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The Antietam School District (ASD) does not have an adequate local tax base to support the demands of a K-12 school dist...
12/04/2025

The Antietam School District (ASD) does not have an adequate local tax base to support the demands of a K-12 school district. There is no sustainable path to educational excellence for the district.

A summary of the statistics below shows that the ASD is supported by a community that contains 2% of the households in Berks County, 4,748 individuals between the ages of 18-64, per capita and median household incomes below the PA and Berks County average, 70% of the population with an average income of less than $100K and a median owner-occupied housing value below the PA and Berks County average.

Add to that the lack of a significant business and commercial tax base and you have the basis for why ASD is unsustainable.

Fair-funding at the state level will not erase the structural deficiency in the local tax base. Conflating the two issues obscures that reality.

Size: 5.2 sq mi - Second smallest school district by area in Berks County. Wyomissing (3.5 sq mi) is the smallest.

Population: 8,049. 18-64 – 4,748 (59%); Under 18 – 1,770 (22%); Over 65 – 1,609 (20%)
18-64 – -1% PA, -1% Berks County average
Under 18 - +1 PA, same as Berks County average
Over 65 – +1% PA, +10% Berks County average

Per Capita Income: $32,242 – 80% of PA, 90% of Berks County average income

Median Household Income: $65,130 – 90% of PA, 80% of Berks County average income
Under 50K – 34% of population
50K-100K – 36% of population
100K-200K – 24% of population
Over200K – 5% of population

Households: 3,328 – 2% of households in Berks County (161,701 households)

Housing Units: 3,502
Owner Occupied – 70%; +1% of PA, -1% Berks County average
Renter Occupied – 30%; -1% of PA, +1% Berks County average.

Median Value Owner Occupied Housing: $187,400; 80% of PA and Berks County average value.

•Data derived from American Community Survey using US Census Bureau 2023-2025 statistics

•Margin of error +-10%

•Source: Census Reporter (censusreporter.org)

Congratulations to the winning candidates in our community elections.To those who were elected to the Antietam School Di...
11/06/2025

Congratulations to the winning candidates in our community elections.

To those who were elected to the Antietam School District Board of Directors (ASD BOD), we wish you well in facing the challenges ahead.

To Cat Loveland and Ed Gensemer, we are proud of the campaign you ran, one of ideas, analysis and data, devoid of dirty tricks and innuendo. You played to win, but not at all costs.

To the 700+ voters who voted for Cat and Ed, we appreciate your support for their message of inclusion, objectivity and change.

We knew it would be an uphill battle. Taking on the establishment is never easy and doing so in a small community where the centers of power are jealously guarded made the task even more daunting.

We will continue to advocate for an objective analysis of the ASD, using facts and data to examine the quality of education as well as affordability, sustainability, accountability, fiscal responsibility and transparency in regard to school district affairs.

This has never been about one election. Our goal is to encourage an ongoing, thorough review of how education is delivered to our students and how the ASD effects all residents, with the hope that one day our community will be relieved of the negative impact associated with a substandard education at a high cost.

It doesn't matter how it happens or what form it takes, but if we cannot achieve that objective, our students will suffer, and the community will decline.

If the ASD can fulfill that goal, we will support it. If not, all residents should not be held hostage for the benefit of some.

There is work to be done. Discontent and resentment are growing. The longer those in power ignore that fact and the more they pretend that the concerns are not valid, the more the resistance will grow and the stronger the recoil will be when it comes.

Every voice and every viewpoint matters. We should strive to find the common denominator that will unite us. We are a better community together.

11/05/2025

To all our amazing supporters, thank you. You all stood by us through this, helped us gain momentum and kept us going. I am extremely proud to know we had all of you in our corner.

Unfortunately this election did not go in our favor however, this community still has a voice and it will be expressed as loudly as possible. Change is never achieved by staying silent.

♥️
Cat

11/05/2025

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all of our supporters in this endeavor. Although it did not end they way we were hoping, we do appreciate all the help and positive feedback we received from you. We met many new friends and had some great conversation. Lets hope the next 2 years go by fast and we can try to make a difference again.

Ed

"A Veggie Tale That Won’t Pick Your Pocket"Why bother with the meat and potatoes of education when you can get by with a...
11/02/2025

"A Veggie Tale That Won’t Pick Your Pocket"

Why bother with the meat and potatoes of education when you can get by with a sampler tray of $60,000.00 in administrative staff stipends, $225,000.00 in equipment purchases, $113,000.00 to remove hazardous materials, $3500.00 for a mop sink, $3800.00 for water lines and a hand sink, $54,000.00 in signage, $80,000.00 worth of mold removal, $242/hr. for attorney fees, all in just nine months, all paid for on the company expense account?

