Sad news, Brenda Worob passes

Our deepest sympathies are with Brenda's family and friends at this difficult time.

 School board director dies

School board director dies

By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS

Brenda Worob, 50, served on the board since 2005.

Brenda Worob loved to watch the sunset.

It became one of her favorite pastimes after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, when doctors told her she had three to six months to live.

She surprisingly exceeded doctors' expectations, but at 3 a.m. Friday she lost her battle to the disease. The last eight months of her life, the Morrisville school board director was homebound, mostly on bed rest, Penny Johnson, her sister-in-law, said Friday afternoon.

Worob, 50, leaves behind her husband and high school sweetheart, Stephen, and their two children, Jenny, 29, and Stephen, 26.

The year Worob was diagnosed with the disease, she and her husband, a former borough councilman, rented a beach house at the Jersey Shore. They continued the tradition the next 10 years.

"I say thank you to her because she taught my brother to relax by watching the sunset," Johnson said. "She lived life by the moment. She refused to believe doctors (about her limited time to live). She really thought she was going to beat this."

Worob moved from Langhorne to Morrisville when she was 16. At 21, she became a Republican committeewoman, a position she kept through her sickness.


In 2005, Worob was elected to the school board and re-elected in 2009. In addition to being board treasurer up until the time of her death, she was an outspoken member of the board on many contentious issues.

"Brenda faced the challenges confronting the Morrisville School District with great insight. She did what was best for the community and the education of our students," said the district in a written statement.

School director Marlys Mihok described Worob as a "gem of a woman."

"I lost my best friend," Mihok said. "I'll miss everything about her - her spirit, her courage, her optimism about life. She did so much for the community."

In 2004, she worked as legislative assistant for former state Sen. Joe Conti. She continued that position with Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-10, through 2009, when her illness worsened.

"It's a loss for Morrisville," Mihok said of her friend's death.

Gema Maria Duarte can be reached at 215-949-4195 or gduarte@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Gema on Twitter at twitter.com/deadlineduarte.

January 23, 2011 02:41 AM

Reithmeyer not sure if she'll fight for seat

From the BCCT:

Reithmeyer not sure if she'll fight for seat

TEXT SIZE

By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE

Bucks County Courier Times

MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS

The school board vacated her seat after she didn't attend any school board meetings for a year.

For the past 12 months, Robin Reithmeyer hasn't attended a single meeting as an elected member of the Morrisville school board.

And it's taken the board that long to remove her from the seat.

The board took action last week, after a year in which neither Reithmeyer nor school board members talked to one another. During each meeting over the year, members had assumed she would show up at the next meeting, one board member said.

Reithmeyer said last week that illness and family crises made it impossible for her to attend meetings. And she's uncertain whether she'll fight to get back her seat.

"I'm undecided," she said, adding that she found out about the board's action Thursday morning.

Head board directors - President Bill Hellmann, Vice President Alfred Radosti and board secretary Marlys Mihok - knew about the death of Reithmeyer's father in December. But they weren't aware of Reithmeyer's health problem, Mihok said last week.

She added that a policy requires school board members to call her when they plan to be absent. Reithmeyer said she's not aware of the policy, but did call the secretary assigned to the board, Jeanne Corrigan. Since Corrigan doesn't talk to the media, the newspaper couldn't confirm that Reithmeyer called her.

Reithmeyer said she told former Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson about her health troubles and thought Yonson would have told the board members.

Neither Hellmann, Radosti nor Mihok reached out to Reithmeyer to address her absence.

"No, I can't say we tried to contact her," Mihok said.

So when Reithmeyer was a no-show for nearly a year, the board directed solicitor Thomas Profy to take action. A letter was sent to Reithmeyer dated Oct. 25, two days before Wednesday's school board meeting, informing her that the board intended to declare her seat vacant.

"She could have let one of us know of her illness," Mihok said. "If she couldn't contact us personally, a note could have gone a long way. + With regret, we vacated her seat. It's for the best of the community."

The non-communication between Reithmeyer and the majority of the board isn't a surprise.

Reithmeyer often clashed with fellow board members - mostly with Mihok, Hellmann and member Brenda Worob - on major issues such as school renovation projects and finances. Arguments between Reithmeyer and the board majority would sometimes get heated.

She often said the board majority hurried into decisions and was too focused on saving money. And she accused Hellmann of being closed-mouthed about his thoughts and plans. In many issues she was the lone vote, such as opposing implementing an early retirement incentive plan.

Board members have 30 days from Wednesday to replace Reithmeyer, according to the board's solicitor.

Whom will they appoint?

