Exeter Township School Board continues to conduct business in a less than open and responsible manner.
An agenda posted on the ETSD website—stated that they were supposed to have a special voting meeting to approve the new contract with the teachers (actually they voted on the contract in April, and it was in the news 2 days later) on Tuesday night. Guess they voted again, due to the op ed article in the Reading Eagle that declared they were violating sunshine laws!!
On Tuesday night, they also presented another preliminary budget. There was NOTHING on the agenda about them buying the building referred to below. Once again, they continue to hide their real agenda!!
I'm hoping you can access the news article in today's paper by going to http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=219306.
If that doesn't work, here is a copy:
Originally Published: 5/12/2010
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Administrators getting new building
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The Exeter School Board voted 7-2 to spend $5.9 million to buy the Exeter Ridge Corporate Center at 2970 Perkiomen Avenue to use as a new administration building.
Board member Robert H. Quinter Jr. said the purchase is expected to save the district $70 million. Moving all administration offices, which now are scattered in schools across the district, to one building will eliminate the need to build two schools, he said.
The district will use the first floor and lease the second floor, for five years, to businesses that are already there. At that point, the district will have the option to expand onto the second floor.
Board President Jack A. Linton said the district has been looking for a new administration building for six years and will sell the current one at 3650 Perkiomen Ave.
Quinter said that building has been appraised at between $200,000 and $300,000.
Board member J. Ken Hart said now is the time to purchase the building since interest rates are at an all-time low and other parties are interested in the building.
Board members Joseph Staub and James J. Brady voted no.
Staub said the building has tremendous upside but he is concerned about the cost and about the district being a landlord.
Quinter said the purchase is contingent upon many things, including approval by the state.
- By Derrick Hix
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Taxes Increasing Again!
At a recent Exeter Township School Board meeting, the board approved the preliminary budget for 2010-2011. The budget would call for raising property taxes by 2.37 mills. On a $200K home, this would equate to an increase in property taxes of $474 per year. Already having the second highest school property tax in Berks County, the School Board voted yet again to continue the spending that has led to increases in property taxes for each of the last 14years. In that time span, Exeter Township School Property Taxes have more than doubled from 13.5 mills to over 29 mills.
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Yet another large tax increase planned by the Exeter Township School Board!
The Exeter Township School District has had one of the highest rates of tax increases in all of Berks County over the last 5 years. Below are some excerpts from a couple of Reading Eagle articles and statistics showing the property tax millage rates since 2005 and the proposed rate hike for the upcoming school year.
Taxes us out of our homes? You Betcha!
Exeter leads school districts with tax hike: Its nearly 10 percent increase is the biggest. Antietam residents continue to pay the highest millage.
Publication: Reading Eagle (Reading, PA)Publication Date: 01-JUL-07
Jul. 1--Berks County property owners will soon receive their school tax bills for 2007-08, and the biggest shock will be felt in the Exeter School District.
Exeter's tax rate jumped 2.325 mills, nearly a 10 percent increase over last year. It was the steepest hike among Berks County's 18 public school districts.
Exeter's new rate of 25.825 mills is the fifth highest in Berks, moving Exeter up three spots from last year.
Antietam's taxes, Exeter's tax increase are the highest among Berks County school districts
7/6/2008
By Rebecca VanderMeulen
Reading Eagle
For the fourth straight year, the Antietam School District has the highest tax rate among Berks County's 18 school districts. Its rate is 31.6 mills, a 2.6 percent increase over last year. Exeter School District residents will see the steepest increase for the second year in a row - a jump of 7.59 percent. Exeter had a tax increase of about 10 percent last year.
Facts concerning Exeter Township School Taxes 2005-2009.
2005-2006 22.0 mils
2006-2007 23.5 mils
2007-2008 25.825 mils
2008-2009 27.8 mils
2009-2010 Proposed 29.463 mils
4 years = Increase of 7.463 mils = $746 for each $100K of property value
3 years = Increase of 5.963 mils = $596 for each $100K of property value.
Over the last 3 years if your house was valued at $200K, your tax bill has increased by almost $1200.
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Are School Boards Abusing Their Authority to Tax Residents?
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Below is an excerpt from the official minutes from the ETSD school board meeting, Jan. 20, 2009 concerning the 2007-2008 audit
Auditor, Ms. Baker, commented that the District was able to add to the general fund and capital reserve fund balances for the year ending 6/30/08, which put the District is a position to be better braced for what is going to happen in this fiscal year and the next due to the economic slowdown.
