Tag Archives: Sybil Knight-Burney

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 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.

May News Digest

May 31, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Challengers Sweep School Board Incumbents

Voter turnout may have been light, but the impact on Harrisburg could be huge, as challengers for city school board swept the Democratic primary last month.

The four challengers on the reformist slate known as C.A.T.C.H. (Concerned About the Children of Harrisburg) were all victorious: Gerald Welch, Jayne Buchwach, Steven Williams and Doug Thompson Leader. Challenger James Thompson, a former member of the school board, also picked up a nomination for one of the five, four-year seats at stake.

All four incumbents lost, some by a lot: Lola Lawson, Ellis R. Roy, Lionel Gonzalez and Patricia Whitehead-Myers. Three other challengers, Lewis Butts Jr., Cory X. Williams and Ralph Rodriguez, failed to secure nominations.

The victorious challengers had all run campaigns broadly critical of the policies of the current school board majority and the district administration led by Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney.

“This feels gratifying. It feels like mission accomplished,” said Buchwach, the top vote-getter for city school board. “But it’s not my win. It’s a win for Harrisburg, and that’s what feels great to me.”

Buchwach said that, once seated, the new board would have to get to work improving the district’s finances, bettering its academics and rebuilding trust with residents.

“We have to be transparent. We have to be accountable in everything we do,” she said. “We have to tell the citizens of Harrisburg, ‘This is what we will do and why.’”

No Republicans ran in the primary election for Harrisburg school board, meaning that the winners likely will prevail in the general election in November.

In the six-person race for Harrisburg City Council, incumbents Westburn Majors, Dave Madsen and Danielle Bowers easily won nomination for three, four-year seats, defeating challengers Christina Kostelecky, Dionna Reeves and Brianna Smith.

No Republicans ran in the primary, meaning that the winners likely will prevail during the general election in November.

In Dauphin County, incumbent commissioners Jeff Haste and Mike Pries ran unopposed for the two Republican nominations. On the Democratic side, incumbent George Hartwick won a spot on the November ballot, as did challenger Diane Bowman, who prevailed over challenger Tom Connolly.

In the general election, voters will select three commissioners from the two Republican and two Democratic nominees.

For other county offices, all of the Republican incumbents had no competition in their primaries, so won nomination: District Attorney Fran Chardo, Sheriff Nick Chimienti, Clerk of Courts Dale Klein, Recorder of Deeds Jim Zugay, Treasurer Janis Creason, Controller Timothy DeFoor and Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court Jean Marfizo King.

On the Democratic side, four candidates ran unopposed and therefore won their party’s nominations: Cole Goodman for Recorder of Deeds, Brad Koplinski for Clerk of Courts, Tim Butler for Treasurer and Bridget Whitley for Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court.

The general election is slated for Nov. 5.

School Tax Hike Proposed

For a second straight year, Harrisburg property owners would see their tax bills shoot up under a proposed budget by the city school administration.

The district is proposing a 3.4-percent tax hike that would increase the millage rate from 28.8 mills to 29.78 mills.

The average city homeowner, with a median property value of $42.800, would see the school portion of their property tax bill increase by $41.91, according to budget data. The hike would raise $1.37 million for the district.

Property taxes support about one-quarter of the district’s annual budget, with the remainder originating from a variety of other taxes and fees, as well as state and federal government support.

“I don’t agree with raising taxes to make up for the budget shortfall,” said board member Carrie Fowler, who added that she opposes the proposed budget. “We’ve been taxed enough. We don’t need to be taxed more for this over-bloated administration.”

The $155.5 million proposed budget for the 2019-20 school year is about $5 million more than the current, 2018-19 budget and about $9 million more than the 2017-18 budget.

The greatest increases in expenses originate from faculty pay and retirement contributions. The district, which has 6,540 K-12 students and 936 faculty and staff, also proposes dipping into its reserve (savings), reducing that fund by some $3 million.

Last year, school property taxes rose 3.6 percent, the maximum amount allowable under state law.

5-Year Plan Unveiled

Harrisburg officials last month dug into the details of a proposed, five-year financial plan for the city, a critical step to fulfill a state mandate and ultimately exit Act 47.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse made a presentation of what he called a “responsible” long-range budget, which assumes “no significant growth” in the city’s tax base, yielding a flat operating budget of about $64 million through 2023.

“This is, in my opinion, a fiscally responsible plan,” he said. “It doesn’t call for the raising of taxes.”

The commonwealth required Harrisburg to draft a five-year financial plan as part of legislation passed last year that allowed the city to retain its elevated local services and earned income tax rates for another five years.

That plan must be approved by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA), the state-created body tasked with overseeing the city’s financial recovery.

After the budget plan passes muster, both the ICA and City Council must approve an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement. Papenfuse said that he hoped that step would occur by early July, before council takes its traditional six-week summer recess.

At that point, the city would be able to exit Act 47, the state’s program for financially distressed municipalities, Papenfuse said. The city has been in the program since 2010.

While revenues are assumed to remain mostly flat over the five-year period, expenses are expected to increase by several million dollars per year, with the gap made up by tapping the city’s substantial fund balance.

