The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

July 5, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels with Dr. John George of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit

It may have been a holiday-shortened week, but it was still long on news around Harrisburg. Here are some local stories and features that you may have missed amidst the barbecues and big booms.

Harrisburg City Council members expected a long summer break, but now they’ll need to return to city hall next week because of delays in the annual process of doling out federal housing grant money. What’s the holdup? Click here to find out.

Harrisburg’s affordable housing crunch is a problem that won’t be fixed overnight. However, our editor has some thoughts on what may help.

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels introduced Dr. John George, who will head up her recovery team for the next three years. Oh, and a bunch of computers and essential data have gone missing. Click here for all the details.

Independence Day fireworks went off with a bang, despite the threat of rain. Read our feature story on the best place to witness them in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Department of Education consultants completed their financial audit of the Harrisburg school district, issuing a damning report that prompted responses both from the school receiver and from our editor.

Sara Bozich looked beyond the July 4 holiday to offer up some great ideas for going out and having fun for the entire long(ish) weekend.

TheBurg’s music columnist has fests and folkies in focus this month. Check out all her recommendations for July.

Two-way 2^nd Street is a step closer to reality, as Harrisburg plans to offer two design plans at a public meeting on July 18. Click here for the details.

“Where I Live,” a book by Harrisburg writer and educator Debra Hervitz, teaches local children exactly where they stand in the state, the country, the universe.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

School receiver calls financial audit “clear indictment” of former administration practices

July 4, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Janet Samuels introduced John George, executive director of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, earlier this week.

The state’s recently released financial audit of the Harrisburg school district is a “clear indictment” of the practices of the former school administration, according to the district’s receiver.

Receiver Janet Samuels released a statement on Thursday declining comment on specific audit findings, but that acknowledged the report’s findings.

“In my capacity as the court appointed Receiver, I acknowledge receipt of the audit which is a clear indictment of the accounting and Human Resources practices of the former school district administration,” she said.

In March, the state Department of Education hired Johnstown-based Wessel & Co. to perform the audit following a series of costly errors by the district, including continuing to pay health benefits to former employees.

The report, released earlier this week, looked at a year-three period, July 2015 to June 2018, and discovered more than $3.8 million in unsupported and questionable costs, more than 100 ex-employees who continued to receive healthcare benefits and huge deficits in cafeteria operations that had to be covered by the general fund. Other shortcomings included personnel records rife with errors, a lack of financial oversight and controls and a profoundly unqualified business manager.

“I am not going to comment on any of the specifics of the audit findings other than the fact that the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit plans to fully analyze all of the issues raised in the audit and establish best practices for the school district. These audit findings further justify the necessity of my June 27, 2019 action partnering with the MCIU to operate the district and my personnel actions taken on that date,” Samuels concluded.

At the urging of the state Department of Education, a Dauphin County judge appointed Samuels as the district’s receiver on June. 17.

Under her direction, the district dismissed former Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and much of the top school district leadership. It then contracted with MCIU, one of 29 intermediate units throughout Pennsylvania that offer educational services to local school districts, to head up the district’s leadership team under the three-year receivership.

Read the full audit report: Harrisburg City SD – AUP and Consulting Report 2016-2018

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

July 4, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy [Long] Weekend! Weather-permitting, we’ll be in the pool, at the BBQ, and dancing with friends (the latter, weather doesn’t matter!). We hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, too — and if relaxing doesn’t cut it, well, see below.

What are you doing this weekend?

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Meeting planned to share, discuss designs for 2-way 2nd Street

July 3, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

N. 2nd Street in Harrisburg

Last year, more than 100 Harrisburg residents came together to hear about preliminary plans to convert N. 2^nd Street to two-way traffic.

Now, city planners are back with some firmer ideas.

On July 18, the city and its consultants will present concept plans to return much of N. 2^nd Street, between Forster and Division streets, to two-way traffic. The road has been a three-lane, one-way mini-highway since the 1950s.

According to the city, residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and suggest refinements to the alternatives before the final design is drafted.

“We honestly don’t know which design we’re going to go with,” said city Engineer Wayne Martin. “So, we need the public input.”

Martin said that the city will present two major design choices, though some elements could be interchangeable based on public feedback.

