Moving to a new location ...

This blog is in the process of being moved to a new location that will give me a little more control over what is on the site. The new link is:

http://schoolboard.heathernicholas.com/

PhillyBurbs.com: Holocaust lessons used in bullying prevention program

PhillyBurbs.com:  Holocaust lessons used in bullying prevention program

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RE: Board backs effort to stop teacher strikes

In response the Courier article (PhillyBurbs.com:  Board backs effort to stop teacher strikes), I would like to clear up a few mis conceptions.  The first being that we are in support of House Bill 2092.  According to the article "Both are a show of support for the STRIKE-FREE Education Amendment House Bill 2092, officials said."  Well, as far as I know NO officials said so, and if they did, who was the official that said so?  We specifically removed mention of both Hous Bills because as a board we do not support them.  We do recognize that some things need to be done, but this is not the way to go about it.

Another thing I would like to mention is that, in MY opinion, this does not affect negotions that are a year away.  We have a good working relationship with our teachers.  Over the last two years I have been on the board I have seen how dedicated our teachers are and how they are working with us to make the district better.  This was not a decision that was personal or against our teachers ... it was for our students as well as for the students across the state.  But, like I said, this was my opinion and how I feel.  We are a board of 9 different people and we do not always agree.  Therefore those who vote differently have their right to their opinion as well.


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PhillyBurbs.com: Staff positions to be eliminated

PhillyBurbs.com:  Staff positions to be eliminated

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PLAYGROUND AT FAUST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

I received the following information from Stacy Kutner, Predisent of BHS Home and School:
WE ARE AS CLOSE AS EVER BUT NEED YOUR HELP……..


Our Faust PTG Fundraising Coordinator, Shannon Christine, has been plugging away at trying to get grants and/or some sort of funding for our playground project. She came across the opportunity to apply for a Pepsi sponsored grant and submitted an application online and her grant proposal was accepted!! The top ten projects with the most votes will receive funding. The voting is open NOW through 2/28. Once you register, you can cast your vote once per day from now until the contest ends on 2/28. You may submit more than one vote from the same IP address, but you may only vote up to 10 times per account per day, but each vote must be for different projects. Therefore, we are asking everyone to vote only once a day for our project using the link below:

http://refresheverything.com/FriendofFaust

We are very excited about this opportunity to get funding for this project! Please don't forget to vote each day!

Thanks so much for passing this on and making the vote, in order to benefit the students at Faust Elementary School.
Pass it on...


Hi Shannon,
Your $$50000 Grant proposal "Create the Friends of Faust community space...unite inspire grow..." has been approved and posted online.
Check out http://refresheverything.com/FriendofFaust to track your idea while votes are cast.
Start spreading the news to your friends & family and tell them to vote. There's no time to lose, voting ends 2-28-2010.

Neshaminy Blog

I found a blog set up by the Neshaminy School Board.  It is centered areound their current negotiations.  For those who are interested, check it out here: http://nsdboard.blogspot.com/

PhillyBurbs.com: Most districts seeking higher tax rates

PhillyBurbs.com:  Most districts seeking higher tax rates
Bensalem is currently looking at a $120 increase.  This increase is based on the average household assessment.  It is important to keep in mind that this budget is based on not knowing what revenue we will obtain from state and federal monies as well as how many employees will be retiring.

This year we are conducting three additional workshops for community input on the budget.  Budget workshops will be held on Februaryt 24th, March 24th, and April 28th at 6:30 pm.  This is an opportunity for everyone to see where we are in the budget process and provide for opinion. 

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PhillyBurbs.com: Seniors told pension bomb is coming

PhillyBurbs.com:  Seniors told pension bomb is coming

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PhillyBurbs.com: Lawmakers urged to solve pension issue

PhillyBurbs.com:  Lawmakers urged to solve pension issue

Bensalem is also sending a letter to our legislators regarding pension reform.
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School Board Meeting - January 27, 2010

Below is a re-cap of last night's board meeting:

 

Presentations:

• Our first presentation of the evening was a review of currilulum proposals and recommendations.  In total there were 17 proposals for changes/additions to the curriculum.  Our curriculum leaders have been working hard to make sure our children have coursework that is not only quality, but contiguous throughtout their time in our district. 
• The second presentation was regarding our ability to re-finance our binds from 1998 and 1999.  Main points of the presentation were:
• The timeline for re-payment would not extend past the current maturity date of 2016
• The interest reate went from 4.5% down to 2.26%
• Moody has increased our bond rating from A1 to AA3 which allowed us to save approximately $45,000.  This savings was due to the fact that we would not need to purchase bond insurance.
• The normal standard for re-financing would be to make sure you can save 3%.  We are in a good position with a savings of 7.3%
• The best part ... we would be saving OVER $9 MILLION by re-financing.
   
