Students Prepare for Start of School Year

Student Council and National Honor Society students started their school year early last week by assisting teachers at Ford City High School.

by Melissa Fello

Ford City High School’s Senior High Student Council and National Honor Society joined together for the day to help teachers prepare for the 2010-2011 school year.   When the teachers arrived at school for their in-service day, they were greeted with smiling students eager to help the teachers. The students offered a valet service which would help move boxes in and out of teacher’s rooms, set up computers and decorate bulletin boards and rooms. The students were available for all teachers and helped with anything that they were asked to do. The teachers enjoyed having the help and the students enjoyed doing it. The advisors hope to have this service at the beginning of every year now.

Student workers, janitors, secretaries, teachers, and special guests were invited to a lunch sponsored by Senior High Student Council.  The lunch was made possible by donations from local businesses. Student council appreciates the donations of salad, pizza, fruit, and paper products from the following local businesses: Garda’s, Pizza Hut, Sirena’s Pizza, Mel’s Pizza, Vocelli’s Pizza, Tri-R Pizza,  Ford City Foodland, and Obade Candy Company.

Choncek Criticizes Transportation Consultants

ASD Transporation Consultants Richard Serafin and Randy Smith took the podium to defend their recent transportation report after it was negatively reviewed by Board Member Christopher Choncek.

by Nathan Lasher

Armstrong School District (ASD) Board of Directors Member Christopher Choncek criticized a report made by School Transportation Consultants during a public meeting Monday night.

As Transportation Consultants Richard Serafin and Randy Smith and Transportation Coordinator Chuck Pepper watched from the audience, Choncek voiced negative comments about a recent report that was the culmination of the consultants’ efforts to review all aspects of the ASD’s transportation.

“I was disappointed because I thought the report was vague,” said Choncek. “I didn’t think it really told us anything new than what we’ve already done, and I was under the impression that when we paid for your services that the solutions would be a little more concrete; that there would be a little more follow-through. Basically, what you’ve done was just restate what we’ve already known. So, I’m very disappointed. And then along with that, to find out that we are going to continue paying your consulting firm into the future, as far as I know, and anybody else can correct me if I’m wrong, that wasn’t part of the deal either. I thought what we were doing was paying for your services for a limited time and coming back with a concrete deliverable, and I just don’t see it in the report. So, I will be voting no for the acceptance of this final report, and for your continued services.”

In reply to Choncek’s comments, Smith said, “We made it very clear at the committee level that there were many things that were looked at. We just put in the report what we thought could be improved upon. I think we made that clear at the committee report level.”

The Transportation Consultants met with the ASD Transportations Committee during a public meeting held Friday, July 30, during which they presented committee members Rose Stitt, Dr. James Solak, and Sara Yassem with their final report and recommendations. During their report, the consultants’ greatest concern came from a performance audit from the Auditor General which was received by the ASD in January of 2010. The audit stated that it was the third consecutive audit where the District has had a finding in pupil transportation and that the situation is worsening. It suggested that the Department of Education should consider withholding pupil transportation reimbursement until such time as the District can show it is taking its corrective action implementation seriously.

During Monday’s meeting, Stitt was concerned whether the issues of the audit were being addressed. “Are you going to give any information to the auditors to prove that we are trying to rectify the issues that we have?” she asked the consultants.

“If the administration wants us to meet with the auditor we’d be more than happy to lay out a path to where we feel this needs to go to get good audits,” replied Smith. “Basically, we’re here to serve whatever you want us to do. We’ll make suggestions, but what the District accepts, modifies, or throws out, we don’t make any decisions. We basically just recommend.”

Superintendent Dr. Stan Chapp was last to comment. “With the auditors, we did give them a copy of the agreement and a copy of the fact that the report that was provided would be accepted,” he said. “So, we did indicate we would try to make this all completed probably by May 1. We would put together a timeline and work with consultants, and I think they are very satisfied that we have a plan in place.”

After the discussion, the Board voted 5 – 2 to accept the final report and to continue the Consultation and Support Services of the School Transportation Consultants. Choncek and Board Member Joseph Close cast the two dissenting votes. Member James Rearic was absent, and the seat of resigned member Michael Markilinski had yet to be filled.

Stitt Deems Senator’s Comments “Incorrect”

Board President Rose Stitt criticized recent comments made by Senator Don White regarding the reopening of Elderton High School during a meeting held last night.

by Nathan Lasher

Armstrong School District (ASD) Board of Directors President Rose M. Stitt deemed remarks made recently by Senator Don White during a meeting of the Indiana – Armstrong Patriots as “incorrect” during a public meeting held last night.

“I want to correct something I saw that Senator White said that Elderton High School cost $4 million,” said Stitt.

Stitt then asked ASD Business Manager Eric Brandenburg if that figure was correct.

