California Area reviews budget, security, student scores
Initial preparations are underway for the 2017-18 school year budget, Superintendent Michael Sears told the school board Wednesday.
Additionally, a cooperative evacuation plan involving the district and California University of Pennsylvania was approved by the school board.
The budget, school security and student achievement highlighted the regular monthly meeting of the California Area School Board.
Under the memorandum of understanding, in the event that an evacuation of any of the district’s schools occurs, students would be transported to the university convocation center.
“This is a part of the process of looking at the physical security of the district,” Sears said.
Sears said the budget committee met Wednesday as a part of his approach toward “more transparency in the budgetary process.”
“I’ve been very keen on the budget,” Sears said. “The meeting (Wednesday) was not to discuss the budget but the budget process.”
Sears said in his review of the current budget, he determined it cost $78,000 per school day to educate the district’s 914 students.
“As superintendent, I want to make sure the community is getting its money’s worth,” Sears said.
Sears said he is recommending the addition of kindergarten-through-fourth-grade reading and fifth-through-eighth-grade math courses.
It is expected that the board will determine in December whether it will declare that it would balance the budget without the need to exceed the state index for millage.
The current school year budget was balanced in part by the loss of four teaching jobs and one administrative position through attrition.
Administrators were also reviewing the last scorecards for student achievement Wednesday night.
High school Principal Leigh Ann Folmar said in the Pennsylvania School Performance Profile, California Area scored 85 in algebra, 89 in literature and 75 in biology. But Folmar said the district scored 55 at college readiness.
“We are not spending enough time challenging our college-bound students,” Folmar said.
She said the district does not offer Advanced Placement courses but does offer college preparation courses.
“We really want to work toward challenging these exceptional students,” Folmar said.
Folmar said the district’s graduation rate was 95 percent and the attendance rate at the high school was 92 percent.
Elementary Principal/Special Education Director Rachel Nagy noted that the district’s School Performance Profile discovered that the district’s elementary population is 45.86 percent economically disadvantaged and 16.88 percent are enrolled in special education programming.
Nagy said the district’s scores were above the state average.
“We spend a lot of time looking at these,” Nagy said. “I always look for ways to improve.”