Schools

The North Penn School Board has approved a proposed final budget for the next school year.   The spending plan totals almost $215,000,000 and includes a 1.7% property tax hike.   That translates into about $55 for the average homeowner.   District officials say the increase will ensure continuity of their educational program for the next year.   The school board will take final action on the budget June 20th.

There won't be any charter schools in the North Penn School District anytime soon.   The school board Thursday night rejected for a second time the application from Education for New Generations.   It called for serving 220 students kindergarten through grade five in a facility on Commerce Drive in Montgomeryville.   Before the vote, the attorney representing Education for New Generations told the school board the revised application addressed the issues cited when the charter was initially rejected in February.   The charter school organizers can file an appeal of the denial with the state department of education or they can resubmit the application a third time.

The North Penn School Board is taking stock of the district.   Tuesday night it received a comprehensive report on more than two dozen indicators that point toward future trends.   Among them are steady enrollment in the elementary schools as well as increases in employee retention.   The district website has had more than 660,000 hits since the start fo the school year.   Twitter and You Tube activity are up too.   The aggregate market value of real estate per student is slightly above the county average while personal income per child is south of the median point.   Those two indicators are important because Harrisburg uses them to determine how much state aid the district will get.

Lansdale officials have lowered the minimum age for joining the Lansdale Public Library.   Children as young as five can now get a membership.   Borough Council Vice President Mary Fuller points out that most kids start kindergarten at five and can use the school library at that age and since the idea is to inspire children to read, five is an appropriate age for library membership too.   Fuller also says there are plenty of events on tap this summer for five-year-olds as well as older library patrons.