2008-01-28 School Board Report - Upper St. Clair School ... · Kristin Cilli – Boyce ... SCHOOL BOARD MEETING REPORT – 1-28-08 4 ... Several Fort Couch students participated in

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING REPORT UPPER ST. CLAIR SCHOOL DISTRICT

January 28, 2008

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE & STAR SPANGLED BANNER Jenna Dawkins and Emily Summers, high school students, sang the Star Spangled Banner. PRESENTATION FOR SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MONTH Dr. O’Toole recognized the Board of School Directors and thanked them for their dedication and hard work as volunteers representing the community. He also thanked them for the amount of time that they devote to their positions and for the difficult decisions they need to make with limited resources. BUSINESS AND FINANCE

APPROVAL OF TREASURER’S REPORT The Board approved, by majority roll call vote, the Treasurer’s Report, including budget transfers, approved totals of the Bill List and Check File Listing as follows:

. Fund 10 (General Fund) – $1,730,161.29 Fund 31 (Capital Reserve Fund) – $22,820.00

There was discussion regarding the fees that the School District charges for use of the theatre and regarding the District’s cell phone usage. APPROVAL TO SOLICIT BIDS FOR GENERAL SUPPLIES FOR 2008-09 The Board authorized the School District to solicit bids for general supplies for the 2008-09 school year.

APPROVAL TO RATIFY SUPPORT AGREEMENT WITH CHICK-FIL-A The Board ratified the support agreement with Chick-Fil-A for their participation in the Model Cleaners Holiday Basketball Tournament.

APPROVAL OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH ALLEGHENY INTERMEDIATE UNIT

The Board approved, by majority vote, the Educational Services Agreement with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for the 2007-08 school year.

APPROVAL OF REALTY TRANSFER TAX RESOLUTION The Board approved the resolution affirming the imposition of the realty transfer tax and authorizing the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue to determine, collect and enforce the taxes.

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FINAL CONTRACT WITH GRAVES & MC LEAN FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS RENOVATION PROJECT Mrs. Petersen announced that the approval of the final contract with Graves & McLean for the Middle Schools Renovation Project is being deferred as recommended by the Solicitor.

ADMINISTRATORS’ REPORTS

RESOLUTION REGARIDNG STAFFING

The Board adopted the following resolutions: Resolved, that based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the District staff be decreased by the following position:

1.0 – High School Teacher Aide (Special Education) Resolved, that based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the District staff be increased by the following positions: 0.5 – Baker Teacher Aide (Special Education) 0.5 – Streams Teacher Aide (Special Education)

PERSONNEL APPROVALS (Pending Receipt of Paperwork) The Board approved the following Personnel Listings: Change of Status – Professional Staff Craig Madge – Boyce/Music FROM Temporary Professional Employee TO Professional Employee effective 1-28-08 Leave of Absence – Professional Staff Gary McCullough- Boyce - Military Leave 12-13-07 and 12-20-07 Robert Sully – Boyce – Military Leave 1-22-08 through 2-1-08 Kristin Cilli – Boyce/Elementary - unpaid personal leave effective 2-28-08 to 3-25-08 Jennifer Daley – Eisenhower/Elementary - unpaid personal leave effective 2-5-08 to 5-23-08 Stacey Templeton – Baker/Elementary - unpaid personal leave effective 4-10-08 to 5-16-08 Leave of Absence – Classified Staff Lois Mulholland – High School/Aide unpaid personal leave beginning 1-2-08 Ingrid Empey – Baker/Aide unpaid personal leave ending 1-1-08 John Martin – High School/Custodian unpaid personal leave effective 12-19-07 to 1-1-08 Barbara Snyder – Boyce/Aide unpaid personal leave ending 1-11-08 Change of Status – Classified Staff Julia Zaitz – FROM High School /Part Time Nutrition Center Worker TO Sub Nutrition Center Worker effective 12-14-07 Lauren Snyder- FROM (.5) Baker Teacher Aide (Special Ed) TO (1.0) Baker Teacher Aide (Special Ed) effective 1-28-08 Election – Classified Staff Kristopher Wilson – High School Custodian effective 1-02-08 Resignation –Classified Staff Carolyn Koch – FC/Part-Time Nutrition Center worker effective 1-4-08 Nancy Jones - Eisenhower Teacher Aide (Special Ed) effective 1-25-08

