The Sanatoga Post

The State Capital in Harrisburg.

HARRISBURG PA – State legislators are re-evaluating their positions on school choice, the controversial proposal that in some form might allow parents to send their children to private schools using public money, because right now their are so many competing options, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township’s state representative, Tom Quigley, told The Pennsylvania Independent online news service Monday (June 20, 2011).

Quigley introduced one of those options just a few weeks ago. Now the choices for school choice are being reviewed and contemplated by his elected colleagues in both the House and Senate, and “the next 36 to 48 hours will be very, very critical” for the voucher bills, the chairman of the House Education Committee said.

Most recently, Chester County Rep. Curt Schroder introduced legislation Monday that allows every child — including home-schoolers — to be eligible for a $5,000 voucher for tuition at a private or parochial school. The bill would not determine the value of the voucher based on the student’s district and would not restrict voucher eligibility based on income. That separates it from similar proposals unveiled this year, The Independent reported.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “Next two days will determine outcome of school choice battle” and published Monday by The Independent, here.

Related (to education tuition vouchers):

• School Choice Voucher Action Anticipated This Week
• Pottsgrove Board Officially Opposes School Vouchers
• Local Rep. Quigley Favors Tax Credits In School Choice
• PA Senate School Choice Vote Possible Next Week
• Two Unions Break Ranks, Back State School Vouchers
• Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
• Choice Amendment Would Remove Vouchers’ 3rd Year
• Teacher Unions Say Budgets, Vouchers Top Their Agendas
• Poll Claims Public Opposes Tuition Vouchers
• Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle

Congressman Jim Gerlach, right, was among the featured speakers Sunday in Sanatoga during the second of two dinners for veterans conducted by local Girl Scouts Rosie Brunner, left, and Meagan West.

Lower Pottsgrove's state Rep. Tom Quigley, right, talks with diners at his table.

POTTSTOWN PA – For a second consecutive week, U.S. armed services veterans and active duty personnel and their families responded Sunday (Nov. 15, 2009) to the invitation of two local girl scouts to share a meal and be recognized for their service to the nation, in what was called “A Dinner With The Heroes” in the Colonial Room at Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA.

Scouts Meagan West and Rosie Brunner of Pottstown area Troop 71425 spent months planning and preparing the meal as the centerpiece of their attempt to earn Girl Scouting’s second-highest honor, a Silver Award. A total of 50 service men and women, and their guests, were invited by West and Brunner to Sunnybrook yesterday and on Nov. 8 to enjoy dinner and receive the Scouts’ praise.

• The girls received help from several individuals, local veterans organizations, fellow scouts, and their parents.

The scouts crafted their own personal tokens of tribute and presented them to each veteran and service member in attendance.

With state Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown, serving as the dinners’ co-sponsor, the service men and women also drew attention from other dignitaries. Limerick congressman Rep. Jim Gerlach arrived for greetings and conversation, and Pottstown Mayor Sharon Valentine-Thomas was among the diners.

Souvenir programs gave every participant a memory to take home.

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Girl Scouts Rosie Brunner, left, and Meagan West.

SANATOGA PA – Two Pottstown area Girl Scouts, Meagan West and Rosie Brunner, are paying tribute to local veterans and active military personnel by planning and preparing meals in their honor, the second of which will be served this Sunday (Nov. 15, 2009) from 3-6 p.m. at the Colonial Room in Sanatoga’s Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Pottstown PA.

The meals – which bookend this week, including the annual national observance of Veterans Day – are being presented as a prime component of the girls’ attempt to earn the Scouts’ Silver Award, the second-highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Both are members of Troop 71425.

“A Dinner With The Heroes,” as the project is called, actually is two dinners, the first of which was served last Sunday (Nov. 8, 2009). A total of 50 service men and women, and their guests, were invited by West and Brunner to Sunnybrook over the two Sundays to enjoy a warm, personal meal and receive the Scouts’ accolades. “We think this (is) a great story for the community to know about,” Meagan West said, in part because “it will bring attention to the people we want to honor.”

Sanatoga developer Wil Hallman, left, and state Rep. Tom Quigley talk during the dinner.

