School Board Meeting Recap – June 25

This month’s school board meeting began with the well-attended “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” rally that community activist Brother Fonz Neusman created and successfully organized. Around 100 community members lined the entrance to the CASH auditorium and respectfully let each board director know that "Enough is Enough" as each entered the building.  Most board members were fine with the protest, some even thanked the community for doing it.  However, it was reported that as James Hills entered the building, he remarked just loud enough for some to hear that “everyone here needs to get their facts straight.” 

However, Dr. Taschner and Ann Wuertz avoided the rally by entering a different door.  Though it was originally thought that Tom Siedenbuehl did that as well, it was later reported that he did come in through the auditorium doors earlier, so many protesters did not see him. 

Like we mentioned yesterday, we want to thank Brother Fonz for putting this rally together to unify the community!  

FULL BOARD MEETING

Upcoming Dates:

• July 9, 2019 6:00 PM All Committees & Special Meeting CASH Auditorium 
• July 23, 2019 7:00 PM School Board Meeting CASH Auditorium 
• August 13, 2019 6:00 PM All Committees & Special Meeting CASH Auditorium 
• August 27, 2019 7:00 PM School Board Meeting CASH Auditorium

Public Comment - Part 1: This part of the public comment can only relate to agenda items.

Due to the turnout of many community members who are unfamiliar with the procedures, many people stood up to speak to their concerns regarding the state of the district and the need for change. Some of those speakers who did not address agenda items were John Hillworth* (*apologies if this is not accurate) Barbara Donahue, Ms. Cholmonski, and Pamela Simpson. 

Speakers who spoke specifically on agenda items:

• Lyryn Yacoe shared the Mind Up survey results that CATA collected to share with CAP. Seventy-five percent of teachers were against the district using more funds on this program.
• Donna Urban pointed out that the budget for lawyer fees was $690,000. However, our bills payable reveal that we are nearly the $1 million mark. She reminded the board that Dr. Taschner stated we would be well below budget at a meeting two and half months ago. She offers that some legal expenses are able to be limited such as grievances.
• Kerri Verna read an email sent to the board regarding the Bond Resolution from Liz Muirhead. The letter also included a concern regarding the board abdicating power to Dr. Taschner and the business manager for the bid recipient for North Brandywine remediation.
• Kelly Taylor stood up to say that she and her husband thought they found their “forever home” when they moved into the district nine years ago, but due to the steadily increasing property taxes, their dream is being smothered.  “Enough is enough with the taxes,” she said. “We need change. Something’s got to happen. You’re losing your people.”
• Kim Winkler indicated that she was on the committee for the A-TSI plan and enclosure for the board meeting is different than the enclosure that was included for the committee meeting. Neither document is accurate or includes community input. 
• Mary Morris voiced mind up not being sufficient and the need for better discipline code.
• Sam Morris recalled his experience being harmed at school and the continued impact to illustrate the need for the discipline code to be revised and enforced.

Superintendent's Report

Dr. Taschner enumerated the different tasks being completed to prepare for school's opening including painting and cleaning at North, smart boards and projectors installed for middle schools, Elmo document cameras being added for elementary schools, transportation schedules being prepared, schedules and room assignments. She also shared that technology would be doing a presentation in July.

Consent agenda - As we have noted in the past, the consent agenda is made up of uncontroversial items that the board does not need to discuss in order to approve, and that no member intends to abstain or vote against. 

Motion Items up for discussion:

1. FINANCE COMMITTEE

A. Financial Statements - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the financial statements and the bills payable list, as presented. (Enclosure) PASSED: Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl

The reason we feel it necessary to discuss this financial statement is because many of us have some real concerns about the transparency and how each line item only has partial information being conveyed on the enclosure.  With the help of Andy Finkbohner (School board candidate for region III), we pulled some of the bills payable that alarmed us this month. 

