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Wowee! It is a BUSY night at Lower Merion High School. Tonight they justify their existence and spending YOUR tax dollars if you live in Lower Merion. The schools are going to cost well over $200 million....so go put in your TWO CENTS.
Where? What time? Well, as per their website :
Title: SCHOOL BOARD Public Hearing-Budget & Special Board Meeting
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Time: 8 p.m.
Calendar: Board of School Directors
Complete Description:
Meeting will be held at 8:00 p.m.the Library at Lower Merion High School, 245 E. Montgomery Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19004. NOTE: If you wish to attend this meeting and require an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to participate in the proceedings, please contact Jane Guelich at 610-645-1970 to discuss how we may best accommodate your needs.
(bring popcorn and note end time is approximate - we haven't a clue)
What prompted our posting this ARDMORE event? Something in the Evening Bulletin .... and here's an excerpt:
Lower Merion School District Budget Is Spinning Out Of Control
By: Regina and Bill Manginelli
05/30/2006The Lower Merion School Board is about to hold its final of four special meetings on the 2006-2007 budget. The meeting is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. in the Lower Merion High School library.
The sentiment of the Board, however, is that this fourth meeting is really not necessary. They have already held three public meetings and have heard no major opposition.
But, have they really heard from the public? And will the fourth and final meeting turn out to be any different than the prior three where a handful of residents showed up, only to be shut down by rehearsed answers supported by "facts" that cannot be readily substantiated?
....Next year, LMSD will surpass the highest spending districts by over $6,000 per student with another huge increase planned for 2008. The proposed 15.1% budget increase will put our budget at $170 million, or $24,600 per student. That's a 46.4% increase over the $16,800 per student cost reported by the organization Good Schools Pennsylvania for the 2003-2004 school year.
According to LMSD's own budget projects, it's per student costs will cross the $30,000 per student threshold in 2010.
Good Schools Pennsylvania charts out how the State's districts score on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the standardized test taken by all fifth, eighth, and 11th graders in the State. Despite being ranked No. 1 in spending, according to Good Schools Pennsylvania, in 2003-2004, LMSD's fifth graders ranked 29th in math and 42nd in reading.
And regardless of results, can Lower Merion really afford to outspend every other district by so much?The most telling comment made at the May 22 board meeting came from the School Board President. When a retiring resident asked if the Board was thinking about the township's elderly residents on fixed incomes who will have trouble affording the taxes on their homes, School Board President Larry Rosenwald replied, "I wish I had an answer for you."
...The problem? The two new high schools are just part of it. The fact is that the district is out of control on every line item in its budget. And at the budget meeting tonight at the Lower Merion High School library, the Board will be asked to explain to the public why it's spending 35% more per student than the other highest spending districts in the State.
The School Board members want the township's residents to believe that this level of spending is necessary to have good schools. Because no one attends these meetings, no one is holding them accountable.
So, if you think that the School Board should be reigning in its out-of-control costs, let them see you at the board meeting tonight at 8 p.m. in the Lower Merion High School library.
If you decide to stay home, don't complain about having to tighten your belts next year or about watching your retired neighbors being forced out of their homes!
