The school district currently has 5 study councils. The study councils include Gifted Education, World Languages, Full Day Kindergarden, an dEnglish as a Second Language (ESL).
They will, from time to time, post their meetings on the district website. To read them go to http://www.bensalemsd.org/1440101011103849223/site/default.asp and click on the link in the left hand side. As of today there are minutes and a slide presentation from the Gifted Education study council.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
School Board Approves Intent to participate in Race To The Top
At our meeting on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009, we approved the intent to participate in Race To The Top (RTTT). In short we have agreed to send in a letter of intent to participate. To do this, the school board, superintendent, and our teachers will work together on reforms within the school district.
What is Race To The Top (RTTT)? It is a $4.35B competitive grant program awarded by the US Department of Education meant to drive reform in 4 specific areas. These areas are:
As we obtain more information on the status of Pennsylvania's application for participation, I pass the information along.
What is Race To The Top (RTTT)? It is a $4.35B competitive grant program awarded by the US Department of Education meant to drive reform in 4 specific areas. These areas are:
- Increase teacher and principal effectiveness and achieve equitable distributuion of teachers,
- Adopt internationally benchmarked standards and high quality assessments,
- Turn around struggling schools using one of 4 intervention models, and
- Improve the collection and use of data to improve instruction.
As we obtain more information on the status of Pennsylvania's application for participation, I pass the information along.
School Boards Association has solution for pension crisis
(OP-ED from the PSBA website)
School Boards Association has solution for pension crisis
By Thomas J. Gentzel, Executive Director
Friday, Dec. 11 began what could be a catastrophic era for Pennsylvania taxpayers. The Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) voted to increase the employer contribution rate to 8.22% of payroll for 2010-11, a 72% increase from this year’s rate.
Those percentages will continue to climb, reaching a projected rate of near 30% of payroll by 2012-13 and are estimated to remain above 20% for nearly two decades. How much will school property tax bills increase in order to fund this projected spike and ensuing plateau? How could it harm our children’s education, our children’s school environment and other community programs?
How many laptop computers for students will not be purchased? How many new teachers will not be hired? How many new textbooks will not be purchased? How many infrastructure improvements to technology or science labs will be delayed?
PSERS has both long- and short-term deficiencies. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) became the first school-related organization to propose a long-term solution to the looming PSERS crisis, earning sponsoring endorsements from both state Rep. Glenn Grell (R-Cumberland) and state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming).
PSERS is a governmental, mandatory, multi-employer, defined benefit pension plan for Pennsylvania school employees. It was established in 1917, and is one of the oldest public pension plans in the United States. There are currently 739 school employers enrolled in PSERS (school districts, intermediate units, vo-tech schools, community and state-owned universities, charter schools, special schools and PSBA). PSERS serves more than 547,000 members, including those that are active, retired, vested and inactive.
A number of factors have led the system to the precarious fund balance position it currently holds. Government intervention, declining investment returns and the continued sluggish economy have all contributed to the dilemma. PSERS is funded from three sources: employee (member) contributions, employer (school district and state government) contributions and investment earnings. (The "employer" share is, of course, the taxpayer portion of the cost.)
While contributions on the part of both employers and employees have increased steadily, the investment income the system receives has suffered markedly, especially recently. Legislation enacted that increased benefits and put off paying the bill until 2013 has also had a negative impact.
In 2007-08, PSBA initiated a Pension Study Committee comprised of local school board members from across the state to examine the cost of the program and to recommend solutions. PSERS is a defined benefit plan (DB), different than most private sector plans, which are defined contribution plans (DC). The primary differences between these plans are how the pension benefit is determined and who bears the investment return risk.
In a DB plan, the employer is liable for paying benefits, which are a product of salary, service and a multiplier set by the legislature. This benefit represents costs that must be funded. The employer bears all investment risk. DB plans are mandatory in membership and contribution and have a lifetime benefit.
In a DC plan, which is similar to an individual’s 401(k), the benefit is determined by contributions and the investment performance of the member’s account. The member manages his or her own investments and holds the risk. These plans have a fixed employer cost and assets can be exhausted.