The city, Martin said, hopes to begin some work on the $6 million project next year. However, the majority of the work probably will take place in 2021, due to an expected, lengthy state permitting process for signalized intersections.

Also, the city plans to begin soon on related improvements to several other streets, including Forster Street, to facilitate the flow of traffic once N. 2^nd goes two-way in Midtown and Uptown.

One thing that residents won’t see is angled parking along 2nd Street, an option that was discussed during the public first meeting in November. According to Martin, angled parking was nixed because it took up more space on the street but didn’t yield any additional parking spaces.

Martin said he hopes that a consensus emerges following the July 18 meeting.

“We hope there will be overwhelming support for one design or the other,” he said.

Harrisburg’s two-way 2^nd Street public meeting will take place on July 18, 6 to 8 p.m., at HACC Midtown 2, 1500 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg.

Burg View: Cursed City

July 3, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels with Dr. John George, the district’s newly hired financial recovery plan service director.

In his famous book, “On the Road,” author Jack Kerouac, having spent a night on a bench in the train station and then run out of town, famously decried Harrisburg as, “Cursed city!”

That thought beat through my brain as I read the latest missive to the cursed— “Harrisburg City School District: Agreed Upon Procedures and Technical Consulting Report”—otherwise known as the state Department of Education’s financial audit, which was released today.

For the past decade, the city of Harrisburg has been pulling itself out of the financial crater following former Mayor Steve Reed’s 28 years in office. And now this.

But at least Reed got maybe $500 million of value from the $1 billion in debt he piled onto the city’s credit card. A terrible return, for sure, but it’s hard to discern what exactly Harrisburg and its children got from nine years of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and her crew.

Oh, actually, it’s not. It’s in the report:

Over $3.8 million in “questioned costs and unsupported expenditures”
The cost of health benefits inappropriately continued to more than 100 terminated employees
A quickly disappearing general fund balance
A lack of financial oversight and controls
An acting business manager utterly unqualified for his job
Cafeteria operations running enormous deficits
An uncertified school nurse who provided students with medical services
Frequent overpayment of contractors
Rampant errors in personnel records
A “history of inadequate ‘Tone at the Top’ and poor ethical values”

I could go on and on, but perhaps you should just read the report by the consultant, Wessel & Co., for yourself. Harrisburg City SD – AUP and Consulting Report 2016-2018

This, of course, is just the latest horrible district news, building upon years of poor student achievement, large and small scandals, a lack of transparency and accountability, and, now, missing computers and financial data.

Sigh.

In 2011, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania placed the city government into receivership, which, though we didn’t know it at the time, ended up being the first step in restoring Harrisburg to relative financial health.

In comparison, the school district’s fiscal situation, while very bad, is actually not as terrible as the city’s was—to the extent that “not bankrupt” is an improvement.

Like the city, though, the district will need to rebuild its top leadership, its financial and management systems and the public confidence—no small order. Of course, it has the extra responsibility of providing a decent education for Harrisburg’s children, which is supposed to be its core mission.

In 2014, Harrisburg emerged from state receivership still shaky, but it allowed the city to set the stage for more responsible leadership, which, thankfully, arrived. Here’s hoping that, after a three-year receivership, we’ll be able to say the same for the Harrisburg school district—that it pushed reset, stabilized and rebounded.

Then, perhaps finally and forever, Harrisburg can shake off Kerouac’s term, “cursed city.”

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Harrisburg must act quickly on HUD funding; council puts hiatus on hold

July 2, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg City Council on Tuesday night

Harrisburg City Council had a fine plan on Tuesday night to tie up some loose ends and then clock out for seven weeks for summer recess.

It didn’t work out that way.

Instead, council members will need to return to work at least twice over their summer break or risk losing millions of dollars in federal housing money that funds everything from low-income home repairs to at-risk youth programs to paying off a federal loan.

The city blamed the change of plan on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which issued its notice of funding to Harrisburg on June 10, several months later than usual.

The late notice gives the city just two months to scramble to work with a new technical consultant, determine allocations, hold a public hearing, have a month-long public comment period and finalize its ordinances, all before a mid-August deadline.

