounted for with the proposed real-estate tax increases, but a large majority comes from the district's anticipation of a 50 percent increase in real-estate transfer taxes. The district is budgeting for 1.5 million in transfer taxes for 2011-2012.
The district is also anticipating a small decrease in state revenues and a rather large decrease in federal revenues due to the termination of the federal stimulus package.
Overall revenues are expected to increase by slightly less than 2 percent from the budgeted figures of 2010-2011. Projected revenues from this year are slightly lower than what was originally budgeted.
Expenditures are expected to increase by about 2 percent over what was budgeted for this year. Both special education and debt service costs are expected to go up by about 6 percent each.
The expected fund balance usage is still only half as much as the district needed to balance its budget in 2009-2010, but at that time the district had about $12 million in reserves. Therefore, when it used $6 million it had $6 million left for future needs.
To contact staff writer Eric S. Smith, send an e-mail to esmith@dailylocal.com.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/10/news/srv0000010891854.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Tax hike looms in DASD - Daily Local News 2/10/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Tax hike looms in DASD
Downingtown releases preliminary budget; members agree tax ceiling should be set
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By ERIC S. SMITH
EAST CALN — The Downingtown Area School Board approved a preliminary budget that includes a 3.3 percent tax increase on an 8-1 vote after a lengthy discussion at Wednesday night's meeting.
Every board member who voted for the preliminary budget said they would not support a 3.3 percent tax
increase in the final budget but needed to set a ceiling for the tax rate given the level of uncertainty currently surrounding the budget. Board member Robert Yorczyk, the lone dissenter, said that if the goal is to be below a 3.3 percent increase then the board should set that goal now.
Richard Fazio, chief financial officer for the district, said the uncertainty surrounding the budget is a result of ongoing negotiations with the teachers union and the fact that the new governor has not released his budget which will affect public education funding.
"I don't think any of us want to support a tax increase," said board member William Fagan. "I don't think any of us want to vote for (3.3 percent). But we can't go up later, we can go down. I won't support the final budget at (3.3 percent), but we need to set the rate where we can adjust it."
Fazio said the district is looking at a $192 million budget with ever-decreasing revenues. He said, at a finance committee meeting in January, that even with the 3.3 percent tax increase and about $2.5 million from the general fund balance, the district is still about $2.2 million in the hole and needs to make cuts. He said that for the first time in the history of the district, revenues will decrease from one year to the next and he expects the 2011-2012 revenues to be about $3 million less than this year's revenues.
Some board members suggested Monday that Fazio draft a variety of budgets that have a 0 percent tax increase, a 1.4 percent increase (the ACT 1 index level), a 2.3 percent increase (Act 1 with a special-education exception) and 3.3 percent (which also includes an exception for the increasing pension obligations).
Board member Robert Eldredge said that approach would include a lot of "ambiguity" and the administration would simply be choosing random programs to cut. He instead suggested that the administration suggest the next viable cut and continue to do so until the board reached a comfortable level.
Board member Thomas Ost-Prisco said he would "like to see a budget as close to a 0 percent tax increase as possible," but admitted that the cuts will be difficult.
"Everyone is going to have to do some soul-searching to see what they are willing to give up," Ost-Prisco said.
Fazio said the administration is attempting to make all the cuts it can before they affect education. He added that ultimately education may have to be affected.
"There is no way to reduce a budget by millions of dollars and it won't affect the educational programs," Fazio said.
To contact staff writer Eric S. Smith, send an e-mail to esmith@dailylocal.com.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/10/news/srv0000010895558.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Tax hike looms in DASD
Downingtown releases preliminary budget; members agree tax ceiling should be set
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By ERIC S. SMITH
EAST CALN — The Downingtown Area School Board approved a preliminary budget that includes a 3.3 percent tax increase on an 8-1 vote after a lengthy discussion at Wednesday night's meeting.
Every board member who voted for the preliminary budget said they would not support a 3.3 percent tax
increase in the final budget but needed to set a ceiling for the tax rate given the level of uncertainty currently surrounding the budget. Board member Robert Yorczyk, the lone dissenter, said that if the goal is to be below a 3.3 percent increase then the board should set that goal now.
Richard Fazio, chief financial officer for the district, said the uncertainty surrounding the budget is a result of ongoing negotiations with the teachers union and the fact that the new governor has not released his budget which will affect public education funding.
