Board Meeting: January 31, 2000
Minutes
BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT JANUARY 31, 2000
BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
REGULAR MEETING
The Regular Meeting of the Board of School Directors of the Bethlehem Area School
District was held on January 31, 2000, beginning at 8:35 p.m., in the Auditorium,
at East Hills Middle School, 2005 Chester Road, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
MEMBERS PRESENT
The Board Secretary called the roll: Members present: Directors Craig, Glancy,
Heske, Leeson, Venanzi, Williams, and Koch - 7. Members absent: Directors Amato
and Gallagher - 2. Student member representatives Ann Fischer and Joseph Svetecz
were also present.
OTHERS PRESENT
Thomas J. Doluisio, Superintendent of Schools; Paul Stevens, Solicitor; Stanley
J. Majewski, Jr., Board Secretary; administrators; members of the press and other
interested citizens and staff members.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
At this point in the meeting, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
SILENT MEDITATION
President Koch requested that the audience observe a moment of silent meditation.
SPECIAL MEETINGS
Mr. Doluisio reported the following executive session of the board:
An executive session of the Board of School Directors was
held this evening from 7:15 to 7:30 to discuss student discipline.
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS
The following persons addressed the Board of School Directors:
1. Edward Pfeiffer, 2714 Lafayette Avenue, Bethlehem, stated he thought it was
very interesting that the people who were there before were talking about some
financial concerns. He stated that is what he is bringing to the meeting this
evening. He stated the school board members are not good stewards in terms of
protecting the interests of the taxpayer. A few months ago a very nice
teacher/football coach at Freedom High School was basically fired because the
school district, having that prerogative, said, "We wanted to go in another
direction." Mr. Pfeiffer stated the school district has the right to hold them
accountable and he has the right to hold the school district accountable. That
is what he is going to do this evening. Mr. Pfeiffer stated his first complaint
is what he calls "a conspiracy of silence." He doesn't know how not one
individual can speak out about a $150,000,000 debt. It reminds him of "If they
don't ask, we won't tell them." He stated he is a taxpayer and he had to ask for
that figure. It is a shame. This administration should be compelled to provide
a statement just as the president provides the "State of the Union" and as Mayor
Cunningham gave a "State of the City" address. Taxpayers get nothing from the
school district. It is an obligation and matter of good legislative policy to
insist that the superintendent give to the taxpayers that kind of accountability.
That should be a top priority. His budget is three times that of the city.
That is significant.
It also bothers him that there is not proper scrutinization of administrative
statements. It starts basically with the budget that is now being prepared. Mr.
Doluisio makes comments about aggressively cutting costs. The bottom line is
that any way you look at it, if you look at the way he runs his own office, for
example in 1997 approximately $172,000 was used. That escalated to $339,000 in
1999. Mr. Pfeiffer stated he thinks the press has an obligation not to report on
how much paper is saved, but to look at substantive issues. There are some
things that must be addressed. The problem is accountability.
Mr. Pfeiffer wanted to address the question of the relationship of certain people
on the board with a very controversial political consultant, Michael Solomon.
Michael Solomon this evening was dismissed or his resignation was called for by
Northampton County. Three people on this board have a relationship with Mr.
Solomon as a consultant. The point he is trying to make is that later on, all
this man had to do was change his corporate logo, come back before the school
board, and he got a job with the district for $30,000 a year. He stated if that
is not conflict of interests, and that seems to be part of the act that's playing
out in Northampton County, we have a serious problem. He reiterated that
Bethlehem School District has to take a look at itself. He stated he has
received numerous phone calls from ex-administrators and ex-board members,
retired and active teachers saying the school district has to change the way it
looks and the way it does business.
Mr. Pfeiffer stated that, in terms of stewardship, Mr. Villani made a remark a
couple of weeks ago which was in the newspaper stating that we could only save
about $800,000 to $900,000 if we renovated the two elementary schools having a
price of $19,000,000. He stated that $800,000 is still a substantial sum of
money. In this morning's Morning Call, it was stated that Pennridge is doing two
elementary schools, adding a gymnasium, for $7,000,000, but the schools will be
renovated. The message has to be gotten across to the board "Bricks and mortar
do not an education make." Keep the perimeter walls up; do the renovations.
There is an obligation to the taxpayers to look at the alternative. He stated
this is the point he is trying to make in terms of stewardship. This obligation
has not been met, as far as he is concerned.
2. Craig Zieger stated that a good teacher knows when to change direction and
to do something a little bit different. That is his plan. The board will be
honored in February for National School Board month. This is the last day of
National School Board month and due to the inclement weather this almost did not
happen. Mr. Zieger stated he has known most of the board members for quite a
while. Some members have been on the board for the seven years during which he
has been president of the Bethlehem Education Association. Some members have
just come on. Even with the changed faces, the philosophy has always been the
support of public school education in Bethlehem. The board has demonstrated this
consistently throughout the years in support of programs such as S.P.A.R.K.,
lowering class sizes at the elementary level, intervention type programs, special
education. The board has supported other initiatives, particularly the Code of
Conduct, which has made it possible to get some control in the classrooms so that
students can meet the standards being applied in this district. The board has
supported programs like the high school restructuring, middle school
restructuring, and the New Standards initiative which is ongoing right now. More
importantly, when the BEA as an association has brought concerns relative to
these items, the board has listened, investigated concerns, and discussed those
concerns with members of the administration, community, and responded to the BEA.
