Beth-center board ‘distrurbed’ by teacher absences at end of school year
DEEMSTON – Bethlehem-Center School Board member Donald Bartolomucci said Monday that the school board was “disturbed” with the number of absent teachers during the last two weeks of the school year. He explained at the regular meeting of the board Monday evening that 234 absences were counted throughout the last two weeks of the school year, a 19.5 per day average, he noted.
Bartolomucci added that the absence of the teachers was “disheartening” after the strike between the district and the teachers association this past school year.
“The teachers took advantage of the last two weeks,” he said. “There was not a lot of teaching going on.”
He also noted that teachers used 42, 26 and 11 half sick days at the elementary, middle and high schools, respectively.
“That’s a disturbing statistic to me,” he commented, adding that teachers claimed they held the strike for the sake of the students’ education, and, in such, should have been in the classroom the last two weeks of school. “The public should know what happened.”
Two teachers who were in the audience during the meeting declined comment.
In other matters, the board approved the establishment of tax levies for the 2007-2008 school year with no increase. The taxes remain as follows: 98.2 real estate; two per capita taxes at $5 each; wage earned income at 1 percent shared between the school district and the borough; and $10 for the occupational tax.
The board also conducted the following business:
– Adopted policies concerning student meal charges and procedures for collection of deficient account balances, student discipline, and drug and alcohol guidelines.
– Revised policies for a 30-day review concerning alternative education, strategic plan, nondiscrimination in school and classroom practices, and special education.
– Voted to buy elementary math textbooks at an amount not to exceed $45,818; and high school Spanish and French textbooks at $598 total.
– The next planning meeting of the board is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, with the regular meeting to follow.