"Someone to contribute to the school district and (who) has common sense," Hellmann said after Wednesday's meeting.

Before Wednesday's vote, Profy sent a letter to Reithmeyer dated Oct. 25, informing her that the board intended to declare her seat vacant under the Public School Code, which "authorizes a Board of School Directors to declare a vacancy, if a School Director neglects or refuses to attend two successive regular meetings of the School Board unless, of course, detained by sickness and/or an otherwise necessary and justified absence," the letter states.

The letter continues, "You will be given an opportunity to show that your absence was caused by sickness and/or an otherwise necessary and justified absence has caused your failure to attend the two previous successive regular meetings of the school board."

Reithmeyer responded to Profy with a letter dated Oct. 27, which was also copied to William Ferrara, acting superintendent, and Paul DeAngelo, the business manager. In the letter she asked that her letter be distributed to all board directors.

"On Aug. 25 I was in the emergency room at St. Mary Medical Center; clearly out of the district and unable to attend the school board meeting. I spoke to both Jeanne Corrigan and Paul DeAngelo that afternoon and asked that they state only that I would not be in attendance. I did not feel it was anyone's business and asked that it not become a public issue," Reithmeyer said in her letter.

She was at the hospital because her mother was admitted, Reithmeyer said last week in a phone interview.

The letter continues, "After being hospitalized Sept. 16 through (Sept.) 18, I was under a doctor's care and not released to normal activity at the time of the Sept. 22 meeting. I did not realize that my private struggles with health and my family needed to be made public. + Additionally, I will not be at the Oct. 27 meeting because I will be out of the district at the time of the meeting."

She added, "I truly hope that everyone on the board will be held to the same standard."

School director Worob hasn't attended meetings in a few months also because of a recurring illness.

"Brenda keeps in constant communication with us, keeping the board updated about her health," Mihok said. "So it's different."

Gema Maria Duarte can be reached at 215-949-4195 or gduarte@phillyBurbs.com

November 02, 2010 02:10 AM

New principal in, board member out

When was the last meeting Brenda Worob attendend? Morrisville= Land of the Double Standard

From the BCCT:

New principal in, board member out
By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS

The school board also set the salary for the acting superintendent.

The Morrisville school board gave the acting superintendent a $120,000 salary, hired a new high school principal and gave the boot to school board member Robin Reithmeyer because she had not attended a meeting in a year.

The board hired Donald Harm, a retired employee of Pennsbury School District, to take over the responsibilities as the Morrisville High School principal, the position formerly held by acting Superintendent William Ferrara.

Harm's salary was set Wednesday night at $60,000, which will cover the reminder of the school year ending June 30. Ferrara's $120,000 salary is for one year and is retroactive to Sept. 22, when he was appointed to the position, after Elizabeth Yonson resigned also in September.

Details of Yonson's resignation haven't been disclosed because board President Bill Hellmann has cited that her abrupt leave is a personnel matter.


The salaries of Ferrara and the hiring of Harm came after more than a 30-minute long executive session, at which time personnel matters were discussed.

It's unknown whether making Reithmeyer's seat vacant was part of those discussions. The issue wasn't on the agenda, but Hellmann brought up the vacancy suggestion at the last issue for discussion.

During a brief discussion, board member Marlys Mihok said Reithmeyer last attended a meeting in October 2009. Mihok added that there were a few times the board received indications that Reithmeyer would attend some meetings, but didn't show up.

School board member John DeWilde said that he hopes for her speedy recovery.

"From what?" Mihok asked.

DeWilde didn't respond.

Signs of an ineffective school board member

from greatschools.org

Signs of an Ineffective School Board Member

If you notice any of the following signs, it's time to find some new candidates to run for your local board:

• The school board member continually focuses on one issue or talks aimlessly at meetings.
• The school board member doesn't conduct him or herself in a respectful, collaborative manner in public.
• The school board member comes to meetings unprepared.
• The school board member "rubber stamps" all the superintendent's proposals without asking hard questions.
• The school board member micromanages rather than focusing attention on district-wide policies.
• The school board member uses his position on the school board as an opportunity to put forth a political agenda with little relevance to student achievement.

Possible board vacancies

For some time now there has been speculation that there may be a few openings/vacancies on the school board. Vacancy #1 would be created when Brenda Worob steps aside due to her illness. Vacancy #2 would be created if Mr. Radosti steps aside, not sure how much traction this has, but it has been speculated it could happen for the better part of the year.

Either one of these openings creates an interesting problem/opportunity for the board. It would be against all things right and just if the recently defeated 4th ward councilman was to slide into either spot. Because of his past he would be a huge liability to the taxpayers and to the school district if he were to be appointed to the board. Other names mentioned for possible openings on the board are Ed Bailey, and Jane Burger.

