Northwestern Lehigh School District

6493 Rte. 309, New Tripoli PA 18066

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
LCCC—Rothrock Library-Rm AC107-108
Wednesday, April 14, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

MINUTES

Executive Session for Personnel was held 3/29/10

Executive Session for Personnel was held 4/5/10
Executive Session for Personnel was held @6:00PM
Tour of LCCC Library @7:00PM

A. Agenda
Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:34PM by President Snyder.

Opening Exercises Opening exercises and roll call as listed below followed. A moment of silence was observed
in memory of Middle School student Shelby Brown and graduate Zachary Eckhart.

Roll Call 8 present

Roll Call Ab Camille Bartlett Pr Todd Hernandez Pr Sally Schoffstall
Pr/Ab Pr Willard Dellicker Pr Donald Link Pr Gregory Snyder
Pr Paul Fisher, Jr. Pr Darryl Schafer Pr William Towne
Also Present: P. Tritt, R. Karoly, D. Hunsicker, L. Sorensen, D. Snyder, S. Haddad, K. Petrini (Press), J. Poncavage
(Press), L. Stitzel, B. Uplinger, L. Frisbie, B. Cressman, D. Sbrocchi, Esq., N. Zellner

Approval of Agenda Dr. Cressman noted a change in the order of the agenda. The agenda was approved as
amended.
Moved: W. Dellicker Seconded: P. Fisher Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

President welcomed guests and provided for comments

Leroy Sorensen spoke to the Board regarding concerns and ideas to stimulate public interaction and ways to engage
the community on the needs of the School District. He also commented on parents’ responsibility for the educational
success of their children and potential negative effects contract negotiations have on children.

Donald Snyder, President of LCCC, spoke about a possible PA early graduation program where high school seniors
could take a test to qualify to receive a diploma and move on to college. The State is looking for high schools
interested in participating in a test project.

Personnel action, as listed

1. Appointment of Felicia Pasquale, 2641 Boger Stadt Road, Fogelsville, PA, to the position of one-on-one instructional
aide assigned to the Middle School, effective March 30, 2010 at a rate of $11.50 per hour.
2. Appointment of Louise Moyer, 23 Kurt Dr., Mertztown, PA, to the position of Gr. 5 Short Term Substitute Teacher
assigned to Weisenberg Elementary. Start date to be determined and working through the end of the 2009-2010
school year at a rate of $120.00 per day.
3. Recommendation to extend Child Rearing Leave for Amanda Wilson through the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
4. Approval to extend the Long Term Substitute employment of Krista Sell, at Northwestern Elementary through the
end of the 2009-10 school year.
5. Approval for FMLA leave for Merrie Hrinkovich, effective April 13, 2010. Return to work date is June 1, 2010.
6. Approval for Disability Leave followed by FMLA and Child Rearing Leave for Carissa Snyder, effective April 22, 2010.
Return to work date is January 2011.
7. Recommendation to add Susanne Ruhe to the substitute Food Service list effective April 15, 2010, at a rate of
$9.46/hour.
8. Request for approval for Jill Bachman, Middle School Teacher Assistant, for four (4) unpaid days, April 6-9, 2010
9. Recommendation to accept the resignation of Carolyn Landis, General Production Worker, effective April 9, 2010.
10. Recommendation to accept the resignation for retirement of Sharon Ulshafer, Business Office Accountant, effective
June 30, 2010 after 14 years of service to the District.
D. Link noted appreciation and special thanks to Sharon Ulshafer for her years of service to the Recreation
Commission.
Moved: P. Fisher Seconded: W. Dellicker Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

Presentation, discussion, and approval of borrowing resolution for refinancing of 2005 GOB issue—Jason
Brockman of Public Financial Management
Mr. Brockman gave an update and highlights of the Parameters Resolution which establishes all maximum
parameters and allows the Finance Team to begin paperwork filing with DCED. If and when the interest rates
produce sufficient savings, PFM will negotiate favorable rates with the underwriter. A motion was made by W.
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Dellicker, seconded by W. Towne to approve the resolution. After further discussion, Mr. Dellicker withdrew his
motion and the Board agreed to table the vote until the next Board meeting allowing more time for the Board to
review the resolution book.

