Rain, rain....

Rain, rain, go away….

Rain, rain, go away – come again another day; our sports teams want to play!  I know, I know, that you don’t have to shovel rain, and April showers bring May flowers, but it seems as if this spring has been one rainy day after another, wreaking havoc on our spring sports and the fields on which they are played.  Greg Shaffer, our maintenance supervisor, and his crew have worked feverishly between the showers to make the fields playable; kudos to Greg and his staff.  

At Central Cambria, May is replete with special activities, field trips, TESTING, preparing to move student data to new grade levels, and – of course – graduation.  Needless to say, the excitement of graduation tends to override all other May activities. Fortunately, all of these are not weather-dependent.

Speaking of graduation, here’s a hint about the theme of my message this year:

For graduation each year I try to use events of the school year as the basis for my message to graduates and their guests.  This year I am excited to speak about “the recipe for success.”  A famous teacher-turned-psychologist, Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth has been studying what goes into this recipe for many years.  Watching a video clip of Dr. Duckworth speak at last year’s TED conference (Technology, Entertainment and Design), at which the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less, she poses the question, “What is the key to success?”  She emphatically stated, “It’s not IQ. Not good looks. Not talent. Not social connections.” I am anxious to share her thoughts on this topic at graduation.  If you are unable to make graduation at St. Francis, I will post my speech on next month’s blog.

Congratulations to the 2014 graduates and to their parents, relatives, friends, and others who have offered encouragement, patience and a listening ear.  As you leave our district, remember Red Devil Pride never graduates!!

Good luck, seniors!

Now for my Dad Speech: As we approach the summer break, I encourage all students to make smart choices in the friends they hang out with, the events they attend, and even the ways in which they network on the Internet and social media sites. Please have a safe, enjoyable and relaxing summer. 

Allow me to extend my sincere appreciation to all students, staff, parents and Board members for the work they do for Central Cambria!  I am blessed to interact with such high-caliber people every day.

Finally, I need to get some sports talk off my chest.  Yes, the Pens had a great regular season; unfortunately, the playoffs didn’t follow suit.  For five years in a row, the Pens have made it to post season play, only to be beaten by a lower-seeded team.  I predict a major Pens shakeup after their abysmal playoff performance.

And how about the draft?  After this event I always banter with my brothers, sons, son-in-law, daughter Morgan, my nephew Travis, my dad and my uncle.  We agree that the Steelers got some very speedy players, some players to fill specific positions, and some players whose worth remains to be seen.  The Steelers also signed 20 undrafted players the day after the draft.  As I have said before we can only hope that Steelers management personnel have drafted well.  It is fun to speculate how they may perform.  Until they actually play a down, they are all heroes in my eyes. To sum it up, one of my favorite sports’ figures once said “You can observe a lot just by watching.” –Yogi Berra.

I can’t wait…

I can’t wait…

Enjoy your summer!  Dr. D.

Spring (and the budget) is in the air....

It is April and, even as spring is in the air at last, the state budget is in the air, i.e., “up in the air.”  There has been no movement or discussion regarding the budget at the legislative level.  It is interesting to note that all of the four candidates vying for the Democratic nod to run against the incumbent governor have a common campaign theme.  They agree that Pennsylvania spends too little on its children in public education and levies too few taxes on Marcellus shale drillers.  As seen in his latest round of ads on TV, Governor Corbett disagrees on both counts.  He claims that Pennsylvania is at “the highest it’s ever been for spending in education.”  Really? Let’s see… he claims that over $10 billion dollars have gone from the state to local school districts. He neglects to acknowledge that, to arrive at such a large figure, he includes pension payments in his “educational spending” discussion. Pension allocations are not related to the needs of students in public schools. This sleight of hand, an interesting way to doctor the numbers, helps Mr. Corbett to blur the truth about how much and to where “educational” money actually goes.

Terry Madonna, Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, has just released the results his statewide survey that measures public attitudes toward education, economic development and a need for change in state support for public schools. In his report, Dr. Madonna’s survey shows first that “large majorities of registered voters believe public schools have an effect on the economy.” The same voters believe that “the state’s investment in public schools should be larger” and that “a school funding formula should be used to ensure fair distribution of state funds to schools in all communities.”   For more information, following is the link to his full report: www.pasa-net.org/PressRelease4-22-14.pdf. 

