Funding formula makeover pitched

from the bcct:

Funding formula makeover pitched

By CHRIS ENGLISH, staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

Bucks County Technical High School - The best way to come up with a fairer way to fund the Bucks County Technical High School is to start from scratch and negotiate a new formula, the leaders of four area school districts said at a meeting Tuesday night at the technical school in Bristol Township.

The school, a fulltime institution which provides both academic and vocational instruction, is funded by the six school districts that send students there: Bristol, Bristol Township, Bensalem, Morrisville, Pennsbury and Neshaminy.

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Any change in the funding formula would require unanimous approval from the school boards of all six sending districts, according to the technical school's articles of agreement with the six sending districts.

That will never happen because any change that benefits one district would likely hurt another, said Pennsbury Chief Executive Officer Paul Long.

Instead, the six sending districts should agree to dissolve the articles of agreement, the document that includes the funding formula, effective at a certain future date, possibly in a year or two. That way, representatives from the six districts could start from the beginning and formulate new articles of agreement fair to all six districts before the current document expires.

Superintendents Lou Muenker of Neshaminy and William Gretzula of Bensalem, and Morrisville Acting Superintendent Bill Ferrara, all agreed with Long.

"We're being held hostage by the articles of agreement," said Gretzula.

"I'd like to get to something that will not hurt anybody and be even for everybody," added Ferrara.

Tuesday night's meeting included technical school joint school board members and board members and top administrators from the six sending districts.

The technical school is funded under a formula that assigns each district a certain fixed percentage of the school's fixed costs, and a variable payment that depends on the number of students the district sends to the technical school in any given year.

Representatives from Morrisville and Bristol, the two smallest school districts sending students to BCTHS, feel the formula places an especially heavy financial burden on their districts. Morrisville is holding most of its scheduled $767,000 payment to BCTHS this year in escrow in protest of the funding formula.

A hearing on the Morrisville funding dispute will be held before the state Department of Education, said BCTHS Administrative Director Leon Poeske. No date for the hearing has been set, he added.

Chris English can be reached at 215-949-4193 or cenglish@phillyBurbs.com Follow Chris on Twitter at Twitter.com/courier.c

Tech school offers retirement incentives for teachers

from the bcct:

Vo-tech offers retirement incentives for teachers CHRIS ENGLISH, staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

Bucks County Technical High School - Officials at the Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township are hoping to save at least $200,000 by offering a retirement incentive to teachers.

The school would save that much if four teachers take advantage of the offer, BCTHS Administrative Director Leon Poeske said after the joint school board committee approved the incentive recently. At least four must retire for the program to be implemented, he added. There was no indication how many teachers beyond the minimum four would be allowed to accept the incentive.

The incentive would pay each teacher retiring this year $7,400 a year toward medical insurance until the retiree is eligible for Medicare at age 65 or for 10 years, whichever comes first. Normally, the school doesn't contribute anything toward a retiring teacher's health insurance.

Also, anyone taking the retirement incentive would be paid $125 per unused sick day; the usual payout is $52.50.

Teachers are eligible to retire after 35 years of service, or at age 60 with 30 years of service. There is no mandatory retirement age for teachers.

The $200,000 in savings would be realized because four retiring teachers near the top of the salary scale would be replaced by teachers earning much less. Starting teachers at BCTHS earn $41,946 a year. The maximum annual salary is $90,607.

It's also possible that some teachers who take advantage of the retirement incentive might not be replaced at all, depending on enrollment in the subject they teach, Poeske said.

The joint school board recently decided to lay off a teacher in the automotive technology program, effective at the end of this school year, because of declining enrollment in that program. That move will save about $100,000 a year in salary and benefits, BCTHS officials said.

"The retirement incentive provides financial savings to the school," said Theresa Prato, teachers union president at BCTHS. "Employees that would have otherwise waited to retire are provided assistance with health care costs while the school reduces its overall costs."

The technical school is a full-time institution with both academic and vocational instruction drawing students from the Bristol, Bristol Township, Bensalem, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

Chris English can be reached at 215-949-4193 or cenglish@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Chris on Twitter at Twitter.com/courierc

Teacher to be laid off at the Tech School

Tech School teacher to be laid off
Posted: Monday, March 28, 2011 10:10 pm | Updated: 10:17 pm, Mon Mar 28, 2011.
By: Chris English Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

The Bucks County Technical High School joint school board committee Monday night voted to lay off a teacher in the automotive technology program because of declining enrollment.

