BOARD UPDATE 12-11-00 Dr. Duryea's not gone -yet-... NRA coming soon to a local elementary school near you... Har-Mer parents want parity... gender equity on hold...Monday's meeting brought to a screeching halt... Meeting Ends Sooner Than Expected As some of you know, the Sunshine Act requires that the first meeting of a new year be advertised at least 3 days before the scheduled meeting takes place. The notice for last night's meeting showed up in the Saturday/Sunday Butler Eagle - and no matter how you count the days - that isn't 72 hours notice. Any citizen has a right at any time to object to a perceived violation of the Sunshine Act, so acting upon my citizenly duty, I made the objection. A technicality? No big deal, you say? Well, it is a big deal, especially when you look at the agenda items that were up for a vote last night. Attorney Hnath decided to err on the side of caution, so no action was taken on the following items (it'll be quite a meeting next week!! Maybe Adams and Christmann will be able to show up next time..It's kind of funny for them to have missed a meeting with so many construction issues on the agenda...hmmm...) Items Delayed Until Dec. 18 The first were two contracts being given to the URS Corporation/O'Brein Kreitzberg for a value engineering study of the Middle School project ($6,105.00) and a constructability review for the Middle School project ($6,670.00). Sounds like the URS Corporation/O'Brein Kreitzberg will be getting about $12,775.00 of the money we could spend actually renovating the under budget Middle School renovations. Now I think that any project over $10,000 has to go out for bids, but hey, if you separate the projects out, then we aren't technically spending over $10,000, are we?? And I still don't understand why the Board would want to get locked into a constructablilty review contract before they even see if they want to have the work performed...Just remember those two words from the last update... The next item was to approve the changes to the Har-Mer Additions and Renovations project as recommended by the Building and Grounds Committee. A reprieve for all the Har-Mer parents or teachers who would like to share their opinions with the Board... And finally, to accept the resignation of Dr. David Duryea, effective December 11, 2000. Applications accepted through noon, January 2, 2001 with interviews on Thursday, January 4, 2001. Oops. I guess Dr. Duryea can't go yet...Another week's service to the Board.... Speakers Galore Harrisville resident, Sharon Sykora, informed the Board that an Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program, funded through an NRA grant, will be offered to children at Har-Mer in the near future. A district parent will present the program, and Principal Cokain will follow him to each presentation (I guess to be sure that everything is on the up and up). Sykora expressed concern that the NRA, a political group, was given access to the schools when a similar program by the Butler County Sheriff's office was available, free of charge. A sheriff's presentation would be more professional and perhaps carry more clout than a parent's presentation She also wondered what responsibilities Mr. Cokain would have to neglect in order to follow the speaker throughout the day. Would the District allow other political groups the same access??? Newly elected President Watson, ignoring the 5 minutes and you're through rule, allowed Sykora to address a second area of concern - the Har-Mer renovations. She asked only for parity, reminding the Board that as taxpayers, we're all in this together. She was critical of what she called their "slash and burn strategy" for renovations. Suggesting that the Home and School Association pay for a $3000 dumpster screen would take their entire annual budget and it is just wrong and unfair to treat Har-Mer students as second class citizens.... I hope the Board was listening. Pink and Blue Rules/Walk In My Shoes Two representatives from VOICE, a victim's outreach program, spoke in response the the Board's recent decision to cancel two programs at Moraine. Pink and Blue Rules, a program for grades 2, 3, and 4 has children list pink and blue words (gender roles and gender stereotypes), then encourages children to break those rules and have more acceptance of everyone's differences. Giesler was concerned about parents' rights. He was concerned that what was said might contradict what children were being taught at home. Sir, was the response, permission slips were sent home, and there was a number parents could call if there were questions. Beaton was concerned that they were telling young children to break rules. Walk in My Shoes is designed to teach empathy to 5th and 6th graders. Youngman wondered what parents' responses