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Board approves hires, retirements and student trips; visitor criticizes Common Core
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Summary
The board accepted several resignations and retirements, approved multiple special-education teaching assistants and extracurricular sponsors, authorized two overnight student trips and heard a public commenter criticize Common Core; Dr. Hansen replied that the state tailors standards and they do not control classroom instruction.
The Beaver Area School District board on Sept. 16 accepted personnel changes and approved extracurricular activities and field trips for the 2013-14 school year.
Accepted resignations and retirements included Roy Shumaker (High School Attendance Secretary) effective Sept. 6, 2013; custodian Donna Munroe, retiring Nov. 22, 2013 after 35 years of service; and Helen Zinkham, Head Cook at Dutch Ridge Elementary, retiring Dec. 31, 2013 after 20 years.
The board employed several special-education teaching assistants: Amanda Petrofes at College Square School (effective Sept. 13, 2013) and Jessica Loccisano, Hayleigh Dickie and Rachel Frantz at Dutch Ridge Elementary (effective Sept. 16, 2013). Remuneration for these positions was listed as $8.50 per hour, seven hours per day, five days per week. The board also employed Ray Hoppa as a temporary assistant to the athletic director at $10.70 per hour (not to exceed $5,000 for the school year) and approved Erin Kilpatrick as Secretary I in the Middle/High School Attendance Office at $11.77 per hour pending release from a current assignment.
Extracurricular appointments included Ben Maracek as Mock Trial sponsor ($600) and Erin Boyd and Luke Leiden as Spanish Club co-sponsors ($300 each). The board approved two overnight student trips: a South Mountain backpacking trip for 20 students (Oct. 11-13, 2013) with a $20 student cost and a Washington, D.C. trip for 53 students (Apr. 4-5, 2014) at $160 per student; district costs were limited to substitute coverage as noted in the agenda.
During the public-comment portion a visitor expressed concern that the board had accepted Common Core standards and stated that Common Core was "a poor choice." Dr. Hansen responded that the State Board of Education is charged with tailoring the standards for Pennsylvania and that "the standards do not control how we teach or the curriculum." Separately, the minutes note that the Beaver Baseball Boosters asked permission for a March 20-24, 2014 trip to Florida for 16 students; the athletic director was processing that request.
The board also approved substitute teacher, district volunteer and Beaver Valley IU emergency permit substitute lists and cast its votes for the 2014 PSBA Board of Directors election as recorded in the minutes. The board adjourned at 8:15 p.m.