SCHOOL ISSUES
FIRST YOU SHOULD KNOW.....
GENERAL SCHOOL INFO - for
all
the kudos & tons of info on the wonderful job
that they are doing in our Schools, the
Abington School District Website has
the final say
ISSUES FOUND IN THIS SITE
include
issues & updates that have currently been under discussion in the
School & School community and have not found a forum on the
School site but should be on everyone's radar. We do not
want to detract from the good things being done. We want to add to
them by opening the channels of communication that will inspire
awareness & hopefully change.
MEETINGS ON TV - School Board
meetings can be seen on Comcast 850 and Verizon 34 -
check here for the schedule
They also appear in a few slots on
the Township government channels
Comcast 43 and Verizon 24 - though it is more difficult to figure
out the schedule to know when .
SHARE OR CORRECT
Please feel free to
send your information to us and please be sure
to
contact us about any information you believe to be
incorrect. Please verify info with your Township or School authorities
before relying on
what you read here.
We do our best to get things right but we may misunderstand or
miss a correction .......
__________________________
SCHOOL ISSUES
( ie: stuff we're working on ) :
Our Educational Access Channel
6-09 Comcast Channel 850 and Verizon Channel 34
are the Education Access Channels. The concern with Comcast
850 is that few are likely to bump into it surfing by "surfing "--
and many homes do not get 850 at all, unless they have a newer HDTV
or a cable box - or they might only get it on one TV
rather than on the TV they watch most frequently. But
Comcast 43 (like Verizon 24 & 34) is our township channel, frequently
is found by surfing & is one most everyone's TV. So we
have been trying to get the important school meetings shown in more
week day hours & evening hours to increase their viewing and the
awareness that these meetings are on for Comcast viewers.
The school currently has 7 hours a day on channel
43 (5-9am and 6-9pm) - and the township has indicated they will offer
to accommodate anything further that the School District may need.
The School added 6 pm showings on Monday & Friday which was
helpful. I think we would recommend at least one more
perhaps midweek and one on one of the weekend days.
The
School's TV Schedule is how to find when it is
on.
___________________________
COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
The below text may have been
amended at that meeting where the policy was approved. On 8-12-08 at the School Board
meeting the new policy changes were discussed. Of particular concern
was the portion below - this portion was subsequently removed from
the policy before it passed and slated for further discussion. We
were assured we would be alerted when the policy discussion came up
again. This was the objectionable wording :
1. All contacts and communications
between the District Board of Directors and District personnel and
staff related to District operations shall be channeled through the
Superintendent.
2. In order to facilitate compliance
with this policy, District employees shall be advised that they
shall not contact or communicate with District Board members
directly without specific direction and permission from the
Superintendent.
At the Aug 26th 2008 meeting there will be a second reading
of the policy and it is possible there will be an attempt to pass
this policy among the many that were changed. We hope
this does not happen as this would be a terrible set-back to the
free communication that is necessary to a good system that has
as many checks and balances as possible in place. This would
tie the hands of the School Board members and put District
personnel is a place where they had only one person to
work with to make changes ----- and what if suggestions about THAT
one person were in order? How would that work?
Update:
We understand the policy was passed but do not have the final
wording .
Limiting the communication to and from the School
Board Members is not a good day for transparency.
I had asked to be alerted when the meeting was continued, so I could
comment before the vote & I
was assured by President McGarry I would be, but the vote came &
went without my knowledge.
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How many millions are being held in the Fund Balance?
6-10-09 As reported in the Times Chronicle the
School will be able to reduce millage this year rather than
increasing it. The millage rate will go from 27.29 to 27.09,
saving the average taxpayer $28.23 There is
an estimated $1.6 million coming from Stimulus money --- but
funds used to "balance" the budget included $8.4 million
from the Fund Balance . It was reported that
approximately $31.5 million would be left in the Fund Balance
---- so the amount that our School had in the Fund Balance
would appear to be near $40 million . This amount held is in
addition to the $10 million plus or minus in the Township Fund Balance
each year. (The required Township buffer is $2.5 million.) It
would appear that balancing our budget was possible because of funds
that were over-taxed in prior years. With 21,000 households in the
Township, as much as 2000 or more per household would
represent a figure of $40-$50 million. Some of the monies are
possibly being held for projects in the budget awaiting payment -
but what amount exactly falls under that category. When as
much as 10 million is readily accessible to balance a budget ( or
for other unspecified purposes) some questions arise. Is this an appropriate amount
to be holding and what was the stated purpose of these funds when
taxes were being raised to acquire them ?
