Board Meeting - April 23, 2001
Minutes
BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT APRIL 23, 2001
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 April 23, 2001, beginning at 7:04 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 Amato, Craig, Gallagher, Glancy, Heske, Leeson,
Venanzi, Williams, and Koch - 9. Student member representative Katie Jo Righi
was also present.
OTHERS PRESENT
Others present: Thomas J. Doluisio, Superintendent of Schools; Jeff Tucker,
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.
Student discipline, a personnel matter, and a legal matter were discussed.
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS
The following person addressed the Board of School Directors:
1. Fran Belzner, 1316 Woodbine Street, Bethlehem, stated that her
nine-year-old, third grade son, attending Lincoln Elementary School, is being
considered for expulsion. She tried to take care of many of his infractions
personally, through the school district, and through the school. She stated that
in the course of five suspensions of her son, she has never received the course
of due process. She has voiced complaints to Mr. Perfetti's office, Dr. Nelson's
office, and Mr. Doluisio's office. The police department has also been
involved. Those issues will be addressed through the Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C. These are very serious matters which should be looked at very
seriously. She complained of discrimination and not being notified of
suspensions in a timely manner. She has never received even a common courtesy or
apology. This is massive discrimination. The fifth suspension will specifically
show the massive discrimination concerning the suspension.
Jeff Tucker, solicitor, stated that if, in fact, her son will be recommended for
an expulsion hearing, he will advise the board that they cannot get into any
details because, as the body that conducts the expulsion hearing, they should not
hear the evidence regarding her son until that time. He asked Ms. Belzner not to
get into the details. If there is an expulsion hearing, she will have
opportunity to present anything she wishes.
Ms. Belzner stated that presently there is no expulsion hearing. She would like
to address the board to stop whatever is going on before reaching that point. It
is very biased. It also affects a 15-year-old son at Liberty High School. She
stated her and her son's name has been taken around various schools. These
matters should be contained and be private matters.
PRESIDENT'S COMMUNICATIONS/UNFINISHED BUSINESS
President Koch stated that an item came to the attention of board members
attending a PSBA Region 8 meeting. An article appearing in the April 19
Philadelphia Inquirer stated that in Bensalem, the Mosaica Academy Charter School
Board of Trustees (the parents that formed the school) unanimously voted to sever
ties with this company. They had become the first board in Pennsylvania to
dissolve a contract with this for-profit company. The school had been formed in
1997. Some reasons were consistent lack of attention to detail, failure to take
corrective action, and careless maintenance of records and record keeping,
problems with payroll, inaccuracies in financial reporting, improper installation
of technology, and lack of staff training. There also were problems with
Mosaica's interactive curriculum - Paragon - which led to the vote to dissolve
the contract with this company. President Koch stated hope that any parent in
our district contemplating taking their children out and placing them in this
Mosaica school would look into this situation, contact the parents from this
Bensalem school, and find out what the problems are before placing their
children. The board believes there are going to be problems. The people from
this school are stating that there are problems here. She urged parents to take
their time and look into it before taking children out of the district.
Director Craig stated that the arguments that were presented in the Inquirer
sound very familiar. Those are the same arguments our board used when the people
from the charter school, that was being proposed, and the Mosaica people were
here. He also echoed President Koch's position that people who are considering
pulling their children out of our school district ought to know the whole story.
Director Heske stated that he thinks it is very fitting that after this meeting
is concluded, the board will have the first budget hearing. In that budget there
is almost $1,400,000 for this same kind of school, run by the same people at
Mosaica to be operated next year. The public should definitely be aware of this
budget appropriation. Director Leeson stated that we are at $1,400,000 for this
year. It took four years before Bensalem saw the unfortunate negative results of
this program. The primary concern is the education of the children and the fact
that they are not receiving the education they deserve. Secondary, is the cost
to the public. She asked Mr. Majewski what we think our costs might be down the
road.
Mr. Majewski replied that there is a potential for that cost to get significantly
higher. Of the $1,400,000 the amount allocated to this school is $1,200,000 with
an anticipated enrollment of 200. They have been talking about enrollments as
high as 450. You can more that double that $1,200,000. That is potentially our
financial exposure.
