Blah Blah Blah
POTTSTOWN, PA – We see that the fear mongering excessive spending spin meister is at it again.
In today’s print edition of The Fishwrap, we find another ho-hum the-sky-is-falling advertisement from the wanna-be responsible Pottstown citizen, Thomas Hylton.
We find it very amusing that Hylton is crying the blues about all of this debt that we cannot afford when only a year ago he was pushing for a proposal to spend some $15+ million dollars on selective maintenance to his favorite school buildings.
Say it out loud with us folks…H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E
Sure. It’s okay for Tom Hylton to spend money to fix up old buildings…but now we’re in a financial meltdown! Everyone run for the hills!
So what does Tom Hylton propose the school district do? Oh that’s right – let’s just keep the status quo….keep those five 40+ year old elementary school buildings that we cannot afford…keep doing what got us into this financial mess. Of course. That makes so much sense doesn’t it Tom? You’re such a genius.
Perhaps if Tom Hylton didn’t fight against the centers concept so long ago the school district wouldn’t have to deal with the issue of all of these excess school buildings we cannot afford.
Why is Pottstown up to its neck in debt? Because of zealots like Tom Hylton, who are more concerned with keeping school buildings we cannot afford rather than focusing on improving our children’s education.
Speaking of Tom Hylton and money…don’t forget folks that TONIGHT is Pottstown Borough Council’s monthly meeting. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. at Borough Hall. Please get there early to sign up to speak in support of Councilman Jody Rhoads’ quest to obtain a full audit of our taxpayer money that was donated to Tom Hylton’s Trees, Inc. “non-profit” over the period of 2003-2007.
We’ll see you there!
Tom Hylton, needs to step away from the word program and GET UP OFF HIS ASS to put his effort and his money into something that will make Pottstown appealing to investors. Money is going to have to be spent to do what’s right to provide facilities to educate our kids. But instead of throwing bucks at the fishwrap why not work to generate a healthy tax base to help pay those costs? Talk about spittin’ into the wind and expecting it will not fly back to hit him in his own face.
Trees, Inc. started receiving funds in 2001 from the borough until 2007. The non profit run by “BIG BUCKS TOM” collected approximately $147,000 from taxpayers monies during those years. Available is an email from “BBT” to David Forrest from 4/06/01 stating these funds donated from the borough to Trees, Inc. will be used exclusively for the care and maintenance of street trees in Pottstown Borough. There is also a statement that an audit will be provided at the end of the year of 2001. BBT asked Mr. Forrest to contact M.F. so he could receive a reduced rate audit, considering there will likely be less than 15 checks written all year. The donations did not begin in 2003 as most believe.
If the figures presented in Hylton’s latest advertorial are correct (and there is a big IF at the head of that sentence), then the district really has very little in way of options at this point in time. It can leave everything as is and continue to deal with the high-cost, low-result scenario that Hylton and his supporters seem to love, or it can close Rupert, sell the property, get it back on the tax rolls and move those kids into the other existing buildings. That would at least eliminate some expenses, as opposed to maintaining the status quo.
But based on Hylton’s own data, the district shouldn’t be doing anything other than closing Rupert and shutting down programs.
That’s what I gathered, too.
If we are going to harp on what can’t be done then the only true answer is to reduce expenditure and start cramming kids into classes with a shoehorn if people aren’t willing to give up programs. Given the ‘red alert’ to lack of funds and fear mongering for the future, with regard to PSERs payments, perhaps lobbying for charter involvement is the way to go? (SIGH)
Maybe the way to look at it could be rather than have a charter take over primary ed, they take over secondary ed so that the public system can shape the minds and the ‘business’ can provide the ‘polishing’ of the minds?!?
Either way this gets sliced something has to be given up to get something (of value) in return, right? WAYFTP is right, based on Hylton’s own data (& projections) his plan isn’t viable, either.
I am, however, convinced if this opoortunity to make some kind of REAL change is missed it spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.