Thursday, April 4, 2013
Under the Senior Citizen Property Tax Reduction Exchange Program, seniors can volunteer and receive a property tax credit in exchange for services that enhance school district programs.
Senior citizens looking to save on their property tax bills may be able to volunteer at Hatboro-Horsham schools in exchange for a tax break. The school board is looking to put in place the newly enacted Senior Citizen Property Tax Reduction Exchange Program, which Superintendent Curtis Griffin said he envisions volunteer services ranging from clerical to reading in classrooms. "I think the door is wide open," Griffin said. "It’s not a strategy to replace the workforce." Board member Barbara LaSorsa asked if the senior citizen volunteers would need to have the same clearances that school district teachers are required to have before working and who would pay for that. Bob Reichert, the district's director of business affairs, said the …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Instead of expelling students who possess drugs, or who use substances while on school grounds, Hatboro-Horsham officials are seeking alternatives to keep kids in school.
They use breathalyzers at proms and school dances, police and administrators peruse school parking lots for student drug activity and canines randomly sniff backpacks. Yet, Hatboro-Horsham School District officials said the ability to keep drugs and alcohol use from seeping into the schools, has, so far, eluded them. "We’re trying to find some answers," Superintendent Curtis Griffin said during Tuesday's school board work session, adding that administrators also work closely with police. "We’re trying. We’re searching for better answers every day." Among one of the possible solutions is to hire a Student Assistance Program counselor to coordinate substance abuse prevention and detection efforts district-wide, with children beginning in …
The Hatboro-Horsham School District anticipates taking possession of the Horsham Memorial Army Reserve Center by mid-May, officials said.
A 30-day public comment period regarding environmental concerns on land that will house a brand-new Hallowell Elementary School is expected to segue into land transfer and eventual school construction, officials said. By mid-May, the Hatboro-Horsham School District anticipates that the acquisition of the Horsham Memorial Army Reserve Center on Easton Road in Horsham will be complete, Bob Reichert, director of business affairs said during Tuesday's school board work session. "The property is clear for transfer and environmentally safe to build a school," Reichert said. "The Army is also currently working on the deed transfer paperwork for the property." Reichert said the public will also have 30 days to share any environmental concerns …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Hatboro-Horsham School District is considering hiring a Student Assistance Program coordinator to oversee substance abuse prevention efforts district-wide.
What is the appropriate age to talk about peer pressure, drugs and alcohol? Hatboro-Horsham School District Assistant Superintendent John Nodecker suggested that kindergarten is the time to begin substance abuse prevention efforts. "We have to start in kindergarten," Nodecker told the school board during Tuesday night's work session. "It may be too late when they get to sixth-grade." Nodecker, in making a pitch for the creation of a K-12 Student Assistance Program coordinator, said that the district's prevention efforts now are fragmented. The elementary schools and Keith Valley Middle School act as "islands" with little, if any, coordinated efforts, he said. For more news and updates about Hatboro and Horsham, including a related …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Administrators and staff at Simmons Elementary School have been working for more than a year to spur a more family-centered approach to student success.
Everyone knows about back-to-school night, but what about a night to reflect on the positive outcomes throughout the year? Simmons Elementary School did not have one. Until now. On May 1 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., the school will be open to students and families and the gym will be filled with various physical education activities, according to Simmons Principal Karen Kanter. In looking at ways to increase "family engagement," Kanter said the school's core group of 12 to 15 staff members worked to help determine the best routes to interactivity. As a result, Simmons reworked its back-to-school night to make it more interactive for families, Kanter said. In addition, parents, through a survey, shared that "there isn’t an opportunity in the …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Hatboro-Horsham School District is considering a proposed schedule change beginning next school year at Keith Valley Middle School.
Shorter classes, but more of them. That's the gist of a class schedule proposal for next year at Keith Valley Middle School. In an attempt to become "more efficient and focused on the whole child," Keith Valley Principal Jon Kircher and fellow middle school administrators have asked the Hatboro-Horsham School Board to consider shifting from a semester to a full year of science and social studies classes. The change, if enacted, would mean that students would have four 60-minute "core classes" instead of three 80-minute classes each day and all year, according to KV Assistant Principal Joseph Devine. "We increase the opportunity for inter-disciplinary work," Devine said during Monday's school board meeting. Under the suggested schedule …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Hatboro-Horsham School District is narrowing the gap for its spending plan, which, earlier this year, had a $2.2 million deficit.
With a 1.7 percent tax increase figured in, the Hatboro-Horsham School District is still staring down a nearly $850,000 budget gap for its roughly $90 million spending plan, officials said Monday night. But, Bob Reichert, the district's director of business affairs, pointed out during Monday night's school board meeting that as of January, the deficit was $1.3 million with the same tax boost and $2.2 million without an increase. "We're continuing to budget for using about $3 million of our fund balance," Reichert said. To make additional cuts, district officials said staff reductions–preferably through attrition–would be necessary. Other cost-cutting measures being considered include charging students an activity fee for sports and band…
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Parents responded negatively to Hatboro-Horsham School District's announcement that a reduction in busing for extra-curricular activities was under consideration.
The Hatboro-Horsham School District announced this week that, as a cost-cutting measure to help close a budget shortfall, buses for after-school activities could be cut from five days a week to once a week at Keith Valley Middle School. In dozens of comments posted here on Patch, readers offered various opinions on the issue. Some said the district should not provide after school busing at all, while said the solution is to have "less officials at the top." Still others suggested that administrators take a pay cut, while others called it "insulting" that busing could be reduced for a savings of less than $40,000 a year. What do you think is the best approach to providing busing, or do you think parents should pick up students from after …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The former Simmons Elementary School has been vacant since 2011. Hatboro-Horsham School District hopes to sell the 10.5-acre property.
The Hatboro-Horsham School District is looking to sell one of its unused schools and adjacent ground. The district decided to "test the market" in trying to sell the former Limekiln Simmons School, which is situated on Limekiln Pike in Horsham Township, according to Bob Reichert, the district's director of business affairs. The building had been used to house the district's special education offices and pre-school until 2011 when the roof started leaking. Now, Reichert said he will be working with a real estate office to gather relevant property information, and, eventually set a "value" for the 10.5-acre parcel. An asking price has not yet been set, Reichert said. Reichert said real estate agents would prepare a marketing plan and …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The Hatboro-Horsham School Board approved hiring two firms to market Hatboro-Horsham High School and Simmons Elementary School and leverage advertising opportunities.
Hatboro-Horsham School District has hired two firms to help mine advertising and corporate sponsorship opportunities at two district schools. The board on Monday night verbally agreed to hire Advantage 3 to focus its efforts solely on Hatboro-Horsham High School, the stadium and its grounds; and Minnesota-based company School Media to zero in on Simmons Elementary School. Advertising/sponsorships at the high school The decision followed Bryan McGair of Advantage 3's presentation last month the school board. McGair had said that his 2-year-old company has helped 42 New Jersey and Pennsylvania school districts reap profits through advertising revenue, sponsorships and naming rights. The district would pay Advantage 3 a "one-time" …
LadyNurse
12:04 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2013
WOW !....that's the truth. But as a senior citizen I've resigned myself to the old adage, "Beggars can't be choosers". If someone wants to open a program where I can use my education, wisdom, and skills in return for a reduction in the costs related to living, well I'll be first in line. A new adage should be: "Senior citizen's knowledge, wisdom, and skills....terrible things to waste." more ›