PSBA’s long-term proposal recommends the development of a new hybrid plan that would combine the best features of both the DB and DC plans. This hybrid plan balances everyone’s interests, respects school employees, continues public education as an attractive occupation and makes PSERS a more affordable and fair system.
Highlights of PSBA’s proposal are:
If we maintain the status quo, beginning in 2012-13, school boards will be faced with a decade-long string of employer contribution rates averaging between 29-33% a year (compared to 4.78% for this year). Imagine the things we won’t be able to accomplish with that money.
School Boards Association has solution for pension crisis
By Thomas J. Gentzel, Executive Director
Friday, Dec. 11 began what could be a catastrophic era for Pennsylvania taxpayers. The Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) voted to increase the employer contribution rate to 8.22% of payroll for 2010-11, a 72% increase from this year’s rate.
Those percentages will continue to climb, reaching a projected rate of near 30% of payroll by 2012-13 and are estimated to remain above 20% for nearly two decades. How much will school property tax bills increase in order to fund this projected spike and ensuing plateau? How could it harm our children’s education, our children’s school environment and other community programs?
How many laptop computers for students will not be purchased? How many new teachers will not be hired? How many new textbooks will not be purchased? How many infrastructure improvements to technology or science labs will be delayed?
PSERS has both long- and short-term deficiencies. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) became the first school-related organization to propose a long-term solution to the looming PSERS crisis, earning sponsoring endorsements from both state Rep. Glenn Grell (R-Cumberland) and state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming).
PSERS is a governmental, mandatory, multi-employer, defined benefit pension plan for Pennsylvania school employees. It was established in 1917, and is one of the oldest public pension plans in the United States. There are currently 739 school employers enrolled in PSERS (school districts, intermediate units, vo-tech schools, community and state-owned universities, charter schools, special schools and PSBA). PSERS serves more than 547,000 members, including those that are active, retired, vested and inactive.
A number of factors have led the system to the precarious fund balance position it currently holds. Government intervention, declining investment returns and the continued sluggish economy have all contributed to the dilemma. PSERS is funded from three sources: employee (member) contributions, employer (school district and state government) contributions and investment earnings. (The "employer" share is, of course, the taxpayer portion of the cost.)
While contributions on the part of both employers and employees have increased steadily, the investment income the system receives has suffered markedly, especially recently. Legislation enacted that increased benefits and put off paying the bill until 2013 has also had a negative impact.
In 2007-08, PSBA initiated a Pension Study Committee comprised of local school board members from across the state to examine the cost of the program and to recommend solutions. PSERS is a defined benefit plan (DB), different than most private sector plans, which are defined contribution plans (DC). The primary differences between these plans are how the pension benefit is determined and who bears the investment return risk.
In a DB plan, the employer is liable for paying benefits, which are a product of salary, service and a multiplier set by the legislature. This benefit represents costs that must be funded. The employer bears all investment risk. DB plans are mandatory in membership and contribution and have a lifetime benefit.
In a DC plan, which is similar to an individual’s 401(k), the benefit is determined by contributions and the investment performance of the member’s account. The member manages his or her own investments and holds the risk. These plans have a fixed employer cost and assets can be exhausted.
PSBA’s long-term proposal recommends the development of a new hybrid plan that would combine the best features of both the DB and DC plans. This hybrid plan balances everyone’s interests, respects school employees, continues public education as an attractive occupation and makes PSERS a more affordable and fair system.
Highlights of PSBA’s proposal are:
- Establish a two-tier retirement system, one for current employees and another for those hired after a specified date (preferably as soon as possible).
- Cap the school district portion of the employer contribution rate for both pension plans at the Act 1 index; the commonwealth would fund any remaining employer obligation.
- Oppose enactment of any new benefit enhancements for either plan.
- Assign to PSERS responsibility to administer the benefits for both plans and to manage their assets.
PSBA’s bill creates a new retirement plan for future school employees. Its enactment must be accompanied by other actions to alleviate the impending dramatic increases in taxpayer-funded support for PSERS. What must not be allowed to happen is simply stretching out the existing debt to lower annual costs. That would only defer the problem. A new, more affordable retirement plan for school employees needs to be created. PSBA’s proposal fits that bill.
