Every year, the Oley Valley School District approves sending administrators and teachers on a bevy of meetings.
In 2008, the school board approved sending a combination of administrators or teachers on forty-two conferences/workshops at a cost of $20,439.01. This figure does not include money spent on student field trips.
King of Prussia, Hershey, Harrisburg, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Lancaster, Summerdale, State College, Manheim, Camp Hill, Grantville, and Philadelphia are the popular spots in Pennsylvania.
Atlantic City and Cherry Hill, New Jersey saw some business. Even Florence, Italy was a host.
The justification for these trips was “professional development”. The district does not have any objective standards to measure professional development. They cannot calculate the educational benefits to the students or the fiscal gains to the community.
However, the public continues to see static student test scores and yearly increases in real estate taxes.
The board says they are earnestly working on the 2009-2010 budget. They are doing everything in their power during these hard economic times to reduce unnecessary expenditures.
Yet at one of the many spending requests of the Superintendent, the board majority approved another trip, this time to New Orleans, Louisiana costing $1,235.11. Based on the 2008 tabulations, these junkets will add up to a hefty sum.
There are two board meetings in March.
The Regular School Board Meeting on March 18,2009 at the Berks Career & Technology Center, East Campus Board Room at 7:00 PM.
The Budget and Finance Meeting on March 25, 2009 at the Administration Building Board Room at 7:00 PM.
Both are public meetings where citizens can address the board about district issues.
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110 comments:
This is disgusting. They do not have any conscience whatsoever.
As usual - Oley is at it's best when spending money.
MONEY,MONEY,MONEY
What's going to happen when:
a: Oley loses the lawsuit they're involved in and we owe 3 million instead of paying our steel contractor the $1.4 we owed him in the first place
b: Oley needs $1+ million to replace the elementary school roof
Oley spends first and thinks (or tries to think) second.
Don't forget, the teacher's contract is looming on the horizon. I vote for teacher negotiations to be done in the public eye next time around. There are schools in PA who have their negotiations in public.
Any takers?
Since this board and administration are lapdogs of the union you can forget about negotiations in public. We won't even know what's going on until a contract is signed, sealed and delivered.
Kudos to Maloney and Burns for standing up to the administration and PTO and voting against a field trip that will result in a minimal educational experience and important time missed from classes. It's so sad that we don't even have five board members with backbone to reverse the rubber stamping that has been going on in the district for years.
John Bieber, Steve Burns, and Carl Kubitz voted against the New Orleans trip.
Heckman, Hannum, Maloney,Richards, and Cappa voted for the trip.
Again, tons of debate over smaller amounts of money, but not the batting of an eyelash at spending MILLIONS!!!!!!!
Go figure.
Where do you think the board gets practice spending millions? By spending thousands with no regard to consequences.
OVSD has many pretty pictures in the Boyertown Times. My grandfather says the more the PR the more something is up.
Cindy you must be the lonliest blogger in Oley. I don't see anyone here supporting your paranoid points. Dosen't your head ring with the sound of your own shrill voice?
So you don't see anyone here supporting lower taxes, fiscal responsiblity, board, administration and faculty accountability and a better educational experience for all our children? Pull your head out of the sand and think for yourself instead of swallowing the propaganda spewed out by the board/administration/faculty axis.
so now you are comparing the board/administration/faculty to the fascists of World War II? When will it end?
Herr Cappa wrote a letter to the editor saying he is not interested in listening to the taxpayer. That is a FACT!
A board member should be willing to hear everyone's views regardless if he agrees with them or not.
Any word yet on who is running in the primary for school board? Any challengers to the incumbents?
5 people running, four spots open. They are listed on the county web-site (election services). Only 2 of the 5 that are running are incumbents. That means either 2 or 3 'new' members will be joining the board.
The candidates listed on the Berks Election web-site are:
Joanne Ewing, Christopher Hannum, Ralph Richard, Barbara Jean Rufer and Sherry Brill Shultz.
Do any of them work in a school district or have family members working in a school district?
Oh brother, that's all we need another person who feeds from the trough voting pay increases for a spouse!
Tea bags to a school district that raises taxes during a depression.
Don't you know that they have to raise taxes to give the administrators and teachers their raises? How insensitive of you!
I know, I know, if you don't give the educrats their undeserved pay raise, education would crumble. If all the money that has been poured into the pockets of the administrators and teachers has not improved education by now, nothing will.
