A Solid Foundation

How many times a year do you get hit up to make a charitable donation? 3? 10? 50?? 50 from one organization alone?? Whatever that number is, most people feel it’s too often. The solicitations can be expected to continue as the economy remains flat, many institutions aren’t cutting spending and any available tax revenue is spread thin. 

According to the results of a 2012 survey conducted by Philanthropy.com, “Most donors are getting savvier about their philanthropy, often researching causes before they make their gifts.”  The site also notes that donors told them they’d be more likely to give more if they saw more tangible evidence of results, and in breaking down some donor demographics observed that middle-aged donors in particular want to be shown a clear idea of where the funds raised are going…to know that the charity they donate to is the best of all organizations working on that particular mission. In short, prospective funding sources are doing their homework and demanding results.

That’s good news for organizations like the Education Foundation for the Methacton Community, a local nonprofit that’s been in existence since 2009 and one that meets all those donor requirements. A registered legitimate 501(c)3 charity, its mission is to ‘ensure the highest level of educational innovation – supporting students, faculty and staff through a partnership with our community’. The Foundation partners with Methacton School District to help identify needs and funding gaps in order to make monetary grants to help foster specific programs that are outside the scope of the district’s budget, enhance the school curriculum, and help meet long-term capital needs the school district has identified.

The money raised by the Foundation stays in the community, and its impact can be readily seen and felt. Chances are good that your children or grandchildren, or those of someone you know, have benefitted directly or indirectly by the numerous projects that this connection between the community and the classroom have funded over the years, such as:

 

·         Renovation of the planetarium at Arcola/Skyview including the addition of a new telescope

·         Contributions to arts, music and athletics programs

 

·         Electric car club projects

·         Eagleville’s mobile environmental lab / outdoor classroom

·         A recent $10,000 donation toward the field improvement project (installation of turf fields) to benefit future Methacton athletes

 

 

The Foundation receives requests from the school district administration, individual teachers, club sponsors etc. for projects that need funding, and their Board of Directors votes on whether to fund a specific project. Board members include former teachers and Home & School officers, and most have current Methacton students and/or graduates in their families. Several are themselves Methacton grads. The Board also includes a current school board member and a current township supervisor.

 

Additionally, the Foundation is eligible for Pennsylvania tax credits via their designation as an Educational Improvement Tax Credit Organization (EITC). The EITC program is a part of the PA Department of Community and Economic Development which accepts contributions from local businesses to support innovative educational programs in public schools, as well as scholarships for kids attending accredited K-12 private schools or qualified and approved pre-K programs. Businesses can receive PA tax credits for their contributions under this program, the percentage varying according to the length of the gift.

 

And, the Foundation is also an approved United Way donor designate. If your workplace has a campaign underway, just enter United Way entity code 48856 when you complete your donor selections.

 

One of the Foundation’s largest funding sources is their annual alumni homecoming golf outing. Slated for October 24 this year at Linfield National Golf Club, 66 Church Road in Linfield, PA (near Limerick), the Foundation is looking for both sponsors and golfers. As a Methacton grad and the parent of two more recent Methacton alumni, I know it’s a unique opportunity to reconnect and spend time with former classmates to support a cause that allows future generations to enjoy the same quality educational opportunities we had.

 

The golf outing is not the only upcoming fundraiser. Perhaps you might be interested in the 3^rd annual Warrior Cross Country 5K and Fun Run/Walk (and pancake breakfast!) coming up November 2, or the holiday house tour on December 7. Other fundraisers are scheduled for 2015. 

  

For more information on this charity, grant criteria, and more details for each fundraiser, please visit the Foundation’s website at http://www.methacton.org/Page/1 or submit questions to efmc@methacton.org.

 

And while we’re on the subject, several other worthy community charities that would very much appreciate donations include the Lower Providence Community Center Ambulance (in the process of constructing their new facility at the Township complex) and the Lower Providence Fire Department.

 

Photo credits: Methacton School District

R. I. P. ... a sad day for LPPD

I want to extend sincere condolences to all of the officers of the Lower Providence Police Department and the Township staff on the sudden and tragic passing of their colleague today, as well to as the officer's family and our other first responders who worked with him over the years on various calls. We lost a 25-year veteran who grew up here, loved his job and by all accounts was exemplary. I know he touched many lives in a positive way. May he rest in peace and God give healing and comfort those left behind.