The action, effective at the end of the school year, will reduce the number of teachers in the program from three to two. Total enrollment has fallen from 98 students in 2006-2007 to 75 this year, a 23 percent drop, said BCTHS Administrative Director Leon Poeske.

The move will save about $100,000 a year in salary and benefits, he said.

Morrisville district officials seek mediation in tech school dispute

from the bcct


Morrisville district officials seek mediation in tech school dispute

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 12:00 am

Morrisville district officials seek mediation in tech school dispute By GEMA MARIA DUARTE STAFF WRITER Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

Morrisville officials say the school is overcharging the district for educating 52 borough students who attend the occupational school full time.

Morrisville School District officials want to mediate the payment battle they have going with Buck County Technical High School. They also plan to attend an April meeting to discuss potential funding formula changes.

The board voted Wednesday to request that the Pennsylvania Department of Education appoint a mediator to help solve the conflict, which has Morrisville putting its share of tech school funding into an escrow account.

The tech school joint board committee is expected to take similar action at its meeting on Monday.

Morrisville officials say the tech school is overcharging the district for educating 52 borough students who attend the occupational school full time.

Bucks County Technical High School serves students in the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Morrisville school districts. Students sent there attend both academic and vocational classes.

Each district's share is based on a somewhat complicated formula, which takes into account fixed and variable costs at BCTHS and the number of students each district sends there.

That formula will be discussed at 6:30 p.m. April 5 at the tech school, 610 Wistar Road, Bristol Township. The meeting is open to the public. Business managers, superintendents and school board presidents from each district will attend. For the formula to change, all six districts have to agree.

The articles of agreement among the technical school and its six sending districts require each district to contribute its share as long as the BCTHS budget is approved by the joint school board committee and four of the six school boards at sending districts.

In February, Morrisville stopped a scheduled $151,914 tech school payment and instead put it in escrow. The same was done with payments due in October and December, and is expected to be done with this year's last payment - about $200,000 due in April, board directors have said. Only the first payment was released to the tech school in August.

Morrisville is being charged about $740,000 this school year for borough students attending the academic vocational school, much more than officials have said the district should be paying. Until the school adjusts its charge downward, Morrisville plans to withhold payments.

Dividing the share of the total operating budget of the technical school by the number of students it sends to the tech school, Morrisville pays $14,765 per student; Bristol, $16,044; Pennsbury, $13,937; Bensalem, $12,473; Bristol Township, $13,350; and Neshaminy, $15,176.

The Morrisville school board last year voted against funding its share of the tech school's $21.54 million budget for this school year.

The mediator idea came about earlier this month after a conference call that included representatives from the tech school, Morrisville School District and its solicitor, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The call was held after BCTHS solicitor Ellis Katz filed a petition with the education department seeking payment of funds owed by Morrisville.

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

Tech school wants money owed by Morrisville

This is the longer version of the recent article in the bcct:

Tech school wants money owed by Morrisville

By CHRIS ENGLISH, staff writer | 0 comments

Bucks County Technical High School - Morrisville contends that its share of the tech school's budget is disproportionate.

Bucks County Technical High School is upping the ante in an effort to get Morrisville to kick in its share of the local funding pot.

Leon Poeske, administrative director at the comprehensive technical school in Bristol Township, said Wednesday that BCTHS solicitor Ellis Katz has filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Department of Education seeking payment of funds owed by Morrisville.

Morrisville is one of six school districts that send students to the technical school and share its expenses. However, Morrisville is holding about $450,000 of the $767,000 it owes the tech school this year in escrow in protest over what Morrisville officials consider an unfair funding formula at BCTHS.

"They're welcome to do that," Morrisville school board member Jack Buckman said of the tech school's action. He's also Morrisville's representative on the BCTHS joint school board committee.

"It's within their rights to do that," he continued. "If the department of education is going to look at this, then we'll do whatever we have to do to take action in response."

At Wednesday's school board work session, Morrisville district officials agreed to vote next week on whether to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Education to appoint a mediator to assist with the payment dispute.

The idea of a mediator came about last week after a conference call that included representatives from the tech school, Morrisville School District and its solicitor, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, William Ferrara, acting superintendent said after the meeting.

Morrisville has 52 students at the tech school this year. The Morrisville school board voted against funding its share of the tech school's $21.54 million budget this year.

