Bus Full of Students Whacked by Crossing Gate

A Hatboro-Horsham School District bus pulls too close to avoid gate.

An incident involving a Hatboro-Horsham School District bus and a SEPTA train caused at least one onlooker enough concern to snap a photo and seek help from the media. But, SEPTA and a school district official said the driver followed proper protocol.   Though nobody was hurt and there was no damage to the bus or its occupants, a Hatboro-Horsham School District bus on May 14 pulled too close to the tracks near the Hatboro SEPTA Station when a train was approaching and was slammed by the crossing gate. Robert Reichert, the district's director of business affairs told Patch on Tuesday that the driver followed state law and stopped 100 feet before the tracks and put on its lights.  "In some cases you can’t see everything and the bus has to …

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Hatboro-Horsham's Math 24 Winners Recognized

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board honored 10 elementary school finalists in a district-wide Math 24 Tournament.

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School Board Engages Law Firm to Fight Logo Use

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board approved the project-by-project hiring of a law firm to represent the district in the misuse of its logo.

You may have seen the Hatboro-Horsham School District logo on T-shirts and hats in stores and online.  The merchandise–and its school Hatboro-Horsham branding–is being sold without permission from the district, according to Superintendent Curtis Griffin. As such, Hatboro-Horsham is not receiving any money from the sale of these goods, Griffin said. With help from the law firm of Condo Roccia, LLP, Griffin said the district hopes to stop the sale of its brand without consent. The school board recently approved an "engagement letter" with the firm to provide representation regarding copyright issues.  The firm would work "project by project" at a rate of $200 to $400 an hour, according to Griffin. The goal, he said, is to not only stop the …

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Sale of Limekiln Simmons on Hold

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board has agreed to extend an option agreement on the former Limekiln Simmons School for another year.

It could be another year before Hatboro-Horsham School District sells the former Limekiln Simmons School. The board, this week, approved another one-year extension of its option agreement with Horsham Township. The district has had an option agreement since 1992 with Horsham that would give the township the "right of first refusal" for the property. The Horsham Township Council approved a similar option agreement extension during Wednesday night's meeting.  "Those discussions are ongoing with the school district," Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker said, adding that both parties are seeking an "option that would benefit the school district and the township the best." With the latest option agreement extension, it will be in effect …

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Who Pays for Adding Cops to Schools?

The Hatboro-Horsham School District is discussing with Hatboro and Horsham police departments the possibility of adding school resource officers.

Against the backdrop of a projected school tax increase and a staffing reduction, the Hatboro-Horsham School District is looking at ways to pay for the addition of armed police as "another layer of safety and security" at district schools. The so-called school resource officer, if the district and Hatboro and Horsham opt to hire such a police officer (or officers) to patrol schools, could start as early as next school year. But, before then, administrators and municipal officials must find ways to pay for the additional salary. Do you think school resource officers or armed police should be hired for Hatboro-Horsham schools? If so, who should pay their salaries and benefits? One possibility that the Hatboro Borough Council is actively …

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9 Teaching Positions to Be Cut for Next Year

The Hatboro-Horsham School District hopes to reduce staffing by a minimum of nine positions through attrition.

Declining double-digit student enrollment district-wide coupled with the budgetary need to cut $700,000 in staffing costs are the driving forces behind Hatboro-Horsham's intent to reduce its teaching staff, officials said.  In reviewing the first draft of Hatboro-Horsham's staffing plan for 2013-2014, Superintendent Curtis Griffin told the school board Monday that the district would be down a total of nine teaching positions next school year. Of those cuts, Griffin said he expected two to three to come at the elementary level; two to three to come at the high school; and two to three and "potentially more" to come at the middle school as a result of schedule changes.  "There’s no more money. This is it," Griffin said. "We have to do it …

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david fitzgerald

2:03 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I total agree with you. There is way to many asst. principles, etc. for a declining enrollment. Save the teachers and cut the overhead. Maybe this is a reason HH isn't ranked high in the surveys anymore. All of the teachers that were there when HH was the school district everyone wanted to go to are retiring, positions are being eliminated but the overhead keeps growing. The teachers are the ones…   more ›

School Taxes to Rise Under Preliminary Budget

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board approved Monday its preliminary budget, which calls for a 1.69 percent tax increase.

Hatboro and Horsham homeowners can expect to pay more in school taxes under Hatboro-Horsham School District’s $89.1 million preliminary budget, which the board adopted Monday night.  The average Hatboro homeowner would pay an additional $52.16 and the average Horsham property owner would pay an extra $76.70 provided the final budget – slated for a June 17 adoption – calls for the same tax levy. The increase represents $43 per every $100,000 of assessed property value, according to Director of Business Affairs Bob Reichert. The potential tax boost represents a millage increase from 25.410 to 25.84, which is equivalent to a 1.69 percent increase, according to Reichert. Under Act 1, a state law that sets maximum tax-raising thresholds, 1.7 …

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Armed Police Could be Added to Schools

The Hatboro-Horsham School District has been in discussion with the police departments about adding school resource officers to schools.

Would you feel comfortable with an armed police officer patrolling the hallways of Hatboro-Horsham School District schools?  That possibility is one that administrators and the school board are mulling as they put in place a beefed-up security system and additional security personnel, Superintendent Curtis Griffin said during Monday's school board meeting. Griffin told Patch after the meeting that the consideration was aimed at "creating another layer of safety and security" in the wake of last year's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. He was quick to point out that decisions would not be imminent and that June would likely be the earliest time for the board to hear a recommendation and render a decision. "We're …

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3-Year Teacher Contract Gets School Board Approval

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board echoed the majority of the district's 390 teachers in approving a new agreement Monday night.

Hatboro-Horsham teachers will earn an average 2.2 percent salary increase under a new three-contract the school board approved Monday night. The "early bird" agreement for the district's 390 teachers takes effect on July 1 and continues through the 2015-2016 school year, ending on June 30, 2016.  The union and the school district had worked on the pact for the last five months, officials said. But, health care, both sides agreed, proved to be the biggest obstacle. Eric Shea, president of the Hatboro-Horsham Education Association, the union that represents district teachers, estimated that talks throughout January and February focused primarily on health care.  "Health care was big because health care costs are tied to salary," Shea said.  …

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Graduation Requirements May Change in Hatboro-Horsham

Hatboro-Horsham School District, along with other districts statewide, will need to adopt new graduation requirements to coincide with new state regulations.

The courses and educational requirements of Hatboro-Horsham High School freshman–and future high school students–could shift under new state regulations. Currently, Hatboro-Horsham students must complete a minimum of 29 credits, as well as a graduation project in order to receive a diploma. However, state regulations set to take effect during the 2016-2017 school year would no longer require completion of a graduation project, and credits needed to graduate could be scaled back to 26, according to Hatboro-Horsham Superintendent Curtis Griffin.  During a presentation last fall aimed at considering a reduction of graduation credits, officials said Hatboro-Horsham ranked fourth-highest out of 22 Montgomery County school districts in terms of …

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