The power of the press

Oct. 15, 2003: School cell-phone policy is Goofy

Kori Walter

SOME HAVE SUGGESTED that Reading School Board members sell pizzas or candy bars instead of using public money to pay for a trip to Orlando in March.

If students have to peddle baked goods and raffle tickets to help pay for school-sanctioned trips, why can’t board members go door to door to defray the expense of attending a National School Board Association convention?

Maybe the Orlando Three — board President Pierre V. Cooper, Vice President Karen H. McCree and Frederick H. Gaige — realize that doors would slam shut once folks figure out that proceeds would be used for a $5,500 junket to the Sunshine State while the district goes begging for more money in Harrisburg.

But there would be a more noble way to come up with cash.
Cooper, McCree and Gaige would not even have to venture out of the district administration building at Eighth and Washington streets.

That’s because the board would save taxpayers more than $6,000 a year by cutting the number of cellular telephones issued to district administrators and workers.

A Reading Eagle review of bills for the past year revealed that the district paid $5,863 for cell phones that were barely used.

The review found that 31 of the 54 district phones were used less than one hour per month.

And the lack of a formal cell phone-use policy led to administrators racking up a few hundred dollars for personal calls and roaming charges, the review showed.

School board candidate Keith Stamm has been complaining about the issue for months.

Stamm has sent more than two dozen faxes and letters to local lawmakers and state Attorney General Mike Fisher.

"I definitely think they should cut back, if not totally make the administrators pay for the phones," Stamm said.

Most board members just snicker when Stamm raises the issue.
And instead of reducing the number of phones doled out, the district has switched cell-phone plans and handed out about 30 additional phones.

"Cell phones are provided to administrative staff to increase productivity, provide constant contact in the event of safety and security emergencies and to share with teachers on field trips and similar uses," finance director Bob Schoch wrote in a memorandum issued with copies of the phone bills.

Stamm said other administrators have indicated that security concerns are the main reason the district hands out so many phones.

But phone records showed that Frank Pilat, who retired from the Reading Police Department to supervise the district’s security operations, used his phone nearly as much for personal calls as he did for district business.

Phone bills showed that Pilat used his phone for 31 hours in 2002. Pilat told the district that 14.5 hours — or 46.5 percent of all calls — were personal.
Granted, saving $6,000 on cell phones would barely make a dent in the $14 million budget deficit administrators are forecasting.

Yet the cash would be more than enough to make sure Cooper, McCree and Gaige could visit Goofy at Walt DisneyWorld in Orlando next spring and make them appear less goofy in doing so.

Contact columnist Kori Walter at 610-371-5022 or kwalter@readingeagle.com


Feb. 7, 2004: District seeking thrifty ideas

City schools start a contest that asks for suggestions on how the cash-strapped system can save more money.

By Kori Walter Reading Eagle

Reading School Board member Keith R. Stamm believes students and workers can do what administrators have said is nearly impossible: find more ways to save money in the financially distressed school district.

The district has started a four-month contest called Reading Saves, which asks everyone from teachers to janitors to first-grade students for suggestions on ways the district can cut costs.

Each school has a suggestion box to collect the entries.
A reward of $25 will be handed out in several categories, such as best suggestion from a student.

And the person who comes up with the suggestion that saves the most money will get $500, Stamm said.

"The lower grades will be encouraged to do it as a class project," Stamm said. "I’d like to get the kids in the thought process about saving money instead of just thinking about wasting money."

A panel of school board members and district residents will evaluate the suggestions, he said.

The prize money should be a wise investment, Stamm said.

He predicted that the suggestions will lead to savings of about $125,000, with most of that coming from ideas about how to cut energy bills.

"There are a lot of smart people in the district," Stamm said. "If we save $125,000, that’s (going to pay for) one administrator’s position for sure."

Board member Ronald A. McDowell said the contest has lots of potential.

"You’d be surprised the incentive some of these kids have for 25 bucks," McDowell said. "It’s possible somebody could come up with a suggestion that could save us a lot of money."

But administrators have said repeatedly during the past two years that the district has exhausted its cost-cutting options.

