LMTSD_2020_21_ANNUAL_REPORT_DIGITAL_VERSION

Reuniting
Reconnecting
Learning Together

2020-2021
ANNUAL REPORT

Lower Moreland Township
School District

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Dear Lower Moreland Township School District and Community, This experience of coming together will serve us well in the future as
The theme of the District’s 2020-2021 Annual Report is “Reuniting, the District navigates new challenges including developing and imple-
Reconnecting, Learning Together.” This past year has highlighted what menting an equity action plan and building a new high school to take
can be achieved when our students, parents/guardians, faculty and the District into the future. We are also helping students and families
staff, School Board, and community members come together. The handle learning and schooling loss, and any social-emotional challeng-
District was fortunate enough to begin the school year offering hybrid es that they are facing as the pandemic winds down.
and virtual learning models, and then in March, to transition back to Before we look to the future, the District is immensely excited to share
offering in-person learning five days a week. These learning models this annual report summary with you and highlight the achievements
brought their own challenges from learning new schedules to re- of our students and staff.
membering to unmute yourself when speaking in a virtual classroom. Sincerely,
Despite the challenges, this could only have been achieved through Scott Davidheiser, Ed.D.
the partnership of District stakeholders who worked together to adapt Superintendent of Schools
to an ever-changing pandemic environment with one goal in mind:
to give our students the best experience possible for learning and for
their social-emotional well-being.

AROUND OUR SCHOOLS: POINTS OF PRIDE

Pine Road Elementary School n The eighth grade gifted support class
presented its city on the moon at the Future
n The Pine Road Nature Club planted flowers City Competition, Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
and bushes, and picked up trash to make the Murray Avenue won two awards, “Future World
school grounds look beautiful. Vision,” presented by the American Society of
Civil Engineers, Philadelphia Section, and Best
n To celebrate Martin Civil Engineering Design,” presented by
Luther King Day, Pine Urban Engineers.
Road students assembled
“King Kits” with toiletries, n Seventh and eighth
packaged breakfast items grade art students created
and cards to give to local clay pinwheels to bring
care facilities. awareness to Child Abuse
Prevention Month in
n Pine Road held its annual Multicultural Fair April. They joined Prevent
virtually this year. Students and families shared Child Abuse Pennsylvania
performances and photographs that help by participating in The
celebrate their culture and heritage. Since food Pinwheels for Prevention™
could not be shared in person, a multicultural campaign. The pinwheel is firmly established as
recipe book was created. the national symbol of child abuse prevention
and the campaign is designed to draw positive
attention to the topic of keeping children safe.

n In honor of Martin Luther King Day of Service,
Murray Avenue collected toiletries and made
fleece blankets for the Valley Youth House, an
organization that helps homeless teens.

Murray Avenue School

n Student teams from the sixth and eighth grade
gifted support classes were among the top scorers
in the state in the Pennsylvania Mathematics League
competition. Both teams placed first in the county
for their grade level divisions.

n Victoria Prybyslavskyy, seventh grade student, Lower Moreland High School
wrote an essay, which won the top prize in
Pennsylvania for the SIFMA Foundation’s Fall 2020 n The LMHS math team won a March Madness
National InvestWrite Competition. style competition by defeating 56 other
teams nationwide to win their bracket. In the
championship round, the top five Mathletes were:
Mihir Ram, Kevin Wang, Nidhi Ram, Brendan
Achildi and Manav Singh.