"I don't think any of us want to support a tax increase," said board member William Fagan. "I don't think any of us want to vote for (3.3 percent). But we can't go up later, we can go down. I won't support the final budget at (3.3 percent), but we need to set the rate where we can adjust it."
Fazio said the district is looking at a $192 million budget with ever-decreasing revenues. He said, at a finance committee meeting in January, that even with the 3.3 percent tax increase and about $2.5 million from the general fund balance, the district is still about $2.2 million in the hole and needs to make cuts. He said that for the first time in the history of the district, revenues will decrease from one year to the next and he expects the 2011-2012 revenues to be about $3 million less than this year's revenues.
Some board members suggested Monday that Fazio draft a variety of budgets that have a 0 percent tax increase, a 1.4 percent increase (the ACT 1 index level), a 2.3 percent increase (Act 1 with a special-education exception) and 3.3 percent (which also includes an exception for the increasing pension obligations).
Board member Robert Eldredge said that approach would include a lot of "ambiguity" and the administration would simply be choosing random programs to cut. He instead suggested that the administration suggest the next viable cut and continue to do so until the board reached a comfortable level.
Board member Thomas Ost-Prisco said he would "like to see a budget as close to a 0 percent tax increase as possible," but admitted that the cuts will be difficult.
"Everyone is going to have to do some soul-searching to see what they are willing to give up," Ost-Prisco said.
Fazio said the administration is attempting to make all the cuts it can before they affect education. He added that ultimately education may have to be affected.
"There is no way to reduce a budget by millions of dollars and it won't affect the educational programs," Fazio said.
To contact staff writer Eric S. Smith, send an e-mail to esmith@dailylocal.com.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/10/news/srv0000010895558.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
REMINDER: Budget Meeting
Budget Meeting
Thursday, February 10, 2011
7:00 p.m.
OMS Multipurpose Room
This is the meeting that was originally scheduled for Wed. Jan. 26, 2011.
Teachers reject fact-finding report (Unionville-Chadds Ford) Daily Local News 2/9/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Teachers reject fact-finding report
Unionville-Chadds Ford contract talks struggling
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
By WM. SHAWN WEIGEL, Staff Writer
Contract negotiations between the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and the teachers' union have hit another snag.
On Monday night, the school board unanimously accepted the results of the Pennsylvania Labor Review Board's fact-finding report.
The Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association, however, rejected the report.
The teachers union requested the fact-finding report in December after reaching a stalemate in contract negotiations with the district.
Teachers in the district have been working without an updated contract.
Superintendent Sharon Parker said the district is still "engaged in the continued process of discussion and negotiation"
The contents of the report have not been made public.
Ruthann Waldie, UniServ director for the Pennsylvania State Education Association's southeast region, said the arbitrator did not accurately review the information provided by both sides and, in some cases, used outdated statistics.
The fact finder compared current teacher salaries to per capita income from 1999-2000, Waldie said.
"There were a lot of inaccurate things in the report, and (the association) really struggled with that," Waldie said. "She used false information to base her findings on, and that is very discouraging."
Waldie said the fact-finding process is generally used to help bring the parties closer together, but it failed this time around.
The next step, Waldie said, is for the union to take another vote after a brief "cooling off" period. That vote must occur within the next 10 days.
"What happens after that is we get back to table and try to negotiate a settlement, which is the best way to do this," she said. "But this doesn't give us a place to meet together."
Mark Fitzgerald, labor counsel for the district, said that the board's motivation in voting 9-0 in favor of the report was a reflection of their desire to get things done.
"There were a whole bunch of issues in terms of changes to work day, tuition reimbursement, supplemental contract issues, that by approving the report, we are willing to put those off and maybe deal with them in the next contract negotiation. But we want settlement now, and that's what they board did," he said.
He added that while the association said they hope to reach a settlement though negotiation, seeking arbitration was their decision.
"We hope it can move the process on, hopefully quicker, but with the report rejected, it would mean a return to table at some point," Fitzgerald said.
Under Act 88, a state law that addresses arbitration policies, the rejecting party must take their second vote no less than five days and no more than 10 days after the initial report.
