Alcohol and college life

This year, The Princeton Review named Penn State the #1 Party School in America.

"This American Life" does a great job of looking at just what this means while investigating drinking at college.

Be careful; listening may change your perspective.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=396

Thank you!

I am very appreciate of the support I received from you for election to the Delaware Valley School Board. Thank you, and I look forward to continued collaboration regarding the present and future educational needs of our district and community. Please stay involved.

Vote for the first FOUR (and Charles Pike)

Here is the official order of the candidates on the Nov 3, 2009 ballot:

Delaware Valley School District School Director
(Vote for not more than FOUR)

Pam Lutfy (Democratic/Republican)
Sue Schor (Democratic/Republican)
Jack Fisher (Democratic/Republican)
Bill Greenlaw (Democratic)
Robert Goldsack (Republican)

Vote counts from the primary:

Pam Lutfy (1,337 total votes)
Sue Schor (1,269 total votes)
Jack Fisher (1,132 total votes)
Bill Greenlaw (1,106 total votes)
Robert Goldsack ( 674 total votes)

For those that care about political parties: ALL the candidates in this school board race are registered Republicans.

Three of the candidates prevailed in both primaries, the other two candidates rounded out the field of four in the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Please ask all your Republican friends NOT to select the party line vote option, but to vote for the BEST candidates in the school board race.

PA law allows School Board candidates (and candidates for the Court of Common Pleas) to petition to be put on the ballot in the Democratic and Republican primary, regardless of the party affiliation of the candidate. Pennsylvania considers these offices as non-political All of the candidates sought to be listed on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballot.

Charles Pike is the only candidate on the ballot for the two year slot, so it looks like Chuck will be on the DV School Board starting in December. Early Congratulations to Chuck!

Get your absentee ballot aplication NOW!

There is less than a week left to get your absentee ballot application done! If you will not be in the County on November 3, apply for an absentee ballot.

The application must be received by the Board of Elections (in Pike County) by Tuesday October 27, 2009.

After the application is in, they will mail you a ballot. Vote and return the ballot.

You can cast one of the first votes for Greenlaw, Lutfy, Schor, Pike, and Fisher.

A link to absentee ballot applications (and other election information) can be found here: http://www.futureofpikecounty.org/Elections.html

Merit Pay

There is an interesting discussion of merit pay at the Education Sector's "The Quick and the ED" blog.

The blog entry highlights a couple of perspectives on merit pay:

• "money is an ineffective motivational tool" for encouraging effective teachers.
  

and, seemingly conversely, another view:

• While beginning teacher turnover can be high, rewarding effective teaching may help "to make sure that it’s your most effective teachers who are least likely to quit"

The blogger feels that these perspectives may not be inconsistent:

• "I don’t think there’s really much distance between these perspectives. Professionals engaged in creative work are more likely to be motivated by autonomy, and by the feeling that they are part of a larger, socially important enterprise, and by working for an organization that employs other similarly-minded professionals, and by being paid well. Successful organizations put all of these pieces together, because if they don’t, someone else will and hire away all the good people."
• "To recruit and retain good teachers, schools need a lot more than merit pay–they need strong leadership, good facilities, safe working conditions, and the right kind of organizational culture. You can’t paper over the lack of those things by simply tacking on a salary bonus, even a big one, to the existing steps-and-lanes pay scale. That’s what most most “merit pay” plans have been, historically, and that’s why they haven’t worked."
  

The comments on this blog entry are interesting. On commenter indicates s/he has "served as a consultant to labor unions and a middle manager supervising unionized workers." The commenter makes the point that successful merit based systems should have bargaining unit buy-in and the the administration must be seen as an entity that will not abuse the system:

• "The Denver ProComp system has survived, despite its struggles, in part because many Denver teachers saw the school superintendent (now a U.S. Senator) as a good-faith CEO who would block abuses of a performance pay system. The union’s participation in designing ProComp gave them a comfort level in supporting it."

I agree. For a merit-based system to be effective all stakeholders must participate in the design and it must be administered in a way that is seen as fair and impartial.

Pike County Press Exclusive: Senator Baker Speaks On Budget Impasse

Posted by Vic on Aug 27th, 2009 and filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Baker: “It’s what Governor Rendell has always done; create a crisis to get what he wants.”

Story and Phot By Pat Camuso

HARRISBURG- Last week a Republican effort in the Pennsylvania State Senate failed to override some of Governor Ed Rendell’s line-item vetoes within the proposed budget; this, as negotiations languish and the budget stalemate continues. On Friday, the Pike County Press caught up to State Senator Lisa Baker (R-20) who said she will not compromise the personal values that got her elected by yielding to Rendell’s political gamesmanship.

In July, the Governor vetoed almost $13 billion in spending as he approved $4 billion to pay state workers during the budget impasse.

Baker explained that in hope of keeping essential and time-sensitive core government functions funded without interruption while budget negotiations continue, the Senate on Wednesday considered overrides of some of Rendell’s line-item vetoes but, according to Baker, these efforts failed categorically – blocked by Senate Democrats – falling 3 votes short and along partisan lines with one exception. According to Baker, Senator Lisa Boscola (D-18) was the only Democrat to vote along with Republicans for the overrides.

The vote to override a governor’s veto required a two-thirds majority. With one vacancy in the Senate, 33 “yes” votes were needed to approve an override. If an override was approved in the Senate, it would have been sent to the General Assembly for consideration. If the General Assembly also overrode a line-item veto, the funding would have been made immediately available.

According to Baker, among the line items voted on were several which the Governor vetoed despite the fact that Senate Bill 850 funded them at exactly the amount he recommended:

• Assistance to Drug & Alcohol Programs, $41.8 million
• Homeless Assistance, $25.6 million
• State Food Purchase (Food Banks), $18.0 million
• Domestic Violence, $12.5 million
• Rape Crisis, $7.1 million
• Veterans’ Educational Assistance, $7.0 million
• Farmers’ Market Food Coupons, $2.2 million
• Veterans’ Outreach Services, $1.7 million
• Veterans Assistance, $428,000
• Disabled Veterans Transportation, $350,000

Baker said that an override vote also took place on several additional line items under which the lack of state funding is having an immediate and dramatic negative impact on Pennsylvania residents, including:

• County Child Welfare, $1.04 billion
• PHEAA Grants to Students, $386.2 million
• Child Care Assistance, $198.1 million
• Child Care Services, $159.8 million
• Community Mental Retardation Programs, $158.4 million
• Children’s Health Insurance, $86.9 million

Baker explained that given a record $3.2 billion deficit, spending is at the core of the budget impasse. “The biggest disagreement in this budget is that the Republicans are proposing less spending than the Governor is,” said Baker. “If we don’t reign in spending now, we are going to be in bigger trouble in the future. There are many line-item vetoes that we can agree on; the crux of it is coming to terms with that billion to a billion and a half dollars in greater spending that he [Governor] wants.