The administrators seemed to convince the state Legislature.

Reading will get an extra $1.6 million from Harrisburg this year because lawmakers created a special category of financially distressed schools that covered only Reading.

Even with the extra state money, administrators have predicted that the district’s budget deficit could hit $15 million in the 2004-05 school year.

Still, Stamm put some of his own money into the contest prize pool by donating the $50 door prize he won at a Reading High basketball game.

"I’d rather save the district dollars than eliminate positions," he said.

Contact reporter Kori Walter at 610-371-5022 or kwalter@readingeagle.com


May 14, 2004: Board wants more savings in budget plan

By Shaun Lockhart Reading Eagle

The Reading School Board Thursday night directed Dr. M. Melissa Jamula, superintendent, to find additional savings in the district’s $120 million proposed budget, even though she called the document a responsible spending plan.

The 2004-05 budget proposed by Jamula has a $6.3 million deficit. She has recommended using state grants intended to improve educational programs to pay for operating expenses and avoid a tax increase.

Property owners would continue to pay a tax of 19.75 mills, or $19.75 for every $1,000 of assessed value. The owner of a property assessed at $100,000 still would pay a tax of $1,975.

Board member John Santoro Jr. balked at recommendations to add staff next year and said he was against using non-recurring money to balance the budget.

His comments irked fellow board member Karen H. Mc-Cree, who said she would move out of the district if it wasn’t adequately staffed, specifically in classrooms.

McCree said a proposal she backed last year to privatize the district’s facilities department could have saved thousands of dollars but it failed for lack of support.

Despite the financial problems, the district continues to deliver better academically than similar districts, she said.

Board member Keith R. Stamm said he believes further cuts can be made. He cited the bottled water the district provides for high school teachers as something that could be dropped.

Stamm said teachers at other schools in the district pay for bottled water.
He compared the district to a household that shouldn’t spend what it can’t afford.

But that analogy is flawed because the state mandates many programs, board member Dr. Frederick H. Gaige said.

Gaige said the district is in a tough position because it can’t tax or cut itself out of its financial hole.

He said he doubted that $6 million in savings could be found in the budget.
After the meeting, Jamula met with her administrative staff to discuss the budget, which is expected to get preliminary approval when the board meets Wednesday at 7 p.m.

In other business, the board said it is applying for a Head Start expansion grant. The grant could be used to expand pre-kindergarten education in the district and free money for all-day kindergarten classes.

Last December, the board voted to end the district’s relation with the Head Start program, effective in December this year. Officials said the district lacked the staff to man the program.

If the district receives the grant, Jamula said she would recommend the district continues managing the Head Start program.

Contact reporter Shaun Lockhart at 610-371-5032 or slockhart@reading


May 20, 2004: School board rejects budget plan

Directors in the Reading district tell the superintendent to cut more spending from her proposal.

By Kori Walter Reading Eagle

The Reading School Board unanimously rejected the superintendent’s $119.75 million preliminary 2004-05 budget Wednesday night and demanded additional spending cuts to close a projected $6.3 million deficit.

Several board members opposed administrators’ plans to use a one-time, $3 million schoolconstruction subsidy from the state to balance the budget.

Administrators said after the meeting that they were unsure of the exact amount of cuts that will be needed to make up for not tapping the $3 million construction subsidy.

The district has until the end of the month to find additional cuts and meet a state deadline for putting a preliminary budget in place. A final budget must be adopted by June 30.

Dr. M. Melissa Jamula, superintendent, said finding cuts without affecting resources for classrooms will be difficult.

"I want to give you real numbers," Jamula told board members. "I can’t say we are going to cut the utilities by $1 million and then we end up in the red next year."

Board member Keith R. Stamm said administrators should be able to shave costs.

"There are places to cut, ways to save, ways to work harder, ways to become more efficient," Stamm said. "Businesses have to do it. Everybody who works at a job knows there is waste in what they do."

Administrators have worked during the past two weeks to meet board members’ demands for additional cuts in a budget that would not increase property taxes.

