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in Keystone Oaks Thursday, July 01, 2010 By Candy Woodall The Keystone Oaks school board voted unanimously last Thursday to raise the real estate tax rate by 0.72 mills, but it may not be enough to stave off effects of debt service payments and a looming pension crisis facing districts across the state. Directors approved a $35.7 million budget and a tax rate hike that will go from 21.31 to 22.03 mills. It will mean an additional cost of $60 a year to the average district household, and some will pay as much as $162 more annually, according to Gwen Walker, director of fiscal services. Those increases don't compare with the difference KO will owe in pension benefits within two years. The district now pays about $400,000 in pension benefits. In 2012-13, it is projected to owe $2.3 million. Click Here for the full report Parents fighting to save Myrtle School leave a district meeting disappointed. A budget meeting was held at the Keystone Oaks School District. The school district is proposing to close a few of the elementary schools and merge the students into other schools. This was due to declining enrollment. Parents asked school board members to form a task force to discuss other options. The motion, however, was tabled. Do Not be fooled The Closing of Myrtle School Will only lessen your child's education along with your property value. All Speakers at the meeting strongly suggest that you politely Contact your School Board Representatives Please Click Here for your School Board Representatives' Contact List “Save Our School” Rally The auditorium inside Keystone Oaks High School was packed with hundreds of community members who came to voice their concerns about the possible closing of two of the three elementary schools in the district. The school board is considering closing Aiken Elementary School in Green Tree and Myrtle Elementary School in Castle Shannon. Both house kindergarten through fifth grades. In a report commissioned by the board last year, demographer Dr. Shelby Stewman stated the district could lose more than 250 students in the next decade. Currently, the district has 2,231 students. The declining student population and declining tax base in district are the driving forces behind the possible changes. Keystone Oaks Superintendent, Dr. William Urbanek said the district has been looking at the option of using three buildings in the district. Under this plan, the current Dormont Elementary school would become a primary school for grades kindergarten through third; the current middle school would become an intermediate school for grades fourth through sixth and the high school would house seventh through twelfth grades, with the seventh and eighth graders partitioned off from the older students, closing both Myrtle and Aiken Elementary Schools. About 25 citizens, representative of the three boroughs of Keystone Oaks - Castle Shannon, Dormont and Green Tree - spoke to the board regarding the possible changes. "Clearly community activism is not dead," said David Hommrich, of Green Tree as he spoke to the crowd. "Status quo is fine," he added, saying the board should keep the three elementary schools. "There are other answers besides closing schools," he added. Janine Palmer, who is a member of Green Tree Council said, "You simply can't afford to deliberate without talking to your constituents, not at them." She added that she would like to have a joint meeting with all the borough councils and the school board. Edward Schenck, a member of Green Tree Council, said he thinks the taxpayers should know what it will cost to keep the schools open. "The school board should do everything in its power to keep the schools open," Schenck said. "Closing Aiken is bad for Green Tree," said resident Barbara Bennett, who is also a real estate agent. "It's detrimental to the real estate in Green Tree," she added. Michael Warhold, a member of Castle Shannon's borough council said, "We (the council) are unanimous in opposition to closing of our neighborhood schools." Warhold said he would also like a joint meeting with borough councils and the school board. "I suggest KO stop this school closing now," said Joe Hartnett of Castle Shannon, who said he's a parent of four children. He added one of the reasons he moved to Castle Shannon was because of Myrtle Avenue Elementary. "I think that they need to give us all the facts," said Kim Kanoza, of Castle Shannon, whose youngest son attends Myrtle. Jennifer Lashley, a lifelong resident of Castle Shannon, said her child will be entering kindergarten in the fall. She said the thought of sending her five-year-old on a long bus ride is "terrifying." She added she didn't like the idea of him having to switch schools after one year. Laurie Malka of Dormont said when she first heard about the possibility of schools closing she was "stunned." But she said, "I don't think this plan is 100 percent wrong." She said she liked the idea of having sixth-grade back in the elementary school. Malka added that she would like to keep the community schools, but with the loss of population, she doesn't know if it will work. Board President Marian Randazzo said the goal of the school board is to "maintain and improve the current overall educational program while remaining fiscally responsible to taxpayers." She added that school taxes have remained the same for five years. She said the two chosen schools are either in need of repair or underutilized. Randazzo said if district resources are not pulled together, the board believes more taxes would be levied on citizens. She added that the board needs to put more input toward district programs, not buildings. "I believe it makes prudent sense to move forward," Randazzo said. She said, "Families are KO's best resources, not buildings." Before the board can vote on whether to close any schools, public hearings are necessary. The district's solicitor, Barbara Graham said the very first opportunity for school closings would be the 2011-12 school year. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Keystone Oaks Education Association, ending 22 months of negotiations. The new contract, which runs through June 30, 2013, had been approved last week by the teachers union. It provides annual teacher raises that average 3.5 percent per year, slightly increases health care payments and will increase the amount of time teachers spend in the classroom. The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2008. Thursday, January 22, 2009 By Margie Smykla 6 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at Myrtle Avenue Elementary School in Castle Shannon and 6 to 9:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Dormont Elementary School. The Building Utilization Study Parent Stakeholders meeting (Kimball Architecture), originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at Myrtle Avenue Elementary, has been cancelled and will be rescheduled on a later date. The district has experienced steady student population declines every decade since 1972. In the 2002-03 school year, the number of students was 2,583. Today, it is roughly 2,200. Dr. Urbanek said about 80 percent of the district residents do not have children in the school system. "Can we raise taxes for five schools and risk driving people out of their homes?'' he said. Beverly Bronder, who has two children at Aiken, said she is afraid the district wants to consolidate schools. "We want to protect our Aiken,'' she said. Kim Malesky said she and other parents want to "keep the community-based school, and the class size small." "I love this school," she said. |