“The Republican Senate’s core principles have been: less spending than last year; no broad-based tax increase; and a spending plan that takes into account the sustainability of stimulus money.”

Baker explained that because of our tough economic times people across the Commonwealth are tightening their belts and reigning in their spending practices as they face many financial challenges. “They [citizens] believe that the government has an obligation to reign in spending,” said Baker. “They certainly aren’t interested in a broad-based personal income tax.”

“My frustration with Governor Rendell is that initially he was leveraging state workers forcing them to go without paychecks; he has now traded state workers for vulnerable citizens who rely on programs and services.” Baker laid out a laundry list of state and state-funded county programs and services – people – that she believes are being used as hostages by Rendell to give him an advantage in the budget debate.

“They are being leveraged,” said Baker “It’s what Governor Rendell has always done; create a crisis to get what he wants.”

The Governor was unavailable for comment at press time but is on the record as saying that he was happy with Senate Democrats who blocked the override attempts while urging everyone to return to the negotiating table. Rendell contends that a tax increase is necessary because of shortfalls in state revenue and critical increases in public school funding.

Full PSSA Results released?

Breaking news: PSSA results will be released erlier than ever, in stark contrast (and probably in part due) to the fact that the Pennsylvania budget is well overdue.

From yesterday's press release by the Pennsylvania Department of Education:

“Pennsylvania’s investments in increasing student achievement are working, and for the sake of our economic future we cannot afford to lose momentum now,” Secretary of Education Gerald L. Zahorchak said. “The last stage of any race is the hardest, and we need to accelerate our progress in helping the toughest-to-reach students succeed in the classroom.”

Governor Rendell’s proposed budget would build on student success by continuing to fund schools using a six-year formula enacted by the General Assembly last year. The formula, crafted as a result of the legislature’s “Costing-Out Report,” is intended to ensure all schools have the tools needed to bring all students to proficiency while minimizing the burden on local property taxpayers.

Interestingly, the results have not been posted anywhere yet. When the results are posted I will confirm this link and offer assessment of the DVSD performance. Of particular interest will be the grade 11 Reading and Math scores and some of the subgroup scores. We will see if the disparity between the DV schools in some elementary school grades has eased or increased from last year.

Educational news from outside the district

Two news items from Pennsylvania:

• The Hatboro-Horsham School District in Pennsylvania is in the midst of teacher contract negotiations. The district is in suburban Philadelphia. A Philadelphia Courier-Times article highlights some of the concerns on both sides. The district is attempting to change to a more merit pay type of compensation. The union would like to keep things the way they are with 5+% effective increases each year. Take some time to looks at the proposals and see how far apart the sides are. There is a Q&A discussion of the plans, probably posted by the district. It will be interesting to see what the final contract looks like.
• In a Pittsburgh Post gazette article: "Legislature may consider 1% sales tax plan" the latest plan to allow counties to impose a 1% sales tax is discussed. The plan has not evolved much in the past few months, and there does not seem to be provisions for helping ease the school tax portion of property taxes:

  "if a county does increase its sales tax by 1 percent, half the new revenue would go into county coffers, and the county would have to use some of it to reduce property taxes.

  Another 40 percent of the additional sales tax revenue would be split among the municipalities in the county; and the rest would go for "collaborative services," such as joint police operations, equipment purchasing and regional booking centers."

It would be interesting to see how counties would adopt and deal with a 1% property tax.

High School Graduation Exams

There is an ongoing controversy about High School graduation requirements in Pennsylvania. The Governor's budget includes over $200 million to develop state graduation exams in English, math, science and social studies. School districts and local boards (including DVSD) has protested that expenditure and the possibility of yet more mandated tests.

An article in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette indicates that rather than requiring districts to adopt the new graduation exams the following options may be available to demonstrate competency for High School Graduation:

• Students could pass at least six of the 10 exams, one each from science and social studies and two each from English and math.

• Schools could count scores from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests for comparable subjects.

• Schools could require students to pass state-validated local assessments.

• Students could complete a locally designed academic project if the student fails a Keystone or state-validated local assessment.

Some of the tests could replace some 11th grade PSSAs if approved by the federal government, but there would be more standardized tests than present in any case.

I have never heard the answer to this question: Why is it necessary to have an separate graduation requirement test? Why not improve the PSSAs, and use them along with the existing graduation requiremnts?

I believe the answer would cause state officials to acknowledge that the PSSAs are not a very good measurement tool.

What are your thoughts? Who and how should one determine if a student has demonstrated competency for High School graduation? Who should set the requirements and what should they be?

Breaking PA budget news...

The new budget proposal by the Pennsylvania Republicans announced today looks much like the previous Senate Bill 850 for education.

A comparison of:

• the original budget proposed by the Governor (which is what DVSD planned on when passing the "0%" tax increase for 2009-2010),
  
• the revised Governor's proposal,
  
• the original Senate Bill 850 (which would result in a $2 million shortfall at DVSD, what I estimate to be the equivalent of an approximately 5.2% in increased property taxes) and
  
• the new Republican proposal (HRAC1)
  

...shows that the two sides are far apart on educational funding.

There is actually LESS money for education than in Senate Bill 850 in some areas.

Education starts on page 5 of the comparison.

I think it is far past time for the DVSD board to plan cuts to take us to a true 0% tax increase.

We will see what happens this Tuesday 7/14/2009 at the board budget meeting and this Thursday 7/16/2009 the regular DVSD Board meeting.We need to deal with this situation and stop pretending we will get all the funding in the DVSD budget. We will certainly be short. The only responsible path is it develop a list of cuts and enact them when the final PA budget passes.