Over the next five years, the fund balance is projected to decrease from the current $21 million to about $3.3 million, leveling out at about 5 percent of the operating budget, which, according to Papenfuse, is the city’s target level.

In recent years, the city has built up a large fund balance mostly by under-spending its budget over successive years.

HMAC Sale Pending

A major arts and entertainment venue in Harrisburg is poised to exit bankruptcy, in a move that promises to bring significant change to the House of Music, Arts & Culture (HMAC).

Judge Henry W. Van Eck, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, has approved the sale of the sprawling Midtown venue, its liquor license and other assets for $6 million to a new partnership called HMAC LLC. This will enable the current controlling entity—Bartlett, Traynor & London—to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Chuck London, a founding HMAC partner, is a minority owner in the new entity. His founding co-partners, Gary Bartlett and John Traynor, will have no ownership in the new company.

“I feel we’re at a turning point with the promise of a new beginning,” London said, in a telephone interview. “We need to take all the lessons we’ve learned from the past and make them our future.”

Bartlett, Traynor & London LLC entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy last August following a loss of business that Traynor blamed on a social media firestorm directed at the venue. He also said that the bankruptcy filing would allow the company to reorganize its finances in preparation for a sale.

Under the new ownership, Traynor said that he will step down as the day-to-day manager of HMAC, which, until a rebranding, was known as the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center. He expects to stay on for about six months to help with the transition and to help supervise a period of construction.

That construction will include the renovation of the basement level into a third music space, a rooftop deck and a “major facelift” to the front of the building, Traynor said. Much of the construction will be funded with a $1 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant that HMAC received in late 2017, he said.

“Now that we have new ownership, it’s going to be a bright new future for this building and for this community,” Traynor said.

In late 2007, Traynor, Bartlett and London purchased the former Harrisburg Jewish Community Center and Police Athletic Club building from the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. At the time, the sprawling, 34,000-square-foot building had been long abandoned and was badly blighted.

A lengthy, costly renovation followed that eventually yielded the Stage on Herr bar and performance space on the lower level, a restaurant and bar on the main level and the spacious Capitol Room upstairs.

Area Home Sales Strong

The Harrisburg area’s housing market had a solid start to the spring buying season, as inventory dropped and prices crept up.

For April, the median sales price increased 2.9 percent to $180,000 from $175,000 in the year-ago period, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

The number of unit sales dropped to 573 from 623, which GHAR blamed on a lack of inventory. Indeed, “average days on market” dropped significantly, to 50 days from 67 days in April 2018, GHAR said.

In Dauphin County, the median sales price increased to $168,000 versus $156,450 in the year-ago period, while unit sales fell to 265 from 296, according to GHAR. In Cumberland County, the median price fell slightly, to $200,000 from $205,500, with sales falling to 281 units from 300 units in April 2018.

Perry County saw a significant increase in the median sales price, $189,900 compared to $160,000, while sales were flat at 27 units, GHAR said.

So Noted

Alexis Singleton-Robinson last month was named the recipient of the Harrisburg Area Civic Garden Center Inc. scholarship. A graduating senior of Sci-Tech High, she plans to attend North Carolina A&T State University.

Fredricksen Library cut the ribbon last month to its new lower-level entrance, which will allow easier access to the children’s library and public meeting rooms on the ground floor, according to the library. It also debuted its new, main-floor Business and Career Center @ Fredricksen, which will bring workshops, programming and technology assistance for employment and career goals. A final phase, a “reading plaza” on the Walnut Street side, should be completed this fall.

Harrisburg University last month named Jay Jayamohan as executive director for its new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. An engineer, product manager and entrepreneur, Jayamohan brings more than 20 years of experience developing startup companies and tech products, according to HU.

Historic Harrisburg Association last month named two new members to its board of directors: Dr. David Bronstein and Michael Waterloo. Bronstein has practiced medicine locally for more than 63 years and has served on numerous other nonprofit boards. Waterloo works as a content manager for Bravo Group. They join 17 other members of the board of HHA, which is dedicated to historic preservation, urban revitalization and smart growth.

Midtown Scholar Bookstore will be expanding into a nearby storefront located at 1324 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. Co-owner Catherine Lawrence said that she her husband, city Mayor Eric Papenfuse, purchased the long-time location of Fornwald’s Shades to house their discount book retail operations.

Orrstown Bank last month named Zachary “Zack” Khuri as its new executive vice president and market president for the Capital Region. In this role, he’s responsible for overseeing the bank’s business development and community engagement efforts throughout Dauphin and York counties, as well as the West Shore community in Cumberland County.

The Storm, Harrisburg University’s varsity e-sports team, captured the ESPN Overwatch National Championship trophy last month, defeating three other teams in the inaugural Collegiate Esports Championship. The victory closed out The Storm’s undefeated 33-0 season.

Three Mile Island plans to proceed with a plan to shut down the nuclear energy facility by Sept. 30. In a news release, TMI owner Excelon Generation stated that hoped-for legislative relief would not come in time to save the plant, which is located in Londonderry Township.