Throw in 10+- million dollars for an unfinished high school and 32 million for an unsinkable K-3 primary school built on the “high ground” and that’s more than we can say grace over.

Who’s eating good in the neighborhood? At $165,000.00K + this year’s raise, will the Superintendent have to loosen his vest? Is the Facilities Manager, making $121,220.00K + this year’s raise, getting too big for his britches?

Starting teachers make $52K and taxpayers pay the highest tax rate in the county? Will they have to tighten their belts a little more?

Are you tired of a steady diet of mistakes and excuses?

Are those 5%+ annual tax hikes sticking in your throat?

Are you ready to throw out the leftovers and try something new before we all end up in the soup line?

Vote for a better menu. We've got nothing to lose but the high cost of a poor education and we might end up with enough change to put food on the table and pay our taxes.

Cat Loveland and Ed Gensemer, fresh ideas, crisp analysis, a well-seasoned approach, more carrot and less shtick, a better diet for better health!

The End

Blind loyalty led to the condition we find ourselves in. Facts, critical thinking and objective planning are the prescri...
10/30/2025

Blind loyalty led to the condition we find ourselves in. Facts, critical thinking and objective planning are the prescription for recovery

Time for a change or more of the same? A better education for our students at a price we can afford or poor outcomes wit...
10/29/2025

Time for a change or more of the same? A better education for our students at a price we can afford or poor outcomes with 5% annual tax hikes?

Can we afford more of the same?

WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO? Please share this post with friends and family who reside in the Antietam School District (...
10/18/2025

WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?

Please share this post with friends and family who reside in the Antietam School District (ASD) and follow this page for updates.

A recent post detailed the increase in the ASD budget from 2019/20—2025/26 (43.7%) as well as the increase in federal funding (96% plus $5,000,000.00+ in COVID supplemental funds), state funding (47%) and local funding (26%) during the same period.

With significant increases in funding over the past seven years, where does all the money go?

We know one line item that wasn’t adequately funded: insurance on the former Middle School / High School (MS / HS).

ASD taxpayers never received a credible explanation for why the MS / HS was insured for only three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) in property damage during a period when the ASD budget was increasing at an average rate of 6% a year.

The only public statement offered was that it would have been “fiscally irresponsible” to insure the building for more.

That reasoning resulted in a forty-five million-dollar plus ($45,000,000.00 +) mistake.

The expenditures listed below were approved during the nine-month period between December 2024 – September 2025 with the exception of the ongoing stipends to the Facilities Manager, which cover the period from October 2023 – December 2025.

The accompanying graph shows the increase in compensation for the ASD Supervisor of Maintenance and Facilities / Facilities Director position between 2020 and December 2025. It does not include any salary increase for the 2025-2026 school year. The data for the graph was assembled from ASD BOD meeting minutes and OPENPAGOV.

Not included in the list below are the major expenditures associated with the ongoing renovation of Antietam High School and the collapse of the front area of the high school.

Also not included are the major expenses associated with the demolition of the MS / HS or the construction of the new K-3 primary school.

$79,986.00 - Mold Remediation in Elementary School (Sept 2025)

$1885.00 - Ratify Ronnie C. Folk Paving for paving repairs done at the Stony Creek Elementary site. (Sept. 2025)

$10,500.00 (3500.00 x 3) - Stipends to three secretaries (Aug. 2025) Approved 8-0

$10,000.00 ($5000 x 2) - Stipends to two secretaries (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$5000.00 - Raise to one secretary (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$43,100.00 - Stipends to Facilities Director: $10,600.00 (Oct. 2023); $7500.00 (July 2024); $5000.00 (Sept.2024); $5000.00 (Dec. 2024); $5000.00 (March 2025); $5000.00 (June 2025); $5000.00 (Sept 2025)

$5000.00 – quarterly stipend to Facilities Director (Dec. 2025)

$9618.00 - Reassignment of Supervisor of Special Education to Director of Special Education and salary adjustment from $100,382.31 to $110,000.00 effective. Approved 7-0, one abstention.

