Rep. Warren Kampf to Visit Phoenixville School Board

In a special meeting open to the public Thursday, State Rep. Warren Kampf (R-Chester/Montgomery) will meet with the board and discuss several potential pieces of legislation that might affect public schools.

Kampf recently introduced a bill that would exempt school districts from paying prevailing wage for public works contracts. Under the bill, districts can opt in to pay prevailing wage if they wish.

In a press release on the bill, Kampf explained that prevailing wage is set by bureaucrats and based on the union rate in the state’s two biggest cities.

“In some cases, that inflates wages well above what that contractor’s work is worth in a particular location,” the press release states.

Phoenixville Area School District has several building projects in the works and a potential East Pikeland Elementary School expansion is planned for the future.

Kampf may also address the potential economic furloughs bill, according to Sean Dempsey, Kampf’s chief of staff. Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster) sought support for introducing the bill in the state house on Jan. 21. On the state senate side, Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) is looking to introduce a bill dealing with economic furloughs as well.

According to an article on PennLive.com, “State law permits districts to furlough their tenured professional staff only if enrollment declines substantially. They can reduce staff if a program is eliminated or if a school consolidation or school district reorganization requires it. [Folmer] is looking to introduce legislation that would add economic necessity to this list.”

The school board meeting will take place Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room at the administration building. Dempsey said Kampf held similar meetings in two other area school districts.