California Board takes no action on proposal to eliminate two-hour delays
CALIFORNIA – Two-hour delays will continue to be the norm in the California Area School District during inclement weather. The school board Wednesday heard a proposal to eliminate two-hour delays and have only cancellations in the event of bad weather, but the directors made no motion and did not address the issue.
Earlier in the meeting Director George Safin, who is in charge of the transportation committee, explained how the district decides whether classes will be delayed. Safin said the process begins around 4 a.m. when bus contractor Frank Ricco contacts the West Pike Run Township supervisors for a report on road conditions.
Ricco then has people drive the bus routes to further assess the situation if conditions are at all questionable.
Safin said that if road conditions are poor, the district calls for a delay and checks the roads again before the delay ends to see if conditions have improved or deteriorated.
“If they’ve deteriorated, we cancel school,” Safin said.
He said his philosophy is to err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of the students. Classes have been delayed eight times this school year.
“It’s not something that’s taken lightly, and this winter has been severe,” Safin said.
Director Etta Kokoska asked why California had classes Tuesday while the borough still had a state of emergency in place. Safin noted that the mayor actually had lifted the emergency status at 7 p.m. Monday.
In other matters, the board approved a moratorium on non-budgeted spending, effective March 1, except for emergencies. Director Donna Tyrpin said the action is needed to prevent excess spending and the elimination of the district’s fund balance.
“We didn’t have to raise taxes last year because we watched the budget, but if you want a tax increase, go ahead with what you want,” Tyrpin told board members opposed to the moratorium.
The motion passed 5-4, with directors Barry Niccolai, Nancy Pinardi, John Bayer and J. Budd Grebb voting against it.
“I think we’re responsible enough to say no if that’s the desire of a majority of the board,” Bayer said.
The board voted down two non-budgeted items during the meeting. The one item was a $250 program on animals and the environment for students in grades 6 to 8 that had been planned for March 3, and the other was a $390 coaching clinic at California University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The board authorized the administration to spend up to $10,000 for the construction of new softball field dugouts, with the money coming from the capital improvement interest. The expenditure had not been budgeted.