$111,235.00 - 024 F550 Dump Truck with snow removal equipment (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$19,256.00 - Additional hazardous materials removal at the Stony Creek Elementary School site (formerly MS/HS) (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$7000.00 - Remove tree in front of Kerry C. Hoffman Elementary (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$5435.00 - Asphalt repair at HS (Aug 2025) Approved 8-0

$79,239.88 - Bob Cat S 76 T4 Skid Steer Loader and snowblower package from Bobcat of Reading Costars #16330. (June 2025) Approved 8-0

$8250.00 - Approve Pro Max Fence systems for work to realign fence and entrances for Mod's due to construction on the new Stony Creek Elementary School. (May 2025) Approved 9-0

$5150.00 - Resurfacing of the front facade by BE Stucco at the Kerry C Hoffman Intermediate School in preparation for the new lettering to be installed (May 2025) Approved 9-0

$14,646.00 - Restoration and Maintenance of A-Field (Apr 2025) Approved 9-0

$54,373.34 - Bartush Signs to build and install new signage at the Antietam High School at a cost of $24,875.34 and to install signage and new building lettering at Kerry C. Hoffman Intermediate School. (Mar 2025) Approved 8-0

$20,078.00 - Approve the purchase and installation of 4 one-trip cube containers for storage during the construction period from Union Blue Enterprises. (Mar 2025) Approved 8-0

$6989.00 - Installation of the DMP Panic Button system for the Stony Creek Modulars and movement of the Panic Button system from the former MS/HS building to the District Office Building by BSGI. (Mar. 2025) Approved 8-0

$98,206.00 - Hazardous material abatement at the former MS / HS to accommodate the construction of the new Stony Creek Elementary Center to Ecoservices LLC of Exton PA. (Feb 2025) Approved 8-0

$15,500.00 - Eldredge Inc. for removal and disposal of the chemicals in the lab at the MS/HS building located at 100 Antietam Road. (Feb 2025) Approved 8-0

$3583.00 - Vision Mechanical to remove and replace existing mop sink in Custodian B003 located at the Antietam High School. (January 2025) Approve 8-0

$3823.49 - Vision Mechanical to install new water lines and handwash sink in Serving A019 in cafeteria located at the Antietam High School. (Jan 2025) Approve 8-0

$137,300.00 - Approve the purchase and installation of new playground equipment from Hertz Furniture for the Stony Creek Elementary Center. Funding provided by Job Training and Education Programs grants and general fund. (Jan 2025) Approve 8-0

$36,822.30 - Approve the purchase of snow removal equipment from Passmore Service Center. (Dec 2024) Approved 8-0

$242/Hr. Solicitor, $202/Hr. Associates, $170/Hr. Paralegals - Approve Brian F. Boland of Kozloff Stoudt as solicitor at a rate of $242/hour for the 2025 calendar year, associate rate of $202.00 per hour, and paralegal rate of $170.00 per hour (Dec 2024) Approved 8-0

Source: ASD BOD Minutes Dec. 2024 – Aug. 2025, ASD BOD Agenda Sept. 2025

November 4th is fast approaching. Please share.
10/17/2025

November 4th is fast approaching. Please share.

Please share this post with friends and family who reside in the Antietam School District (ASD) and follow this page for...
10/11/2025

Please share this post with friends and family who reside in the Antietam School District (ASD) and follow this page for further updates.

We’ve been told the ASD does not have enough money. Some contend that inadequate funding at the state level is the primary cause.

While funding for education is a state-wide issue, a review of income sources for the ASD over the past seven years offers a more accurate picture.

The ASD annual budget increased from $20.3 million to $29.1 million between 2019/20 and 2025/26. That represents a 43.4% increase.

State Funding to the ASD over the same period increased 47%.

Local Funding to the ASD over the same period rose 26%. Increased school taxes accounted for 25.1% of that amount.

Federal Funding over the same period increased 96% with a notable exception. Due to special COVID allotments, federal contributions to the ASD increased 141% in 2020/21; 272% in 2021/22; 527% in 2022/23; and 406% in 2023/24, resulting in $5+ million above 2019/20 federal funding levels in those four years alone.

The ASD also borrowed money by issuing municipal bonds in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025.

So, while funding from local, state and federal sources rose significantly over seven years, debt also increased, and deficit budgets became the norm (The Final General Account Budget for 2025/26, approved by a vote of 7-1 with Director Stief dissenting, reflected a $700,000.00 deficit in addition to a 5.21% tax increase.).

During the same period, the ASD Middle School / High School was designated as a Low Achieving School (bottom 15% in PA) each year.

Additional financial resources did not produce a proportional increase in the quality of education. Inadequate oversight, inexperienced administrators, questionable decision-making and poor ex*****on contributed to that lack of improvement.

The ASD suffers from a leadership deficit. Nothing will change until residents and parents demand competence, transparency and accountability.

The greatest threat to public education is poor public education. We cannot continue to pay more and settle for less.

We need new leaders with a different approach. A better future for our community depends on it.

Note: The red numbers on the right of the line graph show the ASD Annual Budget in millions of dollars. The black numbers on the left show the state and local funding in millions of dollars.

Source: ASD Annual Financial Reports (2019/20-2023/24), ASD Final General Fund Budgets (2024/25, 2025/26)

Reprinted with permission of the authors.

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Reading, PA
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