POTTSTOWN, PA – It appears that Team Hylton, members of which can be directly tied to the staggering lack of progress in the Pottstown School District over the past five years, has successfully recruited a new member…recently elected board member Andrew Kefer.

Kefer, who was elected to the Pottstown school board this past November, cast his stall tactic tabling vote on the future of Pottstown’s elementary schools along with fellow Team Hylton posse members Valerie Harris, Dennis Wausnock, Ron Williams and ring leader Thomas Hylton at last week’s board meeting.

If you want to read about the week old meeting, you can check out today’s print and online editions of The Fishwrap. If the board wants their meetings to receive timely news coverage, perhaps they should crash a flaming car into the Pottstown Middle School on meeting nights to attract The Fishwrap’s savvy news hound attention.

Can anyone tell us why on earth the board is even discussing the asinine idea of closing the 40+ year old Edgewood elementary school building over the 80+ year old (and literally falling apart) Rupert elementary school building?

And please, don’t feed us that BS about walkability or population. Who is the only person who wants everyone to believe that Rupert should be kept open? The King of Discombobulation himself…Tom Hylton, who has mastered the tactic of confusing the crap out of folks by feeding them too much information and skipping around the stated facts.

Tom Hylton doesn’t want you to know that Rupert (when compared to Edgewood) is the least walkable school in the lowest attendance area. Pottstown Public Works Director Doug Yerger performed a GIS study of a one mile radius of attendance area for Pottstown elementary schools on two occasions and it was proved, both times, that Rupert Elementary (when compared to Edgewood) is the least walkable school in the lowest attendance area. Has anyone discussed the redistricting that will result when one or more schools are closed? This was discussed at length during the President’s Task Force meetings and needs to be fully examined before talking about which schools to close. If you close Edgewood, of course Rupert will become a more walkable school (because the school population will increase). The same is true if you close Rupert…then Edgewood will become a more walkable school. Tom Hylton wants to keep Rupert open at all costs…and that means hiding facts and figures that prove his incorrect theories wrong.

Why are members of the executive team trying to make it appear that Edgewood should be closed? Because they think they can sell that property to The Hill School. Has there been any discussions with The Hill School about the purchase of the Edgewood property? Of course not. Will Tom Hylton put on his concerned citizen cap and bombard the district with Right to Know requests for every email sent from Superintendent Reed Lindley in an attempt to uncover some delusional culture of secrecy?  Since Rupert isn’t slated for closure, of course Hylton won’t do that…because he fully intends to keep Rupert open at all costs…even if that means acting unethical and underhanded (a skill that Hylton has honed so well during his 40 year occupation of Pottstown).

Did you know that according to Montgomery County property records, The Hill School owns 57 properties in Pottstown that have a combined total assessed value of $43,437,430. As a comparison, the Pottstown School District owns 15 properties that have a combined total assessed value of $51,812,560.

Yes folks…over $43 million dollars of our taxable property is currently controlled by the biggest private tax exempt entity in Pottstown…and the executive team of the Pottstown School District wants to add to that figure by selling Edgewood (currently assessed at $3,117,750) to the very same tax exempt entity that holds hostage to over $43 million of our tax dollars. If the Edgewood properties were to be purchased by The Hill School, the total dollar amount of their tax exempt properties in Pottstown would increase to $46,555,180. Yes you read that figure correctly…over $46 million dollars of our taxable property would be owned by The Hill School. $46 million dollars that Pottstown will never be able to collect taxes on. How do you feel about that fellow Pottstown taxpayers? It kinda hits you right in the gut, doesn’t it?

The real cost savings in Pottstown will be fully realized when Rupert is closed and the property is sold to a commercial entity that will contribute to Pottstown’s tax base…not take away from it. Look at the new town homes built along South Charlotte Street. If they could squeeze that many new homes onto that small parcel, just think of how many homes could fit onto the 3.4 acre parcel where Rupert currently sits. That’s the potential for a lot of new tax dollars for Pottstown.

When folks start asking the questions that need to be asked and start making leadership decisions that benefit Pottstown (and not just one individual)…Pottstown will prosper. Until then, it will continue to chase its tail in circles.