In Memoriam
Edward “Naed” Smith Jr., the long-time manager of the St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker House in Harrisburg, died suddenly last month. Smith, 52, was born in Wilkes-Barre, where he began his career advocating for social justice and serving the poor. He moved to Harrisburg more than 20 years ago, serving the Allison Hill community and anyone who needed help. Friends are encouraged to make contributions in his memory to the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1439 Market St., Harrisburg, Pa., 17103, or to the St. Martin de Porres Catholic Worker House, 1440 Market St., Harrisburg, Pa., 17103.

Changing Hands

Berryhill St., 2306: Jiang Brothers Realty LLC to D. Dang, $43,000

Brookwood St., 2610: University Park Plaza Corp. to Harrisburg Mini Storage LLC, $239,000

Briggs St., 1941: V. Rivas to A. Reyes & F. Narvaez, $65,000

Crescent St. 243: M. Redding to ICE Properties LLC, $32,500

Cumberland St., 261, 263 & 265: J&S Estates to A. Himalaya PA II LLC, $355,000

Delaware St., 263: R. & C. Steele to K. Chaney, $139,900

Derry St., 2505: C. Johnson to M. Ousley, $62,000

Fulton St., 1726: R. & K. Lloyd to T. Reinhart, $110,000

Fulton St., 1939: R. Bowman to Wells Fargo Bank NA, $65,985

Graham St., 304: S. Walther to J. & K. Pianka, $120,000

Green St., 1114 & 221 Sassafras St.: L. & L. Raver to R. Snyder, $148,000

Green St., 1117: PNC Bank NA to A. Nebbou & C. Myers, $55,500

Green St., 1804: C. & R. Stevens to S. Serafini, $140,000

Green St., 2031: WCI Partners LP to M. & M. Doughty, $237,000

Green St., 2046: M. Hochberg to HAMR Property Services LLC, $108,000

Greenwood St., 2239: AADE RML LLC to Rental Link LLC, $33,100

Hamilton St., 232: A. & M. Fretz to J. Serra Jr., $164,900

Hamilton St., 336: S. Heredia to J. Pierre, $35,000

Herr St., 312: M. Kraemer to M. Harris, $133,000

Hudson St., 1131: R9 Holdings to T. Smarsh, $45,000

Lewis St., 228: C. Moss Trust to J. & C. Bisel Trust, $68,500

Logan St., 2222: Jakk B Ventures LLC to B. & K. Saltzgiver, $44,250

Logan St., 2235: Jakk B Ventures LLC to B. & K. Saltzgiver, $44,250

Logan St., 2305: Jakk B Ventures LLC to B. & K. Saltzgiver, $44,250

Logan St., 2157: Jakk B Ventures LLC to B. & K. Saltzgiver, $44,250

Maclay St., 324: R. & S. Keller to J Elias Holdings LLC, $37,500

Market St., 1903: Federal National Mortgage Assoc. to CAR Property Holdings LLC, $62,000

Market St., 2019: T. & T. Black to Harrisburg Community Partners LLC, $140,000

Market St., 2101: E Street Properties LLC to C. Good & B. Mengel, $60,000

Muench St., 273: WCI Partners LP to S. Eicher, $143,000

N. 2^nd St., 1205: L. Smith to S. & J. Toole, $80,000

N. 2^nd St., 1611: A. Skocik to S. & J. Toole, $140,000

N. 2^nd St., 1708: J. Seigle to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $176,000

N. 2^nd St., 1710: G. Miller to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $182,700

N. 2^nd St., 2522: A. Graham & J. Hays to G. Narehood, $120,500

N. 4^th St., 1911: M. Demeo to D. Bukowski, $80,000

N. 4^th St., 2428: D. Leaman to A. Norris, $51,500

N. 4^th St., 2635: Jhonleo Home Renovations LLC to A. Sload & M. Drake, $121,000

N. 6^th St., 2500, 2502 & 2504: J. & E. Cooper to Harvest DCP of Pennsylvania LLC, $750,000

N. 6^th St., 3203: Premier Property Solutions LLC to Wylie and Wylie Enterprise LLC, $41,000

N. 14^th St., 228: J. Johnson to G. Brown, $47,000

N. 15^th St., 1609: Cama Sidra LLC FBO Shirley Mitrovich IRA to T. & D. Yuncker, $49,000

N. 16^th St., 805: Premier Property Solutions LLC to M. Temba, $39,738

N. 17^th St., 29: D. & L. Godoy to S. Mercado, $39,485

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 405: S. Freet to C. Crago, $153,000

N. Front St., 1701: R. Simons & T. Bissey to 1701 N Front LLC, $350,000

Penn St., 1908: K. Smyth & D. Smith to T. Palmieri & S. Russell, $172,500

Penn St., 2119: G. Neff to DHS Team LLC, $40,000

Race St., 568: E. Fultz to Green Book Enterprises LLC, $142,100

Rudy Rd., 2406: P. & R. Brehm to J. Cruz & C. Proctor, $195,000

Rudy Rd., 2482: N. Wright to F. Sisuc, $52,000

Rumson Dr., 2965: Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. to T. Jones, $52,900

