Day 2 of the conference had a lot more to do with the business of the PSBA than Day 1.
During the morning session the PSBA adopted its Legislative Platform for 2009. One of the things the PSBA is good at is lobbying. Each year the organization adopts a number of platforms that it will try to advance through its lobbying efforts. Day 2 of the conference involved discussion surrounding the inclusion or exclusion of certain topics to this platform.
Here are some highlights of the adopted 2009 PSBA Platform:
1) Under Buildings and Construction- The PSBA support legislation that provides school districts with the same options for school construction and/or renovation projects that are available to te private sector. This includes relief from the Prevailing Wage Act and Separations Act ... and the opportunity for school districts to contract with a single firm to design and build school facilities.
2) Under Educational Programs and Assessment- The PSBA opposes any effort to reduce or remove the authority of local school districts to establish graduation requirements
3) Under School Governance- The PSBA supports legislation calling for the nonpartisan election of school directors.
4) Under Federal Issues- The PSBA support efforts that allow local decision making and flexibility to better serve students in implementation of the No Childe Left Vehind Act and the IDEA.
Sounds boring, right? Actually, this platform is probably the most important part of what PSBA does in my opinion. The PSBA's opposition to the statewide Graduation Assessment was instrumental in getting that program blocked this year. The PSBA was also instrumental in securing higher minimum State school funding in this past budget. That effort resulted in MTLSD receiving a 3% minimum increase in State funding as opposed to the orignally proposed 1.5%.
After that part of the conference I was ready for some real fun. I decided it was time to dig deeper into Pennsylvania's Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators. This session was dedicated to reviewing how school district employees are responsible for behaving within some ethical guidelines set by this organization. The Professional Standards and Practices Commission put this seminar on and it was interesting to learn how they operate and what they do. Mt. Lebanon had a recent, very public case that was before the commission. Under certain circumstances the PSPC has the ability to revoke the certificate of those that violate the standards of the organization.
The lunch break came and I attended the vendor showcase in the Great American Hall. I will share the information gleaned from this part of the conference at another time.
After lunch I attended a session that reviewed recent case law that will have an effect on how all school districts operate in Pennsylvania. We reviewed the effect that even some local cases will have on our District. You may remember a case in northern Allegheny County where a student decided to put up a web page that was insulting to an employee in the school district. There was a similar case in Central PA where a student started a Facebook page mocking a school principal. The outcome of each case was very different. School Districts need to find out how to operate in an environment with laws that seem to contradict. There was another case where a student reported to a teacher that another student had drugs on her. The teacher reported to the vice-principal this information and the vice-principal then found the suspected student on campus. He brought the student to the office, had her empty her pockets and sure enough, the evidence was found. The case against this student was later deemed to be inappropriate search and seizure and there was no action that the District could take under these circumstances. We learned how to protect our rights in this instance so that if we are faced with a similar case we would be able to properly move forward without violating the Constitution.
Later in the afternoon there was a PSBA business meeting that dealt with the election of new officers to their positions.
That's all for now.
Thanks for reading.
James
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
PSBA Leadership Forum, Day 1
I am spending a few days this week out in Hershey, PA at the Pennsylvania School Leadership Conference. This conference is held each year and is presented by the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA).
Before I head out for Day 2, I wanted to put some highlights down from Day 1.
We kicked off the day with a welcome speech. One of the videos that is making the rounds on the internet today is this one. This is what education is all about. The belief in people to achieve. Do YOU believe. You will after watching that video. The introduction was followed by a terrific speech from Dr. Rudy Crew. Crew has been there and done that. From New York to Miami to Sacramento, the man is at his best when schools are at their worst. His message, while focused on his experience in inner-city schools, is a universal one. His morning greeting boiled down to a few terrific points:
1) Aim low, get low- The education system as constructed today is fundamentally flawed. We have schools across this country that aim at the No Child Left Behind scores for Adequate Yearly Progress. Crew says this is a false sense of success. When schools aim to get their students to show AYP progress they forget the important things. If you aim to get AYP progress, you will get AYP progress and not much else. We must aim high to achieve high goals. In the world of globalization that we will be entering it is not about who has the best AYP score. It is about who can do the jobs in a globalized world.
