Wallingford Swarthmore School District News

Comparing Area School Tax Bills

July 15, 2013 by admin

Wallingford PA Real Estate - Walingford PA - 2013 to 2014 School Taxes

Yearly School Taxes For Area Municipalities

It is that time of year again – the yearly school tax bill has arrived, and if you are like me we open it with some reservation.

The graph above compares the yearly school tax bill, in dollars, for Nether Providence and municipalities in close proximity to our community for the school tax year 2013 to 2014. The tax bill is calculated using an assessment of $150,000 and applying the school tax millage to that assessed value.

Thornbury Township and Colwyn Borough are present in the chart to show the lowest and highest tax bill respectively in Delaware County.

See the entire 2013 tax rate table for all municipalities in Delaware County.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Artificial Surface Approved For King Field

May 30, 2013 by admin

Wallingford PA Real Estate - Wallingford PA - Wallingford Swarthmore School District Announces Artificial Turf Will Be In Stalled At George King Field

Artificial Turf Is Coming To King Field

The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board has given approval for the installation of a synthetic playing surface to be installed at George L. King field.

The estimated cost of the project is $690,000 with FieldTurf USA of Georgia supplying the material, and ELA Sport, with offices in State College and Litiz, PA, contracted to perform the installation work. It is anticipated that work will be completed in time for the fall sports season.

The majority of the project cost is being funded, approximately $500,000, by the school district from savings derived from renovation/expansions of the high school and middle school.

The volunteer organization TeamUp4Turf created to move the artificial turf field initiative forward has raised the remainder. Private contributions have come from a wide variety of sources, area businesses, students, parents and a former Strath Haven High football star, Dan Connor, who now plays for the New York Giants.

Reasons cited for the need for the new field include overuse, scheduling flexibility and unsafe surface conditions. It is estimated that annual maintenance costs for the new surface will be approximately $7,000. Currently the district spends $40,000 annually maintaining the natural grass field at the stadium.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

WSSD Board Calling For 2% Tax Hike

April 21, 2013 by admin

The Wallingford Swarthmore School Board is coming closer to the final approval of the district budget for the fiscal year 2013-2014. In February the board approved a preliminary spending proposal, and the third and last vote on the plan, is currently scheduled for May 28.

The district’s $68.2 million budget plan at present calls for a 2 percent tax increase. For a house assessed at the district median price of $177,000, that hike would translate into an additional $138 in school taxes.

The state Legislature is still working on possible changes that include districts’ contributions toward employee pension costs and state funding, which could alter the final budget plans.

Tax increases are capped at 1.7 percent in 2013-2014 by the state’s Act 1 school tax law, and any increase over that amount must be put to the the voters for approval. The district intends to use a portion of an allowable exemption – involving employee pension expenses – for another 0.3 percent of an increase.

Contributions to the Public School Employee’s Retirement System are slated to increase by 36.9% amounting to $5,424,566 in the coming fiscal year, 26% in 2014-2015, to about $6.9 million; 21.1% in 2015-16, to more than $8.5 million; and then by 9.7% in 2016-2017, to almost $9.5 million.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Wallingford Swarthmore School District Imposing Stricter Security Policies

February 1, 2013 by admin

Wallingford PA Real Estate - Wallingford PA - Wallingford Swarthmore School District - Stricter Security Measures Proposed

District Facilities Have New Visitor Access Rules

In the wake of the deadly school shootings in Connecticut in December, school districts across the country have been evaluating their security measures and the Wallingford Swarthmore School District has done the same, tightening up public access to district facilities.

All visitors to district buildings will be required to follow new protocols. Visitors will now be required to ring a security bell at a specific entrance, provide office staff with information on the specific basis for their visit and then produce a photo ID in order to obtain a pass.

District policy now calls for a staff member to be positioned at the entrance to each school during morning arrivals to monitor everyone entering the buildings. A re-evaluation of the district’s emergency plans, which have not undergone any significant revisions since 2006, is also being conducted.

Lock down drills will also be conducted so that the police can be on hand and offer their views on how to strengthen readiness in dealing with emergency situations. Law enforcement officials from Wallingford and Swarthmore will also be consulted for their feedback on emergency preparedness.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Commissioners Approve Nether Providence Elementary School Renovation Plans

November 14, 2012 by admin

Nether Providence Elementary School

Wallingford Swarthmore School District’s plans for the last school in the current renovation cycle, Nether Providence Elementary, have been given final approval by the Nether Providence Township Board Of Commissioners.

The commissioners, at a November 8 meeting, gave the go ahead with a 7 – 0 vote, for the renovation and expansion of the Nether Providence Elementary School facility located on Moore Road.

The project is expected to cost about $16.5 million, and calls for the demolition of a 7,432-square-foot wing at the school, which currently measures 28,269 square feet. It also will entail the construction of a 29,051-square-foot addition, bringing the new total space to 49,888 square feet. Work is expected to get underway in March or April 2012, with a targeted completion date of Fall 2013 to winter 2014.

The proposal has been the subject of review by the township engineer and planning and zoning boards, as well as the Delaware County Planning Commission, and has been granted permission to expand a nonconforming use — that is, a larger school in a residential district — and to slightly trim the size of parking spaces at the site, from 10 by 20 feet to 9 by 18 feet.

Nether Providence Elementary currently consists of three wings, one built in 1939, another in 1949 and the third in 1964. Plans call for the 1939 wing to be torn down and the other wings to undergo renovations. In addition, a new wing holding a gym and cafeteria would be constructed at the back of the present structure, where parking currently exists.

As was done during the Wallingford Elementary School renovation, the new addition would be built first. The final phase would involve the demolition of the 1939 wing.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

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S. Clark Kendus