I hope you find some happiness in your life soon! :) ...really, I am being sincere!
So paying more and higher taxes makes you happy? Seeing this school board continue to raise administrator's salaries in a severe economic recession makes you happy? Seeing other citizens of this school district struggle to pay their school taxes makes you happy? Shame on you and all the other board apologists who think like you do.
The teacher's union created a deep pit to pour in tax dollars. The school boards supply the shovels.
It is Sunday. Do you know where your tax dollars go!
Your list of "taxpayer sites of interest" should include www.schoolboardtransparency.org.
It consistently makes the case for publicizing proposed school contracts before they're set in concrete.
Headline in this morning's paper: "Daniel Boone might avoid tax increase". If they can do it so can our board. But will they?
With sadness we note the passing of Gordon Yorgey, lifetime resident of the Oley Valley, former school board member (1960s)and bus driver for the district. He was always intersted in what was happening in our district and attended many school board meetings to show his concern and interest.
Our prayers go out to his family and they can be comforted in the knowledge that Gordon is at peace and with his Lord and Savior.
Oleyians would rather fire teachers to spend millions on a track. Feel good is for fools.
No, Mrs. McCarthy, there is NOT consensus on global warming. Just because you fell for Al Gore's propaganda doesn't mean everyone has.
The board that voted for the $2,000,000 athletic facility was warned numerous times, that spending so much money on the track would hurt education.
They ignored these concerns.
Education is now feeling the impact of the careless spending.
I understand that Zackon still wants to send people to Atlanta in July on another junket. This is the same trip the board voted no on last month. Why can't zackon take no for an answer?
OK school board time to cancel another $20,000 trip!
The board voted no last month but in the mean time arms are twisted, deals made and this time it will pass.
School board meeting in high school cafeteria tonight 7PM
Preliminary budget vote, possible Emementary school teacher reductions, teacher junket to Atlanta. Should be fun. Let's go school board, don't cave in to the administration or teacher union!
For those of us who could not attend the meeting last night, what happened? Please give us a report.
Burns, Maloney, Bieber and Kubitz voted not to waste more money sending teachers to Atlanta this summer. The rest of the board dropped to their knees for Zackon.
Board made David Schmaldinst(?) new asst high school principal.
The board said they are serious about no tax increase this year. We'll see next month.
Teacher layoffs are still on table, not just in elementary school. There is dead wood in high school also.
Thank you Mr. Burns, Maloney, Beiber and Kubitz. The rest of you are a disgrace. Especially Heckman the Magnificent. You are a joke!!
I get a kick out of Mr. Heckman's comment about running a business.
If a business was run the same way the school is run, bankruptcy would be in order.
The HMS Heckman is sinking fast.
Primary Day:
VOTE!
Not much to choose from for school board. Much of the same old same old.
Thats negative - 3 of the 5 (60%) are new!
Looks like one incumbent did not spend enough taxpayer money to keep the feel gooders happy.
What were the results? Who's in and who is out?
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
SHERRY BRILL SHULTZ DEMOCRATIC 309
CHRISTOPHER M. HANNUM DEMOCRATIC 328
JOANNE L. EWING DEMOCRATIC 365
BARBARA JEAN RUFER DEMOCRATIC 294
RALPH RICHARD DEMOCRATIC
307
BARBARA JEAN RUFER REPUBLICAN
229
CHRISTOPHER M. HANNUM REPUBLICAN 238
RALPH RICHARD REPUBLICAN 251
JOANNE L. EWING REPUBLICAN 254
SHERRY BRILL SHULTZ REPUBLICAN 193
A run-off in Nov. between Rufer and Shultz for the fourth seat.
Who got the Write-In Votes?
All five candidates will be on Nov. ballot for four openings.
Anyone can still lose. The top four vote getters will be elected.
Joanne Ewing is a former teacher and Heckman friend.
Board meeting tonight at the Middle School. 7PM
The demented Reading Eagle attacked board members Bieber, Kubitz and Burns for daring to question Al Gore's global warming consensus theory. The Eagle is a classic example of lemming mentality. They never allow critical thinking about the leftwing agenda. The Reading Eagle demonstrates on a daily basis why newspapers are dying.
Board Meeting: 5/20/2009
The board approved courses with 15 or fewer students.