The board has an opportunity to "mend some fences" if any spots should open up on the board. If they choose another buddy of theirs, like they did when Mr. Buckman was appointed, it sets up a long two years before the next election. Let's hope they make the most out of this opprotunity, and have a fair and open process in selecting possible new board members.

Question for the masses...

Is it legal, or at the very least unethical for a judge of elections, who also happens to be on the school board to be distributing flyers(on school grounds) for candidates they support? And don't all political flyers have to have the "paid for" notice on them?

What is the big deal about someone not owning a home, and running for school board? Does this make them any less qualified? For some reason the stay on trackers have an issue with people that rent their homes/apartments. These folks do pay their taxes...it's called rent, and the taxes are built into the rent. Many of the stay on trackers have rental properties(funny thing is many of the stay on track signs are on rental properties) they should know this!

We mentioned in a post awhile back about how can Mr. Hellmann say the districts payroll is too high and he wants to put $$ into the buildings, but a back in June the board majority hired Pat Wandling as a "communications director"(political operative), and raised the payroll in a pathetic attempt to make himself and other stay on trackers look like they are doing a good job. Then come Sept. Mr. Hellman was vehemently opposed to the hiring of a teachers aide for the same amount of $25K. Mr Hellmann your credibility is currently zero, along with the rest of your cohorts.
Here is the link:Mr. Hellmann help us understand

It is imperative that everyone that is registered to vote does so on November 3. Morrisville can do better than the position the stay on trackers have left us with. Say no the ways of Mr. Hellman and his cronys that are up for election(Worob,Buckman,Stout,Dewilde), for they are just puppets of Mr. Hellmann. And say yes to a new Morrisville. A Morrisville that has pride, and a Morrisville that is known for the right reasons, and a Morrisville that has a future!


Added 10/29---Could someone confirm or deny if Ron Stout and Marlys Mihok made a rent payment to a landlord within the last month. We are not saying they are not paying their rent, we just would like confirmation if they are renters. If they are renters, using stay on track thinking, Marlys should step down from the board, and Ron Stout should drop out of the race since this renter thing is such a hot button for them. We could care less if you own a home, rent an apartment/house. We know your pay your taxes. And the landlords on the board should know this also. Enough with the double standards guys. It's getting old

School Board Meeting tonight!!!

The monthly meeting for the school board will take place tonight at 7:30pm in the LGI room of the IS/HS. This is the last meeting before the election on Nov 3. Come on out to see what these stay on trackers are all about. You will also get a chance to meet the Morrisville Pride candidates, we are sure they will be there, to answer any questions you may have. Do not expect to have any questions answered by the SOT team.

Anyway, if you want to speak, be sure to sign up before the meeting starts.

Will Brenda Worob be prepared, or even show up?
Will Angry Al be sitting there waiting to put his foot in his mouth again?
Will Bill Hellman fall asleep again?
Will Jack Buckman......do anything?
Will Ron Stout win another phony award?
Will Marlys Mihok continue to make a fool out of herself with her lies and deceit?

The audacity of the board majority and the stay on track slate is frightening!!

Be there to stand up for Morrisville! Don't let them ruin our town and our schools any longer.

Caught on tape!!

Thanks to the good citizen that put these 2 gems on you tube . This is something that needs to be done more often. There are 2 versions and we'll post them both. It shows just how unprepared and ignorant they (Stay on Track)really are.

The cast(from L to R)
Dr. Yonson(Superintendent)
Marlys Mihok(School Board Secretary, 4th ward judge of elections)
Al Radosti(School Board Vice President)
Bill Hellmann CPA(School Board Vice President)
Solicitor
Brenda Worob(stay on tracker up for re-election) Yes she is always unprepared for meetings
Gloria Heater
Robin Reithmeyer
Joe Kemp
Jack Buckman(stay on tracker up for re-election, behind THOUSANDS on municipal bills)
Bill Farrell

Here is video #1 the short version:




And here is the long version:

The stay on track way

Let us not forget. The stay on trackers have not been answering questions from the public for some time. This video is from a few years ago. Even then they would not interact or want to hear the concerns of the public. We know that this video is not new, but it is still relevant today. If our schools are to be successful then our school board members must be willing to listen and interact with the community. Since this video was made over 2 years ago, board members Robin Reithmeyer, and Gloria Heater have interacted with the community, even Bill Farrell has tried to reason with the hard-core stay on trackers like Hellmann, Mihok, Radosti, Worob, and Buckman. Keep this video in mind when you go to the polls on Nov. 3. Is this what you want from your school board?

