The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 14, 2008

Using Common Cents

7 districts take advantage of state initiative

By Courtney Anderson

MERCER COUNTY — Mercer County school districts have the highest rate of participation in Pennsylvania’s Common Cents Initiative.

Commodore Perry, Farrell, Hermitage, Jamestown, Sharon, Sharpsville and West Middlesex are among the districts that will get a free look at possible ways to improve efficiency.

“Again, it’s common sense,” Sharon school board President Melvin Bandzak said.

Officials this week announced that 39 districts in 13 counties were chosen for the program, which provides $1 million for consultants to study school operations and recommend ways to save money through sharing services with neighboring districts. It’s up to the individual school boards to decide whether to implement those suggestions.

Any resulting savings must be spent on academics according to the law, which was introduced by state Rep. Mark Longietti of Farrell, D-7th District. The freshman lawmaker said it’s the first piece of legislation he introduced that has come to fruition.

“As dollars continue to become tighter and tighter we need to check every possibility that exists,” Sharpsville Superintendent Mark Ferrara said. “This is a wonderful way to do it. We’re really excited to be a part of it and see no drawbacks at all. We’ve embraced it from the start.”

Longietti said he was “very pleased” with the number of Mercer County schools — seven out of 12 — that applied for the program and noted that Midwestern Intermediate IV in Grove City, which serves Mercer, Lawrence and Butler counties, has the highest number of districts participating. Mohawk and New Castle in Lawrence and Butler school district were also chosen.

School districts in every county that touches the Ohio border were chosen for the program, as well as nine in Allegheny County and a total of nine in Bradford, Lycoming and Lebanon counties in eastern Pennsylvania.

The intermediate units applied for the program on behalf of interested member schools and Farrell and Hermitage did not get on board until after the Nov. 15 deadline, local intermediate unit Executive Director Cecelia Yauger said.

Hermitage Superintendent Karen Ionta said the school board had decided to join the recently formed Mercer County School Directors Association, which also has a goal of sharing services and ideas, and thought that could be in lieu of signing up for the state program. But once members realized other area schools were trying for the state funds they “didn’t want to miss out.”

Mrs. Yauger said they should hear from the state soon to discuss the next steps in the program.

“If it ends up being a benefit to our districts and regional area, we’ll be very happy,” Mrs. Yauger said, adding that the unit has been offering services to area schools through things like joint purchasing and special education since its inception.

The Department of Education selected Deloitte Consulting and Pittsburgh-based Lyceum Group LLC to work with the districts.

They will assess 11 different areas, including transportation, food services, instruction, safety, health services, purchasing, finance and payroll, facilities and real estate, human resources, technology and administration.

“It’ll be interesting to see what the consultant comes up with,” Bandzak said.

Longietti said he thought the department was hopeful that there would be a second phase of the initiative but “budgets are always tight.”

“It’s important to participate when money’s available,” he said.

Text Only
Local News
  • Recycling program a bit too popular

    The  county’s effort at going green by encouraging recycling in rural areas has been a tremendous success by most accounts, but isn’t without a few glitches. In Wilmington Township, residents often only have a window of a few minutes to get cardboard recyclables in before the bin is full, prompting a discussion among Mercer County Commissioners Wednesday morning.

    May 25, 2012

  • District will tap reserve fund

    Reynolds school directors plan to fill a $374,567 hole in the 2012-2013 budget with money from the district’s fund balance.

    May 25, 2012

  • School board mulls change to sports chaperone policy

    In order to comply with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Sharpsville Area School Board is looking to adjust a chaperone policy it implemented six months ago.

    May 25, 2012

  • Afternoon crash hurts 3 high school students

    Three Jamestown High School students were injured – one seriously – when their pickup left a roadway in southwest Crawford County and crashed into a tree Tuesday afternoon.

    May 24, 2012

  • Board sells some, holds some

    Brookfield Board of Education members voted Tuesday to accept only the bids for the elementary school and the middle school, for a total of $97,050.
    The decision came after an hour-long executive session.

    May 24, 2012

  • Levey: Kohl’s project died with school vote

    Stripped of the necessity of voting for a tax incremental finance plan by Hermitage School Board’s unwillingness to participate, Mercer County commissioners said Wednesday they would like to meet with school board and Hermitage city officials to discuss other ways they can help Levey and Co. build a retail development in the city.

    But Levey spokeswoman Jeffrey A. Mills said there is nothing to discuss.

    May 24, 2012

  • Warden expects hectic season at county jail

    With the unofficial start of summer just a few days away, Mercer County Jail officials are preparing for a busy season.

    May 23, 2012

  • Levey officially drops TIF request

    Levey & Co. has officially ended its request for a tax incremental financing plan to build a retail development anchored by a Kohl’s department store.

    May 23, 2012

  • Grant will pay to fix 12-15 homes



    The City of Farrell will be able to fix up about a dozen homes in the city thanks to a $300,000 HOME grant from the state.

    May 23, 2012

  • Hard budget choices yet to come


     
    Hermitage School Board has been fortunate in many ways during the economic downturn that has been so hard on many other schools.

    May 23, 2012