Short Story - 10
AP Calculus - 3
Latin - 6
Spreadsheet - 13
Word Processing - 10
Web site - 10
Accounting II,III - 3,2
Mechanical Drawing I - 12
Mechanical Drawing II - 5
Architectural Drawing - 12
Children and Parenting - 12
Communication Graphic Arts - 12
Music Appreciation - 14
A soon to retire teacher suggested the board should consider a tax the rich policy.
He contended that Oley is a "rich" district.
The average teacher salary is approximately $55,000.
According to data presented at a 2003 tax hearing, over 60% of Oley household income is no more than $45,000.
Board finding out that the Admin doesn't give a rats rearend what they think about curriculum. Global warming has fried the brains of what little brains the Admin had.
The History book discussion will continue this Thursday 5/28 at 5PM at the administration board room. Might be fun. Don't forget to wear your Al Gore 2000 t-shirt.
The comment about the teacher wanting to tax more is outrageous. Teachers are making far more than most people in the district and they are still not satisfied.
NO TAX INCREASE!!
I had a teacher say to me Oley should raise taxes. She said "So what. What's half a mill?"
The teacher union dosen't give a rip about taxpayers.
There is at least one TEACHER in Oley who makes over $100,000.
Greedy teachers or greedy parents wanting higher taxes, not much difference.
Re-Printed from the Reading Eagle "Misconception fairly common" (5/28/09)
Editor:
Although it pains me to recognize the shortcomings of some of members of the Oley Valley School Board, their limited views about science reflect a lack of understanding about science that is fairly common ("Those who question science should understand it first," Reading Eagle, May 20).
In ranking the importance of terms associated with the scientific process, most people, such as John Bieber, would list facts as being most important, followed by laws, then theories, with hypotheses being least important. They would be surprised to learn that scientists rearrange the list with theories as the most important, followed by laws, then hypotheses, with facts being least important.
For a scientist, facts are simply confirmed observations, which are important but certainly not immutable. Facts can change as our powers of observation improve, and so facts are a first step toward knowledge but at the bottom of the hierarchy of explanation. Theories, however, hold incredible predictive power for scientists.
I hope our children are learning more about the process of doing science, such that they can recognize the importance of evaluating relevant facts and testing hypotheses, and perhaps grow up to be more informed and enlightened school board members.
Karen A. Campbell
Karen Campbell seems to think that the objection of some of the Oley Valley School Directors is what has become the politically charged issue of global warming. The shortcoming actualy lies with Ms. Campbell's failure to see that the issue being considered is a History book, not a Science book. The History book in question apparently has many controversial topics presented with a very slanted, some may say "Liberal" view. For instance, why would a writer of a History book describe those who hold a pro-life conviction as "extremists" rather than discussing a topic in an informative way, and instead of using terminology that could be considered (not so) subtle brainwashing. I agree that facts and laws are more important than theories and hypotheses and certainly hope that Ms. Campbell is not a teacher or professor in a Science Department. Hypotheses are proven either right or wrong by the FACTS. What is more important, someone's guess or actual DATA?! The ultimate question here is: When taxpayers are being asked to pay thousands of dollars on new textbooks, do they want there school boards to simply rubber-stamp every proposal, or are they elected to represent the taxpayers' and students' best interests? It sounds to me like the Oley Valley School Board is taking their role seriously - considering the textbook and engaging in healthy discussion before making a decision. Global Warming isn't the issue, the real issue is responsible elected offials considering all sides before making a decision.
Comment By Parent at 5/28/2009 10:21:09 PM
Well said... Thank you and thanks to those board members who have taken their role seriously and question the establishment "educators". It's too bad others on the board (are you reading this Mr. Heckman?) are so willing to do the bidding of the administration and the teachers instead of the taxpayers.
Nice graduation last night - it did not rain!
God bless the Oley Class of 2009
Hey Al, Why no new comments or updates since march 12th? There has been a lot going on at OVSD. Get up to speed. Also looks like your reader participation here on the blogg looks pretty light. Don't you go to board meetings any more?
If you were on his e-mail list you would know he keeps the taxpayers up to date.
Maybe he could cut and paste them here.
Thanks to the three board members who stood firm against the continued liberal indoctination of our children. Voting against the history text book was the right thing to do. It's becoming more apparent that home schooling or cyber-schooling is the right thing to do too.
