WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015
CHESTER COUNTY PRESS
3A
Chester County Press
Local News High-flying thrills this weekend at New Garden Flying Field Festival of Flight will be held Aug. 22 and 23 By John Chambless Staff Writer There will be plenty to see in the air and on the ground this weekend at the New Garden Flying Field. The annual Festival of Flight Air and Car Show will be held Aug. 22 and 23, offering families a whole weekend of dazzling planes, beautifully restored cars, a craft show and plenty of food vendors. In addition to being able to see some historic planes up close on the ground, visitors can watch pilots put them to the test with stunts and daring fly-bys of the airfield. Performers include Matt Chapman, Greg Koontz and the Alabama Boys, Scott Francis, Jason Flood, Jerry Wells, Kevin
U-CF School Board... Continued from Page 1A
neither the highest spending district, nor the lowest. We’re in the middle of the pack, yet we have excellent results. We understand that the trust of the 75 percent of our residents who don’t have students in our schools is precious. We managed as a board through teacher contract turmoil in 2010 and 2013, and we’ll do it successfully again. “But I was alarmed and surprised when [school board member] Dr. Rock gave an impassioned lecture in June, telling us that some of us don’t have the best interests of the school district in mind and that we’re ‘on a slippery slope leading to incremental degradation,’” Knauss said. “Those comments were triggered by a vote for a 2.2 percent tax increase rather than a 2.6 percent tax increase. Could less than a half percent difference lead us on a path to ruin? Does Dr. Rock -- a school director with a scant 18 months of experience on the school board -- have some insight that others do not have? “I’ve examined his supporting arguments, and they have no merit,” Knauss said. “To bring this full circle, we have a great district. There are several members of the board who voted for a tax increase less than what Dr.
Russo and Mark Murphy. Russo will be flying a SNJ-6 prop warplane that reaches speeds of up to 250 miles per hour. Chapman, a renowned aerobatic pilot, will be flying a Viper Jet that can reach 180 miles per hour. Murphy will be flying a P-51D Mustang, “Never Miss.” The Lockheed 12A plane used in the movie “Amelia” will be on display, and there will be a wide variety of restored vehicles displayed by members of regional antique car clubs. If you have an antique car, you can drive it to the show and get $10 per carload per day. Those arriving in military vehicles will be admitted free both days and park in the center of the activities and get a free dinner on Saturday night that features live
music from the World War II era. Visitors can vote for their favorite vehicle, which will get a trophy and be honored in the Winner’s Circle. There will also be performances for all visitors by The Ultimate Abbott and Costello Tribute Show, and the swingera vocal group The Manhattan Dolls. Nobody will go hungry, since burgers, hot dogs and festival treats will be for sale all weekend. Craft vendors and flying memorabilia dealers will have tables set up as well. The gates open at 9 a.m. both days, and the action continues through the afternoon during the airfield’s biggest event of the year. There are several admission
options. A Family Pass for two adults and two children, good either day, is $45. Adult passes are $17 ($7 for ages 6 to 12, under 6 free). One-day admission either Saturday or Sunday is $30 for adults ($10 for ages 6 to 12, under 6 free). A VIP Hangar Pass with indoor table seating, drinks and snacks is $10, not including admission to the show. VIP parking is $15, good either day. The New Garden Flying Field is at 1235 Newark Road in Toughkenamon, south of Longwood Gardens. Tickets and more information is available at www.newgardenflyingfield. com, or call 610-268-2619. To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@ chestercounty.com.
Rock would like. To suggest that we’re on a slippery slope leading to degradation is, in my opinion, wrong and counter-productive.” In his response, Rock pulled up several Power Point charts of his own and launched into an economics lesson based on “the last 40 years of studying the politics and economics of growth and development in Southeast Asia,” he said. “When I joined the board 18 months ago, I didn’t know the academic literature. I havc spent that time catching up. When I made the comments at the board meeting about incremental degradation, I had in my mind an argument that I hadn’t fully put together. What I’ve done this evening is put it together for you.” Delving into what economists have called “The cost disease in higher education,” Rock pointed out that, “Our cost per student -- the cost of providing an education here -rises significantly faster than the consumer price index. It’s getting bigger over time. “Why are costs increasing faster in U-CF than the CPI? The answer is: The only way we can keep good employees -- administrators, teachers and support staff -- is to raise their salaries. Their salaries have to raise a some percent higher than the CPI. On average, an employee in U-CF, since 2003, has experienced a 1 percent real wage increase over
and above the inflation rate. So far, we’ve lived up to our obligations of increasing real salaries by something higher than the CPI. “That’s what causes the cost disease,” Rock said. “Our real costs have gone up because we’ve paid our workers higher real wages, and there’s been no productivity increase. We’re stuck with that. That’s part of life in every college and university in this country. It’s part of life in every public school and charter school in this country. “We have to be diligent in controlling costs. We’ve been pretty good at that. But it will never be enough by itself. That leaves us with three cruel choices: “1. We can control or try to eliminate cost disease by allowing real educational quality to fall, by allowing real compensation to fall. If that happens, good employees will leave. We’ll be left with a weaker administration, a weaker teaching staff and a weaker support staff. “2. We can try to sustain educational quality by financing rising real compensation for
employees, by allowing our costs to rise higher than the real rate of inflation, and that’s what we’ve been doing. “3. We could try to try increase productivity by increasing class size or increasing online courses. “Why did I say we were on a slippery slope to incremental degradation? My fear is that the budget increase that we passed this last time is the first step towards failing to understand that if we don’t do better, we’re going to experience a decrease in educational quality. I don’t want to see that happen. “Can we afford to do what we’re doing? Can we be a little more generous on the tax increase side, so that we can continue to increase real salaries above the cost of inflation and sustain our high quality? My fear is that what’s lacking in this room is the political will to do it,” Rock concluded, getting applause from the teachers at the meeting. Later, during final comments from board members, Knauss said, “Dr. Rock, I look forward to reviewing your presentation in detail. I’ll note
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that you put a marker up there for teacher salary increases at 1 percent above the CPI. The offer on the table beats that right now.” In her comments, board member Kathleen Do said, “Mr. Knauss talked a lot about what we’ve achieved, how many blue ribbon schools we have and all the accolades we’ve received. We have outstanding district. But in the end, we have incredible teachers. Whether we want to talk about economics, I believe it’s a matter of respect and dignity to thank our teachers and say you are the reason we are where we are. That has to be in the forefront of our minds as we continue our contract discussions. I have neighbors who are concerned about the tax increase, but in the end, every single family will say the same thing: ‘I want to be in Unionville. You have the best schools and the best teachers.’” For more information, visit www.ucfsd.org. To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercouty.com.
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Greg Koontz and the Alabama Boys will demonstrate how to fly a plane off the top of a moving pickup during this weekend’s Festival of Flight.
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