2) Civic Literacy in America has been killed- When you have Jay Leno, Howard Stern and others out on the streets interviewing average Americans about simple facts on civics and they literally have no clue, what does that say about our education system? What does it say about our education systems that you could ask the same questions of people in France, Germany, Australia, Latvia, etc. and they would KNOW the answers to American civics. Why is it that other countries put more emphasis on the American way than Americans do? Crew suggests that our educators must begin to re-emphasize the importance of civic literacy lest we lose sight of what this country is supposed to be all about.
3) Wear your best everyday- Dr. Crew emphasized the importance of doing our best everyday. Kids come to school to learn. In the places where Crew has worked, sometimes school is all these kids have to get shelter, to get food, to get love, and to get support. It is important for educators to understand this dynamic and to put their "best dress" on everyday.
Dr. Crew is an accomplished speaker and educator. You can view one of his presentations here.
I was moved by his morning speech and attended his break-out group on the topic of Educating in a Globalized world. This section dug much deeper into the topics mentioned above. He also talked a bit about the disparities in funding from one school district to another and the effect this has on students.
The afternoon session I attended was a legislative update. There are a number of worrisome bills out that that I will call more attention to later. Here is a short list:
1) Statewide Graduation Competency Assessments- While this issue was supposed to have been put to rest last year, the Board of Education is moving forward with plans to re-introduce GCA requirements when the moratorium expires next July. PDE has submitted an RFP for the formation of the actual tests. This RFP will be awarded in January. I have posted about the GCAs before and will do so again. That discussion will be its own post.
2) Allegheny County Assessment Appeal- This is another topic I posted about before. Allegheny County appealed a decision to the PA Supreme Court regarding using base-years to calculate real estate taxes. The PSBA does not think this decision will come down for at least another six months. If the court agress with Judge Wettick's decision then it will have a profound effect on property tax procedures in Pennsylvania.
This post went a little long and I have to get ready for Day 2.
Thanks for reading.
James
Before I head out for Day 2, I wanted to put some highlights down from Day 1.
We kicked off the day with a welcome speech. One of the videos that is making the rounds on the internet today is this one. This is what education is all about. The belief in people to achieve. Do YOU believe. You will after watching that video. The introduction was followed by a terrific speech from Dr. Rudy Crew. Crew has been there and done that. From New York to Miami to Sacramento, the man is at his best when schools are at their worst. His message, while focused on his experience in inner-city schools, is a universal one. His morning greeting boiled down to a few terrific points:
1) Aim low, get low- The education system as constructed today is fundamentally flawed. We have schools across this country that aim at the No Child Left Behind scores for Adequate Yearly Progress. Crew says this is a false sense of success. When schools aim to get their students to show AYP progress they forget the important things. If you aim to get AYP progress, you will get AYP progress and not much else. We must aim high to achieve high goals. In the world of globalization that we will be entering it is not about who has the best AYP score. It is about who can do the jobs in a globalized world.
2) Civic Literacy in America has been killed- When you have Jay Leno, Howard Stern and others out on the streets interviewing average Americans about simple facts on civics and they literally have no clue, what does that say about our education system? What does it say about our education systems that you could ask the same questions of people in France, Germany, Australia, Latvia, etc. and they would KNOW the answers to American civics. Why is it that other countries put more emphasis on the American way than Americans do? Crew suggests that our educators must begin to re-emphasize the importance of civic literacy lest we lose sight of what this country is supposed to be all about.
3) Wear your best everyday- Dr. Crew emphasized the importance of doing our best everyday. Kids come to school to learn. In the places where Crew has worked, sometimes school is all these kids have to get shelter, to get food, to get love, and to get support. It is important for educators to understand this dynamic and to put their "best dress" on everyday.
Dr. Crew is an accomplished speaker and educator. You can view one of his presentations here.
I was moved by his morning speech and attended his break-out group on the topic of Educating in a Globalized world. This section dug much deeper into the topics mentioned above. He also talked a bit about the disparities in funding from one school district to another and the effect this has on students.
The afternoon session I attended was a legislative update. There are a number of worrisome bills out that that I will call more attention to later. Here is a short list:
1) Statewide Graduation Competency Assessments- While this issue was supposed to have been put to rest last year, the Board of Education is moving forward with plans to re-introduce GCA requirements when the moratorium expires next July. PDE has submitted an RFP for the formation of the actual tests. This RFP will be awarded in January. I have posted about the GCAs before and will do so again. That discussion will be its own post.
