Here's the YorIt submission for the Children's Museum of York, from the group working on developing a children's museum.
Their idea involves bringing a hands-on kids museum to the city to help inspire creativity and an interest in science, and to give families a destination in downtown York. It's modeled after museums such as the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, the Hands-On House in Lancaster and Port Discovery in Baltimore.
Full disclosure: My wife came up with the idea and is one of the leaders of the effort.
News and views from YorkCounts and its partners about the work we are all doing to create a vibrant York County.
14 February 2011
More on Healthy World Cafe
Last week, Deron Schriver wrote about the status of The Healthy World Cafe. A group is working to bring the restaurant to downtown York, with a pay-what-you-can-afford business model.
Organizers submitted a video proposal to YorIT's Social Venture Challenge, an attempt by the York County Community Foundation to generate philanthropic support for an idea intended to enhance revitalization efforts in downtown York. You can watch Healthy World's video below.
In March, YorIT Challenge organizers will announce the finalists from all the entries. Finalists will make their presentations to YorIT and other potential funders in April, with a winner to be selected the night of the presentations.
Organizers submitted a video proposal to YorIT's Social Venture Challenge, an attempt by the York County Community Foundation to generate philanthropic support for an idea intended to enhance revitalization efforts in downtown York. You can watch Healthy World's video below.
In March, YorIT Challenge organizers will announce the finalists from all the entries. Finalists will make their presentations to YorIT and other potential funders in April, with a winner to be selected the night of the presentations.
13 February 2011
York Co.'s housing market: The good, the bad, and the unknown
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| Home sales data offered mixed news for 2010, and most economists believe it will be a buyers market in 2011. |
Anyone who pays attention to news about the housing market hears a lot of gloom and doom. As we look ahead to 2011, let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the unknown in the housing recovery.
The Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties recently released its annual market report, which looks in detail at home sale activity and new construction by school district. According to the report, 3,771 homes were sold in York County, a 7 percent decrease from 2009. The bad news is this was a 10-year low in the number of homes sold.
The median home sale price was $153,000 in 2010. This reflects a 4 percent decrease from 2009, a 10 percent decrease from 2006, and an increase of 39 percent from 2001. According to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, homebuyers stay in their home an average of 10 years. The good news is, in spite of the recent declines, real estate continues to be a stable long-term investment.
During the first half of 2010, the home buyer tax credit encouraged sales and led to moderate increases in home sale prices. However, when the tax credit expired in April, home sales and prices dropped during the latter half of the year.
Distressed sales such as foreclosures and short sales also hurt the market throughout 2010. According to the York County Prothonotary’s office, there were 2,080 foreclosure filings in 2010. The good news is this is a 2 percent decrease from 2009 and a small step in the right direction for York County.
The state Realtors group also commissioned a survey on foreclosures in the Commonwealth and found the top two factors leading into foreclosures were job loss and medical bills. As long as people are without jobs or fear losing their livelihoods, they are unlikely to buy homes. The silver lining: York County had baby-step improvements in the job market in 2010. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the county unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in November after reaching 9.3 percent in October. The county also gained 100 jobs in November. The potential upward trend in the job market has led to optimism in local economic recovery.
A bright spot in the housing market is that affordability conditions are high. With more choices in inventory and historically low interest rates, homebuyers are in a great position to get more home for their dollar in York County.
It is anticipated that the housing market will continue its recovery next year. Most economists expect housing will remain affordable in 2011, but that’s not a sure bet. One thing is certain: Steady improvements in the economy, including local job growth, will be necessary to bring buyers into the market.
Shanna Wiest is the government affairs director for the Realtors Association of York & Adams Counties and has been with the association since 2005. In her position, she advocates for homeownership, economic development and smart growth planning. Shanna also serves as the secretary/treasurer for the York/Adams Regional Smart Growth Coalition and the president elect of the Economics Club for the York County Chamber of Commerce. Shanna earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dickinson College and her Master’s of Public Administration from Penn State University. Shanna lives in Springettsbury Township with her fiancé Joe.