Mr. Zieger, on behalf of the Bethlehem Education Association, thanked the board
for their support of public school education, the teachers, and the students of
this district.
3. Sue Chambers, 3325 Abbey Court, Bethlehem, stated that in recognition of
School Board Appreciation Month, the Freedom High School PTO would like to
express their thanks for all the board has done to improve the Bethlehem Area
School District. The board's leadership has paved the way for our school
district to be the state leader in many areas, mostly notably the New Standards
curriculum, which is the model for 500 other Pennsylvania school districts to
emulate. The Code of Conduct and a new Crisis Management Plan have been
introduced, which have undoubtedly made our schools safer for our students.
Block scheduling, another innovation, has provided new learning opportunities.
Schools give our children the foundation they need to succeed in the world.
Children are our future. The PTO commended and thanked the board for supporting
and leading our school district towards a successful future.
PRESIDENT'S COMMUNICATIONS
President Koch spoke for her fellow board members who put in so many hours of
questioning and arguing with the administration, sometimes as they are sitting
and grinding their teeth because the board is questioning what they are doing.
People that really know how the school district functions know that the true
business of the district is happening at the committee meetings. That's where the
board raises questions. She doesn't see how a person who has never been to a
committee meeting can possibly know whether the board has questioned any thing or
not. This regular meeting is where the board just approves items that have
already been discussed.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Mr. Doluisio echoed Mr. Zieger's statement regarding the school board
recognition. The board will be appropriately honored at the February meeting.
Mr. Doluisio stated that another charter school hearing must be scheduled for the
Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School due to the cancellation of the
January 25 hearing. The board agreed to schedule this for February 9, 2000, at 6
p.m. in the auditorium at East Hills Middle School.
Mr. Doluisio welcomed and introduced four men who are here from Puerto Rico as
part of an exchange program: Luis Nevarez is an elementary school teacher in
Puerto Rico and will be hosted by Spring Garden Elementary School, Carlos
Rodriguez is a junior high school English as a Second Language teacher in Puerto
Rico and will be hosted by Broughal Middle School, Jesus Cruz is a high school
Spanish teacher in Puerto Rico and will be hosted by Liberty High School in the
foreign language department, and Jose Sanchez is a high school business marketing
teacher in Puerto Rico and will be hosted by Liberty High School in the business
department. This program is an initiative put together by Mrs. Cintr—n with the
York City Schools and the Puerto Rico Department of Education. It is funded
through the Educate America Grant. Four teachers will travel to Puerto Rico from
our district and begin teaching on February 2. The four teachers from Puerto
Rico arrived Saturday, January 29.
Mrs. Cintr—n thanked Mr. Doluisio and the school board for the opportunity to
apply for this joint grant with the York City Schools. The four teachers from
Puerto Rico are anxious and ready. A reception was planned for this afternoon
and was canceled due to the snow storm.
Mr. Doluisio complimented Mrs. Cintr—n for finding the funds to support this
innovative exchange program. The four teachers traveling to Puerto Rico will
bring back a lot of rich exchanges that will benefit the children in our school
district.
Mr. Doluisio stated he has been holding off for several months in responding to
Mr. Pfeiffer. He stated it is necessary to invoke the rule of years past to
correct misinformation that is cast about regarding the school district. For the
past several months Mr. Pfeiffer has, either by letters to the editor or courtesy
of the floor, cast misinformation out about this school district. He stated he
cannot let that stand as the final word. The school district means too much to
all to let his misinformation stand as representing what is going on in the
Bethlehem Area School District.
Mr. Doluisio referred to Mr. Pfeiffer's statement during the summer that there
was a 35% increase in the driver education budget. That was not true then and is
not true now. He stated he would be happy to have Mr. Pfeiffer understand the
budget so that he could then reflect accurate facts when speaking publicly.
Just before the Christmas holidays, Mr. Doluisio read a letter to the editor from
Mr. Pfeiffer indicating that he had a $37,000 or $38,000 travel expense account.
That is not true.
Mr. Pfeiffer indicated in August that there were teachers and administrators that
were on district time, "double-dipping" and taking salaries for consulting. That
is not true. Mr. Doluisio added that he has spoken to the people he was
referring to.
Mr. Doluisio stated that in Mr. Pfeiffer's letter to the editor and as he did
tonight, Mr. Pfeiffer continues to not build that equation between the
$129,000,000 that this community and this board has supported through various
bond issues, continuing not to "get it" when it comes to what that means to the
benefit of 14,000 children in this district and their education. Mr. Pfeiffer
doesn't equate the technology, new HVAC systems, new lighting, plus more to
benefiting children's education. For that, he is misrepresenting the facts of
the Bethlehem Area School District.
