Two subcommittees, the Technology and the Curriculum and Instruction groups, appeared before the Kutztown School Board on Monday night to present their proposed budgets for the 2015-16 school year.
The Technology subcommittee’s goal was to address the technological needs of the district while maintaining an appropriate expenditure limit. Kutztown’s Director of Technology and Innovative Learning, Chris Harrington, shared the subcommittee’s work.
There were four main categories that Harrington proposed increases in – district equipment, professional education services, software supplies and dues and fees. Between the four areas, the subcommittee asked for a little over $250,000 more than last year.
District equipment involves around 60 new laptops and 30 new desktop computers at the middle school, and an iPad cart with 30 devices for each elementary school.
“There is a demand for devices at the middle school level, and at the elementary schools,” Harrington said. “Even though there is a decrease in student enrollment, there is a need for the devices for what the teachers are doing with the students.”
During the discussion, the cost effectiveness of purchasing Apple products was raised, and while Harrington promoted the benefit of Apple products, he also stated that changes in brand are a possibility.
“Exactly what devices we will be buying will emerge during this process,” he said.
The professional education services component encompassed receiving technological consulting for various endeavors, such as increasing the district’s bandwidth capabilities. Software supplies and dues and fees revolved around licensing and Apple certification.
Also, Harrington discussed the merits of a proactive network switch replacement program and implementing an email archiving program to prevent the district from running into any future litigation issues.
Overall, the goal of the Technology subcommittee was to define the district’s technological vision at all school levels so that the classroom, as Harrington put it, looks the way they envision it in three to five years.
The Curriculum and Instruction subcommittee budget changes highlighted areas where cuts could be made without affecting student achievement levels. They included reducing curriculum writing funds, professional development consultants, the purchase of professional texts and more. In all, the cuts totaled around $28,000.
Board member Al Darion, who also serves on the Policy and Curriculum committee, asked that additional information regarding subcommittee use of several software programs be brought before the board at a later date. He raised a concern that several items seemed “excessive” in cost.
In other news, the motion for a multi-year auditing services agreement failed to pass after it was turned down by a vote of six to three. The agreement would have been with Herbein + Company to provide auditing services for 2015, 2016 and 2017, with an option to renew for 2018 and 2019.
Board member James Shrawder discussed his concerns.
“They [should] earn the business every year. I don’t see the point of multiple-year contracts,” he said.
Policy 123.1, which regards Concussion Management, after going through several revisions the past few months, was unanimously approved for adoption. Shrawder played a prominent role in bringing the board’s attention to concussions, and as a result the board will now be informed on a regular basis through monthly concussion reports.
The board also discussed two new business items courtesy of member Caecilia Holt and Board Vice-President Randy Burch. First, Holt addressed her concern with the district’s “excessive level of standardized testing.” She specifically asked if the board would be willing to review the wording of its goals, which she said puts an over-emphasis on testing.
The board agreed that it would be beneficial to review the district’s goals, and will be assigning the task to the Policy and Curriculum committee.
Burch then addressed the district’s ongoing dilemma of how to handle its music department. Burch suggested the board send out a survey to students in regards to music participation to better understand their desires, which the board agreed to get underway.
Lastly, Greg Eshelman of Eshelman Transportation proposed a new, three-year agreement with the district that the board asked be revisited at a later date after further discussion.
Eshelman Transportation is currently in year three of a five-year agreement with the district, and Eshelman reviewed some proposed changes to the agreement to update the district’s school buses, including an improved audio-video camera system.
“The system you have now is antiquated,” Eshelman said. “We’re proposing to take on that responsibility [of improving the system].”
The new system would employ three cameras, one to monitor the front half of the bus, one for the back half, and one for the driver and door. The camera systems would be installed for the 2015-16 school year if the board approves at a late date.
The board’s next meeting will take place on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the High School Library.
