Meet N Greets

Election Day is November 8th, 2011.  Do you know who is running for North Penn School Board Director?  Do you know what the candidates stand for?  What about your neighbors—Do you think they are aware of the candidates and their positions? The North Penn School District is one of the largest school districts in the state, spread across nine municipalities.  This creates an enormous challenge for candidates to knock on every door before Election Day.

 

One option to maximize voter coverage is to visit Meet-n-Greets. A Meet-n-Greet is a low-key get-together, hosted by a supporter, possibly you!  You invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to your home for a couple of hours to meet with the candidates and enjoy refreshments. 

 

Getting started as a Meet-n-Greet host is simple:  Contact 1st S.T.E.P. campaign manager Bev Dodds at (http://us.mc1209.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=wd1250@verizon.net) to arrange an available date and time. Then send out invitations to everyone you know in the North Penn School District who might want to learn about the candidates. Make sure your invitees know that they will have an opportunity to question the candidates directly.

 

We sincerely appreciate your help in getting the word out about our 1st S.T.E.P. candidates. We hope to see you soon at a Meet-n-Greet!

Parent Forum October 5, 7pm, North Wales Library

Dear Home and School Executive Board Member,
Please pass this invitation along to all of your families. This invitation is open to all parents of students in the North Penn School District and meets all requirements of school district policies and regulations.

• •  We the candidates of the 1st S.T.E.P. (Students and Taxpayers Expect Progress) campaign are inviting all parents of children attending the North Penn School District to a special forum on October 5, 2011, at the North Wales Library at 7 pm.
    
    Please be assured that school district policy and regulations allow Home and School Associations and parents to attend this type of forum, without retaliation.
    
    There have been so many changes in the district over the last several years. Tensions have increased between the school board and district parents. We would like to ask for just a little of your time, to come meet our candidates and raise your concerns about what you expect from your school board.
    
    We value your input. We respect the voice that you have for your children in the district. We want to foster a collaboration with the parents and Home and Schools to offer better cooperation and support.
    
    On Election Day, November 8th, the parents of the North Penn School District, nearly 13,000 of you, can make the difference.
    
    Come and meet the 5 candidates of the 1st S.T.E.P. campaign: Carolyn Murphy, Suzan Leonard, Alex Ryabin, Paul Edelman, and Tina Stoll. Please come and see for yourself who we are and what our priorities will be as your new school board directors.
    
    If you have any questions, please contact Bev Dodds at wd1250@verizon.net. We look forward to meeting you and answering your questions on October 5!

Meet N Greet With The Edelmans

1st STEP Candidate Paul Edelman, and his wife Wendy, are opening their home for a Meet-n-Greet on Sunday, October 23, from 2-4pm.

Come meet most if not all of the candidates.  Bring friends, family, neighbors.  Be able to speak with the candidates one on one.

Call 610-222-0697 for more details.

Bike Night

Come to Bike Night in Lansdale on September 10.  Meet the candidates of the 1st STEP campaign.

North Penn Answers - Edition 3

Here is the link to the new edition of North Penn Answers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_wS5U2RIJI

Also, here is the rebuttal from the NPEA:

