School Board Member Attacks the Community

The Oley School Board is under fire for considering a policy change that will inhibit, intimidate, and prevent public participation at board meetings.
The policy puts extraordinary speech limitations and expense on citizens speaking at board meetings.
The author of this anti-First Amendment and anti-Sunshine Law revision is the policy committee. The committee is comprised of Chairman, Robert J. Cappa, Scarlette Z. Gotwals, and Christopher M. Hannum.
At the May 17, 2006 meeting, Mr. Cappa expressed complete contempt for the community when he had his son read a prepared statement. Mr. Cappa did not attend the meeting.
Free speech does not mean you can force others to listen, the statement said. A demonstration of this freedom is when some long-winded person calls you on the phone and you can just hang up. It is why in a closed environment like a school board meeting, the length of repetitious diatribes can be limited.
In other words, get lost Oley Valley citizens.
Mr. Cappa is also the board member who brought a camera to a meeting and filmed speakers. He was asked to cease his intimidating behavior, but he refused.
The meeting agenda called for a first reading and discussion of the policy. There was no reading or discussion.
Perhaps, Mr. Cappa's statment reflects the attitude of the entire board. They have remained silent.

School Board Wants To Trash The First Amendment

The Oley School Board is considering a policy change regarding public participation at board meetings.
The revision is crafted to screen speakers and topics, limit their presentations, limit topics, and add costs to any citizens wanting to address the board.
This new policy is not designed to increase public participation, but intended to do just the opposite.
Prior to any meeting, the board wants a resident to fill out a card in detail along with the issue the person wants to discuss. The individual will have only three minutes to talk and ask questions. The board will allow only a total of ten minutes per topic. The presenter will have the added expense to supply copies for the nine board members, solicitor, superintendent, and the board secretary.
If a citizen violates any of these rules, he or she will not be allowed to speak or will be cut off during their presentation.
The board is angered by the presence of people asking questions about the 2006 budget and about the new synthetic track.
They have tried to stonewall questions since March regarding these topics.
They are now concocting a policy that will intimidate, prevent, and prohibit citizens from asking any sensitive questions at a public meeting.
This is a clear assault on our First Amendment rights.
The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
The Oley School Board intends to trash the First Amendment with their public participation policy and replace it with tyranny and oppression.

House Republicans Surrender to Special Interest Groups

The House Republicans stalled the vote for property tax relief. They announced a delay on the property-tax rebate plan passed by the Senate and endorsed by Governor Rendell until at least next month.
The Republicans declare" we can do better in the form of a property-tax reform bill"
This is an amusing assertion because the Republicans have been in the majority in Harrisburg for years, yet in all that time, they have done nothing for homeowners.
They are trying to sell the idea that their actions are in the best interests of the taxpayers.
Perhaps, another view of events is that this inaction is due to the lobbying power of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Pennsylvania School Board Association.
House Bill 39 has a referendum feature which both the teachers and the school board members hate.
Referendums give the public an opportunity to vote on school budgets. The teachers see this as a threat to their salaries, benefits, and guaranteed pensions and the school boards don't want to share power.
In a matter of days, these groups appear to have mustered a campaign of fear in the minds of the politicians if they passed a bill with any spending controls.
The amount lobbying by these special interests against referendums speaks volumes as to the effectiveness mandated controls would have on moderating school property taxes.
We now have a situation where the same politicians who have done nothing all these years are doing what they have done in the past, promising.
Contact your local House representative, and tell them they heard from the people who feed from the trough, now they are going to hear from the taxpayers.
We want property tax relief now, not more promises.
If you don't get a response, you might send a message with your vote in the May primaries.

It All Adds Up

The district purchases substantial amounts goods and services. In 2005, the Board submitted to the state a plan to spend $5,362,620 for these expenditures.

A significant portion,$3,125,986 is budgeted for services.

Purchased Professional & Technical Services - $506,561

Purchased Property Services - $710,475

Other Purchased Services - $1,908,950

According to the district policy 610 - Purchases Subject To Bid , "It is the policy of the Board to obtain bids for products and services where such bids are required by law or may result monetary savings to the school district."

Goods and services that are cost between $4,000 and $10,000 can be submitted in writing or by telephone.

Records must be kept of the vendors submissions.

According to the Board at a public meeting, they did not bid out the architect's fee of $39,000 for the new synthetic track.

The solicitor and Board President Robert A. Heckman, asserted services are exempt from the bidding process.

Their statements conflict with district Policy 610.

The school board has the fiscal obligation to carefully scrutinize all expenditures regardless of amount because it all can add up to millions of local tax dollars.