to the program had been (There hasn't been any parental feedback). Beaton felt the situations described were too mature, and better suited to the Middle School. And yes, permission slips were sent home.. And they may be perfectly fine programs. But were parents given specific information about what the discussions would be? Were they invited to visit the classroom during the presentation? Were they invited to view the curriculum prior to giving permission? Did they help choose the curriculum? Or is it like every other curricular issue (Core Knowledge, senior projects, revised math, science, or reading curricula)? Parents, this isn't your job. We're the experts and we know best. When, oh when, will parents be seen as equal partners? Whose children are they, anyway???? $82,000 Food Service.Surplus Budget The auditors spoke about the annual audit. A big surplus for the food services. Anyone thought about using it to improve the quality of the food???? Readin', Writing' and 'Rithmetic - Slippery Rock Style Where has everybody gone? Has the public abandoned the construction projects at Har-Mer and the Middle School? Or is the Board trying to keep it's actions out of public view? Two very significant Building and Grounds committee meetings were held; one on Dec. 4 and the other on Dec. 8, both at 4:00 pm. Neither meeting was advertised much in advance. Even the newspaper reporters were absent (the Board knows the newspapers don't attend committee meeting) The Board has a plan, and decisions are being made. Could it be that the Board is trying to keep the public from commenting too much on the construction issues? After all, the public has already had the chance to give comments when the architect did his preliminary work years ago. But with so many cuts and changes, it's hard to recognize the original plan. It seems that the hoodwink is working. As you know (well, maybe you don't), the bids for renovations at Har-Mer were more than the Board wanted to spend, so the buzz word for the last month or so has been cut, cut, cut. Former acting superintendent Ahlum (is he now the 10th Board member? The one who works behind the scenes but doesn't appear in public?) has been giving advice to Board members about where cuts can happen. Newly hired principal Ron Cokain has also been telling Board members what can get the axe. Board members themselves have official and "private" lists of items to go. And parents' input? It's been conspicuously absent, much to the Board's delight. In Friday's 4:00 meeting in the Middle Schol library, the Building and Grounds Committee made decisions that are going to the full Board on Monday for a vote. Will there be any further discussion? It's doubtful. Giesler, Adams, Youngman and Smith pretty well hashed it out, and voted on each item on the architect's list of changes for Har-Mer. All cosmetic changes are gone. That fancy library roof? Forget it. Plaster walls? Gypsum is cheaper. A sprinkler system? Not if the code doesn't require it. Brick for the multi-purpose room? Nah. Block construction is good enough for those Harrisville folks. A screen to hide the dumpster? No need for our tax dollars to go there. Gielser says the PTO can pay for it. Same for the shrubs. If you Har-Mer folks are lucky, you might get bleachers. That's good, because the wood in the gym is out. Which will make the gym a lot louder, but at least there will be somewhere to sit. No display case (might cause too much school "spirit"). But you will, thanks to Dr. Beaton, get a partition wll between the library and computer room (Cokain wanted to cut that). It just makes me think about the renovations to the Area Elementary. At least that school wasn't done in the cheapest way possible, without regard to aesthetics or academics. The library is a pleasant place. The front facade isn't too bad. All of the old classrooms were even renovated as part of the project. Adams was almost gleeful when he explained how it was liberal parents and liberal Board members who had all of those ideas for Har-Mer, ideas that will never see the light of day. According to Adams, the school shouldn't even be there, but since it is, all that's really needed at Har-Mer are two modular buildings. I'd like to thank the taxpayers from the Harrisville area for helping to fund Moraine and the Area Elementary. It's too bad that their children are being treated as second class citizens (they don't need clean drinking water, do they???). No one has objected, though, so I guess the Board must really be representing the will of the people. The changes will be voted on Monday night, and the rebidding process will begin. Onto the Middle School. Just two words. Metal Building. Well, ok, maybe more than two words....Bids for Value Reingineering and Constructability