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Elizabethtown board ends full‑day kindergarten pilot, reallocates Ready to Learn funds and approves purchase‑negotiation resolution
Summary
Trustees voted unanimously to reallocate the Ready to Learn grant (including the line used for the full‑day kindergarten pilot) to existing district programs at administration's discretion, and approved a resolution authorizing negotiations to purchase 25 Beechwood Lane. Both measures passed by roll call.
Elizabethtown Area School District trustees voted unanimously at the March workshop to end the district’s full‑day kindergarten pilot and reallocate the Ready to Learn grant funds to existing district programs, and to authorize administration to negotiate the potential purchase of a 4‑acre property at 25 Beechwood Lane.
During the meeting trustees debated where Ready to Learn dollars (the administration cited the larger grant total and specifically the $373,195 figure tied to the full‑day kindergarten pilot) could best be used. Several board members argued for reallocating the money to student services infrastructure, multi‑tiered systems of support, interventionists for math and literacy, or to offset cyber‑charter costs. Trustee Mrs. Bazarian moved to eliminate the full‑day kindergarten pilot and allow administration discretion to allocate the Ready to Learn funds to preexisting district programs; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll‑call vote.
Roll call on the Ready to Learn motion recorded unanimous support: Mrs. Bazarian — Yes; Mr. Gillis — Yes; Mrs. Lindemuth — Yes; Mr. Lindemuth — Yes; Mr. Riggleman — Yes; Mrs. Schrum — Yes; Mrs. Wilson — Yes; Mrs. Yoder — Yes; Mrs. Carter — Yes.
Shortly afterward the board approved a separate resolution to authorize the district’s CFO to negotiate an offer to purchase 25 Beechwood Lane; the motion was made by Mr. Gillis and seconded from the floor, and the resolution passed by the same unanimous roll call.
Administrators said that if a purchase offer is accepted, the district will proceed with standard inspections and return to the board for a final purchase resolution with the specific price and terms. On the Ready to Learn reallocation, administration said it would apply the funds to allowable, board‑approved categories and would report allocations back to the board.
Members of the public weighed in during comment time. Amy Carr, speaking during public comment, criticized the board’s handling of its student representatives and tone during the meeting: "The conversation about the student reps tonight was particularly disgraceful," she told trustees.
The board wrapped up with a disclosure of recent executive sessions related to the Beechwood Lane property and personnel matters and adjourned.