Will this sham continue to go around in circles…or will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Only time will tell.

For Mr. Kefer and other new members of Pottstown School Board, here’s a nickel’s worth of free advice. When Tom Hylton calls you up and wants to schedule a personal meeting with you at his Chestnut Street home…just say NO. Here’s the modus operandi as it currently stands: He’ll warmly invite you into his home, he’ll attempt to overload you with nonsensical gibberish facts and figures that he overcooked, he’ll talk your ear off, he won’t let you leave and then, to top it off, he’ll record the conversation without asking your permission. If you really have nothing more productive to do with your free time and feel the need to meet with Tom Hylton on a one-to-one basis …do so at your own risk and do it somewhere in a public setting (preferably where food is served – just don’t order any twinkies) and set a designated time for the meeting to end.

Ronald “Zorba the Greek” Williams, one of the new outspoken members of the Pottstown School Board

POTTSTOWN, PA – That’s a direct quote from Ronald Williams, a recently elected member of the Pottstown School Board. Yes…the same Ronald Williams who was elected to his seat courtesy of $15,662 that Tom Hylton personally spent on his failed attempt to buy five Pottstown school board seats in 2011.

Is that the thanks Tom gets for getting Ron elected? Sheesh. The next thing you know, he’ll be bashing Hylton for back-in parking and street trees. Ooopsie… Williams did just that in the same article that is the lead of today’s print edition of The Pottstown Fishwrap.

Williams, who appears to have a Greek Fisherman’s Cap permanently attached to his head, also wears the same rose colored glasses as Hylton. In a retort to a comment made by fellow board member Polly Weand, Williams said: “Apparently some of us look at this community as some kind of correctional facility with criminals running around.  There are pedophiles in every community in the country but they are not lurking at every corner of our community.”

Excuse us Ron…but you live in the 200 block of Walnut Street. Step out your front door and take a look around. Those ARE criminals from correctional facilities running around and those ARE pedophiles lurking on every corner.

Williams didn’t reserve his personal vendettas just for Hylton…he also attacked our good friends over at Code Blue: “I was even a member of Code Blue for a while until I realized there is no honesty in what they’re doing and that it is mostly vindictive and focused on one person, although now I suppose it will be focused on me.”  

C’mon Ron. You were never a member of Code Blue. You just didn’t meet their high membership standards. When you mention ‘no honesty’ and being ‘mostly vindictive and focused on one person’ you must be talking about either Tom Hylton or The Fishwrap.

If the Pottstown school board wants to truly save money on its elementary schools…they can start by closing several of them. As we’ve said oodles of time over and over again…by eliminating school district employees (like highly paid principals and teachers) and by selling off school district property to taxable entities, the Pottstown School District will save millions of dollars. It’s a no brainer. Is it cheaper to maintain one or two school buildings? Or five? Wake up and embrace reality folks.

Don’t even bother to address that kook Hylton. Show us any kind of savings that Tom Hylton has brought to Pottstown over the past 40 years. You know what? Tom Hylton has NEVER saved Pottstown any money with his empty, foolhardy schemes. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch. The only person that’s financially benefited from Tom Hylton’s ideas has been Tom Hylton.

So…based on Ron Williams’ speaking points…what’s the moral of today’s Fishwrap article?

Money Can’t Buy You Love!

POTTSTOWN, PA – While The Mercury falls all over itself celebrating the now viral story it “broke” earlier this week about the Pottstown Middle School’s ban on open top boots, the real issue remains on why the newspaper refuses to expose the money exchanging sweetheart deal brokered by Mercury Editor Nancy March and current Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton.

Since 2008, The Mercury has received checks from Hylton in excess of $25,766 for 80 advertisements placed by Hylton cowering behind his Pottstown Citizens for Responsible Government political action committee moniker. Over $15,662 was spent on Mercury advertisements in 2011 by Hylton while he managed the political campaign purse strings of current board members Dennis Wausnock and Ronald Williams, along with three other loser candidates. In exchange for the tens of thousands of dollars Hylton spent on advertising at The Mercury, the paper refuses to critically report on Hylton’s failed attempt to buy school board seats in the primary and general elections of 2011.