Analysis have come in (translation, how can they cut costs? Even though the project came in under bid, hey, maybe it can be done even cheaper). A firm will be hired Monday night to not only cut costs but also to find out how much it would cost to build a steel building in between the High School and the Middle School (since enrollment is increasing, maybe more space will be needed, according to Mr. Adams). Independent expert witness and clerk of the works Roger Weaver was there to help give advice. And guess what? It turns out he just finished building a freestanding metal (it has a brick facade) school building for the Mars Home for Youth (what a coincidence!!!). It has 8 classrooms, an office, sinks, a parking lot, heat and air conditioning (and even a lab, added Mr. Youngman) and only cost $153 per square foot. According to architect Cuteri, the Middle School new construction (according to the bids which the Board has rejected) will cost $145.33 per square foot, and $50.51 per square foot for the renovations. Ah, but the cold feel of steel. Something so, I don't know, rigid about it... And if there was a new metal building, then we wouldn't need that Taj Mahal District office. I know it isn't handicapped accessible, but hey, how many people in wheelchairs need to get in there anyway? If we just got rid of a few soccer fields, we could build a ramp to the building, steep though it might be (or so the Board argued). Well how did we get into this mess anyway? According to Giesler, mistakes were made and someone, the liberal board or the liberal parents, told the architect to do this. Hmmm. Where is Jim Roberts when the people of Harrisville need him? Roberts might want to give Giesler a call. Roberts insisted on parity between the school buildings. It appears that Giesler dosen't feel the buildings should be equal in terms of quality of materials or functionality. Thank goodness for this Board. The children at Har-Mer - second class citizens. The middle school - metal building. And the community? They must support this Board. They elected them, and I haven't heard any objections to what is being proposed. Have you??? Maybe it's time for another town meeting, this time to discuss the proposed changes. Parents were involved in the original decisions. They should have input in the revisions to the plan. But obviously they are doing all they can to keep the public from even knowing that all of this is going on. They will vote on all this Monday night at 7:30 in the MS. Board Update 12-18-00 Will Every Vote Count? In the “what seems to be a done deal” department, it appears that the Board is heading to court to ask for changes in how Board members are elected. Currently there are three “regions” in the district, with three representatives from each region. Armed with population numbers for each region (Cessar had the handout already prepared), Adams claimed that the current arrangement deprived the south of their rightful representation. Census figures are due out in March, so changes are a-coming, but currently it looks like this: Region 1 (Mercer Township, Harrisville, etc). 8,714 residents (45.3%) Region II (Prospect, Portersville,etc.) 7,408 residents (38.5%) Region III (SR Boro) 3,110 residents (16.2%) Adams said that of course there are more liberals in SR borough than the rest of the District, and it just isn’t fair for them to have three representatives when they only represent 16% of the District. He asked attorney Hnath if they could appoint someone from outside the Boro to fill Duryea’s seat. The reply? Until we go to court and petition for a “different scheme”, the seat will have to be a Boro seat (Wonder how much that scheme will cost?). Cessar said any changes granted by the court probably wouldn’t affect the 2001 election, but would impact the election in 2003. Seems like a lot of discussion has been going on behind the scenes to change the make up of the board. It just doesn’t seem right to have our elected officials deciding on how they should be elected (It’s kind of like putting Katherine Harris in charge!!!). I guess I’m naïve, but I thought that was an issue for the voting public to decide. But what do I know? At least there will be an opportunity for the public to be heard once it goes to court. Only a couple of Districts in the county still elect school board representatives from regions. Everyone else elects members at-large. Board member Thompson seems to favor that, but I think others might have a hidden agenda. When have these discussions taken place? Hnath seems to think that going to court is a done deal. I don’t think this topic is one that requires an executive session, so when was Cessar asked to get the population figures? Have attorneys been paid to research this? And why would our Board