Jamula trimmed her original budget proposal by $1.37 million, proposing finding additional savings in operations and leaving nine jobs unfilled. Those jobs were five security guards, a special-education supervisor, two high school teachers and a substitute nurse.

The district will use some one-time money to help close the projected budget deficit.

Board members agreed to use $2.1 million in interest earnings and $2.8 million from a new state program to pay for operating expenses instead of improving education programs.

Although a majority of the board pressed for budget cuts, some members were concerned that Jamula’s budget plan does not provide adequate funding to ease overcrowding and enhance classroom instruction.

Board member Karen H. Mc-Cree cried while reading a prepared statement claiming that a lack of funding for Reading and other urban districts means that students do not receive the same quality education as their counterparts in wealthy, suburban districts.

"I feel that I have shortchanged the children of the Reading School District with the status quo," McCree said.

Board member Pierre V. Cooper blamed parents for being too lazy to call state lawmakers to demand more equitable funding.

"It’s your fault because I’m looking out here tonight (Wednesday), and you are not here," Cooper said, referring to the typically low turnout at board meetings. "If this district goes under, it will go under because of you."

Contact reporter Kori Walter at 610-371-5022 or kwalter@readingeagle.com


May 21, 2004: City study redundant, commissioner says

Reading will get county help with funding a look at revitalization. Mark C. Scott again withholds support, however.

By Mary E. Young Reading Eagle

Reading will get $10,000 from Berks County to put toward a $100,000 revitalization study, but without the endorsement of Commissioner Mark C. Scott.

Scott said last week that he would not agree to the contribution unless Commissioners Judith L. Schwank and Thomas W. Gajewski Sr. agreed to provide $9,750 for a study he wants on the number of children of illegal immigrants being educated in the Reading School District.

But on Thursday Scott said his vote no longer was tied to the district study because his review of the revitalization study showed it would be a duplication of other studies the city has conducted.

"It’s my conclusion that the study would in essence be a redundancy," he said. "I have a hard time understanding why we need a study to reach conclusions that have already been reached."

After the meeting Schwank said the new study would address problems that have not been studied previously, such as vacant store fronts in the 800 and 900 blocks of Penn Street and burned-out buildings in the 200 block.

Scott has been pushing for the district study in the hope that the information could be used to persuade the federal government to give the district more money to educate the children of illegal immigrants.

School board member Keith R. Stamm, who attended the commissioners meeting, said he believes the study Scott wants would be helpful, but he doubts the district would pay for it.

"I don’t think the school board would vote for it because we’re in dire straits," he said.

Schwank has said she would not vote for the district study because she believes the district has an obligation to educate all children and the likelihood that the federal government would give the district more money is slim.

Gajewski did not say if he would support it, but he said the problem is a result of a census error that underreported the number of children by 1,000.

The district is not getting enough money because the federal government gives funds based on student population, he said.

Scott said the study would provide the data the district needs to convince the federal government that the census was wrong.

Contact reporter Mary Young at 610-478-6292 or myoung@readingeagle.com.


June 18, 2004: Keith Stamm watching every school dollar

THE LATE KENNY MOCK, a former member of the Reading School Board, was always on the lookout for battleships during budget talks.

Mock implored colleagues to review spending plans carefully.

Mock said — only half-joking — that administrators would sneak a battleship into the budget and have it cruising down the Schuylkill River if board members failed to inspect the budget line by line.

Mock has not thumbed through budgets for two years. But listen to first-term board member Keith Stamm talk about district spending, and you would swear that Stamm is channeling the spirit of Mock.

Stamm shares Mock’s flare for fiery rhetoric.

Stamm campaigned last year as a fiscal watchdog fiercely opposed to increasing taxes.

Administrators quickly discovered that Stamm’s bite matched his bark.
Before taking office in December, Stamm hounded administrators about suspected cell-phone abuses.

Stamm leaned on administrators for months to hand over bills, which showed the district paying about $25 per month for more than 100 phones.

Eventually, administrators complied with Stamm’s demands to reduce the number of phones to 75.