Let’s move on to a much more positive topic: On April 17 Mrs. Kaschalk, our business manager, outlined for the public the district’s user-friendly budget; we are not recommending a tax increase.  Her presentation showed that almost 70% of our district’s budget is a fixed cost with zero “wiggle room.”  Each line item was scrutinized to see if a reduction or elimination was warranted.  Our district continues to do wonderful things for its students, even with less money.  This continues to be a source of satisfaction for board members, taxpayers, as well as for me, but no district can function indefinitely at a monetary deficit; it is inevitable that, unless circumstances change, districts will be forced to sink into deficit spending. The governor’s proposed budget includes a minimal increase for our district – but this amount does almost nothing to offset the costs we incur to pay for unfunded or underfunded mandates.  For this reason, I must report that the cuts in place for the current school year will continue next year as well. 

 As always, I urge you to contact the governor and/or your local legislators. Make your voice heard! Let officials know that public education is a critical investment in our children.  As costs continue to go up, and districts look to make ends meet, inadequate funding will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the youth of our society, on our own well-being and safety and, of course, on our purses.

As is usually the case, I like to close my blog with some sports banter.  While I’m happy that the Pens are in the playoffs, I’m nervous every time they play. So far they look lackluster against what I consider to be a lesser opponent.  Unless they are amazingly strategic and deliberately leading future opponents to think they’ll be easy to defeat, they will need to play at a much higher level if they hope to move on.  And of course, football is back in the news. For one thing, the NFL draft commences in the near future Additionally, PSU’s new coach seems to be having a positive impact on the Nittany Lion Football program; at this point, his recruiting class for 2015 is ranked #1.  I can’t wait...!

Enjoy the weather as we say good-bye to a long and cold winter.  Until next month, Dr. D.

Great news - the first robin sighting!

Great news: while out making my school visits recently, I saw my first robin! Unfortunately, the bird was in Altoona and it may be another week or two until we see our own signs of spring. The words “Polar Vortex” has become very unpopular this winter.

Yes, winter has certainly taken center stage this school year as many activities were either cancelled or rescheduled.  The State has delayed the dates for administering the PSSA and is considering the same for the Keystone Exams.  Even as the official start of spring is March 20, the weather may still be interesting as the most recent reports call for possible early morning ice on that day.  Fortunately, as much as Old Man Winter is reluctant to leave, the sun will sooner or later (hopefully sooner) grow stronger and the temps will force him out of the area for several months.

Many of you are now aware of the governor’s proposed budget.  Once again, public education and local entities must find ways to finance unfunded mandates:

·     There is no real increase for basic education funding.

·     PlanCon is getting no new dollars.

·     There is a minute increase in funding for special education for the fifth year in a row (2%).

·     The pension debacle continues to drain district (and state) coffers.

Once again, we must do more with less money.  Because I believe it leads to many positive results, I remain committed to continuing with full day kindergarten. At the same time, I am determined to keep our district out of deficit spending. 

A fund balance is the difference between assets and liabilities.  When assets are greater than liabilities, the balance is positive.  If you follow our district finances, you will know that our fund balance is greater than 15% of our total budget.  By law we must consume any fund balance in excess of 8% prior to increasing any taxes. Maintaining a positive fund balance:

·     improves the credit rating of our district.

·     allows us to make our bond payments (without having yet received any of the PlanCon money from the State to which we are entitled).

·     enables us to prepare for pension increases

·     and for the unexpected building and ground issues that happen as buildings age.

Although this budget dilemma has caused considerable anxiety for educators, parents, and communities, we at Central Cambria are handling it in the best way possible: while some might wait or spend as if the problem might just disappear, we know the wiser course of action is to prepare for next year’s deficit and plan for an uncertain future in ways that maximize opportunities for our students.

As some of you may be aware, the district is still negotiating with its teachers’ union.  Talks have been ongoing since January of 2012.  I encourage you all to click on this link to review what the District was willing to accept and what the union voted not to accept. 

http://www.cchs.k12.pa.us/documents/StatusofNegotiations.pdf

Finally, with spring around the corner, football is in the air.  Many colleges, including PSU, have begun spring practices.  NFL free agency continues for one more week and there are just 50 days until the draft begins.  As I wait (patiently?) for football, I enjoy excellent hockey performances by our Pittsburgh favorites. Admittedly, the Pens are on a two game losing streak, but they are still the East division leaders. 

As time marches on at an increasingly rapid pace, it won’t be long before many of us will be complaining about the heat and cutting the grass.  For my part, I hope to ease my “suffering” by recalling this winter of 2014 while wearing flip flops and shorts.

Until next month,

Dr. D.