FRANKLIN REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS COMMITTEE-OF-THE-WHOLE MEETING MINUTES March 7, 2011 Heritage Elementary School A. BOARD MEMBER ATTENDANCE Present: Absent: Allan Shafer, Herb Yingling, Roberta Cook, Bill Evans, Dennis Irvine, Paul Scheinert, Joe Seymour, Joe Thomas (via phone) Kimberly Bondi B. AGENDA TOPIC 1. Superintendent s Report Dr. D Arcangelo congratulated all those who helped in any way to make the musical, Hello Dolly such a successful evening of entertainment. He commended the Theater Guild for their efforts each year in helping to promote the musical and for their help with costumes, sets, tickets, etc. The Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, March 31 st at 3:00 p.m. in the Administration Office Conference Room. This meeting will be advertised as a legal notice in the Penn Franklin News and is open to the public. 2. Cow Pattie Bingo The Franklin Regional Band Boosters are seeking permission to use the baseball field on campus, as well as the parking lot, in September, 2011, for their Cow Pattie Bingo fundraising event. The exact date of the fundraiser will be set once the Steeler football schedule is announced since the bingo will be held on a Sunday afternoon. This fundraiser helps the members of the Band defray the cost of future band trips, particularly this year s trip to Pasadena, California for the Rose Bowl Parade. Tickets for this year s event will be $10 per ticket and may be purchased from any Franklin Regional Band member. The Board will be asked to take action on the request by the Band Boosters for the use of the baseball field and parking lot for their Cow Pattie Bingo fundraiser at its regular voting meeting on March 21 st.
3. FBLA State Leadership Conference The members of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Club at the Senior High School are seeking permission to travel to Hershey, PA on April 4-6, 2011, in order to attend the FBLA State Leadership Conference at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. There are twelve students from the District who have qualified to attend this annual conference which is viewed as a great networking opportunity for the students, as well as a chance to compete at the state level. Mr. Roger Crider, the sponsor of the Club, will be traveling with the students. In an effort to cut costs, Franklin Regional students will share a bus with some of the surrounding school districts which will also be attending the conference Norwin, Penn Trafford, Hempfield, etc. While at the conference, the students will be required to attend/participate in at least eight (8) activities. Competitions, workshops, an awards ceremony and dance are some of the activities planned for the students. Those attending would miss three (3) days of school. The Board will take action at its voting meeting on March 21st on the request for the FBLA students to travel to Hershey, PA from April 4-6, 2011, in order to take part in the FBLA State Leadership Conference. 4. Adelphoi Village Linkage Agreement The District has received a linkage agreement from Adelphoi Village for students from the Franklin Regional School District who are attending (or will attend) the Adelphoi Village Partial Hospitalization Program for the 2010-2011 school year at a cost of $85/day (a $5.00 increase from last year s rate). The education of students enrolled in this program is provided by the Dr. Robert Ketterer Charter School. Students enrolled in the program are no longer enrolled in the Franklin Regional School District until such time that the student completes the Partial Hospitalization Program and is released. At that time, the students would be re-enrolled at Franklin Regional. The District is responsible for the transportation of the student to and from the Partial Hospitalization Program during the period of enrollment. The Board will take action on the Adelphoi Village Linkage Agreement on March 21 st at its regular voting meeting. 5. Capital Projects Four capital projects were presented to the Board for consideration by District Services: a. Floor Scrubber Replacement at Sloan AmSan of Pittsburgh - $7,513.94 (Capital Replacement) The floor scrubber in use at Sloan Elementary School is eleven years old, has a transmission that no longer functions and is unable to move by its own power. Costs to repair the machine would amount to half the
cost of total replacement. b. District Services Van Replacement Whiteside Chevrolet of St. Clairsville, Ohio - $18,589.00 (Capital Replacement) The District s oldest vehicle is a 2001 Chevy van with 96,000 miles that is in very poor condition. The majority of this vehicle s life was spent in short trips of less than a mile with a lot of idling time; this type of service is extremely hard on a vehicle. The lowest estimate for repair of the vehicle is $4,450; the NADA used vehicle guide puts the value of the vehicle at $2,175.00 c. Overlay of Sections C and D of the Sloan Roof PA Roofing of Bakerstown, PA - $21,635.00 (Capital Replacement) During the course of the last few years, the rubber seams and sheets on the roof have been starting to separate, enabling water to penetrate the roof and leak into the classrooms and hallways. Rather than replacing the roof, the recommendation is to rework the roofing of these two sections with the overlay of the seams with a 60 mill thick rubber strip which would be glued down and help to extend the life of the roof by five years. d. Replacement of the Track High Jump and Pole Vaulting Mats Sportsman s of Johnstown - $15,500 (Capital Replacement and New Capital) The Senior High School high jumping and pole vaulting mats are in poor condition and do not meet WPIAL requirements for competition. A sanction could be levied against the District if the mats are not replaced. With the high jump pad being ten years old and the pole vault bottom and top pads thirteen and five years old, respectively, the pads have outlived their usefulness and have become a safety issue. The Board will take action on the proposed capital projects listed above on March 21 st. 6. Technology Budget The Finance Committee met last week to discuss the Technology Budget for the 2011-2012 school year which, in many respects, is subservient to the General Fund Budget. The replacement and new projects ($202,862.61) would be funded through the ESEA portion of the stimulus funds, with the remainder of the cost ($309,637.00) funded from the technology reserve fund. The Fund 10 General Operating Budget includes contracted support and supplies for a total of $456,563.00. The total for new projects and replacement projects for the 2011/2012 school year amounts to $512,500.00. Those projects, typically started and/or completed during the summer months, would be presented to the Board in April or May. During discussion at the recent Finance Committee meeting, it was suggested that approximately $200,000 worth of new and/or replacement projects be delayed.