What do you think the DVSD school directors should do? Wait? Take action? Keep hoping and do nothing?

Goldsack Resigns (again); Civil Lawsuit Filed; Auditors Sue County

Goldsack Speaks About Resignation (Pike County Courier)

Former Director of Elections Yolanda Goldsack spoke out at the Commissioners Meeting this week with a prepared statement that indicated she no longer wants another County position after resigning from her old one. She blasted the Pike County Democratic Committee for what she described was an orchestrated strategy to create distrust in the elections system, and criticized the County Commissioners for not defending her after she was told she could not respond to the perceived attacks. She vowed to set the record straight in the coming weeks. 

Civil rights suit filed against Pike County (PoconoNews.net)

Dawn Metzger, former Director of Pike County Children and Youth services, filed a federal civil lawsuit against the County this week. She claims that the County violated her rights to free speech because she was immediately suspended and then fired after she reported Commissioner Harry Forbes to a state agency for inappropriately interfering in a particular case. County Solicitor Tom Farely expressed confidence the case would not get far. 

Pike Commissioners Subpoenaed by Auditors and Win Lawsuit (Pike County Press)

The Pike County Auditors have used a court order to obtain documents pertaining to 2008 grants they claim were not provided by the County. Auditor Tom Foran says the County had two weeks to comply and did not. 

In a separate legal case, the auditors won a lawsuit against the County after they were denied an extension to complete this year's audit (as they have for the past several years). 

Commissioner Rich Caridi said the cost of extending the deadline to last year's date in October would cost the County over $100,000. Pike County President Judge Joseph Kameen ruled in favor of the auditors saying, "The commissioners have not cited to a single factual example of auditor impropriety, delay, misfeasance or indolence in support of their claim."

Local Government Should Embrace Technology

A national online town hall meeting on healthcare reform and the expansion of USAspending.gov last week are examples, at the federal level, of great advances that are being made to increase government transparency and civic participation through the use of the Internet and new technology. The potential benefit of using these tools and practices on the local level is even greater.

Recently, the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department launched an impressive new Web site that will eventually host interactive crime mapping, a great resource to increase public safety. The Delaware Valley School Board debuted a feature called “BoardDocs” in May, which allows the public to download meeting agendas and other documents, some of which have previously been inaccessible. These are promising strides in the right direction in using technology for the public good.

Still, there is much room for improvement. Case in point: forget Twitter or Facebook, try finding the email address of your local elected official online, no less an annual budget, public meeting schedule or meeting minutes. These resources should be the rule, not the exception. But why stop there? An emergency text-message alert system (Wayne) and digital campaign finance reports (Allegheny) are two examples of other advances Pennsylvania counties have recently made.

According to the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pike is in the minority of counties without a dedicated Information Technology director. Perhaps if such a position is created, the director can implement a long-term strategy, working with the municipalities, to ensure we make progress in this area.

Though resources will have to be allocated for this purpose, I think the real question is one of priority: whether greater transparency and participation should become goals at every level of our democracy. Once the infrastructure is established, maintenance costs would be relatively low. In the end, expenses incurred will be a worthwhile investment in a better-informed public and a more accountable government.

One of the take-home lessons from the annual Personal Democracy Forum I attended last week was this: we will stifle innovation if we expect or demand an infallible government; we must allow our public officials to try new things and take action, even if the result is not perfect. But progress must be made because, as time goes on, the status quo becomes increasingly unacceptable in this Information Age.

Check out these other County Web sites:

Westmoreland County
Butler County

Some Positive PSSA results

There were some early PSSA results that list DVSD as a top performer in some areas.

I believe in celebrating good news, and there certainly seems to be some in the preliminary PSSA results. This does not mean that we can sit back and relax. These numbers look good, but the entire PSSA results have not been released yet. The math scores for 11th grade may still be a problem and there still may be areas of concern when you look at subgroups, even in the areas that we did comparatively well.

When the entire PSSA results are released you should be able to find them on PA's site: http://paayp.emetric.net/District/Overview/c52/120522003?schoolID=

On another blog, I responded to a commenter: I am not sure if you are referring to my comments, Anonymous, but be assured that I spoke up when the budget was adopted and voiced my concern for the $2 million in unfunded spending that is still not funded. A director asked what cuts I would make and I indicated that deferring some of the new curriculum and cutting back on some technology purchases as was outlined in "plan B" would be a place to start. The board passed the $70 million budget without the votes of the two sitting directors that I am running with. We advocated reducing the budget and presenting the actual tax increase that will hit property owners if PA does not pass the entire education budget, which few believe will happen at this point.

There are still many unknowns. It is unknown if PA will fund DVSD as anticipated in the budget that was passed by the board. There is likely to be a shortfall, and the board will have to reduce expenditures. The board may to consider a tax increase for THIS year. Next year will likely be tougher, no matter what the outcome is this year.

While this is gloomy, I am not sure what else I, as an individual citizen, could have done to encourage cutting expenditures and present the potential tax increase. The equivalent tax increase if we do not get the $2 million that has not been passed by PA is 6% according to the district superintendent. I believe that she was excluding the use of some reserve money in her calculation as I calculated a 5.2% effective increase with the use of the reserve money. So much for the "0%" touted by some of the candidates this year! Even without the $2 million, PA has increased their contribution to DVSD by 11% over last year! We need to do a better job at scrutinizing expenditures.

There were two candidates that voted "No" twice, Sue Schor and Pam Lutfy. They advocated for reducing expenditures and making an effort to get to a true 0% tax increase. If I were on the board I would have voted "No" also, and joined them.

This can all pretty confusing for those that do not have the time to attend the board meetings. If you have specific concerns, feel free to contact me directly at wegreenlaw@gmail.com or post a specific question here or as a comment here.

The candidates on the slate that I am on do care about the citizens of the district and their views.

I believe that the current board, and its leadership:
-did not try hard enough to make cuts
-has been getting lots more money from the state in the past few years
-has deluding itself in thinking it is managing the budget well.

I think we can do better. I believe that we need to pay more attention to each line in the budget, we need to look at variances during the year, and we need to budget on a five year plan. We are certain to have challenges ahead when we will be required to adequately fund the pension plan.