“We are under a crunch that is substantial,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

The city now must prepare three ordinances by Friday, including one for the popular Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

The city uses this grant, which, in recent years has totaled about $2 million, for city-run housing rehabilitation projects, to help support social service groups and, in recent years, to help pay off the outstanding federal debt associated with the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project.

The Friday deadline is necessary so that the city has enough time to properly advertise the meeting for Tuesday evening, when both the action plan will be introduced and a mandated public hearing will be held.

A 30-day comment period will follow, leaving council with just days to meet again on Aug. 6, pass a final ordinance and send it to HUD to make the federal agency’s deadline.

“It’s an all-hands on deck situation,” said city Solicitor Neil Grover.

Papenfuse is holding out some hope that HUD may extend the deadline, but said that the city can’t count on that.

“We’d be asking you to come back twice during your recess,” he told council. “If the federal government would extend the deadline, then you wouldn’t have to come back in August.”

Tuesday’s lengthy, three-hour meeting was marked by periods of bickering between the administration and some council members, especially over the process for re-appointing finance director Bruce Weber to his position.

Council members objected that they needed to act immediately on Weber’s appointment, as his 120-day period serving as “acting” director, following an administrative restructuring, was expiring. After heated exchanges between Papenfuse and several council members, the appointment was approved by a 6-1 vote.

However, in the case of the CDBG funds, both the administration and City Council were on the same page, agreeing that HUD deserved the blame.

“A lot of this is coming down from the federal government,” said Councilman Westburn Majors. “We are acting as expeditiously as possible on this HUD CDBG funding.”

Harrisburg school district finances in shambles, computers missing, as recovery team begins work

July 2, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Dr. John George speaks to the press as Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels looks on.

The Harrisburg school district recovery team needs to reconstruct much of the district’s key financial data, as critical financial records have gone missing and existing data can’t be trusted, officials said today.

Dr. John J. George, the financial recovery plan service director, said that numerous computers containing key financial data are missing from the district’s financial office. In addition, those records were not backed up, as they should have been, resulting in substantial information gaps, he said.

“I know that the records are missing,” said George, following a press conference that introduced key members of receiver Dr. Janet Samuels’ new leadership team. “I don’t know why they’re missing or how they’re missing.”

The missing computers were only discovered yesterday, the first day on the job for the team, George said. Samuels dismissed the district’s top officials, including former Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, effective Sunday, June 30.

George declined to say whether law enforcement had been contacted, nor would he say exactly what types of records are missing, other than that they are “certain key financial records.”

But he did say that the missing records pose a significant problem trying to understand the district’s current financial state.

“These are financial records that are important to the operation of the Harrisburg school district and that seem to be no longer there,” said George, who is the executive director of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, one of 29 “intermediate units” that offer educational services to local school districts.

The Harrisburg school district uses a web-based financial management software system called eFinance. However, the missing records also were not included in that system, George said.

Moreover, George said that he had little confidence in the accuracy of the data that is in the system.

“We have to rebuild the financial system immediately,” he said. “Right now, we have little confidence in any of the dollar figures available to us. That’s not a good position to be in.”

George said that his team will need to go through the district’s paperwork, “piece by piece and redo those systems.” He estimated that about 10,000 account codes will need to be examined.

“So, we have to go through account code by account code and make sure that expenditures are being properly coded and revenue is being properly recorded so that we have a baseline,” he said. “Our initial analysis, and we’re 24 hours into this right now, is that there are already significant errors in the accounting procedures.”

Under Samuels, the Harrisburg district has entered into a three-year contract with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) to provide a host of services to the district.

For the most part, team members are replacing the former top district administrators, including the superintendent, the business manager and the human resources manager. Samuels said that the $1.4 million contract with MCIU is $600,000 less than the district was paying the in-house personnel who held those jobs.

Samuels today said that she decided to hire MCIU because of her past experience with George. She credits him for helping to stabilize the finances and improve the operations of the Reading School District.

“This district deserves highly competent, highly credentialed and qualified individuals, and that is exactly what exists within Dr. George,” she said.

George will remain with MCIU and will not be compensated by the Harrisburg district. Chris Celmer, the assistant superintendent for the Reading district, will lead the team on a daily basis as Harrisburg’s chief operating officer.

