Loyalsock Township School District to offer summer classes for students behind due to pandemic

In an effort to ramp up support to those who have had difficulty during this year of COVID, for about five weeks this summer, students in the Loyalsock Township School District will be able to attend summer school and remediation programs offered by the district.

The school board gave their okay to the program which will be offered to students in first grade through fifth and incoming sixth, seventh and eighth graders and also eighth graders going into ninth in the fall.

According to Gerald McLaughlin, superintendent, principals in the district have been working to identify students who would benefit from the programs, based on assessments and grades. The programs will be funded by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Response (ESSER) II funds.

Also in preparation for the summer vacation months, the board approved the 2021 summer school breakfast and lunch program. The program will be staffed by district employees and because the district has been designated as a free meal site through a federal and state program, any cost to the district is reimbursed.

Under personnel, the board acknowledged the resignations of Tyler Potts, staff accountant and Christine Prohidney, transportation coordinator.

They also approved the following appointments: Angela Harman and Jenifer Blair, substitute food service employees, $10 per hour and Nancy Hill, school van driver.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the district and the Pennsylvania State Police to provide law enforcement was approved by the board. The MOU must be reviewed and re-executed every two years and runs from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023.

The board approved a resolution for a bond purchase agreement presented by Audrey Bear, of Piper Sander and Co. and Bond Counsel, Kevin Reid, of King, Spry, Herman, Freund and Faul, LLC.

According to the district's Business Manager, Dan Egly, because interest rates are so low at this time the district is getting everything prepared if the decision is made to move forward with a possible improvement/construction project.

Bear told the board that they could borrow up to $13 million, but that they are not omitted to borrow anything.

In preparation for facility improvement projects, the board also approved a proposal for architectural services from Robert Lack, Lewisburg.

Egly explained that there are four phases to the architectural agreement. The first phase, the design phase, which included the feasibility study has been completed. Then the actual architectural drawings are done, which constitutes the second phase. The third phase is the bid phase and the fourth is the construction administration, where they oversee the construction project to make sure the plans are executed.

Egly said that at this time, the district plans to hold work sessions before deciding to proceed with the construction project which would include expansion of cafeteria and gymnasium areas and the addition of instructional space.

He added that the district is exploring expanding instructional areas at the high, middle and elementary schools and expanding the cafeterias at both the high school/middle school and the elementary locations and expanding doing an ancillary gymnasium at the high school/middle school area.

The construction project will also be part of the discussions for the 2021-22 budget, he said, which will determine if the board moves forward with it.

John Raymond, board member and vice-president, told the other members that he is moving out of the state and is resigning from the board. The board will advertise the opening and conduct interviews in order to fill the position by the first meeting in May. They will also select a new vice-president.

Board member present at the meeting were: Raymond, Charles Edmonds. Christina Kiessling, Valerie Komarnicki, Robert Leidhecker, Marissa Moore, Carolyn Strickland, Melvin Wentzel and Michael Zicolello.

The next meeting of the board will be a work session to discuss the proposed changes to transportation and school start times which would begin in the fall and to get public input about the proposal. The informational meeting is open to the public and will be held at 6 p.m., April 21, in the auditorium. Around 130 people are permitted to attend in person. The meeting will also be held virtually.