Shellis St., 2102: A. Bintavihok to E. Lillo, $52,000

S. 13^th St., 330: A. & R. Stoltzfus to S. Fisher, $35,000

S. 13^th St., 421: B. Nguyen to D. Nguyen, $34,000

S. 16^th St., 943: L. & D. Burkhart to Dowling Management Co. LLC, $35,250

S. 17^th St., 137: D. Peffley Sr. to WH RE LLC, $230,000

S. 25^th St., 434: T. Thompson to W. & C. Eubanks, $95,000

S. 26^th St., 633: M. Tucci to Q. & L. Tran, $75,000

State St., 1510: J. Ansell to Shizzymac 717 Homes LLC, $36,000

Susquehanna St., 2246: University Park Plaza Corp. to Harrisburg Mini Storage LLC, $114,500

Swatara St., 2039: J. Stoltzfus to JPC Property LLC, $49,350

Sycamore St., 1705: K. Jarrett to C. Faicon, $38,000

Waldo St., 2610: W. Foutres to Tassia Corp., $35,000

Walnut St., 120 & 122: Tang & Perkins Property Management LLC to A. Himalaya PA II LLC, $455,000

Zarker St., 1423: T. Freeman & Habitat for Humanity to C. Waters, $64,000

Challengers sweep Harrisburg school board race; incumbents prevail for City Council

May 21, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The polling station for Harrisburg’s Ward 4

Voter turnout may have been light, but the impact of Tuesday’s election on Harrisburg could be huge, as challengers for the city school board swept the Democratic primary.

All four incumbents lost, some by a lot. Lola Lawson, Ellis R. Roy, Lionel Gonzalez and Patricia Whitehead-Myers were all defeated, as were three other challengers–Lewis Butts Jr., Cory X. Williams and Ralph Rodriguez.

The victorious challengers had all run campaigns broadly critical of the current school board majority and the policies of the district administration led by Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney.

Buchwach said that, once seated, the new board would have to get to work improving the district’s finances, bettering its academics and rebuilding trust with residents.

“We have to be transparent. We have to be accountable in everything we do,” she said. “We have to tell the citizens of Harrisburg, ‘This is what we will do and why.'”

Unofficial results for today’s primary race for Harrisburg school board.

No Republicans ran in the primary election for Harrisburg school board, meaning that tonight’s winners likely will prevail during the general election in November.

In the six-person race for Harrisburg City Council, incumbents Danielle Bowers, Westburn Majors and Dave Madsen easily won the nomination for three, four-year seats, defeating challengers Christina Kostelecky, Dionna Reeves and Brianna Smith.

No Republicans ran in the primary, meaning that tonight’s winners likely will secure seats during the general election in November.

Unofficial results for today’s primary race for Harrisburg City Council.

In the general election, voters will select three commissioners from the two Republican and two Democratic nominees.

For other county offices, all of the Republican incumbents had no competition in their primaries, so breezed to victory: District Attorney Fran Chardo, Sheriff Nick Chimienti, Clerk of Courts Dale Klein, Recorder of Deeds Jim Zugay, Treasurer Janis Creason, Controller Timothy DeFoor and Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court Jean Marfizo King.

The general election is slated for Nov. 5.

In a split vote, Harrisburg school board hires Ellison as solicitor

April 22, 2019 | by Maddie Crocenzi

The Harrisburg school board, which met in special session on Monday

After weeks of heated discussion, the Harrisburg school board voted 5-4 to hire attorney James Ellison as the district’s in-house solicitor during a special meeting on Monday evening.

Board members Ellis Roy, Lola Lawson, Patricia Whitehead-Myers, Lionel Gonzalez and board President Danielle Robinson voted to hire Ellison, while members Judd Pittman, Carrie Fowler, Joseph Brown and Brian Carter voted against.

Technically, Carter refused to cast a vote, so Robinson recorded his response as a no.

“We already voted on it,” Carter said, referring to a meeting last week. “We already voted once, so why are we here tonight? Why are we having this meeting tonight? There’s no reason that we should be sitting up here tonight.”

Indeed, the resolution to hire Ellison was considered at last week’s regular board meeting, when it failed by a single vote. After the official voting ended last week, Gonzalez asked to change his “no” vote to a “yes,” a request that was denied.

Gonzalez later said that he was confused by the procedure, so cast the wrong vote. The result was Monday’s special meeting so the board could vote again.

Pittman and Fowler tried to nominate the district’s current solicitor, Samuel Cooper, who works through his law firm, Dilworth Paxson LLP. Cooper declined the nomination, as he did at the previous meeting.

The appointment of Ellison as in-house solicitor has been controversial between board members and the community. Ellison served as general counsel for the district from 1997-99 and again in 2001-05. He also worked with the Coatesville Area School District, but parted ways following a lawsuit that claimed that he over-billed the district and gave them inappropriate advice.

During public comment preceding the vote, some community members expressed their support for Ellison, citing that he lives in the city, sent his children to Harrisburg schools and even worked for many community members personally.

