BUDGET REFORM for STUDENT LEARNING at lmsd.info - the lower merion school district alternative information source

Are Harriton and Lower Merion High Schools Too Big and Too Expensive? – You Decide.

The Issue:  The website of the Democratic candidates for Lower Merion School Board states:  "Industry publications show that Harriton and LMHS are in line in size and cost with comparable school districts".   In fact, for the past year, members of the community have been asking the current School Board and Superintendent to identify even one new high school, anywhere in the country, that is as big or as expensive as the proposed New Harriton and Lower Merion on a per student basis.  The silence is deafening, leading to only two possibilities:  (1) This Board thinks it is not accountable to the community at large, and can choose to ignore them; OR, (2) No such school exists.  

The Facts:   Below is a table comparing the proposed New Harriton and Lower Merion to other new high schools currently underway throughout the United States. All of this information is taken from the 2007 School Planning and Management Construction Report. 

Board Sets Not-to-Exceed for New LMHS

The questions is, do they mean it?  They certainly didn't when they did the same thing for Harriton.  The following notes were provided by a citizen who was there.  If you were there, you know these observations to be true!  After reading this, I can only say "throw the bums out!"

School Board Turns Away From State Construction Funding

As you should know by now, the Lower Merion School District is moving ahead with the construction of a New Harriton High School despite the fact that the bids came in higher than their own not-to-exceed budget.  You should also know that the District has overtaxed the citizens by $20.1 Million over the last three years so that it won't have to borrow an amount that would require voter approval.  But now we learn another new twist that has resulted in our taxes being higher than necessary.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE FOR HARRITON

The reason that the proposed New Harriton High School is breaking the budget is so obvious even a caveman could see it.  The LMSD Board and Administration will blame the cost on neighbors, unyielding Township officials and even Hurricane Katrina.  While these are convenient excuses, here is the truth: the proposed building is simply too big, and therefore too expensive, even for Lower Merion.

LMSD FAILS ON HIGH SCHOOL MODERNIZATION

The current Lower Merion School District (“LMSD”) Board and Administration have often stated that they were elected and hired based on their agenda of building two new high schools for the District.  Now that the bids for the new Harriton High School have come in wildly over budget, it is a good time to examine where we stand with respect to high school modernization.   

Harriton Project Stalled By High Bids

By:RICHARD ILGENFRITZ

Main Line Times

03/01/2007

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ROSEMONT - For months, critics of the Lower Merion School District have been saying the new Harriton High School was too big and too expensive.
It seems now that the first round of bids have come back from potential contractors, the critics may have been right.

A Note We Received With A Copy of Her Letter To The Board. Perhaps You Have A Friend in the Same Situation?

Dear Sirs:

The attached letter is being mailed to The Secretary of The Board of School Directors.  Thank you for bringing this to my attention.  If this school construction goes through as currently planned and our taxes are raised, I, like many other residents of Lower Merion Township, will be forced to look for a home elsewhere.

We Received This From Someone Who Did His Own Reseach...And He Isn't Happy!

Excerpt from a letter to the school board:

These issues are more troubling when considering the fiscal management of the district under their own forecast.

	Enrollment	Professional Staff	Expenses	Expenses	Expenses	Tax Base
	(Total)	(Total)	(Total)	(per professional)	(per child)	(Value of 1 Mill)
2012	6,899	677	$ 222,508,677	$ 328,717	$ 32,252	$ 7,614,918
2006	6,881	659	$ 148,210,666	$ 224,937	$ 21,539	$ 7,361,013
Change	-1%	3%	50%	46%	50%	3%
CAGR	0%	0%	7%	7%	7%	1%

The district expects to increase expenses by 50% while both enrollment and number of professionals remain unchanged and the tax base increases by only 1% per year during the same period.

Slick PR or Sloppy Staff Work. Can You Tell?

For every citizen of the Lower Merion community and especially its taxpayers, the performance of the school board members continues to be an area of great interest and continual concern---elected by the voters, these stewards of our tax dollars and our educational processes, have agreed to perform their duties "in the best interests of the Lower Merion citizens."  Clearly, any rational person reviewing the spend rate of the current high schools and the grand plans for the future high schools would pause at the quality of their recent decisions and proposed future actions!

Long Time Resident Finds it Hard to Stay Proud!

Dear Mr. Rosenwald (School Board President):

As a 31 year resident of Lower Merion, I have always been proud of the manner in which the local government officials have made thoughtful, long range plans to enhance the quality of life for the residents of the township which has benefited students, parents and those with no children who are residents of the township.  This history has now been distorted by the actions of the current School Board.