 March 19, 2001 The March meeting of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board was held on Monday, March 19, 2001 in the High School LGI. Mr. Ed Wandersee, President, called the meeting to order at 7:32 P.M. and requested the group stand for the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. He indicated that Dr. Sweeney was in Russia on business and Mr. Walton was in China on business. The following members were present: Ed Wandersee, Anne F. Michelini, Herb Brown, Joe Campbell, Jeff Hellrung, Stephen McClaskey, Bruce Swayze, and David Salvo, Student Representative. Also present were Stephen Gring, Superintendent, Brenda O'Hern, Marv Shapiro, Dick Merryman, Ed Spang, Bruce Vosburgh, Joyce Reeves, Rick Hostetler, members of the press, community residents and Patricia Fiske, recording secretary. Nancy Bell of East Marlborough questioned who would design the playgrounds for the elementary schools and would they be for all abilities. Rick Hostetler indicated that they would be ADA compliant - there will be ramps. It was moved by Mr. McClaskey and seconded by Mr. Swayze to approve the minutes of the February 20, 2001 Regular Meeting. Motion carried (7-0). The following financial reports were reviewed:
These reports were filed per Mr. Wandersee's request. It was moved by Mr. McClaskey and seconded by Mrs. Michelini to approve the attached bill list in the amount of $1,394,184.39. Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Swayze and seconded by Mr. Campbell to approve the Change Orders on the attachment with the exception of Change Order # 21 and Change Order #27. Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Campbell and seconded by Mr. Swayze to employ a second person on the Pocopson site to coordinate the work activities for 3 days a week for four weeks . The total dollar amount is not to exceed $7,000. Motion carried (5-2). Mr. Hellrung and Mr. McClaskey voted nay. Mrs. Michelini, reporting for Building & Grounds, stated that the temporary bus loop is in at Unionville Elementary. She also noted that many of the chairs from the school will be replaced. The proposed design for Chadds Ford Elementary is going well and will probably be presented to the Board on April 23. Rick Hostetler after distributing the attached update on the Track & Stadium project stated that if we plan to work on the Track and Stadium Project in the summer of 2002, we should begin the design phase with the architect now and go out for bids over the winter. This proposal was tabled. It was moved by Mr.. Brown and seconded by Mr. Hellrung to approve hiring Dr. Charles Schwahn, Consultant to serve as the District's Strategic Planning Facilitator. His fee will be $12,000. Motion carried (6-1). Mr. McClaskey voted nay. The Curriculum Committee met on February 26 and discussed the budget for the 2001-02 school year. Also discussed was the K-5 reading and math curriculum. Current thinking on kindergarten and pre-first was presented. A report on the tests administered to students was also presented. It was moved by Mr.. Campbell and seconded by Mr. Swayze to authorize opening two (2) bank accounts at the People's Bank of Oxford for school activities at the Unionville and Chadds Ford Elementary Schools. Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Hellrung and seconded by Mr. Brown to approve attendance at Professional Conferences as on the attachment. Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Hellrung and seconded by Mr. Campbell to approve the following personnel items: Leaves
Resignation
Employ
Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Hellrung and seconded by Mr. Brown to approve the following personnel items: Supplementals
Reclassifications
Substitutes
Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Hellrung and seconded by Mr. Campbell to set the School Board meeting dates for the 2001-2002 school year as on the attachment. Motion carried (7-0). It was moved by Mr. Brown and seconded by Mrs. Michelini to adopt the changes in Section 200 of the School Board Policy Manual with the suggested modifications recommended by the district solicitor as on the attachment with the exception of Policy #214. Motion carried (7-0). District Administration will review Policy #214 for Board action in April. It was stated that the goal was to adopt sections 300, 400, and 500 next month. Dr. Gring stated that this schedule is ambitious and may need to be modified - per the solicitor's request. Lisa Wentz commented on the attachment that had been distributed to School Board members re: the Birmingham Hunt Residents opposition to Redistricting Plan D. She stated it segregates their neighborhood from the surrounding community. Debbie Volk, a Birmingham Hunt resident, stated that their closest neighbors are going to Pocopson - this will weaken the sense of community. Katy Nichols, a Birmingham Hunt resident, pointed out that gyms etc. are not available for the children which further segregates the community - it is unfair to use children as solution to a problem. Marge Smith, a Birmingham Hunt resident opposes Plan D - stated that we should look at what is best for the kids. Bruce Jameson a Cedarcroft resident presented the attached Analysis of