The articles of agreement between the technical school and its six sending districts require each district to contribute its share as long as the BCTHS budget is approved by the joint school board committee and four of the six sending districts.

Morrisville's school board voted down its share of the technical school budget May 26, with all six board members who were present - including Buckman - voting no.

Each district's share is based on a somewhat complicated formula that takes into account fixed and variable costs at BCTHS and the number of students each district sends there. In addition to Morrisville, the tech school draws students from the Bristol, Bristol Township, Bensalem, Pennsbury and Neshaminy school districts.

Officials from the two smallest districts - Morrisville and Bristol - have long maintained that the financial burden for funding the technical school falls especially hard on them.

"It's really been inequitable ever since the technical school was built in 1958, but it's gotten even worse since it became a full-time technical high school with academics (about 10 years ago)," said Buckman. "Funding for the tech school has gotten way out of proportion, as far as Morrisville is concerned. We just want the smaller districts like Bristol and Morrisville to get a fair shake. Hopefully, this can be settled."

Dividing the share of the budget by the number of students it sends to the tech school, Morrisville pays $14,765 per student; Bristol, $16,044; Pennsbury, $13,937; Bensalem, $12,473; Bristol Township, $13,350; and Neshaminy, $15,176.

Poeske had no further comment on the matter, other than to say he hoped for a resolution with Morrisville.

But Bensalem school board and BCTHS joint school board member Harry Kramer questioned Morrisville's strategy of holding back money.

"I don't think they can legally withhold money when they are part of the articles of agreement," he said. "Everyone has concerns about school expenses, but the funding formula is part of the agreement that Morrisville inherited just like the rest of us, and they're sending kids to the tech school. They're like someone who sits down at a restaurant and eats an entire meal, and then tells the waiter they didn't like it and they aren't going to pay the bill."

Tech school pushes for Morrisville funding

By: Chris English Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

Bucks County Technical High School is upping the ante in an effort to get Morrisville to kick in its share of the pot.

Leon Poeske, administrative director at the comprehensive technical school in Bristol Township, said Wednesday that BCTHS solicitor Ellis Katz has filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Department of Education seeking payment of funds owed by Morrisville.

Morrisville is one of six school districts that send students to the technical school and share in the expenses there. However, Morrisville is holding about $450,000 of the $767,000 it owes the tech school this year in escrow in protest over what Morrisville officials consider an unfair funding formula at BCTHS.

Morrisville has 52 students at the tech school this year.

Morrisville Schools May Soon Be Getting a Mediator for Tech School Dispute

From the bcct:
By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE Calkins Media, Inc. |

Morrisville School District directors are expected to approve that the Pennsylvania Department of Education appoint a mediator to assist with the payment dispute with Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township.

Morrisville is holding about $450,000 of the $767,000 it owes to the tech school this year in escrow because district officials believe the tech school is overcharging Morrisville for educating 52 borough students who attend the occupational school full time.

The idea of a mediator came about last week after a conference call that included representatives from the tech school, Morrisville School District - including the solicitor - and the PDE, officials said.

The final vote to allow a mediator is expected at next week's regular school board meeting.

School develops plan to meet federal guidelines

School develops plan to meet federal guidelines

School develops plan to meet federal guidelines
By: CHRIS ENGLISH
Bucks County Courier Times
bucks county technical high school

Increased math and reading instruction for ninth-graders who need it is part of a freshman academy being created at the school.

Bucks County Technical High School is changing the way it does business in an effort to improve academic performance and reverse a trend that has seen the school in Bristol Township fail to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards the last three years.

At Monday night's joint school board meeting, Principal Connie Rinker and a team of teachers gave a presentation on the creation of a freshman academy at the comprehensive technical school starting next year.

The idea behind the academy is to provide intensified instruction in reading and mathematics to freshmen who did not score at a proficient level in their eighth-grade PSSA exams in those subjects.

"They will be getting 90 minutes of math and 90 minutes of reading every day," said Rinker. That's about twice the amount freshmen who need remedial help in those subjects are getting now, she added.

Those who have scored at a proficient level on their eighth-grade PSSAs will move into the regular freshman schedule at the school, she said.

The plan is to have about 12 academic teachers at the school work exclusively with freshmen, Rinker said.

"If they are not proficient in their eighth-grade PSSAs, we will give them extra support as freshmen," she said. "What we're trying to do is make this AYP thing go away by filling in gaps these students come to us with."


