Virtual School Board Meeting Recap - 3/24

This past Tuesday, the Coatesville Area School District held its first live virtual school board meeting.  School Board President Rob Fisher and Superintendent Dr. Dunlap broadcasted the meeting from the administration building conference room with cameras focusing on them. All other board members participated via telephone.

Even though Covid-19 has caused much disruption to everyone's daily life, it didn’t keep almost 300 community members from watching the board meeting live on Tuesday.  Since Tuesday, the meeting has been viewed over 1100 times.  This community engagement is what our district needs. Hopefully, the numbers are evidence to the District the definitive need to live stream all board meetings.

The link for the meeting on the District's homepage made viewing very convenient for community members. Having it available prior to the meeting with the explanation that the meeting would begin at 7:00 was very clear to follow.

If you missed the board meeting here’s what you missed:

School Board Meeting AGENDA 3/24

ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR MODIFICATIONS

Mr. Fisher: Removed under Education (page 9).

I.  Big Air Entertainment contract with North Brandywine middle school - He said due to the times we are experiencing it would not be prudent at this time.

Mr. Finkbohner:

B.  Policy 805 - Emergency preparedness - he asked to modify it from the second read to the final read.  

PUBLIC COMMENT: Public comment was sent via email and was read by Mr. Fisher

Dawn Barringer - asked the for an examination of two bills payable: (1) Anastasia Landscaping for snow plowing- $9,659  and (2) Office Team Transportation for Coatesville Area Senior High - $11, 677.38. Mr. Fisher stated that someone from the business office will be in touch with her to answer those questions.

C. Peter Barringer

• Expressed that the Board of Directors should not be giving the interim superintendent or interim business manager the full authority of making financial or contracting business decisions. Practices frowned upon by the Chester County District attorney's office as part of the grand jury report.
• Asked who will conduct checks and balances 
• Voiced that the district should not be making decisions that could or will potentially harm the district once the pandemic is over. 
• Questioned why assistant the business manager wasn't promoted to business manager due to experience instead of an accountant 
• Questioned why the asst. business manager is receiving a $25,000 raise with no additional responsibilities list on the agenda as this doesn't seem to be reducing operating costs 
• Voiced opinion that the Board is taking advantage of a global situation as a community cannot fairly or fully transmit comments 
• explained that the financial decisions made now will do more harm- Board should stick to basic reviewing and paying off bills  

Ann Wuertz - At this point the sound quality declined severely - Mr. Fisher had to reread her email.  Thanked all for providing food and reaching out on social media. expressed gratitude for last year's administrative team for securing the grant to provide all of our students with laptops and free breakfasts and lunches.  Worries about the reversal of decisions that were enacted by DA recommendations. Texting and giving authority to the interim superintendent and business manager

contextualized that under the dire situation, it's concerning that the assistant business manager is receiving a $25,000 raise bothered that attrition isn't enough and layoffs will occur apprehensive about the business manager being given a five-year contract without significant experience  

shared appreciation for Karen Hall's service and hopes that exit surveys are filled out.

Jen Manthey - a member of the District's Technology Task Force expressed concern with a contract for BSD at this time. BSD presented its services and offerings to the Task Force. She provided a summary of that presentation including the services they stated they would provide and doesn't see this contract as the direction the District should be taking at this time. Although the technology support services they offer sound like they would be helpful to our small department, what they communicated with her via email is that the support services would not include assistance with Google classroom. She explained that teachers lack support on current technology initiatives and expanded that we need to be focused on supporting our teachers by providing professional development for and enhancing what we already have in place.

APPOINTMENT OF SCHOOL BOARD DIRECTOR FOR REGION I BOARD VACANCY

Over the past two years, those who applied for an open-school board director position would have to submit a resume that included four questions about being on the board.  This time around, all that was asked for was a resume, so we were surprised that only two of the board members choose to ask Mr. Bookman questions before appointing him. 

Andrew Finkbohner asked three questions. He explained that the job of a school board director is incredibly demanding of one's time, and he asked Mr. Bookman if he had the time to invest in this position. Mr. Bookman consented that he did. Mr. Finkbohner then asked what kind of relationship the school board and district should have with the community, parents, and families. As Mr. Bookman answered, it appeared that he was reading his response and in his statement he said that he wanted to advocate for the students and reach out to legislators. Mr. Finkbohner's final question was how Mr. Bookman would handle disagreements within the board to which Mr. Bookman replied that he would hope they can talk to them [problems] out and be transparent.