[School Board Member] Mr. Hart commented that while we are in a positive position for the year ending June 30, 2008, the District needs to be in a position to be prepared for the construction of a new elementary because of the increased enrollment, and the need to hire more teachers, all with added cost. The fund balance will be needed for 2008-2009, and future years. Mr. Hart does not want the public to think that there are more than adequate funds because if the expenses are projected out over the next few years, it is evident that the District could be facing serious challenges. The District needs to use the best techniques to keep things fiscally under control. Mr. Hart does not want the public to think the District is in great shape, because they are not. Ms. Baker commented that it’s good that 2007-2008 was a fiscally healthy year because no one knows what is going to happen. Mr. Hart commented that because of Act 1 we are no longer able to manage millage increases for when it is needed, but must take advantage of index and eligible exception increases annually so that the District can meet future budget needs. The District needed to take preemptive taxation.
Editor Comments/Questions: The pre-emptive taxation of which the school board speaks is the ability to tax the residents up to a certain percentage under Act 1, each year, without the approval of the Board of Education or a referendum vote by the residents. This percentage is a maximum without further approvals. It doesn't mean that a school district automatically needs to raise taxes. As noted by the auditor, the school district coffers are full because money was carried over. The question then is how many times are these people going to raise our taxes just because they can? Others questions: Why do we continue to elect these people? Why are they still allowed to take money out of the pockets of the residents? Are the school boards abusing their power to tax the citizens of Pennsylvania?
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Exeter Township School Board voted on 11/11 to purchase 92 acres of land along Rt. 562. The following week (11/18), they held a public hearing to solicit public comment at the ETSD Admin Building. The cost of the property, $4M dollars (plus much more for land development). Below are the facts concerning some of the land already owned by the taxpayers of Exeter and St. Lawrence.
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| School |
% Paved Area |
% Building Area |
Total Acreage |
% Open Area |
| Jr./Sr. High |
15.9 |
9.9 |
56.4 |
74.2 |
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| Reiffton Middle School |
8.4 |
3.1 |
54.5 |
88.5 |
| Plot across Dunham Rd. from RMS |
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5.3 |
100 |
| TOTAL RMS |
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59.8 |
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| Lausch Elementary |
11.4 |
3.7 |
39.7 |
84.9 |
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| Lorane Elementary |
15.6 |
9.6 |
18.8 |
74.8 |
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| Jacksonwald Elementary |
16.5 |
8 |
11.6 |
75.5 |
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Data compiled 10/23/08 with the help of the Exeter GIS Administrator.Total acres in the above mentioned locations (>186 acres)
TOTAL Open Land Already Owned by the Taxpayers of Exeter and St. Lawrence 151.9 acres |
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Referendum for November Ballot Denied! Elections Board says, "It's not Legal!" |
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[The referendum] is just a "highly imaginitive attempt to achieve
something which would be illegal"
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Good news! At this morning's meeting, the Board of Elections denied the Exeter Township School Board's request to place a referendum question on the November ballot seeking the power to override the authority of the Township Supervisors concerning zoning regualtions.
School District Solicitor Malsnee argued that all they were asking was to allow schools in the three of the ten zoning areas that don't already allow it, but the Elections Commission concluded that this was an attempt to use the referendum to achieve something which would be illegal - i.e. to take zoning authority from the Supervisors, something which is given to them under municipal law.
There was also some discussion about the lack of clarity of the wording of the ballot question.
The School District already has the legal right to choose the location for schools; the Supervisors have the duty to apply zoning correctly. The wording doesn't make it clear that what they really want is to place schools regardless of zoning.
In the end, the Chair described the request as a "highly imaginitive attempt to achieve something which would be illegal", and the decision to deny the request was unanimous.
Apart from legal arguments, which were presented for the School Board and the Supervisors by Atty. Malsnee and Township Solicitor Bellwoar respectively, a few public comments were made by school board supporters and those in opposition to the illegal act.
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One Exeter Township Resident stated the following during the comment period.
I am a resident and a taxpayer in Exeter and wish to express my opposition to the referendum being requested by the Exeter School Board.
I am a strong supporter for providing our children with high quality education and want Exeter School District to build a new school.
However, I think it would be totally inappropriate to allow them to use the electoral system to give them the power to usurp Exeter’s zoning regulations. We elect Township Supervisors to make sure that everyone abides by our zoning requirements. No-one is exempt from these requirements, nor should anyone be exempt from them. Allowing this request to proceed would set a dangerous precedent which any other group or individual could use to evade the regulations.
Let us not be mistaken - the School District cannot claim that they are basing this request on some lofty principle. The fact is that their application to build on agricultural preserve land was found to be lacking by the Commonwealth Court of Appeal and their attempt to grab the farmland by eminent domain was also thrown out by the courts. Having exhausted their appeals in the legal system, they are now trying to use the November ballot to circumvent the regulations.
I urge the Commissioners to reject this request and I urge the Exeter School Board to build a school on the property they already own and stop wasting our time and our money.
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