The Oley social studies teachers would not even meet with the board in person to explain the reason they wanted the Alan Brinkley book. Even worse they contacted their union lawyer rather than talk to the school board.What were they affraid of?
I guess the instincts of the 3 smart board members was correct. If you can't even come to a meeting and discuss it like a professional the way the teachers think of themselves as, then who is kidding who? Have a nice paid summer off you union thug teachers!
Brinkley is a well known leftist advocating communism. Just the type of person teachers love. Wake up parents and pay attention. Your child may be recruited to report on your support of democracy.
Oley on the prowl for another business manager. What's the problem with Oley and business managers? It seems that this district goes through quite a number of them.
What's going on and why?
Old news - that was announced and advertised in the paper two+ weeks ago.
Come on Al. Update this site. Your header or old headline is from March 12th.
Also look like the number of visitors to this site is just about zero. I just stopped by on my way to google.
That's because, with the exception of a few, people are tired of the negativity on this site. I used to be a regular follower, and I agreed with a lot of the points, but the anger and bitterness got the best of me. I just signed on for the first time in a while, and no improvement. I think I'm saying goodbye to the blog.
You just signed on for the first time in awhile and saw no improvement. Just where are you seeing this so called "anger and bitterness? This current thread reflects none of that in the comments. Legitimate interests and concerns are expressed but there is no "bitterness" or "anger" in those comments. Maybe it would be best for you to say goodbye to the blog since you are so easliy offended. Why don't you try "The Daily KOS" or "Move-on.org"? Those liberal sites make this blog look like an elementary tea party.
That's right, 11:07, we should all join hands and sing Kumbaya and pretend that all is well with the world. I agree, say goodby.
"Negativity" to the district apologists (those who like high taxes) is revealing the truth about what is going on. They prefer taxpayers just "shut up" and "pay the taxes".
Well did any of you that throw stones at the school district and the school board have anything positive to say when the board just passed a NO TAX INCREASE budget? That's what you've been b-tching about forever. Well you got what you wanted but you wouldnt know it here.
Hey 4:21 - The district could have had a no tax increase over at least the last three years. Do your research.
So we're supposed to do cart wheels because the board finally did something (not raise taxes) that they should have done the last couple years. Some people are too stupid to see that this means next year they can really sock it to us. Wake up and smell the coffee, 4:21. Oh, that's right, I can't say things like that without being accused of "anger and bitterness". BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
"Well did any of you that throw stones at the school district and the school board have anything positive to say when the board just passed a NO TAX INCREASE budget? That's what you've been b-tching about forever. Well you got what you wanted but you wouldnt know it here."
It took an economic meltdown before the district gave us a break. The greedy and selfish parents who insisted on a $2,000,000 track will force the board to cut even more educational programs. Feeling good is more important than their childrens' future.
The board was thanked at budget and board meetings for a no tax increase budget.
Come on Al,start a new thread. Isn't there something new to talk about? How about if this blog pay some real attention to what a poor state rep we have in Dave Kessler. And Mike O'Pake. Two Ed rendell cronies.
What about the story in yesterday's paper about starting a library in Oley? There are already libraries in each of our three schools that could be opened to the public. We are already paying for those. Adding another $5 to the per capita tax to pay for a library is not a very good idea in this economic climate.
Can we have a discussion about this without becoming unglued, personal or hateful? What are some thoughts?
Only two questions would arise; cost of the facilities (HVA/C, lights, etc), AND the persons overseeing the operation outside of the teacher's (librarian's) contracted day.
"Adding another $5 to the per capita tax to pay for a library is not a very good idea in this economic climate."
If a project cannot get the financial support of the community, then the worthiness of it is lacking.
The cost of construction or acquisition and the associate yearly expenses should be totally financed by private funding.
There are a number of libraries nearby for people to use. A computer provides vast amounts of information.
Government solutions to an idea usually prove to be expensive and a failure.
"A computer provides vast amounts of information"; which is why it requires careful consideration as to it's source, bias of this source and the intention of the publishing source. Books have always been a good "filter" of valid information versus suspect; the internet allows almost anybody the opportunity for their soapbox. (Sorry if this "hits too close to home" Mr. Jacobs; this is a generic statement, not directed at this website. You meet your objective's fairly and within the light of scrutiny; some sites' objective's are unknown.)