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n A team made up of Emmit Fitzgerald, Gopiga n At the 2021 National Jazz Festival, LMHS Jazz
Dass, Alyssa Sipman and David Volchonok took Ensemble won a Division L-3 Live Performance.
3rd place in the Annual Statistics Competition at John Kim was recognized with a Superior
the Fox School of Business. Musician Award and Jonah Bailis was recognized
with an Outstanding Musician Award.
n Three LMHS students found a silver lining in
the world of virtual education. As geography
was not a factor, Misha Bankulla, Selina Lin
and Gopiga Dass competed in the British
Bio-Olympiad. Bankulla and Lin won “Highly
Commended” virtual medals and Dass earned
a “Commended” designation.

n In November, The Richard David Kann n In the Class of 2021, there was one National
Foundation ran a National Sun Safety Awareness Merit $2500 Scholarship Winner, Grace Devlin,
Video PSA Contest. With more than eight and three National Merit Semifinalists: Brendon
participating schools across the country, the Achildi, Manav Singh and Cassidy Sudell.
LMHS Students Against Melanoma Club student
groups won 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. AP Scholar Recognition 2020
AP Scholars: 41
n Students Misha Bankulla, Gopiga Dass, Daniel AP Scholars with Honors: 23
Porotov, and their teacher, Nick Solomon, won the AP Scholars with Distinction: 31
4th Annual PennDOT Innovations Challenge. National AP Scholars: 2

NOTABLE DISTRICT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2020-2021

n U.S. News & World Report ranked n Philadelphia Magazine listed LMHS as one
LMHS 23rd in Pennsylvania and of the 40 Top-Rated Public High School in
851st nationwide. Philadelphia the suburbs.

n The website, Niche.com, ranked n The National Association of Music Merchants
the District 23rd in Pennsylvania and (NAMM) Foundation named LMTSD one of the
249th nationwide. Best Communities for Music Education.

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UNDERSTANDING THE 2021-22 BUDGET

During the 2021-22 budget planning process, the School Where the Money Comes From REVENUES
Board passed a resolution to not exceed the Act 1 Index of
3.0%. The actual tax increase needed to balance the budget Total Revenue $54,022,805 0.5% 1.3%
came in at 1.83%.
Local Revenue 42,847,313 (79.3%) 18.9% Local
Creating this budget was not an easy task. The pandemic State Revenue 10,221,510 (18.9%) 15.03% Revenue
has impacted the revenue side of the budget directly on Federal Revenue 273,233 (.5%) State
the interest earnings line item. The District has gone from *Fund Balance 680,749 (1.3%) Revenue
collecting over $450,000 in interest earnings to a budget Federal
number of $10,000 due to the drastic drop in interest rates. 54,022,805 Revenue
Fund
On the expense side, important positions that were 18.81% 79.3% Balance
previously covered by state and federal funding – such as a
Behavioral Specialist and a School Resource Officer – had to Where the Money Goes Salaries 22,956,854 (42.5%)
be factored into the 2021-22 budget, minus outside funding Benefits 13,769,631 (25.5%)
to cover them. Fortunately, federal ESSER II and ESSER III Total Expenditures $54,022,805 Contracted Services 3,718,778 (6.9%)
dollars are still available to address learning loss and social/ 50 Other Purchased Services 6,531,647 (12.1%)
emotional needs. Supplies/Equipment 2,133,953 (3.9%)
42.5%
Finally, the District had to account for a one-year extension
to the teacher’s contract with salary and benefits increases 40
included on the expense side.
30 25.5% Debt Service/Fund Transfers 4,801,942 (8.9%)
As always, the Board and administration strive to be
careful stewards of tax dollars while delivering an excellent Budgetary Reserve 110,000 (0.2%)
education to LMTSD students. Sharpening their pencils,
officials went through the budget line by line to find savings. 20 12.1%

10 6.9% 3.9% 8.9%
0
Salaries Bene ts Contracted Other Supplies/ Debt Service/ 0.2%
Services Purchased Equipment Fund Transfers
Budgetary
Reserve
Services

LOWER MORELAND ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS:

League Champions State Champions
• Girls Tennis • B oys Swimming 400
• Boys Cross Country
• Boys Swim & Dive Freestyle Relay
• Boys Tennis • Noah Ferker
• Greg Landis
22 Individual League Champions • Jude Blumhardt
• Jaden Feldman
District Team Champions
• Boys Swim & Dive 4