Mr. Doluisio continued, stating that Mr. Pfeiffer tonight indicates that the
superintendent's office has a $339,000 budget. Various cabinet members have
various items residing in their budget. For example, Mr. Villani has a hefty
electric bill because all the electric bills reside within his budget. Mr.
Doluisio explained that he has travel residing within his budget for teachers and
administrators. This $339,000 is a collapsing of various line items representing
things needed to run the school district.
Mr. Doluisio stated he has made a decision that whenever there is a courtesy of
the floor commentary in which someone misrepresents the truth and facts about
this school district, he will not let that stand as the final word. Mr. Doluisio
stated he will apologize to no one for trying to provide state-of-the-art
facilities. We build very functional, utilitarian schools that are wholesome,
clean, environmentally sound, technologically sound. This community is willing
to support that. The district has borrowed $129,000,000. That is no secret. He
complimented the community for caring this much about their public schools that
they support these expenditures. Mr. Doluisio will be reporting back to the
community as misrepresentations occur so that the true word of the Bethlehem Area
School District becomes the final word. He stated he is very proud of the
condition of this district and the people that have something to do with running
this district.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Facilities Committee - Director Heske reported that the Facilities Committee met
on Monday, January 10. The committee had an update on the construction projects.
The projects are on schedule. Eight items relative to facilities improvements
were debated and appear on tonight's agenda. A classroom security panic device
was discussed. A solution presented by the administration costing perhaps
$350,000 was considered. The committee asked the administration to investigate
further to seek a more reasonable solution. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Finance Committee - Director Glancy reported that the Finance Committee met on
January 24. The meeting started with open forum. Director Craig questioned the
status of the safety grant proposal. The district received $99,950 which was
less than half of the $200,000 applied for. The district purchased 22 security
cameras, 17 of which have been installed in the elementary schools. The hope is
that this is a recurring grant and that the difference can be made up in coming
years. Dr. Garrigan discussed and explained the proposed school board
communication project, placing board agendas and minutes on the internet for easy
access. Mr. Majewski discussed the five-year projections. He informed the board
that the district may face a significant tax increase due to increases in debt
service payments, salaries, and health benefit costs which are expected to rise
in excess of 20%. Planning and budgeting guidelines were discussed. Dates of
budget presentation to the board, press, and public, and dates of public hearings
were discussed. Mr. Majewski also advised the board that he is considering
purchasing insurance instead of retaining the district self-insured status for
the administration of the district's workers' compensation program. It appears
that it is no longer cost effective to be self-insured.
Curriculum Committee - Director Williams reported that the Curriculum Committee
met Monday, January 10. The Academic Standards long-range plan was presented.
Mrs. Hubbard and Mr. Villani began the presentation. The introductory video was
viewed. It is one of 25. The video is excellent. Subsequent videos will be
seen at future meetings. Key questions were addressed. The content of the
Academic Standards workshops was reviewed. Subcommittees in the areas of
grading, graduation requirements, portfolio assessment, promotion/retention, and
special education reported on what has been done and what needs to be done.
There were a lot of discussion points with many questions from board members
including how district-wide practices can better be implemented. The truly
monumental nature of this task of implementing academic standards in the district
was noted. While much has been done already, there is still much to be done.
Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 - Director Williams announced that the IU meeting
originally scheduled for last Wednesday will take place this week.
Human Resources Committee - Director Craig reported that the Human Resources
Committee met on Monday, January 24. Ninety-nine percent of the meeting was in
executive session regarding personnel issues.
Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School - Director Craig reported that the
Vo-Tech Board met on Tuesday, January 4. Most of the meeting was devoted to
regular business. There was a presentation that evening with 75 juniors in the
construction cluster recognized for achieving registered apprenticeships with the
U.S. Department of Labor. That means they attained a level of proficiency in
their area above and beyond the normal school scope. This school is one of only
two schools statewide that participated successfully in that program. Over 50 of
these students were Bethlehem Area School District students. Mr. Craig stated
that if one hasn't gotten to Vo-Tech and seen some of the things done there, one
is missing out. It is not the Vo-Tech he thought of when he was a teacher.
Brilliant things are going on there.
Northampton Community College - President Koch stated that the Community College
meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Directors Venanzi and Glancy to approve the minutes of the
December 6, 1999, Reorganization Meeting; December 6, 1999, Special Board
Meeting, and December 13, 1999, Regular Board Meeting. The motion carried by
voice vote.
MR. DOLUISIO PRESENTS
Mr. Doluisio presented the following recommendations of the administration.
NEW AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
Mr. Doluisio thanked the board for coming to the meeting. Due to the snow storm,
main roads are pretty good but side roads are still slippery. He also thanked
Ms. Fischer and Mr. Svetecz, student representatives, for coming to the meeting
and urged them to not be shy in sharing their questions and comments about the
agenda. The board and administration want to know what students are thinking.
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS
No one wished to address the Board of School Directors.
ADJOURNMENT
Directors Craig and Venanzi moved to adjourn the meeting which carried by voice
vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:12 p.m.
Attest,
Stanley J. Majewski, Jr.
Board Secretary
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