Approval of reappointment of David R. Hunsicker to serve as Trustee to Lehigh Carbon Community

College representing Northwestern Lehigh School District for the term July 1, 2010 through June 30,
2016
Mr. Hunsicker has served as the District Trustee for the past 12 years and is willing to continue to serve for the next
six years. He is encouraged by the positive things happening at LCCC over the past ten years. W. Dellicker thanked
Mr. Hunsicker for his commitment.
Moved: P. Fisher Seconded: D. Schafer Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

B. Curriculum/Building Issues
Approval of Concurrent Enrollment Agreements for the 2010-2011 school year for the following: Seton
Hill University, Lehigh Carbon Community College, and Northern Lehigh School District
The Dual Enrollment Grant allows high school students to take college credit courses at a greatly reduced tuition
cost. Thirty courses will be available at LCCC next year. Close to 200 students took advantage of the program this
year.
Moved: W. Dellicker Seconded: D. Link Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

Report on possible locations for future graduation ceremonies (2011 & beyond)
Dennis Nemes contacted local colleges and other locations for pricing. LCCC is under construction but would be
interested in providing the space in the future. D. Nemes will continue to investigate costs and timelines for booking
the facility.

Approval of contract with ASCD (Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development) to provide staff
development on differentiated Instruction for April 13, 2010 in-service in the amount of $5,500.00 to be
paid from Title IIA funds
Building Administrators will meet with the presenter in the morning. Staff will meet in the afternoon.
Moved: P. Fisher Seconded: W. Dellicker Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

Approval of Tutorial Agreement with KidsPeace National Hospital Centers for tutorial services for
student #11218 at a rate of $27.50 per hour for 5 hours per week
Moved: W. Dellicker Seconded: P. Fisher Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

C. Policies
Approval of Policies 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, and 228
222 Tobacco Use, 223 Use of Sporting/Motor Vehicles, 224 Care of School Property, 225 Relations with Law
Enforcement Agencies, 226 Searches, 227 Illicit Substances/Paraphernalia, and 228 Student Government were
appropriately reviewed by Administration, the Board Policy Committee, and the District Solicitor and were available
for public review for the required 30 days.
Moved: W. Dellicker Seconded: W. Towne Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

D. Facilities
Report from Buildings & Grounds Committee Meeting on April 7, 2010
G. Snyder commented on discussions from the meeting.

Report on status of boiler exhaust system relocation at Weisenberg

Work has begun to move the stacks to run across the roof and up the side of the gymnasium. Weather permitting,
work might be completed in approximately a week.

Approval of change orders for Elementary and Main Campus construction projects per attached
Change orders were reviewed by the Buildings & Grounds Committee.
Moved: W. Towne Seconded: P. Fisher Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

E. District Finances
Approval of revised agreement for health services with Northwestern Medical Center, including physicals
for bus drivers ($45), grade level physicals ($7), and low, income, non-insured athletic physicals ($60)
Moved: W. Dellicker Seconded: P. Fisher Vote: 8 Aye, 0 Nay

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F. Other Reports
Old Business
S. Schoffstall and P. Fisher will attend the Region 8 Cabinet Meeting on April 22.

New Business
The PSBA Liaison report will be forwarded to Board Members. Legislative Platform suggestions are due June 30. P.
Fisher noted he believed local voice was heard as some of last year’s suggestions were used as for this year’s
Platform. He suggested reviewing what was submitted last year and resubmitting some of those items this year.

President offered courtesy of the floor for public comment

Leroy Sorensen commented on the economic challenges of the School Board when dealing with inflation and market
forces. Patrice Tritt noted the terrific job the Principals did this week at the Middle School dealing with the tragedy.

Communications/Notes for the Board from Paul Fisher, Secretary

The District received the confirmation letter regarding the waiver for the work on the boiler exhausts at Weisenberg
Elementary. State Senator David Argall requested input from the Board regarding Senate Bill 1086 Session of 2009.
The Bill would amend the Public School Code of 1949 changing the election process for School Directors beginning at
the November municipal election of 2011.

Report from Superintendent Cressman

a. Administrative/Building Sharing—Dr. Cressman noted change in time for the Buildings & Grounds meeting and
an additional Budget session on May 5. He also spoke on the challenges the District faced during the past
week. The caring adults did an outstanding job dealing with the situations.
b. Board Member Sharing—P. Fisher thanked Mr. Sorensen for his comments on activism. S. Schoffstall
recognized the Administration and staff. Their professionalism did not go unnoticed.
c. Committee Meetings—Policy, 4/5/10 @7am, Sm Conf Rm
Buildings & Grounds, 4/7/10 @4pm, Brd Rm
Public Relations, 5/12/10 @5pm, Sm Conf Rm
Executive Session for Personnel, 4/14/10
@6pm, AC105—Rothrock Library, LCCC
Executive Session for Personnel, 4/21/10 @6pm, Brd Rm (Note time change)

G. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 PM. After a short recess, an Executive Session for personnel was held.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul C. Fisher, Jr., Secretary

By N. Zellner, Recording Secretary

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