Jody Barksdale, president of the Harrisburg Education Association, outlined what she considered to be both the pros and cons of hiring Ellison. She noted that Ellison lives in the city and helped elect former Mayor Linda Thompson. However, she also had concerns over his work in Coatesville, his overdue school taxes and alleged parking fees in the city.

“I’m looking for good reasons to hire this man because I believe we need to keep our taxpayer’s money in the city,” Barksdale told the board. “I don’t think tonight is the right time to choose who that is.”

Fowler expressed concerns with the outcome, saying she didn’t believe the process to hire Ellison was fair. According to Fowler, the board interviewed two candidates, and Ellison was allowed to bring character witnesses and the other candidate did not.

On the other hand, Lawson claimed she was weary of what she described as “witch hunts” in the community and said there was a difference in skill levels between the candidates.

“In terms of the controversy that’s all around him (Ellison), I take that to heart, and I think that’s important,” Lawson said. “But I did not let that be my deciding factor.”

After voting on Ellison, the board turned to another hot-button issue—a financial audit of the district by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Both Pittman and Fowler asked to amend the agenda to discuss the issue, but Robinson said it was already being dealt with. According to Robinson, the board has an executive session scheduled for April 23 to discuss the issue, and the district will meet with the department the next day.

After a community member expressed his disapproval with the district’s decision not to comply with the state’s audit demands, Acting Business Manager Bilal Hasan addressed what he called “misinformation” about the request. Hasan said the district has complied with the request but declined a request to grant direct access to its eFinance database.

“Just because you talk about and scream doesn’t mean it’s the truth,” Hasan said. “The truth is that we gave them the information. They’re asking for access to the database.”

Effort to suspend HBG school superintendent fails; new district solicitor rejected

April 15, 2019 | by Maddie Crocenzi

The Harrisburg school board on Monday night

Members of the Harrisburg school board tried, but failed, on Monday night to suspend the district’s superintendent and acting business manager during another contentious meeting.

Board Director Brian Carter introduced the motion to add the suspensions as an item to the agenda following the district’s recent decision to refuse the Pennsylvania Department of Education access to financial information for an audit.

Acting Business Manager Bilal Hasan said his concern wasn’t about giving up the information but allowing the department access to an online financial system with sensitive information.

“No one has ever before come to the district and logged into our accounts to see the information,” Hasan explained.

In a letter dated March 27, the state Department of Education said the district needed to provide the information “without delay.” Director Carrie Fowler, who seconded Carter’s motion, said board members didn’t find out about the letter until Dr. Janet Samuels, the district’s chief recovery officer, emailed them on Friday. It was one hour before PennLive published a story about the district’s refusal to provide the information, Fowler said.

Board President Danielle Robinson called the motion to suspend Hasan and Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney “highly inappropriate,” and said it was never discussed with the board. However, Fowler quickly accused Robinson of not being “on top of it,” and motioned to add to the agenda an item to remove Robinson as board president, alleging a lack of accountability, transparency, professionalism and leadership.

The motion to add Knight-Burney and Hasan’s suspensions to the April agenda was voted down 5-3-1. Fowler’s motion to add the removal of Robinson as board president to the agenda was rejected 6-2-1.

The board also voted 5-4 against hiring James Ellison as in-house solicitor following public comment that supported him as a candidate. The close vote almost turned into a yes as Director Lionel Gonzalez asked to change his vote toward the end of the meeting. However, current district Solicitor Samuel Cooper said that Gonzalez’s expressed wish to change his vote came too late, so was no longer possible.

Ellison served as general counsel for the district from 1997-99 and again in 2001-05. He also worked with the Coatesville Area School District, but parted ways following a lawsuit that claimed that he over-billed the district and gave them inappropriate advice.

Board members also expressed concerns about how the process to find an in-house solicitor was conducted. Board Director Judd Pittman, who nominated Cooper for the position before Cooper withdrew his name, said candidates were not afforded the same opportunities and not all board members were included.

However, Robinson defended what she said was a four-month process that everyone was involved in.

“What’s really funny and confusing is the people who had an issue with the process were a part of the process,” she said.

Robinson said she’s not sure what will happen now regarding hiring an in-house solicitor. She said they could re-open the process, and Ellison’s name could come up again.

“If he still wants to be a part of the process, he’s more than welcome to,” she said.

Harrisburg schools open doors to police officers under new partnership.

January 11, 2019 | by Lizzy Hardison

Leaders from the Harrisburg City School District and Harrisburg Police Bureau pose after the press conference where they announced their new partnership.

Thanks to a new partnership with district leadership, Harrisburg’s police officers now have an open-door invitation to enter Harrisburg city schools.

Officials from the school district and police bureau convened a press conference this morning to announce a formalized partnership that they hope will bolster safety, community relations and career readiness in Harrisburg’s 13 elementary, middle and high schools.

The police officers won’t have permanent stations in the school buildings, as they did under the school resource officer (SRO) program that ran until 2009.

Instead, officers will be able to freely enter school buildings to talk to students about public safety, community service and career preparation.

Officials made clear today that the emphasis of the new partnership is improving community relations with the police, not punishing students.

