02.19.2014
School District of Lancaster rejects charter school, approves preliminary budget
The second time wasn’t a charm for the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School.
Repeating a decision made last March, the School District of Lancaster board unanimously rejected ABECS’ proposal for an entrepreneurship-focused charter school on Tuesday night.
“The next time (they apply) we should definitely sue them,” said SDL board member Harvey Miller of the group’s multiple attempts to create a charter school in the city.
The ABECS board submitted its second application in November. Some ABECS board members also were involved with Lancaster Science Academy, a proposed charter rejected by SDL’s board in 2008.
ABECS board president Indrit Hoxha said the board would read the district’s 41-page rejection before deciding whether to appeal to the state.
He said the district’s vote was disappointing. “We were expecting to make a change in Lancaster city,” Hoxha said.
In its written decision, the SDL board called ABECS’ new application “essentially identical” to the previous one.
Among the issues identified in the decision were curriculum plans that refer to other schools advised by Harold Kurtz, an ABECS consultant.
“It appears plain to this board that the entirety of these high school course descriptions are merely copied from the curriculum of another charter school advised by Dr. Kurtz,” the decision said.
The decision also said that the application fails to show ABECS’ community support, “ability to provide comprehensive learning experiences” and ability to “satisfy the legislative intent of the (charter school law).”
n In other business, the board approved a 2014-15 preliminary budget that allows the district to raise taxes by up to eight percent.
The district must apply to the state for exceptions to raise taxes above its Act 1 index of 3.1 percent.
Only Fanny Castellanos voted against the $187 million preliminary budget. Linda Owens was not present. Jennifer Desmarais attended via Internet but was not present during the vote.
The board faces a $7.7 million deficit for the 2014-15 school year. Contracts and operations chairman Randolph Carney said he would prefer to stay within the Act 1 index, but voted to apply for exceptions to create flexibility moving forward.
An eight-percent tax hike would amount to a $215 increase on a home assessed at $100,000.
Superintendent Pedro Rivera pointed out that the district qualifies for Act 1 exemptions because of its excess costs for special education and pensions — state-mandated expenses.
If the board chooses not to raise taxes above its index, the district will have to cut programs or draw money from reserves.
Matthew Przywara, SDL’s chief financial and operations officer, said at a contracts and operations meeting on Feb. 11 Przywara that the district will have $12.8 million in its reserves at the end of this year. If the board decides to use those funds to balance the budget, the reserves would go into the red by 2015-16.
“We’ve got some serious work ahead,” said board president Stacey Marten after the preliminary budget vote on Feb. 18.
The board must finalize its budget in June.
BUT MEANWHILE...
As we judge a man not by the color of his skin, but the month we celebrate it:
Lancaster NAACP to host talk on entrepreneurship
To celebrate Black History Month, the Lancaster NAACP will host a presentation on economic empowerment next Monday, Feb. 24.
Tax and financial expert Fred Waller will discuss “Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship: Rev. Martin Luther King's Dream for Economic Empowerment” at Lancaster’s Crispus Attucks Community Center.
The presentation will be part of the NAACP’s monthly general meeting, which begins with networking from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and then the program from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The Crispus Attucks center is at 407 Howard Ave.
Waller is an entrepreneur, published author and workshop facilitator, and owner of Waller Tax and Financial Services.
He also is a deacon and the education ministry chairman at Lancaster’s Bright Side Baptist Church.
Also, public officials and the NAACP will deliver a resolution commemorating Black History Month, and there will be live entertainment by the Infamous Unstoppables Drill Team and Drum Squad and recognition of community entrepreneurs.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Lancaster NAACP at 208-6791.
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