The fact-finders final report is to be made public in the next few days, officials say.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/09/news/srv0000010881057.prt
2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Teachers reject fact-finding report
Unionville-Chadds Ford contract talks struggling
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
By WM. SHAWN WEIGEL, Staff Writer
Contract negotiations between the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and the teachers' union have hit another snag.
On Monday night, the school board unanimously accepted the results of the Pennsylvania Labor Review Board's fact-finding report.
The Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association, however, rejected the report.
The teachers union requested the fact-finding report in December after reaching a stalemate in contract negotiations with the district.
Teachers in the district have been working without an updated contract.
Superintendent Sharon Parker said the district is still "engaged in the continued process of discussion and negotiation"
The contents of the report have not been made public.
Ruthann Waldie, UniServ director for the Pennsylvania State Education Association's southeast region, said the arbitrator did not accurately review the information provided by both sides and, in some cases, used outdated statistics.
The fact finder compared current teacher salaries to per capita income from 1999-2000, Waldie said.
"There were a lot of inaccurate things in the report, and (the association) really struggled with that," Waldie said. "She used false information to base her findings on, and that is very discouraging."
Waldie said the fact-finding process is generally used to help bring the parties closer together, but it failed this time around.
The next step, Waldie said, is for the union to take another vote after a brief "cooling off" period. That vote must occur within the next 10 days.
"What happens after that is we get back to table and try to negotiate a settlement, which is the best way to do this," she said. "But this doesn't give us a place to meet together."
Mark Fitzgerald, labor counsel for the district, said that the board's motivation in voting 9-0 in favor of the report was a reflection of their desire to get things done.
"There were a whole bunch of issues in terms of changes to work day, tuition reimbursement, supplemental contract issues, that by approving the report, we are willing to put those off and maybe deal with them in the next contract negotiation. But we want settlement now, and that's what they board did," he said.
He added that while the association said they hope to reach a settlement though negotiation, seeking arbitration was their decision.
"We hope it can move the process on, hopefully quicker, but with the report rejected, it would mean a return to table at some point," Fitzgerald said.
Under Act 88, a state law that addresses arbitration policies, the rejecting party must take their second vote no less than five days and no more than 10 days after the initial report.
The fact-finders final report is to be made public in the next few days, officials say.
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/09/news/srv0000010881057.prt
2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
Hempfield School District staff backs pay freeze - Lancaster Online 2/8/2011
Hempfield School District staff backs pay freeze
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 08, 2011 22:51
By DEAN LEE EVANS, Correspondent
Hempfield school employees mounted a three-pronged attack on district salaries Tuesday with a combination of pay freezes, early retirements and a leaner contract for the superintendent.
Kris Krodel, a courier with the maintenance department, was chosen to represent the district's 374 support employees and announce Tuesday that 303 employees, or 81 percent of Hempfield's support staff, had agreed to take a voluntary pay freeze for the 2011-12 school year.
He said the members of the support staff, who are not represented by a union, met several times in small groups to discuss the idea.
"We all had to work together," he said.
Support staff includes teacher aides, custodians, librarians and counselors.
Its voluntary pay freeze follows in the footsteps of a similar move two months ago, when Hempfield executives unanimously agreed to forgo pay increases next year.
Also, business manager Mary Lynne Kniley said 26 teachers and six support staff had accepted an early retirement package offered by the district.
The retirement package is effective at the end of the school year in June.
Kniley said she did not know what impact the pay-freeze initiatives or retirements would have on the district's budget shortfall. The gap grew to $5.85 million Tuesday after the district learned earlier in the day that certain reduced state contributions to public education would cut deeper into revenues than previously expected.
"The administration will meet Friday to determine if the (teacher and support staff) positions will need to be replaced," Kniley said.
Superintendent Brenda Becker said she was proud that so many support staff and teachers accepted pay freezes and early retirements.
Becker set an example herself Tuesday night when it was decided that the district would offer her a new five-year contract.
Becker accepted several givebacks and benefits concessions, board president Bill Jimenez said. But he said he could not release specifics of the new contract because it had not been signed by the superintendent. It also will require review and approval by the district solicitor.
"I can tell you that overall her salary did go down from the 2010-11 level," Jimenez said.
Kniley said that Becker's contract should be released to the public "in a couple weeks."