2) Allegheny County Assessment Appeal- This is another topic I posted about before. Allegheny County appealed a decision to the PA Supreme Court regarding using base-years to calculate real estate taxes. The PSBA does not think this decision will come down for at least another six months. If the court agress with Judge Wettick's decision then it will have a profound effect on property tax procedures in Pennsylvania.
This post went a little long and I have to get ready for Day 2.
Thanks for reading.
James
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Solar Technology Today
I came across a couple of links that I thought I would share.
CH2M Hill is a global company that is involved in engineering, construction, and operations. They have embarked on a project to identify the potential of using solar energy in 25 cities across the country.
There was an article on Marketwatch over the weekend explaining what CH2M Hill was doing and how they were doing it. Here is a quick excerpt from that article:
Punching an address into the city's search engine pulls up data on the estimated amount of solar photovoltaic energy that could be installed on a specific roof, potential electricity cost reduction, and potential carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas reduction.
Imagine being able to do that for every city in the Country and then specifically for your own home. That is where this is going. San Francisco, CA already has employed the technology. Check out this link http://sf.solarmap.org . I brought up my old address 2375 35th Ave and it pulled up a ton of information on the potential for using solar energy.
Another excerpt from the article:
"Right now, to get a solar assessment on a roof, you have to call up the solar installer, they bring their ladder, a guy wonders around on your roof, and two or three weeks later you get a report," Herrmann said. "With this technology, you could do it accurately and quickly without having to roll a truck."
Here is CH2M Hill's factsheet on the S.A.F.E technology
Think about how much money is going to be saved with this initiative. No longer will it require man-hours to do a site survey for study of the viability of solar energy at every site. For the first time in a long time I am excited about the possibility of large numbers of energy neutral homes coming on line in the next five years.
CH2M Hill has offices out by the airport. Here's hoping Pittsburgh is one of the next cities to be evaluated.
Thanks for reading.
James
CH2M Hill is a global company that is involved in engineering, construction, and operations. They have embarked on a project to identify the potential of using solar energy in 25 cities across the country.
There was an article on Marketwatch over the weekend explaining what CH2M Hill was doing and how they were doing it. Here is a quick excerpt from that article:
Punching an address into the city's search engine pulls up data on the estimated amount of solar photovoltaic energy that could be installed on a specific roof, potential electricity cost reduction, and potential carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas reduction.
Imagine being able to do that for every city in the Country and then specifically for your own home. That is where this is going. San Francisco, CA already has employed the technology. Check out this link http://sf.solarmap.org . I brought up my old address 2375 35th Ave and it pulled up a ton of information on the potential for using solar energy.
Another excerpt from the article:
"Right now, to get a solar assessment on a roof, you have to call up the solar installer, they bring their ladder, a guy wonders around on your roof, and two or three weeks later you get a report," Herrmann said. "With this technology, you could do it accurately and quickly without having to roll a truck."
Here is CH2M Hill's factsheet on the S.A.F.E technology
Think about how much money is going to be saved with this initiative. No longer will it require man-hours to do a site survey for study of the viability of solar energy at every site. For the first time in a long time I am excited about the possibility of large numbers of energy neutral homes coming on line in the next five years.
CH2M Hill has offices out by the airport. Here's hoping Pittsburgh is one of the next cities to be evaluated.
Thanks for reading.
James
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Economic Woes Getting Closer to Home
There was an interesting article in the Tribune Review yesterday. The State now has to trim $2.5 billion from its budget that was just passed in July.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/search/s_592198.html
It will be interesting to see from where they cut.
Thanks for reading.
James
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/search/s_592198.html
It will be interesting to see from where they cut.
Thanks for reading.
James
Economic Woes Getting Closer to Home
There was an interesting article in the Tribune Review yesterday. The State now has to trim $2.5 billion from its budget that was just passed in July.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/search/s_592198.html
It will be interesting to see from where they cut.
Thanks for reading.
James
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/search/s_592198.html
It will be interesting to see from where they cut.
Thanks for reading.
James
Friday, October 3, 2008
Construction Manager Selected
Last night the Board held a special meeting to select a construction manager for the project. Our construction manager will be PJ Dick. You can visit their website here.
My reasoning for voting for awarding the contract to PJ Dick are as follows:
1) Very positive references from other Western Pennsylvania school districts
2) Willingness to listen to the District and be helpful in completing a project that meets a certain, specified budget number
3) Willingness to evaluate ALL options on the table with regards to the project
4) Very experienced team of local professionals that have worked on local school projects
The final companies that were up for selection were both well qualified and capable. The costs for each CM were also very similar. In the end I voted for the team that I think can bring the best value to the District.