The Mercury’s self-promoting brouhaha began the day after Pottstown Middle School Principal Gail Cooper issued this letter to parents on Wednesday. After The Mercury reported on the letter, the more savvy and professional Philadelphia news media picked up the story and did the necessary investigating and reporting to turn the story into a viral phenomenon.

Here are four examples of the story as reported by legitimate and respected Philadelphia news media outlets:

Pottstown gives UGGs the boot

Ugg spokeswoman on school ban: ‘Seems arbitrary’

Suburban Pa. middle school bans Ugg boots

Fur Boot Ban at Pottstown School

Instead of manufactured outrage, the taxpayers and parents of Pottstown School District children should be incensed at the money-influenced selective news reporting shenanigans of The Mercury and its money-corrupting school board member Thomas “Moneybags” Hylton.

The real outrage should be directed towards an individual who, for almost 40 years, has brought Pottstown and the Pottstown School District to near bankruptcy because of his fanatical zealotry in fighting to keep open expensive and outdated elementary school buildings our community can no longer afford and no longer needs.

Both Nancy March and Tom Hylton need to get the boot. The sooner the better.

You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin’
and you keep losin’ when you oughta not bet.
You keep samin’ when you oughta be a’changin’.
Now what’s right is right, but you ain’t been right yet.

These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do
one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

Nancy and Tom both sucky sucky!

POTTSTOWN, PA – In 2011, a sitting Pottstown School Board member spent $15,662 on election activities that directly affects the board he currently serves on and The Mercury will not report on his behavior. In 2011 The Mercury was paid $8,655 in advertising revenue by the same current school board member through a political action committee the board member created and 100% personally funded.

In the first six months of 2011, The Mercury received advertising revenue totaling $8,655 from Pottstown Citizens for Responsible Government, a registered political action committee created in 2007 by current Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton. Hylton and his wife Frances (a retired Pottstown School District elementary teacher) have personally financed the PAC to the amount of $60,138 since its creation. The PAC was created to influence local elections in Pottstown.

In December of 2008, Hylton met with Nancy March (current editor of The Mercury) and the paper began publishing advertorials on its opinion page paid for by and promoting the Pottstown Citizens PAC. Since this arrangement in 2008, Hylton has spent $25,766 on 78 Mercury advertorials and 2 advertising supplements.

The most recent chairperson of Hylton’s PAC was Dennis Wausnock. Wausnock is also a current member of the Pottstown School Board (having recently been re-elected in November of 2011). One month prior to the 2011 primary elections, Hylton removed all references to Wausnock from the Pottstown Citizens website. According to the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services (where the PAC is registered), all PACs must have both a chairperson and treasurer for contributions to be received or expenditures made. In 2011, the Pottstown Citizens PAC spent $15,662 on political activities (focusing exclusively on the Pottstown School Board election races in May and November – while Hylton and Wausnock were sitting board members). Without a chairperson, Hylton is operating an illegal PAC and therefore should not be receiving contributions nor creating expenditures.

The Mercury will not report on this issue, as they have financially benefited from Hylton’s PAC. Since the PAC’s advertising partnership with The Mercury in December of 2008, the paper has received advertising revenue in the amount of $25,766. Hylton was employed at The Mercury for 22 years, retiring in 1994. While employed at The Mercury, Hylton was a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 1990. He was elected to the Pottstown School Board in 2009.

Shortly after Hylton was elected to office in 2009, SavePottstown!! was launched to track and expose the underhanded political monetary activities of Hylton.

POTTSTOWN, PA – Poor Tom Hylton. Nobody will publish his warped commentary….nobody will take his dirty money…he can’t post nasty anonymous online comments at The Fishwrap anymore…and Rupert Elementary is about to be closed and razed. Toxic Tom Hylton is radioactive and nobody in their right mind will touch him with a ten foot pole.

What’s Tom’s latest line of defense? Calling daily bullying comments into Sound Off about respected Pottstown Board of Education President Judyth Zahora. Bullying and harassing women…the one thing Thomas Hylton should have won a national award for.