Ray Bradbury (of Fahrenheit 451 fame) "is vehemently anti-internet – it's 'a big distraction ... It's meaningless; it's not real.'"* The internet can be quickly edited, books are reasonably permanent resources. Information in print today is there during the next "administration," a website today might not even exist next month.
*(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/22/ray-bradbury-defends-libraries)
Books are our friends...
I would love to have a library in Oley. It would enhance the community. However, I think that it needs to be established in a manner that does not require public funding. If it establishes itself based on public funding then it will not succeed.
Starting a library on the foundation of public funding is the same as building a house on a foundation of sand. It will ultimately crumble.
I personally would pay a reasonable membership fee to have access to a public library. Much the same as I pay to have access to the Boyertown YMCA.
The reason these women want another library is to have more adult books, themes, periodicals that are not possible in the school libraries. I would not support taxpayer money for another library in the Oley school district. Sad to say but I believe most libraries have outlived their usefulness. The Internet can provide almost any information in seconds, especially for reference work. Cuddle up with a book is a little different.
If anyone wants to see a community library operate, go over to the Exeter library. They have many activities for kids, both pre-school and elementary. They also have many adult classes and workshops. The modern community library is not the same as those in the past. Books seem to be secondary to community outreach and interaction. Before the Oley community jumps on board with this I hope the organizers spend time in surrounding libraries, get the best ideas from each one and, then, proceed with planning and fund raising.
Were there any board meetings this month?
Does anyone care?
Is this blog dead or still on life support?
President Obama plans a televised speech to school children grades Pre-K through 12 on September 8th, 2009.
My comment is that I am concerned that the 12PM start time to view it live, will disrupt classes, planned lessons, lunches or transportation plans already in place.
My suggestion is that the presentation/ speech be videotaped and used at the discretion of teachers and administration to fit into their schedules at an appropriate time more to their advantage, rather than scramble to accommodate this with short notice.
As a school board member, I would like the opportunity for the information presented to be properly vetted by the Oley Valley administration before it is shared with our students and determine where it may appropriately fit into the Oley Valley curriculum. I found a brief outline produced by the US Dept of Education regarding the speech with very little description of the subject matter. There were two discussion questions listed in the “After the Speech” guideline for teachers; “What do you think the president wants us to do?” and “Does the speech make you want to do anything?” This makes me believe there will be a call to do something, but no details were provided.
In my opinion, this type of presentation should viewed by students in their homes with their parents as an “After-School Special”, not as a mandatory part of the school day.
John C. Bieber
Oley Valley School Director
Thank you Mr. Bieber for a reasonable approach to a politically sensitive issue. I hope the district takes your lead. My family recieved a letter stating the Obama speech will be optional at the high school. Personally, I and my child- student want nothing to do with it.
I agree. Just tape the speech and if it is worth watching use it. I do not like having this kind of information forced on people.
Oley Resident
Is the Obama speech one of the questions on a PSSA test? The educational moment is that parents need to stay alert. Thanks for the e-mail OCC.
I predict that the Obama speech will be boring and harmless. The next time he wants to do it there will be less if no resistance, but the next speech will be provocative and a speech that will tell children to do something in their home, like become little environmentalist police or telling mommy and daddy that they really should support a single payer health care system. Obama and his liberal friends are very happy taking baby steps as long as they keep moving forward. Next he wants your children pushing his agenda in your home.
I regret voting for Obama. It came to me recently in a "what was I thinking?" moment after reading about all Obama's czars and yesterday when his "Green" czar resigned after calling Pres. GW Bush a crakhead on tape. You can judge a man by the company he keeps. I voted for him because there was a glimer of "hope" for something new. Shame on me for being gullible. I'm sorry Oley, I screwed up. I don't trust Obama anywhere near my children and he should stay out of our classrooms.
ObamaNOcare will force teachers to give up their golden health care benefits. How ironic!
No it won't. There are special provisions in the bill(s) to protect organized labor.
No it won't. There are special provisions in the bill(s) to protect organized labor.
"No it won't. There are special provisions in the bill(s) to protect organized labor."
When contracts mature, the teachers will be forced into different coverage. Welcome to the real world!
The Democrats are now proposing a tax on "Cadillac" health plans. We can only guess what tax the teachers will pay on their Mercedes plan
Oley Valley School Board cool to new tests from state Education Department
Proficiency exams would replace PSSA; invited legislators no-shows at meeting
By Ron Devlin
Reading Eagle
Oley Valley School Board members listened politely as a state Department of Education official explained the proposed Keystone Exams, the state's latest attempt at upping the educational bar for high school students.