Mr. Doluisio stated that several months ago he spoke with Mr. Hackett during the
beginning stages of budget preparation. He had indicated that their goal is 400
to 450. He wasn't sure how many would be enrolled this year toward that goal.
The last figure he read in the paper was about 180 registrations. There is not a
cut-off point. How many of those students are from the Bethlehem Area School
District won't be known until the district receives their registration.
Director Leeson pointed out that we are talking conceivably $6,000,000 to
$7,000,000 within four years.
Mr. Doluisio stated we are talking $2,400,000 a year.
Director Craig stated, in fairness to the parents in our school district, he
knows that a number of people who are interested in this new program are parents
whose children don't attend our schools anyway. But we are going to pay for
them. They are presently already enrolled in private schools of different kinds
and some are probably home schooled. It's unfair for anybody to draw the
conclusion that there are a large number of parents of students in our schools
who are thinking about going in that direction. No matter who the people are,
they need to understand what they are getting into. From what we are hearing and
what has been seen, the track record is not very good.
President Koch stated another point somebody mentioned is that the children in
the charter school would not be part of the New Standards program being taught in
our school district. Our standards are much higher. If students are pulled out
for a year or two or three and that school fails, they will have quite a
difficult time being brought up to standards.
Director Williams stated that we have already spent a lot of money on
remediation. This would be another area where, if they eventually came back to
our district or enrolled for the first time after attending a charter school that
did not work out, we would spend more on remediation.
Mr. Doluisio commented that it is very important that the community understands
that the Board of School Directors was overruled by a State Appeals Board and
that the board investigated very, very deeply the proposal from the Lehigh Valley
Charter Regional School. After due consideration and analysis by educators of
the curriculum offered and our business department in terms of accountability
measures on the money, the board voted down the proposal. The vote was not done
arbitrarily and not without extensive consideration. Mr. Doluisio reminded
everyone that a year or two earlier the board unanimously voted to support a
charter school proposal. It is not a carte blanche denial of a charter school
because we are opposed to charter school competition. Competition is not a bad
thing. We are up to the challenge of having our schools compete with other
entities for students. We do that now. That is why we work so hard at keeping
our schools at a quality level that is competitive with other entities. The
Charter School Appeals Board, after the district protested and sent attorneys to
defend our position, overruled our local school board and ordered Bethlehem Area
School District to participate in this charter school financially. Mr. Doluisio
stated agreement with all the comments made this evening. The first concern is
the education of the children, whether attending Bethlehem Area School District
schools, Lehigh Valley Regional schools, or wherever. If you look at what
happened in Bensalem, assuming those are good people who started that charter
school, it is time to say, "Buyer beware." The concerns raised this evening are
the same concerns raised at the hearing with the Mosaica group. Mr. Doluisio
stated he believes, unless the proposal has changed in its form, the Lehigh
Valley Charter Regional School is 100% Mosaica. He is very concerned on behalf
of the families considering this and about the taxpayers of our community.
Director Amato stated agreement with all the comments made by his fellow board
members and Mr. Doluisio about charter schools. Unfortunately, charter schools
are here. He and Director Craig attended two sessions on charter schools at the
National School Board Convention. One session was on how various districts are
dealing with them. Another was on the legalities school districts have with
charter schools. Basically, the results of both sessions were, "Hey guys,
they're here. Learn to deal with them." That is the only thing we will be able
to do.
Director Craig expressed concern on the part of the taxpayers in spending
$1,400,000 into something that is a known failure.
President Koch pointed out that the taxpayers don't have anything to say about it
because the people they elected to make the decision said they don't want it and
the state told us we are going to take it anyway.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Mr. Doluisio stated that the May 21 general business meeting will be held at the
Education Center. Mr. Kressly has a student performance in the East Hills
auditorium that evening.
PRISE VIDEO AWARDS
Mr. Doluisio expressed pleasure in reading something prepared by Dr. Garrigan. It
is another kudo for the district and its Academic Standards initiative.