Vendor Name	Description of Purchase	Check Amount
DCCC	Judgement against	$1,980.00
Mainline Center for Wellness	Judgement against	$500.00
CCIU #24 - General Fund	Prof -Ed Services- IU - Custodial Svcs	$53,050.78
Levin Legal Group	Other Prof. Svcs - Legal	$191,781.97
Brandywine Hospital	Other Prof Svcs	$13,333.32
Lamb Mcerlane	Other Prof. Svcs - Legal	$66,769.07
Raffaele & Puppio LLP	Other Prof. Svcs - Legal	$4,392.50
Wanner Associates Inc.	Pther Prof Svcs - Board Services	$23,461.74
Ehrlich	Extermination Svcs	$969.00
Holiday Inn and Express Suites	Prepaid Expense	$1,844.52
Schrager Group Architecture LLC	Profession Svcs - KH Schematic	$45,574.52
Feesers Food Distributors	Food	$58,913.39
Morabito Baking Co. Inc	Food	$4,492.08
Scheid Produce Inc.	Food	$3,220.50
Smart Partners	Food	$6,256.80
US Foodservice	Food	$22,818.26

As for Wanner Associates Inc., the one highlighted above our big question is why are we paying a lobbyist? When was this contract approved?  What is their function as requested by CASD? And last but most definitely not least, what returns has the lobbyist obtained for CASD?

B. Bond Resolution - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the bond resolution as presented. (Enclosure) PASSED: Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuh

The board approved a bond resolution that was a new addition to the board agenda the day of the meeting. Mr. Linderman, the interim business manager, explained that the item would have been presented earlier had they realized it was possible. Under the resolution, the district will refinance some of its debt at lower rates and defer the payments to future periods. This will allow the district to avoid having to pay approximately $5-6 million in debt service out of the 2019-2020 school district budget, and will cost about $400k to complete.

While it was difficult to assess the proposal over such tight time-frames, it appeared to be reasonable. However, we caution that deferring debt service payments from the current budget allows the district to spend that money on other items. This source of funding won’t be available every year, and we worry that we are using a one-time source of funding to address overspending - which will eventually lead to larger tax increases or severe budget cuts. 

While this was positioned as “saving” money, it’s really only saving it for this budget year. The bulk of the money saved will still need to be paid in a future year, as reflected by the note in the presentation calling it “cash flow savings.”

H. MindUP Train the Trainers Contract - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the MindUP Train the Trainers Contract with the Goldie Hawn Foundation for introductory and extended training at a cost of $24,200. (Enclosure)

FAILED: NO: Rhone, Assetto, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, and Seidenbuhl 
YES: Wuertz and Hills

Despite what the Daily Local News published yesterday, the contract for MindUp was not tabled.  This item FAILED to pass since only two board members were in favor of it, which makes CCAP optimistic about change, and we see this as a win for the community!

By not passing MindUp, the board showed the community that they were in fact listening and that our voices and hard work does pay off.  It is now apparent to CCAP, that not all board members are just carelessly taking administration recommendation.  It is evident that many of them are taking a thoughtful approach toward what is being presented and voting accordingly. 

CCAP also hopes that this will begin to set a precedence that if we the community work collaboratively together to collect answers and data, information will be fairly heard and considered by the board. 

J. E2S Asbestos Abatement Consulting Services – North Brandywine Middle School - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the General Terms and Conditions of Proposal P1508.2019 with Element Environmental Solutions, Inc. (E2S) for abatement specifications and oversight services during the asbestos containing flooring materials abatement and new flooring finish project at North Brandywine Middle School, as presented. (Enclosure) PASSED: Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl

Question from Mr. Rhone was if the time frame would be enough for the work to be completed prior to the opening of school. Dr. Taschner explained this was why the request was made for the board to approve the motion for the pre-bid.  Mr. Fisher wanted to know who the overseer would be of the overseer. (This prompted laughter the audience to which Mr. Fisher explained it was a serious question.)  Dr. Taschner told him that Jack Morales is the director of facilities.

K. Budget Transfers - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors authorize the Administration to make necessary Budget Transfers to bring accounts in line in accordance with Section 687 of the School Code. (Enclosure) PASSED: Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl

Mr. Linderman explained that this is a normal procedure all schools do. It is not unique to Coatesville.