Email questions and concerns to james.fraasch@gmail.com
James
My reasoning for voting for awarding the contract to PJ Dick are as follows:
1) Very positive references from other Western Pennsylvania school districts
2) Willingness to listen to the District and be helpful in completing a project that meets a certain, specified budget number
3) Willingness to evaluate ALL options on the table with regards to the project
4) Very experienced team of local professionals that have worked on local school projects
The final companies that were up for selection were both well qualified and capable. The costs for each CM were also very similar. In the end I voted for the team that I think can bring the best value to the District.
Email questions and concerns to james.fraasch@gmail.com
James
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Special Meeting Tonight
The Board has called a special meeting for tonight at 7pm in the high school library to vote on the construction manager for the high school project.
Please see the agenda here.
I look forward to reviewing the proposals in executive session prior to the meeting.
James
Please see the agenda here.
I look forward to reviewing the proposals in executive session prior to the meeting.
James
Pennsylvania Department of Education Pre-K Findings
Pennsylvania Department of Education has released a report that shows the "Positive Impact in Children's Lives Made By Pre-K Counts". Excerpt below:
According to the report:
• 94 percent of Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts children finished the school year with age-appropriate skills and behavior or emerging age-appropriate skills and behavior.
• 95 percent of children in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts are affected by at least one risk factor for school failure; 75 percent are affected by two or more risk factors.
• 63 percent of lead teachers have obtained, or are working towards, teacher certification in early childhood education.
• Average class size of 16 children per lead teacher and teacher aides surpasses best practices in the field.
• Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is serving three- and four-year-olds in every region of the state in school- and community-based programs.
• When compared to the National Institute for Early Education Research’s benchmarks for quality early education program, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts meets or exceeds nearly every quality benchmark.
This information goes to what I said in a previous post about the strong possibility that PDE mandates full-day kindergarten for all school districts in the State. They are continually pushing this information out there in hopes of finding broad-based support for the change. I have no idea on the time-frame but I would guess it would happen before Rendell leaves office.
James
According to the report:
• 94 percent of Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts children finished the school year with age-appropriate skills and behavior or emerging age-appropriate skills and behavior.
• 95 percent of children in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts are affected by at least one risk factor for school failure; 75 percent are affected by two or more risk factors.
• 63 percent of lead teachers have obtained, or are working towards, teacher certification in early childhood education.
• Average class size of 16 children per lead teacher and teacher aides surpasses best practices in the field.
• Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is serving three- and four-year-olds in every region of the state in school- and community-based programs.
• When compared to the National Institute for Early Education Research’s benchmarks for quality early education program, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts meets or exceeds nearly every quality benchmark.
This information goes to what I said in a previous post about the strong possibility that PDE mandates full-day kindergarten for all school districts in the State. They are continually pushing this information out there in hopes of finding broad-based support for the change. I have no idea on the time-frame but I would guess it would happen before Rendell leaves office.
James
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Current Economics and PSERS
Just a quick note to say that I am sort of caught up in the historical nature of the past week. I'm trying to wrap my head around the implications of a bailout/no bailout vote for my personal, professional, and school board functions.
My personal feeling is that yesterday was panic and those that needed to make a point, did so. Whether you agree with the bailout or not, nobody can tell you that it is certain to work. Nobody can tell you that it won't work. The question on my mind is, how much do we have to give up. Not just financially, but as far as our way of life. As a nation we seem to be on the precipice of a new paradigm. One where we can't simply borrow our way to prosperity. Is the passing of a bailout our one last gasp before the eventual decline? What country out there will give us the $700 billion? Or will we just print it?
I don't pretend to be an expert on these things but I do follow it closely. For those econ nuts out there that want to see where we are and what will happen next, I urge you to read this speech by Ben Bernanke from 2002. The title is "Deflation: Making Sure "It" Doesn't Happen Here". Bernanke is considered by most to be the pre-eminent scholar on the causes and effects of the Great Depression. When he uses that term to describe our current times, I am certain he does not do so lightly. The Great Depression was the greatest deflationary era in United States history. His speech outlines what he would do to avoid a deflation, and then, if we were in a deflation, what he would do to get out of it. The crazy thing is, it's not just Bernanke using this term to describe our current economic state, it's both Presidential candidates as well. Let me also point you to one of the best articles I have read that deals with this crisis. Click here.