When there is good news we should celebrate it. Don't misread me, some good news does not mean all is well, but it does mean that we should understand what we did right, and improve on that.

Evaluating our Schools

Recently Secretary of Education for the United States, Arne Duncan, addressed the largest teacher's union in the country, the NEA. He addressed many of the challenges and opportunities for educational improvement in America. Merit pay and student testing were two of his topics. I found his discussion of data interesting:

"Now let's talk about data. I understand that word can make people nervous but I see data first and foremost as a barometer. It tells us what is happening. Used properly, it can help teachers better understand the needs of their students. Too often, teachers don't have good data to inform instruction and help raise student achievement.

Data can also help identify and support teachers who are struggling. And it can help evaluate them. The problem is that some states prohibit linking student achievement and teacher effectiveness."

He goes on to discuss standardized testing as data, specifically, data that may be used to evaluate teachers:

"I understand that tests are far from perfect and that it is unfair to reduce the complex, nuanced work of teaching to a simple multiple choice exam. Test scores alone should never drive evaluation, compensation or tenure decisions. That would never make sense. But to remove student achievement entirely from evaluation is illogical and indefensible."

Secretary Duncan then suggests a path forward:

"It's time we all admit that just as our testing system is deeply flawed—so is our teacher evaluation system—and the losers are not just the children. When great teachers are unrecognized and unrewarded—when struggling teachers are unsupported—and when failing teachers are unaddressed—the teaching profession is damaged.

We need to work together to fix this and I will meet you more than halfway. I will demand the same of every principal, administrator, school board member, elected official and parent. I ask only the same of you that I ask of myself and others."

He echos my philosophy well. Sitting back and saying that our standardized tests are not good enough is easy. Advocating for or against merit pay is easy. Getting the differing sides and stakeholders to come together and solve these problems is tough.

We need to open that dialog and realize that data is a four letter word, but it is one that we need to use, and not cover our ears when we hear it. Sure, data can be used inappropriately, and we tend to focus on what we can measure, but the alternative to using data is willful ignorance. We need to embrace methods to understand where we excel and where we are not effective. With good data we should be able to tailor curriculum, lesson plans, and teaching methods to improve the efficacy of our teaching. We should not be afraid to discover what works well, and what does not work.

We need to ensure that we use the data that we have is used its fullest while advocating for tests that provide more useful information and shaping the improved measurement systems of the future.

We need to remind ourselves that we all have a common goal of efficiently educating our students and providing them with the core competencies that they will use to be effective lifelong learners. We all benefit when our students are well educated.

Have a Happy Fourth!

Last week's storm hit many of the local businesses hard. If you have visitors this weekend, or just have not strolled around the town of Milford lately, consider walking around downtown. Have a mini vacation just by spending a few hours and eating a meal locally. From Noon to 5pm on the Fourth there are activities planned in downtown Milford. We need to support our local businesses!

Please encourage celebrating responsibly. I vividly remember the hand of the vice principal of my high school which was missing a few fingers from an accident involving fireworks. Be careful while driving as the roads will have heavy traffic and distracted drivers.

I'd encourage you and your family to take some time and read the Declaration of Independence again, or watch it being read on video:
A reading of the Declaration by members of the 1998 Supreme Court.
A phrase by phrase discussion of the Declaration

It is also a convenient time to re-read the the Constitution.

Have a great Fourth of July celebration!

Statement from PCDC

The following is a release sent from the PIke County Democratic Committee regarding the recent resignation of Yolanda Goldsack as Director of Elections in Pike County:

The Pike County Democratic Committee has issued the following statement:

“Yolanda Goldsack’s decision to resign as Director of Elections is an act of service to Pike County’s voters,” said Julius Litman, Chairperson of the Pike County Democratic Committee (PCDC). Litman went on to say that during the more than two years that Mrs. Goldsack has held this position, Pike County Democrats have warned repeatedly against the corrupting conflict of interest represented by her presence as Director of Elections, even as these protestations fell on the deaf ears of the County’s Board of Commissioners. According to Elizabeth Forrest, the county’s State Committeewoman to the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee, ”Recent events have not only demonstrated the accuracy of our predictions of trouble during the 2009 election cycle, but have caused many in Republican and Independent ranks to echo our concerns.”

The PCDC wishes Mrs. Goldsack well and hopes that the transfer she seeks to another County position will be a better fit for her and for taxpayers. In order to regain the trust of Pike County’s voters, the PCDC is confident that the Board of Commissioners will publicly advertise for and actively seek a variety of qualified candidates in order to avoid any further suspicion of cronyism or patronage in a job that must be wholly non-partisan, both in practice and appearance. It is the PCDC’s fervent hope that the position of Director of Elections will be filled only after careful consideration and evaluation of candidates based on merit, proven experience, and tested professionalism. Forrest said, “The complexities of election law make it imperative that we find a candidate, regardless of party, who can execute its requirements with confidence and accuracy.” Both Litman and Forrest stated that the PCDC stands ready to cooperate with the new Director of Elections whoever he or she may be.

###

On Our Radar: PCPL Tax Referendum

The Pike County Public Library, facing increasing demand and limited resources, is seeking to ask voters this November for a 1-mill dedicated library tax. Funding for the Library from the County has not increased in about a decade, and as a result, neither has that from the state. The Library requested the Pike County Commissioners place a referendum on the fall ballot, but the Commissioners denied the request last week. Forbes and Caridi reasoned that forcing the library to take the alternative means to get the question on the ballot, by collecting 800 signatures on a petition, would raise awareness about the issue so that citizens are not caught by surprise. Wagner disagreed, according the Pike County Dispatch, but still voted against it.

The library will be taking this route, and our committee looks forward to meeting with library representatives in the near future to discuss the issue. What do you think? Is this something the Future of Pike County PAC should support?

Delaware Township Embraces Sunshine Law

In a move that should be applauded, the Delaware Township Supervisors approved a resolution last Wednesday that would move public comment to the beginning of their meetings and prohibit gatherings with third parties unless it is publicly advertised. The Dispatch's Lisa Mickles reports that work sessions will also be moved from the back offices of the township building to the main hall. The changes will move the township toward compliance with the Sunshine Act and toward greater transparency and accountability.

The Tie is Broken!

The tie on the Republican side of the ballot was broken today at noon.