Becky Harlan followed with the question asking what Mr. Bookman's campaign platform would have been if he had run for the open seat. Mr. Bookman's answer seemed to again come from reading a response. He shared that he is interested in helping students with special needs. He then said due to COVID 19 we need to provide more resources, and he finished his answer by stating more about the need for transparency and cohesive decision making by the board.

The decision was unanimous to vote Mr. Bookman to the Board, and he was sworn in immediately.  We certainly are grateful to Mr. Finkbohner and Ms. Harlan for asking questions.  We are looking forward to getting to know Mr. James Bookman and what he will bring to the Board to help improve our District.  

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

Mr. Dunlap thanked the teachers and community for their support during the COVID-19 Epidemic.

He explained that due to these very unusual circumstances the Board approved the emergency resolution so that the District can continue to operate. This resolution gives the Superintendent and the Business Manager the authority to move forward with some contracts without board approval.  This is a temporary measure during this crisis. He advised the resolution was reviewed by our legal counsel and if we don’t keep working on district financial issues, the state could take us over. He also said that the COVID 19 crisis has the potential to make our financial position worse.

In regards to the business manager hired, he advised that this position was posted on August 25, 2019 with sixteen people applying and only two qualified enough for a second interview. He expressed  accolades for the assistant business manager along with our temporary Business Manager, Chuck Linderman. Dunlap recommended Lori Diefenderfer for hire as the new business manager as he has much confidence in her. He shared her background.

Dunlap reiterated that there will be a total saving once the reorganization of the district is completed. However, he offered no explanation as to how that was going to look, other than reducing staff in central administration.

Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released a Continuity of Education Plan which is a plan to allow school districts to continue to educate all students remotely. He advised that the CASD with legal counsel and the administrative team are reviewing those plans to implement them in the District. Sharing that a plan is being enacted to distribute the Chromebooks to students who do not have them or left them in school.  He proclaimed they [Adminstrative Team] are in the process of establishing technology platforms for delivering remote education to our students while building an online professional development model for our teaching staff.  Once the platform is operational, we will be implementing a series of professional development sessions for our teaching staff. We will be working with CATA to deliver that professional development. 

He announced that the District would soon would be asking for feedback on the school reconfiguration plans via a survey, thanked Karen Hall for her service, and wished her luck in her new position.

He presented a video of a group of students that had an opportunity to go on a STEM field trip. These selected students had the opportunity to work on coding in a fun and exciting atmosphere. The students were selected via an essay they completed.   Board members Henry Assetto and Amelia Mills were also in attendance and were filmed the experience in the video.

He also wanted to make sure the community was aware of CHIP availability for health insurance. He said that information would be placed on the website and sent to parents this week.

Lastly, he mentioned that he would be out of the district for a planned procedure until March 30th and that Mr. Linderman would be in charge during his absence.

BUDGET UPDATE 

Due to the COVID-19 economic impact, CASD faces a projected additional $500,000 shortfall in local sources of revenue including investment revenue, earned income tax, transfer tax, the sale of the property, interim taxes, new construction, and delinquent taxes. The budget may need to be reduced further if things don’t change by April 14. He advised staffing will be adjusted at the April meeting and on the 28th the board is set to adopt the preliminary budget. Currently, they are still in line for the final adoption in June. 

AGENDA ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA

Mr. Fisher removed under Finance Committee:

A. Financial Statement – This is normal. Voted yes unanimously - passed

B. Suspension Resolution – Dr. Dunlap advised they can automatically reduce staff due to a decrease in students, so he explained this was within the “code.” He advised there are staff members still advising of retirements.    Voted yes unanimously – passed
 

C. Resolutions pay hourly employees – Dr. Dunlap advised they are looking to pay during this two-week period – there was a house bill 571 was voted on and provided instruction on how these employees were to be paid.      Voted yes unanimously - passed
 

D. Billing and Contracts – Allows the superintendent and business manager to pay bills and enter small contracts between 3/24/2020 and 6/30/2020. Dr. Dunlap addressed the public concern that our solicitor reviewed this and pointed out it is a temporary time period. He said it is for emergencies only.    Voted yes unanimously - passed

E. Business Manager - Lori Diefendorfer hired for 5 years at a salary of $140,000 – There were no questions or comments by board members –Voted – Mr. Rhone abstained, Andrew Finkbohner and Becky Harlan voted no, all others voted yes. The resolution passed by majority vote

F. PAsmart Grant – 35,000 Voted yes unanimously -  passed
 

G. Build Something Different – Selected provider for the PASmart grant. CASD responsibility after the 35,000 Grant is an additional $7,500 – voted yes by all but Andrew Finkbohner - passed by majority vote
 

Mr. Fisher removed from consent agenda in Education Committee:

C. Discipline Code of contact – Mr. Fisher asked to table this to allow more discussion. – voted unanimously to table it.

