League of Women Voters Forum with the CASD School Board Candidates

On May 1^st,  nine of the candidates spoke at the League of Women Voters forum.  Three CCAP members attended this forum so they could be better informed. We tried to be as thorough as possible as the session was not to be recorded. We believed it especially important to correct any information that was not accurate.

  

Hills stated that when he started in 2014 as a school board member our school ranked 480 out of 500; now we are ranked 212 out of 500.  What he did not say was his source in 2014 or today, so we did a little digging and found that he used Niche for today's number.  It's important to note Niche has only been rating high schools since late 2013, if he used Niche then. Also of note, we don't know the 2014 criteria for ranking. As we dug deeper into this website and into how they collect their data, we realized that it isn’t as reliable as other rating sites.  Niche based its ratings on some test scores; however, the majority of its data is measured from user surveys - therefore,  the accuracy of any of the reported information cannot be verified.  Niche's rating of our district is also significantly different than any of the other reputable school ratings site such as School Digger where Coatesville ranks 480 out of 603.  According to US World News we rank 423 out of 673, and Great Schools doesn't illuminate us in any better light with a ranking of 3 out of 10 (with 10 being best.)

When speaking of teacher turnover, Wuertz asserted that what people don't understand is that we are losing most teachers to attrition. Attrition does account for why we have less teachers in the district- attrition is when a teacher leaves and is not replaced. However, Katie Hadzor's recent article revealed the reasons teachers identified for leaving. 

There was a question asked about tracking students who left the district.  The answer from Hills and Wuertz was that there is no real answer except you can’t do that.  We can track students who leave since we transfer student records and bus students to different area schools. Therefore, can have access to this information.

Wuertz stated legal fees have been cut in half in the last five years.  Five years ago we had a widely publicized scandal and the district was in an investigation process requiring usually high fees. Our current legal fees should not compare to five years ago and yet they do. As stated at the last board meeting, we are not well under the budgeted lawyer fees.We actually are near the $600,000 fees.

All candidates had to answer a questions about auditing charter schools. Unfortunately, the question posed was not constructed in a manner for clear answers. The board has no way of auditing a charter school.  

According to Wuertz the discipline committees have brought "a positive upswing" to the discipline issues. When reviewing the data from the most recent committee meeting where the high school campus discipline committees presented, conclusions were drawn by the 9/10 and implied by the 11/12 that the implementation of strategies has improved the measured core group. The data provided doesn't account for the alternative placement for any of the students. Therefore, the conclusions based on number of referrals are not valid.

Certainly, the public’s concern about a tax increase was addressed through a question. Marshall professes that he can't eliminate a tax hike; he wants to look into “how do you mitigate it or keep it at a tolerable level for the people?” His way to do that is to look within to see where we can save and ensure the district has leadership who shares that vision. Hills indicates that the funding must be changed for charter and cyber schools. Assetto agreed the funding formula must be reevaluated and added that the tax base must be increased. He views the need to attract more home owners. Mills's position is to fix the safety/ discipline problems (why people are leaving) and to examine the line items to see where we can save. Harris said we need to make sure that the schools are attractive and offer an educational and safe school. She also doesn't understand how taxes are being raised for people who can't afford them. Finkbohner also acknowledged that the funding formula is flawed, but reminded all that the same formula is for all schools, and yet we are the one most impacted. He wants to carefully analyze the spending, and ensure investments in the best programs for all students. Agreeing with Assetto, a strong tax base is important and the need is to have families to attract businesses.  

The panel was questioned "how can the board facilitate a committee for parents with special needs?" Marshall responded to form a committee. Hills stated that it wasn't the job of the board. It is interesting to note here that in 2014, the same night of Wuertz's appointment, the board passed the motion to change the Board’s Community and Student Relations Committee to the Policies Committee.


When asked what each candidate believes will get the 2500 students who have left the district to return, many shared how the perception of the district is damaged. Assetto believes offering a STEAM school is a solution. Wuertz shared that we must use out the box solutions like free before and after school childcare. Both Wuertz and Hills agreed that the negative discussions on social media are keeping students away and they both stated that the majority of students had not stepped foot into CASD school.  The charter school survey that was conducted by CCAP showed that there are numerous students enrolled in charter schools who previously attended in the district. It was their personal experiences, not social media talk that led to them leaving.

The panel was questioned regarding broadcasting meetings live. Wuertz is not in favor of it being live. She shared her struggle with the notion because sometimes students and teachers are named. The most recent instance of the teacher's union president being named in charges (which was not required and the district has avoided doing in the past) seems to contradict that the concern that a person's reputation could be damaged. She noted confusion about the topic because meetings are posted on the website and mentioned that the district has a channel. (This actually suggests that the live viewing has a system prepared.) Marshall was comfortable with the idea, he just wants to verify the legality of it. Mills appreciates the community already being able to view from a community member's social media (Don Messinger's ChannelCASD). Harris agrees with the idea. Finkbohner believes that it is an excellent way to engage community members who are unable to attend. Carter believes that this is an excellent way to communicate. Hills worries that people are not able to understand what is being voted on by watching. 

Candidates were thanked for their time and a future forum was suggested.