North Penn Answers: Episode 3
During the first 3:20 of this episode, Mr. Sherpinsky provides background on the Act 1 Taxpayer Relief Act signed into law on June 27, 2006.
REAL TRUTH—Mr. Sherpinsky provides a detailed explanation about Pennsylvania’s Act 1. It is important to note that Act 1 will limit tax increases in the future regardless of who serves on the board of school directors. It is also important to note that while the Act 1 index ceiling was 1.4% for the 2010-2011 school year, this board chose to implement a 0% increase—a decision that will handicap the district for many years to come. A 1.4% increase in school taxes would have generated over $2 million dollars for the district last year and for EVERY school year going forward. Mr. Sherpinsky correctly projects the 2011-2012 Act 1 increase at under 1 percent. The truth is that ANY future school board will have difficulty generating the necessary revenues to maintain programs and staff.
At 2:52-Mr. Sherpinsky discusses Act 1 exceptions at 3:16 stating, "North Penn has never applied for the Act 1 exceptions because we didn’t need it."
REAL TRUTH—In the fall of 2010, the NPSD business manager strongly advised that the district apply for the Act 1 exceptions for 2010-2011. Exceptions were available for both pension contributions and special education costs. Evidently the board chose to ignore his advice. There is support in the state legislature to remove these exceptions for future budget seasons. Another opportunity to generate revenue for maintaining programs and staff may have been lost.
At 4:53-Sherpinsky states that, "The impact for Act 1 was the introduction of competition for tax dollars for education. These limits mean that there is only so much money for education."
REAL TRUTH—The NPSB has NEVER taxed the community up to or over the Act 1 limit. There has always been money left on the table every budget year since the implementation of Act 1.
At 5:34-Sherpinsky states that, "This board takes a hard line against increasing any spending that doesn’t improve the quality of education."
REAL TRUTH—According to reporting in The Intelligencer, the board spent $224,000 in taxpayer money on legal fees, dozens of newspaper ads and mailers, and the hiring of a PR consultant on a monthly retainer during the 2010 teacher contract negotiations. The board currently employs three different law firms to represent their interests on labor issues and negotiations. The only hard line this board takes is against its own teaching staff, the very people who actually do improve the quality of education in the district.
At 7:04-Dr. Dietrich reviews the district process for evaluating vacancies in the district.
REAL TRUTH—Of the over 40 teaching vacancies this year created by retirements or resignations, only one new permanent teacher was hired from outside the district for this coming school year. Over 70 teaching positions have been eliminated over the last two years due to "living with vacancies."
At 11:03 Mr. Sullivan addresses a question about the loss of a guidance counselor position at Pennfield stating that staffing, "….is within the PA state counselor ratio guidelines and has been deemed adequate."
REAL TRUTH— Do we now simply aspire to be "adequate?" Further questions follow: PA state counselor guidelines from whom? What is the ratio to which you are referring? Are we at the top or the bottom? How do we compare with other districts in our region?
At 11:57-Mr. Sullivan continues to address the issue reading the following graphic, "Pennfield will have a contracted counselor from Northwestern 1.5 days per week to conduct group sessions, provide staff development and see students individually."
REAL TRUTH---Mr. Sullivan admits in this statement and graphic that outside counseling services will be needed at Pennfield due to the reduction in staff. Furthermore, this contract with Northwestern represents the outsourcing of work that should be performed by our staff, a violation of our collective bargaining agreement with the school district. For more information, please visit the NPEA website at www.npennea.org
"The REAL Truth"

SAVE THE DATE - SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 3:00PM

The Price of Cuts and Not Enough Teachers

Next week, North Penn finds out how well the cuts that have been made and how the losses in staff the district has taken, will affect the students. I would like to tell you about two of the students and their mother and the immense impact this is having, and is going to have.

The mother, a recent widow, whose children still grieve the loss of their father, have been forced from the elementary school they've attended from the beginning to attend another school in the district.. The reasons? Class size. No one will argue, class sizes in North Penn are tight everywhere. Please understand, this is not about class size, or even redistricting.

The mother applied for the students to attend their elementary school back in March. The school district notified her last week that they were going to be moving her children. As if this weren't bad enough for her children to endure, because of their age, she must find "before" and "after" school care. Less than two weeks before school starts, she must find this care. The school that her children are being sent to, has this care, but it is booked full and has a waiting list. And transportation does not pick up from the affordable daycare she currently has.

This family has had enough to go through. The children have finally started to come to terms with the loss of their father. This is not about "making new friends". This is about taking consistency and security from two children who lost it all. This is all because the school board has not planned well at all for the school district population. Their solution is to regulary just shift children around.

To the members of the school board, and Dr. Dietrich, if you were aware that this possibility existed, as I believe you did, you owed this family more notification than less than two weeks to prepare. You knew of this possibility back in May. She applied for the transfer in March. And how are you helping this family deal with this last minute notification? You aren't. Is this what our families have to look forward to when you start plans to redistrict in 2012?