Bernanke lists about 8 actionable ideas in his speech. From my count, he has done six of them. The last two appear to be fixing treasury yields and intervening in currency markets. I think yesterday, he may have actually intervened in the currency markets by more than doubling the cash available to banks around the world.
Current events have me concerned on a lot of fronts. I run the finances for my household, decide how to spend money for my business, and decide how to spend money for the school district. What is happening out there will have profound effects on the decisions I make in all three capacities. Think about this for a second. In 2000-2003, we had a major stock market sell-off. The PA Public School Employee Retirement System is scheduled to come collect for those stock market losses in 2012 (check out the last slide in this presentation). Yes, this is a full TEN YEARS after the fund had bad returns. Since 2002, the Fund has put more and more money into private investments such as hedge funds and real estate partnerships. Great timing, eh? Given the current crisis and its implications for a large number of hedge funds, I cannot begin to fathom what kind of losses pension funds like this are taking this year. Please see this article in the New York Times regarding hedge fund shakeups. Keep in mind that hedge funds don't have to report performance the same way that stocks and mutual funds do. I went through every hedge fund/private investment company listed in the teachers pension and I found information on maybe TWO of them out of over 50 private equity partners. Check out the roster for yourself here.
PSERS had almost $63 billion in assets on June 30, 2008. That is DOWN from $67.2 billion in June 2007. According to their website, the Fund returned -2.82 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. We have seen this movie before. It doesn't end well.
The recently passed State budget doesn't address any of these issues. Instead of slightly increasing school district and/or employee contribution rates to make up the funding shortfall from the last stock market decline, the budget LOWERED how much we must allocate to this fund. Now we are destined to have a massive increase in 2012 that will blow many school district budgets out of the water.
The current situation is fluid. As things change, I am sure my view will change. There are a lot of macro-level issues (national debt, deficit spending, tax rates, etc) happening as I type this that will wind their way down to the micro-level (household finances, school district budgets, etc.) in a very short period of time.
These are historical times- times that will be written about in the history books of my grandchildren.
Thanks for reading.
James
My personal feeling is that yesterday was panic and those that needed to make a point, did so. Whether you agree with the bailout or not, nobody can tell you that it is certain to work. Nobody can tell you that it won't work. The question on my mind is, how much do we have to give up. Not just financially, but as far as our way of life. As a nation we seem to be on the precipice of a new paradigm. One where we can't simply borrow our way to prosperity. Is the passing of a bailout our one last gasp before the eventual decline? What country out there will give us the $700 billion? Or will we just print it?
I don't pretend to be an expert on these things but I do follow it closely. For those econ nuts out there that want to see where we are and what will happen next, I urge you to read this speech by Ben Bernanke from 2002. The title is "Deflation: Making Sure "It" Doesn't Happen Here". Bernanke is considered by most to be the pre-eminent scholar on the causes and effects of the Great Depression. When he uses that term to describe our current times, I am certain he does not do so lightly. The Great Depression was the greatest deflationary era in United States history. His speech outlines what he would do to avoid a deflation, and then, if we were in a deflation, what he would do to get out of it. The crazy thing is, it's not just Bernanke using this term to describe our current economic state, it's both Presidential candidates as well. Let me also point you to one of the best articles I have read that deals with this crisis. Click here.
Bernanke lists about 8 actionable ideas in his speech. From my count, he has done six of them. The last two appear to be fixing treasury yields and intervening in currency markets. I think yesterday, he may have actually intervened in the currency markets by more than doubling the cash available to banks around the world.
Current events have me concerned on a lot of fronts. I run the finances for my household, decide how to spend money for my business, and decide how to spend money for the school district. What is happening out there will have profound effects on the decisions I make in all three capacities. Think about this for a second. In 2000-2003, we had a major stock market sell-off. The PA Public School Employee Retirement System is scheduled to come collect for those stock market losses in 2012 (check out the last slide in this presentation). Yes, this is a full TEN YEARS after the fund had bad returns. Since 2002, the Fund has put more and more money into private investments such as hedge funds and real estate partnerships. Great timing, eh? Given the current crisis and its implications for a large number of hedge funds, I cannot begin to fathom what kind of losses pension funds like this are taking this year. Please see this article in the New York Times regarding hedge fund shakeups. Keep in mind that hedge funds don't have to report performance the same way that stocks and mutual funds do. I went through every hedge fund/private investment company listed in the teachers pension and I found information on maybe TWO of them out of over 50 private equity partners. Check out the roster for yourself here.
