Bethlehem Area School Board members addressed a recent controversy around charter schools and race at their Dec. 16 meeting.

On Dec. 5, BASD hosted a press conference to discuss charter reforms. A reporter from another media outlet asked why parents choose charter schools, and Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy’s response included a long list of items, including a longer school day and busing. The last item Roy mentioned was that some parents may choose charter schools to avoid their children attending school with students from other races or from poverty backgrounds.

“The fact is, when an uncomfortable topic is raised,” BASD Board President Mike Faccinetto said, “we often hear these reactions.”

Faccinetto asserted that “if poverty and race were not factors” in some families’ opting for charter school, there would not have been any outcry.

Faccinetto read a statement signed by all nine members of the school board in response both to the charter school lobby’s reaction to the press conference and to negative remarks about Dr. Roy made after the press conference by Saucon Valley SD Board President Dr. Shamim Pakzad.

“Sadly, the charter lobby has used this to distract from the […] serious funding concerns we’re raising. All nine members of this board stand behind Dr. Roy and his comments,” the statement read, going on to assert that “denying that poverty and race are one of many reasons parents choose charter schools” is “troubling and frankly unacceptable,” and that Pakzad’s use of his public position to air “personal grievances” was inappropriate.

In other business, board members handled several appointments at its Dec. 16 meeting, along with a few financial matters, as well as presenting the district’s tentative preliminary budget for 2020–2021. The district projects slightly more than $300 million in revenue and just over $311 million in expenses for next school year, leaving a gap of nearly $11 million. Pension costs (PSERS) account for $1.77 million, and payouts to charter school are anticipated to be more than $1.6 million. Highlights of the budget include expanded behavioral and mental health services, as well as additional funding for summer programs supporting the district’s Reading by Grade 3 initiative. District CFO Stacy Gober noted that revenue is anticipated to increase 3.17%, due in part to the expiration of the BethWorks TIF.

The board plans to vote on the preliminary budget Jan. 21 with a tentative final budget presented May 4, and a final budget adopted June 15. Although the district might not want to raise taxes more than the 3.2 percent cap imposed by Pa. Act 1, the board plans to apply for an Act 1 exception (based on special education spending) to remain flexible in light of variable state funding.

Dr. Dean Donaher and Shannon Patrick were appointed as trustee and alternate trustee, respectively, to the BASD Employee Benefit Trust, created in 2011 to self-insure district employees. They will fill the spots left vacant by Eugene McKeon’s resignation and Tom Thomasik’s retirement.

The board also approved the transfer of $5 million from the General Fund to the Capital Reserve for future capital improvements, and the commitment of $4.5 million from the Self-Insurance Fund for future fees and penalties related to the Affordable Care Act. Within the General Fund, the board assigned $4 million of the balance in the General Fund for Pa. State Employees Retirement System (PSERS) rate stabilization and just over $4.8 million to balance the 2019-2020 budget. All measures passed by a vote of 9–0.