The Real Deal

It isn't always easy finding the right people to run for positions as public servants, folks willing to spend hours of their time campaigning and, if successfully elected, sitting in meetings, balancing budgets and listening to angry residents. It also takes someone who doesn’t mind being stopped at the gas station, WaWa or grocery store when a resident has an urgent sewer line question or a traffic issue about which they urgently need to vent.

These are the positions that form the backbone of our Republic, the local political equivalent of first responders to so many of our basic issues such as property taxes, trash collection, zoning, infrastructure improvements, and public recreational facilities.

Some communities struggle to find such individuals. While that’s seldom, if ever, been an issue in Lower Providence, one thankless position in particular can be a challenge, where a significant number of the office’s dealings with the public may not be pleasant and some may be downright hostile. That is the post of tax collector. 

Lower Providence and Methacton School District have had good fortune in that tax collector Kirsten Deal fulfills those duties for us. Deal, the first and only Democrat elected here in many years, was first elected in 2005, beating Republican Doug Hager, and was unopposed in her re-election bids in 2009 and 2013.  She succeeded a longtime Republican who’d held the post for the preceding 48 years, Republican Robert Love (Love just passed away this past May).

In an unusual twist, in the 2005 race for tax collector, Love endorsed Deal over the endorsed Republican candidate as his replacement.

Deal, a 14-year Lower Providence resident with more than thirty years’ experience in the appraisal, real estate and financial services sectors, has modernized and streamlined the post since her election. And while she makes it look easy, the mechanics of separating tax receivables from taxpayers isn’t simple. Mistakes made by tax collectors have the potential to cost landowners within the jurisdiction their property rights, so the stakes are high.
The job is more complicated and time consuming than you’d think, involving issuing tax notices (bills) for three entities: the local municipality (Lower Providence), Methacton School District, and Montgomery County. A fair number of duplicate bills are also requested for those whose mortgage companies pay residents’ taxes out of escrowed funds and for whom the tax invoice never was forwarded by the resident.

It also involves making the deposits of monies received, posting payments to the proper accounts, reconciliations, and a fair amount of reporting – monthly to Montgomery County, LP and Methacton, and annually with the County. Funds are usually remitted to each taxing authority on a biweekly basis.

In addition, tax collectors are responsible for notifying the county sheriff of any unpaid taxes outstanding against any property advertised for sheriff’s sale, and providing certifications for real estate sales settlements.

The timing of when tax bills must be printed and mailed, and funds remitted, means Deal works a lot of dates most folks consider holidays or prime time for vacations, and sometimes on weekends or until late at night. “Accuracy and timeliness are the most important parts of this job so that those [taxing] institutions can get their money in on time and pay their bills”, said Deal. Some locally elected tax collectors collect their fees and outsource the work to a third party, but Deal is one of a few who still does all the work herself (sometimes assisted by her husband).

The only local taxes for which collection is outsourced to a private third party is the Earned Income Tax (EIC, or ‘occupation tax’), charged at 1% on income – half for the township and half to the school district); the per capita tax ($15/yr, $5 to LPT and $10 to Methacton); and the ‘local services’ tax ($52 per person/yr) which Berkheimer Associates of Berks County collects.
  

According to the Tax Collector’s Manual published by the PA Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, Pennsylvania tax collectors' salaries are based on a percentage of the total dollar amount of the bills they process, and the pay can range from $1,200 to $100,000, depending upon the size of the municipality and school district. In our area, Deal is paid a dollar amount per invoice issued ($3 each from both LPT and Methacton for approximately 7500 households and 500 businesses – with lesser amounts for subsequent delinquent tax bills) so what Deal earns to process our tax work is firmly in the middle of that range. The County also pays a fee per invoice.

The post comes with no health benefits or retirement plan. Tax collectors have to find other ways to cover those costs out of their earnings.

