Little bang for local school district bucks

From the bcct:


 Little bang for local school district bucks

axpayers in the Central Bucks and Pennridge school districts are getting the most bang for their buck in Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties, according to a recent report from The Center for American Progress.

The think tank released a report Wednesday that shows Central Bucks and Pennridge spent the least amount of money per student in 2008 (the most recent data the center had), but the students got some of the highest scores on standardized tests. Only 13 other school districts in the state earned the center's highest rating.

On the other end of the "educational efficiency" scale are Bensalem Township, Bristol Township and Morrisville school districts, which spend more money per student and have students who earn lower test scores. Ulrich Boser, the senior fellow at the center who did the study, said 20 other school districts in Pennsylvania were also ranked in the bottom tier. Bristol Township school district officials said in a statement Wednesday that they don't believe the center's report is credible.

"Its propagators, who by their own admission have an axe to grind, appear to have mindlessly crunched a bunch of numbers that reward school districts with the highest populations," district spokeswoman Eileen Kelliher said in the statement.

Kelliher added later in an interview: "I don't know what their axe is to grind, but there's an axe to grind. + They're going somewhere with this. It's unfair to smaller school districts."

Several school districts that have smaller student populations than Bristol Township school district ranked higher on the center's efficiency scale: Centennial, Upper Moreland, Quakertown, Hatboro-Horsham, Palisades, New Hope-Solebury and Bristol Borough.

And Central Bucks Superintendent N. Robert Laws said he thinks his district's efficiency rating has little to do with its significant size.

"I know why we're efficient," he said."Our board has made some very tough decisions that have improved efficiency - one being the number of times we have redistricted. The bus routing. The expanded walking. The challenge to the assessments. We never overbuilt. We still have modular classrooms in some places, and that was all by design - to keep the building down and make sure the debt didn't get too high. Our use of technology is phenomenal."

Laws and Pennridge Superintendent Robert Kish said their districts are also very efficient because they're careful about the number of teachers they have per student, where they're teaching and what they're teaching. Careful examination of and investment in curriculum helps the students learn more and get higher test scores, Kish said.

The Center for American Progress looked at 9,000 school districts across the country, 495 of which were in Pennsylvania. The goal of the study, Boser said, was to see how educational funding relates to student achievement.

"What we're looking at now and what's been the sea change in education is moving school districts to look at outcomes," Boser said. "We just need to think more broadly about how our education systems function."

The center gathered demographic and spending data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics. It looked at the total student enrollment in 2008, the number of students who participate in the school lunch program (who are considered low income), the number of students in special education programs and per-pupil spending. It made adjustments for cost of living.

The center also gathered standardized test results from the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project. It looked at scores in fourth grade math and reading, eighth grade math and reading, and high school math and reading tests, and how students in each district compared to their peers.

Boser said they found large differences in efficiency and productivity between states and within states. School districts need to look differently at how they measure educational success, Boser said in a press release. "The goal must be nothing short of a breakthrough in performance that guarantees that every dollar is directed at producing high achievement for all students."

Christina Kristofic can be reached at 215-345-3079 or ckristofic@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Christina on Twitter at twitter.com/ckristofic.

PhillyBurbs.com: Handouts must be reviewed by borough

From the bcct:
PhillyBurbs.com:  Handouts must be reviewed by borough

By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE

All fliers and literature distributed on borough-owned land now needs the administration's approval.

Morrisville will begin recording all literature, fliers and handouts distributed at borough hall and other borough-owned properties, according to a new policy approved Tuesday by the council.

The unanimously approved policy says that all literature, fliers and handouts will be reviewed by the borough manager before being approved and given an official number that must be displayed on it.

Anything not approved - or without that official number - will not be allowed to be displayed, the policy states.

Council President David Rivella calls it "a common sense policy."

"I think it's a good measure," he said just before the council voted. "It is just a little extra fail-safe so whatever + is handed out over the borough counter (at the municipal building) has been approved and certainly doesn't have anything that could be misconstrued or embarrassing for the borough."

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Councilwoman Nancy Sherlock said: "The purpose of this particular policy is so that any literature or fliers distributed through the borough is reviewed first by our borough manager to make sure it is appropriate."