One of those projects being considered to delay is expansion of the wireless computers to the elementary level in the District. Based on past experience, Mrs. Cook is concerned that deferring the addition of wireless computers would make it easier to keep pushing this project out even further. This project is crucial to the District s Strategic Plan and to the District s overall commitment to providing the students instruction with the most up-to-date technology available. Expansion in the elementary libraries only was also suggested. Considering the current economic conditions, committing to a totally wireless campus and the cost involved is a concern. A workshop will be held in the Fall to review Dashboard and to possibly consider other providers of the same kind(s) of information. After further discussion, the Board agreed to defer some of the new technology projects. Approval of the Technology budget for the 2011-2012 school year in the amount of $969,063.70 will be on the agenda for the March 21 st voting meeting. 7. Westmoreland Intermediate Unit Budget for 2011-2012 The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit (WIU) Board of Directors approved the 2011-2012 General Operating Budget for the WIU on January 25, 2011. As required by law, the Board of Directors for each of the seventeen comprising districts must formally vote on this General Operating Budget in March or April. Franklin Regional s contribution to the WIU General Operating Budget for the 2010-2011 school year was $32,745.85; for the 2011-2012 school year, the contribution will be $32,628.14 a decrease of $117.71. The Derry School District has already voted down the WIU budget for 2011-2012. It was felt that even though the WIU does not have a millage rate to increase, they should cut their costs and expenses and pass those savings along to the contributing districts. Not approving their budget would be a protest vote by the WIU districts. Mrs. Roberta Cook, Franklin Regional s representative on the WIU Board, encouraged her fellow Board members to vote no and send the WIU a message to revisit their costs and expenses the same way its contributing school districts do each year. Dr. D Arcangelo will share these concerns at the WIU Superintendent s meeting on March 10 th. The General Operating Budget for the WIU must be submitted to the PA Department of Education by May 1, 2011. The Board of School Directors for the Franklin Regional School District will take action on the proposed WIU 2011-2012 General Operating Budget at its regular voting meeting on March 21 st. 8. Budget Transfers Budget transfers are reported to the Board each month beginning in October and ending with transfers in June. Budget transfers for the period ending February 28, 2011, in the amount of $129,424.77 were presented to the Board for review.
The Board will take action on the request to approve these budget transfers on March 21 st. 9. Donations Board policy dictates that all gifts to the District monetary or material be presented to the Board for approval/acceptance. The following is a listing of recent donations to the District: Fund-A-Meal $257.00 FREA Fund-A-Meal $30.00 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Caruso Fund-A-Meal $250.00 Claudia Zavodnick Fund-A-Meal $50.00 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Krahulik Fund-A-Meal $75.00 Stephen Richards Fund-A-Meal $50.00 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Riggio Equipment FR Softball Boosters It was noted that once equipment is donated to the District, it is available for use by other groups as well, not just the initial receiving group. An annual update on the Fund-A-Meal program will be presented to the Board in April. The Board will take action to accept the above donations at its regular voting meeting on March 21 st. 10. Personnel The Certificated Personnel Report includes the names of those who have submitted letters of resignation for the purpose of retirement, several requests for a qualifying leave of absence, and the recommendation for a long-term substitute Senior High School Special Education Teacher. The Support Personnel Report includes several resignations and the request to approve additional substitute aides/greeters for the remainder of the 2010/2011 school year. The Supplemental Personnel Report includes the resignation of the Cheerleading Coordinator, for personal reasons. As there were no questions regarding the Personnel report recommendations, the Board will be asked to take action on the recommendations on March 21 st at its regular voting meeting. C. Audience Recognition None
D. Executive Session Board President Mr. Herb Yingling announced the Board had met in Executive Session prior to the start of the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting to discuss a personnel issue. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.