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Election – Administrative Support Staff Karen Huckestein – Central Office Confidential Secretary effective 1-28-08 Change of Status – Extra Curricular Activities Terry Tressler – Rifle Coach New Appointments – Extra Curricular Activities Lauren Draksler – Assistant Softball Coach Steve Hope – Volunteer Baseball Assistant Coach Reappointments – Extra Curricular Activities Jen Wagner – Softball Head Coach Amanda Snoke – Softball Assistant Coach Michael Welhorsky – Softball Assistant Coach Jack Zebo – Boys Volleyball Head Coach Terry Tressler – Boys & Girls Track Head Coach Doug Petrick – Boys & Girls Assistant Track Coach Bill Rullo –Boys & Girls Assistant Track Coach Tom Smedley - Boys & Girls Assistant Track Coach Bryan Bennett - Boys & Girls Assistant Track Coach Matt Martocci - Boys & Girls Assistant Track Coach Jerry Malarkey – Baseball Head Coach Garrett Beard – (.75) Baseball Assistant Coach Brad Wilson - (.75) Baseball Assistant Coach Justin Gremba - (.75) Baseball Assistant Coach Corey Langley – (.75) Baseball Assistant Coach Lorraine Milovac- Spring Musical Vocal Coach Paul Fox – Spring Musical Orchestra Pit Director Ponny Conomos Jahn – Spring Musical Assistant Shelly Desmond – Spring Musical Assistant Mary Elizabeth Werner – Spring Musical Scenery Painter Jane Dodd – Spring Musical Assistant Lorraine Milovac – Spring Musical Assistant (Accompanist) Terry Williard – Spring Musical Technical Director Liz Williard – Spring Musical Assistant (Costumes) Additions to District Substitute List Professional: Stacey Kovach – English effective 1-2-08 Kelly Luznar – Elementary and Early Childhood effective 1-2-08 Patrick Oney – Early Childhood and Social Studies effective 1-2-08 Katherine Resanovich – Biology effective 1-2-08 Kristin Slemmer – Health & Phys Ed effective 1-2-08 Laura Williams – Elementary effective 1-2-08 Cody Hickton - Elementary effective 1-7-08 Jaclyn Rutkowski - Health & Phys Ed effective 1-09-08 James Horning – Elementary effective 1-09-08 Ramie Allison – Health & Physical Ed effective 1-16-08 Kayti Jurcic – Early Childhood effective 1-10-08 Bradley Kavo – English effective 1-17-08 Christopher Kountz – English effective 1-16-08 Tinamarie Spragg – English effective 1-16-08 Ivan Obrknez - Social Studies effective 1/21/08

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Classified: Eileen Pacalo – Teacher Aide effective 12-10-07 Michele Campbell – Nutrition Center worker effective 1-11-08 Deletions from District Substitute List Professional: Michael Hewitt, Social Studies effective 12-18-07 Sarah Hanson – English effective 1/2/08 Mark Kopper – Social Studies effective 1/2/08 Tanya Strong – Elementary effective 1-16-08 Classified: Lynn Hawkins – Aide effective 1/2/08

APPROVAL OF FAST TRACK CURRICULUM RECOMMENDATIONS

The Board approved, by majority roll call vote, the Fast Track Curriculum Recommendations.

REQUEST APPROVAL OF CONTRACTUAL ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT WITH WESLEY SPECTRUM ACADEMY

The Board approved, by majority roll call vote, the Contractual Enrollment Agreement with Wesley Spectrum Academy effective January 8, 2008 in the amount of $8,545.00.

REQUEST APPROVAL OF CONTRACTUAL EDUCATION AGREEMENT WITH WESLEY SPECTRUM INTEGRATED SERVICES The Board approved, by majority roll call vote, the Contractual Education Agreement with Wesley Spectrum Integrated Services effective January 8, 2008 in the amount of $50.00 per day.

MATTERS OF INFORMATION

HIGH SCHOOL DANCE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TRIP Dr. Kushner announced that the High School Dance Team would be competing in the annual dance competition in Orlando, Florida, from February 1-6, 2008. The Board extended best wishes to the team.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT (O’Toole)

COMMENDATIONS & RECOGNITIONS

Dr. O’Toole read the following Commendations & Recognitions:

Several Fort Couch students participated in the National Garden Club Poetry contest. Cassie Fowler came in first place and Taylor Manolo placed second in the 8th grade category. In the 7th grade category, Madison Chafin placed first and Christopher Besser came in second. The students received monetary prizes, a certificate, and a chance to be published in a booklet. Congratulations! Congratulations to Marjorie Heins' Engineering Design and Fabrication team for advancing to the National competition in Washington, DC on February 15th. Team members are: Matt Moretti, Andrew Lee, Brian Stevenson, John Subosits, Alex Lippold, Trey Grunnagle, Adam Chrissis, Brian Toth, Matt Leahy, Daina Allison, Mohit Kudarvalli, Josh Gao, and Scott Bussey.

