Tech School Operating Committee to Review Advertising Expenditures

by Jonathan Weaver

Two months after a regional technical school approved their fiscal year budget, committee members are trying to cut back on expenses.

Joint Operating Committee members of Lenape Technical School will begin reviewing advertising expenditures.

Committee Chairperson Meredith Christy, representing the Freeport Area School District, called for the review after school calendars were made for families and newsletters were mailed out recently.

“We spent $12,200 to print the newsletter to get it ready, mail it,” Christy said. “Every so-often, we do review the money we are spending on advertising, newsletters and all that to figure out the total dollars spending, and are we getting our monies worth.”

Lenape Tech Administrative Director Dawn Kocher-Taylor said school officials have already begun cutting back.

“We reduced our newsletter from 2-to-1, and the newsletter you saw this time, has a new format – it was changed to a magazine format – and that was by my design because my step is to solicit other non-profit organizations who have to cut costs -just like the school’s- to put their information in that newsletter,” Kocher-Taylor said. “It would be a collaborative venture and they would bear some of the cost, which would reduce the cost to us.”

Examples of those non-profits include foundations, tourist bureaus and the YMCA.

Students from Armstrong, Freeport, Apollo-Ridge and Leechburg School Districts are welcome to enroll in Lenape Tech courses, and Kocher-Taylor said the newsletter would benefit all those areas.

“That goes to every postal address in all of your school districts, so it would be a very unique way for them to get their message out to a larger population, and it would help all of us to lower our costs,” Kocher-Taylor continued.

Christy asked for the total advertising costs through the 2011 fiscal year to also be calculated so that committee members can compare expenditures.

Kocher-Taylor said advertising cuts have and will be made when the time is right.

“We’ve reduced the number of newsletters, we’ve cut back on any sort of cable advertising we used to do, billboard advertising and radio advertising that existed when I got here – we have made cuts all along when it was the right thing to do,” Kocher-Taylor said.

In other Lenape Tech news, committee members also officially hired Morgan Scheetz to teach math during the upcoming school year at a wage of $38,101.78 within the Step 1 – bachelor’s scale. Instructional Assistant, Tawni Schall, was furloughed.

Students report for classes August 18.

The Joint Operating Committee will next meeting September 15 at 7PM.

Lenape Vo-Tech Hosts Discovery Camp

by Jonathan Weaver

A total of 15 regional female students became crime scene investigators, navigators and computer programmers last week.

Well - maybe not yet - but organizers hope the FASE Discovery Camp at Lenape Technical School inspired them to be in the future.

The girls, who came from Armstrong, Butler and Indiana County were part of the discovery camp as a enrichment program to keep them interested in technical and engineering careers.

Lenape Tech CAD Pre-Engineering Instructor Heather Simpson helped organize the first event.

“This is a pilot program this year – we are just trying it out through FASE Female Alliance STEM Excellence – to expose girls to science, technology, engineering and math. A lot of girls lose their interest in science or math come 7^th 8^th grade, so we’re hoping to show them how exciting it can be so they can stay more focused,” Simpson said.

Simpson remembers being one of the few who graduated from high school with engineering interests.

“I have two engineering technology degrees, so I am a STEM female,” Simpson said. “When I was going through high school, there wasn’t’ really anybody for me to look up to female-wise –so we want to try and get that available to the girls with mentors or just with what they are learning about today or each day.”

IUP-Northpointe Electro-Optics Coordinator Kelley Nuttall is a member of FASE and works with Penn State because of their optics program. She also finds need for the camp.

“I think it’s very important to start with these younger girls in middle school to start the awareness and show them what’s needed, so when they’re taking their classes in middle school and high school, they’re prepared and know which direction or pathway to go into,” Nuttall said. “You kind-of plant the seed and then you water it and watch it grow.”

Students have also had professional women leaders come in from the community during their lunch break to talk with them about their careers and how to achieve those goals.

Simpson said the girls kept interest during the week.

“The girls are very good – they’re asking all sorts of questions – relevant questions, - staying on task, are very interested and are asking questions all the way through lunch,” Simpson said. “They are definitely learning a lot – being exposed to science, technology, engineering and math.”

Lenape Tech Information Technology Assistant Jason Metro talked with students Thursday about computers, computer safety and programming code. He agreed that the girls were attentive.

“It went really good – they’re a good group of kids,” Metro said. “I think it went well.

“I think the camp as a whole was a success,” Metro added.

Both women will converge with other organization leaders to assess the camp.

Simpson hopes it is a positive assessment and the camp will grow.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to hold another camp if the funding’s available for next year – maybe do some different topics,” Simspon said.

Nutall said the participants will help decide on the direction of next year’s possible program.

“At the end of the week, we also have a survey for the girls to fill out so that we can get feedback from them,” Nutall said. “That way when we do our brainstorming and do planning for next year or even a Saturday event, we have their feedback, because they are the ones that sit through it, the ones we are trying to keep interested and keep motivated.”

The camp was sponsored by Lenape Tech, Penn State University Electro-Optics Center, Tri-County Technology Consortium, Armstrong County Manufacturing Consortium, the Workforce Investment Board and FASE.