Bethlehem Area School District board approves routine budget, curriculum and personnel items; public raises radon concerns

The Bethlehem Area School District Board of Directors met on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and approved a slate of routine facility, curriculum, finance and human-resources recommendations from the administration while recognizing student representatives and the retirement of a veteran district official.

The board moved and approved minutes from its Dec. 15 regular meeting and the Jan. 12 committee meeting, then approved facility items 11.01 and 11.02 and curriculum items 12.01 through 12.05 by roll call votes. Finance items numbered 701 through 704 (treasurer's report, monthly bills and budget information) were approved by a 7-0 vote. Human resources items 14.01 and 14.02 were similarly approved.

On the finance agenda, items 13.01 through 13.10 were considered together. Items 13.01 through 13.09 carried; item 13.10 received a single dissenting vote from Dr. Sheila White, who later explained her decision. The motion including items 13.01'through 13.10 ultimately carried. The transcript does not specify the substantive content of item 13.10.

Dr. White described the basis for her no vote during the open forum: "I've been doing deep dive, extended, research into recent studies about screen time with our kids," she said, adding that the American Psychological Association recommends one to two hours of screen time per day for young children and that she has not seen data showing Chromebooks in K'3 classrooms have raised reading or math scores. Her comments were framed as the reason for voting against the specific finance/technology item.

The meeting opened with recognition of January as School Director Recognition Month by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the naming of student board representatives from Freedom and Liberty high schools. The board also presented retirement recognition for Dr. John T. Burris, identified in the meeting as the district's Chief Human Resources Officer.

During the public-comment period, Dennis Howard, president of Teamsters Local 773 and a maintenance-building employee advocate, urged the board to address "longstanding" elevated radon levels in the district maintenance building and asked whether lung screening would be provided to affected employees. Howard said testing records he had seen suggested the district first learned of elevated radon levels in either 2006 or 2010 and called radon "a proven carcinogen" that causes lung cancer. According to the transcript, the district replied that testing had been offered and that the district had agreed to provide follow-up for employees.

Other items included committee reports from Northampton Community College (spring enrollment up about 7 percent, according to the board report), a brief VOTEC update noting industry involvement in the aviation-technology occupational advisory board, a reminder about a foundation fundraising dinner in March at Wind Creek, and an announcement that extreme cold weather would prompt a late opening the following day.

The meeting concluded after a brief open forum and a motion to adjourn.

Votes at a glance - Minutes (Dec. 15) and Jan. 12 committee minutes: approved (voice/roll call; no opposition reported). - Facility items 11.01 & 11.02: approved, roll call 7-0. - Curriculum items 12.01'' through 12.05: approved, roll call 7-0. - Finance items 701'' through 704: approved, roll call 7-0. - Finance items 13.01' through 13.09: approved; item 13.10: one no vote (Dr. Sheila White); overall motion carried. - Human resources items 14.01 & 14.02: approved, roll call 7-0.

What's next The transcript indicates the district will follow up on radon testing/offers for affected staff and that Northampton Community College representatives will present an upcoming college budget to the board in a future meeting.