Kutztown School Board approved refilling emergency staff leader positions and approved student accident insurance at their workshop meeting on Monday, Nov. 3.
Board member Al Darion made a motion that was seconded by Board Vice-President Randy Burch to refill the emergency staff leader positions at the middle and high schools with Hallie Schumacher and Andrew Brett, respectively. Both Schumacher and Brett are school counselors and occupied the positions in the 2013-14 school year.
The board had originally chosen not to refill the positions at the start of the 2014-15 school year. At the board’s last meeting on Oct. 20, Schumacher and Brett (along with several other members of the public) raised their concerns about leaving the positions unoccupied.
The motion was unanimously approved, and re-establishes an emergency contact person in each building. Prior to the approved motion, the vice principal for grades 6-12 was responsible for travelling between buildings to handle emergency situations.
The board also took action on a discussion item that sprouted from talks about the Student Shadow Agreement. According to High School Principal Barry Flicker, the Student Shadow Agreement is the first partnership for the high school of its kind. It began last year at the end of April, when students travelled to East Penn Manufacturing to get hands-on experience with the company.
According to Flicker, this led to the creation of a more intensive school-to-work program that will include six to eight, two-hour sessions per semester with East Penn Manufacturing.
“This is an opportunity to go above and beyond for our students,” Flicker said.
Business Administrator and Board Treasurer David Miller raised a concern before the program could be approved, however. Miller stated that the district’s insurance company was concerned about the possibility of being exposed to being sued if an accident were to ever occur to a student in the program that caused them to be disabled. Miller proposed the board approve action to pursue student accident insurance, which was approved by a vote of 8 to 1.
The insurance will not only cover students participating in the Student Shadow program, but also any debilitating injuries that could possibly occur in school athletics as an added benefit.
In other news, the board discussed increasing the size and quality of the high school weight room after a series of unanimous approvals.
The board’s action was taken as a follow-up to a discussion item from their previous meeting. The current location of the weight room is being turned into a wrestling room, while the weight room is being moved into the auxiliary gym.
On Monday night, the board approved the purchase of fitness equipment, the installation of new flooring and mirrors, and the refinishing of existing weight lifting equipment. The improvements were not only a necessity, but also a response to student interest, according to Director of Student Activities and Athletics Michael O’Neil.
“A lot of the students want to participate in weight training, so this will expand the size of our weight room and also the quality of the equipment that will be in there,” O’Neil said.
The relocated weight room will be receiving new treadmills, a stepper, a bike and more. The existing weight lifting equipment will be sandblasted and re-powder coated. In addition, the mirrors will be used not only to improve lifting form, but also for sports-related training such as working on baseball and softball swings.
In sporting news, the board recognized the high school boys’ soccer team for capturing the school’s first-ever District 3-A title. The team has had eight players receive honors this season, including the championship game hero and Berks County leading scorer Pierre Reedy (All-County and All-State). O’Neil, who doubles as the boys’ soccer head coach, was also awarded District 3-A and Berks County Coach of the Year.
“They’re such a great group of kids. They’re very unselfish. They would sometimes rather pass the ball and let someone else score than score themselves,” O’Neil said. “They’re just a class act.”
Lastly, the Lehigh Cement Company donated $2,500 for the purpose of purchasing up to six iPad minis for the Life-Skills classrooms in the Elementary and Middle School buildings.
The board’s next meeting will take place on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the High School Library.