The salary freezes and retirements approved by the board Tuesday come less than a month after a public forum was held to gather input on the district's budget shortfall.
Several residents last month suggested they would like to see teachers forced back to the bargaining table to renegotiate their three-year contract, which was approved last year.
"I don't even know if that is legally possible," Jessie Long, the district's community relations director, said.
While several school districts in Lancaster County are facing shortfalls, Hempfield is the first to approve mass retirements and extensive pay freezes.
Despite public outcry, Elanco School District last week announced it would furlough 15 teachers to cut costs.
Cocalico School District last month approved the closing of Schoeneck Elementary — a much-loved community school — in an effort to cut costs.
The school's 100-plus students are to be relocated next year to Denver Elementary, which will undergo renovations and an expansion to handle the increased student population.
Donegal administrators last week floated a proposal to close two school buildings and implement a districtwide realignment of kindergarten through grade eight at the district's remaining schools.
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/349649#ixzz1DVSTQ5t5
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Feb 08, 2011 22:51
By DEAN LEE EVANS, Correspondent
Hempfield school employees mounted a three-pronged attack on district salaries Tuesday with a combination of pay freezes, early retirements and a leaner contract for the superintendent.
Kris Krodel, a courier with the maintenance department, was chosen to represent the district's 374 support employees and announce Tuesday that 303 employees, or 81 percent of Hempfield's support staff, had agreed to take a voluntary pay freeze for the 2011-12 school year.
He said the members of the support staff, who are not represented by a union, met several times in small groups to discuss the idea.
"We all had to work together," he said.
Support staff includes teacher aides, custodians, librarians and counselors.
Its voluntary pay freeze follows in the footsteps of a similar move two months ago, when Hempfield executives unanimously agreed to forgo pay increases next year.
Also, business manager Mary Lynne Kniley said 26 teachers and six support staff had accepted an early retirement package offered by the district.
The retirement package is effective at the end of the school year in June.
Kniley said she did not know what impact the pay-freeze initiatives or retirements would have on the district's budget shortfall. The gap grew to $5.85 million Tuesday after the district learned earlier in the day that certain reduced state contributions to public education would cut deeper into revenues than previously expected.
"The administration will meet Friday to determine if the (teacher and support staff) positions will need to be replaced," Kniley said.
Superintendent Brenda Becker said she was proud that so many support staff and teachers accepted pay freezes and early retirements.
Becker set an example herself Tuesday night when it was decided that the district would offer her a new five-year contract.
Becker accepted several givebacks and benefits concessions, board president Bill Jimenez said. But he said he could not release specifics of the new contract because it had not been signed by the superintendent. It also will require review and approval by the district solicitor.
"I can tell you that overall her salary did go down from the 2010-11 level," Jimenez said.
Kniley said that Becker's contract should be released to the public "in a couple weeks."
The salary freezes and retirements approved by the board Tuesday come less than a month after a public forum was held to gather input on the district's budget shortfall.
Several residents last month suggested they would like to see teachers forced back to the bargaining table to renegotiate their three-year contract, which was approved last year.
"I don't even know if that is legally possible," Jessie Long, the district's community relations director, said.
While several school districts in Lancaster County are facing shortfalls, Hempfield is the first to approve mass retirements and extensive pay freezes.
Despite public outcry, Elanco School District last week announced it would furlough 15 teachers to cut costs.
Cocalico School District last month approved the closing of Schoeneck Elementary — a much-loved community school — in an effort to cut costs.
The school's 100-plus students are to be relocated next year to Denver Elementary, which will undergo renovations and an expansion to handle the increased student population.
Donegal administrators last week floated a proposal to close two school buildings and implement a districtwide realignment of kindergarten through grade eight at the district's remaining schools.
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/349649#ixzz1DVSTQ5t5
New bill supports voucher system - Daily Local News 2/7/2011
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
New bill supports voucher system
State lawmakers consider law reallocating public money for educating students from low-performing public schools
Monday, February 7, 2011
By EVAN BRANDT, Special to the Local News
A controversial bill introduced in Harrisburg that would allow low-income students to leave low-performing public schools and use public money to be educated elsewhere would focus first on 144 of the lowest performing public schools in Pennsylvania, none of which are in Chester or Montgomery counties.
But by its third year, the law would implement a statewide voucher system that would permit public money to be used to send students to private and parochial schools.
