1. education
2. school

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
800 SOUTHERN DRIVE
CATAWISSA, PA 17820
The March 16, 2015, Board Meeting of the Southern Columbia Area School District Board
of Directors convened in the High School Library at 7:52 p.m. with President Michael Yeager in
charge of the meeting.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said by all.
President Yeager welcomed everyone and announced that an executive session was held
prior to the meeting to discuss negotiations, followed by a roll call of Board Members.
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlene Cove
Kaye Keller
Joseph Klebon
Charles Porter
Thomas Reich
Timothy Vought
Michael Yeager
John Yocum
Gail Zambor Schuerch
OTHERS PRESENT
Paul Caputo, Superintendent; Denise Kreisher, Business Office Supervisor; Tresa Britch, Board
Secretary; Richard J. Roberts, Solicitor; William Callahan, John Fetterman, Brenda Monick and
Jennifer Snyder, Administrators; district residents and a member of the media.
AGENDA HEARING PERIOD
President Yeager announced that all items on the agenda would be action items. He
explained that the teachers’ contract was not on the agenda because some things needed to be
clarified before the Board could take action on it. There was not public comment.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Caputo’s report included the following topics:
1.) He reported that Jacob Ryan and his teammates earned gold medals in swimming in the
200 yard freestyle relay.
2.) Anthony Rodriguez participated in the Regional Orchestra and has been invited to
perform in the State Orchestra.
3.) Mr. Caputo attended a legislative breakfast the past Friday with Senator Gordner and
local Representatives. They discussed Governor Wolf’s budget but they did not anticipate
having a budget approved by June 1st.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Curriculum & Instructional Technology - John Yocum, Chairperson, reported that they had
a good discussion regarding testing and the Keystone Exams. They just finished the Keystone
winter tests for students who needed them. Eleven additional tenth grade students achieved
proficiency and fifteen eleventh grade students reached proficient status. Mrs. Monick discussed
winter CDT diagnostic testing and how it is used to bolster students in the areas where they are
not proficient.
Facilities - Tim Vought, Chairperson, reported that they discussed the summer projects list,
the savings from switching to propane and the well issue. According to Mr. George, they finally
were able to transfer water to the elementary at the end of the previous week, once the weather
improved. Everything seems to be working for the time being and he did not foresee the need to
have any more water trucked in to fill the tanks. Mr. Caputo stated that the hydro-geologists are
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March 16, 2015
Page 2
scheduled to be on campus Wednesday to test the well. The pump was pulled from the well on
the past Friday and there were no obvious issues detected visually. Mr. Porter asked if there
would be anyway for the hydro-geologists to tell how summer use affects the wells. He would
also like them to look at the well at the football field and see if there is any way to tie it into the
system for emergency purposes and if it would pass inspection.
Mr. Caputo reported that there has been over $100,000 savings just in fuel costs due to the
energy savings project.
Finance - Tim Vought reported that there was a discussion with Nate Troutman from
Keystone Insurers Group about whether to continue the insurance for student athletes. They
received a report from Mrs. Williams about starting a foundation. They talked about E-Rate
applications. Mrs. Kreisher provided a health insurance and budget update.
Policy - Charlene Cove, Chairperson, reported that they discussed several policies. The
second reading of Policy 227 Alcohol/Controlled Substances/Paraphernalia. They will no longer
pursue a drug testing policy based on information from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey. Policy
218 Student Discipline will be distributed to the Board in an upcoming Friday Letter. They will
coordinate it with the Student Athletic Handbook. They looked at Policy 918 Title I Parental
Involvement. Policy 249 Bullying/Cyberbullying will also be distributed in the Friday Letter for
a first reading in April. Policy 916 School Volunteers has been revised to cover the current
clearance requirements. Policy 211 Student Accident Insurance was discussed but will be
discussed further at the next Finance Committee meeting. President Yeager stated that the Board
needs to decide very soon if the district is going to discontinue providing student accident
insurance so parents could be notified. It was agreed that it would be discussed further at the
next Finance Committee meeting.
Transportation Services - Tim Vought reported that the committee did not meet since his
last report.
Wellness - Gail Zambor Schuerch reported that a Food of the Month was held recently.
They served a roast pig raised locally by Lynn Hoagland and prepared by Curian’s. It was wellreceived.
Vo-Tech - John Yocum, JOC Representative, reported that at the February meeting they
approved the hiring of David Bacher, the former Principal, as the new Administrative Director.
A feasibility study will be done on the entire Vo-Tech school. They narrowed it down to two
firms. The retention efforts were discussed. Some of the contributing factors to the retention
issues are cyber schools, academic issues and bullying. They indicated that they need to improve
recruiting and give students more information about Vo-Tech before they enroll. Special
Education reported that students are now integrated in Social Studies and Science and are cotaught in those subjects but not in Math or English. The Vo-Tech budget was included on the
agenda for Board approval. President Yeager reported that their school calendar has the first
student day as August 24th.