Mr. Finkbohner asked to remove under Finance Committee:

K. #5 Michelle Kelly assistant business manager increase in salary – no comments offered because of personnel – Brandon Rhone abstained, Becky Harlan and Andrew Finkbohner voted no and all others voted yes – passed by majority vote

PUBLIC COMMENT: Public comment was sent via email and read by Mr. Fisher

Evelyn Dandridge questioned how children without access to chrome books, due to financial hardship, would be able to have the same opportunities as other students. She wanted to know if something would be in place in the situation that school cannot resume this year.

Michelle Miranda requested that end of the year senior activities be postponed and not cancelled.

Kimberly Russeau (spelling from live-stream captioning) questioned when parents would be supplied with the information for their students to use for all of the free technology resources available to teachers and administrators to sign up for.

Kacie S (apologies that the live-stream captioning did not provide accurate spelling of name) lamented concern that we are only school "without our act together." She wanted to know why we don't have a plan in place. At the reading of this another sound issue occurred. Andrew Finkbohner said they [Board members] missed the last part of the public comment - so Mr. Fisher reread- and the sound was problematic again, but sound resumed at the part that was first missed. 

Audra Ritter congratulated and thanked the announced retirees Pete Curran, Leah Givler, Maureen Sell, Mayanne Sell, and Patricia West for their years of service to the District and wished Ashley Viscuso best of luck in her future educational pursuits. After reading her email, Mr. Fisher said that he was going to include appreciation in his closing comments and thanked all of the teachers retiring for their service. 

Katie Hadzor stated appreciation of the live-stream meeting. She thanked Karen Hall for her five years of service to the district and shared that she is disheartened by the lack of well-wishes for teachers of the district some of whom had given their careers in service. She specified recent examples when the administration has been publicly thanked,but the teachers are repeatedly overlooked/ underappreciated in our District. She also conveyed her concern regarding a five-year contract for business manager with little to no experience. Thirdly, she stated that the community is left confused when protocol insists a board member explain reason for abstaining from a vote. 

Ann Wuertz wanted to clarify that the two interim business directors and the director of operations would still be eliminated as a cost savings to the district.

CASD Configurations and Survey

It is probably not a surprise to anyone living in our district that we have to help our District financially by implementing cost-saving strategies and plans. For those of you a bit more intimate with the day to day operation, you know that the district must address the overcrowding at North. Seeing that most of our buildings were built between 1955 and 1968 many of our buildings don’t have sufficient space to support our current population of students. 

On Tuesday, March 10^th, 2020, Dr. Dunlap presented nine options for the board to consider on how to configure the buildings to support the needs of the students.  The administration is recommending Option 1 as a “stepping stone” plan to alleviate crowding and provided much-needed space. This would help the District to recover financially and prepare a more long-term facilities plan.

Today, the district released a Building Configuration Survey that will allow our community a voice!  We applaud the district and the board for actively seeking community input. 

Here are a few questions we still have

1. What condition is North in at this very moment and how much work would it need to continue using it for next year?
2. If we were to open South, how long would that take to fix up and how much would it cost?
3. If we could manage to open South, why wouldn't there just be an option to bring all three middle schools back?  
4. If we do not open South is it possible to do 6th, 7th, and 8th at just Scott and North?
5. Is it possible to get the capacity number for each of the current buildings being suggested so that we could make a more informed choice? 
6. How would middle school sports programs run at North with just 7th there? 
7. Has the district done any kind of analyses on the effect, each option has on busing? (Decreasing busing costs would certainly be a factor in any decision but only if it was taken into consideration now.) 
8. Further, if we increase the number of buildings, has the district calculated the effect of losing/furloughing 45 employees would have?

PLEASE take some time to fill out the district's survey below!

We would also like to hear from you

• Which options do you immediately want disregarded? Why?
• What options do you think are worth considering but you have some questions that need to be addressed for you to be in favor of the option? What questions do you have? 
• What are the strengths that you see in any parts of the configurations? 
• What general concerns should the board be considering? 

“Speak up and speak clearly. I want to hear what you have to say because it matters. Let’s listen to each other and respect one another’s opinions.” 

- Felicia Johnson

An Introductory Course in Cloud Communication for the CASD Community

Even with little formal training, it is taking no time for our teachers to investigate how to reach their students and families. Many teachers already had Google Classrooms, Schoology, Edmundo, Remind, Class Dojo, or other methods to connect with their students and families. One piece that wasn’t needed for communication was a way to have face to face conversations or instruction. Currently, with a two-week closure, the methods teachers already have in place could be sufficient. However, if CASD finds our schools closed even longer, and teachers unable to physically meet with their students, a tool to allow face to face interaction will be necessary.

Already, even with the enrichment activities posted, our teachers are exploring and figuring out ways to connect with our students on a more personal level. This expands beyond just academics. Our teachers care. A lot.

Once we learned that some of our teachers already scheduled online meetings for this week, we wanted to connect with you, our families. We are hoping by communicating an overview and introductory course to cloud-based communication platforms that you will be able to assist your child (if he or she needs it). Familiarity breeds confidence and comfort. Please know that these are new to some of us, but we played some to determine the essential information we wanted to communicate. We utilized both Google Hangouts Meet and Zoom as two platforms. 

First, a little information about Google Hangouts Meet. I really wanted to like this. I think that the Google apps overall work seamlessly with one another. Unfortunately, the platform wasn’t as easy to use as the other Google apps. It also didn’t have many features for teachers. Basically, it seemed to be Google’s version of FaceTime. I think there’s room for that, and maybe I just wasn’t able to locate the most effective tools, but with little time for a learning curve or training, I don’t think this platform is the best investment of time for teachers new to cloud-based communication. However, one feature that we did love was the transcript feature. 

Now, the Zoom platform was easy for us to create a basic meeting- which means it is very user friendly for students and teachers. As a teacher, I immediately recognized great features for a potential online classroom. It has tools for instruction and even for “classroom” management. 

One qualification that we were most interested in ensuring in our cloud-based communication tool was safety. Zoom has many control options for the “host.” The host is able to control the chat privacy options, so kids can’t privately chat with one another. The host is able to mute microphones, and record the session. The district has the students’ cameras on their Chromebooks disabled; therefore, that eliminates any potential mishaps with the video. Zoom also has a setting for closed captioning, but at this time, it is a feature we would need to use a third party software to implement, and we will seek information on how to do that.

So how do students and parents join a Zoom Meeting?

Participants can be invited two ways: invitation can be direct through email addresses/ phone numbers or by a host link to the chat.  The latter is the better option for the large participant base for a class meeting. For your convenience, view this instructional video on how to access a Zoom meeting on a CASD Chromebook:

With this initiative and any other concerns, please reach out to teachers for assistance in supporting your student(s). All of us are in this "social distancing" together. Please communicate any concerns or questions.

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A Teacher's Perspective for Teachers:

My first caution is that the camera is nearly always on. Unlike FaceTime, when you begin exploring web pages and other tools on your computer and you cannot see yourself on the screen, the camera is still on, unless you’ve disabled it. 

Aside from potentially having the kids see you when you don’t realize it, I found Zoom nonthreatening and incredibly easy to use. I was able to invite participants who joined on both phone and laptop. The features of Zoom instantly made me think a teacher created it: muting of participants, the ability for participants to raise a hand, or provide a response like a thumbs up. It provides the host control over the chatting. These features are great for active-engagement strategies or as a formative assessment tool. Another two great instructional features that Zoom offers include share and annotation options. The share option allows for presenting webpages, documents, PowerPoint, or a whiteboard as a picture in picture format or a full screen format. Teachers or students can show their work to make a more interactive experience both through the whiteboard and the annotations.

It would be advantageous for us to have a Zoom meeting in the future as a professional development activity. What we need is the chance to tap into each other’s strengths and expertise like we have in the past. Time and space to share what works for each of us to determine how to best meet our students' needs. This would be a cost savings and would prove more productive as our experiences in the classroom do position us as experts.