For the play by play, see Ryan Baton's blog, RBforDV.

There will be 5 candidates vying for 4 seats in November. Pam Lutfy, Sue Schor, Jack Fisher, Bill Greenlaw and Bob Goldsack will be on the ballot November 3, 2009.

Chuck Pike will be the only candidate on the ballot for the 2-yr slot.

An update was published in the on-line edition of the Pike County Courier, and the Pike County Dispatch.

This November...

REMEMBER...

...EVERY vote counts!

Do we encourage effective teachers?

"The Widget Effect", a study by The New Teacher Project was released yesterday.

From the press release:

Though a teacher’s effectiveness is singularly important to student success, schools do not distinguish great teaching from good, good from fair, or fair from poor, and a teacher’s effectiveness in helping students to succeed academically almost never factors into critical decisions such as how teachers are hired, developed or retained.

This pervasive indifference to teacher performance is fundamentally disrespectful to teachers and gambles with the lives of students. It means that excellent teaching goes unrecognized, hard-working teachers who could improve are ignored, and poor performance goes unaddressed.

The study illustrates that teacher evaluation systems reflect and codify the “Widget Effect”—the tendency of school districts to treat teachers as essentially interchangeable—in several major ways:

• All teachers are rated “good” or “great.” Less than 1 percent of teachers receive unsatisfactory ratings, even in schools where students fail to meet basic academic standards, year after year.
• Excellence goes unrecognized. In districts with more than two ratings, 94 percent of teachers receive one of the top two. When superlative ratings are the norm, truly exceptional teachers cannot be formally identified. Nor can they be compensated, promoted or retained on a systemic basis.
• Professional development is inadequate. Almost 3 in 4 teachers did not receive any specific feedback on improving their performance in their last evaluation.
• Novice teachers are neglected. Low expectations for beginning teachers translate into benign neglect in the classroom and a toothless tenure process.
• Poor performance goes unaddressed. Half of the districts studied have not dismissed a single tenured teacher for poor performance in the past five years. None dismiss more than a few each year.

Please visit the site and read more about the study. I think there is much here that can generate good discussions about how to encourage more effective teachers. Teachers, students, and the community will all benefit from efforts to encourage effective teachers.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

May Campaign Finance Reports

After many issues at the County administration building, we were able to obtain copies of campaign finance reports from all candidates and committees that are involved in the DV School Board Election for the reporting period before the primary election. We will continue this practice in the future, as additional reports become available. 

• Candidate Bob Goldsack
  
• Committee to Elect Goldsack, Marasa, and Wright
• Committee for Education and Economic Balance
• Future of Pike County Political Action Committee
• Download All

At the May 13 Commissioners Meeting, County Solicitor Tom Farley stated among other things that the requester of the above documents, Nick Troiano, was not permitted by the County to post these public reports online. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania only prohibits the publication of "public information lists" on the Internet, such as voter registration roles. But Solcitior Farley said that “[the County has] the right to say also campaign finance reports.” He also stated: “we as a county have the right to say we don’t want certain information on the Internet” and “we have that one restriction, and we can do that restriction.” 

Such a "restriction" would violate the Right to Know Act and the First Amendment of the Constitution. 

Perhaps that's why the Solicitor recalled differently. A 5/24/09 Times Herald Record article reported: “Farely says he didn’t tell Troiano he couldn’t put the documents on the Web, just that the County preferred he didn’t.” 

You decide if the County handled this situation professionally or ethically. Instead of restricting access to public information and prohibiting its dissemination, Pike County officials should follow Allegheny County and just post the records online themselves. We should strive for more transparency and more accountability. The Internet can facilitate this. 

From the Times-Herald Record:

• News Article - "After Dispute, Pike Man Allowed to Keep Campaign Documents"
  
• Editorial -  "Obey the Law, Don't Make It"
  

Common Core State Standards Initiative

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today released the names of the states and territories that have joined the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Pennsylvania and 48 other states and US territories have joined the Initiative.

• According to a press release by The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO):

"By signing on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, governors and state commissioners of education across the country are committing to joining a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. These standards will be research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, aligned with college and work expectations and include rigorous content and skills."

• Purpose of the Initiative:

"The Common Core State Standards Initiative is being jointly led by the NGA Center and CCSSO in partnership with Achieve, Inc., ACT, and the College Board. It builds directly on recent efforts of leading organizations and states that have focused on developing college-and career-ready standards and ensures that these standards can be internationally benchmarked to top-performing countries around the world. The goal is to have a common core of state standards that states can voluntarily adopt. States may choose to include additional standards beyond the common core"

• Committee composition and timing:

"This committee will be composed of nationally and internationally recognized and trusted education experts who are neutral to – and independent of – the process. The college and career ready standards are expected to be completed in July 2009. The grade-by-grade standards work is expected to be completed in December 2009. "

• We will watch this effort and see what this will mean to the patchwork quilt of state tests under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and for DVSD, the PSSA. United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan indicates that he belives that the state initiated standardized tests are not always adequate, and that the Initiative has his support:

Secretary Arne Duncan praised the effort to create common core state standards in math and language arts. “This is a giant step,” he said of the initiative, which includes 46 states and 3 territories and is being led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Secretary of Education Speaks at the National Press Club

Secretary Arne Duncan discussed President Obama’s education agenda in a speech at the National Press Club on May 29, 2009.

A video of the speech is at the National Press Club’s website. Here are text excerpts from the speech.

I found the following excerpts particually interesting:

• You should not be comforted by meeting state standards under NCLB:
  

"When children are told they are “meeting a state standard,” the logical assumption for that child or for that parent is to think they are on-track to be successful. But because these standards have been dummied down and lowered so much in so many places, when a child is “meeting the state standard” they are in fact barely able to graduate from high school."

• A call for transparency, access to information, and data analysis, some of my passions:

"We have to be transparent about our data. We have to raise the bar so that every child knows on every step of their educational trajectory what they’re going to do."

• Assessing and correcting deficiencies. This is fundamental to improvement:

"You should know in fifth and sixth and seventh and eighth grade what your strengths are, what you weaknesses are. And we should be working with teachers and parents, and students should be taking responsibility for their own education to really improve where they have deficiencies, where they have weaknesses."