“We are not here to give out any criminal charges or to arrest any kids,” police Commissioner Thomas Carter said. “We’re here to be a resource and a positive role model for the students.”

When funding for the SRO program dried up in 2009, it left the district without a codified relationship with the police bureau.

Keeping with state law, the police enter an annual memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the district, establishing procedures for police response to incidents on school campuses.

Absent an emergency incident, however, police officers had to follow the district’s standard visitor policy to enter school buildings, arranging visits ahead of time with the permission of administrators.

That will change under the new partnership. Harrisburg police officers may now enter school buildings at any time to visit classrooms or socialize with students during breaks.

Officials hope that more spontaneous interactions with the city’s youth will foster a positive image of law enforcement.

“When students see a police car outside the school, it’s negative – they think something bad has happened,” Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney said. “That’s why this partnership is important.”

Capt. Gabriel Olivera said that the police bureau does not currently have the manpower to launch a new SRO program. But neither the police nor the school district is ruling it out in the future, he said.

“This partnership is a good starting point, and, if at some point in the future, both entities decide [to welcome SROs,] then that would be possible,” he said.

The new partnership does not require a written agreement or any funding, so it did not need the approval of the Harrisburg school board.

The school board turned down proposals for a school resource officer program in 2015 and 2016, according to news reports, after Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse offered to provide funding for a one-year pilot program.

Papenfuse was not present for today’s announcement.

Many district parents also objected to the proposed police presence in schools, fearing it would lead to arrests or use of force against students.

Knight-Burney said today that school climates have changed in recent years amid a series of high-profile school shooting incidents, including a 2017 shooting in a Parkland, Fla., high school that left 17 dead.

She said that a conversation with Parkland’s superintendent helped her see the importance of law enforcement partnerships.

“Part of what we talked about is how to have relationships where we’re not reactive, but where we build a foundation of communication so, when things like that happen, we have plans in place,” Knight-Burney said.

She added that a recent spate of gang violence among high-schoolers and middle-schoolers highlighted the need for a stronger police presence.

Under the leadership of Cpl. Josh Hammer and community policing coordinator Blake Lynch, Harrisburg’s five-member community policing unit began making inroads with the school district this fall, when they started hosting ice cream socials with elementary school students.

The success of those events led to the new open-door policy, Lynch said today.

He hopes to see officers in at least one school building every day under the new partnership, talking to students about topics such as social media, gun safety, drugs and alcohol and community involvement.

The police bureau also hopes it can solve some of its staffing woes by recruiting students from the city’s high schools. They plan on marketing their Cadet Program, which can reimburse new recruits for college costs if they pass consortium testing and take a policing job in Harrisburg.

“When students start to see police not in a negative light but in a positive light, they may start to see themselves as future police officers,” city council public safety chair Ausha Green said.

A Very Good Year? Yes, assuming you like infrastructure and hate Act 47.

December 28, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

The days tick by and, before you know it, another year has passed us in the city of Harrisburg.

As I normally do for my January column, I’m reliving the recent past by reviewing the top news stories of the last 365 days.

I would say that it was an up-and-down year for Harrisburg, but I feel like I say that every year. In any case, buckle in for a trip down memory lane, assuming, that is, that your memories, like mine, mostly consist of taxes, housing and roadwork.

10. When the Rains Came
In journalism, the weather story may be the last refuge of the uninspired, and, accordingly, we don’t write a lot them. But even we take notice when the relentless rains start to affect people’s everyday lives. In 2018, the deluge began early, took a snow break for a late March blizzard, then continued for much of the year, obliterating outdoor events, delaying road projects and closing City Island briefly in July. In its history, Harrisburg has suffered much worse floods, but that was small comfort to the Pride of the Susquehanna riverboat, which lost weeks of sailing due to high water, leading to financial setbacks and appeals for donations.

9. New District, Same Result
The year started off on a hopeful note for area Democrats, as the state’s long-gerrymandered congressional districts were redrawn. The new 10th district, now centered around the Harrisburg area, still had Republicans in the majority, but their partisan advantage had narrowed. A snoozer of a Democratic primary led to the nomination of George Scott, a likeable, mild-mannered minister who, in the general election, raised a lot of money and fielded a large, enthusiastic team of volunteers. However, in the end, he could not dislodge the entrenched Republican incumbent, Scott Perry, who beat back the challenger by nearly three points.

8. Go Downtown
Harrisburg has suffered from decades of disinvestment. So, you might think that city officials would enthusiastically embrace multi-million-dollar redevelopment projects. Some, however, showed little love for a plan to convert two large, underused office buildings on Pine Street to apartments. City Council President Wanda Williams, claiming a lack of affordable units, objected to the projects. Harristown Development countered that some of the proposed units did meet the definition of “affordable” and, in any case, that the city as a whole, and downtown, in particular, would benefit greatly by an influx of new residents and their money. In the end, Williams’ objection could not derail the projects, which satisfied all other conditions set by a city that lacks a formal affordable housing policy.

