The Bradford Area School District Board of Education met Monday night with a variety of items to deal with. Before getting started, though, Board President Shane Oschman addressed the audience to acknowledge 9/11, Patriot Day.
“Twenty-two years ago, most of us can remember where we were — some of you might not because you were too young,” Oschman said. “I was just starting my banking career. My boss came in and said, ‘You gotta see this,’ and as I went to see what he was talking about the second plane hit.
“I left work and couldn’t wait to get home to my family. Dan Rather was on the news, crying … The senators stood on the steps and together they sang “God Bless America.’” Ochman asked the audience to stand and sing with him, “God Bless America,” and to remain standing for a moment of silence following. The audience stood and sang with him — his voice carrying through the room.
As the meeting carried on, Erin Waugaman presented the district’s Comprehensive Plan for 2023-26.
“The plan took a year to create and was completed by a diverse committee of parents, community members, teachers, administrators and others,” Waugaman said, for students to become successful citizens and future leaders.
The strategic plan will address three major goals the district hopes to achieve, according to Waugaman. Under academics, the plan includes teacher clarity, curriculum mapping, keys to literacy, instructional coaching, professional learning communities and career and technical education.
Regarding attendance, the district has a goal to decrease office referrals by 25%, Waugaman said. There were 3,706 referrals across the district last school year, with most of them at the high school for cutting class. The attendance plan includes mentoring, community schools, Leader in Me, career and tech education and co-op education — which Waugaman pointed out has better attendance than other areas — and Student Assistance Program Teams (SAP) that are available at all four schools.
The plan’s third goal addresses what Superintendent Katy Pude described as the number one need, per parents in the district: social and emotional needs. It includes many of the pieces from the other two plan parts, as well as “trauma-informed/resilience-focused training and multi-tiered layers of support.”
Both Waugaman and Pude added that it takes one relationship with an adult to make a difference in a student’s life.
Board members asked about truancy laws and officers. Pude explained there are laws but no longer an officer in the district; however, guidance counselors often go to the homes of students who are truant. Additional remedies are in the works throughout the school district to bring attendance back to pre-pandemic levels. Pude stated the current rate is around 90% and that it had been 93 to 94%. She added this is a problem across the state and the nation.
“Our enrollment in the district is down 117 students since this time last year,” Pude said. “Despite our best efforts, our pre-K remains extremely low and kindergarten is the lowest ever seen. Many rural districts are having the same issue.
“Due to low enrollment and census data saying the area is not poor enough, we have lost Pre-K Counts funding totaling approximately $155,000 and no longer qualify for the Rural Low Income Grant of around $75,000,” she said.
The district will look for cuts and adjustments since the budget was already passed and this is a significant loss, Pude added.
Additionally, the district was informed by an emergency meeting of the Pennsylvania Department of Education that students who graduated last year who were considered special education students are allowed to return. The department realized too many students were graduating a year before their federal benefits would begin at age 22. Pude said there are currently no students from last year returning to BASD.
The board approved the resignation of finance director Judith Bodamer, effective Sept. 30, with regrets and appreciation for her eight years of service to the district’s students and staff.
Oschman said, “You have been an asset to the district. You helped balance extremely difficult budgets through COVID and ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) with class and poise. A business acumen that’s undeniable; you will be missed.”
The board approved the employment of Amy Yohe as director of finance at a salary of $94,951, effective Oct. 1, or another date mutually agreeable to both parties.
An agreement with Southwood Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh was approved by the board. Pude explained, “Periodically, a physician may recommend a placement outside of the district for medical evaluations or medication changes. Most facilities have an educational component that includes a few hours a day of basic reading/math instruction or tutoring if the student is able to do so. This agreement exists so that the student can receive these outside services, if warranted, and the district assumes those costs for the short amount of time they are in the facility.” She added that it is infrequent, and only around five students a year are sent by a physician to a facility. Stays are usually seven to 10 days. The district does not choose where a student is sent, a physician does. “Guidance counselors from the schools do send work from school, if permitted, so that students don’t fall behind,” Pude said.
In other matters, the George G. Blaisdell Elementary School flooring project was awarded to The Carpet Store in the amount of $40,480. The Carpet Store was the only bid. Pude and Bodamer explained the project is a multi-phase flooring job and this portion will complete some tile work. They added that some of the carpet in the building is original.
Before the meeting was adjourned, Pude reminded the room about the Reading Under the Lights event Sept. 22 sponsored by the ELF Fund, and also said, “It has been a great start to the school year; school spirit is high and more of our students are actively involved in sports and clubs than we have seen in recent years.”