The compensation (fees and expenses) local tax collectors are paid can only be charged if their municipalities enact an ordinance authorizing them to do so and cannot exceed 5% of invoices issued. This amount is to include reimbursement for all billing expenses of the tax collector other than bonding, printing, postage and envelopes. LPT has authorized up to $1500 per year for printing and envelopes upon receipt of proof of the actual expenditure for these items. There is a separate reimbursement for the costs of bonding and postage upon receipt of the actual expense for those items. By law tax collectors must maintain performance (surety) bonds, so that if they don’t perform, the entity owed tax monies can collect against it. The cost of the bond premium is paid by the taxing districts in an amount proportionate to their share of the total annual tax bills.

While the need to tap a bond is rare, this has become necessary in neighboring Upper Providence Township, where their former tax collector, Beverly Noll, appears to have failed to fulfill her duties due to illness. While she’s since been replaced in the 2013 election, Spring-Ford School District and Montgomery County (Upper Providence itself has no township tax) are trying to clean up the mess, and the County has seized Noll’s records to figure out if there was any improper disposition of funds, determine who has paid versus who has not, and help reconcile those who claim they’ve paid with a stack of undeposited checks found in Noll’s office (more here and here). 

Since she was first elected, Deal has introduced improvements to the function, adding Saturday hours at her desk at First Niagara Bank in Audubon, keeping extended hours during tax deadline dates, purchasing an updated Windows-based tax program which utilizes bar codes on invoices to automate and speed up tax processing, and purchasing bulk postage instead of using postage stamps. She even swapped out an ancient dot-matrix printer she inherited in the job for a state-of-the-art laser printer. She says she is proud that she’s delivering more service for less money. Her website is www.lowerprovidencetaxcollector.com.

Overall, Deal enjoys the job, although her greatest frustrations include not hearing from people until there is a serious problem, people coming into the bank to pay taxes outside of her published hours of availability, and calling her office when there is really an issue with their banking institution or mortgage holder. All in all, though, she enjoys providing such a critical service despite the occasional headaches. I think she’s doing a phenomenal job in keeping a reliable cash flow coming in to Lower Providence’s and Methacton’s coffers. At the end of the day, residents in LPT and Methacton really are getting the best ‘Deal’ possible.

 

The Long and Winding Road

It’s rare that the closure of a road in our community is cause for celebration, but for the LP Board of Supervisors last evening, deciding what to do about a public road promised long ago yet still unbuilt was an opportunity to make a significant positive traffic impact for LP.



former proposed throughpoint from Egypt to Park Ave

At issue was whether to allow local developer Audubon Land Development (ALD)  and its principal, John Neilson, out of an obligation incurred 16 years ago to complete Shannondell Boulevard through to Park Avenue, part of the plan when ALD pursued approval for the development of the Shannondell retirement community, in exchange for road improvements elsewhere in the Township, or whether to hold them to the letter of the 1998 conditional use decision.

ALD’s commitment to open a public road (an extension of the existing Shannondell Boulevard) stretching from Egypt Road to Park Avenue was secured by a former Board of Supervisors and sought at a time in our history when we had significant congestion issues in Audubon, particularly along Egypt Road. At the time, the intersection at Egypt/Park Avenue/Pawlings Road was rated by PennDOT as an “F” – their worst rating. This was partly because the point where US Route 422 meets Trooper Road had never been designed as a full cloverleaf, so traffic seeking to head westbound from our area was forced to thread through Audubon on Egypt Road to reach 422 there. The Shannondell road extension was required and approved as a means to help alleviate this traffic.



paper street back to the Meadows @ Shannondell from Park

Also back in 1998 new businesses and homes were still being built at a steady clip, dumping more and more traffic on local roads less and less able to keep up. In addition, we are a gateway community through which pass-through traffic generated by other communities along the 422 corridor, also experiencing growth in population and business, fed into LP. The 1998 agreement was structured so that when Shannondell reached 1000 new units (and presumably added a definably increased level of traffic onto Egypt) it would trigger the completion and dedication of the road to divert cars to Park Avenue.

Since Shannondell never reached that threshold (although they are close), they were never required to complete and open the public road. And, in the intervening years, conditions changed sufficiently so that the cut-through from Egypt to Park Avenue was arguably no longer needed. In 2006 improvements to the Egypt Road/Park Avenue/Pawlings Road intersection approved in 2005 (by the BOS I was a member of) were installed, improving that intersection from an “F” rating to a “D”. Today, long-planned work is underway to complete the 422/Trooper Road cloverleaf, which will make it easier for employees of the corporate center to access 422 without traversing Egypt Road, and the Arcola Road bridge – while having a temporary impact on the Audubon area – will be rebuilt and reopened within the next couple of years.


Thus, having made their case that circumstances have substantially changed (and arguably improved and will continue to do so) since the 1998 conditional use decision they received, ALD secured the Board of Supervisors’ approval last night to amend it (with conditions) to exchange that project for improvements at the dangerous intersection of Crawford Road, Eagleville Road and Park Avenue (see articles, here (TAP) and here and here (Times Herald).

The unaligned Crawford Road intersection is currently rated ‘E”, although arguably it’s worse, according to the Township’s traffic engineer, Casey Moore of McMahon Associates. Improving and aligning Crawford Road is a safety priority and in the public’s best interests. Traffic stacks there significantly in all directions and is especially dangerous at rush hours. It has an extensive accident history, and I personally know of friends and family whose cars have been clobbered there over the years.

The stub road at Shannondell will still be finished up to Park Avenue, but will not have public access. Only emergency vehicles and public works will be able to access it.



S. Park heading north, 7-14-14 @ 5:25 pm

I believe it’s very forward thinking on the part of our BOS to think in terms of getting something we really want and need in exchange for a project that is no longer necessary, and I applaud their creativity, flexibility and courage in taking on what could have been a politically hot issue.



paper street from Park to Egypt

When I ran for BOS in 2011, because I was the only candidate to go on record as opposing opening the road to the public,  I received overwhelming support from the residents of Shannondell who were vehemently opposed to what they termed ‘an expressway’ being opened in their community, citing safety concerns. Some Audubon residents, and former supervisor Rick Brown, were, at the time, more interested in holding a developer accountable for an agreement they entered into years ago than in what was in the overall best interest of the Township as a whole. I’m glad that this has turned out to be a win/win for all stakeholders and is no longer a political football.

Now, if we could only get the intersection of Pinetown/Sunnyside/Eagleville Road improved….

  

photo credit: Times Herald

See You In Court

Some of you may recall a 2007 incident that resulted in then-current Methacton School Board president (and LP resident) James Van Horn stepping down from that post in December of that year. While he remained on the school board until the end of his term, he did not run for re-election in 2009. That incident can be viewed below:

 

Worcester resident Dr. James Mollick was filming a school board meeting, as he was frequently known to do and which is perfectly legal. According to published reports at the time ("Van Horn to Face Charges", Times Herald 12-14-07,  "Van Horn Pleads to Lesser Charge", Times Herald 3-14-08 and "Methacton School Board Meeting Incident", Times Herald 2007), when Van Horn noticed Mollick still filming after the conclusion of the meeting, he left the dias and charged toward Mollick, allegedly assaulting him in front of several witnesses; Mollick wound up being thrown over a couple of rows of seats in the audience. Van Horn has claimed ever since that he was going after the camera, not Mollick, and claimed at the time he was never charged with assault, but Mollick wound up with what are apparently serious injuries.

 Originally charged with harassment, Van Horn plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in 2008 and paid a fine , but the civil suit Mollick filed against him and Methacton School District in 2008 is still ongoing six years later. Methacton’s two insurance carriers requested in May 2013 to intervene and apparently all attempts to arrive at a negotiated settlement fell short. After years of delays, the case is headed for trial, scheduled to begin on May 5.

 An elected Republican committeeman (in a section of Audubon) and the current municipal leader of the Lower Providence Republican Party, he is currently running for re-election in the May 20 primary.

Van Horn, second from right

 Van Horn, who earned something of a reputation as a bully based on accounts I’ve heard from numerous colleagues and adversaries over his 20 year tenure on the school board (one of whom resigned over this), is still believed to have wielded considerable influence with subsequent (and the current) school board. I have personally observed how Van Horn gets wrapped up in the selection and promotion of school board candidates – to the exclusion of almost all else. I and other candidates for local offices in recent years have been somewhat annoyed that his almost-exclusive focus on school board races has resulted in non-school board candidates’ campaigns being virtually ignored.

