I wanted to mention a couple of community events coming up that are worth your attention.
7:45 a.m. Nov. 5: Family Issues Roundtable meeting will feature York County Truancy Coordinator Leigh Dalton talking about "Truancy in York County: Issues, Players and Solutions." The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, 2000 Loucks Road, near the West Manchester Mall. Cost is $15, and pre-registration is due by Nov. 1. For details, contact Alan Vandersloot, United Way of York County, at 771-3806 or vandersloota@unitedway-york.org.
11 a.m. Nov. 7: Gifts That Give Hope, a holiday gift fair, will offer a Web site and a live event to help raise money for more than 20 York County nonprofit organizations. The gift fair, sponsored and organized by the Women’s Giving Circle of the York County Community Foundation, will allow holiday shoppers the chance to buy gifts to support the community-building work of nonprofits, including YorkCounts. People who cannot attend the fair in person can shop online through the end of the year at www.giftsthatgivehope.org/york. For more information, call Mary Lou Alsentzer at 683-3929.
6 p.m. Nov. 9: The York County delegation of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will host a free energy fair to help consumers deal with expiring caps on electricity rates and to offer information how to make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Speakers scheduled to appear include John Hanger, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection; Sonny Popowsky, Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania; and Marcus Sheffer, energy consultant. For details on the fair, contact the office of Rep. Eugene DePasquale at 848-9595.
7 p.m. Nov. 17: Building One Pennsylvania is hosting a screening of "The New Metropolis," a two-part documentary that explores the challenges faced by older suburban communities and points toward solutions for their revitalization. The film will be accompanied by small-group discussions and a panel discussion. Building One PA is an emerging coalition of community leaders from across the state working to stabilize and revitalize their communities through the direct engagement and mobilization of their fellow citizens. Register in advance by sending an e-mail to events@yorkcounts.org. For details, call YorkCounts at 650-1460.
- Dan Fink
News and views from YorkCounts and its partners about the work we are all doing to create a vibrant York County.
29 October 2010
19 October 2010
YorkCounts part of Gifts That Give Hope
Gifts That Give Hope, a holiday gift fair, will offer a Web site and a live event to help raise money for more than 20 York County nonprofit organizations. The gift fair, sponsored and organized by the Women’s Giving Circle of the York County Community Foundation, will allow holiday shoppers the chance to buy gifts to support the community-building work of nonprofits, including YorkCounts. The live event starts at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. Our gift options include:
- Dan Fink
- $25 to help us provide savings bonds for students who perform outstanding community service;
- $50 to help us make our Web site more interactive and user friendly;
- $100 to help us enhance our Indicators Report research.
Details on the gift fair and a full list of participating organizations can be found at www.giftsthatgivehope.org/york. Shopping in person at the Strand allows you to browse among the nonprofit displays and learn about all the great work being done in the community. If you can't make it, the Web site went live starting Oct. 5, so you can browse and buy gifts online using PayPal. The site will remain up through Dec. 31. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
- Dan Fink
15 October 2010
Talking York City School District
The York City School District has been in the news recently, and, generally, not for positive reasons. First came reports that all but one of the district's schools failed to meet the state's AYP requirements. Then came news that the school board fired Superintendent Sharon Miller, a firing that came with a $700,000 price tag (due to a provision in her contract). This all adds to the community-wide view that the city school district is overwhelmed with problems - vast numbers of poor students and disengaged parents; low staff morale; and tension between administration and the board and even among board members.
Warren Bulette, head of the York County Taxpayers Council and a high-profile critic of several different York County school districts, has thrown open the door on an idea that has been quietly discussed for years: merging the city school district with neighboring districts.
Bulette, in a letter to the editor to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, wrote the city school district has tried for years to reverse declining student performance with little success. He identified this as a countywide problem because all those students who don't graduate or who graduate ill-equipped for a decent job are more likely to drain government resources rather than add to them as a working, tax-paying citizen.
"The city is not going to prosper, nor is York County, unless York city students are better educated," he wrote. "The time has also come for the rest of the school districts to step up to the plate and actually help instead of making it look like they are concerned."
Consider consolidation, he pleaded.
"If the new consolidated organization is organized properly, overall student achievement will improve and the beleaguered taxpayer will benefit — a real win-win."
The Daily Record responded with an editorial - and it agreed.
"The district is just not working - and hasn't been for some time," stated the editorial that ran in the Sept. 28 paper. "... Just bringing in a new superintendent probably won't be the solution. No, we need something more dramatic and systemic."
The editorial called for York Suburban, Central York and West York to divide up the city district. The editorial acknowledged the idea might not be popular - in the city or the suburbs. (Can you say "understatement"?) It offered up - and shot down - some of the expected excuses that opponents might advance to claim consolidation "wouldn't work." It also suggested that consolidation would increase the already growing diversity of the suburban schools, and that would be a good thing.
It concluded: "Yes, Mr. Bullette, you're right. Suburbanites should step in and help the city. They should stop ridiculing and demeaning a struggling district, power up their smart boards and do something to improve the situation."
How long should a struggling school district be given to right itself? Can we as a community make an intentional decision to allow some kids to fail year after year? Is this not an option that should at least be discussed, constructively and sensitively?
- Dan Fink
Warren Bulette, head of the York County Taxpayers Council and a high-profile critic of several different York County school districts, has thrown open the door on an idea that has been quietly discussed for years: merging the city school district with neighboring districts.
Bulette, in a letter to the editor to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, wrote the city school district has tried for years to reverse declining student performance with little success. He identified this as a countywide problem because all those students who don't graduate or who graduate ill-equipped for a decent job are more likely to drain government resources rather than add to them as a working, tax-paying citizen.
"The city is not going to prosper, nor is York County, unless York city students are better educated," he wrote. "The time has also come for the rest of the school districts to step up to the plate and actually help instead of making it look like they are concerned."
Consider consolidation, he pleaded.
"If the new consolidated organization is organized properly, overall student achievement will improve and the beleaguered taxpayer will benefit — a real win-win."
The Daily Record responded with an editorial - and it agreed.
"The district is just not working - and hasn't been for some time," stated the editorial that ran in the Sept. 28 paper. "... Just bringing in a new superintendent probably won't be the solution. No, we need something more dramatic and systemic."
The editorial called for York Suburban, Central York and West York to divide up the city district. The editorial acknowledged the idea might not be popular - in the city or the suburbs. (Can you say "understatement"?) It offered up - and shot down - some of the expected excuses that opponents might advance to claim consolidation "wouldn't work." It also suggested that consolidation would increase the already growing diversity of the suburban schools, and that would be a good thing.
It concluded: "Yes, Mr. Bullette, you're right. Suburbanites should step in and help the city. They should stop ridiculing and demeaning a struggling district, power up their smart boards and do something to improve the situation."
How long should a struggling school district be given to right itself? Can we as a community make an intentional decision to allow some kids to fail year after year? Is this not an option that should at least be discussed, constructively and sensitively?
- Dan Fink
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