Observations take 2

We had an opportunity to see the replay of the school board meeting last night on the television. The biggest takeaway that we got out of it was the fact that Brenda Worob comes of as very aloof, and not prepared for these meetings at all. She was fumbling for her papers, she had the wrong months agenda for the meeting, and to top it all off she had a major meltdown when her opponent Damon Miller was speaking during public session. She interrupted him after everyone in the audience, and the board were asked by Bill Farrell to let people speak with out interrupting each other. Brenda Worob was the only one who did not get it. A YouTube moment of this would be helpful if anyone has the ability. We were shocked at her child like behavior. For those of you that were at the meeting, was it worse in person, or are we making something out of nothing?

Observations part 3

It has been some time that we can remember a school board meeting generating so many comments and responses! Thank you to all who keep the comments coming! There were a few more things that need mentioning that have not been brought up yet.

First, where are all of the supporters of Hellmann and Co. and the "stay on track" crew? After talking to those that were in attendance, the only supporters of the Hellmann regime in attendance were the Hughes sisters, and Ron Stout. To us it seems like there is not much support for them at all. Talking to folks around town, people are tired of the same folks running the show year after year. This goes for borough council as well as school board.

Hellmann and his band of cronys have done serious damage to our schools and our town. The cost of educating a child in Morrisville has gone up since they took control of the board. When the school board president says not to invest in Morrisville we have a serious problem. Hellmann has even been quoted as saying Morrisville is too small to have its own school district. http://savethemorrisvilleschool.blogspot.com/2009/02/independent-or-consolidated.html
He most recently stated at the 8/26 board meeting that "we are not obligated to provide kindergarten". Is kindergarten your next service to be cut Mr. Hellmann? It's really simple..Hellmann, Radosti, Mihok and their followers like Jack Buckman, Ron Stout and Brenda Worob are more interested in lowering taxes than educating our students. At least Bill Farrell makes somewhat rational votes. We are not quite ready to lump him in with the like of Hellmann, Radosti, and Mihok. Speaking of Buckman and Worob, they cannot deny that they voted with Hellmann over 90% of the time! And Mr. Buckman, can you share with everyone why you get a special payment plan for your overdue sewer and water bills? What is the interest rate? What is the expected payoff date?

Yes, we got off on a tangent, but the fact remains... under the current leadership of Bill Hellmann, we have not gone forward, we have gone back. We need people with a vision, and common sense to be on our school board. Do you honestly think Ron Stout has anything to offer the students, parents, and citizens of Morrisville? Didn't think so. Think about it... a school board consisting of Bill Hellmann, "Angry" Al Radosti, Marlys " I will never be responsible for anyone's children" Mihok, Brenda Worob, Jack Buckman,and Ron Stout? That is a scary thought. Please spread the word about what these people are doing to our school district, and to our town. Enough is enough...vote them out.

Does this sound familiar?

Below is a letter to the bcct regarding a parents experience with the dress code in Bristol Twp. This sounds very familiar to what happened here back in the 2007-2008 school year. It was called a policy but was never enforced. There was a handful of students that wore uniforms, but by November, not 1 child was wearing the uniforms. The issue has come up in board meetings since, but when it was it was tabled for another time. We personally feel that there are way too many other issues that need to be addressed before implementing a dress code policy in Morrisville. The board members spearheading the dress code campaign were Brenda Worob and Marlys Mihok. Marlys has this paranoia and pre-conceived notion that children wearing clothing with sports team logos are gang members. Ask her about this, We're sure she has the pictures to prove it. And Brenda Worob really offers no real value to the discussion, she is just going along with Marlys on this one. Remember Brenda votes with Hellmann& Co over 90% of the time. Not too many free and independent thinkers on this board, especially the ones up for re-election in November. Speaking of the Nov. 3 election. It will be interesting to see if this topic comes up again in the fall.

It's not a 'policy' if it's not enforced
Bucks County Courier Times
In the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, Bristol Township School District officials made a big deal about implementing a uniform policy. Guess what? By December hardly any of the kids continued to wear the uniforms.

As a parent, I noticed not once did the school reach out to gather support from parents wanting to contribute to this policy after it was implemented. Slowly, most students stopped wearing the uniforms. My child consistently fought me on this issue. I called the principal of John Fitch Elementary, Karen Snedecker, who did return my call but we never connected.

In lieu of this, on Nov. 11, I wrote Mrs. Snedecker a letter requesting that the kids still wearing the uniforms be rewarded with extra paw prints (an internal good behavior incentive program for the kids) - maybe have the opportunity to conduct the morning announcement.

