June 17th School Board Meeting

The final vote for the budget was held on June 17th. It passed with a vote of 6 to 2 ... surprisingly enough I was one of the yes votes. When it came down to it, the average increase of $79.20 is better than most areas and if we were to go any lower we would start to lose programs. It is a tough time for everyone, but there is no need to make it tough on the children by cutting programs.

(Now we need to hope the state does not cut the $1.1 million in stimulus money we are supposed to receive.)

We also had the pleasure of electing our new Superintendent, Dr. Gretzula. We all agreed he was the best person to help us continue along the path we have set for Bensalem School District.

Courier Times Article

More School Board Stuff ...

Just a few updates:

• This evening the Seniors of Bensalem High School will take their final walk out of the school as students. Weather permitting, graduation will be held at 7pm at the stadium.
• The Final Budget will be voted on this Wednesday, June 17th. We are down to just under an AVERAGE $80 increase.

Congratulations to the Class of 2009!

June 10th, 2009 School Board Meeting

Last night the School district honored it's retiring employees before the board meetings. We had many teachers who have spent over 25 years with the district ... some retiring with 40 years of service.

We also had the last budget meeting. The AVERAGE tax increase has been decreased to $76. We need to keep in mind two very important things:

1. This is an AVERAGE, not the increase everyone will see. Some homeowners will see a higher increase while others will pay less. The amount paid is based on the assessed value of your home.


2. This budget accounts for over $1.8 million in stimulus funds from the state. This money will only be available for the 09-10 and 10-11 school years. We can not count on this money in the future to help with our costs.

There were also concerns about positions at the high school that may be cut in addition to district wide positions that may be affected. These needed to be discussed in Executive Session under personnel matters. The final vote on the budget will be held on June 17th, 2009.

During the Regular Action Meeting we voted to approve the Full Day Kindergarten Pilot program. The previous vote for this pilot program mentioned that it would be funded by the Accountability Block Grant. Last year we did not get as much in the ABG as expected and this year that money has been rolled into our regular budget. To make sure we could still have the program, we needed to vote on the program again without mentioning the grants. The lotteries for the program will be held as follows:

• Belmont Hills 2:00 pm
• Cornwells 2:15 pm
• Faust 2:30 pm
• Rush 2:45 pm
• Struble 3:00 pm
• Valley 3:15 pm

PhillyBurbs.com: Residents applaud givebacks, but criticism remains

PhillyBurbs.com: Residents applaud givebacks, but criticism remains

This article is about the teacher concessions in Quakertown.

Final Budget Vote Re-Scheduled

The vote on the Final Budget for the 2009-2010 school year for Bensalem School District will be held on June 17th, 2009. We will be meeting at 7:00 pm at the District Office. The meeting had originally been scheduled for June 10th.

If there are any questions regarding the budget, please check out the information at the Bensalem School District website (www.bensalemsd.org).

PhillyBurbs.com: Will other cost-saving deals have effect on Neshaminy talks?

PhillyBurbs.com: Will other cost-saving deals have effect on Neshaminy talks?

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This is the most recent news regarding teachers contracts and concessions in the area. Worth a read.

PhillyBurbs.com: District asks unions for givebacks

PhillyBurbs.com: District asks unions for givebacks

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