Physical Education teachers Philip Russell and David Jost spoke to the school board in the hope of gaining their support for the implementation of rock climbing walls at the Saucon Valley MS gymnasium.

The proposal is to construct two rock climbing walls that would be 30 feet high and 6 feet wide. Students would utilize all the necessary gear including ropes and safety harnesses. Teachers would receive training and would be re-certified on a regular basis.

While the wall is not in use, 6 feet tall mats with signs prohibiting climbing would cover the bottom portion of the wall to prevent anyone from attempting to climb unsupervised.

The cost to implement the program would be $6,712. According to council member Sandra Miller, the district has received a $2,500 grant that would be used toward the costs. The remaining balance after the grant would be $4,212.60. It’s not clear where the remaining funds would come from. Options on the table include using the school budget, school fundraisers and/or a GoFundMe account.

District Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler is not new to a rock climbing wall used in physical education classes. Butler worked in State College for 14 years where a similar program was in place. Butler believes the benefits of the wall would be “substantial.” He said “sometimes students who are not inclined to participate in physical education might in fact find their niche, their interests, their passion, through this activity, and I saw young high school students in State College mature from very meek soft-spoken withdrawn young adolescents to self-confident students with tremendous self-esteem and kind of find themselves through this type of activity.”

At this time, it’s not clear how the structure would affect the school’s liability insurance. However, the district’s business manager, David Bonenberger said insurance companies view high ropes as “high risk.” Dr. Butler noted in his time at State College, not a single minor incident occurred with their climbing wall.

The Phys Ed department believes that installing the climbing wall would help students build skills such as team building, problem solving and overall physical fitness.

The board did not conduct a vote at this time, but if approved, the goal would be to install the climbing wall and have staff trained during the summer of this year in preparation for the 2018-19 school year.

In other news, the board recognized two outstanding achievements.

Student Ethan Bernstein wrote a paper on the opioid crisis which was published in the Journal of Emerging Investigators. Student Jacob Coyle was accepted into the VIP (Vocational and Independence Program) high school transition program offered by the IU and LV Center for Independent Living.