Meet 1st S.T.E.P. Candidate Tina Stoll

NPHS (1983)

Penn State (1986)  BS in Accounting

 

My husband and I have 3 sons that went through the NPSD from kindergarten through high school.  Our oldest son, graduated from Columbia University this past year and our two younger sons attend Temple University.  The education and experiences that they had at North Penn are what allowed them to get into the schools of their choice.  I am grateful to North Penn for the education that they received and would like to see the opportunities that were offered to my children, continue to be offered to other students coming up.

 

I volunteered at the schools while my sons were growing up, and in particular, I volunteered with the 12th Knight Football booster club at the high school.  I was the treasurer for 2 years and the president for 5 years.  I oversaw a period of tremendous growth and participation in the organization.  During this time, I got to work with the coaching staff, hundreds of student-athletes (there are an average 120 players on the team every year), player's parents, and the staff at the high school.

 

My role with the 12th Knights has allowed me to gain hands on experience in working with students, teachers, and administrators, and to develop relationships with each that allow me to communicate with them.  It is my intention to use the relationships that I have developed over the years to manage issues that arise in our district, and deal with them in a manner that continues North Penn's history of excellence.  I believe that the role of School Board official requires a person who has personal ties to the district, and has spent their time generating the relationships critical to overseeing the business of the district.

New Candidate Announced For 1st STEP Campaign

After interviewing several interested applicants, The North Penn Democratic Committee has approved Tina Stoll of Montgomery Township as part of the 1^st STEP slate. She joins Suzan Leonard, Caroline Murphy, Paul Edelman and Alex Ryabin.

Tina had been reviewed by the other 1^st STEP candidates, Bev Dodds-campaign manager, and the North Penn Democratic Committee. The consensus was that Tina is a good fit for the current team.

Tina was approved August 23, 2011 by Democratic committee people.

Thank you,

Bev Dodds

Campaign manager of 1^st Step slate

Busing

It appears Edulog did not produce the accurate records needed to produce the new and "improved" bus routes. An enormous amount of bus routes have been eliminated, but implementation is not working. It is less than two weeks to the start of school, and parents still need to make arrangements to get their children on and off of the bus. Why are the majority fo the details such as class size and busing, not dealt with back in June or July at the latest

Classroom Assignments

It has been asked "what's the big deal about class assignments not being posted before the weekend of school beginning?" Classes were already being put together long ago, but as the districts wastes time realizing that they are short staffed, teachers and students end up being moved. This week, a family learned that her two young children were being moved to another elementary school. While the move is unfortunate for the children for certain, in less than a week, the parents must find a new daycare alternative, as the new school's before and after care is full. There is a lot to be done as the year approaches, without adding this stress to a situation already causing pain. The family put the application in, in March, but less than two weeks to the start of school, she is denied

Reassessment Appeals

 The school board for years has been talking about appealing reassessments. They tried with JC Penny and the Montgomery Mall, and lost, big. Now, the school board is going to try 26 more businesses. I could question, why the item was not placed on the agenda prior to the past Action meeting. I could ask why there was no discussion from the board members prior to voting 7-0 in favor without any details being revealed to the board. I could assume, these details were discussed in the executive session prior to the action meeting. But my question will be, why make the taxpayer go through the superintendant's office via "right to know" to obtain the information? The Intelligencer had the information ready for print the next day. Why was this not revealed on camera for NPTV taxpayers to see for themselves. And why were the taxpayers paying Mr. Dooley to give the interview on this process? Acting President Josephine Charnock was available that evening to give the interview, just as any other sitting board president.

Less than a month after bragging about not raising taxes, they announce the intent to appeal corporate reassessments. While it is the correct thing to do, ultimately, it will result in the same thing as taxes being raised. The costs by the companies will be passed on to the consumer. Governor Corbett did the same thing. Promised not to raise taxes, then cut education throwing it in the laps of the school districts, still able to brag that he didn't raise taxes.

All I know is, my shoes are wet. Someone told me it was raining, but all I see is clear skies. It's not rain.