Like George, Samuels described the current state of the district financially and operationally as woeful.

“Very intentionally, it was looking at some of the failures here in the school district, some of the mismanagement that has taken place over a period of time here in the school district and really determining and deciding what could be done about it,” she said. “The time is now, and we look forward to making a difference.”

George said that, besides the financial aspect, the recovery team will assess the quality of personnel and strive for academic progress.

“It’s going to take time,” he said. “Our contract is for three years. I believe that we can make systemic change in three years.”

“We have no more time to waste,” Samuels said.

Harrisburg writer educates children on “Where I Live.”

July 1, 2019 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Debra Hervitz (and her book) in front of the state Capitol building.

While working as a teacher and reading specialist in the Harrisburg school district, Debra Hervitz discovered that many children didn’t know where they lived.

When she asked the kids if they knew their addresses, some only knew the street name, others didn’t know anything at all.

“A lot of teachers are trying to hold on to [teaching basic knowledge],” she said. “But because of the state testing and everything, they’re so worried. So, basic types of things like their home address [aren’t taught.]”

Without the district on her side, Hervitz decided to take matters into her own hands. Hervitz, nicknamed “Ms. Read,” is now the author of the “Where I Live,” a series of books that teaches Pennsylvania students about where they live. To date, Hervitz has published two versions of the book: “Where I Live: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania” and “Where I Live: Pennsylvania.”

Both books start out with the solar system, outlining the names of the nine planets plus the sun. They then zero in on our planet, Earth, and its features such as the oceans, continents and countries.

The books then travel down to Pennsylvania. Hervitz describes the municipalities and counties that are in Pennsylvania. In her Harrisburg book, she goes more in-depth with some of the staples of the city such as the Capitol building and the State Museum.

“[Education] is something I am passionate about,” she said. “ It’s not like I’m an expert on geography. It’s just that I know that children need this.”

The first draft of “Where I Live” was actually created in 1998 by Hervitz and her daughter. At the time, Hervitz was teaching first grade English at Silver Academy and her daughter happened to be in the class. Hervitz wanted to incorporate geography into her curriculum, so she had her students create a “Where I Live” book for them to take home and read to their families. Since Hervitz taught her daughter, she was able to keep her book.

Nearly two decades later, Hervitz published her new version of “Where I Live,” with the help of the American Literacy Corp., local literary activist Floyd Stokes and illustrator Sheena Hisiro.

Since then, the retired teacher has read her book in classrooms across Harrisburg. She even had students set up a “geography bee,” with groups of teachers asking students geography questions based on her book.

Both books also have interactive sections for the kids to draw their neighborhood, sing a song, learn fun facts about Pennsylvania and more.

Hervitz hopes her books not only educate students on where they live but encourage teachers to teach students basic knowledge, such as their addresses.

“There are still a lot of good [teachers] out there,” she said. “When I walk into a classroom, and I see a globe by a teacher’s desk and not up on the shelf, I know it is a good teacher because they’re reading, their writing, their talking, and they’re pointing to that globe.”

To purchase your copy of “Where I Live,” visit elearningsource.com or contact Hervitz at [email protected].

The Week that Was: A summary of news and features around Harrisburg

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district Receiver Janet Samuels speaks to the press.

The weekend is upon us once again, but it can’t start until we sum up another heavy workweek of news around Harrisburg.

“Art of the State” opened at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, giving our art reviewer a chance to check out the annual juried exhibit dedicated to PA artists. Also, find out who won the awards.

Bethesda Mission received Harrisburg City Council approval for its proposal to demolish the historic Shamrock Fire Station and build a new addition to its community center on Herr Street. Click here for the details.

Capital Region Water unveiled its plan to begin imposing a stormwater fee for system upgrades and greening initiatives. CRW officials stressed its necessity, but not everyone was happy about it. For all the details, click here and here.

D&H Distributing is making a major commitment to help out our region’s children. Find out what this company, one of our area’s largest yet little known, is up to. Click here for the details.

Harrisburg swore in nine new police officers and gave commendations for bravery to both officers and civilians. Separately, a city hall ceremony honored Capt. Gabriel Olivera, a long-time officer who is retiring from the force.

