WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015
CHESTER COUNTY PRESS
3A
Chester County Press
Local News So far, AGSD is managing without subsidies from the state Because of the ongoing budget impasse, the state is not making subsidy payments to school districts. Despite this delay in funding, Avon Grove officials have opted to make scheduled payments to local charter schools
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers failed to finalize a budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year before the June 30 deadline. More than 100 days have passed since then, and there’s still no end to the budget impasse in sight. While most state business continues to operate as usual, the absence of a spending plan has delayed state subsidies for school districts and payments for other social services. At a recent meeting, Avon Grove School District officials discussed the impact that the funding delays are having on the school district. So far, the news isn’t terrible in Avon Grove. “Luckily, we are in good financial shape and we will be able to weather this in the short-term,” school board president Brian Gaerity said. Gaerity read an email update from State Rep. John Lawrence about the budget situation. The State House passed a bill that would have served as a stopgap measure and would have allowed for some disbursements to
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Lawrence and his fellow rank-and-file legislators and state senators have been on paid vacation for three months and counting. Lawrence claims in his article that he has insight into budget negotiations,
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considered many options on many issues. He will be missed, but we wish him and Mary Pat a future filled with good things.” Board vice president Gregg Lindner said, “Keith gave freely of his time and I learned from his perspective. I truly respected his opinion and views. Our dialogues led, at the end of the day, to making the ultimate decisions better.” Knauss added that, “The work of a school director was hard, but enjoyable, and I’ve been rewarded many times over. The current excellent performance of the district, along with the strength of the current board and administrative team, allows me to resign without concern.” Knauss is a representative of Region A of the district (East Marlborough and West Marlborough townships). The board will be discussing the next steps in selecting a replacement for Keith at the next board meeting on Oct. 19. To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty.com.
schools. But Wolf vetoed the bill after it passed both the State House and State Senate. Gaerity lauded Lawrence for keeping district officials informed about the status of the state budget so that they could make the best decisions possible about their own budgetary issues. Some school districts across the state have already sought loans to continue to operate. Other school districts have made the decision to not may payments to charter schools since the money that would be used to make those payments comes out of the state subsidies. Avon Grove officials, however, decided that the district would continue to make the payments to all the charter schools where Avon Grove students attend for as long it can. Charter schools are public schools that receive funding from the state and on a per-pupil basis from the home school district of each student. “We felt that it was our obligation to pay the local portion to the charter schools,” Gaerity explained.
During his financial committee report, school board member William Sites said that as district officials start the preliminary work on the budget for 2016-17, the Act 1 Index limit will be about 2.8 percent or 2.9 percent when adjustments for Avon Grove are factored in. The Act 1 Index limits how much a school district can raise taxes without seeking approval from voters. Kristen Bishop, the interim head of school at the Avon Grove Charter School, made the annual report to the Avon Grove School Board. Bishop explained that the current school year is the 14th year for the charter school, and there are now nearly 1,700 students who attend the charter school in its two buildings. There were 69 graduates for the 201415 school year, and the charter school’s graduation rate was nearly 96 percent, Bishop said. Bishop said that one of the major endeavors for the charter school is to align the curriculum with PA Common Core Standards, something that public schools throughout the state are doing.
which is not true. Rep. Lawrence will be among the last legislators to know what’s going down, because his stature is so low among lawmakers because he is nothing more than a nice guy. Due to the top-heavy Pennsylvania Legislature, only the very few in leadership positions know
what time it is. This year, Lawrence is blaming Gov. Wolf, a Democrat. For the last four years, he blamed Gov. Corbett, a Republican like himself. Rep. Lawrence should do himself and his constituents a favor and (Uncle Irvin’s column stay on paid vacation like most of the 257 members is his opinion only, and is not a news story.) of the State Legislature.