09 February 2011
Want to change your school? Know your school board
by Leigh Dalton
During a political debate with my husband (then boyfriend) about eight years ago, I learned that he – 27 years old at the time – had never voted.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it doesn’t matter,” he replied.
I then told him that I would not discuss politics with him until he registered and practiced his right to vote. “It is the right only of those who vote,” I told him, “to weigh in on what is working and what is not in our government. If you don’t vote, keep your mouth shut.”
I sometimes feel that way about parents and their involvement in their children’s schools. I have worked in communities around school issues for about nine years. When I am in schools I hear a lot of parents complaining about how things should be done, but see very little action from the parents to help make changes.
One of the ever-emerging discussions among teachers and school administrators is the need for increased parent involvement. Actually, in one of the first speeches by then President-elect Obama in 2008, he called parents to the plate, reminding them that they need to be involved in their children’s education. And rather than complaining to one another while waiting for school to dismiss, a very effective way to be involved includes attending school board meetings.
I was once told that if you want to make the biggest impact on a child’s life, sit on a school board. And it is true. Who decides at what age your child can enroll in school? Who votes on the curriculum? Who hires and holds accountable the superintendents, who then hire and supervise the teachers? Who passes the budget – a budget that affects class size, building maintenance, after-school programming, elective classes, and availability of social workers and guidance counselors in a school? Who approves attendance and discipline policies?
With all of those issues at hand, why is it that I most often hear parents resolve to go to a school board meeting to demand changes in school calendars and school policies around snow days and two-hour delays? While I understand the need for safe transportation is preferred over crazy attempts to shovel out, spin tires in the snow, and peep over mounds of snow, the frequency of snow days/delays and their impact on a child’s actual educational experience pale in comparison to more important issues such as curriculum, budget concerns, discipline and attendance policies.
I am a new parent; my daughter is 10 months old. But knowing what I know about school boards’ power, I will likely attend at least half of the school board meetings that take place in any given school year. The impact school boards have is amazing. Please consider attending the school board meeting for your child’s school. Not only will you learn about budget items, personnel decisions and curriculum changes; not only can you challenge decisions about school buildings being built or torn down; but you can see and meet the people who make daily decisions affecting your children. If you talk to a teacher, he or she will say their hands are tied, talk to the principal. The principal, most likely, will indicate that she follows orders from the superintendent. And who does the superintendent report to?
The school board.
Please consider issues larger than the school calendar. Think about discipline codes, attendance issues or even bullying situations. Go to the school; talk. Go to the school board meetings; learn.
And the best part? Your child will watch you, learn from you, see that you value his or her education and learn to do the same.
Leigh Dalton is the director of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative and the community mobilizer for York County Communities That Care. After receiving her law degree from the University of Baltimore, School of Law, she managed a truancy intervention program called the Truancy Court Program. She is pursuing her doctorate in education policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She lives in Spring Garden Township with her husband, baby daughter and her two rescued dogs. She can be reached at leigh@yorkbar.com and 717-854-8755, ext. 209.
During a political debate with my husband (then boyfriend) about eight years ago, I learned that he – 27 years old at the time – had never voted.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it doesn’t matter,” he replied.
I then told him that I would not discuss politics with him until he registered and practiced his right to vote. “It is the right only of those who vote,” I told him, “to weigh in on what is working and what is not in our government. If you don’t vote, keep your mouth shut.”
I sometimes feel that way about parents and their involvement in their children’s schools. I have worked in communities around school issues for about nine years. When I am in schools I hear a lot of parents complaining about how things should be done, but see very little action from the parents to help make changes.
One of the ever-emerging discussions among teachers and school administrators is the need for increased parent involvement. Actually, in one of the first speeches by then President-elect Obama in 2008, he called parents to the plate, reminding them that they need to be involved in their children’s education. And rather than complaining to one another while waiting for school to dismiss, a very effective way to be involved includes attending school board meetings.