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The following students are members of the 2008 Math Counts team representing Fort Couch Middle School on Saturday, February 2nd at Robert Morris University: Maya Chandrasekaran, Poorwa Godbole, Dong Wook Kim, Owen Meiman, Rachel Szucs, Akhil Venkatesh, Vijay Viswanathan, and Ben Zhang Alternates: Taylor Manolo, David Duan The National Geography Bee was held at Fort Couch Middle School on Wednesday, January 16, 2008. The top 10 students to make it to the Final Round were Alexandra LeClaire, Ben Zhang, Rachel Szucs, Vijay Viswanathan, Vinay Viswanathan, Garrett Cimina, Tyler Reid, Ben Mertz, Kevin Muck, and Troy Schoeppner. Vinay Viswanathan came in first place, Vijay Viswanathan came in 2nd place, and Ben Zhang placed third. Benny Benack was selected as one of thirty talented high school students from across North America by the GRAMMY Foundation to participate in the prestigious 2008 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble, with performances at various 50th annual GRAMMY Week events in Los Angeles, California, in early February. Benny is a trumpet student of Frank Eisenreich, and performs in the High School Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and lead in the Spring Musical "Singin' in the Rain." The Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble participants are eligible to more than two million dollars in college scholarships, and Upper St. Clair High School will receive a professional cymbal courtesy of the Zildjian Company as well as subscriptions to SmartMusic software. Congratulations Benny!

The Fort Couch Middle School team placed 4th in the region at the Future City Competition on Saturday, January 19. The team was represented by Vinay Viswanathan, Mohini Walavalkar, and Ben Zhang. The team also walked away with awards for Most Effective Homeland Security and Innovative Water and Wastewater Utilities. The team was coached by Mrs. Patricia Palazzolo. Congratulations to Matthew Alloway, Baker Elementary School teacher, for achieving the status of National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early Childhood/Generalist.

REQUEST APPROVAL OF NON-REPRESENTED SUPPORT STAFF SALARY PLAN The Board approved, effective January 1, 2008, the total salary increase plan for non-represented support employees for the calendar year 2008.

NOMINATION TO ALLEGHENY COUNTY SCHOOLS HEALTH INSURANCE CONSORTIUM The Board nominated Angela B. Petersen for the Trustee Position for the Western Region of the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium.

MATTERS OF INFORMATION SHASDA – GRADUATION COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT – (GCA) – (ADDITION)

Dr. O’Toole explained that there was discussion at the South Hills Area School Districts Association (SHASDA) meeting regarding the collective concern regarding the state’s adoption of the Graduation Competency Assessment (GCA) exams. He stated that SHASDA will be communicating their concerns with the legislature regarding the exams. Dr. O’Toole added that information is also in the January 11, 2008 issue of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) School Leader News that high school diplomas should remain a local decision rather than by contracting with the state. Dr. O’Toole stated that he will keep the Board updated regarding the matter and that he would share the letter that will be prepared by SHASDA.

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OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS

REPORT ON BOARD WORKSHOP – JANUARY 26, 2008 Mrs. Billerbeck reported that a Board/Administrative Workshop was held on Saturday, January 26, 2008, to discuss the vision, futuristic thinking, and planning for the School District and reviewed the day’s agenda and discussions. She stated that she is looking forward to a follow-up report in further detail. Mrs. Billerbeck thanked Dr. O’Toole and Dr. Bulazo for planning the content for the workshop and also thanked members of the Board and administration who participated. Announcement Regarding Executive Session Mrs. Petersen announced that an executive session was held on the following date: January 14, 2008 – Negotiations & Personnel Issues

SOLICITOR’S REPORT

ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER DISCUSSION Mr. Brooks explained that he distributed a guide that outlines the basics of Robert’s Rules of Order. He stated that Robert’s Rules is a good resource to help with the flow of motions, amendments, debates, tabling and deferring of items. Mrs. Petersen recommended that the Board use Robert’s Rules of Order to help facilitate meetings. She noted that there could be further discussion at the next Committee of the Whole meeting if the Board members felt that was necessary.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS RENOVATION PRIME CONTRACTS DISCUSSION Mr. Brooks reviewed the requirements for the bidding and awarding of school construction projects, the state mandate waiver program, and single bid prime contracts. He explained that the Board will need to consider if they wish to appoint a construction manager to coordinate the renovations project and explained the difference between having one prime contractor versus four prime contractors and a construction manager. Dr. O’Toole shared his experiences and problems that arose due to conflicts among prime contractors. Mr. Brooks provided clarification and answered questions of Board members. Mrs. Petersen noted that Dr. O’Toole is currently reviewing the qualifications of educational planners. There was also discussion regarding the awareness of controlling environmental issues that could arise for individuals during the building renovations.

The agendas for the School Board meetings and School Board Meeting Reports are available

on the school district website at www.uscsd.k12.pa.us (District Info – School Board).

School Board meetings are also videotaped and will be cablecast on Cable 19.