Happy Thanksgiving

As we enter the Thanksgiving break, I want to wish all of you a relaxing time with your friends and family.  There is so much to be thankful for in our country and school district.  I recently spent some time watching YouTube videos of military members surprising their children and coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan without the kids knowing.  The videos of the kids running to their parents with such a great look of love and happiness is heartwarming.  Just search YouTube for "military homecoming" and you will find them.  After I watched the videos I just walked over t my three kids and just hugged them.  I bet you will do the same.

Response to Blog Comments

There have been a few comments in the blog concerning the building project, the PSERS increase and the financial health of the school district.  I thought it would be best to answer those concerns in a blog post instead of responding within the comment section.  This way, it will be easy for people to find my response...if you are interested!

The School Board is adamant that any building project should be done within the current tax structure.  In other words, the current millage dedicated to our current debt gives the school district the ability to borrow up to 55 million dollars.  Again, that 55 million is within the current millage structure.  The high school renovation will be about 30 million dollars.  The school district's current debt "comes off the books" in 2015.   At that time, the bond sale the Board will approve for the high school project will come on the books.  Again, this is all done within the current millage structure.  Here is a link to the presentation by the school district's Bond underwriter.

There are a few "moving parts" in this equation and it is the reason the school board is moving cautiously.  First is the status of PlanCon.   PlanCon is where the State reimburses school districts for some of the cost of a  building project (typically somewhere between 20% and 30%).  If the State does not fund PlanCon that will obviously have an effect on the amount of money that is available for a project.  The 55 million dollars would  turn into between 40 and 45 million dollars that is actually available for a project.  The second moving part is the configuration of the rest of the school district.  The Board will decide in the next two years what configuration the school district will take to provide a great education and be the most cost effective.  Education priorities and fiscal reality will dictate what any new configuration will look like.

Finally, there is the PSERS issue.  I am not as concerned about this issue as some people because this school district has positioned itself very well for the increases coming in the future.  There is a dedicated account that the board has placed money in over the course of the last few years that will help mitigate the increases in PSERS.  The School Board is also researching cost savings measures that can have further impact on the budget.  Penn-Trafford has a long history of fiscal responsibility and being very cost efficient.  Thanks to previous Boards and administration, the school district is positioned as well as any district in the State as the PSERS contributions increase.  We also must remember that in the past, school district's PSERS contributions were in the 20% range.  Although our rates will settle in at about 25%, in the 1980's the rate was in the low 20's and school districts adjusted accordingly.

The Fourth Disruption

The fourth disruption in education according to the report Recombinant Education is “Customizable Value Webs”.  The definition for this disruption is, “Innovative, open business models will leverage complex networks of assets and relationships to create ultra-customer –centric experiences across industries.” Harkening back to an earlier disruption as a starting place, this disruption will leverage the “edupreneurs” and the companies they create to help parents, teachers and schools create a customizable learning experience for students.  Schools (and parents) will be able to match their student’s interests, ability level and learning style and create a learning experience customized to the student.  This disruption will allow schools (and school districts) to form partnerships with outside organizations that will lead to a more individualized educational experience for students.  

I believe that the biggest challenge for public education will be to recognize this disruption and respond accordingly.  Schools will be able to cost effectively coordinate learning experiences for students.  If a school wants to create a “focus” or form their own identity  (for example a school that focuses on play, or the environment, or politics, or social justice) they will be able to spend their scarce resources on providing those experiences centered on their focus while accessing quality learning experiences for their students.  Maybe school districts will allow their schools to form their own identity (or focus) so parents and students in the school district have more “choice” in their educational options.  Either way, schools must recognize that learning experiences can be enhanced and managed differently.