  Needless to say the bond re-finance was approved 7-0.

Agenda Items of Interest:

•  Approval of a SPRINT Character of Education Grant in the amount of $25,000 for Faust, Rush, and Struble to implement the Responsive Classroom Program.
  "The Responsive Classroom approach is a research-based approach to teaching that offers elementary schools practical strategies for achieving many of the goals of Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems. Schools can use the Responsive Classroom approach to implement high quality Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems. The premise of the Responsive Classroom Approach is that continual teaching, modeling, and reinforcing of positive behavior will reduce discipline problems and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety, and learning."
  
• Approval of a revised calendar of budget meetings to include 3 additional work sessions.  They are:
  
• February 24, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
• March 24, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
• April 28, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
  Members of the public are strongly encouraged to attend!
  

Preliminary Budget for 2010-2011 School Year

This is just a brief overview of information fom the budget meeting held last night (January 13, 2010)

We have over $8 million increase in expenditures that we can not control. They include the following: salary increases ($2.2 million), PSERS (increased to 8.22%, or $1.9 million), medical insurance/FICA ($.9 million), IU costs ($1.4 million), tuitions (tech/charter/other, $1.4 million), and utilities ($.3 million).

As of right now there are plans to address the gap through a reduction in expenditures (which could include programs, services, and employees) as well as a draw down from our fund balance. If we continue to draw down our fund balance, we could be left with no fund balance in 3 years when the the PSERS spike will be in effect.

We will be holding addional budget work sessions.  We have added 3 work sessions this year and they will be held on February 24th, March 24th, and April 28th from 6:30-7:30 pm.  I would encourage everyone to either watch on TV (comcast channel 28 / Verizon channel 32) or stop by to see what is coming down the line.  We do not vote on a final budget until June.
Parx Casino
Please keep in mind the school district does NOT receive ANY portion of the $10 million from the casino. This mony goes to the township. We do see some relief from our taxes in the form of the $300 homeowner's assistance grant we receive in October. We previously would receive approximately $15,000 (yes, $15 thousand) from the casino for valet parking. This year Jack Myers is projecting only $2100 since the casino has been offering free valet parking.

PhillyBurbs.com: Early budget plan has $120 tax hike

PhillyBurbs.com:  Early budget plan has $120 tax hike (Posted using ShareThis)

PhillyBurbs.com: District could save $30M by outsourcing (Neshaminy)

PhillyBurbs.com:  District could save $30M by outsourcing

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"The Full Story" from the Courier Times (from May 2009)

This is an old post from back in  May of 2009:

After receiving an e-mail from a fellow board member and then mention of the following editorial from a family member, I feel the need to write this. The editorial can be viewed by clicking here.

I can not, and will not, speak for other board members. But, when it came to the contract in question I was one of the "no" votes. As mentioned in the article, I was not in favor of the additional increases for two years. The "additional perks" mentioned in the article were fine with me. The aides we have working for the district are hard working individuals which deserved these perks.

PhillyBurbs.com: Bill would provide property tax relief for unemployed

While I appreciate the fact that Steve Santarsiero would like to allow for relief for those who are unemployed, he is forgetting where his old paycheck came from.  TAXES. 

I see a few problems with this:

1. Those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs would have to pay more to make up the difference.  I would like to think the state would help make up the difference, but we do not get enough from the state to cover their mandates as it is, so I hold little hope this would happen.  Of those who have been able to keep their jobs, some have been working without any kind of raise, which means shouldering more tax burden would not be good.
2. If the school districts get less money, they need to make it up somewhere.  We are already anticipating a deficit.  With the increase in PSERS alone we are $1.7 million behind.  Then we need to add the contractual obligations such as salary increases.
3. Mr. Santarsiero wants to add taxes to cover the difference.  Would these tax increases continue after 2011 (when he proposes this would end)?  If not, would the schools continue to reap the benefits of the tax or would that be taken away from us just as the gaming tax was?  I have an idea, why not put the tax into the PSERS account ... we all know that increase is really going to hurt.

Ok, enough of my opinion.  And that is exactly what this is, just my little 'ole opinion.  Here is the article:
PhillyBurbs.com:  Bill would provide property tax relief for unemployed

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