Township Elementary School Again Proposed for Sale
ASD School Directors are still looking for a buyer for the former Kittanning Township Elementary property. (KP File Photo)
by Jonathan Weaver
Since Kittanning Township Elementary was closed in June 2012, multiple offers to buy the building and land were made, but none stuck.
Armstrong School District board directors hope the latest – an $88,000 offer from Tim Fouse, of Kittanning Township – will.
Solicitor Lee Price and School Board President Joseph Close said an offer was made about six weeks ago and has been discussed frequently at board executive sessions.
“We finally found somebody that seemed to be willing to sign off in writing,” Price said.
Other offers for the property have fallen through, Price said – such as from community groups that do not realize the funding needed to maintain the space. School directors approved the sale to CWM Environmental in May, but the Rayburn Township environmental company instead purchased a lot at the West Hills Industrial Park in East Franklin Township in September
“(Buildings) tend to deteriorate over time if they’re not being used,” Close said. “We don’t need it.”
According to Facilities Director Bill Henley, utilities are still available at the school site, but are used rarely.
The Board also turned their attention to the new high school.
Coordinator of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Federal Programs, and Accountability Shauna Braun-Zukowski explains the new course offerings and changes that school directors will vote on Monday evening.
The end of the current semester is nearing, and junior-senior high curriculum coordinator Shauna Braun-Zukowski worked with the district’s six department chairs the past few months to coordinate some new courses that will be offered at the junior-senior high school level in August 2015.
Zukowski said most of the changes will be in the technology education department, with 10 entry level courses being renamed and curriculum changed during the next two years to focus more on physics, programming, mechanical systems and electronic systems through individual and team projects through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) principles.
A new robotics engineering class is also proposed for 10-12th grade students at the new Armstrong Junior-Senior High and at West Shamokin Junior-Senior High.
High school teachers currently teach through Lego Mindstorms kits to create programmable robots, and could use the same equipment to expand the curriculum, but Zukowski recommended the purchase of another kit.
“The new curriculum if we would buy these robotics kits would be compatible with the programming skills that are taught currently in the Business Department,” Zukowski said.
Zukowski said the $24,000 cost could be absolved largely due to current grants and district funding already available.
“All of these things could be bought without touching (or utilizing very-little) district funds at this time,” Zukowski said. “It isn’t something that would have to be budgeted for next year.”
Keychains, coasters and glasses with the new Armstrong Riverhawks logo that were made by students via laser were given to school board members.
Superintendent Stan Chapp appreciated the gifts and looked ahead to new 3-D printer designs (which shop teachers also applauded).
Some other course modifications proposed include:
- Algebra 2 Essentials becoming Algebra 1 Essentials to help students who need extra help to meet district standards and statewide graduation requirements with the Keystone Exam
- Implementing the elective Introduction to Guitar in both schools.
- Blended learning (both online and in the classroom) with the Business Department for the required-Computer Science 9
- Making the required Family Consumer Sciences 9 a semester-course instead of a year
- Adding Child Development 2 and implementing an active preschool lab
- Adding Mandarin Chinese to the school district language offerings.
Kittanning Senior High is the only one of the three current high schools that has a preschool lab – serving about 10 families.
With approval, student scheduling will begin soon for the 2015-16 school year.
“Every curriculum offering has been connected to the Department of Education standards in order to prepare students for future career and educational opportunities,” Zukowski said.
Chapp reported that about 2,500 community residents attended the construction walk-through November 1 from all age groups. He thanked Reynolds Construction Managers Roshelle Fennell and Steve Reckhart, as well as district administrators and board directors.
Close said residents were also asking for another before the ribbon cutting this summer.
An executive session was held before the open caucus session for personnel, real estate and student confidentiality and immediately after.
Kittanning High School Technology Teachers Joe Kovalchick and Tom Caves distribute keychains, coasters and glasses with the new Armstrong Riverhawks logo that were made by students via laser to school board members.
Armstrong School District | jweaver November 7, 2014
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By jorn jensen, November 7, 2014 @ 11:56 AM
Spend the 24 grand on the robotics kits and skip the upgraded floors and the veterans’ thing outdoors. This is about education.
By lowfatlowcarbnosugarcheesecake, November 7, 2014 @ 6:58 PM
Jorn my dear…
The fact that you think any of this is about education is a joke…
$24,000 is a drop in the bucket when looking at this whole project… especially the $10+ million dollar athletic facilities they are pushing through… They may have all these aspirations to offer these courses but will they actually have enough money to offer it??
By jorn jensen, November 9, 2014 @ 5:45 AM
Odd post, lowfatlowcarbnosugarcheescake. $24k is such small dollars for actual education supplies, that it actually is just a drop in the bucket - and it actually would be for education. Plus, $24k towards education can provide much more education value than $10 million towards athletic facilities.
Hey, Tom Wolf spent $10 million of his own dollars to get a $188k/year job (yes, we know he’s not taking the pay - it is an ego move) - maybe he can toss a personal $10 million at the ASD athletic facilities challenge?
By jorn jensen, November 9, 2014 @ 6:01 AM
The Athletic Donations Don’t Add Up to New Fields article is now closed for comments, so I’ll take my response to Mary Poppins to this school district-related article.
They’re, their, there now, Mary Poppins. No need to insult just because I don’t believe something that a person using a pseudonym states and supports with, “Jim stated it and the newspapers stated it.” Let’s hear from someone else, in that line of work, that it costs $40 million to get rid of $80 million - and, supports it with facts, examples, and data. The current school board, which looks a lot like the prior school board, tried to get rid of the loan for about 3 days, and then, “Oh well, that didn’t work - let’s build a new school.” People don’t forget this stuff.
It is a moot point anyhow - the money is spent. Now, get busy figuring out how you’re going to pay it back. Once you folks made the decision to spend the money, you acquired the responsibility for your decision. You know what your greatest expense is, and don’t tell us that you need 10 teachers per student for this reason and for that reason.
On people don’t forget, I also won’t forget sitting at the Lenape Elementary gymnasium and watching school directors, during the public questions session, texting forth and back, and giggling - all the while, wasting everyone else’s time. And, the defense was, “How do you know they were texting each other?” Get real - they were texting and not paying attention to the discussions going on - still wasting the public’s time being there.
You know, you school directors are welcome to go public in the media. No need to hide behind pseudonyms - you are in a public position.
By blutoblutarsky, November 10, 2014 @ 1:35 PM
Jorn-
Per my past dealings with admin your 11/9 post shouldn’t have made it to print. It has no relation to the article whatsoever other than the word “school” in the title.
By jorn jensen, November 10, 2014 @ 8:43 PM
bluto - Do you need some cheese and crackers for that whine? The other article was closed to posts while posters were actively posting. Topic is the same - ASD on one, ASD on the other.
By blutoblutarsky, November 11, 2014 @ 10:22 AM
jorn- I was simply making the same point that admin made to me. I also had commented on an ongoing conversation from a previously closed thread. Both articles had a political topic.
The bottom line is that both cases were similar, but the posters were treated differently.
Also, you’ll notice my last post lacked the immaturity shown in yours.
By MaryPoppins, November 11, 2014 @ 7:41 PM
Thanks Jorn, you proved my point.
By sickofpayingforit, November 12, 2014 @ 1:37 AM
88k sounds light for the building and land, but I get it I suppose. Take whatever we can get and get rid of any costs associated with this place. Hopefully the money isn’t funneled to Heinz Field North.