If we maintain the status quo, beginning in 2012-13, school boards will be faced with a decade-long string of employer contribution rates averaging between 29-33% a year (compared to 4.78% for this year). Imagine the things we won’t be able to accomplish with that money.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
PSBA Pension Reform Bill to be Introduced Today
Information received from PSBA
Dec. 16, 2009 More Info
PSBA Pension Reform Bill to be Introduced Today;
Please Ask Your Legislator to Co-Sponsor
An announcement on the introduction of a bill calling for a major change to the Public School Employees Retirement System and backed by PSBA will be introduced this afternoon (Dec. 16) at 2:00 p.m.at the State Capitol.
Sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) and Rep. Glen Grell (R-Cumberland), the bill would transform PSERS from a 100% defined benefit system to a hybrid defined benefit/defined contribution system.
The proposal, HB 2135 (no Senate bill number at this writing), is part of the recommendation made by PSBA's Pension Study Committee in 2007. The recommendation was unanimously accepted by the PSBA Board of Directors and the PSBA Platform Committee and was overwhelmingly reaffirmed this past fall by voting delegates from around the state at the meeting of the PSBA Policy Council.
The legislation being proposed represents the committee's long term solution to the pension issue. As described previously, PSBA is calling for the creation of a hybrid pension system for school employees, one that combines the advantages of a defined benefit and a defined contribution system.
The bill would create a new class of employees, T-E, comprised of individuals who join the system after June 30, 2010. These employees will enjoy the benefits of a defined benefit system, albeit at a lower benefit level, but also have the opportunity to make contributions and control the types of investments in which their contributions are placed through a newly-created defined contribution program. At the time of their retirement, these individuals would reap the benefits earned by both the defined benefit investments and their defined contribution benefits.
The defined benefit features that would be included in the bill for class T-E employees are 1) an employee contribution rate of 3.25% of salary, down from the current 7.5%; 2) a multiplier of 1%, down from the current 2.5%; and 3) a vesting period of 10 years, up from the current 5-year period.
The new defined contribution system calls for the creation of an Individual Annuity Savings Account for all eligible members of the system. Each eligible member would contribute a minimum of 3% of their salary to the account, along with a mandatory match of 2% of compensation by the employer. Employees could contribute more subject to IRS limitations.
The PSERS Board of Directors would have the power to make any necessary rules and regulations for the administration and management of the Individual Annuity Savings Plan and have the power to enter into written agreements with one or more financial institutions or other organizations relating to the plan's administration and investment of funds. These rules and regulation include, but are not limited to the following:
The bill also modifies the 4% minimum employer contribution floor, so that it would remain in effect in years when the funded ratio of the plan is 100% or more. However this minimum rate would be offset by the amount of funds contributed as part of the defined contribution part of the system.
How you can help:
Please call your House and Senate member(s) and ask them to sign on to the co-sponsorship letter for HB 2135 and the Senate Bill. Interested legislators can also call Sen. Yaw's office at (717) 787-3280 or Rep. Grell at (717) 783-2063. These bills represent a major change to the current school employee's pension system that will save taxpayers and school districts millions of dollars that are needed to pay for pension contribution increases over the next 22 years.
PSBA is also participating in a hearing on public pension issues being conducted by the Senate Finance Committee this morning. PSBA's testimony is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Both the hearing and the news conference will likely be covered by the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) for those wishing to view the proceedings.
Dec. 16, 2009 More Info
An announcement on the introduction of a bill calling for a major change to the Public School Employees Retirement System and backed by PSBA will be introduced this afternoon (Dec. 16) at 2:00 p.m.at the State Capitol.
The proposal, HB 2135 (no Senate bill number at this writing), is part of the recommendation made by PSBA's Pension Study Committee in 2007. The recommendation was unanimously accepted by the PSBA Board of Directors and the PSBA Platform Committee and was overwhelmingly reaffirmed this past fall by voting delegates from around the state at the meeting of the PSBA Policy Council.