I was once told that if you want to make the biggest impact on a child’s life, sit on a school board. And it is true. Who decides at what age your child can enroll in school? Who votes on the curriculum? Who hires and holds accountable the superintendents, who then hire and supervise the teachers? Who passes the budget – a budget that affects class size, building maintenance, after-school programming, elective classes, and availability of social workers and guidance counselors in a school? Who approves attendance and discipline policies?
With all of those issues at hand, why is it that I most often hear parents resolve to go to a school board meeting to demand changes in school calendars and school policies around snow days and two-hour delays? While I understand the need for safe transportation is preferred over crazy attempts to shovel out, spin tires in the snow, and peep over mounds of snow, the frequency of snow days/delays and their impact on a child’s actual educational experience pale in comparison to more important issues such as curriculum, budget concerns, discipline and attendance policies.
I am a new parent; my daughter is 10 months old. But knowing what I know about school boards’ power, I will likely attend at least half of the school board meetings that take place in any given school year. The impact school boards have is amazing. Please consider attending the school board meeting for your child’s school. Not only will you learn about budget items, personnel decisions and curriculum changes; not only can you challenge decisions about school buildings being built or torn down; but you can see and meet the people who make daily decisions affecting your children. If you talk to a teacher, he or she will say their hands are tied, talk to the principal. The principal, most likely, will indicate that she follows orders from the superintendent. And who does the superintendent report to?
The school board.
Please consider issues larger than the school calendar. Think about discipline codes, attendance issues or even bullying situations. Go to the school; talk. Go to the school board meetings; learn.
And the best part? Your child will watch you, learn from you, see that you value his or her education and learn to do the same.
Leigh Dalton is the director of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative and the community mobilizer for York County Communities That Care. After receiving her law degree from the University of Baltimore, School of Law, she managed a truancy intervention program called the Truancy Court Program. She is pursuing her doctorate in education policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She lives in Spring Garden Township with her husband, baby daughter and her two rescued dogs. She can be reached at leigh@yorkbar.com and 717-854-8755, ext. 209.
06 February 2011
Healthy World Cafe offers unusual business model
by Deron Schriver
The United States Department of Agriculture estimated in 2008 that 49.1 million people were living in food insecure households, meaning those people reported insufficient access to food necessary to lead an active, healthy life. At the same time, many studies estimate that 40-50 percent of all food available for harvest is wasted. Obesity is considered by many to be the top public health crisis of the 21st century, with almost a third of the population meeting that classification.
What if one not-for-profit organization was created to address all of those issues and more, at the local level? Good news is on the horizon.
Healthy World Café is a not-for-profit restaurant developed by a group of dedicated community members coming to York in the near future. The business model includes allowing patrons to choose their portion size and pay what they feel is fair (although there will be suggested prices to be used as a guide). Those that cannot afford to pay will be given the opportunity to volunteer an hour of their time in exchange for a healthy meal. The Café will serve only healthy meals, and part of the Café’s mission will be to rely heavily on food obtained from local producers. It will strive to be a gathering place for people of all backgrounds, and it hopes to partner with other local efforts aimed at improving the future of the York community.
Healthy World Café is modeled after similar restaurant projects in other cities, including Denver; Spokane, Wash.; and Salt Lake City.
The organization’s Guiding Committee is finalizing the business plan and is seeking community input. A prime site in downtown York has been identified, but it will require funding before any commitments can be made. Please visit http://www.healthyworldcafe.org/ or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to learn more or contact us at healthyworldcafe@gmail.com. You won’t find a better return on the investment of your tax-deductible donation or your volunteer time.
