School Board Meeting Highlights
11-17-15
Agenda:
For a complete agenda, please visit us at:http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/parkland/Board.nsf/Public
All motions were approved.
The Board and Staff wish 20-year School Board Director Roberta Marcus a fond farewell.
Workshop Meeting
Redistricting Proposal
Dr. Rod Troutman, Assistant Superintendent, presented a redistricting proposal that will help balance enrollment as residential development causes enrollment growth in the southern tier of the district. He noted that current students in grades 3-7 will have the option to be grandfathered in their respective schools through 8th grade. The proposed new boundary lines are listed on the Parkland Vision 2015-2030 web site at the bottom of the page here.
Business Meeting
Special Recognition for Roberta M. Marcus
Nathan Mains and Daryl Schafer of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association were present to thank Roberta for her years of service as well as her service with PSBA, where she served as Past President of the organization.
Karen Tamerler of State Representative Gary Day's office presented Roberta with a citation recognizing her accolades and congratulating her on her retirement from the School Board.
Ellen Kern, Chief of Staff for Senator Patrick Browne, presented a citation of congratulations.
Congressman Charlie Dent prepared a video that outlined Roberta's years of service and thanked her for her volunteer service. She was also given a proclamation from his office.
Mr. Michael Gehringer, Principal of Kernsville, represented the elementary schools and spoke words of thanks. He gave Roberta a picture made from the fingerprints of Parkland students.
Mrs. Michelle Minotti, Principal of Springhouse Middle School, represented the secondary schools. She gave Roberta PSD chocolates and words of thanks for her vision and dedication to Parkland.
Mr. Sniscak recognized Roberta with special remarks that started by thanking her family for supporting Roberta throughout her career as a School Board Director and sharing her with us. He noted that tens of thousands of school children have graduated under her leadership. He stated that he and the 1,300 staff at Parkland are grateful for her commitment to public education and for tirelessly leading us all and always challenging us to continually improve.
Mr. David Kennedy, Vice President of the Board, gave Roberta a personalized painting that was created by the PHS art teacher Linda Ladue on behalf of the entire school board.
Roberta stated that she was overwhelmed by everyone's support this evening. She stated that it has been a privilege to serve this school district and that her work has been deliberate. She wished everyone in the District continued success. She ended the meeting with a quote from Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world."
Here is a link to the recognition program and a link to the Morning Call article about her tenure.
Graduation Date
The School Board approved a June 14, 2016 graduation date at PPL Center.
Roundtable
Rob Cohen reported that the Parkland Community Library will be closed Nov 30 - Jan 9 for renovations. There is a link on the Parkland Library website that will show renovation progress as it occurs.
Mr. Bold noted that the state budget is still at an impasse. Mrs. Marcus took a moment to tell the audience how important it is to contact legislators when matters of importance occur. She added that many have communicated with legislators over the last week to protest legislation in Harrisburg that would mandate school districts to ask voters to approve any tax increase needed to support PA public schools. Most suspect that this would have harmful effects on every district in the Commonwealth if enacted because school districts would not have control of property taxes which are heavily relied upon to fund schools.
Steve Miller, school solicitor, stated that Roberta pushed Board members, administrators and himself to continually raise the bar for improvement. He said that she was always there to encourage everyone to succeed. Every Board member attested that Roberta's Parkland Pride, dedication to excellence, and unwavering support of Parkland students were all part of her amazing tenure. A few Board members stated that Roberta was the reason that they sought a seat on the Board and many thanked her for mentoring them in their Board role.
Roberta expressed heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated and talented Parkland team and stated that she was privileged to serve alongside everyone on the staff and Board. She thanked everyone for a gratifying 20 years.
WFMZ article recapping the meeting: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/Parkland-president-steps-down-after-two-decades-of-service/36515570