Sunday, March 29, 2009

Gov. Rendell Budget School Consolidation Plan Criticized

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's 2009/2010 Budget which also calls for a state commission to be formed to propose a plan for school district consolidations has thankfully faced some tough and legitimate criticism.

And for far more than meets the usual first-glance.

We would like to support Kiski Area School Board president Gary Haag's comments, wholeheartedly and emphatically so.

"I don't know how that would reduce cost," said Gary Haag, president of the Kiski Area School Board. "I think it would take local governance away from the district residents more so than ever before."


think about the remark. "it would take local governance away from the district residents more so than ever before." (Gary Haag, in Rendell's massive school merger plan has its critics By Tom Yerace and Brian C. Rittmeyer Feb. 6, 2009 )

Having reviewed the bill state Representative Tim Mahoney (D-51st) reintroduced regarding his plan to consolidate local school districts - for Administrative cost savings and taxation purposes, we would also apply the same Haag criticism to it.

HB 351

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0351&pn=0382

Here's the criticism:

it would 'take local governance away from district residents more so than ever before.'

With its board of directors, limited to 7 for the county-wide district, and 1 county Supervisor, would there be greater enabling of local governance for district residents, or less?

There would be less, since each area will be represented by 1 elected/appointed school board director.

The Mahoney plan includes provisions for the county board of commissioners to deliniate merged district boundaries. The Mahoney legislation also allows the newly formed county-wide board of directors, some 7 individuals, to further divide the county into 3 or 9 areas.

Whatever it turns out the representative areas will be 3 or 9 - it appears from the legislation, the county board of school directors will still consist of 7 individuals.

That's 7 people with all the political power now distributed over some actual 6 for Fayette County school districts each with 9 board members which amounts to 54 school board directors.

That could be argued to be 6 different little kingdoms, but how is that going to be corrected in the a larger county-wide district with 7 school board members for the entire county representation?

wouldn't there be the same amount of political power, (not going to go away) but now in the hands of a few - 7 people with 1 county Superintendent?

The position of the Superintendent is also under scrutiny.

First, in previous articles from local newspapers, there were indications the county board of commissioners would appoint the county-wide district's Supervisor. It's unclear whether Rep. Mahoney's bill introduced last year made provisions for that, however.

The current legislation, introduced in Feb. 2009, can be found here.

The Mahoney legislation (Feb. 2009) - as pointed out by an emailer - doesn't appear to provide for how the county Supervisor will be chosen - appointed - by whom?

By the county board of school directors? There is no provision contained in the '09 legislation.

By the board of county commissioners? There is no provision for that as well in the Mahoney legislation.

This brings up a legitimate question of who will the county Supervisor be appointed by and then who will the Supervisor be accountable to?

If the Supervisor is appointed by the board of county commissioners, and he/she is unelected, it's a stretch by far to claim the county Supervisor is accountable directly to the people. He/she doesn't face an election. The same of course occurs in the current system, the district Supervisor/Administrator is hired by the board of school directors. so the school board directors who made the hiring are accountable and can select someone else when contracts expire.

But who will the county Supervisor contract with if appointed by the board of county commissioners? The county commissioners?

Many other features of the Mahoney legislation have been criticized in our earlier post, so we won't go over those now.

Note, another issue arises in light of Rep. Mahoney's support for Gov. Rendell's budget and school consolidation plan. We'll tackle that in an upcoming post.

For now, again we agree and argue, with both the Mahoney plan and the Rendell plan, local governance - representative though it is - will be diminished - with the political power - not going to go away - contained in the hands of a few.

Net the Truth Online

clip

Rendell's massive school merger plan has its critics
By Tom Yerace and Brian C. Rittmeyer
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Friday, February 6, 2009

When Gov. Ed Rendell proposed consolidating the state's 500 school districts into 100 on Wednesday, he was talking about an order that may be just too tall to fill.

At least that's what many state legislators and school district officials from the Alle-Kiski Valley are thinking.

"I just don't know if it would work as smoothly as people think," said state Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City.

Pyle doesn't think that anticipated cost savings should be the motivating factor.

"When you reason it all out, it can't be," he said. "Because the money you save in shutting down a building, you spend in adding on more buses."

"I don't know how that would reduce cost," said Gary Haag, president of the Kiski Area School Board. "I think it would take local governance away from the district residents more so than ever before."

Theory vs. reality

In proposing the state budget, Rendell asked that the General Assembly form a commission to reduce the number of school districts from 500 to 100 to eliminate duplication of services and reduce costs. He called for a report to be finished within one year.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_610557.html


State Department of Education

http://www.pdenewsroom.state.pa.us/newsroom/cwp/view.asp?A=256&Q=148032

Very important documents

Mahoney legislation currently awaiting action state House Education Committee

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0351&pn=0382

Rendell 2009-2010 Budget Plan for School Consolidation

http://search.state.pa.us/query.html?style=pde&qt=school+district+consolidation&OK.x=16&OK.y=6

Rendell budget plan consolidation

http://www.pdenewsroom.state.pa.us/newsroom/lib/newsroom/fact_sheet-consolidation_-_FINAL.pdf

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