L. Bid Award Authorization - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors authorize the Superintendent and the Director of Business Administration to award bids for the North Brandywine School Project pending July 2019 board approval. (NO ENCLOSURE)

The board did not authorize this. Instead they adopted the resolution to call a special meeting when necessary.

M. Human Resources Report - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the resignations, appointments, new positions, leave of absences, transfers, changes of status and corrections. PASSED: Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl

2. EDUCATION COMMITTEE

B. A-TSI School Improvement Plans - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the A-TSI School Improvement Plans for Rainbow ES, Reeceville ES, North Brandywine MS, and C.A.S.H.S., as presented. (Enclosure) PASSED: Yes: Assetto, Hills, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl NO: Marshall Abstained: Rhone

Rita Perez was not in attendance to answer any questions; however, a representative from CCIU, Dara Kline, responded to questions about A-TSI. 

Mr. Marshall questioned where the steps were to show how the district plans to fix the problems. He reinforced his stance that the document doesn't show how we are going to accomplish benchmarks. He thanked the presenters for their efforts on the document.

Mr. Assetto stated that he read over all 132 pages and questioned how the team derived at the percentages of students to be able to meet benchmarks. He shared that educators look at each individual student to determine how to help them achieve more, and that educators are not to delineate percentage of students will meet a target.

D. Discipline Code of Conduct - RECOMMENDED MOTION: That the Board of School Directors approve the Discipline Code of Conduct, as presented. (Enclosure) TABLED - Yes: Rhone, Assetto, Hills, Marshall, Fisher, Keech, Carter, Wuertz, Seidenbuhl

Jason Palaia presented as he was not in attendance at the committee meeting when Dr. Taschner called for the presentation. Several principals read the changes to the code of conduct. It is to be noted that the changes shared by principals were not included on the enclosure attached at the time of this recap.

What several teachers shared with us that concerned them was the reason for the changes was to match the coding in Eschool. It seems that this makes it easier to hide the actual violations since Eschool codes are limited. 

Once the presentation was completed, Mr. Fisher spoke on his own behalf sharing that he does not want us to have a code of conduct suggesting that biting, hitting, and kicking are minor physical contact. He acknowledged that the former progressive discipline beginning with one day suspension would need to be reconsidered, but stood firm that we have work to do to have an acceptable code of conduct.

Mr. Rhone echoed Mr. Fisher's concerns and added that students are to have full instructional periods without disruptions. 

Public Comment - Part 2: This part of public comment can be on any topic.

There were far too many to recap on, but these are the ones that contain topics of reoccurring concerns or new issues to be investigated:

• Andy Finkbohner shared that our instructional costs are much higher than other districts and that we have the highest rate of students in charter schools. He also shared significant discipline numbers even with a decline in attendance.
• Donna Urban shared that first amendment rights were taken away from two community members with “scary letters.” The board needs to revisit the circumstances. She also discussed legal fees again. 
• Jackie Al-Amin read a statement from Fonz Neusman.
• Deborah Thompson stated that our school compares to Chester and West Philadelphia and that when she was on the Board we were behind and the district was moving in the right direction to catch up.
• Kate Furcon reminded the Board to review the T-Mobile 1:1 program when revising the code of conduct. Also, she implored the Board to look into the flaws of CPM because it is not working. She voiced the need for us to implement more mental health services and volunteered to research for the district. She ended with asking for the District's spending to be evaluated.
• Katie Hadzor thanked the Board for not approving the code of conduct and for its future publication online to save money on printing. She reiterated the need for consequences for all students and the lack of counselors available to help students.
• Kim Watson, a bus driver, explained that there’s a lack of discipline enforcement on the bus. Driver’s only stay for one month because they will send in several referrals on the same student and nothing happens.
• Audra Ritter (CATA president) stood up and spoke on the behalf of The Coatesville Area Teachers Association asking the School Board to ensure Human Resources follow procedure in assigning the teachers who are being involuntarily transferred due to the creation of the 6th-grade center, the 7/8 center and the closing of South.  They asked this because in their contract it states that all involuntary transfers due to a reduction in force will be done by seniority and certification.  Their contract further explains that a reduction in staff will first be done through attrition.  The School boards budget presentation shows attrition as one of the ways to cut costs. Furthermore, they ask that the district uphold the arbitrator’s decision of following the transfer backlist as has been a past practice by giving members on that list the right to transfer back to a secondary or elementary position that is open. CATA representatives are more than willing to come into the Human Resources department and assist with this process. 
• Jill Santiago stressed the importance of staff attending trainings and the need for quality leadership.
• Danielle DiNicola voiced her confusion regarding investing in salaries for special education supervisors instead of investing money into special education programs.
• Stephanie Kijak expressed frustration with the district not meeting the needs of special education students. She stated how terribly her child’s education was impacted. She shared that Dr. Taschner assured her that the inclusion would start at high school and filter its way down, but when her son began school, he was in a class of 22 and refused to sit in a pod. She chose not to sue the district, however, many other parents are suing and it’s costing the district.
• Kim Winkler asked if the board was familiar with an OCR complaint filed against Dr. Taschner. In the complaint, the district is not compliant with accessibility for the website for all.

