Improvement in Information to the Public

Followers of the blog have seen my concern over the level with which the Administration and Board shares information with the public.  With the power the School District has, it is imperative that the public’s right to know be held at the highest level. It should be acknowledged that the most recent Board meeting showed [...]

School District Makes Improvement to Board Meeting Agendas

The agenda posted for tonight’s School Board meeting is an improvement over the format from past agendas which have been on the District’s website. Past agendas showed numbered attachments to various agenda topics, and to check out any posted agendas, you had to exit out of the agenda and click on a separate link for [...]

What Is the Responsibility of the School District to Keep the Public Informed? Where Is the Response to Public Comments? What Is the Status of the CRESPA Contract?

Let’s be clear — the Council Rock School Board is a governmental agency.  They have taxing authority over the public.  And with that comes a responsibility to keep the public informed of matters impacting the District and potential problems that could affect the budget and, in turn, the taxes we pay. They don’t just operate [...]

Council Rock High School South Capacity Figures Magically Change When It Suits the Latest Need — Don’t Official Documents Matter?

At a community forum November 4th, the Administration presented a slideshow justifying a proposed realignment so that all students graduating Richboro Middle School (RMS) would attend Council Rock High School South.  Currently, some students from RMS attend South and others attend North, depending on the address of residence. The Superintendent claimed the capacity for South [...]

When Are Enrollment Projections Valid and When Aren’t They?

At last night’s forum on possibly redistricting so that all Richboro Middle School students get sent to Council Rock South (as opposed to the current system of splitting them into the two high schools by geographic location), figures were presented about future enrollments.  The Administration was using these numbers to indicate how all the students [...]

Facilities and Finance Committee Meetings Canceled Tonight — In a Budget Year Like This, Who Needs Meetings?

Among the public meetings the Council Rock School Board holds are committee meetings such as Academic Standards, Facilities and Finance. These occur monthly and are an opportunity for some in-depth discussion and examination of issues, generally in more detail than can be given during the regular Board meetings. I have attended many of these Committee [...]

Posting of Agenda Attachments for Public Review

Council Rock’s website provides the public access for the upcoming Board meeting agenda.  Most items on the agenda contain an attachment which contains all the details on motions to be made. The Administration has taken the position that certain items will not get posted in advance, such as contracts which are to be signed, because [...]

Philadelphia Magazine Ranking of Top 50 Public High Schools in the Area — Council Rock North at #31; South at #35

A few weeks aago I posted about the most recent rankings by Philadelphia Magazine of the Top 50 public high schools. At the time, there wasn’t an on-line list available and I published information based on reading the print magazine. There’s now an on-line version of the list of schools available, at this link.  Because [...]

Courier Times Editorial on PSSAs

The Courier Times ran an editorial today (here’s the link) about PSSAs being flawed and producing a distorted picture, measuring unrealistic goals.  It repeats all sorts of positions heard from school officials over the years that these tests don’t provide a valid system of measurement and don’t properly measure progress.  It ends by stating that [...]

What’s the Role of the Board and Administration to Keep the Public Informed?

I believe there is a need on the part of the District to keep the general public (as taxpayers who fund the School District’s operations) advised about what is going on, especially in areas where it may affect the budget (and in turn, taxes).  The Board meetings would be one time (and probably the most [...]