Tuck that shirt in!! Pull those pants up!!

from buckslocalnews.com

Pennsbury gets tough on students dress code

Or do we want to be like Pennsbury?? How bout we start being like Morrisville and start working together and ending the secrecy surrounding the administration(Dr. Yonson's status), the schools(Reiter, Manor Park), and personal vendettas against individuals(Marlys Mihok).

More on M.R. Reiter in the BCCT today

Summerseat is indeed a national treasure. However with Sharon Hughes and Marlys Mihok at the helm, we simply don't trust their intentions or motives. Being that both Sharon and Marlys are frequent visitors to this blog, would you kind ladies furnish the list of who is on the historical society board? We believe that some compromise needs to be reached and planned out properly so that the neighborhood, and Summerseat can prosper.

from today's BCCT:

School could become open space or development
By: Manasee Wagh
Bucks County Courier Times
The fate of M.R. Reiter Elementary School remains up in the air. The district could keep it, sell it to the county or to a developer.
M.R. Reiter Elementary School's fate is still a mystery, but school board members say its future should become clear after the completion of engineering studies and the exploration of alternate choices to house students.
Reiter, one of two elementary schools in Morrisville until a furnace blast made it unusable in December 2008, faces three possibilities, said board President William Hellman. The district could keep it, sell it to the county for open space, or sell it to a housing developer.
Board member Marlys Mihok suggested the board look into selling Reiter to the county to be used as open space. At the board's request, Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson recently sent a letter of interest to the county director of parks and recreation.
The 3.96-acre Reiter property would expand the green space around Summerseat, a National Historic Landmark on Hillcrest and Legion Avenues that once served as Gen. George Washington's headquarters. Declaration of Independence and Constitution signers Robert Morris and George Clymer both lived in the home, which was restored in 1931 and served for a time as a school administration building. Today, the Historic Morrisville Society maintains Summerseat.
Board member Robin Reithmeyer and board candidate Damon Miller said they'd rather sell Reiter to a housing developer to generate tax revenue. They also expressed concern that the county may give the district less than the property is worth.
Mihok said she opposes selling Reiter to a housing developer, even if it would mean another source of taxes for the district.
"To surround the historic landmark with townhouses or McMansions would be bad. Summerseat deserves to have that extra land around it," said Mihok. "And I thought this would be good opportunity for the town and the children to have more space."
In December 2006, Reiter's "as-is" value was set at close to $1 million by one appraiser, said district business administrator Paul DeAngelo. However, he added, "You never know what it might be worth in today's economy."

At this point, the board is waiting for a response from the county about how much it could offer for the land as open space. Until it gets that estimate, the board can't decide what should be done with the property, said Hellman.
"The letter [that was] sent to the county is a letter of interest. The board has not made a decision on that property," he e-mailed. "I am open to suggestions from the public on what to do with the property."
Hellman said he opposes building a new elementary school on the Reiter property, an idea floating around the community. The project would increase taxes by about $2,220 per home per year, Hellmann said.
Some residents say they like the idea of using Manor Park, a former district elementary school, because it would afford more alternatives, especially now that Reiter students have been relocated to Grandview Elementary School and the high school.
"It would alleviate the situation with having younger grades in the high school, and it'd be more permanent housing," said Miller.
The district still owns Manor Park, located at Penn and Cleveland avenues, but has been leasing it to the Bucks County Head Start program for preschool children since 1999.
Head Start has a 20-year lease with the option to purchase, but the district could try to renegotiate the lease to reclaim the property, said DeAngelo. "But we're also sensitive to the fact that Head Start is a county-wide program," he said.
Meanwhile, engineers from Vitetta, the firm handling renovations at the high school and Grandview, are in the midst of a comparative study of Reiter, Grandview and Manor Park.
Location, building condition, renovation costs, layout and size are some of the factors the board needs to consider as it determines how best to use - or not use - each building in the coming years, officials said.
"After getting all the information, we can make a reasonably intelligent decision," said board member Jack Buckman.October 2, 2009 2:20 AM-->

M.R. Reiter could be sold for open space funds

We found this little article this morning about M.R. Reiter. It appeared in yesterdays edition of now.com section of the BCCT. This is a really bad idea and just reeks of possible corruption. We(the taxpayers) already own the property and building, so lets sell it to the county, where it will be open space forever and never generate the much needed tax dollars this community desperatly needs. All so Sharon Hughes and Marly's Mihok can have their Summerseat Park? If this goes through the "old guard" of Morrisville will have failed the people of Morrisville once again. Vote all "stay on track" candidates out on Nov 3. They are not here to serve you, their intentions are to serve themselves and their friends.



