Here's your Platfom - AGAIN

What do the candidates for School Board stand for?  What do they want?  What's their platform?  If you really don't know the answers to these questions, lets review our Six Questions segment from the spring.

We asked all six candidates the same six questions and we posted their answers.   Here are their answers:

Dr. Lobby , James Rearic and Larry Robb from Region I, Amy Lhote and Chris Choncek from Region II and Stan Berdell from Region III. 

Please read the responses and then ask yourself you you still have questions about their platform.  If you do, we urge you to contact them.

Let's Focus on the Facts!

It's time to focus on the facts and stop allowing things like planted, threatening letters, ridiculous referendum questions and tax payer-paid  propagandana to overshadow the good old facts.

ELDERTON

We have a high school that was reopened that will graduate 26 this year.
There are a total of 280 students in grades 7-12.
42 classes with less than 10 students.
21 classes with less than 5 students.
There are over 10 classes there with 1 student.
EHS employs 36 teachers, 25 of which were NEW HIRES.
Cost per student is $14,650, MUCH more than the other schools.
There are three principals at that school.


FORD CITY

We are building a second gymnasium in Ford City on the third floor with a glass ceiling! WHY?
Gyms and cafeterias increase the education value for our students how?
The school is full of mold and raw sewage, it has severe structural issues – remember the falling balcony from a few years ago?!


KITTANNING

The Kittanning Junior High has more students in it grades 7-8 than 7-12 at Elderton.
We are going to close Kittanning Jr. High and merge it into the Senior High. Why?
Class sizes are going to be bumped to 30-36 while Elderton benefits from 5.


THE BUDGET

First they say our schools are over crowded at 90-95% capacity.
Now Chapp says that we are getting rid of nearly 70 positions due to LOW ENROLLMENT.
We can’t have it both ways – Over capacity and Low Enrollment.
Which one is it?
We are going to cut nearly the same amount of teachers that we hired to reopen Elderton. Elderton will stay the same, class size wise, but all other schools will have HIGHER class sizes due to this.


STAN CHAP

View the contract here

We have a Superintendent who is making as per his contract:

Salary History for Chapp: ( 3.9% increase for each year of contract)
Year 1: $150,000.00
Year 2: $155,850.00
Year 3: $161,928.15
Year 4: $168,243.35
Year 5: $174,804.84

*$3,000 annually in a tax sheltered annuity = $15,000 over 5 years

*$2,500 annually for holding a doctoral degree = $12,500 over 5 years

*$3,800 annually for disability insurance = $19,000 over 5 years.

* These figures do not include healthcare benefits he will receive

*116 unused sick days carried over from his past employment.

This totals to $857,326.34 for the contract life and DOES NOT include his fully-funded health care.


BILL BILL - aka William J. Williams

We have a SECOND Superintendent being paid $500 per day. That’s $2500 a week, $5000 plus a month, roughly $130,000 a year.


GARY MATTA

Our new Solicitor, hand picked by the current board majority.
He has a file at The Auditor General’s office for his misuse of funds in the Duquesne School District.
He pretty much bankrupted that district and ours is next.

Check out his file:  http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Archives/Investigations/DUQ-Report.html

Armstrong County Voters, you are too smart to not see this for what it is.  You need to get out to vote tomorrow, and you need to vote for CHANGE!

Region I - Bethel, Burrell, Cadogan, Ford City, Ford Cliff, Manor, Manorville, North Buffalo and West Kittanning.  VOTE FOR: Paul Lobby and Larry Robb for the four year term and James Rearic for the two year term.

Region II - Applewald, East Franklin, Kittanning Boro, Rayburn, Washington, West Franklin and Worthington.  VOTE FOR:  Chris Choncek and Amy Lhote

Region III - Atwood, