Renovations, potential for full-day kindergarten and volunteer policies discussed
By Karen Cresta, Staff Writer, The Times
EAST MARLBOROUGH – The Unionville Chadds Ford School District (UCFSD) Board of Education was counting down the days for the start of school while it held its work session on Monday night without any residents in attendance – only the press and some staff members. Donning a brand new sound system to project the board members’ voices while streaming live on its website and new YouTube channel, progress of the schools’ renovations, the district goals for 2015-2016, including considerations for full day kindergarten, and the modified law for volunteer back-ground clearances were reviewed.
In a communications statement to the district community to announce the new means of broadcasting board meetings, Dave Listman, wrote, “The Board is committed to creating a transparent and participative environment, and we hope this new communication enhancement will make it easier for you to stay informed and participate in the process of educating the next generation.”
In facilities news, Rick Hostetler, Supervisor of Building and Grounds, started off his summary of the status of the schools’ renovations by saying, “It’s been another extremely busy summer!”
Hillendale received new ceilings and lights, windows and some carpet, whiteboards and tack boards, new paving in the parking lot and repaired concrete at its entrance, and many other improvements as part of the ten-year plan. Some schools got refurbished gym flooring, relocated and renovated classrooms, fresh paint and even a rock climbing wall at Chadds Ford.
The middle school is also on target for relocated classrooms by the start of the new school year. The administration area and new entrance is expected to be completed at the end of December and long-range security plans will be discussed in private talks. In addition, a used air conditioning and heating unit purchased from school in Baltimore will be delivered and factory installed on the middle school’s rooftop to replace an old unit in need of $7,000 to $10,000 in repairs.
An unexpected plumbing failure and not part of the ten-year plan at the high school will cost approximately $100,000 to repair. The culprit was a faulty toilet that leaked onto other floors over a three-day weekend and wasn’t discovered until after the damage was done. The insurance claim with only a $5,000 deductible cost to the district was submitted and repairs are expected to be completed before the doors open to a new school year. In addition, the board will be reviewing the risk ratio for such a low deductible compared to the higher premium payment as board member Robert Sage requested.
During the review of the board’s continuing and emerging district goals for 2015-2016, board member Kathleen Do urged members to consider discussions for full day Kindergarten to ensure that the current curriculum isn’t experiencing any issues and to identify any problems – if such even exist. Further discussion and action for the entire district goal plan will take place at next week’s board meeting. A review of the current list of goals can be found on the board website at www.ucsd.org under board documents.
John Nolen, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, along with Ken Batchelor, Assistant to the Superintendent, agreed that there are curriculum challenges in half-day Kindergarten but such challenges exist in every grade. Nolen will provide statuses to the Board Curriculum and Technology Committee and if agreed upon that an issue exists or arises then it will be brought back to the board. Superintendent John Sanville made it clear that it is not a board goal but an opportunity to gather data and pass the information on at this time.
Do informed the board of the good news regarding volunteer clearances. The news of additional clearances and fees was previously met with much opposition from the public. ACT 153 is now ACT 15 as the Pennsylvania legislature modified the previous law. Only two state clearances – Child Abuse History from the Department of Human Services and a Report of Criminal History from the State Police are required every five years with no charge to the applicants.
Anyone who is not a resident of the state for a continuous ten years will be required to obtain a Federal Criminal History (fingerprinted) only once for $27. Clearances under Act 15 will not be enforced until June 30, 2016, and a communication plan will be in place to inform the public.
A special meeting to review the teacher contract Fact-Finding Report is scheduled on September 8. The board as well as it’s teachers’ union, the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association requested that the state labor board appoint a fact-finder to determine the issues in the ongoing contract talks and offer a possible settlement.
The board will publicly review the findings in the report and take a vote, as will the union. The teacher contract expired on June 30, 2015, and is operating under status quo (previous contract) until a settlement can be reached. The primary areas of disagreement with the new proposed contract are with salary and benefits.