Stamm, like Mock, has been a frequent visitor to schools.

During a trip to Northwest Middle School, Stamm was astounded to find the auditorium lights blazing with no students in sight.

A recent Sunday night trip to Reading High School had Stamm fuming again.
Somebody left the lights on in the cafeteria, he said.

The visits reinforced Stamm’s belief that administrators could find ways to cut the district’s energy bill by 20 percent.

Stamm also has crusaded against administrators’ quenching their thirsts at water coolers paid for with $2,000 of taxpayer money.

"I don’t care if it’s only $10," Stamm said. "It’s an abuse of taxpayers’ money. There were teachers and secretaries who were paying for their own water. It was the administration that wasn’t paying. ... They are the people that can most afford to pay for their own spring water."

He has complained about the district’s 601 long-distance phone lines that have allowed some workers to call Puerto Rico and other exotic locales.

And Stamm needled board member Pierre V. Cooper during a budget workshop about owing the district $946 for a trip in March to the National School Boards Association conference in Orlando, Fla.

When Cooper stood up and started walking toward Stamm, tensions reached a level unmatched since Mock threatened to slip on boxing gloves and settle his differences with Dr. Ruben Flores, ex-superintendent.

Some say Stamm worries too much about nickels and dimes in a nearly $120 million budget and that he’s an uptight micromanager.

Stamm insists he has the cash-strapped district’s interests at heart.

"I’m really not out to hurt anybody," Stamm said. "It just goes through me when I know how people in the city are hurting (because of high taxes)."
There are still a few notches left for belt-tightening, Stamm said.

Administrators have until early next year to break down services the district provides that are optional.

Stamm said that no programs — not even sports — will be exempt from scrutiny.

"I’ve led the horse to water (on cost-cutting)," Stamm said. "It’s up to them (administrators) whether they are going to drink or not."

Count on Stamm to make sure the horses pay up before taking a sip.

Contact columnist Kori Walter at 610-371-5022 or kwalter@readingeagle.com

City’s school tax will not increase

The Reading School Board approves a budget of nearly $132 million. To save money, more than a dozen positions were cut from the administration’s proposal.

By Shaun Lockhart Reading Eagle

The Reading School Board voted 6-3 on Tuesday night to adopt its $131.9 million budget, which will keep property taxes at their current rate of 19.75 mills.

Board Vice President John P. Santoro and members Pierre V. Cooper, Rodney Steffy, Ronald McDowell, Dr. Frederick H. Gaige and Stratton Marmarou voted for the budget. Board President Kenneth Christian, Keith R. Stamm and Karen H. McCree voted against it.

Property owners will continue to pay $19.75 for every $1,000 of assessed value, which means a property assessed at $50,000 will have a tax bill of $987.50.

Christian had said in previous meetings that he would vote against the budget if it used non-recurring funds, such as a $1 million state grant, to balance it.

McCree has said she was concerned about strings that may be attached to the additional state funding the district is receiving because of its status as financially distressed.

The budget is the result of weeks of haggling among board members over cuts.

In the end the district administration cut more than a dozen positions from its budget proposal — trimming more than $1 million from the budget.

The positions — for teachers, instructional aides and security officers — will go unfilled.

Stamm said he voted against the budget because there weren’t enough cuts.
The board also approved raises for 51 administrators, at an average increase of 3.2 percent.

Stamm said limiting those raises to 3 percent instead of 3.2 percent was an example of ways to cut costs.

"That alone could have saved us $250,000," Stamm said.

Santoro said that although Stamm’s argument had merit, the district was in the final year of its agreement with the Reading School Administrators Association.

He said not granting administrators the raises would cost more in a legal battle than would be gained by not approving them.

Cooper, who voted against the raises, said administrators deserve millions for the jobs they do but said the district’s financial state dictated otherwise.

Contact reporter Shaun Lockhart at 610-371-5032 or slockhart@readingeagle.com


Aug. 24, 2004: School board rips tax-hike proposal

A financial recovery panel’s recommendation to raise property levies in the city gets no support.

