Budget Decisions and Computer Visions

Photo by Evan Brandt

Matching T-shirt-wearing Pottsgrove teachers assemble in the high school cafeteria before Tuesday night's Pottsgrove School Board meeting. They were there in a show of solidarity during their current contract negotiations.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Students Caroline Remelius, left, and Jackie Ramsey,
present a student-signed petition to support arts education.

So, as anticipated, Tuesday night's Pottsdgrove School Board meeting was a long one and, as one of the Tweets below can attest to, those metal folding chairs are extremely hard.

There was a long presentation on the progress of the district's One-for-one computer initiative which they call DiLE.

The administration said the program was proceeding well, that fewer students reported being bored in class and that there had even been a reduction in disciplinary referrals at the high school since the computers were provided

Then the board heard from a number of people, again, urging them not to reduce music, art and business teachers.

The administration, particularly Superintendent Shellie Feola, took some broadsides from a Pottsgrove alum who urged the board to knock the administration off "its high horse," but School Board President Justin Valentine came to their defense and said some things had been misunderstood.

Megan DeLena

Ultimately, the board voted to reduce a business teacher from full-time to part-time, due to declining enrollment, but to reverse the district's ill-timed advertisement for a part-time choir teacher and make it full time.

There was no clear vote on the art teacher post that I could tell.

They heard from one of those business teachers,
Megan DeLena, who is also the president of the Pottsgrove Education Association teachers union, urging the board to grant them a fair contract during the ongoing negotiations.

The board also discussed new graduation and class rank guidelines that were approved, and approved a motion to relieve tax penalties against an elderly Upper Pottsgrove taxpayer who paid his taxes on time, but whose check was rejected by the tax collector because although he had written out the ampount, he had not put numbers in the little box.

And here are the Tweets from the meeting.

There Goes $11-million for Our Schools (I Didn't Vote for That!)

Are You Kidding Me?

Blogger's Note: Blatant Plagiarism alert! I haven't done this too often, but the idiocy of this latest set of circumstances is so well encapsulated in this March 15 post in the Yinzercation blog (P.S. I have no idea what that stands for) that I figured, why re-invent the wheel? These guys have got it covered.

Here's what they posted:

Earlier this week, Governor Corbett asked where he was supposed to get the money to fund public education in Pennsylvania.

Yesterday, he signed into law a new Voter ID bill, which does not appear to solve any actual problem in the state, will most certainly face expensive legal challenge, and worse, will cost taxpayers an estimated $11 MILLION to implement.

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center reports that other states have faced “substantial financial burdens” after passing similar laws: “Indiana, with about half as many registered voters as Pennsylvania, adopted a voter ID law in 2005 and spent $12.2 million over four years implementing it. Missouri has estimated voter ID legislation would cost $17.4 million over three years to inform its 4.1 million registered voters of the new requirements. Independent estimates for a proposed North Carolina law range from $18 million to $25 million over three years.” (May 2011 report)

Even taxpayers who are not outraged by the new law’s attempt to disenfranchise voters should be incensed that the Governor is signing new legislation expected to cost our state $11 MILLION.

He says, “We are reducing the funding in education because we do not have the money — it’s that simple.” (See “The Old Divide and Conquer Tactic“)

No.

What’s simple is not passing unneeded laws that spend more money while proposing additional devastating cuts to our schools at the same time.

$11 MILLION would pay for a whole lot of teachers.

Note to the Pennsylvania legislature: it’s time to focus on real problems in the state – like reversing the proposed budget cuts to public education – not imaginary ones that waste taxpayer money.

* * *
Hi,
Me again. I'm back with a final note.

According to this Roll Call, not one local state representatives (by pure coincidence, all Republicans by the way) voted against spending $11 million to solve a problem that does not exist (a PA Legislature specialty).

The PA State Asylum for the Politically Deranged, Harrisburg

Voting in favor of spending $11 million on voter ID while there is "no money for public education" were Tim Hennessey (26th Dist.), Tom Quigley (146th Dist.), Marcy Toepel (147th Dist.), David Maloney (130th Dist.), Mike Vereb (150th), Warren Kampf (157th Dist. ) and Curt Schroder (155th Dist.) 

In the State Senate (Roll Call), the area's only no votes came from Andrew Dinniman (D-19th Dist. and Judy Schwank (D-11th Dist.).

John Rafferty (R-44th Dist) and Bob Mensch (R-24th Dist.) both voted in favor.

As a public service, I've provided e-mail links to our local legislators which can be accessed by clicking on each of their names, just in case you would like to communicate your thoughts on this waste of time and money.