Council members Rivella, Sherlock, Fred Kerner, Victor Cicero, Rhonda Davis, Kathryn Panzitta, Todd Sanford and Eileen Dreisbach voted yes on the policy.

Danny Adler can be reached at 215-949-4205 or dadler@phillyBurbs.com. Follow him at twitter.com/adleronscene.

Potpourri for 1/16-1/22

Ethics complaint filed against Fitzpatrick

from the bcct:
Ethics complaint filed against Fitzpatrick


By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said the congressman violated House rules, federal law and the Constitution when he missed his swearing-in ceremony.

A political watchdog group filed an ethics complaint Wednesday with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Mike Fitzpatrick and Pete Sessions, the two lawmakers embarrassingly caught in a national media firestorm last week for missing their swearing-in ceremony.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington cites violations of House rules, federal law and the U.S. Constitution in its eight-page complaint to the OCE.

"Republicans have made strict adherence to the Constitution a hallmark of the new Congress," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said. "Now we will find out if that was just window dressing designed to appease the tea party movement or if they were sincere. Two Republican House members have blatantly violated not only House rules, but federal law and the Constitution. Will they be held accountable, or given a pass?"

Though Fitzpatrick and Sessions were not on the House floor for the swearing-in, they participated in a series of votes that had to be nullified, and they later apologized to their 433 colleagues.

Fitzpatrick, Bucks County's 8th District representative, and Sessions, a Texas representative and head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, were at a reception for Fitzpatrick supporters when Speaker John Boehner issued the oath of office for the new chamber. Watching a large TV, the two raised their right hands and took the oath in front of about 500 Fitzpatrick supporters.

CREW claims the gathering was a fundraiser because about half of the estimated crowd paid $30 each to "Fitzpatrick for Congress" for a seat on one of several buses chartered by Fitzpatrick for the trip from Pennsylvania to the Capitol.

Fundraisers on Capitol grounds - the Fitzpatrick event was held in the Capitol Visitors Center - are against House rules.

"You're missing the oath for a fundraiser, what does that say about your priorities?" Sloan said. "It's all about the money from day one."

The Sunlight Foundation, another watchdog group, cited the House Ethics Manual when questioning the Fitzpatrick event.

It reads: "House rooms and offices are not to be used for events that are campaign or political in nature, such as a meeting on campaign strategy, or a reception for campaign contributors."

"We hope the Office of Congressional Ethics looks into this matter promptly," Sunlight spokeswoman Liz Bartolomeo said.


Last week, Fitzpatrick said, "To claim this is a fundraiser is just wrong."

On Wednesday, his spokesman Darren Smith said: "Congressman Fitzpatrick welcomes this review. The reception held last week in the Capitol Visitors Center was not a fundraiser. It was open and free to all comers and held in compliance with the House Ethics Manual."

Sloan said calling the Fitzpatrick event a reception and not a fundraiser "doesn't pass the smell test."

A registration form posted on the Fitzpatrick for Congress website provided options for contributing $30, $60, $90, $120 or "Other." The form, taken down from the site Friday and replaced with a thank-you note to those who attended the swearing in, was labeled "Mike Fitzpatrick's Swearing in Celebration."

Fitzpatrick said those amounts were based on people purchasing multiple $30 tickets for the bus ride.

"If you look at all the language that surrounded it, I would say that they were soliciting money," Sloan said. "This is not what you're allowed to use the Capitol Visitor Center for."

Election law expert and D.C. lawyer Brett Kappel sides with Fitzpatrick on the issue. He told Talking Points Memo last week that if the congressman's explanation of the event is true, it looks like the lawmaker wasn't doing anything against the law.

"This would have been a 'reception for campaign contributors' only if the event was only open to those who had made a contribution," Kappel said. "That doesn't appear to be the case."

Resolution of the complaint won't come any time soon, Sloan said. If the Office of Congressional Ethics dismisses it, that could come within 60 days. If it believes the complaint has merit, it'll take much longer.

"They're not quick," she said.

While Sloan admitted the actions of Fitzpatrick and Sessions are "not the end of the world," she criticized their "hypocrisy."