One key Chester County-based legislator hopes to play a critical role in changing this third-year provision.
The bipartisan bill has been co-sponsored in the state Senate by Republican Sen. Jeff Piccola, whose district includes Dauphin and York counties, including Harrisburg, and who chairs the senate's education committee; and by Democrat Sen. Anthony Williams, who represents Philadelphia and Delaware County and recently succeeded the late Sen. Mike O'Pake as Democratic whip.
Called Senate Bill 1, the proposal has the support of Pennsylvania's new governor, Tom Corbett, whose campaign platform included implementing "school choice" in the Keystone state.
State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, education committee minority chairman, said he strongly supports the portions of the bill that focus on those 144 failing schools, but he opposes the creation of a statewide voucher system. He says vouchers would siphon money away from schools that work as well as those which demonstrably do not.
In its first year, Senate Bill 1 would allow the state's per-student subsidy money to a district to be used by low-income students attending certain public schools to pay tuition at a school of their choice.
The bill sets the standards for identifying low-performing schools. According to a list provided by Piccola's office, the 144 designated public schools include 91 in Philadelphia, 12 in Harrisburg, 12 in Pittsburgh and nine in Delaware County.
Reading High School and the Gateway School for International Business and Language in Reading are also on that list.
In its second year, the bill would allow any low-income student living within the attendance area of a poor-performing school to use the state subsidy money to attend a different school, either public or private.
In its third year, however, the proposal would abandon all necessity that a student be associated with a poorly performing school and would allow all low-income students to use public funds for tuition, which the bill describes as "scholarships."
The bill defines low-income as being within 130 percent of the federal poverty index, which Dinniman said is essentially the same as those who are eligible for the free-and-reduced lunch program. That criteria describes at least half the students in Pottstown schools.
According to materials from Piccola's office, a household of two with an annual income of $18,941 in 2010 would qualify; a 2010 household income of $23,803 would qualify a family of three and a four-member family which brought in $28,665 in 2010 would qualify as well.
As voucher proposals have in the past, this proposal has attracted passionate responses from supporters and advocates alike.
In an article highlighting U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner's support for Catholic education and school choice during a Jan. 26 event, the Catholic News Agency made specific mention of the Pennsylvania proposal.
A decade ago, many Pennsylvanians were "somewhat on the fence" on the question of providing educational vouchers and tax credits to low income families, Sean McAleer, head of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, told the Catholic News Agency.
"This time, it's a total change," McAleer is quoted as saying. "The public outcry has been unbelievable."
Not so, says the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, among the bill's primary opponents.
On its website, PSBA cites a 2010 poll by Terry Madonna Opinion Research that concluded that 67 percent of those 805 Pennsylvanians polled "oppose giving public money to parents so they can sent their children to a private school."
But Piccola, who first proposed school vouchers 16 years ago, expected the opposition of both the PSBA and the statewide teachers association, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, or PSEA, and has come out swinging.
During a Jan. 28 rally in Harrisburg in support of the measure, Piccola reportedly said, "Vouchers is not a four-letter word. PSEA is a four-letter word. PSBA is a four-letter word."
Further, in a release posted on his website, Piccola called the PSBA "advocates for protecting turf and ultimately protecting the employment of adults. As an association, they have no credibility on this issue in the General Assembly, nor, frankly on many other issues, because they fear offending their allies, the teachers' unions."
Neither group has responded with as much colorful language, but both are clearly of opposing minds.
PSEA points out that although public money would be funneled to private and parochial schools under the proposal, those schools are not required "to administer the same standardized tests to measure student progress or the effectiveness of the program," thus making them less accountable than public schools for the spending of public money.
"We shouldn't be abandoning struggling schools and implementing costly new government bureaucracy simply because it looks like a silver bullet solution," PSEA President Jim Testerman said on the group's website.
From Dinniman's standpoint, both sides are right — and both are wrong.
He absolutely agrees with the bill's sponsors that for the 144 schools identified as the worst performing, the time has come to offer the students who attend them another option.
"Think about it, many of those schools have been in the bottom 5 percent for over a decade and we have reached a point where something has to be done," Dinniman said. "We have had an entire generation go through schools that the state has said are essentially failing."
