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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Students,Parents,Teachers Fight for T/E PhDs

"This just sucks" laments one Conestoga High School senior.

A gruelling, nearly four hour, T/E School Board Meeting laid out frustrations on all sides and ended with a stunning, unheard of gestrure by a grateful parent Monday night. Hundreds of frustrated students, teachers, parents and community members packed the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District Board room, two overflow rooms and the hallways of the District's Administration Offices Monday night. "What's up, Doc?" Many students held handmade signs reading "What's Up Doc?" The message behind the signs was delivered over and over and over again at the podium:'don't demote the best teachers in the district (many of whom have doctorate degrees) to save money. One-by-one students from grades 8-12 took to the podium making the case for not demoting …

Polly

10:53 am on Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Yes, Phoebe Wang is better to move out of TE district -- we don't need a youth with such a negative attitude here. It seems her family just moved in not long ago to take advantage of good TE schools (and will definitely be out of here with the first sign of trouble, just like what she said) -- taking advantage of many TE families that live here and pay school tax here for many, many years??? We …   more ›

Monday, March 26, 2012

TESD:Racing to Close a $2m Budget Gap by June

The T/E School Board is working to close a big budget gap just over two months left on the clock.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  How do you close a projected budget gap of $2.2million? One line item at a time. That's what the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District and School Board are racing to do between now and June 11, when the board is schedule to take a final vote on the 2012-2013 budget.  For students anxious for summer vacation, June 11 may seem a long way away. For a district facing rising costs and tough decisions about taxes, June 11 is just around the corner. The Problem One of the biggest issue facing the board remains pensions. The T/E School Board,like every other school district in Pennsylvania, is on the hook for millions of dollars in guaranteed or "fixed" benefit payments to retired teachers. Over the …

Monday, March 19, 2012

Pension Problems Pack The House Sunday in TT

We've kicked the can down the road. Now, experts say we've run out of road.

It is a crisis years in the making. Now the taxpayers of the T/E School District and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are faced with a huge bill that's come due. Pennsylvania public school teachers and many other public employee union retirees are entitled to a pension with fixed benefits. The problem is that paying those benefits depends on a thriving, if not roaring, stock market in an economy that is anything but robust. It's a topic that's a little wonky, frankly. In the end, it all comes down to money, the potential for new taxes and of course, politics. Concerns over how to pay the pensions of current public employee retirees and the best way to control the costs for the future were big enough to pack the house on a dazzling sunny …

Interested Observer

2:34 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012

I commend Rep Kampf for standing up and taking action on this. Even though it will put him firmly in the crosshairs of the labor union special interests politically, he is willing to do what needs to be done. We need to make sure he gets back to Harrisburg next year to continue this fight.   more ›

Saturday, March 17, 2012

State Pensions Topic of Sunday Town Hall Mtg.

State Rep. Warren hosts town hall Sunday at 4 p.m..

State Representative Warren Kampf (R-157) will hold a town hall meeting Sunday at 4 p.m. to brief members of the public on the state employees pension issue. The open meeting will take place at the Tredyffrin Township Building, 1100 Duportail Road in Berwyn, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 18, and all are welcome to attend. In announcement sent to TE Patch Kampf says "this is an important topic that my constituents have expressed interest in learning more about. There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding pension reform and its impact on local budgets. It is important that I have the opportunity to tell you what I know and to hear your thoughts, ideas and concerns. I will also talk about legislative proposals I and others are working on." …

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