Sources who wish to remain anonymous tell me that the parties are ‘miles apart’ from settling, and thus the trial is expected to be a go. Van Horn is evidently sticking to his guns and confident that by rolling the dice in court he will prevail against Mollick. I’m told Mollick’s career as an OB-GYN has come to a standstill ever since the incident in which he alleges he sustained serious and career-ending injuries.

 The records were sealed early on in an effort to protect Mollick’s tax and professional information, but voir dire rules for jury selection are being hashed out now and jury empanelment will begin May 2 in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Judge Kelly Walls’ courtroom.

UPDATE: As I was drafting this, I called the judge’s clerk to get an estimate of how long the trial was expected to last. I was advised that the case was believed to have reached settlement today (5/1) , although nothing formal had been received by the Court as of 4 pm. I was able to confirm later that the case had indeed settled for an undisclosed amount. 

The extensive case docket reveals a flurry of activity in the last couple of days on several dozen pending motions, and several orders were handed down which appear to have been detrimental to Van Horn’s defense. Several others were deferred to be dealt with at trial instead of being dismissed outright. Again, the pleadings are sealed, so I can’t tell for sure, but perhaps Van Horn saw the handwriting on the wall and decided not to take his chances with a jury.  

Of course, we will likely never know how much the parties agreed to settle for, and it’s typical in personal injury litigation to keep such information confidential. But the bigger questions are: how much did Methacton School District have to spend in legal fees to defend their former school board president over those six years - I've heard upwards of $100,000, but don't quote me on that -, and how much of the settlement exceeds their insurance coverage limits and must be paid out of pocket? How much of that will we taxpayers be paying for next year in the form of a tax increase?

In the meantime, if Van Horn hopes to remain active in local government and politics, perhaps he might want to invest in an anger management class.

 

 

 

 

Moody's Sours on LP

Last week Moody's Investors Service, a New York commercial credit rating outfit, downgraded the bond rating for LP's guaranteed revenue sewer bonds from a rating of Aa2 to Aa3. This rating affects all the township bond holdings and more importantly impacts its ability to cheaply borrow funds into the future for projects such as road paving and capital improvements.

I spoke to township manager Richard Gestrich on this subject Friday afternoon (4/24) and he told me substantially the same thing as was reported by LP TAP before I had a chance to write up an article, so I won't repeat that conversation here; you can check it out for yourself.

While Gestrich's outrage about the changes in rating methodology and his feelings that the township was victimized in its treatment by Moody's may be legitimate, it's worth noting that no surrounding townships were similarly lowered, nor was Methacton School District's bond rating (although their business manager recently mentioned in a school board meeting that he 'is concerned' about eroding tax revenues in the district, a harbinger of a potential downgrade). Anyway, it's all about the ability to repay debt, which obviously Moody's sees as a potential problem brewing for LP.  The Board of Supervisors should be very concerned about whatever is giving Moody's agita because a downgrade is, any way you cut it, a big deal.  Moody's earns their keep by risk rating bonds much like auditors review loan portfolios and giving people bond ratings upon which they can make investment decisions; it does not serve their purpose to issue random downgrades without a solid reason.

I did ask Gestrich whether our Finance Committee was aware of the downgrade and if so, what they had to say about it. I noted that according to the Township's website, this committee did not appear to have met for months (although I have heard that they do meet, and Gestrich has publicly referenced this committee meeting, I don't know how 'public' those meetings are since there no agendas or minutes). A constituent who was tapped to serve on this committee told me over the weekend that he was frustrated with it because they sought him out to serve, and he was eager to do so, but then they never met. Gestrich told me he believed the Finance Committee was going to meet Monday evening, April 27.

(As a follow-up, Gestrich told me in a 5/1 email that he had passed the full Moody's report to Finance Committee member Lucien Calhoun, who is also with the Delaware Valle Finance Authority). He said "Lucien opined that since the Township remained at a Prime 1 rating, that it would not make a difference on our interest rates going forward".

Moody's downgrade comes on the heels of a glowing audit review which Gestrich presented in March to the BOS. While we ended 2012 with a thin balance in the general fund going into the next year, we had a much more comfortable cushion going into 2014 to the tune of almost $1.4 million, which was attributed to increases in earned income taxes and real estate transfers. After the BOS voted late last year to raise taxes for the first time in ten years, Chairman Eckman stated earlier this year that the Board expects to give more frequent financial updates to residents.

