TOWAMENCIN- North Penn School District’s Board of School Directors began their meeting on April 7^th, 2015 with student proclamations that recognized the continued efforts of staff writers from the Knight Crier and sixth graders from Bridle Path and Montgomery Elementary’s select string ensemble.

Mr. Kevin Manero, advisor of the Knight Crier, happily announced to the School Board that Brooke McCoy, Scott Vogel, Dan Sardaro, Nafiul Hossain, and Tara Sorman from NPHS’s online newspaper received recognition in the Keystone State Press Awards. Manero explained how proud he is of the efforts from the staff at the Knight Crier that have produced 1,852 articles in the four years since the paper has gone digital.

“[It’s] real impressive work by our kids, and I am blessed and privileged to have such outstanding individuals,” said Manero. “The highest compliment that you can give anybody is that you would invest in them someday, and I think that I’d invest in every one of these kids. They’re hardworking, good writers.”

After Manero finished presenting some of Knight Crier’s finest staff writers to the School Board, Mr. Ralph Jackson, music teacher, introduced the talented sixth grade members from the select string ensemble at Bridle Path and Montgomery Elementary schools. Jackson explained that the premier group of about thirty students performed at Carnegie Hall last Thursday night, and they were the only elementary group of students accepted to perform.

“To a huge standing ovation, they did an excellent job,” said Jackson. “They made their parents, North Penn School District, and our community very proud.”

The majority of Tuesday evening’s School Board meeting was spent discussing the basic education funding system for Pennsylvania schools with the help of Tina Viletto, Director of Community and Government Relations at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, and Larry Feinberg, Circuit Rider for the Campaign for Fair Educational Funding. The two guests spoke explained how school districts are funded in Pennsylvania, the history behind the funding, and the work at the legislator’s commission to support the establishment of a fair funding formula.

Viletto began the informational session by explaining that districts throughout Pennsylvania receive different amounts of funding from varying levels: local, state, and federal. In Montgomery County, the majority of funding for schools is through the property taxes. Additionally, basic education funding is a specific line item in the state’s annual budget. During the 2014-2015 school year, the state allocated $5.5 billion of basic education funding, which represented 55% of total funding for school districts. Remaining funds allocated for the school districts are represented as different line items on the state’s annual budget.

Viletto went on to explain that while one might expect that there would be a formula enforced to decide how to distribute funding throughout Pennsylvania’s school districts, currently, such a strategy does not exist. Without a consistent way of allotting funds, the districts have been working under a Hold Harmless provision, which means that districts receive as much as the previous year without regard to changing factors. Districts that benefit from the Hold Harmless system are likely to oppose the enforcement of a formula, since it would probably reduce their funding to amounts that would better suit their necessities.

Feinberg followed by discussing what is being done at the state level by legislators and how the educational community can get involved, in regards to the problem of the lack of a funding formula. Stressing the importance of voicing opinions and providing input, Feinberg continually encouraged the School Board to get into contact with legislators to communicate any concerns about the funding formula. However, several School Board members expressed frustration as they felt that North Penn School District’s factors would not compare to districts much like those in Philadelphia.

Feinberg explained that suggested formula starts out with a base amount per student, and currently, the amount of students in the district does not play a role in the amount of money NPSD receives. In the budget one year ago, there was extra money to distribute after Hold Harmless was satisfied. The remaining money was allocated to districts that had powerful legislators, committee chairs, and leadership members. However, to combat this problem, The Campaign for Fair Education Funding is suggesting that the base figure per student start at $7,266. This number will then be modified based on district and student factors. Additionally, the campaign is pursuing a 6-8 year phase-in period of the funds.

After much discussion, Dr. Curt Dietrich, Superintendent of North Penn School District, explained that a more thorough look at figures and impacts concerning basic education funding would be available on April 23^rd, 2015 at 7pm in Penndale Middle School’s auditorium.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for April 16^th, 2015 at 7:30pm in the Educational Services Center.