• How Chicago was able to turn around some of their under-performing schools:
  

"We kept the children and brought in new teams of adults – same children, same families, same socioeconomic challenges, same neighborhoods, same buildings, different set of expectations, different set of beliefs. And what we saw was dramatic changes."

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day please remember the fallen heroes of our armed forces.

We each have our own way to commemorate these men and women.

The Boston Globe's online feature, "The Big Picture," brings a glimpse of some of these commemorations.

Please follow the link, and remember the meaning of the day.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/memorial_day_2009.html

Bring to the Polls

You can download and print this flyer to bring it with you to the polls on Tuesday.

Join Us at the Polls

Can you spare some time on Tuesday to volunteer at the polls?

Take a moment to fill out this volunteer form and RSVP to the Facebook invitation.

Volunteers will greet voters and hand out a Future of Pike County voter information card.

Even if you can't volunteer, make sure to vote!

Students Show Support

Short Term Comfort, Long Term Problems

Fiscal discipline is unpopular!!

Stimulants make a human or corporate body feel good temporarily, although easy to swallow they blur reality. They also lead to massive hangovers.

The inclusion in the Plan A of the 2009/10 Delaware Valley School District Budget of federal stimulants at first made everyone on the DV school board giddy with "hope". Millions of dollars to spend without consequence or pain. Last night we witnessed board members in the depths of despair, an almost depression like response, to the news that less stimulant was coming. The hangover is next. Parents be prepared!!!. Everyone has locked unbreakable contracts except your children. Board member Wrobleski constantly reminded the audience that full day kindergarten is not state mandated. Taxpayer United candidates in the past have railed against athletic programs all of which are not state mandated. Many other programs like transportation to and from school is not totally state funded or mandated.

A true fiscal conservative, as I am, would never have allowed the stimulant into the budgetary system. Artificial stimulants like steroids look good in the short run but kill your vital components rapidly. A good looking corpse is still not alive.

The need for a long term multi-year approach to budgeting has never been more clear at the Delaware Valley School District. Removal of the stimulant and hard choices about what is necessary in the budget would have shown more clearly the financial situation at DV.

Instead the DV School Board drank the kool-aid and are asking all the taxpayers to do the same.

I say resist .

Best regards,

JACK FISHER - Candidate for Delaware Valley School Board

SHAM! SHAME!

Sham! Shame!

Following tonight’s Delaware Valley School Board meeting, I am compelled to compose this letter to the citizens of Pike County. I am ashamed that Board members who voted affirmatively for the 2009-2010 school budget believe the citizens of this county to be idiots!

When you wake up tomorrow, you may hear that the DV Board passed a school budget with a “0% tax increase.” BIG SHAM!

This so called “0% tax increase budget” was calculated with “stimulus fund money” that has NOT yet been provided to our district and possibly may never be provided as pointed out by the very same members who voted for the budget! This is one of the biggest deceptions that I have yet encountered. To tell Pike County citizens that this budget has a 0% tax increase when in actuality it may cost the taxpayers anywhere between a 2.5% to a 4.0% in increased taxes is unconscionable. I for one refuse to be associated with this ridiculous fabrication. Using stimulus money, which we do not have to “balance” a budget is highly unprofessional and indicative of an attitude of profound indifference to a fragile business community and suffering home owners.

DV Board incumbents and candidates (Silverstone, Goldsack, Marasa, Wright) recently sent a letter to Pike County residents promising they will provide a 0% increase to the taxpayers. Gee, after the election, do you think they will raise taxes to balance the “real” budget? I remember this happening when a former Board member ran for the office of Commissioner. A week after losing the election, the budget was re-opened and the taxes were increased. Interesting how history repeats itself.

Our country is in its worst shape since the Great Depression and our local educational leaders are the last to get it! Locally, The Pike County food pantry has an alarming demand. Jobs in Pike County are disappearing daily. Businesses are closing their doors. Apartments sit empty. The department of Public Welfare has never been so busy. There are no summer jobs for college students.

And it’s a time to raise taxes???

How dare this Board show such disrespect to this community! Citizens deserve the truth. The real facts of the budget must be revealed and citizens must demand transparency from all Board members. Budgets must be based upon real monies, not reckless gambling behavior.

NEVER have I been so embarrassed to be a member of the DV Board. Never have I been so insulted at the disrespect shown for the taxpayers in our county. Often, I hear administrators and Board members lament that parents need to learn how to say no to their children. I think the time has come when Board members need to say no to the requests of the administration and more importantly public citizens need to say no! no! no! to Board member's shameful actions.

I do NOT support a tax increase. But as a matter of integrity I would rather present an HONEST budget revealing the hidden tax increase than to present a LIE to our citizens - the very citizens who trust us to serve them and to keep them informed.

Citizens, according to Pennsylvania statute, you have the right to view the budget during the next 30 days. Please visit the district office and request to view the budget. Ask about the funds and “absence of funds” so you may see for yourself what is happening here. You have a voice about this budget. Get involved and demand better representation. Together we can make a difference.

Fellow Board members, you call this budget an example of fiscal management? What a joke!
Of the members present, Pam Lutfy and Sue Schor were the only two members who voted NO for this charade called a budget.

MOST SINCERELY,
Pam Lutfy
Delaware valley School Board member

Your vote is ten times as important as you think!

Your vote counts! It actually counts ten times more than you may think! (I am not exaggerating.

School Board primaries are important. If you do not vote next Tuesday, May 19, 2009, you may have to live with the result for the next four years.

Four years ago, in the school board primary, the top four vote-getters in the Democratic primary and the top four vote-getters in the Republican primary were the same. Those four candidates went on to the November election unopposed. The elections were all over in May.

The highest number of votes for any one candidate four years ago was 1609. That is truly sad.

Here are some facts:

• Pike County has approximately 46,000 registered voters
• There are approximately 36,000 active voters in the county
• Pike County has the lowest percentage of active voters in the State of Pennsylvania.
• Because some voters are not registered as Democrats or Republicans only about 30,000 voters are able to effectively participate in the primary elections. This is due to Pennsylvania’s closed primary system.
• DVSD has approximately 5,400 students.
• We had a participation rate of less than 1 voter for every two students four years ago.
• It is likely that less than 10% of active voters in the district participated in the DVSD school board primary 4 years ago. That is less than 1 vote cast for every 10 active voters.