7. Empty Spaces
During Harrisburg’s golden age, the Market/Cameron street corridor buzzed with activity from factory workers, auto salesmen, postal clerks and ink-stained wretches. But that was long ago. Today, it’s largely a no man’s land, stuck between hope and despair. On the despair side, it lost one of its few remaining structures—the century-old Schell seed building. But the circle of urban life continues, and, in March, the commonwealth released two promising reports. The first set forth renovation plans for the nearby, historic train station, and the second outlined a long-term vision to restore the Paxton Creek watershed, which would add acres of green space to the blighted area and reduce the risk of flooding. Mayor Eric Papenfuse has called the Paxton Creek project potentially transformational, but that transformation remains many years and many more millions of dollars away.

6. House of Controversy
Every year, a story pops up seemingly from nowhere and then surprises me in its public interest. For 2018, that story was the ongoing saga at the House of Music, Arts & Culture—otherwise known as HMAC. The summertime drama started after a patron said that she was assaulted after leaving the venue. The police soon cleared HMAC of culpability, but not before Facebook exploded in an onslaught of online invective. Soon after, TheBurg reported that HMAC had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that its owners planned to sell the sprawling art space and restaurant. If HMAC does get new owners, 2019 could be a pivotal year for a place that has come a long way over a decade, when it was a blighted shell, but that, by its co-owner’s own admission, could use fresh leadership.

5. Park & Dine
Last January, I wrapped up my annual year-in-review column by stating that, for the first time in years, my top-10 list excluded the single-most persistent issue in Harrisburg—parking. Well, it’s back! In April, the city, Dauphin County, the Downtown Improvement District and Standard Parking inked a deal to provide free street parking after 5 p.m. throughout much of downtown. The early reviews were positive, with restaurant owners saying that business had picked up once patrons realized they could snag a drink or dinner without risking a $30 ticket. The one-year deal expires soon, so we’ll have to see what City Council and other stakeholders think of their “one-year experiment.”

4. Plan Jam
Second only to parking, the unfinished comprehensive plan is the city’s most evergreen story—with us year in, year out. It may now seem like a distant memory, but the city held a public meeting last January on the draft plan. That public hearing garnered many comments from residents, even as Mayor Papenfuse denounced the draft document as “unworkable” and “unsalvageable.” Papenfuse later threatened to replace the entire Planning Commission, even if it took years, to get a plan more to his liking. Nonetheless, the commission stuck with its draft and, in November, requested $50,000 to finish it up. So, could this be the year that Harrisburg finally gets a new comprehensive plan? Maybe, but I’m already reserving an entry for it on my 2019 list.

3. Drama Class
Generally speaking, Harrisburg is a much less dramatic place than it was a few years ago, during the height of the city’s financial crisis. I now will carve out a great, big exception for the school district, which has taken over as the center of city spectacle and dysfunction. Every month of 2018 seemed to feature some new problem—budget shortfalls, a tax hike, poor academic performance, a controversial grading policy, school board resignations, personnel issues, principal reshuffling and a battle over whether to re-appoint the superintendent, among other issues. I’ll go out on a limb and say that, with control of the school board at stake during upcoming municipal elections, city residents should expect more of the same this year.

2. All Roads Lead to (and from) Harrisburg
This past year, the long-awaited 3rd Street corridor project finally began digging, cutting and drilling. Then it stopped. Then it started again. City officials now say that the streetscape and paving project will conclude this year. But 3rd Street wasn’t the only stretch of road on the minds of city residents in 2018. The city kicked off its “Vision Zero” campaign with a public meeting in June, as it strives for zero pedestrian deaths, an ambitious goal considering the shockingly high rate of road fatalities. The year in infrastructure ended on a more hopeful note. In November, residents packed a public meeting on the city’s plan to convert much of N. 2nd Street to two-way traffic. Suburban commuters may have a different opinion, but the crowd that attended the meeting seemed to support the concept overwhelmingly.

1. The Long Good-Bye
In city life, an issue may arise under one set of assumptions, only to take numerous twists and turns before resolution. Such was the case with Harrisburg’s plan to leave Act 47, the state program for distressed municipalities. We began the year assuming the city would roll into a three-year wind-down of its involvement. That assumption was thrown into doubt after the state proposed doubling the city property tax as a condition for leaving. Appalled, Harrisburg officials asked the state legislature to allow the city to retain the extra taxing authority it has had under Act 47. That bill passed in October, though in a highly modified form that offers just five more years of enhanced taxing power. With that compromise, Harrisburg plans soon to exit Act 47 in 2019, allowing it, after many years, to shed the moniker, “distressed city.”

As I typically do, I will wrap up the January column with the disclaimer that, while these are my choices for the top Harrisburg news items of 2018, they may not be yours. You easily could make a case that I should have included the tragic deaths of a mother and son at the Dock Street Dam, the death of a U.S. marshal during a raid on a house in Allison Hill and the death of restaurateur Nick Laus, which was our single most-read online story of the year.

Here’s hoping that 2019 brings the people of Harrisburg nothing but good news, which I will happily recap a year from now. And more free parking.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Harrisburg School Board hears charter application for midtown elementary school.

December 13, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Pennsylvania STEAM Academy has proposed opening a k-2 charter school in the HACC Midtown 2 building on N. 3rd Street in 2019, with plans to expand with k-8 offerings.

