Tonight @ 7PM Is Your 4.24 Board Of School Directors Meeting Council Rock Parents And Here Is Your Pre-Check Cheat Sheet

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The financial crisis brewing in Council Rock School District has reached its boiling point. With a jaw-dropping $15 million deficit looming over the community, tonight's school board meeting could be your last chance to speak up before decisions that affect your children's education and your tax bills are set in stone.

We're diving headfirst into the fiscal emergency that's unfolding right before our eyes. The district is simultaneously claiming poverty while splurging on questionable expenses - 17 new kindergarten teachers based on enrollment guesses, hundreds of new computer monitors, GPS systems for buses, and a complete overhaul of lunch payment software that adds processing fees to every transaction. Meanwhile, teachers wait for fair compensation, and students make do with broken chairs and outdated technology.

The Chancellor Center situation perfectly encapsulates the budgetary chaos. Should taxpayers fund a temporary relocation costing up to $855,000 annually, patch the building for $6.5 million, or go "full HGTV" with a $15.6 million renovation? This decision sits alongside numerous other facility challenges across the district, including a floated (and quickly dismissed) $107 million middle school reconfiguration plan. These choices aren't just about buildings - they represent fundamental questions about educational priorities and financial transparency.

Tonight at 7pm at the Chancellor Center, community members have a rare opportunity to demand answers before these decisions become irreversible. Come armed with questions about teacher compensation, technology expenditures during a deficit, and whether there's an actual plan beyond "hoping and praying to the ghost of Milton Hershey." The board needs to hear your voice - because if decisions continue to be made in silence, next year's budget explosion will turn your child's school into "a big self-funded escape room." Will you speak up, or will you be home watching reruns while your tax dollars go up in flames?

Peace, Love & God Above! :-)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
What's up, guys?
This is the final Rock Bottompodcast before your big meeting
tonight at 7 pm at theChancellor Center.
And I'm telling you right nowif you don't go and you don't
speak up, fuck off.
I did my due diligence for youand if that's the case, I'll be
sitting home watching reruns ofthe Masked Singer, hoping and
praying that everybody that'sout there that has said

(00:21):
something to me, you know, getsa chance to speak up tonight and
find out what's going on.
You could, out there that hassaid something to me, you know
gets a chance to speak uptonight and find out what's
going on.
You could be part of thesolution or you could be part of
the problem.
Today's episode districtdollars and nonsense.
Why you need to storm theschool board tonight with
passion and possibly pitchforks.
Introduction the pipe bombbegins.
Cm punk, my man.
I'm sitting down on stage rightnow delivering this one in

(00:43):
indian, reporting live from thebottom of the budget barrel,
buried under a $15 milliondeficit and 17 kindergarten
teachers.
Nobody can guarantee that weeven need.
Welcome to the Rock BottomPodcast, where every episode is
a fiscal emergency and everyboard meeting feels like
watching your money light itselfon fire in slow motion.
Let me ask you something,council Rock.

(01:05):
Are you tired of showing up tothese meetings just to hear the
word preliminary 348 times?
Do you enjoy the soothingsounds of this is common
practice, while your kid'sclassroom has one working
Chromebook and three brokenchairs?
Do you get a little tickly inyour tummy when you hear that
the state gave us more money butit doesn't actually help?
Well then, buckle up, becausetonight's school board meeting
might be your last stop beforethe budget train hits the fiscal

(01:26):
fan.
What's the situation?
Let's recap the greatest hitsfrom the past month of finance
nonsense $15 million deficit,but don't worry, it's only 5% of
the budget, which, if you saidthat to a mortgage lender, would
get you evicted in 11 minutes.
Full-day kindergarten we'rehiring 17 teachers for it, based
on guesses, the number of kidsregistered still unclear.

(01:48):
The cost fully baked into thebudget pie, the flavor
uncertainty a la taxpayer.
And if you got what I got theother day, that little flyer in
the mail, I'm surprised it evenmade it to my door.
That thing fell apart thesecond I touched it because they
delivered it when it was wettech overload.
We're buying hundreds of newcomputer monitors because
apparently, budget crisis or noteverybody gets dual screen

(02:09):
setups now.
But don't ask for raisesteachers.
That's just selfish Securitydevices, gps and cameras in vans
because the kids might not havefunctioning library programs
anymore.
But at least we can livestreamthem being driven to school like
it's a surveillance teamreality show.
We live in Bucks County.
This ain't broad and fucking.
Jfk.
Lunch software overhaul.
My Payments Plus is out and myschool Bucks is in.

(02:31):
Want to pay for a cookie?
That'll be $2 plus 3%processing fee, plus your soul,
plus your kid's embarrassmentfor the next three weeks.
Also, good luck rememberingyour login.
We'll figure it out later.
Budgeting Every meetingincludes the phrase we haven't
reviewed that yet.
Translation they're actuallygambling with your tax dollars
and haven't decided which chipsto throw away.
Yet.
Tonight you speak.

