After reading this article it proves our reservations about P.W., our now infamous "communications director". P.W. is quoted in the article saying that Bill Hellmann ran on the "Stay on Track" ticket. Perhaps she was too busy ghost writing Marlys' letters or putting out inaccurate phony news letters just before the November election. Its clear that P.W. is a political operative who is there to serve/and mastermind their continued presence on the board.
from buckslocalnews.com:
Morrisville School Board passes budget with no tax increase
Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
By Petra Chesner Schlatter, BucksLocalNews.com
The Morrisville School Board approved an $18.3-million final budget on Wednesday, June 23 without raising taxes for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
“This marks the third consecutive year Morrisville has not increased school taxes,” according to Pat Wandling, spokesperson for the Morrisville School District. “Furthermore, the school board decreased taxes in the previous two years.”
Wandling said the step is “unprecedented. Nobody’s ever done that.”
She noted that Elizabeth Yonson, Morrisville School District superintendent, has said that no educational programs were cut with the final budget.
Morrisville School Board President Bill Hellmann said, “We have stayed on track this year with the approval of this budget. I also am pleased to report the budget is nearly $85,000 less than the amount we anticipated spending this year.”
Hellmann, who ran on the “Stay on Track” ticket, is a certified public accountant. “He is always talking ‘efficiencies,’” Wandling noted.
The board president has issued an open letter to residents, which was read at the school board meeting. He said that no service or educational program has been adversely affected by the board’s “economic efficiencies.”
He said the dilemma most school districts in the region are facing is how to hold the line on taxes and pay for rising costs, contractual agreements and fluctuations in state funding, as well as state-mandated programs.
“We are not unusual in wanting to provide quality education and still keep taxes low,” Hellmann said. “Morrisville also deals with these same issues and so we work very hard to manage taxpayers’ money wisely. As always, this board directs its efforts toward making our small school district run as efficiently as possible.”
Morrisville School District has 1,037 students, including outside placement.
The annual cost per pupil is $12,052.89 for an elementary school student and $17,158.35 for a secondary school student.
In comparison, the cost is higher than in the Pennsbury School District where the per pupil expenditure is $10,695.94 for an elementary school student and $13,030.66 for a secondary school students.”
Wandling said the cost to educate a student in Morrisville is higher than elsewhere in the county “because of the smallness of it. The district has to do everything the state mandates and then they have to find the money for it.”
Currently at Grandview Elementary School work is being done on HVAC, electrical, conversion to gas, windows and doors and removal of oil tanks. That is costing more than $2 million.
Renovations were done last summer at the high school, including HVAC, windows and electrical work. That cost was more than $4 million.
The Morrisville School Board has no scheduled meetings in July.