By David A. Kostival Reading Eagle correspondent

The Reading School Board sent a strong message to city taxpayers Monday night: It will not agree to raise taxes as part of a state-required financial-recovery plan.

The school board went on record during a special joint meeting with the district’s financial recovery team for the purpose of getting the recovery plan submitted to the state with board comments by next Tuesday.

Earlier this month the 11-member financial recovery panel, led by Paul R. Roedel, recommended property taxes should increase by one-half of a mill each year during the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.

Roedel is a former executive at Carpenter Technology Corp.

The tax rate would have risen to 21.25 mills from 19.75 mills during those years, meaning a $75 tax hike on a property assessed at $50,000.

The reasoning behind the panel’s proposal was to show the state that the cash-strapped city school district is serious about financial recovery.

Board President Kenneth J. Christian said city taxpayers should not have to see property taxes rise because of a state matter.

"The fact of the matter is the city of Reading cannot afford the Reading School District," Christian said. "This is a state issue. I agree with the other recommendations in this report, but we are losing touch with our taxpayers."

County Commissioner Mark C. Scott, who served on the panel, said he dissented from the panel’s opinion that taxes should be raised.

"If the conditions of the city are so bad already, then what do you gain by imposing a tax increase?" Scott asked. "Tax increases in this city have chased out good taxpayers who were shouldering the majority of the financial burden."

School board member Pierre V. Cooper agreed and said, "The only thing in this report that you could get a unanimous vote on would be having no tax increases."

While the panel’s financialrecovery plan asked property owners to pay an extra $1.7 million in taxes, the report relies heavily on hefty contributions from the state.

The panel projected that the state will need to come through with a total of $23.1 million during the next three years.

Without the revenue, the panel projected the district’s budget deficit will hit $11.26 million by 2007-08.

The report also recommended the district spend $11 million on new programs during the next four years including: instituting all-day kindergarten classes, opening a welcome center to register special education and non-English speaking students, installing high speed Internet access and hiring an urban education consultant.

Many board members also complained the board did not have adequate time to discuss the issues because they received the report in mid-August.

Board member Keith Stamm said the administration needs to prove there are cost-containment measures in the plan.

"It’s the oldest political trick in the book to wait until the last minute to try and get something approved," Stamm said.

Board member Karen H. McCree said she fears the board may be committed to programs it will not be able to afford.

"My fear is that the state has no precedent on how this report turns out," McCree said. "I don’t want to be tied into the strong recommendations in this report and then have the state hold us to them."

Christian said the board is expected to officially begin recording its comments during a committee-of-the-whole meeting tonight.

Contact correspondent David A. Kostival at 610-371-5000 or news@readingeagle.com


All articles reprinted here © 2003, 2004 Reading Eagle Company

Important votes (in separate voting) from meeting Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Finance Resolution 9: Votes on whether the District Solicitor would remain in office, with a 20% increase in fees, from $75, 000.00 to $90, 000.00 per year:
7 For/2 (Stamm, Cooper) Against

Finance Resolution 11: Votes on approval of Anne Hendricks, Esq. of Levin Legal Group to be retained as conflict counsel for special education matters:
8 For/1 (McCree) Abstained

Human Resources Non-Instructional Resolution 36: Votes on the PASBO conference (allowing Assistant Finance Director to stay overnight) at cost of $750.00:
7 For/2 (Stamm, Santoro) Against

Cuuriculum Resolution 4: Votes to adopt new graduation requirements involving PSSA testing:
7 For/2 (Cooper, McCree) Against

Pupil Services Resolution 1: Votes to approve 10 RSD staff members to attend PA Student Assistance Program annual conference in State College, PA at cost of up to $1, 500.00 per person:
8 For/1 (Stamm) Against

Items listed above were votes which contained a dissenting vote; votes in unison were ignored.

A recent article in the Reading Eagle's Berks & Beyond section, with sections I found interesting (and amusing) highlighted for easier readability. 

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This will be the blog of Keith Stamm, Reading School Director. Observations and comments on the status of the Reading School District will be contained herein. These are observations in the moment, nothing more, and should not be held against his character.