Pottstown School Board members Thomas Hylton and Dennis Wausnock will only smile after they receive their happy ending.

Where’s that cheerful smiley outdated caricature of Tom Hylton that used to accompany his milksop commentary in the pages of The Fishwrap? Has anyone else seen the updated photo of the Pottstown school board? Which two board members look like their tighty whities are two sizes too small? Tom Hylton and his responsible Boyertown citizen sidekick Dennis Wausnock. What’s wrong Tom? Your $60,138+ dirty political action committee money isn’t buying the prestige and power you planned when you formed your PAC four years ago?

Speaking of dirty PACs…here are two of the latest filed financial reports from Pottstown Political Hacks for Irresponsible Fiscally-Insolvent Government…oopsie…we mean Pottstown Citizens for Responsible Government:

PCFRG 30 Day Post Election Report

PCFRG 2011 Annual Report

Can someone please explain to us how school board member Thomas Hylton is legally permitted to expend close to $16,000 of his own money (in 2011 alone) on a political action committee he formed to influence elections of the board on which he sits? Not only that…Dennis Wausnock, who was unfortunately elected for another (yawn!) four year school board term, is still the legal chairperson of Tom Hylton’s PAC (even though Tom has scrubbed Dennis’ name from the Pottstown Citizens website). Here’s a screen capture of how the site appeared in April of last year (one month prior to last year’s primary election).

How on earth can this shell game be legal? Why isn’t this being legally challenged? And why hasn’t the local news outlet (The Pottstown Fishwrap) reported on this?

Here’s why you won’t read about this in The Fishwrap.  According to the Pottstown Citizens 2011 Annual Report, Hylton spent over $8,655 on advertising in The Fishwrap last year alone. Since 2007 when Hylton created his PAC, he’s spent over $25,766 on advertising in The Fishwrap. Gee…no wonder Nancy March (Chief Fishwrapper) won’t allow any articles exposing Tom Hylton’s abuse of the political system. If a member of Pottstown’s borough council pulled this crap, or any other school board member in any of Pottstown’s neighboring communities, The Fishwrap would be all over this story…well…like flies on day old fish.

But since Tom Hylton and Nancy March are newspaper buddies (and the mere fact that Hylton worked for The Fishwrap for 22 years), it’s okay to ignore this story and give Tom carte blanche to spend tens of thousands of dollars in a vain attempt to buy elections on the board in which he sits. That’s just Tom being Tom, right Nancy?

So let’s recap. A publicly elected official has personally contributed more than $60,138 over a four year period through a PAC he created in order to influence elections on the board on which he currently sits. And the chairperson of this PAC was recently re-elected to the same board…but all mention of this chairperson has been removed from the PAC website (according to the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services, no PAC can receive or spend money that doesn’t have a chairperson – so in essence Tom Hylton is operating an illegal PAC and it should be investigated and disbanded – and Hylton should be heavily fined).

Nah…you’re right Nancy. That’s not a legitimate news story that needs to be exposed. Perhaps other media outlets that didn’t benefit financially will be interested in this story. Go back to doing what you do best…reporting on fires and car wrecks and publishing Tom’s anonymous Sound Off comments.

(our apologizes to Clement Clark Moore)

a look at Pottstown’s Ghost of Christmas Present…

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ Pottstown

Not a creature was stirring, not even the school board’s best known clown;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In anticipation of the new elementary school consolidation plan that soon would be there;

The Hyltonites were nestled all snug in their beds,

While nightmares of Rupert’s impending demolition danc’d in their heads,

And Frances with her trashbag, and Tom with his bike,

Were frantically trying to figure out how to save Rupert using a whopping tax hike –

When out on Chestnut Street there arose such a clatter,

Tom sprang from his unfinished Sound Off comment to see what was the matter.

Away to the window Tom flew like a flash,

Looked into his peep mirror – saw it was safe – and then threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,

Was making his tenant neighbors visible (he finds them so annoying you know),

When, what to Tom’s egotistical eyes should appear,

A group of happy satisfied voters, giving Tom a Bronx cheer,

With hundreds of joyful voters, jumping in the air and giving a kick,

Tom knew in a moment that they hadn’t fallen for his political postcard shtick.