Among the reasons Moody's provided for the downgrade was 'continued erosion of tax base'. This is something I've been sounding the alarm about for some time. In recent years our Board of Supervisors seemingly had a policy of harassing and obstructing businesses from coming here and bringing jobs, revenue, and taxes and fees with them (sometimes spending ridiculous tax dollars in legal fees to do so). While this environment was primarily driven by former supervisor/chair Rick Brown, a couple folks who have supported those actions are still serving. Chasing out or creating a less-than-welcoming, hostile business environment for proposed businesses like the American Revolution Center, the YMCA, Bestline, WaWa and others has a cost.  You can't provide services without adequate revenue streams coming in and you will surely have a harder time borrowing money.

It pains me to drive through West Norriton, King of Prussia and Upper Providence and see not only new businesses that went there instead of here, but also businesses that used to be here, but have moved to those communities. It is also heartbreaking to drive through the township and at every entrance be greeted with an empty building...the former Collegeville Inn...the former Bud's Bar....the former Norristown Ford...nobody seems to be focused on making it a priority to find suitable uses for these properties or changing the zoning so that they can be repurposed. 

Also, former township manager Joe Dunbar raised a concern circa 2010 that the LPT Sewer Authority appeared to be using capital reserves to fund operations and presented specifics. Then, when former supervisors Brown and DiPaolo got control of the BOS, they dumped the auditor who developed the findings, Maillie Falconero. As the Township is the guarantor of all township debt, including the Sewer Authority, I can see why this would have been concerning at the time and could be having an impact now.

A damning move like this from Moody's tells me that Job One for our BOS ought to be to get the word out ASAP that we are not only open for business but we will bend over backward to bring you here and try to work with you. Stop being a NIMBY township and reverse Rick Brown's legacy for LP: a lowered bond rating.

 

Methacton Post Prom 2014: And the Award Goes To...

Please see the You Tube video I uploaded which has numerous photos of all of the exceptionally well done decorations.

As if getting all glammed up and attending your prom (and perhaps being driven to and from in a limo), wasn’t enough to make you feel special, Methacton High School students attending the post-prom festivities afterward had the opportunity to walk a real red carpet as they entered the high school this past Friday evening for the all-night event. Greeted by ‘paparazzi’, a large replica of an Oscar statuette and movie posters, they began to fully view and experience the event’s theme, “Lights! Camera! Action! It’s Showtime!

As I have noted in previous articles about this event, it’s a function more than 400 Methacton parents and volunteers, with school district support, put on every year to give students a safe place to spend the overnight hours after prom. Studies show that the evening a student attends prom is one of the most potentially deadly nights of the year. With attendance free for the students & their dates, and the event paid for entirely by donated funds and in-kind services in the range of $40,000-$50,000 worth of goods and services, it’s no wonder we boast a 98% attendance rate and parents enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are safe and enjoying a drug and alcohol-free evening having a blast with their friends. It takes about 2000 manpower hours the night of the prom to provide services to the approximate 900 student attendees.

If all the fun activities themselves weren’t enough to encourage attendance (a casino, hypnotist, balloon artist, trike races, dodgeball and volleyball tournaments with pre-registered teams and team-designed shirts, lazer tag, Wii and arcade games, billiard, ping-pong and air hockey tables, a movie studio in the library, romantic café, photo booths, massage therapist, fortune teller, inflatables, ‘cash cab’ contest etc) students have opportunities to win fabulous prize for staying all night. Prizes include iPads, gift certificates, concert tickets, iPods, flat screen TVs, computers, digital cameras, DVD players, and video game systems.

This year, as in past years, I volunteered to work the 2-6 am shift, one of the most difficult to get volunteers to cover. I’ve worked in the casino, security, check-in/check-out and this time around, helped out with the trike races. I never cease to be amazed at how much energy the kids can still manage to summon in the middle of the night.  I’m a night owl but even I start to fade at 3 am or so!

