IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Fall 2019

Brentwood Borough School District SUPERINTENDENT’S M E S S A G E Work in our schools is never ending. Our administrators, support staff, and contracted services work diligently throughout the summer to prepared for another school year. In this edition of the magazine, you will read about critical building projects, updates to curriculum, the hiring of new personnel, and well-deserved recognition for the district’s commitment to creating a culture that is invested in helping students thrive in as digital learners. Throughout the upcoming year the district will be seeking feedback from all stakeholders (students, parents, community members, support staff, professional staff, and administrators) on the district comprehensive plan. The district identified goals include renovating our schools in a fiscally responsible manner, reviewing and revising curriculum, providing opportunities to utilize technology, and reviewing safety and security policies. We have accomplished a great deal over the last five years, but we recognize that we still have a long way to go. We will continue to remain focused on teaching and learning so that all students graduate college and career ready! SCHOOL BOARD MESSAGE While students get a break from school during summer, a lot happens throughout our school district to prepare for another year of instruction. Our maintenance and custodial staffs do a thorough cleaning of the facilities and tackle projects that can’t be completed while students are always around, and keep our schools running and looking great (lots of people comment on how good our buildings look while visiting them). Our secretarial staff handles the administrative details that need attention year-round, not just when school is in session. Our tech staff are updating computers, installing new equipment, and preparing new software programs for use by staff and students. The business office handles the daily matters that are necessary for reporting purposes, and to keep the operations moving smoothly. And this year, we have contractors at all the buildings starting the multi-year BY DR . AMY M. BURCH 56 BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL renovation projects that are needed for maintaining our facilities. Your school board is proud of our staff that support all our educational programs in Brentwood. They are some of the unseen and unsung heroes of our educational system and help make us better as a school district. They and our teachers and administrators are working to constantly improve our programs and prepare our students for a rapidly changing workplace in the 21st century. We are beginning a new school year, so watch for opportunities to support our Brentwood students in their academic, athletic, extra- curricular, and musical activities. You have seen the billboards and heard the commercials claiming that charter and cyber schools are tuition free. The truth is the tuition is not free and is paid for by the student’s home district. Charter and cyber school tuition are NOT based on the actual cost to educate the student at the charter or cyber school and the tuition rates can vary drastically from district to district. The tuition is calculated on a per pupil cost to the home district. This means that School District A would be charged $12,000/student and School District B would be charged $48,000 per student to attend the same charter or cyber school. This is adding to the divide between wealthy and poor school districts. Recently there has been a push in the state for a formula to be enacted to determine the cost of educating a student at a charter or cyber school. School districts must bear the burden of mandated increases in charter school tuition, employee pensions, and special education. School districts do not have the authority to lower these mandated costs and are forced to cut programs or increase taxes to balance the budget. More specifically, from 2010-2018 the cumulative cost of charter cyber school tuition, employee pensions and special education rose by $4.68 billion but the state only increased funding by $2.24 billion. The remaining balance was forced on to taxpayers across the state. The legislators permitted the two systems (traditional and charter/cyber) for educating students in Pennsylvania. Instead of adequately funding both systems, Pennsylvania ranks at the in the bottom of all states for funding. The situation became so dire that a lawsuit was filed, and Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court issued a trial schedule order beginning in October 2019. Furthermore, charter and cyber schools are not managed by an elected board of school directors, so taxpayers have no say in who is managing their tax money. This taxpayer money leaves the local school district reducing the resources available for the students who continue in the traditional local school district. The chart below illustrates the increases in tuition costs of charter and cyber schools and how much taxpayer money has left the district. TOTAL TAXPAYER MONEY LEAVING BRENTWOOD BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOLS School Year Charter/Cyber tuition paid for one regular ed student Charter/Cyber total tuition paid for all regular ed students 2016-17 11,652.74 339,582.73 2017-18 13,137.87 2018-19 2019-20 Charter/Cyber tuition cost paid for one special ed student Charter/Cyber total tuition paid for all special ed students Charter/Cyber total tuition leaving the district 24,836.01 344,777.58 684,360.31 535,893.04 27,259.81 341,525.49 877,418.53 13,313.67 522,605.07 28,694.61 326,136.63 848,741.70* 13,937.58 projected TBD 30,359.50 projected TBD TBD *This amount is only as of June 2019. There are additional payments to be made for the 2018-2019 school year. Charter and Cyber school tuition reform is desperately needed. In 2017-2018, the amount of tuition paid using taxpayer dollars is nearly enough to close the current deficit in the budget. On Tuesday, August 13, Governor Wolf announced plans to overhaul charter school regulations and proposed legislation to comprehensively reform the law to better serve students and taxpayers. Valkyrie to Compete in Abu Dhabi Our F1 team, Valkyrie has earned the right to compete on the global level again! This time the students will be traveling to Abu Dhabi. F1 in Schools is the largest international STEM program, where over 1.3 million students participate annually from over 40 countries all over the world. The competition tests students’ abilities in all aspects of design and engineering. From the creation of digital and physical media, to advertising the team and building the brand, even the methodical design and testing of the car. All of this is handled by students, the work involved takes dedication and time, and fosters the next generation of leaders and engineers. The team established a GoFundMe account to assist with the travel costs. Please consider donating at https://www.gofundme.com/f/brentwoodf1 or by contacting the school at 412-881-2227 ext. 2115. BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL ❘ FALL 2019 57

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