"Maybe we wouldn't have come down so hard on them but for the newfound devotion to the Constitution by Republicans. That somehow Republicans care about the Constitution and Democrats do not. When you claim you are going to be so devoted, you're going to be held, and I believe fairly, to a higher standard."

Gary Weckselblatt can be reached at 215-345-3169 or gweckselblatt@ phillyBurbs.com. Follow Gary on Twitter at twitter.com/gweckselblatt.

January 13, 2011 02:10 AM

Rivella new Boro council president

Morrisville Borough Council member Nancy Sherlock resigns as president

By Petra Chesner Schlatter
BucksLocalNews.com


Dave Rivella receives the Morrisville Borough Council gavel from now former president Nancy Sherlock. (Photo by Petra Chesner Schlatter)


MORRISVILLE - Nancy Sherlock has resigned as president of Morrisville Borough Council. Councilman Dave Rivella has been named as her successor.

Sherlock made the announcement Jan. 11 when the agenda for the Jan. 17 meeting was set.

“It is my pleasure to serve as council president for the last few years here,” the longtime council member said. She thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve as council president.

“At this time you have a competent council person who would perform the duties professionally and enthusiastically," Sherlock said. "I would like to ask my colleagues that they would support this person I’m going to nominate but I have to hand over the gavel.”

She did not give a reason for her decision to step down as president, but she will remain on council, according to Dave Rivella.

Sherlock nominated Dave Rivella to serve as council president. Council Member Vic Cicero seconded the motion with the notation that council members were accepting Sherlock’s decision “to step down as council president and turn her chair over to Mr. Rivella.”

Council members voted 4-2 to appoint Rivella as president. Voting in favor of Rivella for the vacant presidential seat were Fred Kerner, Vic Cicero and Nancy Sherlock. Rivella voted for himself. Voting no were Eileen Dreisbach and Todd Sanford.

Vice President Kathryn Panzitta and Council Member Rhonda Davis were absent.

Mayor Rita Ledger, who typically doesn't vote unless there is a tie, was not present.

Sherlock then handed the gavel over to Rivella.

“I can’t say enough what an honor it is to be the one named by Nancy,” Rivella said. “I certainly have been mentored...

“Even though I wear a size 13 boot, I don’t know if I can fill her shoes, but I’ll do my best for the community,” he jokingly said. “The people who have known me for a few years up here know that my heart’s in helping the community.”

Rivella continued by saying, “I will put partisan politics aside when I sit up here. I want to do what I feel is right for the entire betterment of the borough. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.

“As president, I will do my best,” he continued. “Thank you to those who just supported me. I look forward to working with everyone.”

Sherlock serves in the second ward, which includes Bridge Street. Rivella serves in the fourth ward which includes Grandview Estates near Snipes Farm.

Before stepping down as president, she told BucksLocalNews.com about projects for 2011, noting that the council looks forward to finishing the Bridge Street project with the banners and the streetlights.

According to Sherlock, the borough council’s goals for 2011 would be:

- to continue to beautify the downtown and hopefully clear up the finances of the pool;

- to move to stage two of the Riverfront Preserve Project;

- to see some development in the area known as the Cloverleaf;

- for construction to begin at the Stockham building this year; and

- to start on an LED pilot program.

Sherlock serves in the second ward, which includes Bridge Street. Rivella serves in the fourth ward which includes Grandview Estates near Snipes Farm.

Swearing-in gaffe sparks uproar

Swearing-in gaffe sparks uproar
By: BILL DEVLIN
Bucks County Courier Times

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick's taking the oath via TV apparently wasn't good enough. He and another congressman had to re-do it Thursday, to the delight of Democrats.

The hundreds of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick supporters who made the trek to Washington Wednesday got an unexpected close-up of the Bucks legislator's swearing into office.

Or did they?

Fitzpatrick and Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions were at a reception for about 500 Fitzpatrick supporters in the Capitol Visitor Center when Speaker of the House John A. Boehner began administering the oath of office over on the House floor.

Seeing the swearing in taking place on TV, Fitzpatrick and Sessions raised their hands to take the oath. A Courier Times photographer's photo of the "long-distance" swearing in and the accompanying story in Thursday's paper created a buzz on Capitol Hill and, by the afternoon, House proceedings ground to a halt because of concerns the two congressmen weren't officially sworn in.