M.R. Reiter could be sold for open space funds
Posted in News on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 4:18 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh

The Morrisville School Board has expressed interest in selling the currently closed M.R. Reiter Elementary School.

It could be sold for a share of open space preservation funds and turned into an extension of the adjacent Summerseat historic house, said some board members at their Wednesday meeting.

The board directed Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson to send a letter of interest to the director of Parks and Recreation, though board members Gloria Heater, Joseph Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer voted against the idea.

The school has been closed since a furnace explosion in December 2008, and students have been rearranged between the district’s other two schools. In January, the board held a public hearing about what to do with Reiter, which also needs extensive renovations, but has only recently brought an option to the public’s attention.

Well for now Reiter is still one of our schools. It looks like it will remain closed for the upcoming school year however. Looks like Grandview is getting new windows too. Any idea when this project will be started?

from the BCCT:
Board to move students
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Fourth- through eighth-graders will share the same building with high school students. M.R. Reiter Elementary will remain closed through the 2009-10 school year.
Morrisville school board voted Wednesday night to provide an official statement to the state about keeping two of its schools open this year.
M.R. Reiter Elementary will remain closed through the 2009-10 school year. The board has yet to decide whether to close it permanently.
Though the vote to move all children in grades four and five into the high school building was taken in February, the state Department of Education needs paperwork showing which schools would be operational.
According to the plan, children in grades four through eight will share the same building with high school students but will be kept separate from them and form the Morrisville Intermediate School. Grades nine through 12 will be called Morrisville High School and remain in separate hallways. Grades four through six will also be kept apart from grades seven and eight. Those in grades pre-kindergarten to three will be at Grandview Elementary School.
Reiter's future will be determined at some later point based on the results of an ongoing engineering study, said board President William Hellmann. The school suffered a furnace explosion in December 2008. Though no one was hurt, the aged building's condition worsened, and children had to be moved to other schools.
The board also voted to accept a $444,000 bid by Architectural Window, one of four bids received on July 28 to replace all windows at Grandview. It also accepted a $17,000 option by the same firm to create new windows in large closets. Since some students from Reiter were moved into Grandview, the district has been trying to expand possible instructional spaces in the school.
Additionally, the board accepted a $43,700 bid to remove asbestos located in the caulking and glazing of the windows.
Further planned renovations for Grandview include upgrades to mechanical systems and more door replacements.
Before the meeting ended, board member John Buckman asked for two more items in light of recent vandalism to the high school during its summer renovation. Vandals crashed a truck into a door at the back of the school, ripping up a copy of renovation plans and throwing around the contents of the maintenance room. Police are investigating the incident.
Board members voted 6-0 for requesting that Bucks County detectives join the investigation to uncover the perpetrators, and for hiring a private security firm to patrol the school.
Members Brenda Worob, Joseph Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer were absent.

School renovations on schedule

Looks like P.W. is officially on the job. It looks like her first task was to arrange this little get together. Although by reading the article she had nothing to say.