CSIU - Tom Reich reported that the CSIU has a program called Work Foundations. One of
the projects involved making things out of used pallets, and they also added a large deck and
handicapped ramp to the independent living house. They gave preliminary approval of the 20152016 General Operating Budget. They asked that the districts approve the budget by April 10th
so they could act on it by April 15th.
PSBA Liaison - Joe Klebon reported that it is unlikely that Governor Wolf’s budget would
pass. The PSBA School Leadership Conference is scheduled for October 13th through the 16th
and the Susquehanna Region 6 meeting will be held April 16th.
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March 16, 2015
Page 3
TREASURER’S REPORTS
On a motion by Cove and second by Vought, the Treasurer’s Reports were presented for
approval. The motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
MINUTES AND INVOICES
On a motion by Yocum and second by Reich, the following items were presented for
approval:
A. Minutes of February 16, 2015.
B. General Fund invoices in the amount of $340,779.45, Athletic Fund invoices in the
amount of $12,223.27 and 2011 Capital Project Fund invoices in the amount of
$46,513.50.
The motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
ITEMS – FISCAL
On a motion by Zambor Schuerch and second by Reich, the following items were presented
for approval:
A. Budgetary transfers in the 2014-2015 budget to ensure proper accounting (per Exhibit A).
B. The Proposed 2015-2016 Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School General
Operating Budget in the amount of $7,702,038 Southern Columbia Area School District’s
cost is $585,917 (per Exhibit B).
The motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
ITEMS – PERSONNEL
On a motion by Vought and second by Klebon, the following items were presented for
approval:
A. Employment of Jonathan Madara for the position of Part-time Paraprofessional (working 5
hours per week) effective March 30, 2015; salary and benefits per the Collective
Bargaining Agreement.
B. The addition of the following individual(s) to the 2014-2015 Substitute List effective
March 23, 2015 (pending completion of all employment requirements):
 Sherry Kehoe (Paraprofessional)
C. FMLA Qualifying Leave for employee #2434GK effective March 16, 2015; not to exceed
12 weeks in the subsequent 12-month period.
D. FMLA Qualifying Leave for employee #1689DM effective March 16, 2015; not to exceed
12 weeks in the subsequent 12-month period.
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March 16, 2015
Page 4
E. To accept the resignation of Cassidy Shults from the position of 7th Grade
English/Language Arts Teacher effective the end of the 2014-2015 school year. Mr. Shults
has been with the district since August 2007.
The motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
ITEMS – POLICY AND PROGRAMS
On a motion by Cove and second by Keller, the following items were presented for
approval:
A. Motion to approve the second reading and final adoption of Policy 227 Alcohol/Controlled
Substances/Paraphernalia (per Exhibit D).
B. Motion to approve the first reading of revised Policy 008 Organizational Chart (per
Exhibit E).
C. Motion to approve a Waiver Agreement with the parents of a Special Education student.
D. Motion to approve the 2015-2016 Middle School Student Handbook (per Exhibit F).
The motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
BOARD COMMENTS
Mr. Porter reported that an AFSCME negotiating session was held the previous Thursday.
They received a proposal and they put out a slew of dates for meetings but have not received any
confirmation to date.
Mr. Vought requested an executive session following the regular meeting to consult with
counsel.
Mr. Klebon reported that the Salvation Army thanked the district for its participation in the
holiday food drive. Mrs. Snyder explained that the students in the high school Career
Development Program organized the food drive and then collected the food from the three
buildings.
Mr. Fetterman reported that the elementary students participated in Pennies for Pasta for
the Leukemia Society. Their goal was $2,000 and they raised $3,600. Elementary Guidance
Counselor, Eric Deeter, organized the fundraiser.
Charlene Cove reported that the following week Southern Columbia juniors who are
thinking about going into the medical profession will be visiting Geisinger for Career Day.
RECOGNITION OF THE PUBLIC
District resident and Mechanic, Derek Stine, distributed an article from School Bus
Magazine regarding a school bus driver shortage nationwide. He asked the Board to think very
hard about the RFP. He stated that they should be looking to do what is possible to retain drivers
instead of looking at a contractor. He stated that the drivers don’t know what to do because they
don’t know what is going to happen and it is being drawn out.
President Yeager announced that there would be a brief executive session following the
Board meeting.
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March 16, 2015
Page 5
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Yocum and second by Porter, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. The
motion carried by unanimous affirmative voice vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tresa J. Britch
Board Secretary