BASD unveiled the roadmap to creating an set of anti-racism policies Oct. 14, as well as several academic updates, and a proposal to create an intramural sports program at district middle schools. The board also reviewed planned grant applications and the upcoming natural gas line extension to Asa Packer ES.

The district’s equity policy work is part of the strategic plan adopted a few years ago. In creating the outline for its anti-racism plan, Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy and his team posed the questions, “Which of our everyday acts and policies are anti-racist and equity-focused by moving students of color and students from low-income families toward educational opportunity? Which acts move students farther away from opportunity?” BASD has defined nine areas in which individuals will lead efforts to create anti-racism policies: data gameplan (creating a dashboard of equity data), transportation, educational programs, gifted identification process, recruitment and hiring, talking about race, athletics, summer school tuition, and dual enrollment (taking college courses during high school).

Roy offered some examples of policies that disproportionately (and negatively) affect students of color in the district. One such case is the high school busing policy, which provides a district-funded bus only for students who live two miles or further from their building. More than 100 Liberty students who live on the Southside are just inside the busing radius, yet don’t have access to a car or a ride from a parent. On a very cold day, Roy explained, this situation can result in absenteeism, which impairs students’ academic success. The district is working with LANTA and other partners to make transportation available to students who do not quality for district buses.

Once again, district elementary schools demonstrated progress in the “Reading by Grade 3” (RBG3) program. BASD uses Acadience to measure reading proficiency for this data set. Forty-two of 48 grades – kindergarten through second grade at 16 elementary schools – showed higher end-of-year reading composite scores than beginning-of-year scores for 2018-19. (Exceptions were first grade at Hanover ES; first and second grades at Lincoln ES; and second grade at Donegan ES, Fountain Hill ES, and Freemansburg ES.)

The intramural sports program proposed for district middle schools would augment programs already in place. Currently, BASD offers middle school boys volleyball (grades six through eight) and boys and girls track (grade eight only). Phase one of the plan, if approved, would create programs for football (grade six), basketball (grade six), wrestling (grades six through eight), boys and girls lacrosse (grades six through eight), and field hockey (grade six). The cost would be $2,052 per year for each of the four middle schools.

The curriculum committee recommended that BASD apply for two grants, which recommendation will be voted on at the Oct. 28 board meeting. The first is a school security and safety grant, sponsored by the Pa. Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), which would be used to purchase a visitor management system from Raptor Technologies. This grant will be awarded via a “meritorious” process in which applications with sound rationale and no other source of funding the expenditure will receive money based on their average daily membership; based on the size of its student body, BASD may receive up to $45,000. The second is a competitive grant from PCCD; BASD aims to secure $390,000 to expand the Liberty HS Wellness Center to supplement current trauma-informed school practices.

Other curriculum items discussed included the BASD cyber school program, which has 102 students enrolled either full-time or as part of a blended program for 2019-20. Mark James, who coordinates the program, noted that last year’s program, which involved 152 students, cost district taxpayers nearly $1 million less than if those students had been enrolled at cyber charter schools.

The facilities committee reported three net-positive items and one expense-neutral item. The Clearview ES boiler replacement, Education Center roof maintenance, and BASD Stadium painting and handrail repair projects executed over the summer all came in under budget. The district is receiving credits from the firms involved for a total of nearly $33,000. Next summer’s planned replacement of the HVAC system at Asa Packer ES will involve the installation of a new natural gas service line; UGI Utilities, Inc., will put in this 1,000-foot line at no cost to the district.