“The last cost, basically that was in the lawsuit that you had, it was approximately $2.6 million, and there were still a couple additional costs to that,” replied Brandenburg. “And, the operating cost is going to be 3.5.”

Board Vice President James A. Solak then asked Brandenburg what the cost was to reopen only.

“Like I said, it’s approximately $2.6 million, and then there may be some technology costs and we’re not sure about transportation as you know. I could say a ballpark $2.7 million.”

Matta

Solicitor Gary Matta then asked to comment on the situation. “I just want to make sure that the community is clear on this issue,” said Matta. “The cost of reopening and the cost of running the District, I believe, are two different definitions if you would. Some of the costs that are being included in this 2.7 to 3.5 number that has been discussed are salaries for teaching staff. Those salaries would have occurred if Elderton was open or not. So, they’re not costs to open Elderton. I think the costs to reopen Elderton would be anything that needed to be done to the building to make it inhabitable for students, and maybe some additional costs. There may have been some additional staff positions, but all of those staff positions were not in addition. So, I don’t think it’s fair to say to reopen Elderton cost 2 to 3 million dollars. Some of those costs would have been incurred no matter if that building was open or not because the education of those children would have still occurred in another facility. So, I think that we need to define that, and I don’t know if Mr. Brandenburg actually can differentiate that here this evening or not.”

After explaining that other costs still would have occurred because the Elderton High School building shares the same heating system as the elementary school, Stitt said, “I talked to Senator White on Thursday and asked him where he got that $4 million figure at because I have never seen him come to the Board or request any documents, and he told me our former superintendent had told him those figures a year ago. So, I just want to put out there that we are working to get accurate figures and we are working to try to get accuracy out there, and that those figures were incorrect and I just wanted to straighten that out.”

Board Member Christopher E. Choncek was next to join the discussion. “I do agree that you need to make a distinction between what it cost to reopen the school, but clearly without Elderton open we would not be incurring the millions and millions of dollars every year to keep it open,” he said. “So, although the distinction needs to be made, you can’t understate the fact that this School District is going to spend a lot of money every year on those staff salaries and benefits. If it wasn’t open we wouldn’t be spending on those salaries and benefits, so I don’t think that can be said enough that it still means a great deal of money whether you say it is 2, 3, or 4 million dollars. That’s still millions of dollars every year that will be incurred because it is left open.”

“I suppose that depends if you agree with Senator White in calling the Elderton community and the education of the Elderton students in the only school that’s won a national award in education a waste of money or not,” replied Stitt.  “It costs money. People live in Elderton just like every other area. We pay. They paid to spend $10 million over budget on West Hills. They paid as they sat and watched Lenape.” Stitt went further to say, “We’ve closed tons of schools in this District over the years and our taxes never went down, and when Elderton High School was closed people’s taxes didn’t go down, but yet when it was opened and we found mistakes in the budget. We found out we had $4 million extra the year Elderton was opened. So, I guess it’s a matter of opinion as to where you figure your waste of money is. Obviously, we are going to have a difference of opinion on that. Of course, every school in this District, we could go through and ask how much every school in this District cost to open and then we could pick and choose which ones we feel are worth money and which ones aren’t and we could go on and on. But, the fact is that Senator White got those figures, he told me personally, from our former superintendent whenever we couldn’t get the answer out of our former superintendent at Board meetings and we’re still looking for the accurate figures. I just want to set the record straight that that figure is incorrect.”

Choncek then proposed that Brandenburg compose a report with the cost to open Elderton as well as the yearly operating costs.

Stitt also asked to see the same for every school in the District.

Next, Choncek argued Stitt’s previous point about taxes not being decreased in the past. “You are right, taxes did not go down when we closed all of those schools, but I’ll bet you if we did not close those schools they would have gone up,” he said. “So all we’re trying to do, and all we’ve been trying to do in this District, is stop the bleeding with band-aids on these buildings. Every once-in-a-while we close a building. Most of the buildings are in the Kittanning attendance area. Those elementary schools: North Buffalo, East Franklin, and all of those out there are in the Kittanning attendance area. It is very convenient to say that we don’t save money, but yet you will do it with Kittanning Township and potentially with Kittanning Junior High School whenever it helps the process and helps increase enrollment in other schools. So, we’ll go round and around, and I’m sure it’s going to continue, but we fundamentally disagree on where we should be spending our money. Not on old buildings every year with declining enrollment.”

Stitt made the argument that closing Kittanning Township was not an effort to increase enrollment at Elderton High School. “Those kids go to Elderton High School anyway,” she said.

Citing savings from possibly closing Kittanning Junior High School, dismissing the past threat of South Bend Township students leaving the District, and reconfiguring transportation, Solak claimed that expenditures from reopening Elderton High School would be offset. “The comments that it’s costing so much, $4 million, to reopen Elderton is not true,” he said.