PSERS had almost $63 billion in assets on June 30, 2008. That is DOWN from $67.2 billion in June 2007. According to their website, the Fund returned -2.82 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. We have seen this movie before. It doesn't end well.
The recently passed State budget doesn't address any of these issues. Instead of slightly increasing school district and/or employee contribution rates to make up the funding shortfall from the last stock market decline, the budget LOWERED how much we must allocate to this fund. Now we are destined to have a massive increase in 2012 that will blow many school district budgets out of the water.
The current situation is fluid. As things change, I am sure my view will change. There are a lot of macro-level issues (national debt, deficit spending, tax rates, etc) happening as I type this that will wind their way down to the micro-level (household finances, school district budgets, etc.) in a very short period of time.
These are historical times- times that will be written about in the history books of my grandchildren.
Thanks for reading.
James
Friday, September 26, 2008
Pittsburgh Real Estate Update
I heard a story on NPR this morning and found the local news link here:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_590186.html
Following is an excerpt from the story:
There were 2,516 home sales last month, compared with 3,364 a year ago. The median sales price declined 4.9 percent, said RealStats, a South Side-based real estate information company. The report covers Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
It's not just California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona any more. While we will most likely not be subjected to 25-50% house price declines as some of the other higher growth areas have been, deteriorating home prices are decreasing wealth. Deflation has no friends.
Let me point you back to an article I linked to on August 9th. I point out a number of issues with the overall economy and severely reduced tax receipts by government bodies. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an update the information I quoted here. Here is a quote from the updated release:
New gaps have opened up in the budgets of at least 13 states just two months after they struggled to close the largest budget shortfalls seen since the recession of 2001. These 13 states make up a significant share of the 29 states that have already moved to cut spending, use reserves, or raise revenues in order to adopt a balanced budget for the current fiscal year, which started July 1 in most states. Now, their budgets have fallen out of balance yet again.
I don't want to beat on an already beaten drum when it comes to the economy. Clearly, this week alone we are seeing a lot of news with Congress trying to pass some kind of bailout/stimulus program to make sure banks can continue to lend money. But I do want people to understand the impact that is already starting to hit home to local governments. Counties from New York to California are reeling from the fallout of the crisis on Wall Street. Much like the home price declines, I expect that Pennsylvania will not be impacted as severely as other places, but make no mistake, the crisis will eventually hit Western Pennsylvanians. It will have an effect on tax receipts to all local governments at some point. It will have an impact on the ability of some local government agencies ability to borrow. While no one can predict the exact effect it will have on us locally, we do need to keep this in mind when thinking about future budgets.
Thanks for reading.
James
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_590186.html
Following is an excerpt from the story:
There were 2,516 home sales last month, compared with 3,364 a year ago. The median sales price declined 4.9 percent, said RealStats, a South Side-based real estate information company. The report covers Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
It's not just California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona any more. While we will most likely not be subjected to 25-50% house price declines as some of the other higher growth areas have been, deteriorating home prices are decreasing wealth. Deflation has no friends.
Let me point you back to an article I linked to on August 9th. I point out a number of issues with the overall economy and severely reduced tax receipts by government bodies. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an update the information I quoted here. Here is a quote from the updated release:
New gaps have opened up in the budgets of at least 13 states just two months after they struggled to close the largest budget shortfalls seen since the recession of 2001. These 13 states make up a significant share of the 29 states that have already moved to cut spending, use reserves, or raise revenues in order to adopt a balanced budget for the current fiscal year, which started July 1 in most states. Now, their budgets have fallen out of balance yet again.
I don't want to beat on an already beaten drum when it comes to the economy. Clearly, this week alone we are seeing a lot of news with Congress trying to pass some kind of bailout/stimulus program to make sure banks can continue to lend money. But I do want people to understand the impact that is already starting to hit home to local governments. Counties from New York to California are reeling from the fallout of the crisis on Wall Street. Much like the home price declines, I expect that Pennsylvania will not be impacted as severely as other places, but make no mistake, the crisis will eventually hit Western Pennsylvanians. It will have an effect on tax receipts to all local governments at some point. It will have an impact on the ability of some local government agencies ability to borrow. While no one can predict the exact effect it will have on us locally, we do need to keep this in mind when thinking about future budgets.
Thanks for reading.
James
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