Principal Snedecker responded in writing that she couldn't comply with my request because it would affect those kids who wanted to wear uniforms but couldn't afford them. That day, I gave the choice of wearing the uniform to my child who chose to wear street clothes. Immediately upon receipt of Snedecker's response, I wrote to Superintendent Ellen Budman. She also returned my call, but we never connected and failed to write a response.

In my letter to her, I asked her to reward the kids with extra paw prints, a pencil, an honorable mention over the intercom. I asked why the PTO sold embroidered uniform shirts with the Fitch logo, of which I spent over $100 in clothes, if the school district isn't making any other effort to support the policy. That was quite deceiving.

In my opinion, $6-$8 per piece of clothing is certainly affordable when these kids have designer book bags and sneakers, carrying cell phones and iPods. This "uniform" policy was a big waste of time and a bigger waste of money - money wasted on uniforms for a policy that went to waste by December. They didn't even request the teachers wear uniforms to help support this!

I've now discovered that registrants for kindergarten were not advised that uniforms are even preferred! The entire handling of this uniform situation was sloppy from the start. It's embarrassing. I love John Fitch Elementary but why does our district have such a bad reputation?

On June 3, I reached out to Ellen Budman. She did return my call the same day and advised me, "Although the uniform policy is not mandatory, we do like our students to wear uniforms." I said, "Is that all you have to say regarding that issue?" She said "yes" and we ended the call.

All I am saying is this: Bristol Township needs to take a positive, constructive approach to reaching out to those parents willing to comply with the uniform 'suggestion.' I am sure many parents will comply. Although compliance may be slow at first, it will catch on.

Bristol Township has to make some sort of effort to implement this procedure. Once the uniforms catch on, we can have a closet of donated used and new clothes to eliminate some of the cost for those in need. Lastly, I support uniforms 100 percent, but only when the school makes an honest effort to make the change.

Corruption at its finest

Last night the board voted 6-2 to approve and hire a "communications director". Their pick.....Patricia Wandling. Yes that Patricia Wandling. The same person that said Morrisville has nothing to offer. The same person who rarely has anything positive to say about our town. Her pay, $25,000. Here is where the corruption comes into play. Was this position ever posted anywhere? NO. The board was originally going to just approve the job description, but Mr. Fitzpatrick announced at the beginning of the meeting that there was an addition to the agenda and it was to hire Pat Wandling for $25,000. How can you hire someone if their job description has not even been approved? But here's the most corrupt part of it all...Melissa Danbury, during public session volunteered her services free of charge for six months, and after that time if funds were available, she would be willing to stay on the job on a part-time basis. What did the board do? They chose Patricia Wandling. And finally Patricia Wandling used to work for Mr. Fitzpatrick. This whole communications director has corruption written all over it. Great Job guys, your ways of cronyism, backroom deals, and unethical behavior will now be brought to light for all of Morrisville to see, and wherever Sharon Hughes plays her tapes of the board meetings. As board members you should all be ashamed of yourselves for the following reasons:

1: For being Bill Hellmann's lap dogs.
2. For not using common sense when voting on this "communications director" position
3. For allowing Sharon Hughes to go off on "non school board" issues, while reprimanding Mrs. Haug for actually speaking about agenda items.



Below is a recap of the board meeting from the BCCT.

Board hires part-time communications director
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
One board member voted no because she said the directors just received resumes and the recommended person used to work for the solicitor.

After a parent volunteered to temporarily do the job for free, the Morrisville school board Wednesday night approved 6-2 to hire Patricia Wandling as the district's part-time communications director for $25,000.

Board members Robin Reithmeyer and Joseph Kemp voted no to the hire and Gloria Heater wasn't present for the vote.

Board members Brenda Worob and William Farrell both voted in favor of the motion because they said Morrisville needs a way and place to advertise its positive communication.

"(This position) is very positive to have in the district for the community," said Worob. "People who aren't involved in the district don't know what's going on. (This can) bring the community together."

PTO member Melissa Danbury agreed, which is why she volunteered to do the job for free for six months.

A few residents and board members conceded that the district needs someone to help getting the word out to the community about what's happening in Morrisville. But others said the district shouldn't spend the money right now and accused the board of using the spot to further their own political agenda.

One community member suggested finding a volunteer, faculty member, or journalism class to write press releases.

After Reithmeyer expressed concern that the job description didn't specify a supervisor, Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson suggested adding that she would oversee the position.

Reithmeyer said she voted against the motion because the district only received resumes Tuesday, no one had a chance to interview anyone, and Wandling is a former employee of district solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick.

June 25, 2009 02:11 AM