The school is a full-time educational facility where students drawn from the Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Bristol Township, Bensalem, Bristol and Morrisville districts receive both academic and vocational instruction. The technical school gets students from 27 different public, parochial and private schools within those districts, said Rinker.

About 48 percent of incoming freshmen at the technical school are reading at a level at least two grades below the grade they are in, said Rinker. About 51 percent do not meet proficiency standards in math, she added.

"So this will be an intensified academic experience to build a base?" asked joint school board member Gene Dolnick.

Yes, said Rinker.

Bob Harvie, a teacher and chairman of the social studies department at the technical school, said the team that developed the freshman academy idea is also working on a school homework policy it will be submitting to the joint school board for approval in May or June.

"There has been a lot of attention paid to how we can help our students improve," he said.

A meeting to explain the new freshman academy for parents of students who will be ninth-graders next year will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the school, 610 Wistar Road, Fairless Hills.

Chris English can be reached 215-949-4193 or cenglish@ phillyBurbs.com Follow Chris on Twitter at Twitter.com/courierc

March 01, 2011 02:01 AM

District refuses to pay tech school

District refuses to pay tech school

By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville School District officials refuse to pay their share of the cost to operate Bucks County Technical High School until the Bristol Township school adjusts its funding formula.

The borough believes the tech school is overcharging Morrisville for educating 51 borough students who attend the occupational school full time. Morrisville board President Bill Hellmann issued a stinging indictment of the technical school Friday, saying it wasn't achieving academic standards, was too expensive to operate and should be returned to the part-time institution it once was.

"The larger issue is: We do not need nor can we afford a seventh very expensive academic high school at the tech school," Hellmann said. "They also have not met AYP the last three years. The six sending school districts already have six very expensive academic high schools. All six of us have huge deficits. We cannot afford it any longer and it will only get worse."

He continued: "The middle tech school and the upper tech school are tech schools only. I think (all contributing districts) can save approximately $15,000,000 per year going back to a tech school only. For last year and projected for the next year (2011-12) our cost has increased approximately $400,000, and we only have 51 students there. That is an approximately 76 percent increase in two years."

The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching tech school officials Friday for comment.

Bucks County Technical High School serves students in the Bensalem, Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Morrisville school districts. Students sent there attend both academic and vocational classes on a full-time basis.

The Middle Bucks Institute of Technology in Warrington and the Upper Bucks County Technical School in Perkasie are part-time institutions where students split time between their home schools and the tech schools. Council Rock and Centennial students attend Middle Bucks.

On Wednesday, Morrisville stopped a scheduled $151,914 tech school payment due this month and put it in an escrow account. Similar payments in October and December were also placed in escrow. This year's last payment - about $200,000 due in April - will also being going into escrow, board member Marlys Mihok said Friday. Only the first payment was released, said Hellmann.

The district is being charged about $740,000 for this school year for Morrisville students attending the academic vocational school, much more than officials say the district should be paying. Until the school adjusts its charge downward, Morrisville plans to withhold payments, officials said.

Last week the board unanimously voted to have its solicitor prepare the needed legal paperwork to start discussions with the tech school administration.

"At this point, litigation is our only option, so it appears," Hellmann said. "Let the courts settle it."

At this month's board meeting, school directors, especially Hellmann, were frustrated and angered by the issue.

"I and our school district do not believe the funding formula is being properly applied and I have documented evidence supporting that statement from the two budget revisions from the 2010-11 fiscal year and how they were applied to Morrisville School District. We asked the tech school administration for an explanation and I am still waiting a year later," Hellmann said in a written statement.

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

Board disagrees with tech school payments.

Board disagrees with tech school payments

By: Gema Duarte
Bucks County Courier Times
The Morrisville school board on Wednesday unanimously voted to allow the solicitor to prepare the necessary legal paperwork to start formal discussions with Bucks County Technical High School officials regarding payments.

District officials said payments for the 50 or so Morrisville students who attend the Bristol Township school are too high.

School board President Bill Hellmann said if the two solicitors can't come to an agreement, then the courts will have to decide the issue, he said after the meeting.

A new board member and an overcrowded bus

From the BCCT:

Students say tech bus is overcrowded

By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
morrisville schools

The school board also appointed a new member during its meeting Wednesday night.

Morrisville School District has two new things: an appointed school board member and a school bus problem.

Three students complained of the overcrowded conditions on the single school bus that about 50 students have been riding since Monday - and parents want an immediate solution.

