Deputies halt Harrisburg school board meeting; judge schedules hearing as state attempts to stop action on contracts

June 6, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district administration building

Two Dauphin County sheriff’s deputies marched up to the second floor of the school district administration building to serve a temporary order to stop the school board from entering into any contracts during a meeting on Thursday night.

The board was in the middle of its private executive session when the deputies delivered the order, which forbade the district from “taking any action to bind the District to new — or terminate existing — commitments, obligations or expenditures of resources . . .”, thus halting the public portion of the meeting.

A hearing will now be held Friday afternoon at the Dauphin County courthouse on a motion filed today by the state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera.

In that motion, Rivera wants to halt all contractual decisions by the district until Judge William Tully decides whether or not to grant Rivera’s petition, filed Monday, to place the Harrisburg district into state-controlled receivership. That hearing is scheduled for June 17.

“The board should not be permitted to enter into or terminate existing contracts during this interim period with the Petition pending, impacting a receiver’s ability to effect meaningful change,” according to today’s court motion.

The school board had scheduled a special meeting for tonight to discuss unspecified “personnel” issues, which many believe could include action on several long-term contracts, including for the district superintendent and the solicitor.

“The disingenuous nature of the board’s actions here is illustrated by the vague description of its June 6 meeting which, by its own terms, could literally encompass anything,” according to the motion [bold and emphasis are contained in the motion].

In his response, school district Solicitor James Ellison stated that “there is no legal basis whatsoever for infringing upon or limiting their [school board’s] actions as the Secretary requests.”

On Monday, Rivera petitioned the court to place the Harrisburg district into receivership, citing numerous alleged failures on the part of the current school administration and board. The hearing was originally slated for tomorrow, but was pushed up 10 days.

State files motion to stop Harrisburg school board from granting contracts

June 6, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district’s administration building

The state secretary of education has filed an emergency motion aimed at stopping the Harrisburg school district from entering into new contracts, just hours before the school board is scheduled to meet in special session.

Secretary Pedro Rivera this afternoon filed an emergency motion for an injunction “to preserve the status quo,” in anticipation that the board would vote tonight on long-term contracts for the school superintendent and solicitor.

Rivera wants to halt all contractual decisions by the district until county Judge William Tully decides whether or not to grant Rivera’s petition to place the Harrisburg district into state-controlled receivership. That hearing is scheduled for June 17.

As of this posting, Tully had not taken action on the injunction motion.

The school board has scheduled a special meeting for tonight to discuss unspecified “personnel issues,” which many believe could include action on several long-term contracts.

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

June 6, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

Tonight! Join us at ABC for the launch of their newly renovated deck! On Friday, I’m at Shy Bear Brewing for a screening of Poured — maybe it’s a good night for a mini road trip? Saturday feels like a Market Day (and then just relaxing), and we’ll cap the weekend with swim lessons on Sunday.

What are you doing this weekend?

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County judge delays Harrisburg school district receivership hearing for 10 days

June 5, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

A recent Harrisburg school board meeting

A Dauphin County judge has delayed by 10 days a hearing to determine whether the Harrisburg school district should be placed into receivership.

Judge William Tully this morning signed an order delaying the hearing, originally scheduled for Friday, until June 17 and 18. The motion cited unspecified “scheduling conflicts” as the reason for the delay.

Just yesterday, district Solicitor James Ellison asked for a delay until Tuesday, stating that the district needed more time to prepare for the hearing. Tully’s order extends that timeframe by another six days.

The order also extends the time for Tully to make a decision about potentially placing the school district into receivership.

Under statute, Tully has 10 days following the hearing to make a decision. So, if the hearing occurs on June 17, he would have until nearly the end of the month to render a verdict on the fate of the school district.

The state Department of Education has asked that Dr. Janet Samuels, the current chief recovery officer for the district, be named receiver for a three-year period. The district school board then would be stripped of virtually all its power, except for the ability to levy and raise taxes.

Meanwhile, the school board has called a special meeting for tomorrow night for unspecified “personnel issues.” Both long-time district Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and newly appointed Solicitor James Ellison currently lack contracts, leading to speculation that the board plans to consider contracts for them just before the state might put the district under its direct control.