Harrisburg School District again offered a bounty of news, as the district’s new court-appointed receiver cleaned house of the old administration, including the embattled superintendent, and announced that she would bring in a new team. Our editor added his own commentary.

Harrisburg University has attracted students from all over the world to attend its annual AI Bootcamp. Click here for the details.

July 4 Food Truck Festival and Fireworks will return for another year on Thursday. We have all the patriotic details from the mayor’s announcement.

Keyzus was our featured musician for the week as we wrapped up our series in honor of African American Music Appreciation Month.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman opened the pool at his Fort Indiantown Gap mansion to groups and organizations, and Harrisburg schoolchildren were the first ones to make use of it.

Rockhill Trolley Museum is a nice day trip to view (and ride in) historic trolleys from around central PA, says our writer.

Rock climbing has become a popular sport in recent years, and there are numerous walls to scale around the Harrisburg area. Click here to read our feature story.

Sara Bozich punches your ticket for a fun weekend with her weekly roundup of things to do around the Harrisburg area.

TheBurg distributed our July issue to more than 500 locations in seven counties around central PA and posted all the content to our website. This month, we have a focus on pets, in addition to our usual wealth of community news and features.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Harrisburg a $300,000 grant to help clean up old, polluted industrial sites known as brownfields. Click here for the details.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

Feast Then Fireworks: Annual Food Truck Fest returns to Harrisburg for July 4

June 28, 2019 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse today introduced the city’s July 4 celebration in Riverfront Park.

It’s almost that time of the year when Riverfront Park is filled with music, food and, of course, fireworks.

Starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday, the banks of the Susquehanna River will become home to more than 40 food trucks, bands, vendors and more for the annual July 4th Food Truck Festival.

“We are ready here in the city for our annual Fourth of July Food Truck Festival and Fireworks,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “It is, as always, a one-day, free event, and we are expecting at least 35,000 visitors for this amazing event.”

Food favorites such as Soul Burrito, Artisan Pizza, Potato Coop and Mad Dash are returning this year, as well as the always-popular Farm Show milkshakes. New this year are Cactus Blue Mexican, selling tacos, chimichangas, nachos and other favorites, Marsico’s A Taste of Italy and Bananarama with frozen, organic banana whip sundaes.

For the first time, the festival will hosts a wine garden next to Kunkel Plaza. Guests can enjoy wine from five wineries including 5 Schmucks Winery, Winery at Hunters Valley and J&P Winery. There will also be acoustic music played by Keith Goldstein and Alex Alegria in the garden.

Four music acts will perform on the live music stage near the Market Street Bridge between 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. This year’s lineup includes Shrimp Ryan’s Jig Band, Justin Angelo Band, Lost Love Horizon and Time Bomb. The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is also returning to the festival. At 7:30 p.m., the orchestra will perform in Reservoir Park’s band shell.

“It’s a phenomenal concert, completely free,” said Devan Drabik, director of Explore HBG. “And the view of the fireworks [at Reservoir Park] is phenomenal. So, we encourage you to check that out, too.”

The Kid’s Zone will be packed with many activities for children, including free face painting, arts and crafts and balloon art. Staring at 5 p.m., kids will also get the chance to take photos with Wonder Woman and Captain America.

Fireworks will begin at 9:15 p.m. and last for around 30 minutes. According to Scott Elliott, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, 1,000 firework shells are expected to launch during the show.

Street parking will be free for the day. Parking is $5 for those who wish to park on City Island and $10 at the Market Street Garage from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Recycle Bicycle will have a free stand for those riding their bikes to the event.

Guest will also get to experience the newly cemented lower river walk, a $500,000 project that started a few months ago. Though the walk is not 100-percent finished, Papenfuse stated that the area right across from City Island is available for people to sit and watch the fireworks.

Attendees can also grab hold of a “foodie guide” to plan out their festival experience.

“We’re hoping for wonderful weather. We know we’ll have an incredible family-friendly day,” Papenfuse said. “I hope you can all come and join us on Thursday, July 4, to celebrate Independence Day in our great capital city.”

The July 4th Food Truck Festival is Thursday, July 4, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Riverfront Park, Harrisburg, with fireworks following. For more information, visit harrisburgpa.gov/july4th.

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