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?