By that point, a half dozen votes had already taken place.

Fitzpatrick and Sessions were sworn in again by Boehner on Thursday about 3 p.m., but it made for an embarrassing first day for Fitzpatrick and the Republicans.

Adding to the red faces, the Republicans had House members reading the Constitution aloud Thursday, so that lawmakers would make sure that new legislation did not violate the nation's basic document. Article VI was read, the one that talks about the oath of office.

It says senators, representatives, state legislators, members of the executive branch and judicial officers are bound by their oath to support the Constitution.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reveled in the Republican dilemma.

"Uh oh," began a statement from the campaign organization spokeswoman Jennifer Crider. "Despite being in Washington, Congressmen-elect Pete Sessions (Texas) and Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.) missed being sworn into Congress yesterday. Not being sworn in and technically not being members of Congress didn't stop Pete Sessions or Mike Fitzpatrick from voting all day yesterday and today or participating in reading the U.S. Constitution on the House floor today."

Fitzpatrick spokesman Darren Smith said the congressman had been on the House floor, voted for Boehner as speaker and signed a written oath of office.

Because of what Smith called a "very fluid" schedule for the day's events, Fitzpatrick and Sessions left the House floor to go to the reception.

"At one point, Mike wanted to go over to see all those people who had traveled down to see the swearing in," Smith said.

Jordan Yeager, solicitor for the Bucks County Democratic Committee, called Fitzpatrick's gaffe "embarrassing."

"You have one main responsibility that day - to take the oath of office," said Yeager. "He shouldn't be raising money."

Some media reports referred to Fitzpatrick's reception as a fundraiser, something that is not allowed on Capitol grounds, but the congressman's spokesman emphatically disputed that characterization.

"It was absolutely not a fundraiser," said Smith. "It was open to anyone who walked in."

Fitzpatrick's staff did arrange buses to take supporters from Bucks County to Washington, D.C., and asked those riders to contribute $30 per person.

"The sole purpose (of the money) was to pay for the bus," said Smith. "There were 200 folks who came down to the reception and didn't take the bus. They didn't pay anything."

After Fitzpatrick and Sessions were sworn in, the Republicans needed to craft a way to fix the problem.

Their "fix" is to officially tag the two as the men who weren't there, through a resolution that will ask the House to nullify their votes - but not the voting results. The House, among other things, voted Wednesday to establish new rules for operating the chamber.

But the fix only will bring yet another embarrassment.

The resolution to correct the record is the same one that will set debate rules for the signature Republican legislation next week: repeal of the new law that changed health care insurance coverage in the nation. Democrats can now mix in the question of improper Republican voting with their vigorous opposition to the repeal.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

January 07, 2011 02:12 AM

Comments:

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Comments
Bravo, 01-07-11, 5:26 am | Rate: Flag 0 Flag | Flag Report
Great, first day on the job and this guy is late.

Just_Saying, 01-07-11, 5:59 am | Rate: Flag 0 Flag | Flag Report
GOP Day 1 and Day 2:

1. Don't show up to be sworn in. Check
2. Break a promise about eliminatin­­g $100 billion from the budget. Check.
3. Deride the CBO for telling you AGAIN that repealing HCR will INCREASE the deficit. Check. Check. And Check.
4. Fail to goven, by failing to decide repeal HCR or reduce the deficit. Check
5. Engage in lavish spending with lobbyist. Check and Check.
6. Read the whole constituti­­o n, except the part about slavery. Check
7. Say they want transparen­cy then vote to hide their receiving federal insurance. Check
8. Spend $1,000,000 to read the Constituti­on out loud. Check
9. Say reading the Constituti­on is important for all but leave before it is all read. Check

Morrisville mentioned in Pittsburgh Post Gazette

This is the article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that mentions the Morrisville School District.

Start cutting here, Gov. Corbett
Pennsylvania's PlanCon program encourages school districts to overbuild, argues Pottstown School Board member THOMAS HYLTON
Sunday, November 21, 2010
With a pledge not to raise taxes, and facing an enormous budget deficit, Gov.-elect Tom Corbett needs billions of dollars in spending cuts. Let me offer some low-hanging fruit: Eliminate the school construction subsidy program called PlanCon.