Then they voted against it.
The preprinted agenda for Wednesday's board meeting contained a resolution opposing the state high school proficiency exams.
It passed overwhelmingly, with Dr. Robert J. Cappa the only dissenter.
"This may not be the best way to achieve it," Cappa said. "But I believe a high school diploma should be the same everywhere in Pennsylvania, maybe even the United States."
The Education Department has proposed replacing the 11th grade PSSA with a system of proficiency exams in 10 subjects.
Starting next year, students would have to show proficiency in English literature, algebra I and biology.
By 2016, the list would include English composition, algebra II, geometry, U.S. history, chemistry, civics and world history. Students would have to be proficient in six of the 10 subjects to get a diploma.
Oley had invited local legislators to explain their positions on the Keystone Exams.
Instead, Richard F. Maraschiello, an aide to education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak attended the meeting at state Sen. Michael A. O'Pake's request. O'Pake is a Reading Democrat.
Maraschiello told the board that the consensus of educators, business executives and colleges is that tougher graduation requirements are needed.
"We want our kids to be prepared for college," Maraschiello said. "The skills needed today are much different than they were 20 years ago."
Maraschiello said school districts would have a choice of implementing the state exams or a proficiency system of their own that meets state academic standards.
Under the state system, the Keystone Exam would count for one-third of the student's final grade.
"A student with 100 percent in the course could fail if they bombed the state exam," board member Mary Anne McCarthy complained.
Board members denounced the exam system as ambiguous, disturbing and an affront to local school boards.
"We've had 103 successful graduating classes," board President Robert A. Heckman said. "We don't need the state to come in and tell us how to issue an Oley Valley diploma."
Once again Rob Cappa is the lone wingnut not seeing clearly. None of the legislators bothered to attend this meeting.
I know we rarely agree with Mr. Heckman here but he did and said the right things in this case. Thanks! The state can't run their own affairs yet they want to run ours. Also, Sen. O'Pake didn't show up because he probably doesn't know what they are talking about. The man is dumb, period and if he ever showed up at public meetings on real issues his lack of intellect would be on display for all to see.
Holy Cow, I haven't been on this blog in a while, but geez Al, the last article is from MARCH! Nothing new to report? How about a school board that didn't raise taxes. I would have thought you'd be giving them a standing "O" on that one.
Give them a standing "O" for something they could have done for the past three years? Their no tax increase budget this year was pure PR and is just setting us up for an even larger tax increase in
2010.
The Oley Valley School Board passed a resolution September 16, 2009 opposing the Keystone Exams.
The Resolution is as follows;
Resolution Opposing proposed High School GCA/Keystone Exams
By the Board of School Directors of the Oley Valley School District
September 16, 2009
WHEREAS, the Oley Valley School District is currently preparing all students for success in post high school education or the workplace; and
WHEREAS, Oley Valley School District students who have passed the local proficiency evaluations and have historically experienced placement and success in post high school could be denied the opportunity to attend even after offers of admission have been granted; and
WHEREAS, in the Oley Valley School District, students who have not scored proficient on the PASA have shown understanding of state standards through a variety of other assessments including portfolios, oral presentations, hands-on demonstrations, and other methods; and
WHEREAS, the PSSAs and local assessments already provide districts with information about students in need of remediation, and another layer of testing will only confirm what is already known; and
WHEREAS, the State, without regulatory change, can extend technical and financial assistance to districts already known to be struggling; and
WHEREAS, verification of the validity of these alternative assessments would be required every six years and would be costly to the school district and administration in both time and money, giving districts no choice but to “voluntarily” use the GCA/Keystone Exams rather than incur the financial burden associated with the validation process; and
WHEREAS, the monies required by the school districts for verification of alternative assessments would require expenditures that would be better spent in the classrooms, and
WHEREAS, the criteria for local assessments are undefined and may discourage assessments that would be beneficial for diverse learners; and
WHEREAS, the addition of the GCA/Keystone Exams would reduce the number of instructional days and impose an unreasonable load of stakes testing on students who are already facing a burden of stressful standardized tests; and
WHEREAS, the introduction of the GCA/Keystone Exams amounts to a state controlled curriculum that reduces the Oley Valley School District’s ability to provide a curriculum based on community needs and desires for education that focuses on developing in students a passion for learning, personal integrity, the pursuit of excellence and social responsibility; and
WHEREAS , the GCA/Keystone Exams will not measure 21st century skills employers are seeking and will take away from instructional time that should be used for developing skill sets in the areas of leadership, collaboration, creativity and technology; and
WHEREAS, the GCA/Keystone Exams will have continued economic impact on school districts operating under ACT1 fiscal constraints and on taxpayers across the Commonwealth, and these required expenditures have no proof of cost effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, the State, having already identified best practices related to local proficiency assessments, can share these methods with all school districts without the need to add GCA/Keystone Examinations and related expenses;
NOW THERFORE, BE IT RESOVED that the Board of School Directors of the Oley Valley School District opposes the State Board of Education proposals to enact the GCA/Keystone Exams and any other regulations or legislation that usurp the authority of local school districts to determine whether their students high school diplomas. This resolution will be shared with the State Board of Education, Governor, legislators, including local legislators and members of the State and House Education Committees, and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, PSBA, and the news media.
