Reading School District Running Deficit Of Nearly $1 Million

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Four months into the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Reading School District is already running at a nearly $1 million deficit, the school board learned Monday night.

Robert Peters, chief financial officer, presented the board with a status update on the 2013-14 budget at a committee of the whole meeting.

He said unexpected increases in expenses and decreases in revenues have the district facing a $952,000 deficit.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=517608

Easton Approves $1 Million Grant For Public Market Project

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Easton will get a public market in every way.

City Council voted Wednesday to give the Greater Easton Development Partnership, a city-run and supported entity, $1 million toward turning the former Weller Health Education Center into a public market.  The market would occupy much of the first floor of the building, in the 300 block of Northampton St., and feature small shops run by local food producers and vendors.

Council voted 5-2 on the grant, with Elinor Warner and Roger Ruggles in opposition. GEDP plans to pay back the grant, but since the deal had to be structured as a grant, there is no guarantee of repayment.  That irked Ruggles. Warner questioned whether the market could generate enough money to payback the city, and whether it was a good investment of tax payer money.

“I just think the public market shouldn’t be paid for by the public,” Warner said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-city-council-approves-alpha-building-sal-20130912,0,7723454.story#ixzz2egokxgcm 
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Twin Valley Trims $1 Million, Approves Tentative Budget

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After weeks of closed-door discussions, the Twin Valley School Board approved a $53.35 million tentative budget Monday, closing a $1 million shortfall with a combination of staff cuts, tax hikes and even a new revenue stream for 2013-14.

The list of staff cuts, previously undisclosed, includes furloughing a business teacher; not replacing three teachers – one full-time and two part-time – who have submitted resignation letters; not renewing two temporary teachers; and reducing a full-time art teacher to part time.  Also eliminated are 14 assistant middle and high school coaching positions and four assistant high school club advisers.

“We certainly would have liked to have done it a different way,” Dr. Robert F. Pleis, superintendent, said after the meeting.  “We don’t want to lose personnel.  That’s not our goal.”

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=477019

Scranton Shop Sells $1 Million Powerball Ticket

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MIDDLETOWN – As the Powerball jackpot has rolled again to $183 million for the March 13 drawing, one Powerball ticket worth $1 million from the March 9 drawing was sold at Convenient Food Mart, 1100 Moosic St., Scranton, Lackawanna County.

The ticket correctly matched all five white balls, 10-37-40-46-52, but not the red Powerball 12, for a $1 million second-tier prize, less 25 percent federal withholding.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/340977/Moosic-Street-shop-sells-$1-million-Powerball-ticket

Geisinger Study To Examine Health Effects Of Gas Drilling

English: Cropped portion of image from USGS report showing extent of Marcellus Formation shale (in gray shading). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DANVILLE – A Pennsylvania health company said it has gotten a $1 million grant to study possible health impacts of natural gas drilling on the Marcellus Shale.

Geisinger Health System said Monday that the Degenstein Foundation had awarded the money to help underwrite what it called a “large-scale, scientifically rigorous assessment” of the drilling.

Most of the money will be used for data-gathering, and some will go toward developing studies of the data. Officials said they expect other funders to come forward.

The study is to look at detailed health histories of hundreds of thousands of patients who live near wells and other facilities that are producing natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation thousands of feet underground.

Read more:  http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/568967/Geisinger-study-to-examine-health-effects-of-gas-drilling.html?nav=742

Reading Fire Department Gets Grant Of Nearly $1 Million

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The Reading Fire Department has won a grant of nearly $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer announced Thursday at his third-in-three-days public meeting about reopening the 2012 budget.

The office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called him late in the afternoon to announce the city had been approved for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $999,781, Spencer told about 50 people at the Historical Society of Berks County, 940 Centre Ave.

He said he was told it was by far the largest of 10 grants totaling $1.56 million awarded to fire departments in the state. Casey is a Scranton Democrat.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=360291