The board also has a regularly scheduled meeting on June 17, the same day as the court hearing.

The board also must approve a final budget for the 2019-20 school year before the end of the month. Currently, that budget envisions a 3.4-percent increase in the school portion of the city property tax.

Harrisburg Council voices support for new Harrisburg University tower

June 4, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg University gave a final push on Tuesday night for its 17-story, mixed-used tower downtown, as officials offered a project presentation to City Council.

Council got a detailed look at the final design plans for the project (rendering left), which includes an academic tower, a hotel and a restaurant.

“That area where you’re building has been underutilized for many years, so thank you for that,” said Council President Wanda Williams, echoing general council support for the project.

Council is expected to vote next week on the final land use plan, which would allow HU to break ground at its site at S. 3^rd and Chestnut streets, a move currently planned for August.

The $135-million project includes a 10-story hotel and restaurant, in addition to an academic tower, which would house as many as 1,000 students in health sciences, advanced manufacturing and interactive media.

The 386,200-square-foot building is expected to take two years to complete, opening in time for the 2021-22 academic year, said HU President Eric Darr. A 197-room hotel and a restaurant are also parts of the project.

The hotel will front Chestnut Street, and the hotel and academic portions of the building will be separated by an atrium in the first 10 stories of the building, according to HU.

The three portions of the building will be owned and financed separately. The university will own and finance the academic portion, estimated at $100 million. Harrisburg-based HHM will own the hotel, projected to cost $33.5 million. The restaurant, expected to cost about $1.5 million, also will be owned separately. HU has not yet announced a restaurant operator.

University officials on Tuesday emphasized the contractor events they’ve held to try to attract local workers for the complex construction project.

“We would like our efforts to go as much as possible to the development of the workforce,” said Darr, who pledged that the university would periodically release data on the makeup of the project’s workforce.

Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. and Harrisburg-based Reynolds are the principal contractors for the project.

Worthy Expense? Harrisburg council debates value of conducting highway study

June 4, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Aerial view of I-83 in Harrisburg from 19th Street to the Susquehanna River. A PennDOT proposal would double the width of this segment of the highway.

Can Harrisburg convince PennDOT to alter its planned expansion of I-83? Should it spend money to try?

City Council debated those points on Tuesday night, as it discussed hiring Kittelson & Associates to perform a study of the project.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse tried to convince council members to allocate $72,500 so that the Harrisburg-based engineering firm could perform a traffic and community impact study on PennDOT’s proposal to double the number of lanes coming off the South Bridge, a plan that would profoundly impact South Harrisburg.

Papenfuse said that he hopes that, following a study and recommendations for changes, PennDOT would be receptive to reducing or adjusting the footprint of the project.

“It’s true that it’s a done deal that there will be a widening of I-83,” he said. “It’s not a done deal in that the design is final.”

Last October, PennDOT unveiled a plan to widen I-83 from six to 12 lanes from Shipoke through South Allison Hill, which would displace as many as 28 city residences and 20 businesses, mostly in low-income and minority neighborhoods. The project also envisions a new highway ramp, which would doom the city’s current Public Works facility on Paxton Street.

Council members all seemed to oppose the project. However, a disagreement ensued over whether the expenditure for the study would be a good use of money.

“I just don’t want to spend $72,000 for a useless study,” said council President Wanda Williams. “Do you think you’ll have that much power over the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that they’re going to change their design?”

Papenfuse responded that PennDOT officials indicated to him that they would be open to design changes to lessen the impact of the project. However, the city would need to back up any proposals for change with data, thus requiring the study.

“Yes, it costs $72,000, but you have to have a study,” he said. “You have to have data.”

The money would come from the city’s substantial fund balance, Papenfuse said.

Currently, the project is in the preliminary engineering phase, and actual construction, assuming it occurs, would be years away.

Councilman Dave Madsen said he’d feel more comfortable with the proposal if the city received written confirmation that PennDOT would consider making changes in response to the city-funded study.

“We can play around with the verbiage, but something that says, ‘We won’t ignore this,’” Madsen said.

In the end, council seemed split on the proposal, which should come to a vote during next week’s legislative session.