The community has been responsive, too. Brunner and West report several local businesses donated time and items to help the girls make the dinner possible.

In addition, Pottsgrove’s Brig. Gen. Elmer S. Friedberg American Legion Post 244; its commander, Ed Clark, and adjutant, Billy Worrell; and several members helped them organize and plan the event, and contact guests. Lower Pottsgrove resident P.J. McGill relayed messages from the Scouts to the media. State Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown, agreed to serve as the dinners’ co-sponsor. Other members of Troop 71425 pitched in to help their colleagues.

The affair has taken months of effort, according to Karen West and Marie Brunner, the girls’ mothers, and each step was approved by a Scouting Silver Award Committee to ensure it met the achievement’s standards. The award itself, when finally given, usually is presented in a day-long ceremony during the fall; the last was held in November 2008 at The Hill School in Pottstown.

Happy smiles everywhere at Sunday's dinner.

Have the scouts been kept busy with all the dinners’ details? “The girls are working so hard they are making me tired,” Karen West said. And the participants were excited to be invited, Rosie Brunner added. Smiling faces were evident everywhere in Sunnybrook last Sunday, as those in attendance were introduced and dined, the Scouts made their rounds, and Quigley offered brief remarks. Lower Pottsgrove’s state senator, John Rafferty, also made an appearance.

Up next? It seems likely that, with a Silver Award behind them, West and Brunner will try next for Girl Scouting’s top honor, The Gold Award.

Photos by Billy Worrell

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Gerald Zahorchak

HARRISBURG PA – A Pennsylvania Senate proposal that would use federal economic stimulus money earmarked for school districts to instead plug a deficit gap in the state budget was decried Thursday (May 28, 2009) by the state’s education secretary as a move that would “shortchange our children, halt … academic gains and threatens … global competitiveness of our workforce.”

Approval of the Senate plan would force districts “to raise property taxes, or cut effective programs and lay off staff, or both,” Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak argued. Those same fears were echoed Tuesday (May 26, 2009) by members of the Pottsgrove School District Board of School Directors as they grilled state Rep. Thomas Quigley about the Legislature’s intentions in funding education.

Zahorchak said the Senate bill, under consideration but not yet approved, would eliminate a $418 million increase in 2009-2010 school district funding suggested by Gov. Ed Rendell and instead give districts the same amounts of money received from the state last year.

It also would capture $317 million in stimulus funds and divert them to help offset the current budget deficit. “The Senate’s education spending plan violates the spirit and intent of the federal stimulus funding,” Zahorchak charged. Worse still, he added, it would set the state up for larger education funding problems in two years.

The Senate proposal “is not an option for the educational future of Pennsylvania,” Zahorchak claimed.

Photo from PA Department of Education

Related:

• Fairs Would Suffer Schools’ Plight
• Board Blisters State Rep Over Funding
• School Board Approves Tentative Budget
• Stimulus Lowers District Deficit, Not Taxes

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POTTSTOWN PA – The fourth annual free Healthy Lifestyles Expo sponsored by Lower Pottsgrove‘s state representative, Thomas Quigley (PA 146th Dist.), will be held Friday (April 17, 2009) from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Montgomery County Community College‘s Pottstown campus, 101 College Dr. Its purpose, Quigley said earlier this month, is to “educate the public about the benefits of healthful activities, and encourage positive changes in daily routines.”

The show offers free health screenings and health-related information from more than 70 vendors, including health care organizations, optometrists, senior service organizations and fitness groups. Also scheduled are a complimentary lunch, free caricatures, and door prizes.

Featured events include a question-and-answer session hosted by Tony Phyrillas, city editor of The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper; and musical performances by the Pottstown High School Show Choir and the Pottstown Middle School Woodwinds. Co-sponsors of the event are the TriCounty Community Network, The Mercury, and the college. For more information, call 610-326-9563.

“People are starting to realize how important it is to adopt healthy lifestyles,” said Quigley. “With the rising cost of obtaining quality care, it comes as no surprise that people are seeking alternatives. The single best way to prevent expensive trips to the doctor is to take care of oneself.”

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