Dr. Scott Garrigan stated he had wonderful news to share. The PRISE video
series, which is a means of sharing our Standards expertise with the state's
school systems, is an example of an award-winning merger of expertise in both
Standards and technology. The project was funded by a state grant. The series
has won five national awards. Dr. Garrigan stated he would be sharing a few more
awards. Bethlehem Area School District has a well-deserved national reputation
for a model implementation of Academic Standards. The district also has a
reputation for model use of network technology. The PRISE videos on Academic
Standards are an example of an award-winning merger of the expertise in both
Standards and technology. The series has won five national awards. Dr. Garrigan
presented two of these to the district. The Acerra Group professionally
produced, digitally filmed, and digitally edited the videos. We are used to
hearing about the excellence of our Standards implementation, but we should be
aware of the digital video technology that is carrying this message through the
Internet to the schools in our state. The quality that has garnered attention by
the awards-granting groups is due partly to the quality that was maintained by
the digital nature of the videos. Digital filming and editing means that
computer technology was used at every stage. There was no film at any time, no
chemical development process, only computer processes from the cameras which
captured each frame as a computer image, to digital editing using computers to
edit huge files of video data, to the final output onto special digital video
tape. There was no loss of quality at any stage. Dr. Garrigan stated he was
very excited to share that the technology to do video editing is now in place in
every school in our district. Last year, secondary schools acquired grant-funded
basic video production and editing facilities. In 1992, when the board
authorized a technology plan, part of that was video editing and production
studios at the high school. At the time, the cost was expected to be $40,000 to
$50,000. With the advent of digital technology, using computers instead of
special mechanical devices, the cost is only one-quarter or a fifth of what it
was 10 years ago. This year, each elementary school has acquired digital video
editing facilities, at a little lower cost but also grant funded. Digital video
production and editing has entered the curriculum of our schools. Several
schools have begun to use this new capability in a technology called "web
casting." Our first web casting was done last month at Hanover Elementary School
where a video production was sent over the network within the school to
classrooms within the building. Next month we will have the first trial of this
technology from building to building. At the May inservice, a math inservice
program will be web cast from one elementary building to 15 others.
Dr. Garrigan explained that the district entered the PRISE videos in all of the
national video contests and won something in every one, resulting in five
national awards and an honorable mention.
Dr. Garrigan presented awards to President Koch and Mr. Doluisio. The
communicator awards were given in the education category. PRISE videos were
compared with other videos privately produced in education and training. The
video tape on safety nets in the elementary schools won an honorable mention. The
video tape, "A High School Transition Project," won their highest award Ð a
crystal award of achievement.
The Aurora Awards is an international competition honoring excellence in the film
and video industries. Again, in the education category, the district won a gold
Aurora award for the video, "Elementary Mathematics."
Mr. Doluisio stated that Kathy Quigney was present on behalf of Joseph Rahs,
principal of Fountain Hill Elementary School. Judges recognized two videos that
were submitted to the 2000 Communicator Award competition. Video 16, "Safety
Nets in the Elementary School," produced at the Fountain Hill Elementary School,
received an honorable mention in the education category. He congratulated Mr.
Rahs on receiving an honorable mention for his school's part in creating the
safety nets in the elementary school video.
The same judges awarded their highest honor to the video produced with staff and
students of Freedom and Liberty High Schools. This video, "A High School
Transition Project," received a crystal award of distinction in the education
category. Mr. Doluisio congratulated Mr. Villani and Mr. Burkhardt on receiving
a crystal award of distinction for their schools' part in creating a quality
educational resource to share with other schools in the state.
PRISE episode 9, "Elementary Mathematics," won a gold award in the 2000 Aurora
Awards in the education category. This is the top award in that category. The
Aurora Awards are for independent film and video. It is actually a fairly big
contest with other winners including PBS, Microsoft, Children's Workshop
Television, and History Channel. Mr. Doluisio congratulated Mrs. Derrico on
receiving a gold Aurora Award for Asa Packer Elementary School's part in creating
a high quality education resource for all school districts in the state.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Bethlehem Recreation Commission Ð Director Leeson stated there was no meeting
this month. The Easter Egg hunt on April 7 was a wonderful success despite the
overcast weather.
Facilities Committee Ð Director Heske reported that the Facilities Committee met
on Monday, April 2. A construction update was received from Dominic Villani.
Current projects are on schedule. Agenda items for this evening were reviewed.
The board considered and concurred with the idea of purchasing some portable
classrooms which are now in place via a lease at Rosemont. The committee also
looked at the 10-year construction/renovation plan.
Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School Ð Director Craig reported that the
Vo-Tech Board met on Tuesday, April 3. Regular business was conducted. The VICA
winners from the Vo-Tech School were presented to the board. The new
administrative set-up was discussed. It will be a traditional set-up, similar to
that at our two high schools. Two persons having principal certification,
presently serving in other capacities, will become assistant principals at the
Vo-Tech School, so that the staff will consist of a principal and two assistant
principals. An assistant principals'/principal's suite will be constructed in
the upstairs level where you first come into the building. The new business
administrator, formerly business administrator for Bethlehem Township, Gail
Capuano, was introduced.
Human Resources Committee Ð Director Gallagher reported the Human Resources
Committee met April 9. Middle school boundaries were discussed. The remainder
of the meeting was in closed session.
Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 Ð Director Williams attended the Colonial
Intermediate Unit 20 meeting on March 28. House Bill 996 was reported on which
would require the PDE to establish an automatic external defibrillator wholesale
purchase program to help ensure school entities have the equipment available for
use where classes or school-sponsored activities routinely occur. The IU 20 is
also in the process of preparing a bid for this equipment on behalf of those
districts wishing to participate. The Academic Academy was mentioned. This
initiative is the Bethlehem Area School District and the Colonial IU 20 working
together and is receiving positive support. The PDE and the state PSEA have
approved matching grants of $150,000 each to begin research and development of
the program. A presentation was recently made to the Lehigh Valley Business
Education Partnership in an attempt to gain support from the business community.
This initiative will provide the state with a model for remediation of students
deficient in Pennsylvania Academic Standards in English, language arts, and
mathematics. It was also reported that the Colonial IU 20 general operating
budget for 2001-2002 was approved by the majority of districts. It was reported
that a white paper on special education in Pennsylvania has been produced by the
Alliance for School Aide Partnership, also known as ASAP, to explain the facts
about special education costs, services, and the value of programs to students
served. It is hoped that the report will initiate a foundation on which to
advance efforts for special education funding reform.
Curriculum Committee Ð Director Williams reported that the Curriculum Committee
met on Monday, April 2. The board received a presentation on Academic Standards
in mathematics and was updated on staff development. Barbara Sancoss, mentor
from LaSalle University, told the committee how impressed she has been with the
Bethlehem vision and its direction in the area of mathematics, and congratulated
the district.
Finance Committee Ð Director Glancy reported that the Finance Committee met on
Monday, April 9. Mr. Ed Kenna reported on the progress of the district's dining
services and lunch program for the past year. The number of lunches served in
the district has increased 550 per day from last year. Total daily revenue
increased 12% from last year. Increases are attributed to the continued change
and addition to the food offered in all the schools. Also, the installation of a
point of sale system enables lines to move much faster, alerts staff to any food
allergies a student may have, and allows the staff to monitor students' lunch
purchases. Mr. Majewski informed the committee that the state and the USDA
conducted an audit. Dining Services was given accolades in that audit report.
Mr. Majewski presented costs of financing construction and/or repairs of the
districts middle schools over the next 20 years. The amount of financing may be
$73,000,000, depending on whether buildings are renovated or new buildings are
constructed, as well as the cost of bond issue preparation and sale. Discussions
followed regarding the district's incurred debt. The current debt will be
retired in 2018. Mr. Majewski also advised the committee that funds are
available in the capital reserve fund should the need arise to purchase trailers.
He noted that the annual millage impact to taxpayers would be 1.89 mills, but
reiterated that this figure was the worse-case scenario and could be lowered with
the construction of business parks such as the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park 6
and the Commerce Park. These projects will increase the tax base in early 2003.
Additionally, the Bethlehem Works Project will begin increasing the tax base in
approximately five years. Also reviewed was the colored paper bid. Low bid will
not be accepted due to incomplete bid submission and prior inconsistencies with
color and mill. Mr. Majewski commented that the state audit report was completed
by the Pennsylvania Auditor General's Office for the year ending June 1997-98 and
had been received by the district. Potentially, we had two findings, pending
their review. One finding has to do with documentation required for
vocational-technical funds. Guidelines were not properly communicated by the
state to the districts. This deficiency has been corrected. The other possible
finding had to do with three principal certifications that may have lapsed and
not been renewed in a timely manner. Mr. Majewski indicated that verbal comments
from the auditor regarding various district departments were extremely
complimentary. Director Glancy complimented Mr. Majewski and his staff for good
work concerning the audit. Per capita tax exoneration for senior citizens in
permanent residency at nursing homes or assisted living facilities was discussed.