“It’s still relatively early in the process,” said Councilman Westburn Majors. “Yes, $72,000 is a lot of money, but I think it would benefit us to do this.”

Drag Storytime: All dressed up and ready to read

June 4, 2019 | by Yaasmeen Piper

A recent Drag Storytime at Midtown Scholar Bookstore, with cafe manager David Kern at left, joined on stage by Estevan Valentine, Mister Central PA 2018-19.

Midtown Scholar is known for many things: new and used books, bringing in New York Times bestselling authors and, now, for drag reading events.

The sprawling bookstore has begun hosting “Drag Storytime,” an event in which local drag queens and kings read stories to children and, often, their parents. The idea started in San Francisco and gradually spread throughout the United States. Eventually, David Kern, Midtown Scholar’s café manager, caught wind of it and decided to bring the event to the Harrisburg bookstore.

“I saw how it was doing amazing things out in the communities surrounding us, and I wanted to bring that to the Scholar,” he said. “We have such a wonderful children’s selection here, and I wanted to give back to the community as well.”

Their first Drag Storytime, last November, had more than 80 people crowded around the Scholar’s main stage. Instead of just the typical story reading, the drag queens also have a sing-along, a “how to” drawing demonstration and a performance.

Each of Midtown Scholar’s Drag Storytime events follows a theme. The last event in March had a circus theme, with Kern dressed as a ringmaster and fellow drag queens decked out in cheetah print as if they were circus animals. During story time, they read “The Circus Thief” by Alane Adams and Dr. Seuss’ “If I Ran A Circus.”

“[The kids] loved every moment of it,” Kern said. “This is a way for us to encourage children to really delve into the magic of reading.”

Kern has been a drag queen himself under the stage name “Ms. Anita” for nearly 18 years. His electric performances and involvement in the community earned him the title Miss Central PA Gay Pride 2018-19. According to Kern, Drag Storytime gives him a chance to entertain and give back to his community.

“I wanted to give back and create something for families and people of all ages, and the best place to do that is here at the bookstore,” he said.

The next Drag Storytime, titled “Rainbows and Unicorns,” will take place during Central PA’s Pride Week on July 20. Local drag queens Jade Devere and Skarlet Overkill will read Robb Perlman’s “Pink is For Boys,” which speaks on gender roles, and “A Unicorn Named Sparkles” by Amy Young.

Kern is also accepting donations before or after Drag Storytime to benefit a local organization. Past donations have gone toward Central PA’s Pride Festival and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Along with Drag Storytime, Midtown Scholar is having its “Summer is For Reading” for children. All summer long, whenever a parents purchase a book for their child, they get a stamp on their “Summer is for Reading” punch card. When they get to five purchased books, they can redeem a free used children’s book after Labor Day.

“This really helps teach children about reading and getting involved in reading,” Kern said. “But it’s also about acceptance and love and self-esteem, and pride within your community.”

For more information on Drag Storytime or Midtown Scholar, visit www.midtownscholar.com and on Facebook @MidtownScholar.

Harrisburg school district asks court to delay hearing on receivership

June 4, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

A recent meeting of the Harrisburg school board

The Harrisburg school district is requesting a delay in a Friday hearing to determine whether the district will be placed into receivership.

In a court filing today, district Solicitor James Ellison requested a delay for the hearing until Tuesday, claiming that scheduled Friday hearing was too early for the district to properly “prepare a defense.”

“Given the volume of information contained in the Petition and its related exhibits, as well as the significance of the remedy sought by [state Education] Secretary [Pedro] Rivera which could result in a state takeover for the second time in two consecutive decades and change the government of the Harrisburg School District from that of local control to a state appointed receiver, the District and the Harrisburg School District Board of School Directors are requesting additional time to adequately defend against the Petition and the claims set forth therein,” according to the “Motion for Continuance” filed by Ellison.

The requested June 11 hearing date is still within the seven-day statutory requirement to hold a hearing following the submission of Rivera’s court petition on Monday, Ellison wrote.

Ellison stated that Rivera’s “counsel have [sic] invested a significant amount of time to gather information and materials to craft the Petition,” which totals 403 pages, with 14 separate exhibits. Therefore, Ellison wrote, the request for a continuance is “reasonable” and “fair.”