You deserve the best schools for your children. You deserve a school board that will responsibly manage the budget. You deserve a school board that will ask the tough questions and ensure that only those programs that are of proven value are implemented. You deserve a school board that will demand high performance from our administrators and our schools. You deserve a board that will get the highest performance from each tax dollar.

But you only deserve this if you vote. Vote for the candidates that will deliver quality education and responsible budgets.

Or sit at home and get whatever somebody else gives you.

Don’t let someone else decide this election. It is too important. Every vote counts. If the election four years ago is any indication, your vote represents 9 other citizens. One vote represents more than 2 students. Think about that and get to the polls next Tuesday. Vote for yourself, and your neighbors. Vote for your kids and grandchildren.

Vote for everyone on your street. Better yet, get them to vote too!

Your vote is ten times more important than you think!

For the four-year term, VOTE for:

Jack Fisher

Bill Greenlaw

Pam Lutfy

Sue Schor

For the two-year term, VOTE for:

Chuck Pike

VOTE! Tuesday May 19, 2009. VOTE!

Recap: Online Town Hall Meeting

Thanks to all those who joined us for this groundbreaking event tonight. We had over three dozen participants and many great questions. Below you will find the archived live blog and video from the event. (The video accidentally cuts out the introduction from Jack Fisher.)

Phone Banking for Our Future

Students from the Future of Pike County PAC make hundreds of phone calls Monday evening to voters in DV School District. 

Ad Running in This Week's Dispatch

All That Glitters Is Not Goldsack

I am supporting Jack Fisher, Bill Greenlaw, Pam Lutfy, Chuck Pike and Sue Schor in the May 19th primary election for Directors of the Delaware Valley School District.  These candidates, while varied in their experiences and priorities, will bring vision and transparency to a Board I’m embarrassed to sit on in this my 14^th year of volunteer service.

 

          Bob Goldsack says he and I have a “Love-Hate relationship”.  I told Bob that I don’t hate anyone, but I dislike many things that he does.

 

          I dislike that Bob removed me from the Negotiations Committee on the teacher’s contract and then inadvertently increased starting teacher’s pay by $15,000, matching what a teacher with 5 years of experience would earn.  The Board as a whole didn’t learn of this until after the teacher’s union voted to approve the proposed contract.

 

          I dislike that Bob asked the Board to hire 4 school security officers at a cost of $250,000 per year, expecting that there would be Safe Schools money to offset the cost.  We hired the staff – didn’t get the money.

 

          I dislike that Bob ran for and won an election and held a position on the Pike County Republican Committee while holding the elected office of School Director, which violates the Pennsylvania School Code.

 

          I dislike that Bob filed a petition to remove Pam Lutfy and Sue Schor from the 2009 primary ballot and then had his lawyer withdraw the petition.  Noticeably Bob’s petitions had the same uncrossed T’s and un-dotted I’s as his opponent’s petitions.

 

          I dislike that Bob said in a public meeting that, “It would be the happiest day of my life”, if I would resign from the Board.  Imagine that, happier than the day he was married or the birth of his children.

 

          I dislike that Bob repeatedly held meetings in violation of the Sunshine Law by either not announcing committee meetings or allowing Board business to be discussed with 5 or more Board members present.

 

          I dislike that Bob told parents of students at DVES that he would not support moving the new elementary school off the campus, but would continue work on building a new school on the existing site.  Then, Bob announced that Long Range Planning would not work on a plan to rebuild the school at all, due to the economy.  To further offend these parents, Bob allowed the money borrowed to build the school to be spent on capital construction projects and the new water delivery system at the Dingman-Delaware campus.

 

          I dislike that Bob boasts of the new $900,000 water delivery system as providing cleaner water at Dingmans.  The water is no cleaner after the system went on-line than before.  In fact, the pristine water that was delivered to the primary school now has chemicals added to it.  How do the parents at the primary school like that change?

 

          I dislike that Bob likes to take credit for bringing the NO-Bullying program to the District when the way he treats people, in my opinion, makes him the biggest bully in the county, to which Bob replied publicly, “If I have to be a bully to get what I think is right, then I guess I’ll be the bully.”

 

          I dislike that Bob defended an outside contractor over the concerns of district employees and when the facts came into light, failed to tell the public himself the outcome.

 

          Bob and I don’t always have to agree.  It’s fine to agree to disagree. I have a right to hear what other Board members are hearing and I have a right to be heard.

 

          I agree with Diane French’s letter to the editor, “It’s All About Character”.  Bob Goldsack is a character alright.  Not a character that should be re-elected.

 

          I’d appreciate your support on May 19th for Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike and Schor.

 

 

Thank you,

 

Sue Casey

Et TU Brute?

As far back as 52 B.C. the great Roman leader, Julius Caesar reminded the world that “Experience is the teacher of all things” (De Bello Civili).

A letter to the Dispatch submitted by Diane French on April 30, 2009 reminds me that Diane has yet to experience and much to learn about character education, which I note was not touted in her list of trainings as she recently entered her first year of teaching. Taking my comments out of context and twisting my words to fool the public into believing that I have accomplished nothing during my twelve years of serving on the Board is as William Shakespeare so aptly wrote, “the most unkindest cut of all” (Julius Caesar, 1601.

I, Pam Lutfy “did have the audacity to publicly ask” why Diane French and Dr. Finan proposed to replace the present elementary reading curriculum with a new $350,000 + reading curriculum, especially in light of the fact that our elementary students demonstrated outstanding reading performance on the 2007-2008 PSSA according to an administrative report. Diane retorted that her employer uses the proposed $350,000+ reading program and all the teachers at her school like it. Interestingly, I learned that our own DV teachers were not consulted regarding the reading curriculum proposal and by the way neither were any other Board members!

Yes, I, Pam Lutfy do have the audacity to continually question why Bob Goldsack, president of the Board, and Diane French, education committee chairperson, fixate on elementary reading discussions and smugly ignore the fact that the DV High School failed to reach Average Yearly Progress as a result of poor performance on the state assessment. Twenty percent of last year’s eleventh grade class failed to reach proficiency in reading and 35% failed in math! Those students are graduating this year with hopes of fulfilling their dreams and aspiration? What are their chances? Do Diane, Bob and others not grasp the significance of a school failing to reach Average Yearly Progress? If this trend continues parents will be permitted to transfer their child to another school district at the taxpayer’s expense!