• Boys Tennis
District I Individual Champions
• Sue Bin Park - 200 Individual Medley & 100

Breaststroke
• Sam Becker - 500 Freestyle
• Boys 200 Medley Relay
• Greg Landis - 200 Individual Medley
• Noah Ferker - 200 Freestyle
• Boys 400 Freestyle Relay
District Runner Ups
• Girls Swimming
• Boys Cross Country
7 Individual District Runner Ups

DISTRICT ESTABLISHES DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION COUNCIL

Lower Moreland Township School District The Council is working with the cultural
has initiated a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion proficiency consulting firm, BMW & Associates,
Council consisting of key stakeholder groups to develop a three-to-five year action plan that is
such as parents/guardians, students, staff and centered on the following areas:
community members. The Council, which
had its initial meeting in April 2021, will make n Culturally Responsive Policies and Procedures
recommendations to the Board of School n Culture, Climate and Safety
Directors on policies and practices, programs n Culturally Responsive Curriculum
and professional development. n Culturally Responsive Staff Development
n Family and Community Engagement

To read more about
the Council and the
development of the
action plan, please visit
the Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion webpage that
is linked on the District’s
website, www.lmtsd.org.

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS FOR NEW HIGH SCHOOL

Construction just commenced in June on the new electrical contractor, and Stan-Roch Plumbing Inc.
Lower Moreland High School and is expected as plumbing contractor. In total, the construction
to be completed for the start of the 2023-2024 contracts, as well as the projected pre- and post-
school year.
Plans for the construction
new building expenses, came
began in in under the total
2019 due to projected budget
increased of $70 million.
enrollment
projections.
The new high
school will be
an 187,000
square-foot
building
for 1,000
students, and located near the current high
school’s athletic fields. Murray Avenue Middle
School will be demolished and grades 5-8 will
move into the current high school building.

In April of 2021, the Lower Moreland Township
School Board of Directors approved bids for
the four prime contractors in conjunction with
the new high school project. Bid awards were
made to Boro Construction as both general
and mechanical contractor, Philips Brothers as

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CHEERS TO THE CLASS OF 2021!

Of the 192 Class of 2021 graduates, 94 percent plan
to continue their education while others will join the

military or workforce.
Lower Moreland High School graduates are headed off
to 56 colleges and universities this fall and earned more
than $5 million in scholarships over the next four years.

Class of 2021 graduates plan to attend:
Drexel University, The George Washington University,
University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Temple
University, Vanderbilt University, Villanova University,

Yale University.
We wish all our graduates success and

joy on their journeys ahead!

DO YOU HAVE A PAW PASS? n Free entry to ​Paw Pass   
regular season Card 
If you’re a Lower Moreland resident age 60 football, basketball,
or older, become a Lower Moreland Paw Pass and wrestling  
card holder! The Paw Pass entitles you to free or athletic events Cardholder’s Name: 
discounted rates to LMTSD theatre productions, played in the
sporting events, and enrichment programs. District      _________________________
Paw Pass card holders receive:   
n Free entry to the dress rehearsal of the
Murray Avenue and LMHS drama club OA pTfrhsfociicsdheuceaacdtrtuid(ol2ene1ons5f,t)mie9tll3uieg8ssi-ibt0chla2ee7le2ccvoaoenrrndcotehsnroittlssdh,aeesvrpwatoioerlbatfisrbnieltgeeebeeavnytetcwrnaywtlslow,inra.gdldmiutshtlctseodeuDn.onirsrtitgecr.dh icmrtaeAtnedtsmctlioandsissrtearsma, teaito cn.   
productions
n Free entry to the Saturday matinee of n Discounted rates for adult enrichment
the LMHS spring musical courses
n Discounted rates to the other drama club
show times SIGN UP TODAY!

Request a card and schedule of events by
calling 215-938-0272 or email [email protected].

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