the proposed Redistricting Plans. He also presented Mr. Wandersee with a Petition in favor of Plan U or Modified Plan U signed by 269 Cedarcroft residents. Mr. Wandersee stated he realized it was a greater distance to Hillendale Elementary. The Board has received many good comments from concerned community members - but just remember - we will have four good schools. - 2 large schools and 2 smaller schools - need to have a viable program. Mr. McClaskey stated that if Pocopson cannot be opened in September 2001 - he is not ready to vote on a redistricting plan and a petition in favor of Plan U or Modified Plan U signed by 269 residents. Jodi Murphy stated that we should revisit the numbers if Pocopson doesn't open in September 2001. Jeff Hayes a Cedarcroft resident commented that "travel time" is unproductive time. Sheila Romine commented on how isolated Cedarcroft residents will be from other Hillendale Elementary students - not fair to the children. Dave Salvo, student representative, commented on the attached Course Evaluation Proposal. Dr. Gring commented that it is hard to separate the evaluation of a course from the evaluation of a teacher. He stated that we have developed with the help of Tom McGreal, one of the most unique Teacher Evaluation Plans in Pennsylvania. It has been approved by PDE and the School Board. The administration could look at it through Curriculum Council - it is a complex issue. Mr. Brown suggested working through the two High School student reps on Curriculum Council. Mr. McClaskey, reporting for the I.U., stated that Dr. Baillie has started providing the Superintendents with minutes from the I.U. Board Meeting. He stated that the expenses for U-CF will be up by about 1% in the 2001-2002 budget - there will be no changes in the core budget. The 21st Century Cyber School has been approved. There was no Legislative Report. Dr. Gring indicated that a flyer/fact sheet on redistricting would be distributed via backpack next week . The same information will also be on the Web. Ten Patton Middle School students participated in the Chester County Science and Research Competition. Four of the ten will move on to the Delaware Valley Fair. One of our students took first place Best of Show and another 2nd place Best of Show. As always the projects were very impressive. We have a finalist for the Special Ed Supervisor position - a site visit will be conducted this week and we hope to have a recommendation to the Board on April 2. Mrs. Conti'D'Antonio will be leaving the end of the month - we wish her well. Jana Eaton, a High School Social Studies teacher, is hosting a group of visitors from a school in Russia. He then commented on the seal from the original Pocopson School that Bill Wells presented to him for the school district. Dr. Gring indicated he would be happy to have other artifacts to add to the collection. The school district has been proactive in trying to make the schools as safe as possible. However, there are incidents out of the school setting that we cannot police. Ruth Russell, an East Marlborough resident, commenting on the redistricting process, stated that what is best for the district is what is most important - all neighborhoods are biased. A resident asked if we had looked at transportation for Day Care Centers. Ellen Looby an East Marlborough resident, commented that if the redistricting plan is revisited, all areas should be represented. Bruce Yelton, a Pocopson resident, stated he believes there is a Plan X out there. Holly Tyson, a High School student, stated she support Dave Salvo's proposal re: the Course Evaluation Proposal. Mr. Brown stated the annual High School musical "State Fair" was outstanding. He said the Board is trying to determine what is best for the district re: the redistricting process. There is no perfect plan - the communities' input does help. Mr. Hellrung thanked the community for their comments about redistricting - they shared many good points. Plan D has many significant advantages - the whole project should not be revisited. He then complimented Dr. O'Hern on her leadership skills. Mr. Campbell stated he is not running for re-election - our community has a lot to be proud of - including the District's Administration - we are very lucky to live here. Mrs. Michelini commented that Plan U modified isolates non-development students and Unionville Elementary would be overloaded. We need to recognize student accomplishments more. She then thanked Dr. Gring for the letter he wrote. Mr. McClaskey thanked Dr. O'Hern for her report on student achievement. We need to determine what schools we should be using to compare our scores to. The read-a-thon at Chadds Ford was great. A dance marathon will be held at Patton Middle School to benefit the Cancer Society. Mr. Swayze gave kudos to the science achievers, stated Bruce Jameson gave a very thought provoking presentation this evening, and complimented Dick Merryman on the complimentary letter from the auditor general. Mr. Wandersee thanked Joe Campbell for the excellent job he has done as a school board director - he has kept us on a steady course. Respectfully submitted,
Corinne R. Sweeney, Secretary
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