Proposed ASD Business Decisions Include School Consultant Agreement
Armstrong School District Director of Food and Nutrition Services LuAnn Fee is recommending increasing lunch prices next school year after an evaluation with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She said this is the first year she projected a budget deficit.
by Jonathan Weaver
This morning marks the final time school bells will ring in the halls of Kittanning Junior High, Kittanning Senior High and Ford City Junior-Senior High.
After school ends – which will be in the early-afternoon due to a half-day schedule) and graduation commencements end, the schools in Kittanning and Ford City will be vacant – which is when Armstrong School District board directors, local and Fourth Economy Consultants (from Pittsburgh) will hopefully begin to consider the future.
Business Manager Sam Kirk said the effort this summer (which is up for consideration Monday evening) is in-conjunction with a possible county grant.
“We’re looking to do some study on the buildings we are closing, and what their potential uses could be,” Kirk said.
According to their website, Fourth Economy has also conducted economic analyses at Point Park University, the reuse of the Philipsburg – Osceola Area School District Junior High building in central Pennsylvania and economic planning for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.
The community needs assessment was unanimously added to the March regular meeting agenda and unanimously approved
The schools were designated Keystone Opportunity Zones as an incentive for developers in August 2013 by Armstrong County Commissioners, but no bidders have publicly been disclosed.
A public hearing to listen to community concerns regarding the school closings was held at the end of January – at which time Solicitor Lee Price said all suggestions are welcome. One received included making Ford City Junior-Senior High into a community college or learning center.
Real estate action was discussed by board directors in executive session before the meeting.
During business discussion, Kirk also said bids have been received to make 70 new black-and-silver West Shamokin Junior-Senior High band uniforms.
After meeting with school Principal Dr. Stephen Shutters and Band Director Valerie Wilson – who is retiring at the end of this year -, officials recommended a $29,320 bid from Fruhauf Uniforms, of Wichita, Kan.
West Shamokin Assistant Drum Major Tanner Stewart said earlier this year that there were about 40 musicians in the band this school year.
Funding for the uniforms was set aside within the 2014-15 budget.
In other pending actions, school directors will vote Monday on Food and Nutrition Services Director LuAnn Fee’s recommendation to increase elementary and adult lunch prices.
Fee explained that school districts across the Commonwealth are losing money because of stricter nutritional guidelines. Armstrong School District’s cafeterias lunch sales dropped five percent and “smart snacks” cost the department $500 per day.
The Department of Education even recommended increasing lunch prices last school year.
“We were able to not do that because of our food service fund balance, the balance of our non-federal funds,” Fee said. “We were able to hold off raising lunch prices, but this year, from our review, the Department of Education asked that we do raise lunch prices.
“I’m recommended that we raise them 10 cents for the 2015-16 school year.”
Elementary lunch prices would rise to $2.35, secondary prices would rise to $2.60 and adults would jump to $3.75.
Department of Education regulations require adults pay at least one dollar more.
Fee added that there is discussion about PDE “loosening” guidelines next year to stabilize expenses.
The new school site paving will be completed until it reaches Buffington Drive this weekend, according to Reynolds Construction On-Site Manager Rochelle Fennell, while other crews finish auditorium seating, installing plumbing fixtures and connecting kitchen equipment
Before the meeting, school directors held an executive session to discuss personnel, student confidentiality, collective bargaining and real estate.
Board Directors Chris Choncek and James Rearic were absent from the open caucus.
Armstrong School District | jweaver June 5, 2015
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By jorn jensen, June 5, 2015 @ 7:22 AM
Here we go again - spending more money in this school district. We’re smart enough to borrow a bunch of money, not return it because no one wants it, and then build a new school, but we can’t figure out what to do with the old schools, so we hire a consultant.
I’m in the consulting business. You use a consultant, with expertise in a particular area when you have no expertise in that area, but want to ‘learn it’ and save you the learning curve and costs. We have no one around here, volunteers, that can figure out what to do with these excess school buildings?
So, no one in the ASD communities has any clue of what to do with these excess buildings? So we hire a consultant to tell us what should be the obvious? Seems like some good ideas have come from local people, and for free.
Spending our way to wealth.