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The charter school is also participating in Project Lead the Way, and is focusing extensively on offering STEM programming to students. High school principal Scott DeShong and a handful of students led a presentation about creating a media studio and STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) lab. In the STEAM lab, students are learning about everything from game designing to audio engineering to computer-aided drafting. DeShong said that this program allows a diverse group of students to collaborate on real-world problems, and to use technology to find solutions to those problems. The students did a live broadcast of Homecoming activities, and they’ve already started accumulating video-on-demand programs on AGtv, which is available through the high school’s website. “This is a huge step forward for Avon Grove,” said school board president Brian Gaerity. “It’s really exciting to see.” To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.
THE HADLEY FUND 53rd Annual Season presents
Lenape Native American Culture with Shelley DePaul This program will include primary history regarding the Lenape, who remained in Pennsylvania, and how they remain active today as caretakers of their homeland and the Delaware River. Activities for school age children include a hands-on artifact display, Lenape games, crafts, songs, as well as a display of educational materials developed to teach Lenape language and culture.
Sunday, October 18, 9:30am Kennett Friends Meetinghouse 125 W Sickle St, Kennett Square, PA Admission is FREE and open to the public
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structure intended for pedestrians, pedal bicycles and emergency vehicles weighing up to and including 20 tons. Under Resolution No. 2105-8, the bridge will otherwise be restricted to motor vehicles, as well as the construction of appropriate signage, break-away or removable bollards and other devices to prevent vehicular traffic from using the bridge, but still allow emergency vehicles to pass. “We want to thank you for having for the courage, the foresight and the vision to do what you’ve done with this,” said Gwen Lacy, executive director for the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, which has been the area’s most vocal supporter of converting the now-closed bridge into a pedestrian-and bike-only structure. “The Consortium and the Land Conservancy all stand ready to cooperate to make this the best decision you’ve ever made for the public benefit. There has been controversy, so now there should be some accolades as well.” Stevens gave credit to the entire community, including those who were not in favor of closing the reconstructed bridge to vehicle traffic, for allowing the conversation to “go forward in an organized and programmed and thoughtful way,” he said. “We had a lot of meetings where a lot of people were involved and there was a mixed bag of what people had to say. Some were in favor and some were opposed.” The supervisors have not yet decided how they wish to proceed on the design of the bridge, but once they do, properly specified bids will then be sent out to prospective builders. The township has applied for a $1.5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources which, if received, will allow the township to be reimbursed 80 percent of the costs involved in repairing the bridge, once it is built.
equipment on or near the bridge must be returned to the county, and that the township will not hold the county liable for anything having to do with the bridge in the future. The three-page agreement is now on the township’s website. As expected, Stevens and Supervisor Dr. Richard Leff voted in favor of the acquisition, while Supervisor Robert Hammaker voted against the acquisition. The battle to acquire ownership of the bridge, begun several years ago and finally wrestled away from the county earlier this year, now gives the township the freedom to begin reconstructing it as a pedestrian-and-bicycle-only structure, while permitting the use of emergency vehicles. Before construction begins, however, the township is on hold until they hear whether or not they will receive a substantial grant, which would, if awarded, would pay for about two-thirds of the costs related to rebuilding the bridges. In addition, Stevens said that additional ancillary issues still need to be addressed before the bridge renovation gets underway; namely, to look into the condition of the roads leading up to the bridge. “I would expect that we would soon sit down and begin to outline through that whole process with our experts and engineers and the Land Trust and the public, so that we can put together an action plan,” Stevens said. The Oct. 7 meeting was merely the latest in a series of discussions and legislation that has occurred on the subject of the bridge. On Nov. 5, 2014, by a vote of 2-1, the board passed a motion to authorize the township to take actions necessary to obtain the bridge from the county, which was authorized on Dec. 8, 2014 by the Chester County Board of Commissioners. On Jan. 21 of this year, Stevens and Leff passed a To contact Staff Writer resolution declaring that the Richard L. Gaw, e-mail bridge will be re-opened as a rgaw@chestercounty.com .
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October 21 West Chester & Chadds Ford Life November 4 Cecil County Life Magazine November 18 Kennett Square Today Magazine