Deron Schriver is the executive administrator for The Women's Healthcare Group and a member of the Guiding Committee for Healthy World Café. He has a particular interest in studying and participating in solutions to address health issues affecting our society. Deron earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration, both from York College. He lives in West Manchester Township with his wife, Lisa.
 |
| Healthy World Cafe hopes to provide pay-what-you-think-is-fair meals made with food from local producers. |
The United States Department of Agriculture estimated in 2008 that 49.1 million people were living in food insecure households, meaning those people reported insufficient access to food necessary to lead an active, healthy life. At the same time, many studies estimate that 40-50 percent of all food available for harvest is wasted. Obesity is considered by many to be the top public health crisis of the 21st century, with almost a third of the population meeting that classification.
What if one not-for-profit organization was created to address all of those issues and more, at the local level? Good news is on the horizon.
Healthy World Café is a not-for-profit restaurant developed by a group of dedicated community members coming to York in the near future. The business model includes allowing patrons to choose their portion size and pay what they feel is fair (although there will be suggested prices to be used as a guide). Those that cannot afford to pay will be given the opportunity to volunteer an hour of their time in exchange for a healthy meal. The Café will serve only healthy meals, and part of the Café’s mission will be to rely heavily on food obtained from local producers. It will strive to be a gathering place for people of all backgrounds, and it hopes to partner with other local efforts aimed at improving the future of the York community.
Healthy World Café is modeled after similar restaurant projects in other cities, including Denver; Spokane, Wash.; and Salt Lake City.
The organization’s Guiding Committee is finalizing the business plan and is seeking community input. A prime site in downtown York has been identified, but it will require funding before any commitments can be made. Please visit http://www.healthyworldcafe.org/ or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to learn more or contact us at healthyworldcafe@gmail.com. You won’t find a better return on the investment of your tax-deductible donation or your volunteer time.
Deron Schriver is the executive administrator for The Women's Healthcare Group and a member of the Guiding Committee for Healthy World Café. He has a particular interest in studying and participating in solutions to address health issues affecting our society. Deron earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration, both from York College. He lives in West Manchester Township with his wife, Lisa.
03 February 2011
More on Chris Leinberger, Building York Summit
There's still time to register for next week's two-day Building York summit. On Feb. 9, there's a kick-off event with a VIP dessert reception and a screening of the film "My Tale of Two Cities." On Feb. 10, there will be a couple of breakout sessions in the morning, a lunch keynote from Chris Leinberger and an afternoon roundtable discussion.
Read Eric Menzer's blog post on Chris here, and watch this video to get a feel for where Chris will go with his message:
- Dan Fink
Read Eric Menzer's blog post on Chris here, and watch this video to get a feel for where Chris will go with his message:
- Dan Fink
01 February 2011
Grim fiscal picture requires action now
by Dan Fink
YorkCounts staff and several board members attended an event in Lancaster last month called Public Schools in Crisis. For several hours, those of us in the audience listened as one presenter after another painted a grim picture of the outlook for Lancaster County's public school districts.
How grim, you ask?
The most affluent districts are three years - three years - away from burning through their reserves and sinking into bankruptcy. The less affluent will face that situation sooner.
The phrase that stuck out was "unprecedented fiscal environment." The end of federal stimulus money. The prospect of no increases - and possible cuts - in state education funding. Caps on property tax increases. Rising costs for employee pensions and health insurance.
A conservative estimate puts Lancaster County's total deficit at $225 million over the next three years. To cover the shortfall, districts would be faced with enormously painful choices. Should they cut 500 teaching positions over that time frame, or increase taxes 13 percent a year each year?
Or should they do a little of both and start slashing budgets? But what to cut? They'll start with offerings not mandated by the state. One Lancaster presenter, the superintendent of Hempfield School District, went through a laundry list of possible cuts: kindergarten and foreign languages; art, music and phys ed; guidance counselors, school psychologists and schools nurses. They could close schools, increase class size and reduce bus service. They could ask for wage freezes and early retirements. None of it sounded appealing.
The biggest shock, of course, was knowing that these exact issues challenge York County schools now, too. From York City to York Suburban, every district is having the same difficult conversations. Take a look at this recent story by the York Daily Record/Sunday News. Their reporting shows budget deficits ranging from $350,000 in Southern York to $15 million in York City, with most clustered in the $2 million-$5 million range.