After the hearing is held, the court has 10 days to make a decision to grant or deny receivership.

Yesterday, Rivera filed a petition with the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas asking the court to appoint a receiver for the district, namely Dr. Janet Samuels, the current chief recovery officer for the district. Judge William Tully then set the hearing for Friday at 1:30 p.m.

In the petition, Rivera offered numerous reasons for the request for the three-year receivership, which would put the district directly under the control of the court-appointed receiver and a Board of Control. These included:

“Failing to meet, or even make progress toward, established targets for student achievement.”
“Failing to hire or retain a Chief Financial Officer and a qualified Business Manager with the requisite experience to provide financial leadership.”
“Failing to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the excessive staff absenteeism that negatively impacts the District’s ability to serve its students.”
“Failing to exercise appropriate administrative controls by maintaining an accurate staff position file, resulting in, among other things, the District improperly providing health care benefits to former employees at the cost of more than $700,000.”

“The Secretary seeks the appointment of a receiver because the District has failed to implement or fulfill key initiatives in a financial recovery plan unanimously adopted by its board of directors, approved by the Secretary of Education, and prepared consistent with a statutory obligation to provide for the delivery of effective educational services to all students enrolled in the District and for the District’s return to financial stability,” according to Rivera’s petition.

On a related issue, school board President Danielle Robinson has called a special meeting of the school board for Thursday to discuss “personnel issues.”

The meeting notice, in today’s issue of the Patriot-News, does not indicate specifically which personnel matters are at issue. However, both Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and Solicitor James Ellison currently lack contracts with the district.

The timing, just before the scheduled receivership hearing, may indicate that the administration’s supporters on the school board might try to approve new contracts for Knight-Burney and Ellison just before the district goes into receivership, after which the board would lose that power.

State files petition to place Harrisburg school district into receivership

June 3, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The Harrisburg school district Administration Building

The state Department of Education today took a first step towards putting the Harrisburg school district into receivership, meaning the district soon could come under the direct control of a state-appointed receiver.

Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera petitioned the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas to place the troubled district into receivership, recommending appointing Dr. Janet Samuels as receiver, according to Rivera.

Samuels is currently the district’s state-appointed chief recovery officer (CRO), a position she assumed last year.

“When a receiver is appointed, the individual takes operational control of the district, assuming all the power and duties of the CRO and the board of school directors, except the power to levy and raise taxes,” Rivera said.

Judge William Tully has scheduled a hearing on Friday at 1:30 p.m. He then has 10 days to grant or deny receivership. The judge can either accept the department’s recommendation of a receiver or name an alternative.

The district has been in “financial recovery” since December 2012, and Samuels is one of a succession of CROs over that time.

The CRO, the school administration and the school board were supposed to work together to improve the district academically and forge a financial recovery plan. However, school taxes are now about to rise for two consecutive years, and the district has not shown substantial academic improvement.

Moreover, the district administration increasingly has been under fire for over-hiring faculty, for controversial appointments and for shuffling around principals, among other issues.

In a primary election two weeks ago, Harrisburg voters rejected every incumbent on the ballot, instead nominating five challengers for seats on the city school board, all of whom promised substantial oversight and reform of the district.

Local officials expressed a range of reactions to the news of a possible receivership for the district.

Current board Director Carrie Fowler said that she was “highly disappointed” by the move.

“I can honestly say that I am not surprised by their decision, but was hoping for a different outcome,” she said. “Losing local control of our public school system is silencing the community that clearly stated loud and clear on May 21 they wanted a change.”

Director Judd Pittman described the state’s decision to seek receivership as “a bit of a mixed bag.”

“We’re talking about removing local control, especially after the last election. However, a lot can happen between now and December,” he said, referencing the fact that the new board won’t be seated for six months, meaning that the existing school board would make decisions until then.

For instance, the board would need to approve a contract for newly hired district solicitor James Ellison. The board is also awaiting the results of a state-mandated financial audit of the district.

For the state, the final straw may have come last week, when the administration terminated the contract of the district’s interim human resources director, leaving that crucial department without leadership just days before a major faculty recruiting event, Pittman said.