Northampton Community College Ð President Koch reported that the Northampton
Community College Board of Trustees met on April 5. Four of our board members
attended. Redesigning of the quad, the fronts of the buildings, was discussed.
While it might seem that it is mostly cosmetic, a great deal of it will serve a
practical purpose by cutting down on heat and protecting the integrity of the
buildings. Electric mail policy was voted on. The Monroe Campus is very
successful.
PSBA Ð President Koch stated that an election for was held for regional director
at the PSBA meeting. Roland Featherman who was serving as the director last year
was re-elected for a second term unanimously. Jeffrey Litz, PSBA's deputy chief
counsel, discussed the cyber charter schools and the problems involved with
those. He also touched on problems with charter schools, including the problems
at Bensalem. It was heard that the IRS is now looking into some of these charter
schools which are being run for profit.
STUDENT REPORT
Freedom High School Ð Katie Jo Righi reported that the second semester is flying
by. April was a busy month with many different activities. Easter break made
the month fly by.
During all lunches on April 9, 10, and 11, the intermediate marketing classes
held two very profitable campaigns. "Eggs for Jesse," a project for DECA,
accompanied with their new slogan, "Freedom DECA Making a Difference," raised
money for Mr. Galle's son, Jesse Galle, who is currently in a hospital with a
heart condition. The group raised over $200 to give to Mr. Galle in hopes to pay
for some of Jesse's treatment. The other campaign was a Freedom faculty clothing
sale. Popular clothing was put into a catalog and set on display at Freedom so
the faculty would be able to purchase clothing with Freedom's name on it for
their casual dress days. The profits went to DECA in hopes to lower their costs
for their upcoming trip to nationals. Students participating in DECA and who
have qualified for finals will leave on Tuesday, April 24, for California for
national competition.
National Honor Society also helped bring some Easter cheer by delivering brightly
colored eggs to students and faculty on April 11. NHS will also help out at the
book fair at the ice skating rink on Illick's Mill Road on April 28.
Freedom High School will be holding a diversity day on April 24 beginning at 9
a.m. in the gym. This fair, headed by Pooja Wagh, was a Governor's School
leadership project designed to educate students and faculty about different
cultures in different parts of the world. Students from East Hills and other
participating schools will be representing a specific culture and present their
display to visitors.
Freedom High School hosted a talent show on Friday, April 20, in their
auditorium. Students showed off their talent with various dancing and singing
acts. The event drew quite a crowd.
In sports, Freedom's volleyball team beat Liberty 9-3 in the District XI
playoffs. For softball, Cheryl Griffith opened the season by pitching a perfect
game, the sixth no-hitter of her career. The girls' soccer had a very pleasing
victory over Liberty with a score of 3-1.
April has been quite an exciting month for everyone at Freedom. May will be
exciting as well, with both band and orchestra concerts, and the junior/senior
prom on May 18. The school year is winding down. Many more exciting school
activities are yet to come.
MR. DOLUISIO RE: PAM HUBBARD AND PRISE VIDEOS
Mr. Doluisio announced that he erred in failing to mention Pam Hubbard regarding
the PRISE videos. She scripted all the videos and was a major ingredient to
success the district had with respect to the PRISE videos.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Directors Gallagher and Venanzi to approve the minutes of
the March 19, 2001, Regular Board Meeting. The motion carried by voice vote.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Doluisio presented the recommendations of the administration. NEW AND
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
Director Williams stated she attended the ground breaking for the track at
Liberty High School. She saw the tiles being sold and remarked what a joint
effort this sale is. Parents have committed to raise $250,000 to offset the cost
of the installation of the new track. With the board's consent, she thought it
would be terrific if the board made the gesture of purchasing such a tile. This
is an unprecedented joint effort. The board agreed.
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS
No one wished to address the Board of School Directors.
ADJOURNMENT
Directors Craig and Heske moved to adjourn the meeting which carried by voice
vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Attest,
Stanley J. Majewski, Jr. Board Secretary
:mg