Each year, Pennsylvania school districts spend more than a billion dollars on school construction, with hundreds of millions reimbursed by the state. The subsidy depends on the wealth of the district, but some districts receive 25 percent or more of construction costs.

In theory, PlanCon encourages school districts to build and maintain top-quality facilities. In practice, PlanCon rewards districts for abandoning or demolishing perfectly good buildings and replacing them with lavish facilities that do little to improve learning but take decades to pay off.

Moreover, many of these projects exacerbate a decades-long trend of closing neighborhood schools and replacing them with large consolidated schools to which all students must be bused. Statewide, school busing now costs $1.2 billion annually -- half of it subsidized by the state -- and riding rather than walking contributes to childhood obesity. Meanwhile, the loss of nearby schools accelerates the decline of older neighborhoods.

Even when existing schools are retained, PlanCon adds unnecessary millions to construction costs by requiring that schools be completely renovated -- a process known as "shut-it-and-gut-it." The state provides no subsidies for on-going maintenance, such as replacing a roof, installing new wiring, or replacing plumbing and heating systems.

Instead, PlanCon provides an incentive for school districts to let buildings deteriorate so badly that reconstruction or replacement -- subsidized by the state -- seems necessary. Architects are paid a percentage of total construction costs, so they have a financial incentive to make projects as extensive as possible rather than promote cost-effective solutions.

Consider the Carlynton School District in Allegheny County, one of the smallest and most heavily taxed districts in the state. Carlynton is currently pondering a number of options to renovate or replace its two aging elementary schools. The district's architect has completed a lengthy feasibility study which concludes the schools are structurally sound, but their mechanical systems are worn out.

The architect has provided 10 options, ranging in cost from $28 million to $52 million. They include renovating the existing schools, adding to one and closing another, or replacing both schools with a new one.

But the most cost-effective solution isn't even mentioned: simply replacing the roofs, wiring, windows, lighting and mechanical systems without gutting the buildings. This option would likely cost a third of any other proposal.

At the other end of the state, in Bucks County, the tiny Morrisville School District has done just that. Like Carlynton, Morrisville has two elementary schools and an intermediate-high school. The buildings had all been terribly neglected, and the district's architect recommended replacing all three with a new K-12 building costing $35 million.

However, a new board was voted into office, with a certified public accountant as president. Rather than build a new school, or gut the existing buildings, the new board simply replaced the heating systems, windows, much of the wiring and plumbing, and some ceiling and floor tiles. The elementary school was air conditioned, as were selected areas of the intermediate-senior high school.

By making better use of existing space, Morrisville was able to close one elementary school by enlarging the other school with eight modulars, which it hopes to gradually eliminate. Morrisville has now extended the life of two schools for at least 20 years, and greatly increased their energy efficiency, at a cost of $8 million -- a quarter of the price of the proposed new school. Both schools are within walking distance of their students.

The state provided no subsidy towards Morrisville's thrifty solution. Had Morrisville opted to build a new $35 million school, however, the state would have provided $5 million toward the project.

Schools are typically among the most solidly constructed buildings in any community. Despite evolving technologies, the way we arrange our classrooms, hallways, gymnasiums and auditoriums hasn't fundamentally changed.

In fact, architectural fads like the "open plan" schools of the 1970s are the most likely to become obsolete. Building green? The "greenest" school is the one that's already been built.

New technologies like Smart Boards and mobile computer labs can be creatively accommodated in traditional buildings. Yet many school administrators contend that new construction is necessary to provide a 21st-century education.

Unfortunately, school boards rarely have the knowledge or confidence to challenge architects and administrators who push for elaborate projects, and big-spending districts continually raise the bar for everyone else. Ironically, many older buildings that are closed as inadequate are then sold and converted to charter schools or private schools.

When it comes to public schools, Gov.-elect Corbett has more than a spending problem, he has a culture problem. PlanCon reinforces the conventional wisdom that newer and bigger facilities are essential to a quality education. They aren't, and abolishing PlanCon can send a powerful message that we have entered an era of limited resources. We must make better use of what we have.

Thomas Hylton is author of "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns" and host of the public television documentary "Saving Pennsylvania."


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10325/1104596-109.stm#ixzz19oyWLynw