In the 15 years Methacton has been doing this it has only gotten better and better. Planning for next year’s event will begin shortly after the conclusion of this year’s. Monday morning, all junior and senior attendees will complete a survey to let planners know what worked well and what improvements could be made for the following year. In June, after a six-week break, planners will meet to do a 360 degree evaluation of the event, consider the student feedback, and begin to structure the following year’s planning committee. Starting in the fall a team of about 30 people will work each week on decorations right up until the event.

As in past years, each of the elementary schools adopts one of the high school bathrooms and is responsible for decorating it. In keeping with this year’s cinematic theme, the bathrooms were decorated representing ‘The Great Gatsby”, “World War Z”, “The Sound of Music” (complete with a rendition of the song tripped when you walked into the loo) and “The Fast and the Furious”.

If there were awards for the large cast that pulls this event off, it would have to go with thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors, donors, teachers, school administrators, parents and students in our community who work tirelessly and selflessly all year to pull this event off flawlessly. They make it look easy, but I suspect moving military supplies across Iraq is probably less difficult than coordinating all the moving parts that go into post-prom. We’ve become a benchmark for other communities here and across the country.

By the way, waiting in line just in front of me to take the walk-through tour Friday evening was new superintendent Dr. David Zerbe and his family. I bump into him around town fairly often, and it's refreshing to have a superintendent who lives in our community and attends our events. What a welcome change!

As for 2014’s event…that’s a wrap!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going To The Mat

Update 4-26-14: I heard a rumor late last week that Coach Maida would be reinstated as wrestling coach soon. This morning a text was received by those in the wrestling program indicating that this was indeed the case. My understanding is that the decision to relieve Maida in the first place may have been unilaterally made and that protocols will be put in place to ensure that such decisions in the future are reviewed and approved by more than one individual.
 

To parents with kids in Methacton School District’s wrestling program, a mystery began a couple of weeks ago on April 3, when a cryptic email landed in their inboxes.

“I’m writing to inform you that as of Tuesday morning this week [this would have occurred on 4/1/14] I have been told that because I no longer fit with the high school principal’s [Judy Landis] philosophy of coaching I will not be retained as the wrestling coach at Methacton High School effective Monday, April 7^th. I appealed to the Superintendent [David Zerbe] Tuesday afternoon and met again with him yesterday where he indicated that he would support the principal’s decision. I would expect that the school board goes along with the superintendent’s recommendation. While this ends my tenure as your son’s coach I wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your children’s lives over the last 7 seasons. Over the past several years I’ve made some incredible relationships with some amazing families and have probably learned more from you and your children than your kids ever have from me.

I’m actually not sure how to end this email so I’ll just say that I hope you all understand what this job has meant to me both personally and professionally and that my one desire would be to continue coaching at Methacton with the family that I think we’ve made together.

Sincerely,

            A.J. Maida”

Shortly thereafter, I received emails from several parents asking what on earth happened, and, given Methacton’s propensity for scandal in recent years, you can’t blame them for wondering whether there was a more disturbing undercurrent that they should be aware of. 

Ever since receiving the parting email from Maida, frustrated members of the Methacton wrestling program and their parents have been left scratching their heads and asking unanswered questions of the school district as to what happened…why was this clearly beloved coach unceremoniously and inexplicably dumped after 7 seasons that were by all accounts successes both on and off the mat?

Anthony (AJ) Maida, center (2011)

How is it possible that a coach parents tell me embodies the very traits one hopes to find in all those people our kids spend hours with each week, is removed from coaching? 

For decades, Methacton has had an enviable and venerable wrestling program. From the storied accomplishments of Bill Berardelli, Dennis Kellon, to late coach Nelson Stratton, Chris Lloyd, Tony Haley and Bill Moser, Maida, a veteran of the US Armed Services (Marines), seemed well-suited to the wrestling program’s long history of success, and competently filled the big shoes that our former wrestling coaches left as their legacy.  To bear witness to that, 48 of those students and fellow coaches stood up and testified in front of the school board at their April 15 meeting as to just what an impact he’d had on their lives and what wrestling for him had meant to them. I know there were more who either couldn’t be there that evening or were afraid to speak up (employees of the school district).

Maida supporters speaking at 4/15/14 school board meeting

My understanding is the school board has only heard one side of the issue, after the fact, although clearly the superintendent has heard both. But the school board appears unswayed and unlikely to investigate, revisit or reverse the decision to remove Maida from his coaching position.