The resolution was signed by all board members except for Dr. Rob Cappa who did not vote for the resolution and said he thinks a statewide or even national diploma might be a good idea.
"Maraschiello said school districts would have a choice of implementing the state exams or a proficiency system of their own that meets state academic standards."
The idea that a local school district creates their own standards of educational performance has been tried and failed.
Prior to the emergence of the PSSA, 501 school districts had their own graduation requirements.
This created a system where there were 501 different standards. It was impossible to measure achievement and to compare one district to another.
The plan to let school districts do the same thing again is nothing more than politics.
Under PSSA, parents could measure one district against the other and decide where their children could get the best education.
Educators, school boards and administrators had to answer embarrassing questions.
The Keystone Exam is a step backward. Parents will be kept in the dark and students will be shortchanged.
7 months without a new thread. One month without a new comment. I'm happy to know that all is well in the Oley Valley School District. No news is not necessarily good news.
No tax increase...seems to me a taxpayer group helped to do good things for homeowners. That is more that can be said about liberals wanting to spend us into oblivion.
Congratulations to the board for joining forces with Central Catholic in football. A good decision. It's too bad Mrs. McCarthy couldn't see the benefit of this move. Her concern for spending the money doesn't seem to extend to administrator's pay increases or union contracts which involves much more money than this.
$10,800 for football?? This is a slap in the face to education and families trying to keep their head above water. No wonder the state imposes tests on districts.
Does anyone know how many kids will be sent to play at Central?
The Steel Lawsuit. The school district lawyers are still making the same arguments, over and over, to different forums. They've already lost several times. The judgment was for over $2million. Every day they don't pay, add on another $300+ in interest.
Even the pro-board apologists have to be scratching their head on this. Why would the board keep pouring this kind of money into legal fees and interest when it's obviously a losing cause? When asked about it they tell us they can't comment because it's in litigation. How about it, Mr. Bieber? You seem to be the most clear thinking person on the board, can't you do something about this?
Oley Valley will have two new school board members in December. Mrs Ewing a retired Oley teacher and Mrs. Shultz whom I believe works in healthcare(? please correct me if I'm wrong) Sadly another small slate of candidates, 4 for 4 seats. The fifth candidate withdrew. This small number allowed them to skate through unchallenged with no need for a public debate or a get to know the candidate type event. It would be nice to get more people to step forward to run for school board and make a contest of it and get in front of the public on all of the issues. With these two new women we can only speculate that the retired teacher will be sympathetic to teacher issues; and we have no clue where Mrs. Shultz stands. One clue about Shultz is that she did not cross file on the ballot as the other three did. She was only on the democratic ticket. Had there been five candidates, Shultz would have not been elected. I wonder if she knew this and if she did know, was it really a way for her to say she did not really want the job?
Your facts are partially correct. Mrs. Shultz did cross-file, as well as the individual whom withdrew from the contest. During the primaries, Mrs. Shultz and the other individuals each won a spot on the final ballot, one as a D and one as a R.
As for a public debate - This is the fourth election in a row that had more candidates register than spots available (I think). In eight years, no community group or resident has stepped forward to host a meet candidate night.
It would be nice for a group of residents to step forward and host a forum to meet the candidates - not just school board , but township supervisors, etc.
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