from the BCCT:
School renovations on schedule

By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for Grandview Elementary School window replacements.
Long gouges are on the walls of the classroom, where ventilators have been ripped out.
Chairs are stacked upside down on tables huddled in the middle of the room, and the detritus of a construction project lies scattered everywhere.
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School may not look pretty now, but extensive renovations are right on schedule to be completed before the start of school Sept. 8.
The 50-year-old school on West Palmer Street is getting all new ventilation systems, a new boiler system, all new windows and some doors, an updated electrical system, asbestos removal and air conditioning in some common areas.
Engineering company Vitetta is handling the $4 million initiative to modernize the building, first opened in 1959 with an addition built in 1974.
"This is the replacement of items that have been in these buildings for many years, mostly original equipment and infrastructure that is 40 to 50 years old," said board President William Hellmann.
During a Thursday afternoon tour, Morrisville School District's facilities director Tim Lastichen, Hellmann, board member William Farrell, Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson, business administrator Paul DeAngelo and new district press officer Pat Wandling observed the work that's been done since before school let out in mid-June.
They stepped carefully over tubing and wires on the floor and observed the ceiling in the library. Several of the ceiling tiles have been removed, exposing metalwork and hanging electrical wires. The library will get a new heating and air-conditioning unit soon.
"Now this is called a hole in the ceiling," said Lastichen. "The duct work is in pretty good shape. The broken and stained ceiling tiles will be replaced. Air vents will stay as is in their areas."
Besides the administration offices, located at the rear of the high school building, the library is the only room that already has air conditioning. The payroll and pupil services departments are getting a brand new rooftop A/C unit.
In the gym, unit ventilators have been taken down, and heat and air conditioning will be put in. In addition, the cafeteria, auditorium and Large Group Instruction room are getting air conditioning for the first time, while other rooms are being prepared to receive air conditioning in the future. Currently, some classrooms use window units to cool the air.
In a hallway, long black and white pipes connecting the new boiler room to the rest of the building snaked along the exposed ceiling and sparks flew from a distant corridor as a worker welded pipe for a new heating system.
The building will get 80 updated ventilators and a new boiler. The two old boilers, located in two separate rooms on different sides of the building, have been removed. The new double boiler system, hot water heaters and all new pumps will supply the entire building after being set up in the older of the two boiler rooms near the cafeteria.
It's going to be an all new mechanical room for the whole building. It's a more efficient way to do it," said Lastichen.
Asbestos abatement started in May and is mostly done, he said.
High on the wall between each classroom and the hall, rectangular holes are being cut out for fire dampers, which would contain any fire started inside the room. The systems are being installed to bring the building up to current fire codes, Lastichen said.
A year ago, new fire suppression systems were put in the kitchen, and plumbing also was brought up to current code requirements.
The deadline to complete all work is Aug. 28.
Morrisville schools are undergoing other changes, too.
Since a furnace explosion in December 2008 put M.R. Reiter Elementary out of commission, the district has been mulling over where to place Reiter children. This past semester, some have been on Grandview Elementary property on Grandview Avenue, while others have been placed in the high school building.
This fall, district children in grades four through eight will share the high school building, but they'll be kept apart from grades nine through 12.
Grades nine through 12 will be called Morrisville High School, while grades four through eight will be the Morrisville Intermediate School.
Seventh- and eighth-graders will be separated from the younger ones in the current middle school wing of the building, said Superintendent Yonson.
Four through six will be in separate corridors, close to administrative offices.
"If anything, I think the older students will be protective of the young ones," said Yonson.
Grandview will house grades pre-K through three.
Yonson has called the new plan, which the board voted for in February, "a better utilization of rooms and teachers."
Renovations are to be done at Grandview Elementary School as well, though a timeline has not been set yet, said Lastichen. A bid is going out for the removal and replacement of windows and doors at the school. The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for the window replacements.
The board has no plans yet to work Reiter, on the corner of Harper and Hillcrest Avenues, which also needs major renovations. One option is to sell the building. In January, residents expressed a variety of views for what the district should do with Reiter, but the school board hasn't yet decided.

An intersting paragraph on Mr. Manoah R. Reiter

http://www.scenicbuckscounty.com/MorrisvilleYearbook1944/MorrisvilleYearbook1944.html
An intersting paragraph that we found fom the 1944 Morrisville High School Yearbook. Scroll down and check out what was written about Mr. Reiter. We need a visionary like him to stand up for our kids. Oh wait, we have 4! Beck, Miller, Jenkins, and Stoneburner.

Thoughts on our schools

With no plan that has been made public, we still must continue to ask the question...what is going on with our schools?? Yes, Mr. Hellman this is directed straight at you!!Below are some questions that need to be raised in the near future(ie next board meeting).

1. What is going on with M.R. Reiter?? We can all now assume that the school will never reopen. What is the board waiting for to announce this? Are they waiting till the election is over? Or do they have no plan for this either. Sad, really that this board and previous boards have let this building get into its present state. It would be interesting to see pictures of how this building has deterioted over the years. We have seen pictures of the old high school which Reiter replaced. Does anyone have any pictures of M.R. Reiter when it was "new"?

2. When will the "emergency powers" that this board has end?

3. We hear Mr. Hellman all the time saying we need to be more effiecient. What green initiatives does the board have for our two remaining schools, other than new energy effiecient lights and windows.

4. With the middle/high school set to become the intermediate/high school, let's face it there will be elemantery students in the building. What plans are there to accomodate these students. Things like playground equipment, activities and equipment for outside play, reading materials. Kids need outside recess, the days of spending recess inside a classroom are getting old!