“She was putting necessary processes into place, and we got rid of her,” he said.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse was fully supportive of the state’s move.

“I want to thank Gov. Wolf and Secretary Rivera for making this difficult but necessary decision,” he said. “I believe receivership will allow the Harrisburg school district to address its many systemic problems and provide brighter futures for the next generation of city youth.”

If the court grants the petition, this would not be the first time the Harrisburg district found itself in a form of receivership. In 2000, the state placed the district under the control of former Mayor Steve Reed and an appointed Board of Control. That arrangement ended in 2010, leading to the hiring of current Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney.

Currently, only two districts in the state are under receivership–the Duquesne city and Chester-Upland school districts, according to the state DOE.

This story has been updated with comments from local officials.

Burg Review: Gamut’s “impressive” Free Shakespeare in the Park

June 3, 2019 | by Hanna Martin

A scene from opening night of “Much Ado About Nothing”

Reservoir Park’s band shell transformed into post-World War I New York’s Little Italy on Friday for the Harrisburg Shakespeare Co.’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing”

The comedy, the 26^th year of “Free Shakespeare in the Park,” portrays the turmoil that often accompanies small communities and nosy family members.

The set consists of brick, apartment-style buildings complete with balconies, windows and lines of laundry, and it depicts the home of matriarch Leonata, played by Karen Ruch.

The play starts with Leonata welcoming home friends Don Pedro (Jeff Wasileski), Claudio (Ross Carmichael) and Benedick (Eric Dexter Brown), who are returning from the war. Claudio quickly falls in love with Leonata’s daughter, the lovely Hero (Lindsey Root), to the backdrop of biting, witty insults from Benedick and Hero’s cousin, Beatrice (Alexis Campbell). However, in the week before the wedding, the lovers trick Beatrice and Benedick into falling in love.

Meanwhile, the illegitimate son of Don Pedro, Don John (Garrett Knisley) attempts to disrupt the happy scene by tricking Claudio into thinking Hero is cheating the night before her wedding. However, his malevolent scheme is exposed. Claudio believes that Hero has died from a broken heart and is grief-stricken after he realizes her innocence. But Leonata reunites the couple, and the play ends with a cheerful dance.

The Gamut Theatre Group executes the drama in costumes appropriate for the early 20^th century. The color of the women’s costumes often mirrors their characters. The lovely, feminine Hero frequently dresses in light pinks and peach-colored garbs, while the feisty, independent Beatrice wears an assortment of blue, purple and green.

The actors depicting the Little Italy residents execute the dramatic scenes in New York accents, while those portraying older characters speak with thick Italian accents to signify recent immigration. Further, the actors stay true to the time period, with many frequently lighting cigarettes with matches and smoking on stage. The production is generally quite authentic to the era.

The actors embody the characters they represent seamlessly. Campbell, who plays Beatrice, fills the stage with her larger-than-life character, romping around the stage with large gestures while speaking in a thick New York accent, while Knisley, portraying Don John, develops a convincing, sordid façade as his character causes mischief.

The actors use the set to their advantage. For instance, buildings almost become characters in their own right, used for the frequent eavesdropping and troublemaking in the play. So, much of the main dialogue occurs on the black stage in front of the set. Actors hide on balconies and even on the grass in front of the stage, peeking behind doors as soon as they risk visibility and comically tumbling over the stage steps, ninja-style.

Moments are illuminated by both lighting and music, with violins accenting crucial scenes. The lighting reflects the mood of the scenes, with unhappy scenes illuminated in blue while warmer moments are basked in an orange glow, and more intense scenes burn red. Lighting is also used in the windows of the set to dictate time of day and to create silhouettes.

Careful attention was paid to the sound and lighting, which added to the impressive acting and sets, marking a high-quality production for this year’s “Free Shakespeare in the Park.”

Free Shakespeare in the Park runs from May 31 to June 15 at the band shell in Reservoir Park. Shows run each week from Wednesday to Saturday and start at 7:30 p.m. Seating is not provided, so guests are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs. Tickets are free, but donations are accepted. Guests are encouraged to bring canned goods for Bethesda Mission. For more information visit www.gamuttheatre.org/fsip.

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