The proposal's first two years "provides students trapped in a failing school a way out," he said.
But if vouchers — or "scholarships" — are a way out of failing schools, they are also a way to undermine schools that are not failing, said Dinniman.
"We have schools in Chester and Montgomery counties that are among the top schools in the state. Why would we take resources away from schools that work?" Dinniman asked, adding that scenario would inevitably lead to increased property taxes as local districts try to make up for missing state subsidies.
Consider, he said, that for the first time in recent memory, the state is likely to provide less aid to public schools than in the previous year, thanks to the expiration of the two-year federal stimulus money that was used to plug Pennsylvania's education budget.
"All this discussion of education reform is taking place in a time of no money," Dinniman said. "The state government can sing the praises of not raising taxes, but because the Legislature has failed to do any meaningful tax reform, the burden of all this will end up falling on the local property tax payers."
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Feb. 16 and a vote to move the proposal out of the education committee to the full Senate will likely happen in late February or early March, Dinniman said.
When the time comes, Dinniman said he plans to offer an amendment that would eliminate the third-year voucher plan that extends to all low-income families and instead expand upon another portion of the proposal which he favors.
The proposal also calls for increasing the cap on the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, which allows businesses to receive a tax break for making contributions to education efforts.
Dinniman, who said the program "is always sold out within a month," should be expanded further to provide an alternative source of revenue and "get some private sector funding invested into education efforts that run a whole spectrum."
"Voucher advocates say (vouchers are) THE answer, but the truth of the matter is there is no one answer to how students learn, there is no silver bullet," Dinniman said.
"The question should not be public versus private versus charter versus cyber-charter," Dinniman said. "The question should be: What is the best learning environment for each of the different styles of learning, and how do we best fund them?"
Whatever happens, Dinniman predicted that "for the next four months, we are going to be reviewing and considering more major changes in education than we have seen in the last 50 years in this Commonwealth."
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/07/news/srv0000010845973.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
New bill supports voucher system
State lawmakers consider law reallocating public money for educating students from low-performing public schools
Monday, February 7, 2011
By EVAN BRANDT, Special to the Local News
A controversial bill introduced in Harrisburg that would allow low-income students to leave low-performing public schools and use public money to be educated elsewhere would focus first on 144 of the lowest performing public schools in Pennsylvania, none of which are in Chester or Montgomery counties.
But by its third year, the law would implement a statewide voucher system that would permit public money to be used to send students to private and parochial schools.
One key Chester County-based legislator hopes to play a critical role in changing this third-year provision.
The bipartisan bill has been co-sponsored in the state Senate by Republican Sen. Jeff Piccola, whose district includes Dauphin and York counties, including Harrisburg, and who chairs the senate's education committee; and by Democrat Sen. Anthony Williams, who represents Philadelphia and Delaware County and recently succeeded the late Sen. Mike O'Pake as Democratic whip.
Called Senate Bill 1, the proposal has the support of Pennsylvania's new governor, Tom Corbett, whose campaign platform included implementing "school choice" in the Keystone state.
State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, education committee minority chairman, said he strongly supports the portions of the bill that focus on those 144 failing schools, but he opposes the creation of a statewide voucher system. He says vouchers would siphon money away from schools that work as well as those which demonstrably do not.
In its first year, Senate Bill 1 would allow the state's per-student subsidy money to a district to be used by low-income students attending certain public schools to pay tuition at a school of their choice.
The bill sets the standards for identifying low-performing schools. According to a list provided by Piccola's office, the 144 designated public schools include 91 in Philadelphia, 12 in Harrisburg, 12 in Pittsburgh and nine in Delaware County.
Reading High School and the Gateway School for International Business and Language in Reading are also on that list.
In its second year, the bill would allow any low-income student living within the attendance area of a poor-performing school to use the state subsidy money to attend a different school, either public or private.
In its third year, however, the proposal would abandon all necessity that a student be associated with a poorly performing school and would allow all low-income students to use public funds for tuition, which the bill describes as "scholarships."
The bill defines low-income as being within 130 percent of the federal poverty index, which Dinniman said is essentially the same as those who are eligible for the free-and-reduced lunch program. That criteria describes at least half the students in Pottstown schools.
