Schools

Neshaminy Budget Continued Source Of Frustration

Students and parents continued to voice dissatisfaction with Neshaminy's budget woes and proposed programming cuts.

Between public comment and board comment, it was apparent the Neshaminy School District budget and were still in the forefront of everyone’s minds Tuesday evening.

“Our goal should be to make Neshaminy more appealing,” Neshaminy High School student Zach Heineman said, noting to the board that cutting eighth grade foreign language makes the district less appealing and limits students’ future beyond college.

According to Neshaminy High School student Sarah Thompson, physical education classes are a “small, but meaningful 45 minutes” in students’ days.

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“It shouldn’t be a choice. It should be a requirement,” Thompson said of physical education, pleading with the board to not cut tenth grade gym classes.

“Not all learning comes from text books,” she said.

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Sean Weaver, another high school student, said that many students look up to the physical education teachers, who are facing the possibility of being laid off.

“I understand the school board has to make cuts, but my only request would be to consider other alternatives,” he said.

Former high school student Kevin Kelly of Langhorne, who is now a physical education teacher in the Pennsbury School District, said that Neshaminy’s P.E. program laid out the foundation for his academic and athletic success.

“Cutting the tenth grade P.E. program may look good on paper, but it could be disastrous in the long run,” he said.

Levittown resident and Neshaminy student parent Marianne Bender said that she would rather have a tax increase than see physical education cut.

“It’s the students that are being taken advantage of,” Feasterville resident Kevin Yeingst said of the proposed programming cuts, which were .

“When are the students going to stop paying?” he asked, noting that Neshaminy will become a “mediocre school district.”

Superintendent Louis Muenker proposed a variety of staffing and programming cuts at the past two board meetings to help close the more than $11 million budget gap. The proposed cuts would decrease the deficit to $3.2 million.

Flowers Mill resident Steve Rodos told the board “stop doing things to education and start doing things for education.”

“Nobody wants to cut. I don’t want to see one program cut, but we have a problem,” Feasterville resident and parent of Neshaminy students Steve Pirritano said.

“We’ve come to that point where we have to make changes,” he said, adding that he feels for the students and t. Pirritano commended Neshaminy teachers but said if they contribute towards their health care benefits “we can avoid cutting some of these programs.”

Board president Ritchie Webb said, in response to a question raised during public comment, that if the district had a 17 percent contribution from the NFT as well as taking the same health care plan as the district’s administration, the district would receive a $4 million savings. Currently, the proposed 2011-2012 budget has a $3.2 million deficit; Ritchie said that estimated savings “could save a great deal of jobs.”

“We only have so much money to run our district,” board Vice President Kim Koutsouradis said, noting that 75 percent of the proposed 2011-2012 budget is salaries.

“It saddens me that yet again there is a list of cuts in front of us. We still need concessions to keep our programs in place,” he said.

Board member William O’Connor said that the district’s current circumstances create a no win situation.

“For those keeping score at home, we've been asked to balance the budget without eliminating programs, without cutting programs and without cutting staff. That's not an easy thing to do,” he said.

“I hope that whatever this board passes minimizes the impact to students,” O’Connor said. The board is scheduled to pass its final budget June 21.

Muenker said that a more detailed update of the budget will be announced at the June 7 board meeting.

“We have a number of additional adjustments,” Muenker said, adding that he is waiting for the state to pass Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget and that he is “optimistic” the district will receive some relief. 


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