By Julianne Besznyak, Correspondent, The Times
EAST MARLBOROUGH — Monday night’s Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board Work Session opened with a roll call vote by board members to fill the Region B. Board Member Vacancy. The board unanimously approved the appointment of Thomas Day to fill the unexpired term, Region B, through December 4, 2017.
When the time for public comment opened up, Karen Finley, Liaison for Transportation, came forward to express her disappointment in the “extreme amount of money that has been given to Dr. Sanville’s contract,” referring to the new contract awarded Superintendent John Sanville.
Finley went on to say that support staff have been told that there is no money in the budget for a 2.4% increase. Finley also voiced her frustration that Sanville’s yearly increase is more that her salary for an entire year.
School Board Director Gregg Lindner, called Rick Hostetler, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds forward to talk about Facilities. Hostetler said that all of the Rooftop HVAC Units will be replaced at Patton Middle School. The bid was submitted by Reynolds Energy Services in the amount of $2,378,700.00. Also, a storage building will be constructed at Hillendale Elementary School by Lancaster Pole Buildings in the amount of $16,639.00. Pennsbury Township has already approved the zoning for the storage building.
Both of these projects are part of the district’s current 10-year plan. There will be a stand-alone facilities committee meeting scheduled in late March or early April. The purpose of this meeting will be the 10 year plan moving forward. This meeting will be open to the public. The district is in year 4 of the current 10-year plan.
The preliminary 2017-18 budget was approved with total appropriations in the amount of $85,610,587. The adoption of the final budget and setting of the tax rate are expected to take place on June 19. Also approved was the submission of the retirement contribution exception in the estimated amount of $315,661 and the Special Education Exception in the estimated amount of $893,675 with the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 2017-2018 Budget.
The Curriculum and Educational Technology Committee gave an update on the School Start Time. The Committee hopes to have a recommendation for the school board in April.
Assistant Superintendent John Nolan mentioned that a “modified push plan” seemed to be the favorite of the committee. This plan would push back the school start times by 20-25 minutes. The additional 20-25 minutes of sleep is still thought to be of some help for High School and Middle School students. It is estimated that this plan would cost the district an additional $30,000.00 due the need to add time to some bus and van runs, mostly in the afternoon. Committee representatives will begin attending meetings with PTO and other groups for further discussion on this topic.
Diversity training has been scheduled for February 28, 2017. Crime Victims Center of Chester County will be presenting the training. The purpose of the training is to raise greater awareness, appreciation and sensitivity in the workplace. Dr. Sanville said that all 20 District Administrators are scheduled to attend and all Board Members are also invited to attend.
Author Julie Lythcott-Haimes will be doing a presentation on her book, How To Raise An Adult at Unionville High School on Feb. 23 at 7PM. All are invited to attend. Please register for this presentation at: howtoraiseanadult.eventbrite.com.
A Safety Symposium will be taking place on March 29 at Penn State Great Valley.