In the article in the Times Chronicle one Board member
suggests that other districts will have to pass on to their
taxpayers major increases to support the "massive increases in
pension costs" . Our Fund Balance, he says, leaves us
prepared, he hopes to avoid that . OK - so if you over
tax early and hold on to our money, then you won't have to tax
us when a problem arises....? In Abington, as many as 12%
qualify for the school lunch program. I'm not sure how many
families overall are families struggling in these economic times
among those in the community this Board member serves, but
personally I believe that Abington residents would prefer to
have had their taxes reduced early on, and increased only as
serious, specified need arose.
What amount do we anticipate might be used for pension costs ? And
what amount is stated by law, or by policy or other decree, if any, to be held as a buffer?
These are additional questions still to answer.
_________
The Superintendent's salary & other increases
6-09 The superintendent's new salary of $238,000, receiving a (10%
?) raise and a 10 % bonus ( which was reported in 08 in a
taped interview as being higher than that of the Mayor of
Philadelphia and that of the Governor of PA ) has been an item
for discussion as both the township and school struggle to balance
budgets in economic hard times. One item cited as a kudo
warranting the salary was the obtaining of a grant for the TV
station. But the TV station grant monies "obtained" came from
the Township and out of the pockets of the residents of Abington, (those who have cable contributed to the
funds from whence the grant derived ) & the Township's
treasury is now offset by the monies that went to the School . Attempts to get the channel underway for substantially
less with existing equipment were continually denied.
In addition to salary raises and
bonuses that do not reflect the hard economic times or the fact that
many residents have experienced cuts in salary or lay-offs, our tax
collector appeared before the Board to request --- and receive--- an
inflation rider for his fees. As of this writing, we have not
been able to even calculate all of the costs of collecting our taxes
township-wide (meaning for both School & Township). From the
budget book it is not clear to the average resident, though the
answer might lie in there somewhere if we were to hire
an accountant. A request to the Commissioner, tax office and others
produced pieces of the puzzle. And we have been offered the audit-
which we hope to take a look at. But the entire picture while
not clear shows an office staff , a tax collector, & some additional
agencies making what seem to be adequate or more than adequate
amounts . So in this year of economic uncertainty, taping into a
fund balance to offer these salaries and guarantees is a practice
that might deserve more scrutiny.
______________
Advertising On Our Channel
Allowing any kind of advertising at all on
your access channel can be a very slippery slope. In 2008
our educational channel aired an RTI segment which did less to
explain what was happening in Abington Schools ( an interview
with staff or other Abington personnel would have been much more
informative ) and more to just promote RTI like any typical
commercial. In 2008 or early 2009 a "Commercial " for one of the
elementary schools was made. Is that really how we want
educational dollars spent? Do we want to know about the
real progress and challenges - or do we want PR? In 2009
a local bank who is a generous sponsor of local activities was
allowed air time that really can only be viewed, in my opinion,
as advertising. ALL sponsors - large & small - should
get equal billing in alphabetical order - or you create a
situation where dollars make the difference about who is on the air.
This is an educational channel . It is important that we guard
against such use. The struggle to get our meetings aired went
on for years. If commercial interests ( and yes - non-profits
are businesses, too) are allowed access in any way to our channel,
it will not be possible for our voices to be heard. We have no way
of competing with that. Without hearing the information from
meetings or other important presentations, we have no way to really
know whom to vote in or out. Far fewer people will see the
finances or know the issues. We have no forum to hear each other's
voices. We have 900 other channels for "entertainment" and
commercial use. It is important to safeguard the few "channels
of communication" that we have where our individual voices can
be heard and some oversight of our processes can be had.
_______________________
Using School Facilities for Political Purposes
Despite a policy directing no use of School property for political
purposes, this policy was put aside by School board members to allow
multiple political addresses in 2008. While all of us recognize
the value of our children's involvement in the political process,
there is a strong sentiment by many about the putting aside of
policies in such a fashion. Some have expressed that, just as
policies should not be created without ample input and discussion by
& with residents, they also should not be changed without the
same due process. However much may be gained from the
experience for our young people, the question has been asked if the
same gain could have been realized had the students attended
at another local venue, such as at a local college, without the
negative precedent of our schools being used for political purposes
and of policies being put aside without due process.
This site is a forum for information sharing and idea sharing.
Please feel free to contact
us .
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