According to materials from Piccola's office, a household of two with an annual income of $18,941 in 2010 would qualify; a 2010 household income of $23,803 would qualify a family of three and a four-member family which brought in $28,665 in 2010 would qualify as well.
As voucher proposals have in the past, this proposal has attracted passionate responses from supporters and advocates alike.
In an article highlighting U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner's support for Catholic education and school choice during a Jan. 26 event, the Catholic News Agency made specific mention of the Pennsylvania proposal.
A decade ago, many Pennsylvanians were "somewhat on the fence" on the question of providing educational vouchers and tax credits to low income families, Sean McAleer, head of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, told the Catholic News Agency.
"This time, it's a total change," McAleer is quoted as saying. "The public outcry has been unbelievable."
Not so, says the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, among the bill's primary opponents.
On its website, PSBA cites a 2010 poll by Terry Madonna Opinion Research that concluded that 67 percent of those 805 Pennsylvanians polled "oppose giving public money to parents so they can sent their children to a private school."
But Piccola, who first proposed school vouchers 16 years ago, expected the opposition of both the PSBA and the statewide teachers association, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, or PSEA, and has come out swinging.
During a Jan. 28 rally in Harrisburg in support of the measure, Piccola reportedly said, "Vouchers is not a four-letter word. PSEA is a four-letter word. PSBA is a four-letter word."
Further, in a release posted on his website, Piccola called the PSBA "advocates for protecting turf and ultimately protecting the employment of adults. As an association, they have no credibility on this issue in the General Assembly, nor, frankly on many other issues, because they fear offending their allies, the teachers' unions."
Neither group has responded with as much colorful language, but both are clearly of opposing minds.
PSEA points out that although public money would be funneled to private and parochial schools under the proposal, those schools are not required "to administer the same standardized tests to measure student progress or the effectiveness of the program," thus making them less accountable than public schools for the spending of public money.
"We shouldn't be abandoning struggling schools and implementing costly new government bureaucracy simply because it looks like a silver bullet solution," PSEA President Jim Testerman said on the group's website.
From Dinniman's standpoint, both sides are right — and both are wrong.
He absolutely agrees with the bill's sponsors that for the 144 schools identified as the worst performing, the time has come to offer the students who attend them another option.
"Think about it, many of those schools have been in the bottom 5 percent for over a decade and we have reached a point where something has to be done," Dinniman said. "We have had an entire generation go through schools that the state has said are essentially failing."
The proposal's first two years "provides students trapped in a failing school a way out," he said.
But if vouchers — or "scholarships" — are a way out of failing schools, they are also a way to undermine schools that are not failing, said Dinniman.
"We have schools in Chester and Montgomery counties that are among the top schools in the state. Why would we take resources away from schools that work?" Dinniman asked, adding that scenario would inevitably lead to increased property taxes as local districts try to make up for missing state subsidies.
Consider, he said, that for the first time in recent memory, the state is likely to provide less aid to public schools than in the previous year, thanks to the expiration of the two-year federal stimulus money that was used to plug Pennsylvania's education budget.
"All this discussion of education reform is taking place in a time of no money," Dinniman said. "The state government can sing the praises of not raising taxes, but because the Legislature has failed to do any meaningful tax reform, the burden of all this will end up falling on the local property tax payers."
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Feb. 16 and a vote to move the proposal out of the education committee to the full Senate will likely happen in late February or early March, Dinniman said.
When the time comes, Dinniman said he plans to offer an amendment that would eliminate the third-year voucher plan that extends to all low-income families and instead expand upon another portion of the proposal which he favors.
The proposal also calls for increasing the cap on the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, which allows businesses to receive a tax break for making contributions to education efforts.
Dinniman, who said the program "is always sold out within a month," should be expanded further to provide an alternative source of revenue and "get some private sector funding invested into education efforts that run a whole spectrum."
"Voucher advocates say (vouchers are) THE answer, but the truth of the matter is there is no one answer to how students learn, there is no silver bullet," Dinniman said.
"The question should not be public versus private versus charter versus cyber-charter," Dinniman said. "The question should be: What is the best learning environment for each of the different styles of learning, and how do we best fund them?"
Whatever happens, Dinniman predicted that "for the next four months, we are going to be reviewing and considering more major changes in education than we have seen in the last 50 years in this Commonwealth."
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/02/07/news/srv0000010845973.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
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