Hundreds of MNSD Parents, Students Defend Music, Art Programs

Marple Newtown School District parents, students, and community members attended Tuesday's school board meeting to urge school board directors to reconsider any potential cuts slated in the 2013-14 school budget.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Hundreds of Marple Newtown School District parents, students, and members of the community attended Tuesday night's Marple Newtown School Board meeting ready to fight for any potential cuts that may be made in the 2013-14 school budget.  Nearly 25 parents, students, alumni and parents with graduated students spoke before the school board with concerns on the future of the district's programs–particularly in the arts and music departments as well as the schools' libraries. But before public comments began, school board director Jim Lanzalotto addressed the crowd and shared the same sentiments as school board director John McDevitt shared in a Letter to the Editor published Tuesday on Marple Newtown Patch. Lanzalotto stated…

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Letters to the Editor

Instrumental Music Cuts 'Not Going To Happen,' Says School Board Member

Marple Newtown School Board member John McDevitt share his thoughts about the rumors circulating around the 2013-14 budget cuts.

  The following letter was submitted by Marple Newtown School Board member John McDevitt. As all these emails circulate concerning the budget among other things throughout the district, all involved need to take a step back and let the school board do their job as the season gets underway for the 2013-14 budget process. Before I start on instrumental music, curriculum and budget cuts, let me first point out a few things. For the first time in recent history, this board and our teachers union have a tentative agreement eight months before the expiration of the current contract. We are all confident that this two-year deal will be ratified by the union and our teachers will be signed through the 2015 school year. I am very proud to be part …

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Marple Newtown School Board Passes 2012-13 Final Budget With 0% Tax Increase

The Marple Newtown School Board voted 7-1 at Tuesday night’s meeting in favor of the final budget with a 0 percent tax increase.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–As expected, Marple Newtown School Board officials approved the 2012-13 general fund budget for the district in the amount of $68.1 million, which is an approximately $1 million decrease from the preliminary budget. The budget included a tax increase of *0 percent. Last month, the board approved a reduction of its preliminary 2012-13 tax increase from 2.67 percent down to 0.62. The board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to pass the budget with School Board Vice President Nancy Galbraith holding the lone nay. School Board member Jamie Mariano was not present. Galbraith expressed her concerns with the tax decrease, citing potential problems in the future. “I have respect for the board, but obviously I don’t agree. If healthcare …

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MNSD's $6M in Reserve Funds Ranks 175th in State

The Pennsylvania Independent recently published the top districts in the state with the highest amount of reserve funds, in which Marple Newtown School District ranked 175 in the state according to data from the state Department of Education.

The Marple Newtown School District had $6 million in reserve funds last year, ranking 175 out of the 500 school districts in the state with the highest reserve funds. On June 30 of last year, the state had $3.2 billion total reserve funds in school districts, according to an article in the Pennsylvania Independent. Districts with the most in reserve funds are Pittsburgh ($148 million), Downingtown ($50 million), Abington ($45 million), Lower Merion ($43 million), and Altoona ($37 million). Gov. Tom Corbett's administration is encouraging districts with large reserve funds "to dip into those accounts to cover operating expenses in a year when state education funding is increasing, but not as much as districts would like," according to the …

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Jennifer Kim

11:26 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012

Thanks for the explanation, John. Appreciate it!   more ›

Part 5: MNSD Community Budget Committee's Virtual Learning Recommendations

Several recommendations were presented to the Marple Newtown School Board at Tuesday's Budget & Finance Committee meeting by the appointed Community Budget Committee.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–In part three of the five-part series of recommendations to the budget made by the Marple Newtown School Board appointed seven-member Community Budget Committee, is recommendations on activity fees for the district. The committee was formed in September and has been meeting monthly since then to review the district's budget and to analyze revenues and costs of district operations. Committee member Jim Lanzalotto urged the school board to communicate more openly with the public about the limitations they are faced with in the budget due to state mandates. Opportunities to reduce costs and for potential revenue growth in the budget were discussed in five areas: Transportation, Facility Usage, Activity Fees, Advertising & …