Morrisville students heading to Bucks County Technical School in Bristol Township had been riding in two school buses from the former M. R. Reiter Elementary School. That changed when the district cut one bus to save money.

Acting Superintendent Bill Ferrara said the problem would be taken care of immediately, but a permanent solution needs to be worked out.

Two school students told the board that the bus ride is unsafe.

"We are falling off our seats," said Robert Fox, 16, adding that if the school bus gets into an accident, the liability may be on the district for the unsafe bus condition.

Jake Wilson, 17, said there's no room for school projects or sports gear on the bus. He added that Safety Officer Dave May supervises the students from the outside of the bus, so he hasn't witnessed the students' discomfort.

Wanda Kartal, a parent, wanted the school to find a solution.

"On (Friday), the tech parents received first notice that on (Monday) there would no longer be two buses transporting students to and from the tech school," she told the board. "No other information was provided, not even what time the one bus would be picking the kids up. No other notice was given, not even at the superintendents meeting, the school board meeting, or during the tech school updates."

She continued: "Since Monday, I have witnessed 50 kids rushing to board the bus and several kids hopping off the curb to be first in line due to overcrowding on the one bus. My son, who attends the tech school, told me he had to squeeze between two other students and that kids were hanging off the seats, blocking the aisles with their bodies and backpacks."

Ferrera said it was too late to get either a bigger bus or two buses for today, but accommodations will be made for Friday. And he will personally walk the aisles of the bus or buses.

Shortly after that discussion, the board moved on to appoint Yvonne Ruthrauff to replace former school board director Robin Reithmeyer, who was kicked off the board in October for not attending meetings. Reithmeyer told the newspaper that she had family and health issues preventing her from attending meetings.

Ruthrauff, whose son graduated in 2008 from the district, said her goal on the board will be to provide area students a good education at a good price for the district.

Before the vote, board Director Marlys Mihok read a letter, which said that she had a conversation with Reithmeyer on Wednesday afternoon, notifying the former director of the board's intention to replace her at the meeting and if she had any intention of fighting for her seat.

Reithmeyer confirmed Wednesday night during a phone interview that Mihok called her at work. And she responded, "I find it amusing that after 13 months you reached out to me."

Reithmeyer said the issue wasn't her year of absence, according to the letter she received from the board's solicitor Thomas Profy dated Oct. 25. The letter questioned her absence from the August and September meetings, which she had medical explanations for, but the board didn't ask for the material, she said.

Near the end of Mihok's letter she said, "It is my opinion that Robin Reithmeyer never attended another Morrisville School Board meeting after the November 2009 general election because the results did not favor the candidates that Robin supported by displaying their lawn signs on her property."

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

November 18, 2010 02:06 AM

Committe to consider contract proposal (Bucks County Tech School)

Committee to consider contract proposal

By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
bucks county technical high school

The state-appointed fact-finder suggests 2.5 percent salary increases for union members who continue their education.

The Bucks County Technical High School joint board committee will Monday consider a fact-finder's recommendation that it approve a new two-year labor contract with the teachers union.

State-appointed fact-finder Francis T. McGrath suggests a two-year deal, as initially proposed by the joint board. The board didn't want a longer term agreement because of current economic conditions. The Bucks County Technical High School Education Association initially proposed a five-year deal.

A two-year pact, to be effective July 1, would give the two sides enough time to determine the direction of the economy, McGrath said in the report.

The fact-finder also suggested a 2.5 percent salary increase for teachers who earn credit for additional educational courses. McGrath suggested no pay increases for cost of living or years of service for each year of the deal.

If the board agrees to the arrangement, the starting salary for a union member would be $42,997 in 2010-2011, said Sharon Rendeiro. She's the business administrator at the comprehensive tech school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts. The top salary would be $92,872 for union members with a masters' equivalency plus 30 credits, she said.

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McGrath suggested union members pay more toward their health insurance.

The fact-finder also gave his opinion on a variety of other issues, ranging from union members having to clock in when they arrive to giving special education teachers more preparation time.

The complete report is posted on the state's labor and industry department's website.

The union, representing 120 technical and academic teachers, guidance counselors, a school nurse, a psychologist and a librarian, accepted McGrath's report shortly after it was released in May.

The joint board hasn't met as a whole since mid-May, around the time the non-binding recommendations were issued. Given the inaction, the state has declared that the joint board has rejected the report.

The joint board will decide whether or not to accept the report at its Monday night meeting, school officials said.

June 27, 2010 02:21 AM