The Central Bucks Board Note
January 2020 ~ Vol. 2, No. 5
In Recognition of Service to School and Community
The month of January is designated as School Board Recognition Month, a time to pause to recognize and reflect on the contributions of our Board of School Directors.
Public schools in Pennsylvania are governed by locally elected volunteers who contribute time and expertise through a personal commitment to students, schools, and the communities they serve.
These unpaid positions require hundreds of hours attending meetings, taking phone calls, and making a commitment to research and study the issues they will be asked to vote upon. School board directors are asked to consider resources, capital projects, the hiring of faculty and staff, and a budget that funds the organization among other matters.
Superintendent Dr. John J. Kopicki remarked that, "[Our school board directors] are steadfast supporters of our continued pursuit of excellence....fully invested in the success of this district because they know that the prosperity of the communities that make up the Central Bucks School District is inextricably tied to the success of the 18,000+ students who pass through our doors and don caps and gowns each June."
"They listen, they advocate, they ask thoughtful questions, and they hold us accountable.... they do all of this because they care about the children of this community," he said.
"I am proud to call them my colleagues and I am honored to work with each one of them," he added.
Pictured above, seated, left to right: Karen Smith, Board President Beth Darcy, Board Vice-President Tracy Suits, and Lorraine Sciuto-Ballasy; pictured above, standing, left to right: Board Secretary Stephanie Radcliffe, Superintendent Dr. John J. Kopicki, John Gamble, Leigh Vlasblom, Jodi Schwartz, Sharon Collopy, and Dana Hunter.
Superintendent's Update
- The Honorable Judge Marjorie Rendell will present a check in the amount of $1,000 to Buckingham Elementary School in recognition of Linda Raitt's fifth grade class's performance in the 2019 Rendell Center for Civics and Civics Engagement's Citizenship Challenge.
- The district's school start times committee met in January to review research and share feedback as CBSD administration continues to explore and consider the impact and benefits of modifying school start times.
- Dr. Kopicki reminded the public of the upcoming Celebration of Our Schools event, middle school orientation, and the art scholarship fundraiser.
- The district's enrollment report as of January 6, 2020 was included.
- An update on the 2020-2021 budget preparation timeline (the board adopted the proposed preliminary budget on January 14) was noted.
- Dr. Kopicki participated in a press conference along with nearly 30 superintendents from across the region designed to bring attention to the challenge that charter schools present to public school districts in Pennsylvania.
2019-2020 Athletic Season Update
Ms. Turner's report included participation numbers for high school and middle school sports across the district (The total number of students participating in a sport at the high school level is 22% and 24% at the middle school level.) and an overall update on Central Bucks' athletics and the fall sports season. Highlights include:
- Three CBSD teams, CB East field hockey and CB West girls' golf and tennis, each won conference championships.
- CB West's boys' soccer team was the runner-up in the PIAA state championship.
- The middle school intramural volleyball program had an extremely successful launch in the fall of 2019, and the district plans to continue and hopefully expand the program.
- Unified Sports, which joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, were an amazing addition to Central Bucks' programming. This year, each high school will offer unified track and field, while CB East will offer bocce in addition.
- The Nike/BSN partnership has resulted in $73,000 in revenue to partially offset athletic costs, and all schools launched new athletic websites in the fall in an effort to improve communication with families and the wider community.
- The NFHS network launch was well received. CBSD initiated live subscription-based streaming of football, soccer, field hockey and volleyball in September of 2019, with plans to stream wrestling and basketball this winter.
Central Bucks School District
The members of the Central Bucks School District's Board of School Directors each represent one of nine regions in the district. Each region includes one or more municipality. While each region elects one school director, members represent the interests of the district as a whole once elected.
Meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month except for February, July, August, October, November and December. In February, the board will meet on the first and fourth Tuesdays. In July and August, the board meets on the fourth Tuesday only. In October, the board will meet on the third and fifth Tuesdays. In November, the board meets on the second Tuesday only. In December, the board meets on the first Tuesday only. Meetings are held at the Central Bucks Educational Services Center at 16 Welden Drive in Doylestown. All meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend. Members of the public who wish to address the board prior to action items may sign up at the lectern before 7:30 p.m. Comments are limited to three minutes or less, depending on the number of speakers.
Correspondence for the Board of School Directors should be sent to Stephanie Radcliffe, Secretary to the Board, at sradcliffe@cbsd.org.
The "Central Bucks Board Note," is an e-newsletter designed to provide Central Bucks School District constituents with an overview of the work of their Board of School Directors.
Please share any feedback with Angela Linch, communications and public relations administrator, at alinch@cbsd.org or by calling 267-893-2073.
Email: alinch@cbsd.org
Website: www.cbsd.org
Location: 20 Welden Drive, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-5800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbschools/
Twitter: @cbsdinfo