A new elementary charter school could open its doors in Midtown Harrisburg next year, if it gets the approval it seeks from the Harrisburg school board.

The Pennsylvania STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Academy tonight presented a charter application to the school board at a public hearing in the district’s Lincoln Administration Building.

Only three board members attended the hearing, which was recessed after 90 minutes and will reconvene in January.

The presentation was led by former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq, a founding board member of the PA STEAM Academy. Dumaresq explained that the school would offer small classes and a rigorous curriculum in STEM fields, as well as a deep emphasis on language arts and literacy.

If Harrisburg grants the five-year charter application, the STEAM Academy would open at the HACC Midtown 2 Academic Building, 1500 N. 3rd St., in fall 2019 for grades K-2. The school would add a grade of instruction every year, allowing the incoming cohort of 2nd-graders to progress through 6th grade by the time the charter expires in 2024.

HACC currently occupies Midtown 2, but the 15-year lease on the building expires in June 2022, and HACC announced in March that it would not renew it. The college plans to start moving some programs out of the building as early as next year.

As a public charter school, enrollment at PA STEAM Academy would be free, paid for by students’ school districts. Harrisburg students would have first priority for the 120 enrollment slots. If the school received applications for more students than it could serve, it would select students through a lottery system.

Enrollment would only be open to students from other districts if the school could not fill its seats from within Harrisburg.

The school would also have a research component, Dumaresq said, serving as a testing ground for innovative curriculum programs that could raise student achievement across all of the Harrisburg school district.

“We would be able to look at our programs, look at student achievement, and say ‘this works’ and take the model [to other schools],” Dumaresq said. “A school district the size of Harrisburg can’t implement things this big all at once.”

Dumaresq said that STEAM Academy would only implement curriculum programs that have already shown promise in other schools. The academy would also leverage partnerships with colleges and universities, nonprofits and local businesses and government agencies, she said.

Students would start their school day at 8:15 a.m. and dismiss at 3:45 p.m., according to a sample daily schedule provided during the presentation. They would receive 120 minutes of language arts instruction, one hour each for math, science and engineering instruction, and 40 minutes for creative arts.

Students would also take classes in computer science and coding, social studies and Spanish language, Dumaresq said.

Eventually, the school hopes to serve grades K-8. Dumaresq said that the board does not intend to offer high school instruction, since they envision the STEAM academy as a feeder into Harrisburg’s Sci-Tech High School.

The STEAM academy submitted its charter school application to the Harrisburg school board on Nov. 13. The board had 45 days to schedule a public hearing and now has 45 more days to hold a second hearing and a vote, according to Pennsylvania’s Act 14.

School board directors will be able to ask questions of the charter school board at the next hearing in January. Tonight’s hearing allowed the STEAM Academy board to present their application and field questions.

During a public comment session before the meeting, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse spoke strongly in favor of the charter application, citing pubic demand for quality schools and the “clear strength” of the application.

Harrisburg school board President Danielle Robinson said that scheduling conflicts prevented more of her colleagues from attending tonight’s hearing. They all have printed copies and PDFs of the charter application, she said, and will also receive transcripts from tonight’s hearing.

Since the board was only receiving information tonight, and not deliberating or voting, the lack of a quorum of members did not constitute a violation of the Sunshine Act, according to the hearing’s presiding officer Allison Peterson of the Levin Law Group.

The school board will vote on the STEAM Academy charter in February, Robinson said. If the board rejects it, Dumaresq said that she would appeal their decision to the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board, which she chaired as state secretary of education.

Dumaresq has behind her a star-studded board of directors, whose members include lobbyists, developers, veteran educators and executives in the finance and nonprofit sectors. The following roster of board members, founding members and charter development consultants was provided at tonight’s presentation:

• Jenny Gallagher-Blom, director of operations at the Salvation Army of Harrisburg
• Kirk Hallet, founder and director of the Joshua School and the Joshua Center
• Susan Kegerise, former superintendent of Susquehanna Township School District
• Doug Neidich, CEO of GreenWorks Development, owner of the HACC Midtown 2 building
• Tina Nixon, an executive at UPMC Pinnacle
• Rocco Pugliese, president of Pugliese Associates
• David Skerpon of the Education Policy and Leadership Center
• Ron Tomalis, a former education advisor to Gov. Tom Corbett
• Michael Wilson
• Kathleen Blouch, a curriculum consultant
• Yvonne Hollins, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg
• Robert O’Donnell, senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation
• David Schmidt

The Harrisburg school district currently grants charters to three schools: Sylvan Heights Science Charter School, the Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) and Premier Arts and Science Charter School.

The board voted in August to revoke the charter of Premier Arts and Science after lawyers found the school had inflated its enrollment and overbilled the district.

The last new charter application before the board was for an arts-focused school that would have opened in the former Bishop McDevitt campus on Market Street. It failed 6-3 in a February 2017 board vote.

Tonight, Harrisburg Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney said she had not yet done an intensive reading of the STEAM Academy application, but said it looked “very promising.”

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