want to avoid at-large elections? Why would they want to hold on to electing from regions? (I hear that the only way to combat the impending one world government and the black helicopters is to keep regionalism alive and well…) I’m sure, though, that anything our Board decides to do will be in the best interest of the voters, and not designed to benefit someone’s political agenda. Renovations, Additions and Second Class Citizens Deborah Wells spoke to the Board regarding the on-going construction plans for Har-Mer and the Middle School. After hearing superintendent Beaton ask when the construction began, Wells decided to look back at the history of the construction project to see just how long this had been going on. The single spaced double sided timeline she prepared was interesting. January 20, 1998 was the day that the Board directed the architect to begin the feasibility study (Wonder if the Board has any plans to celebrate the three year anniversary?) and the delays and changes that the Board has created are extensive. Wells reminded the Board that parents and teachers had been involved in planning the changes for Har-Mer and the Middle School (June 1999) and asked that these requests be included in the renovations/additions. She said that handicapped accessibility for the District offices is essential. While saving money is good, Wells continued, too many cuts and compromises will create second class schools, and that’s not what the people want. The Board then proceeded to hire URS Corporation/O’Brein Kreitzbert to perform a value engineering study ($6,105) and a constructability review ($6,670) of the middle school project (Remember the project came in underbid. URS is going to help them cut even more from the plan and the budget). The Board also approved, without discussion, all of the changes to Har-Mer that the Building and Grounds committee recommended (no fence, no sprinkler system, no canopy, no handicapped ramp to the playground, etc.….). Bids will go out soon. But wait. Adams made one last attempt to get rid of the Har-Mer project all together. We could save our neighbors lots of money, he said, if we just had those Har-Mer kids ride the bus a little longer, they could attend the area elementary school. That way, no renovations to Har-Mer would be needed at all… Assistant Superintendent Hired Buried in a list of 11 personnel items, a new assistant superintendent was hired. Her name is Kathleen Nogay and she’ll be making $80,000. Nothing was said, and no information was given. A quick search revealed her to be a High School principal in Hermitage with a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Youngstown State. Once again, no parents were involved in the hiring decision (what about that new policy, anyway?), and no information was given about who they hired. I guess it’s really none of our business… I bid $7, no make that $7.50 A bidding war seemed to be underway, as board members discussed a pay raise for the real estate tax collector. The initial raise of $7.00 per card didn’t seem like enough. According to Smith their rate was cut by 25% four years ago. The $7 rate was voted down. Adams seemed stunned as Angerett offered $8, which was also voted down. Giesler compromised, by offering $7.50 – which passed, with Adams and Christmann voting no. Varsity Soccer Coach Position There’s an opening for a varsity soccer coach, effective Fall 2001. An advertisement should be out soon. Hmmm.

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Board Update 12-8-00 Where has everybody gone?  It seems like the public either abandoned the construction projects at Har-Mer and the Middle School, or else they are content to let the Board alone make educational decisions that will affect the lives of their children and every child in the District for years to come. Two very significant Building and Grounds committee meetings were held (Dec. 4 and Dec. 8), but only one lone community member showed up. Or maybe the Board has just tried to keep the public from commenting too much on the construction issues.  And anyway, the public already gave comments when the architect did his preliminary work years ago.  Yes, the committee meetings were advertised, but it seems that the no-public hoodwink worked. As you know (well, maybe you don't), the bids for renovations at Har-Mer were more than the Board wanted to spend, so the buzz word for the last month or so has been cut, cut, cut.  Former acting superintendent Ahlum (is he now the 10th Board member? The one who works behind the scenes but doesn't appear in public?) has been giving advice to Board members about where cuts can happen.  Newly hired principal Ron Cokain has also been telling Board members what can get the axe.  Board members themselves have official and "secret" lists of items to go.  