The legislation being proposed represents the committee's long term solution to the pension issue. As described previously, PSBA is calling for the creation of a hybrid pension system for school employees, one that combines the advantages of a defined benefit and a defined contribution system.
- The types of investments that are permitted
- How and when individuals can transfer contributions between investments
- Procedures for deducting amounts to be deferred from members' compensation
- Standards or criteria for the selection for the selection of financial institutions or other organizations that may be qualified as managers of funds deferred under the plan or to provide other services relating to the administration and management of the plan
- Standards and criteria for disclosing and providing options to eligible individuals regarding investments of amounts deferred under the plan
- Standards and criteria for disclosing the anticipated and actual income attributable to amounts invested, property rights and all fees, costs and charges to be made against amounts deferred to cover the costs and expenses of administering and managing the plan or funds
- Procedures, standards and criteria for the making of withdrawals from the plan upon separation from employment or death or in other circumstances consistent with the purpose of the plan.
Also, the bill provides that increases in school district contributions to the pension system would be capped at the Act 1 index. Should the increase in the school district share of the employer contribution rate exceed the current year Act 1 index, the state would pick up the difference between the new employer contribution rate and the index.
The hybrid pension bill would save the system, including school districts and taxpayers, money over the long run because it would create a system that is less expensive to operate, both in terms of the contributions needed and in terms of the benefits paid out to retirees. Projections from Buck consultants, the actuaries used by PSERS, show that the employer contribution under the hybrid plan would be less than under the current plan over the next 25 years. Moreover, the current PSERS system benefit represents approximately 72% of final salary, while the hybrid plan benefit would represent anywhere from 53% -63% of salary depending on investment returns and the amount of salary employees choose to contribute to the defined contribution part of the plan.
Please call your House and Senate member(s) and ask them to sign on to the co-sponsorship letter for HB 2135 and the Senate Bill. Interested legislators can also call Sen. Yaw's office at (717) 787-3280 or Rep. Grell at (717) 783-2063. These bills represent a major change to the current school employee's pension system that will save taxpayers and school districts millions of dollars that are needed to pay for pension contribution increases over the next 22 years.
Visit PSBA's Web site now for access to a host of information on the pension issue including a sample letter we are asking you to send to your legislators asking them to co-sponsor the legislation.
The 2010 employer contribution rate has been set at 8.22%, a 72% increase over the current rate, so the large increases have already begun. The employer rate is projected to hit its maximum of 33.60% in 2015 and to remain above 20% until 2032, meaning that it is crucial that the Legislature begin its work now to find a solution so that those increases can be mitigated.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Other stuff to do with the kids
Ok, so we decided to spoil the kids and let them go horse back riding. Yes, this is something you would usually do in the summer, but any nice day would do. My father found a place in Cream Ridge, NJ, that would teach you how to ride a horse. The trainer was wonderful. She went over everything including safety and grooming fo the horse. The kids got the chance to ride Casper in the arena. They are affordable and well worth the visit. For more information, go to http://www.freedomfarmusa.com/. Look on craigslist for their reduced rates.
Another thing to do with the kids is ice-skating. The beauty is you can go any time of the year at Grundy's in Bristol Boro. For more information go to http://www.grundyrink.org/.
Another thing to do with the kids is ice-skating. The beauty is you can go any time of the year at Grundy's in Bristol Boro. For more information go to http://www.grundyrink.org/.
Koziar's Christmas Village
This past weekend we took the kids to Koziar's Christmas Village. I had not been there since I was little, and it was even better this time, except for the fact everything seemed much smaller. :)
The kids liked walking through the village and looking at the various displays. Of course getting a picture with Rudolph did not hurt either. The drive is a little long, about 90 minutes, but well worth it. The prices are very affordable ($8 for an adult, $6 for junior, and children 5 and under are free). For more information on the village, go to: http://www.koziarschristmasvillage.com/home.html
The kids liked walking through the village and looking at the various displays. Of course getting a picture with Rudolph did not hurt either. The drive is a little long, about 90 minutes, but well worth it. The prices are very affordable ($8 for an adult, $6 for junior, and children 5 and under are free). For more information on the village, go to: http://www.koziarschristmasvillage.com/home.html
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