School Board Meeting Highlights
1-22-14
Agenda:
For a complete agenda, please visit us at:http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/parkland/Board.nsf/Public
All motions were approved.
Workshop Meeting
Elementary Report Card Update
Kelly Rosario, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development gave a presentation about the new standards-based report card which will be used next school year. She presented along with members of the committee including: Diane Neikam, Curriculum Supervisor of Elementary Education, Andrew Weber, Supervisor of Special Education, Geneine Girardi, fourth grade teacher at Cetronia Elementary School and Jacque Creamer, fifth grade teacher at Fogelsville Elementary School who worked collaboratively to build the new document. Her handouts and presentation can be viewed by clicking on the links below.
PowerPoint Report Card Presentation
Blank Standard-based Report Card
The committee will work to communicate the changes to the parent community via parent forums as well as instruct teachers on how to use the new document during Professional Development seminars this spring. A blank report card with a letter will be sent home at the end of the school year to all parents that explains the changes and information will continue to be shared at the start of next school year.
Revenue Projections for the 2014-2015 General Fund Budget
John Vignone, Director of Business Administration, gave a revenue update which can be found here.
He emphasized that the District has opted out of the accelerated budget planning timeline by agreeing to promise not to increase taxes above the state-set Index of 2.1%.
Mr. Vignone also announced that the second leg of a three year borrowing plan has begun and the money will be used to achieve renovations at Kratzer and converting Orefield Middle School to natural gas. A week ago, John and the financial team met with Standard and Poor’s and shared a lot of information about trends and construction in the district. The rating agency analyzed the data, and they reaffirmed the District’s rating as an AA School District which will help the District reap savings when borrowing money for the capital improvement projects. The rating was good news and is in large part thanks to the board and administrative team’s financial oversight.
Business Meeting
Retirements
Professional staff retirement announcements were due to the District on January 15 per the teacher’s union contract. The following professional staff have submitted their intent to retire during the current school year. All were wished much happiness during retirement. Together, they leave a legacy of more than 627 years of service to Parkland and 714 years in education. To view a list of the retirees, click here.
Roundtable
Roundtable
Rob Cohen said it was an honor to participate on the report card committee as he was impressed with the professionalism and collaboration that went into the process. Roberta Marcus stated that the board and administration has received some negative feedback from the community on the many late starts and closings that have occurred as a result of winter storms and extreme cold. She reiterated that the safety of our students and staff is taken into the utmost consideration when decisions are made and that the District appreciates the support and patience of many stakeholders in our community. She thanked Mr. Sniscak and the School Services Department who keep an eye on the weather and communicate with the local police and townships so that they can make the best informed decision on behalf of everyone in the community when a storm strikes. Rich also thanked everyone for their flexibility and patience during these trying weather times. For more information on inclement weather decisions, click here. For the inclement weather make-up day schedule, click here. The inclement weather policy can be viewed here.
The next meeting will occur on Tuesday, Jan 28 at 7 PM.
Special thanks to David and Steven Sepko, two Ironton students, who led the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the meeting.