More rapid than eagles his detractors they came,

And they whistled, and shouted, and call’d Tom by name:

“Your political shenanigans didn’t work this time, Tom! They didn’t work at all!,

Even though you tried your best by throwing the same lame political curve ball,”

They stood on his porch!  They stood near his wall!

And Tom, as usual, belittled them, “Now go away! go away! go away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

The blissful voter’s happiness made Tom truly look so much more the bad guy;

The jovial crowd continued to fill the street, and Tom wished them to bid adieu,

Everyone came out to celebrate the closing of Rupert, telling Tom to eat poo.

And then, in a twinkling, Tom heard on the street

The shouts of every Pottstown voter calling for the removal of Tom from his school board seat.

As Tom tried to withdraw, and was turning around,

Down Chestnut Street the I.R.S. agents came with a bound:

They were all dress’d in riot gear, from their head to their feet,

And they came to arrest Tom for being a non-profit tax cheat;

Complaints from the voters were carried by the agents in a huge stack,

And it was then that Tom wished he could give the misused borough funds back.

Tom’s eyes – how they shifted! His body: how it squirmed,

His brow was so sad, for he knew it was the premature end of his school board term;

Tom’s dried little mouth was drawn up with a scowl

And the look on his face was priceless…what a howl;

The voters how he treated them with such disdain,

And they so looked forward to sending Tom back to Wyomissing on the next train;

The lies that he told about the elementary schools,

Every voter knew then and there that Tom took them all for fools.

Tom misled the public, in promotion of himself,

And the voters suffered the most…us, our neighbors and yourself;

A stroke of Tom’s pen and a grand twist of the facts,

Soon gave the voters truthful knowledge of Tom’s dastardly acts;

As the I.R.S. led Tom away, his Sound Off comment a half-finished work,

Every voter was satisfied, because they knew that indeed Tom was a jerk,

And as Tom sat in the I.R.S. van, lawyers looked through his nonprofit escrows,

And also they did investigate Tom’s money funneling of the boroughs;

The voters continued to rejoice in the street, to the I.R.S. team they did whistle,

And away the van drove, flying down the street like the down of a thistle,

But the voters heard Tom exclaim, ere the van drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

POTTSTOWN, PA – Congratulations to Friends of Pottstown Public Education team mates Mary-Beth Lydon, Andrew Kefer and Judyth Zahora in their AWESOME election win last night!

It’s good to see that the Pottstown School Board will now be able to move forward and embrace the change it so desperately needs, without the road blocks and ego trips that have plagued the board since 2009.

Thank you to all of the hard working Pottstown taxpayers who took the time out of their busy schedules yesterday to vote. YOU are the ones who made yesterday’s election count! Your vote was a mandate that our children are the first priority. You agreed that public education can only be successful when schools, parents, teachers and the community work together. You agreed that you don’t dictate…that you listen, evaluate and then make a decision. You agreed that good teachers need to be fairly paid and that poor teachers be replaced. You agreed that our schools need to be safe for teachers and children. You agreed that our schools need to have the right tools for our children. You agreed that school board members need to understand education and how to govern effectively.  You agreed that taxpayers, parents and children of Pottstown need to continue to have a strong voice.

We’re looking forward to the new and exciting changes that will move Pottstown into the 21^st century. A change for the better…a new direction far and away from the old.

Congratulations Pottstown!

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

POTTSTOWN, PA – Yes Virginia. There are more folks in Montgomery County who have beaucoup plus political dollars at their disposal than Pottstown’s big fish in a small bowl Tom Hylton.

As many voters heard earlier this evening, Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton and his five school board candidates (Wausnock, Porter, Hammer, Habekost and Williams) were the focus of a pre-election day call issued to tens of thousands of Pottstown voters.

And it’s wasn’t flattering.

If you missed the call, you can listen to it here.