Lawrence O'Donnell Opinion Piece

This is an opinion piece from Lawrence O'Donnell in support of teachers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwq6pkxiQdQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

North Penn Answers - Edition 2 and NPEA Response

North Penn School Board Members Joe Sullivan and Vince Sherpinsky are broadcasting their second forum called North Penn Answers which can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTQ8_wMQT5c

The NPEA has issued their response and can be found at the following link:

http://npea.psealocals.org/

Meet The Candidates Of 1st S.T.E.P. For North Penn

Alex Ryabin

• Party: Democratic
• Occupation: IT Program Manager
• Over 10 years experience in authoring governance and steering committee processes.
• Proven track record of successfully executing large, multi-million dollar projects, contract negotiations and fiscal responsibility.
• B.A., University of Pennsylvania - 1991
• Parent of two children attending the North Penn School District.
• Former chess intructor at the Lansdale Public Library.
• Odyssey of Mind Judge - 2006-2009.

Suzan G. Leonard

I have been a resident of Upper Gwynedd for over 24 years. 

I am a single parent having raised three sons who have all graduated from the North Penn School District and have gone on to college and Masters Programs.  While my children were attending school I was very active in the home and schools, coordinating council and various other volunteer positions.

I am an attorney specializing in Family Law and Wills and Estates with my principal place of business in North Wales.  I have practiced law since 1984.

I am very active in the Community having helped transpose the North Wales Area Library from a one-room library to a magnificent 10,000 square foot library and Community Center.  I am responsible for raising thousands of dollars for that facility.  I was a former member of the Library Board and now a member of the Friends of the Library. 

I am a Democratic Committee person for Upper Gwynedd.  I have also cross-filed under the Republican Party for this election.

Carolyn Murphy

Democratic Party, Cross-filed under Republican Party

Age:  65

B.A. University of Colorado German  M.Eq. Linguistics West Chester Univ.

Retired teacher

Son had attended and graduated from the North Penn School District

I would like to see the students in North Penn continue to have a quality education.

I would like to see a more "user friendly" board and have a district that everyone's rowing together

for our children.  We should always be good role models.

It will be challenging with today's climate but it can be done.

Paul Edelman, Jr.

I am 45 years old and have lived in Upper Gwynedd for more than a decade.  I am married with two young daughters who attend elementary school in the North Penn School District.  I am employed at Merck for fourteen years where for the last eleven years, I have worked as an Assistant Laboratory Technician.  I am a member of the Olweus Anti-bully Committee at my daughters' elementary school.  I also serve on the school's Home And School Association.

Simply put, our childrens' education must not be sacrificed.  While I do not agree with the latest events affecting schools, I do believe we can all get through this crisis.  I honestly believe this can be done.  I have the  passion, the interest, the determination, and the courage to do so.  Fighting cancer is one of the toughest challenges of unknowns that anyone can go through.  I used the same characteristics just mentioned to beat my own battle with cancer, over twenty-one years ago.

I am a registered Democrat, but I have also cross-filed under the Republican Party for this election.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at:  pedelmanjr@yahoo.com

Where Does 1st S.T.E.P. For North Penn Stand?

'OUR CHILDREN, OUR COMMUNITY =  OUR FUTURE

IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE

What are the priorities of the "First Step Candidates?"

• Our TOP priority is our children's education.  Stop the cuts.  Work within a REAL budget.  Find solutions to make what we have work.

• To understand that excellent schools are the most important ingredient for successful communities

• To ensure respect for our children, their teachers and our parents.  Bullying at all levels from our board to our children is a problem

•  To empower taxpayers with a major role in determing our tax burden and educational priorities and programs

• To pump fresh ideas and synergy into a seemingly deflated balloon

On November 8, vote Ryabin, Leonard, Murphy,  and Edelman for North Penn School Board Director

Rock The Vote

The candidates of 1st S.T.E.P. For North Penn School District want to remind you to come out, and Rock The Vote For North Penn School District, on Friday, August 19th, starting at 7:00pm, at the West Point Fire Company on Garfield Avenue in West Point.  Tickets are $35.00 and available at the door.  For more information, please call 484-991-8225 or email at firststepfornpsd@yahoo.com.

School Board Action Meeting - August 18

There is a scheduled School Board Action Meeting at 7:30pm, on August 18, at the ESC.

North Penn Answers and the NPEA Responds

School board member Joseph Sullivan is hosting an interview show on NPTV.  The show is called North Penn Answers.
The first edition as well as a response from the NPEA can be found at the following link:

http://npea.psealocals.org/Default.aspx?tabid=10048