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| Media Alert - Families Need to Respond |
February 4, 2010
Dear Families,
As school districts are discussing their budgets for next year, cyber schools are once again being blamed for possible tax increases. This time it is the Mt. Pleasant Area School district. It seems when districts have budget shortfalls that cyber schools become the scapegoat. I have included the article below.
We need to respond to this and all attacks on our cyber schools. No matter how small the attack we need to set the record straight. We cannot let the misconceptions and myths about our schools to continue.
If you live in the distribution area of the Connellsville Daily Courier, please write a letter to the editor in response. Please email your letters to rabramowitz@tribweb.com Please keep your letters to no more than 200 words and also make sure you include your contact information as well.
Keep moving forward!
Cindy Strausburger
President
Mt. Pleasant Area School District foresees salary spikes in 2014
By Marilyn Forbes
FOR THE DAILY COURIER
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mt. Pleasant Area School District Superintendent Terry Struble informed the board Tuesday night that several school districts, including Mt. Pleasant, are concerned with the salary spike they will face in the future.
Struble said representatives from Southmoreland, Latrobe, Connellsville, Yough, Laurel Highlands and Jeannette, and local government officials commented during a recent Pennsylvania School Boards Association dinner.
"It was a nice opportunity for the boards and administrations to meet," Struble said. "It gave everyone a chance to talk."
Issues that Struble said were addressed at the dinner included the salary spike districts will face in 2014 and 2015.
Based on the present percentages and projected yearly base increases, Struble said Mt. Pleasant could face a huge increase in monies needed for teaching personnel in the upcoming years.
"The local property owners can't possibly bear the burden," Struble said of what could amount to an increase of 9.37 mills to cover the costs.
Cyber schools within the districts also were discussed.
"Of the 11 cyber schools, one is meeting AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress)," Struble said. "In 2008-2009, over $8 million left the Westmoreland County public schools to go to cyber schools. The message is not that cyber schools are wrong, but students leave and then come back, and we are held accountable."
Board Member George Hare said he was impressed over how well the recent emergency evacuation at Ramsay was conducted.
"The situation was handled extremely well," Hare said.
The school calendar will be adjusted to accommodate days lost due to the weather.
"We need to have 180 days in by the end of the school year," Struble said. "We lost three days due to the weather."
Struble said they are now recommending school be held April 1 and April 6.
If there is no further off-days due to the weather, the proposed filled days would equal 181.
"That then gives us one additional school day to work with," Struble said.
Items on the Feb. 8 agenda for board approval include:
• Substitute list retroactive to Jan. 11, 2009.
• Robert Patula as a volunteer for baseball.
• Closing funding from the Bohemian Travelers Society and moving it to the Drama Club.
• Advertise for bids for the 2010-2011 school year for the following areas: art, athletics, custodial, data processing, general, health and industrial art.
• Final draft of the professional employee section of the policy manual that addresses early retirement incentive.
• Bernadette Kattera and Barbara Antoniak to attend the 37th annual Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Conference in State College April 15-17.
• The updated school calendar.
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