What I’d like to know is what exactly is this ‘philosophy of coaching’ that principal Judy Landis has, and in what way doesn’t Maida measure up? Has her philosophy evolved or has Coach Maida such that he ‘no longer fits’?  It seems a little odd to me that a high school principal would even have a coaching philosophy, but if so, shouldn’t that be public?

MHS principal Judy Landis

When I called the school district to get answers for the parents who reached out to me I was handed off to the Athletic Director (Paul Spiewak) for response. It wasn’t Spiewak’s decision, so why would anybody want to talk to him about it? I couldn’t find this ‘philosophy of coaching’ anywhere on Methacton’s website, so I put in a Right-to-Know request to see if we can shed any light on it. It might be helpful for all our current, as well as future, coaches to be aware of, not to mention the parents and kids struggling to understand what went wrong here.

Of course, it might have just been damage control at the April 15 meeting when Zerbe stated “Any conflict of personality or philosophical differences between Maida and Landis are unfounded and not the reason for opening the position”. Maybe, but evidently that’s not how it was explained to Maida.

 

One of my son’s closest friends wrestled for Coach Maida. He told us that an example of how Coach Maida cared enough about the kids and the program was that if the boys couldn’t get a ride to school for an early morning lifting session before school he’d pick them up and get them there. We all know teenagers aren’t famous for being early risers, but these kids WANTED to get up early to become better wrestlers and athletes for this coach, in this program. Coach Maida knew how to motivate them and get the best out of them. He even went out of his way to work with the middle school kids, ensuring a good pipeline of talent flowing into the high school program.  

This is a road Methacton has gone down before, with similar backlash. In 2006, longtime and charismatic football coach George Marinkov was unceremoniously replaced by Coach Bob McNally. Granted, the Warriors had several back-to-back losing seasons and Marinkov was replaced after a winless year, but the football players and parents circled the wagons in support of “Coach” much as they have for Maida. The McNally experiment didn’t net much on-field success, and he stepped down after 4 seasons with an overall record of 11-33. Coach was – and is - also the kind of guy who took a genuine and sincere interest in his players on and off the field and prided himself on treating them like the young men they were becoming (Coach has been back on the sidelines with current head football coach Paul Lepre and the coaching staff since 2010).  In contrast, in the 7 years Maida has coached Methacton wrestling they’ve gone without a losing record.  

I’ll tell you what I think our ‘philosophy of coaching’ should be. It should involve finding and supporting coaches who are paying attention to what is going on with our kids outside of school as well as during the time they are IN school, and it should go without saying that it should be about more than just a paycheck to them. Ideally, they’ll have a passion for the sport they coach, and some expertise in it, but it should always be – to the coach as well as the school district – about more than just wins and losses and what goes in the trophy case. I’d argue one learns more from losses than from wins anyway. A good coach can motivate kids to find the keys to leadership and success as well as how to pick oneself up, make corrections, and keep going in the face of defeat. A good coach inspires accountability, dedication and commitment…self-esteem, discipline, work ethic, teamwork….the list goes on. It would seem we’ve lost this and more with the removal of Maida as our wrestling coach. 

If Maida truly has no idea why he was relieved of duty, instead of smoke and mirrors, I think the school district owes him an honest answer as much as they do the wrestling team’s parents. I get it that personnel matters are often kept private, largely for liability reasons, and perhaps they could cite these specific “laws surrounding school personnel” they claim muzzles them so parents can determine the truth of that for themselves, but I don’t see why Maida couldn’t offer to waive his right to privacy in this matter and insist the school district be transparent as to their rationale. If it’s a sound decision, it should be defendable. 

 

Maida was not dismissed from his job teaching social studies at the high school, so whatever reason the school may have had to remove him from coaching can't be too egregious. My guess is if there is in fact no legitimate performance reason that more than likely, it’s political. Somebody knows somebody who wants the job.  It’s happened in this school district before (under Dr. Quinn, the prior superintendent), and unfortunately, it’s possible it’s happened again.  If true, that would truly be a big “L” for Methacton’s wrestling program as our loss will surely be another school district’s gain. Maida will coach another day, somewhere else, but in this instance, it looks like this is a match Methacton’s wrestlers cannot win.