All of which brings me to the YorkCounts annual meeting set for April 14 at Penn State York's Pullo Center. Our board had already started the process for focusing on education in 2011. Last summer, we had some preliminary conversations with the York campus of Harrisburg Area Community College to partner on an education-focused event for later this year. More recently, the board concluded that driving real change in our Indicators data could be accomplished most efficiently if we work to improve student achievement across the entire county.
All of this was in our minds as we listened to the Lancaster presentations, and afterward there was no doubt that our annual meeting needed to focus on the same education issues spotlighted at the Lancaster event.
We want to come away from the summit with a few specific recommendations that will form the basis of future action by YorkCounts and our community partners. Our April event will focus on the fiscal crisis, for sure. We also hope it becomes the start of a process for future conversations about other public education issues of interest to the entire county, issues such as:
Check our Web site, this blog and our Twitter and Facebook updates for details on the summit as we add speakers and flesh out other details.
Your only homework for this? Be ready to talk about solutions.
 |
| YorkCounts will use its annual meeting April 14 at Penn State York's Pullo Center to begin identifying ways to confront a grim fiscal outlook while improving student achievement. |
YorkCounts staff and several board members attended an event in Lancaster last month called Public Schools in Crisis. For several hours, those of us in the audience listened as one presenter after another painted a grim picture of the outlook for Lancaster County's public school districts.
How grim, you ask?
The most affluent districts are three years - three years - away from burning through their reserves and sinking into bankruptcy. The less affluent will face that situation sooner.
The phrase that stuck out was "unprecedented fiscal environment." The end of federal stimulus money. The prospect of no increases - and possible cuts - in state education funding. Caps on property tax increases. Rising costs for employee pensions and health insurance.
A conservative estimate puts Lancaster County's total deficit at $225 million over the next three years. To cover the shortfall, districts would be faced with enormously painful choices. Should they cut 500 teaching positions over that time frame, or increase taxes 13 percent a year each year?
Or should they do a little of both and start slashing budgets? But what to cut? They'll start with offerings not mandated by the state. One Lancaster presenter, the superintendent of Hempfield School District, went through a laundry list of possible cuts: kindergarten and foreign languages; art, music and phys ed; guidance counselors, school psychologists and schools nurses. They could close schools, increase class size and reduce bus service. They could ask for wage freezes and early retirements. None of it sounded appealing.
The biggest shock, of course, was knowing that these exact issues challenge York County schools now, too. From York City to York Suburban, every district is having the same difficult conversations. Take a look at this recent story by the York Daily Record/Sunday News. Their reporting shows budget deficits ranging from $350,000 in Southern York to $15 million in York City, with most clustered in the $2 million-$5 million range.
All of which brings me to the YorkCounts annual meeting set for April 14 at Penn State York's Pullo Center. Our board had already started the process for focusing on education in 2011. Last summer, we had some preliminary conversations with the York campus of Harrisburg Area Community College to partner on an education-focused event for later this year. More recently, the board concluded that driving real change in our Indicators data could be accomplished most efficiently if we work to improve student achievement across the entire county.
All of this was in our minds as we listened to the Lancaster presentations, and afterward there was no doubt that our annual meeting needed to focus on the same education issues spotlighted at the Lancaster event.
We want to come away from the summit with a few specific recommendations that will form the basis of future action by YorkCounts and our community partners. Our April event will focus on the fiscal crisis, for sure. We also hope it becomes the start of a process for future conversations about other public education issues of interest to the entire county, issues such as:
- What do we do about public employee pensions?
- Are there ways for all county districts to work together - meaningful ways that have not been explored to date - to provide services at lower cost?
- How do we reduce truancy and keep more kids in school?
- How do we better link public school courses and programs with workforce needs?
Check our Web site, this blog and our Twitter and Facebook updates for details on the summit as we add speakers and flesh out other details.
Your only homework for this? Be ready to talk about solutions.
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