At the HR and finance committee meetinsg Oct. 21, BASD Coordinator of School Safety and Emergency Management Todd Repsher gave the official first reading of the updated emergency preparedness and response policy and the newly detailed policy on relations with law enforcement.

Repsher explained that the changes to the emergency and law enforcement policies are based on recommendations from the Pa. School Boards Association (PSBA). The emergency preparedness and response plan was created in 2004 and last updated in 2007. The proposed updates include details about partnerships with state health and local law enforcement agencies, school security drills, and regular school safety and security assessments. The law enforcement relationship plan was adopted in 2004; the updates provide substantially greater detail than the policy currently in force. The complete text of both policies is available on the district website (https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/beth/Board.nsf/Public).

Later, Chief Human Resources Officer Russell Giordano provided updates on the status of the district’s collective bargaining agreements and substitute teacher hiring.

He informed the board that the teachers union (BEA), support staff, transportation, and food service collective bargaining agreements have all been updated as of the end of June, and the new contracts are being implemented. The next contracts to be discussed are those with clerical and maintenance workers, whose CBA will expire at the end of June 2021.

According to Giordano, 18 teachers active last year have retired, along with 26 resignations. BASD has hired 41 new teachers with contracts and 16 long-term substitutes. (Long-term subs serve 70 or more days, and are sourced by BASD HR.) The district has also added one building substitute each to Donegan ES, Fountain Hill ES and Broughal MS; these substitutes are considered short-term, because they are not assigned to the same classroom every day, and are sourced by Substitute Teacher Service, Inc., with oversight from district management.

Lastly, Chief Pupil Services Officer Claire Hogan recommended that the board approve contracts with Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) to provide mental health services at Clearview ES, Donegan ES, Governor Wolf ES, Spring Garden ES, Thomas Jefferson ES, Nitschmann MS and East Hills MS for the next two academic years. All board members except Dr. Karen Beck Pooley were present.

Hogan described the planned behavioral and mental health clinics for seven elementary and middle schools, to be staffed by LVPG and funded through medical assistance, with no cost to the district. The individuals delivering the care are background-checked, licensed counselors and social workers. BASD already makes these services available at Freedom HS and Liberty HS; if approved Oct. 28, the additional schools will be new locations for behavioral health clinics. Hogan noted that the new sites were chosen based on students’ needs and the fact that these buildings do not already receive similar services through another provider. LVPG staff are bilingual and can offer a range of services to students who are uninsured or underinsured. The services, which are considered “tier 3” interventions, would only be provided to students who had already demonstrated the need for support beyond tier 2. Services will be available one day per week, but more days, and more sites, can be added in future phases. Board member Rogelio Ortiz applauded Hogan’s work. “Our district is leading the way,” he commented. Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy agreed: “You have to bring the services in.”