BROOKVILLE — The Brookville Area School Board voted Monday night not to eliminate the Occupational Assessment Tax from the 2024-2025 budget now being considered.
In a roll-call vote the board voted 6-3 to have the administration continue preparing the proposed budget with a tentative tax levy that includes the OAT at the current level. Voting against the motion were board members Herb McConnell, Chris Rhodes and Robert Victor.
Following the vote McConnell said, “These decisions aren’t easily made. There is blood, sweat and tears. The people that voted for it felt that is the way it should be done. The people that voted against it felt it is not necessary. These things aren’t done easily.”
Matt Park thanked “all the board members for looking into these things, gathering their own information and making their own decisions. A good working board does that. We don’t all have to agree but we should research the information. We should do what we feel is best. I feel that was done here. There is definitely two sides to this coin and both sides have valid points. Sometimes these decisions are tough”
The board will vote at its May 13 meeting to adopt the proposed budget, which will then be on public display for 30 days before final adoption in June.
At this time the proposed budget is not completed, because federal allocations have not yet been announced. With no increase in taxes, the proposed expenditures are $29,973,814 with anticipated revenue of $28,272,798.
Graduation date
Superintendent Erich May confirmed that graduation ceremonies will be held for the Class of 2024 on Wednesday, May 22, which will also be the last day of school for students.
He also announced that more than 40 local scholarships and awards will be presented at this year’s awards ceremony. Included are two new scholarships. Brookville Equipment will give a scholarship to a graduate pursuing a degree in engineering. A Walk with HOPE scholarship created by Kate Peterson will be awarded to a student whose essay addresses challenges, coping mechanisms, identification of others who can help, and a personal experience in which hope is provided.
“Tuition has sky-rocketed in my lifetime,” he said. “This is a really great way for the community to support our young people. We are grateful for the support of our community, organizations and individuals who have supported our graduates.”
Fieldhouse renovations
The board voted 8-1 to accept bids for the renovation of the field house. The bids include CBF Contracting of Sligo, general construction, $1,079,415; Summit Electrical Solutions of DuBois, electrical, $135,200; Fred L. Burns Inc. of Clarion, plumbing, $215,300; and Hranec Corp. of Uniontown, HVAC, $220,000.
The fieldhouse renovation will be a capital expenditure, with payment coming from the district’s fund balance.
Finance and policy
- Gifts accepted by the board included a $250 grant from Remake Learning Days NW PA for Remake Learning Days a Pinecreek and Northside schools, and a donation of $200 from Clearfield-Jefferson Drug & Alcohol Commissioner to cover substitute teacher costs when a district employee attended two days of Student Assistance Program training.
- The board accepted an offer of $100 from Richard Cook for a tax parcel in Brookville Borough.
- The board approved an overnight trip for the Gifted/Enrichment Class to attend the state academic competition in Harrisburg. Five students and their advisor, Melinda Burton, will attend the competition April 25-26.
Personnel
- Margaret Conti was hired as an administrative assistnant to the superintendent, to fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Cathy Steiner.
- Mindy Shop was approved as a full-time custodian to fill a vacancy at the high school. A $1 per hour pay raise was approved for Kayla Gumpher, who will retain the title of food service supervisor.
- Second semester supplemental contracts of $537.50 each were approved for child specific aides Martina Masters, Christine Bazylak, Melissa Bowser, Sarah Smith and Sheila DeMotte.
- Added to the list of day-to-day substitutes were Kain Kennemuth of Summerville, PK-4, and Megan Himes and Abby Himes, both of Hawthorn, part-time summer help.
- Approved as teachers for the Title I summer literacy/extended school year were: Jennifer Martz, Jennifer Weaver, Brittany Simpson, Kaitlyn Hill-DeLong, Emily Luther, Maggie Brown, Ginger Bish, Angela Fye, Amy Clinger, Elice Morelock, Dawn Spellman, Michelle Hopper and Kain Kennemuth. Also approved were Brenna Bell, nurse; Zoe Girty, Martina Masters and Erica Bish, child specific aides; and Sarah Sporer and Annie Harmon, substitute teachers.
- Approved as teachers of record for summer school, to be held June 10 to July 18 at the high school, were Olivia McGarvey, English; James Overly, math; Tim Pospisil, science; and Cody Wells, social studies. Summer school will be open to BASD students at a cost of $135 per course and out-of-district students at a cost of $160 per course.
Jeff Tech report
Board member Zach Petak reported that Jeff Tech has received donations valued at nearly $20,000 to help several shops.
He also said as of March 25, Jeff Tech has received 142 applications for next year. The Class of 2024 will graduate 90 seniors.
He reported that six Jeff Tech students took first-place honors in the Skills USA event and will be going on to the national competition in Atlanta in June.
Board comments
- Following Petak’s report, the question was raised about interest in Jeff Tech’s new Farm to Refrigerator program. May said that while the program “is predominantly for adults, it is functioning at both levels, adult and secondary.”
Board member Roger Lays said he has heard “great enthusiasm about this program. The skilled meat cutters are hard to find. You can put a knife in someone’s hand, but you don’t know what you are going to come back with. Quality work yields quality product and there is great enthusiasm to have those skills here.”
Park said, “the community was actually struggling to find” qualified meat cutters and “they brought the request to Jeff Tech. There was a need which brought around the search for funding. There is a need out there.”
Ground-breaking for the new facility was held earlier this month. May said the start of the program is actually a “couple years down the road.”
- Lays also commented about the district’s new turf project. “I did a little bit of research on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a chemical compound recognized as posing a health hazard for some time. The EPA issued just last week a new determination that any level of exposure to PFAS presents a number of health risks. Historically, some artificial turf has been produced using this material.
“Based on that, a number of us looked into this. Shaw Sports, who has manufactured the turf that Brookville has procured, has for a number of years sought to be compliant with California Proposition 65, which restricts the use of that material. As a result, the turf that Brookville owns is non-toxic. Independent results following manufacture of that turf demonstrates there is no detection of that substance on the turf. I find it commendable to the board that preceded this one, or whoever made that purchase decision, because they found the correct source to make sure this is a beneficial and not problematic investment. Those chemicals contaminate waterways and soil; they do not decompose. I spoke to someone in our local water authority who said they have been sampling for this chemical for over a year. They detect nothing. We have fantastic water and we are not going to be contributing to any issues. I find this turf selection is consistent with showing a priority in this school district to ensure the health and welfare of our students, our faculty and our communities in the area.”
Next meeting
The next meeting of the Brookville Area School Board will be a voting meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, May 13, in the LGI room at Hickory Grove.