For years, I have had the audacity to implore the district to adopt the highly stimulating and researched based “Read 180” Stage B (Middle School) and Stage C (High School) reading series supported by Dr. Willard Daggett whose “Quadrant D” learning initiative was recently integrated into the core subjects of the Delaware Valley School District. It confounds me that our secondary school staff is expected to succeed with “Quadrant D” high order thinking skills and abstract learning when the students who are dropped on their door steps cannot read proficiently.

Through experience, Diane will learn that educational efforts will not succeed without the input of staff, parents and community. She will learn that I and others will not simply rubber stamp her recommendations even if she and her cohorts do control the majority vote on the Board. If our state legislators have their way, 12th grade Graduate Competency Exams will soon become a reality. When students are not permitted to graduate because of reading deficiencies, will Diane French along with other Tax United affiliated Board members realize that reading matters at every level of education?

I have never “questioned anyone for hard work and new ideas”, but I do question acquisitions that are “popular” and inappropriate to the needs of all students in the district. I disagree with Diane French’s publicly stated approval of scripted curriculums and scripted packets. I believe our teachers are highly capable of teaching and important enough to be included in decisions regarding all aspects of education.

Two years ago, Bob Goldsack appointed a new board member with nil knowledge of special education to replace me as the district’s special education liaison. A void developed as discussions and meetings rapidly slipped through the cracks -- no fault of mine! Five months ago, Bob Goldsack assigned me to act as special education committee chairperson. Parent surveys were initiated, co-curricular activities for students with special needs were organized and Round Table discussions were held. I did not notice Diane French at any of those meetings, which perhaps accounts for her failure to notice the resurgence of special education committee activity.

Through networking with parents, staff, community, legislators and Board members I am proud to report that MUCH has been accomplished in our district to keep the promise of equity for all students. Eclectic efforts have resulted in hiring high quality special education teachers, a principal of special education, Round Table discussions, a tracking system for student accommodations, improved professional development, researched based instructional methods, realistic assessment standards, consultants addressing low incidence disorders, the hosting of the Pennsylvania Special Olympics and much more! I will continue to seek improvements whether I a member of the Board or a private citizen through professional interaction as opposed to juvenile behavior, law suits and misleading statements.

There are 3 additional curricula recommended in addition to the reading curriculum at a total cost of almost one million dollars. Does anyone else have the audacity to ask questions especially during these difficult economic times?

Sincerely,
Pam Lutfy

Video from PCYC/PTA Meet the Candidates Night

Below is a playlist of videos from the Meet the Candidates Night at Shohola Elementary School. It was sponsored by the Pike County Youth Coalition and the Parent Teacher Association, both organizations are non-partisan and do not support candidates in elections. 

Candidates who attended: Bill Greenlaw, Pam Lutfy, Sue Schor and Jack Fisher. Chuck Pike sent a statement that was read in the first video. The Taxpayers United candidates did not show up.

Maintaining Fiscal Discipline

To the Editor:

Fiscal discipline is hard medicine!

The need for a long term multi-year approach to budgeting has never been more clear.

After listening intently to last nights DVSD budget presentation of Plan A and Plan B, I make this simple statement: "Turn down the stimulus money."

As a way of background to my coming to this conclusion, let me say how impressed I was with the honest and open acknowledgment and clear presentation by School Supt. Dr. Candis Finan of the significant problems that our school district has with 5th grade. It matches the problem presented last fall with 11th grade and the inability to meet AYP. The need to spend significant sums of money on a new curriculum was shown to be evident. No objections were made by anyone in attendance that combating deficiencies in the educational continuum must be waged. I caution that If Dr. Finan were presenting these budgetary needs simply as a way to get more federal funding she would lose all integrity, perhaps her job. I know she values her integrity and good name so I do not fear this the case.

Hence , I applauded the Supt., the Board and Chair of Budget Finance and Audit Ed Silverstone on his work on the expenditure side of the $70M budget, a $3M increase from last year. He even restored a small portion of funds to the CAPEX Reserve as I had urged. That was a small but good step to make.

However, on the revenue side of the budget there remains great uncertainty as to the amount of federal stimulus money the DVSD will ultimately receive. Plan A calls for the revenue side of the to receive $3.3 million in federal stimulus funds. Plan B calls for the revenue side to receive $2 million less in federal stimulus funds. The PA State Senate has already voted overwhelmingly AGAINST DV getting the $3.3. The fight now goes to the PA House. Then on to Governor Rendell.

If you were preparing an honest budget would you use the $3.3M number to balance your budget.? I would not. Revenue must always be projected conservatively.

In the real business world such dramatic and traumatic uncertainty would never be relied upon to produce a balanced budget revenue projection. However, in the world of high stakes power politics being played from Washington to Harrisburg to Pike County, the DV School Board will vote next week to recommend Plan A. to the public and authorize the administration to begin the implementation of plans to address the problems in fifth and elenventh grade. Why? Simple. Plan A has been calculated to produce a local tax increase of 0%. Yes, another major increase in spending by a government entity without any taxpayer pain.

No pain at the federal level, no pain at the state level, no pain at the local level. All the pain is deferred to the future level. Our children and grandchildren will be forced to either pay for this new debt or be forced to pay, for all their lives, the interest on the debt this "painless stimulus" has produced. Money and power is an addictive narcotic. The Federal government, like a drug dealer on the streets, is saying "here just try it once. You will like it" or "here it’s free money, who does not like free money?".

I urge Mr. Silverstone to prepare a three to five year budget that details for the taxpayers what happens when the "stimulus money" under Plan A is gone. I urge him to do what he would do if he were the CFO of a real business enterprise faced with such uncertainty. Would he truly rely on such uncertain revenue streams to meet the demands of the expenditure stream increases that he will approve next week.?

Leaders make the hard calls. I say reject the injection of the federal stimulus. Mr. Silverstone, "Don’t get hooked." Then reexamine cold -turkey your revenues and expenditure projections over the next 36 to 48 months. Because you are an honest man, you’ll find the right answer.

Best regards,

Jack Fisher

Candidate for Delaware Valley School Board.