There were many more, but you see the rest of public comment and Closing Remarks by watching ChannelCASD live feed.   

Dr. Taschner Addresses public comment

• Addressed the OCR complaint, She stated it wasn't just a district problem it was a countywide problem and the board passed a resolution for it.
• Addressed Donna Urban's legal fee concerns by stating that July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 Legal Bills paid were $878,661. Of that $190,283.87 was for the 2017-2018 school year and $688,737.39 for the 2018-2019 school year. (Which leaves us to wonder what the total fees will be for the 2018-2019 school year as it's logical that we will continue to pay into next year as this scenario shows how that happened this year.)

Board Members reports

Mr. Fisher shared that Dr. George Fiore was voted in to replace Dr. Joseph O'Brien for Executive Director of the Chester County Intermediate Unit.

Many community members were taken aback by Mrs. Wuertz’s “prepared statement” to the public, in fact, many of them walked out halfway through her speech.  Since it was obvious that she was speaking directly to CAP (Coatesville Area Parents - the leadership team that started and runs CCAP) we believed that we would not be able to summarize Mrs. Wuertz's report accurately without bias. Therefore, we have transcribed it so you can judge the intent and content: 

"As I sit here and listen to the words being said tonight, I will say I have to agree with one statement and that’s enough is enough. I’ve been very involved in this district now for 18 years. I’ve seen a lot happen over the years and as I ponder on where this district was five years ago and the work that has had to happen to rebuild and re-structure, I am disheartened by the constant attacks that this administration is under led by a small group of people. I am here to tell you that as many of you out there (excuse me I’m talking please) as many of you out there who are dissatisfied, there are many people that are satisfied. One thing that I have learned in this position is that it’s impossible to make everyone happy.
  

Enough of the attacks on our administration. Enough of the negativity. Enough of treating people disrespectfully. Enough of using our students. Enough of using social media to say anything you want, whether it’s true or not. Enough of tearing down every attempt at improvement before a chance to take effect. Enough of saying we aren’t listening and questioning the integrity simply because you may not agree with the decisions. Enough of the rude loud comments and side conversations when our administrators, teachers, community members, or board members you disagree with our speaking. Enough dividing community with misinformation and cherry-picked facts. Enough of this board and superintendent being bullied and that would include any employee that has wanted or showed a willingness to subscribe to the new direction and vision for this district. Enough is enough."

Mr. Marshall clarified that the executive session included a budget retreat and shared his excitement about the special education audit. He thanked each and every member of the community. He hopes that "we can begin to change the tenure of our conversation." He wants to make Coatesville a better place. He knows there's lots of work to do, but we can change it.

Mr. Rhone addressed that he went on vacation and there was no "collusion." He wanted to speak on the superintendent's evaluation. He shared that he listens to every comment and takes notes on them. He has the results of the community's survey and has read every statement. "I hear the community loud and clear. I will do my responsibility to what I think is right for students first, then our staff, then our community."