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OCTORARA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTMinutes of Board Meeting Held on June 10, 2013

The work session of the Octorara Area School Board was held in the Octorara Area Jr./Sr.High School Multi-Purpose Room on June 10, 2013.

A moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance preceded the meeting.

The President, Ms. Bowman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Other members present were: Mr. Ganow, Mr. Hume, Mr. Lapp, Dr. Melton, Mr. Norris, Mr. Oleyniczak and Mr. Stoltzfus. Ms. Johnson was absent. Also present were; Mrs. Hardy, Secretary; Dr. Newcome, Superintendent; Mr. Carsley, Business Manager; members of the administrativeteam; one reporter and seven citizens.

Under presentations, Mr. Carsley reviewed increases and decreases that most affect the budget. The largest increase is benefits which show a decrease in medical insurance and anincrease in prescription rates and retirement. Other increases include salaries, outsideservices, supplies, capital, and bond principle. Decreases include repairs and maintenance,transportation and tuition, and dues and fees. Mr. Carsley reviewed fund balance. This

budget includes using $1,052,732 in fund balance leaving $5,067,586 remaining in fund balance. He reviewed PSERS contribution rates from 2007-2008 through the 2016-2017 projections. The 2013-2014 contribution rate is 16.93% which is an increase of $439,909.Mr. Carsley compared assessed values with surrounding Districts. The total budget is$47,492,791 which is an increase of $828,416. Chester County millage is 36.66 which is azero increase; Lancaster County millage is 27.71 which is an increase of .22 mills or 0.8%.Mr. Stoltzfus asked if changes are expected from the state.Mr. Carsley said there is a $15,000 change for basic education that is not reflected in the budget because the state budget has not been finalized.Ms. Bowman said the budget process is nearing the end – the next budget process will beginin July.

There were no visitors’ comments for agenda items only or information items.

Ms. Bowman presented the following items for action at the June 17, 2013 Board meeting:

A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached resolutionadopting the 2013 – 2014 General Fund Budget Expenditures in the amount of $47,492,791.

B. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached resolutionestablishing a real estate millage rate of 36.66 mills in Chester County and 27.71mills in Lancaster County.

C. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached resolution for the2013-2014 Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion.

D. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following financialinstitutions and investment firms for financial services during the 2013-2014 schoolyear, in accordance with Section 621 of the School Code:

1. Fulton Bank-depository and investment2. PA School District Liquid Asset Fund – depository and investment3. RBC Dain Rauscher, Inc.-investment only

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E. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following list of signatories for the designated bank accounts effective July 1, 2013:

General Fund: – President, Vice President, Treasurer, SecretaryCafeteria Fund: – President, Vice President, Treasurer, SecretaryOfficial Imprest Fund: - Superintendent, Business Manager, High SchoolPrincipal, Asst. High School Principal, Board Secretary

(Required 2 signatures)School Activity Fund: - Building Principal, Building Asst. Principal, BusinessManager, Board Secretary

(Required Business Manager signature with one counter signature)

F. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the appropriate budgettransfers for the year ending 2012-2013 as a result of the annual financial audit.(Note: This is a requirement for the school code to be done prior to June 30th of each fiscal year.)

G. That the Octorara Board of School Directors exonerate any uncollectable tax lienson parcel 0803_00020700.

H. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached list of salaries for the school district employees for the 2013-2014 school year.

I. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the 2013-2014 Legal ServicesConsultation Agreement between Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP and theOctorara Area School District for Special Education Services.Mr. Ganow said the approval of the District solicitor was tabled last month due tosome questions. He asked if there were answers to the questions.Mr. Carsley will try to have information for next week.

J. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the School Physician ServicesAgreement between Diamantoni and Associates and the Octorara Area SchoolDistrict for the 2013-2014 school year.

K. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Dr. Jeffrey Blair as the schooldental consultant for the 2013-2014 school year.

L. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attainment of tenure statusfor the following professional employees (in accordance with Section 1108 of thecurrent School Laws of Pennsylvania):

Dawn MunionMatthew TalleyCandice Schwien

Resignation Approvals:

M. That the Octorara Board of School Directors accept, with regret, the resignation of Ms. Claudia Benekam for the purpose of retirement effective June 7, 2013. Ms.Benekam is an instructional support teacher at the Octorara Area Jr. High School.(Hired January 2, 1980)

N. That the Octorara Board of School Directors accept, with regret, the resignation of Ms. Lois Dodd for the purpose of retirement effective June 7, 2013. Ms. Dodd is asixth grade teacher at the Octorara Intermediate School. (Hired September 15,1976)

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O. That the Octorara Board of School Directors accept the resignation of Ms. LisaMcLaughlin effective June 20, 2013. Ms. McLaughlin is the payroll/benefitscoordinator. (Hired March 18, 2013)

Hiring Approvals:P. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following supplemental

contracts for the 2013-2014 school year:

Dr. Newcome said the Board will have a complete list of supplemental contracts for approval in August. New hires are being approved so people know who is beinghired for the positions.Ms. Bowman reminded the Board that the 7 th and 8th grade coaching positions are being funded by the booster clubs.

Q. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following changes in

salary due to graduate credits earned:

Dr. Melton questioned steps to MAX.Dr. Newcome said MAX is the top of the scale – steps are how many steps theyhave to get to MAX.

Ms. Bowman read the following press release:“Over the course of the past several years the Board Directors have been working oncontract language for all employee contracts. Additionally, the Board Directors have beenlooking at when contracts are set to expire and are working to assure that key leadership positions are not set to expire at the same time. Last year, at a time when we thought Dr. Newcome may be leaving the District we spent a considerable amount of time reviewing hiscontract. Since ultimately Dr. Newcome remained with the District and because his presentcontract is due to expire in conjunction with other key contracts, the Board Directors begandiscussions with Dr. Newcome last fall to revise and extend his contract. In January theBoard Directors and Dr. Newcome arrived at a tentative contract agreement. Based on therecommendation of legal counsel the Board Directors waited until this time to bring thecontract forward. The process of extending a contract for a commissioned officer requires aresignation without qualification and the offer of a new contract. The desire of the BoardDirectors and Dr. Newcome was to extend a contract for another five year term. Thisrequired the action to wait until this time.

The new contract that the Board Directors are offering Dr. Newcome includes language

required by Act 82 which addresses termination and resignation. This language was missingfrom the previous contract. This new language provides protection for both the district andDr. Newcome. The contract will be in effect for the time period of July 1, 2013 through June30, 2018. Most of the contract will look similar to the present contract with the exception of salary. Dr. Newcome was scheduled to earn $146,000 during the 2014-2015 school year – the final year of his present contract. In the newly negotiated deal Dr. Newcome will earn$142,000 during the final year of the contract, 2017-2018. In other words, he has agreed totake an immediate reduction in salary based on contract to contract dollars of $8,200 and hasagreed to a final salary of $4,000 less than what is called for in his present contract.

Ben Creighton 7th

& 8th

Grade Girls’ Soccer Coach 4 pts @ $600 $2,400Matt Livingood Asst Varsity Football Coach 7 pts @ $600 $4,200

John Tercha Asst Varsity Football Coach 7 pts @ $600 $4,200

Emily Landers 8th Grade Field Hockey Coach 4 pts @ $600 $2,400

Amy Steinmetz From M+15 ($62,973) to M+30 ($64,788) Step11 to MAXStacey Graham From M+45 ($66,970) to M+60 ($70,062) Step 12 to MAX

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Dr. Newcome’s willingness to make these salary concessions is reflective of hisunderstanding of the financial situation in the school district.

The Board unanimously supports Dr. Newcome and his leadership of the Octorara AreaSchool District. During his tenure the District has regained financial solvency returningfrom negative fund balances to a sustainable operating budget. He accomplished this bycreatively working to reduce operational cost while maintaining high standards. These highstandards are evident in the District’s overall success in the State assessment program, in theincreased number of students that take Advanced Placement courses and other college creditclasses, in the increased number of students – almost double - taking quality Career andTechnical Education classes, in the success of our students with special needs, and in manyother ways. We acknowledge we still have areas of needed improvement but we are movingahead and look forward to Dr. Newcome’s continuing leadership.

Two items will be placed on the agenda for next Monday. The first item will be Dr. Newcome’s resignation effective June 30, 2013. The second item will be the BoardDirector’s approval of a new five year contract for Dr. Newcome effective July 1, 2013.”