And parents' input?  It's been conspicuously absent, much to the Board's delight. In Friday's 4:00 meeting in the Middle Schol library, the Building and Grounds Committee made decisions that are going to the full Board on Monday for a vote.  Will there be any further discussion? It's doubtful. Giesler, Adams, Youngman and Smith pretty well hashed it out, and voted on each item on the architect's list of changes for Har-Mer.  All cosmetic changes are gone.  That fancy library roof?  Forget it.  Plaster walls?  Gypsum is cheaper.  A sprinkler system?  Not if the code doesn't require it. Brick for the multi-purpose room? Nah.  Block construction is good enough for those Harrisville folks. A screen to hide the dumpster?  No need for our tax dollars to go there.  Gielser says the PTO can pay for it.  Same for the shrubs. If you Har-Mer folks are lucky, you might get bleachers. That's good, because the wood in the gym is out. Which will make the gym a lot louder, but at least there will be somewhere to sit.  No display case (might cause too much school "spirit"). But you will, thanks to Dr. Beaton, get a partition wll between the library and computer room (Cokain wanted to cut that).   It just makes me think about the renovations to the Area Elementary.  At least that school wasn't done in the cheapest way possible, without regard to aesthetics or academics.  The library is a pleasant place.  The front facade isn't too bad.  All of the old classrooms were even renovated as part of the project.  Adams was almost gleeful when he explained how it was liberal parents and liberal Board members who had all of those ideas for Har-Mer, ideas that will never see the light of day.  I never thought I'd say this, but where's Jim Roberts when you need him? ( I know Jim Roberts, and Randy Giesler is no Jim Roberts when it comes to supporting Har-Mer).  According to Adams, the school shouldn't even be there, but since it is, all that's really needed at Har-Mer are two modular buildings.  I'd like to thank the taxpayers from the Harrisville area for helping to fund Moraine and the Area Elementary.  It's too bad that their children are being treated as second class citizens (they don't need clean drinking water, do they???).  No one has objected, though, so I guess the Board must really be representing the will of the people.  The changes will be voted on Monday night, and the rebidding process will begin. Onto the Middle School.  Just two words.  Metal Building.  Well, ok, maybe more than two words....Bids for Value Reingineering and Constructability Analysis have come in (translation, how can they cut costs?  Even though the project came in under bid, hey, maybe it can be done even cheaper).  A firm will be hired Monday night to not only cut costs but also to find out how much it would cost to build a steel building in between the High School and the Middle School (since enrollment is increasing, maybe more space will be needed, according to Mr. Adams). Independent expert witness and clerk of the works Roger Weaver was there to help give advice.  And guess what? It turns out he just finished building a freestanding metal  (it has a brick facade) school building for the Mars Home for Youth (what a coincidence!!!).  It has 8 classrooms, an office, sinks, a parking lot, heat and air conditioning (and even a lab, added Mr. Youngman) and only cost $153 per square foot.   According to architect Cuteri, the Middle School new construction (according to the bids which the Board has rejected) will cost $145.33 per square foot, and $50.51 per square foot for the renovations. Ah, but the cold feel of steel. Something so, I don't know, rigid about it... And if there was a new metal building, then we wouldn't need that Taj Mahal District office. I know it isn't handicapped accessible, but hey, how many people in wheelchairs need to get in there anyway?  If we just got rid of  a few soccer fields, we could build a ramp to the building, steep though it might be (or so the Board argued). Well how did we get into this mess anyway?  According to Giesler, mistakes were made.  Someone, the liberal board or the liberal parents, told the architect to do this.   Thank goodness for this Board. The children at Har-Mer - second class citizens.  The middle school - metal building.  And the community?  They must support this Board.  They elected them, and I haven't heard any objections to what is being proposed.  Have you???  Maybe it's time for another town meeting, this time to discuss the proposed changes.  Would the Board dare?? I strongly urge anyone who cares about what happens to Har-Mer and the Middle School to show up Monday night.  Let your voices be heard. Or else let the Board alone decide the future of the District.