(02:52):
Here's what you say Parents,teachers, community members
tonight is not for politenodding.
Tonight is for public comment,microphone mic drops and, like I
said, I wish I could be there,but they banned me from all
school activities and properties.
Questions to ask why are wehiring 17 kindergarten teachers
when we don't know if we needthem?
Is this education or a 2.4million guessing game with

(03:15):
crowns?
Question two how are we buyingnew monitors, gps systems, lunch
software and cafeteria scannerswhile we claim we're broke.
Is this the fire festival ofschool districts?
Question three what happens ifwe actually do end the year with
a $15 million deficit?
Is there a plan?
Beyond hoping and praying tothe ghost of milton hershey?
They just actually built abrand new building.

(03:35):
I cannot wait to go down there.
It's going to be amazing.
I love hershey park.
Why aren't teachers getting paidwhat they deserve?
Are you negotiating witheducators or trying to buy them
in bulk like office supplies?
Why does a community never hearabout these issues unless they
read 120 page transcript orlisten to this podcast or your
youtube channel, which onlyaverages about 100 views per
post?
Is there a reason we'rebudgeting like a reality show

(03:57):
and communicating like it's ahaunted house?
Things to demand TransparencyStart with plain English,
accountability, name names, holdpeople responsible, actual
priorities.
Spoiler, it's the kids and theteachers, not cafeteria software
or smart bus GPS systems.
A cap on nonsense.
Limit the phrase preliminary tothree uses per meeting or you
buy everyone pizza.

(04:17):
So closing message call toaction.
Show up tonight if you careabout education, if you care
about waste, if you care aboutyour taxes being spent like it's
Monopoly money.
Do not let these decisions getmade in silence while you're
binge watching Netflix, missingout on your kid's actual future.
The board needs to hear yourvoice loud, clear and preferably
with sarcasm, because if theydon't feel the pressure from you

(04:37):
tonight, they'll sure as hellfeel it when the budget explodes
next year and your kid's schoolturns into a big self-funded
escape room.
This has been the rock bottompodcast, the only place where
your budget confusion becomescontent.
Oh wait, a minute.
I totally, totally forgotsomething.
Oh my god, it's been a roughweek.
The facilities meeting one bidfor oil, bold.
Two bids for propane,groundbreaking riggins and sharp
energy got the honors.
But hey, we've got a 30-daybreakup clause, just in case our

(04:59):
side piece, the ui bid, turnsout to be hotter.
Diversified refrigerations backsame price, new boilers, and
over in the natatorium youchopped 33k on some mystery
valve that decided to give up onlife.
Surprise and a damper and aloop while you're in there,
because redundancy is fuckingsexy baby.
Custodial chaos six bids, onewinner abm, because who doesn't

(05:21):
love an 8.5 increase?
It's not inflation, it'scollective bargaining and supply
chain vibes.
5.5 million for one year.
Don't worry, they're adding afull-timer at the star building,
so it's totally worth it.
Chancellor center, the money pit, huge, huge, huge thing to talk
about.
Move to rich barrow middle androll the dice, the hvac dice.

(05:42):
Lease a space for 637 to 855k ayear.
Burn your money and light acigar with it.
Patch the building building for$6.5 million or go full HGTV
for $15.6 million.
Either way we're packing up theChancellor like it's going off
to college.
Six to nine months ofrent-a-purgatory and here we
come when you guys can just allmove into a small classroom

(06:03):
somewhere in each of thebuildings and everybody can work
what we call hybrid remote,like most people do these years,
and that's talk to people onthe phone or talk to people on
the computer and not have to sitthrough meetings on meetings
and meetings and meetings andmeetings all day long.
District policies the realhousewives of renovation, marine
welsh newtown elementary arebasically falling apart in high
def.
Chancellor's trying to hang inthere.

(06:25):
North's halfway to rock bottom.
And just when you thought itcouldn't get any more expensive,
someone floated 107 millionmiddle school reconfiguration.
That idea got laughed offfaster than your uncle's pyramid
.
Holland's too crowded.
Cr.
South wants a stadium.
Glow up, lunch lines arewrapped around the cafeteria and
the stadium is giving me handsdown energy.
A 12.5 million addition mighthelp if we don't get distracted

(06:48):
by another boiler in distress.
We got so many boiler problems.
My god, if you guys juststepped up when you were
supposed to years ago.
Can't really blame the currentboard on that one, but just
understand that if you're stillaround in council rock you
fucked up.
Next steps consultants arecooking up some refined numbers
that will age like milk wheninflation hits.
Priorities newtown, welshchancellor, holland.

(07:09):
And see ourselves, seeourselves.
Didn't that just get built like20 years ago?
Order may vary, but the pricetag sure won't.
And public comments parentswant art rooms, garden space,
foundation fixes that cost akidney.
Everyone agrees students shouldcome first, somewhere between
the hfx system and a six hundredthousand dollar lease.
Will never own.
I don't know what to tell you.
I'm dj esG, the best thing Ican say somebody.

(07:32):
Please call Tom Smith over atPenberry, the superintendent
over there, and have a long talkwith him, because he will tell
you how he takes absolutelynothing every year and takes
water and turns it into wine andwhile they're doing fantastic
over there at Pensberry, becausehe knows how to turn a penny
into a dollar.
One phone call done, tom SmithPensberry.
Call him.
Talk to him, he will tell youhow he does it.

(07:53):
It is amazing Once something'sdone right, call somebody from
Jersey.
I'm DJ ESG.
Peace, love and God above, andI'll be home eating Haagen-Dazs.
Talk to you later.