Under the Facilities Committee Report, Mr. Stoltzfus said Mr. Reid Sandner was present todiscuss network security insurance coverage. The committee is recommending spending the

$4,400 annually to include this coverage in the District insurance plan.The playground equipment will be installed this week, weather permitting.The high school renovation project is complete.The high school roof repairs are scheduled to begin on June 17, 2013.Mr. Stoltzfus reported samples were taken at three buildings for the ammonia level issue atthe Waste Water Treatment Plant. He said certain times of the day showed higher levels.The issue will continue to be researched for a resolution.Mr. Stoltzfus reported there is a request for tax exemption on six parcels in SadsburyTownship owned by the railroad. Mr. Carsley will do more research on these parcels.Safety and security were briefly reviewed.The stadium grass has been installed and is getting off to a good start. The first year willrequire a rigid schedule of watering and mowing. The recent heavy rains have shown the

drainage system is working well. The bleacher installation will begin the end of July and becompleted by August 15.

There were no other items/concerns.

Under visitors’ comments for items in general, Mr. Jerry Zimmerman, Sadsbury Townshipthanked the principals for allowing them to distribute flyers for their website parentsforasafeschool.com. There are 25 families who have signed to show their support of the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program. Mr. Zimmerman said after talking to parents,they feel stronger today that this is right for the school and parents want it. Senate Bill 10was passed unanimously by the Senate and is now going to the House to increase funding toschools to hire SRO’s and improve safety issues. Mr. Zimmerman said he has contacted

Representatives and Senators to encourage them to get this bill passed. He said heunderstands the school and Parkesburg Police had interest in applying for a grant but havenot done so due to not being able to keep the program running after the grant. He said he willkeep families updated on changes. He said he wanted to know what the Board is doingabout the SRO Program. He asked what the Board needs from them and how they can be of help.

Under Administrator comments or announcements, Dr. Newcome thanked everyone for their work in making graduation a successful, pleasant event. He said he appreciated the work of our maintenance and custodial department to get things moved around to set up in the

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auditorium due to the rain. He also thanked the tech department for setting up the Jr. HighMulti-purpose Room for the overflow. There were 200-250 people able to watch viastreaming. He offered a special thanks to Dr. Rohrer and his immediate staff for taking careof the details. He thanked teachers who helped the students, Mr. Udell, Ms. Scroggins, andMr. Worrell along with the teachers that were present at graduation. He applauded theaudience and the students for being polite and dignified. He congratulated the students for their achievements. He said when Dr. Rohrer recognized the top students in the class, National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, and National Technical SocietyMembers it reaffirmed that we have a lot of students doing good things and taking advantageof their education.

Under Board comments, Mr. Oleyniczak said he attended the Octorara’s Got Talent Programand was impressed with the students’ performances. He said it was very entertaining. Wehave some very talented students at Octorara.Mr. Oleyniczak said when the students who received AP credits stood at graduation; itseemed as if at least one third of the class stood. He congratulated the students on their achievements.Mr. Ganow asked if there was a list of end of year transfers for the budget.Mr. Carsley said it is a procedural thing that is done every year – there is not a list.Mr. Hume said graduation was terrific. It was a very pleasant evening. He said the awards

night for seniors was exceptional. He said there was a great deal of money handed out. Hefeels that means a lot to students due to the high cost of higher education. Mr. Hume said theOctorara School District is the place to get a good education if you want it.In response to Mr. Zimmerman, Ms. Bowman said the Board is having continueddiscussions in the Facility Committee meetings about security. She said both local policeforces have been offered space in our facilities if they want to use it. That will give us a police presence on the campus. She thanked the Zimmerman’s for their time, research, andeffort relating to school security.Ms. Bowman also said graduation was wonderful and thanked the teachers and parents for their support. She congratulated the students on their success. She thanked Mr.Knickerbocker and the Lancaster Newspapers for the great press coverage – the studentsdeserve the recognition.

Ms. Bowman reported on the following meetings to be held:

Finance Committee Meeting – Monday, June 17, 2013 – 6:00 p.m. in the DistrictOffice Conference Room

Policy Committee Meeting – Monday, June 17, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. in the DistrictOffice Conference Room

Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting – Monday, June 17, 2013 – 7:30 p.m. inthe Jr. High School Multi-Purpose Room

There being no further items of business the meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. on motion of Mr. Ganow, second by Mr. Norris and approval of all members present.

Respectfully submitted,

Jill L. Hardy, SecretaryOctorara Board of School Directors

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