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Part 4: MNSD Community Budget Committee's Advertising & Sponsorships Recommendations

Several recommendations were presented to the Marple Newtown School Board at Tuesday's Budget & Finance Committee meeting by the appointed Community Budget Committee.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–In part three of the five-part series of recommendations to the budget made by the Marple Newtown School Board appointed seven-member Community Budget Committee, is recommendations on activity fees for the district. The committee was formed in September and has been meeting monthly since then to review the district's budget and to analyze revenues and costs of district operations. Committee member Jim Lanzalotto urged the school board to communicate more openly with the public about the limitations they are faced with in the budget due to state mandates. Opportunities to reduce costs and for potential revenue growth in the budget were discussed in five areas: Transportation, Facility Usage, Activity Fees, Advertising & …

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Marple Newtown School Officials Approve Proposed 2012-13 Prelim Budget

Marple Newtown School Board members unanimously approved the preliminary 2012-13 budget with a maximum tax increase of 2.67%.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–On Wednesday, Jan. 4, Marple Newtown School Board officials held a special meeting to vote on the proposed $69 million preliminary 2012-13 school budget with a 2.67 percent tax increase, which was approved unanimously 6-0 with school board members Nancy Galbraith, Sherry-Lee McAuliffe and Robert Sack absent from the meeting. According to Marple Newtown School District Business Administrator Joseph Driscoll, school officials must now vote on a proposed preliminary budget in order to release the budget for public viewing the next day, following the vote. Due to 2012 being a presidential election year, the state primaries have been bumped up which requires that the school budget be approved and adopted about a month earlier …

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Flat Revenue Projections: “Good News” for Marple Newtown School District

The district’s business administrator said previous projections predicted revenues would decrease.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Revenue for Marple Newtown School District is projected to be flat for the 2012-2013 school year, district Business Administrator Joseph Driscoll told the Marple Newtown school board’s Budget and Finance Committee at a meeting on Oct. 11. During the meeting, Driscoll spoke about revenue projections as part of his update on the 2012-2013 budget. Next year’s preliminary school budget has to be out for public inspection 22 days earlier than usual, on Jan. 5, 2012, because it is a presidential election year, Driscoll told Marple Newtown Patch after the meeting. “The revenue is pretty much flat,” Driscoll told the committee, referring to all revenue for the school district, including local taxes, state revenue and federal revenue…

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Marple Newtown Officials Propose To Save Paxon Hollow German Program and Office Assistants

The school board has agreed to save the German III program at the middle school for one year and retain the office assistants but will search for other positions to cut.

NEWTOWN SQUARE—At a budget workshop meeting on June 14, the Marple Newtown School Board announced that they will be able to save two out of the nine cuts, originally proposed in the 2011-2012 budget, for one more year.  "The board and I have listened very carefully and very diligently to the concerns and comments shared about those different positions that we shared over the past month that were recommended for elimination," addressed Superintendent Dr. Merle Horowitz to the public. After several comments and pleas made by students and parents of the Paxon Hollow Middle School's German III program, some may let out a brief sigh of relief as the language program has been saved–for now. "For just one more year—and that will be it—in the…

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Marple Newtown School Board Approves Prelim Final Budget With Proposed Cuts and 5.5% Tax Increase

The 2011-2012 preliminary final budget was approved at a Marple Newtown School Board meeting on May 24, in which the board has one month to make any changes for the final approval.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–The Marple Newtown School Board voted 6-2 to pass their preliminary 2011-2012 $67 million final budget at a scheduled school board meeting on Tuesday evening. With a property assessed at $250,000, the average homeowner will look to pay $224 more per year with the proposed 5.5 percent tax increase in the preliminary final budget. The preliminary final budget also reflects the proposed cuts that were placed on the chopping block at the last special budget workshop session. There were nine items proposed to be slashed for the next school year's budget, including special education assistants, math specialists, office and library assistant positions throughout the district, the German language program at Paxon Hollow Middle …

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Jennifer Kim

10:59 am on Thursday, May 26, 2011

Thanks, JR. It has been corrected in the article.   more ›