After being serenaded by “Fermata Nowhere,” the East Penn Board of School Directors got back to business at the reorganized board’s first regular meeting Dec. 9. The Emmaus High School all-boys choir, under the direction of Rita Cortez, sang an a cappella rendition of “12 Days of Christmas” which delighted all who listened.

With Ken Bacher back at the helm as president and Paul Champagne again as vice president, the school board was given updates on the EHS turf field project by James Lynch, principal and senior project manager of D’Huy Engineering. Lynch said the project to resurface the track, install artificial turf on the football field and erect a new scoreboard is ready to go out for bid, with a Jan. 17, 2020 due date for contractor submissions.

“We should be able to start to break ground by May 5,” Lynch predicted for the new turf. Depending on weather, the field should be ready by Emmaus’ first home game, with track resurfacing completed between home games, he added. Lynch pointed out the new scoreboard can be started without impacting track season.

Since track throwing events cannot be held on artificial turf, they will be moved to the nearby softball field.

As for the budget, Lynch explained, “We are still looking at a project that is in the $1.9 million range.” To keep costs down, he said he crafted “bid alternates” to include in the bidding process. For example, the large Emmaus hornet logo for the middle of the field can be bid as a separate item. Nonessential scoreboard components, like a large LED banner, can be included or struck out as a line item.

Working with a state contract quote is another way to save money, he said.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is sponsoring the field and scoreboard upgrades. Cost to the district for the project would be around $288,000, according to business administrator Robert Saul.

Assistant Superintendent Doug Povilaitis followed with a Future Ready PA Index Overview of the 2018-2019 school year data. He explained East Penn is on target for meeting the state’s 2030 proficiency goals in English Language Arts, math and science. Overall attendance and the district’s graduation rate are good.

Povilaitis expressed concerns with growth in ELA and math, as well as the performance of historically underachieving subgroups in the district. He said they are working to identify and improve ways of reaching students who are struggling.

District initiatives include continued support of Ready Math for grades kindergarten through eight, implementing literacy resources and schoolwide plans for grades kindergarten through five and implementing revised curriculum in ELA and social studies for grades six through 12.

In other business, the directors unanimously supported a resolution to not raise taxes that would exceed the Act 1 Index.

As proposed by Joshua Levinson, the directors unanimously approved a resolution requesting the administration include an expansion of the income eligibility guidelines for the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Rebate Program in the budget for the 2020-2021 school year. Levinson had pointed out that income eligibility guidelines for low income senior citizens and permanently disabled property owning residents in the district haven’t changed in 12 years. Current forms can be accessed from the district website. This is separate from what is available from the Pennsylvania tax and rent rebate program.

The board gratefully accepted a $1,000 donation from the East Penn School District Education Foundation to put toward the purchase of Tinker Crates for Willow Lane Elementary School.

In her district update, School Superintendent Kristen Campbell mentioned the 24 high school journalists from the Stinger staff who recently attended the National School Press Association’s Fall Conference in Washington, D.C. She praised six of the students for receiving journalism awards at the event.

Campbell promoted several upcoming holiday concerts hosted at district schools.

Within the next two weeks, a survey will go out to students, parents and staff to evaluate how time is managed at the high school, Campbell said. This is a step in determining if the high school start time should be changed.

EHS Government Association representatives Maddy Kuchta and Kaitlyn Csensits reported academic, music and sports news, including an upcoming East Penn STA “Stuff the Bus” event at each district school in December to collect donations of warm clothes and shoes for those in need.

Allan Byrd, Levinson and Adam Smith were appointed to seats on the Lehigh Career & Technical Institute Joint Operating Committee for three year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2022.

Jeffrey Jankowski was appointed as board liaison to the state legislature to replace retired director Chuck Ballard.

The directors quickly voted to adopt board policy updates on professional development, facilities and workplace safety, building security, emergency preparedness and response, law enforcement relations and school safety personnel.

A request to address the board was granted to former board president Alan Earnshaw. Visiting the area from his new home in Virginia, Earnshaw greeted and thanked his former colleagues with, “I appreciate all of the effort that each of you make to make this school district a success.”

According to Bacher, an executive session was held 6:30 p.m. before the public meeting on “real estate and negotiations.”

He also announced all district schools and offices will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 1, 2020, for winter break.

The East Penn Board of School Directors meet regularly 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2020 in the board room of the administration building where free Wi-Fi is available for audience members. The public can access documents through BoardDocs via a link on the district website.