Here is the text of the call:

“Will your home be going into foreclosure or facing sheriff sales because of Tom Hylton’s plan for 20 million dollars in non-educational renovations? On Tuesday stop Tom Hylton’s team for school board! Stop Wausnock, Porter, Hammer, Habekost and Williams. Stop them from cutting our children’s art, music, sports, and special education services. There’s a better choice for Pottstown. Vote for Kefer, Lydon and Zahora to safely modernize our schools…keep out numerous charter schools…and protect Pottstown from higher taxes by preserving our children’s art, music, sports and special education programs. For school board…stop Tom Hylton’s plan to raise your taxes. Vote for Kefer, Lydon and Zahora.”

We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves!

POTTSTOWN, PA – Friends, it’s pretty obvious who needs to win in tomorrow’s election – the hard working taxpayers of Pottstown.

You can do your part by casting your vote for the Friends of Pottstown Public Education: Mary-Beth Lydon, Andrew Kefer and Judyth Zahora.

Friends of Pottstown Public Education is a team of Pottstown residents seeking election to the Pottstown School Board.  They recognize that public education is only successful when schools, parents, teachers and the community work together.

Their philosophy is simple – you don’t dictate.  You listen, evaluate and then make a decision.  With your support of their campaign, together we can help ensure the Pottstown School Board is making children their first priority.

We can make sure that good teachers are fairly paid and poor teachers are replaced.

We can demand that our schools are safe for teachers and children.

We can insist that schools have the tools needed to give children their best.

We need people on the Pottstown School Board who understand education and governing.

We must make sure that the taxpayers, parents and children of Pottstown continue to have a strong voice.

SavePottstown!! heartily endorses Friends of Pottstown Public Education and we wish them the best of luck in tomorrow’s election.

GO TEAM!!

POTTSTOWN, PA – Who doesn’t love Walt Disney’s classic 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? It has something for everybody…a vain and wicked Queen…an oppressed princess who ultimately triumphs…and of course the seven dwarfs (Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy and Sleepy).

Pottstown has its own warped version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs coming to a ballot box near you next Tuesday, courtesy of the braintrust known as Thomas Hylton and Gail Yoder.

The vain and wicked Queen is trying to force the oppressed Pottstown taxpayers to foot the bill for a band-aid fix of five 40+ year old elementary schools that Pottstown simply cannot afford. The economically responsible solution is to close and consolidate schools…not to keep them all open at an extreme cost to the taxpayers of Pottstown. The Queen, in her typical desperate manner, is trying to throw cherry-picked numbers and outdated facts at the taxpayers so she can rule the kingdom of Pottstown.

Instead of seven dwarfs…Pottstown has three…and they’re all running on next Tuesday’s ballot:

Sleepy – As reliable as Tom Hylton’s propagandic junk mail is in the days before a Pottstown election, you can bet your bottom tax dollar that Dennis Wausnock will continue to sleep through school board meetings and raise our taxes (like he did during the board’s June 16^th meeting), if Pottstown voters make the wrong choice by electing him. Give Dennis plenty of sleep time at his girlfriend Shirley Morey’s Boyertown residence by voting NO.

Slappy – William Karl Habekost plead guilty and was sentenced to a misdemeanor assault charge. With the volatile atmosphere ushered in after the 2009 election, does Pottstown really need someone on the board with a public record of abuse and instability? Don’t we already have that courtesy of Tom Hylton and Valerie Harris? Vote NO to William Karl Habekost.

Sleazy – Avram J. Hammer refers to himself as the “Mac Jew Daddy” and “Jewish Fabio” on his Myspace page. Unfortunately…Hammer conveniently disabled his Myspace page after we brought it to light in an April 2011 post. But fear not avid readers…here are screen captures of both Avram and his wife Ariel’s Myspace pages. Ms. Hammer’s site is still online and has been cleaned up of the previous sexually explicit content that once graced its page. It’s also well known that the Hammers drive around town (and pick up their children at the Pottstown Middle School) in a car with “Boogie Mobile” plastered on its doors. Do we really want this kind of individual making decisions for our children? Vote NO to Avram J. Hammer.

The taxpayers of Pottstown deserve candidates who will make the best decisions to move us forward.

We don’t need the same old same old promoted by the same old same old. That’s gotten us absolutely nowhere. Save the song and dance for Hollywood.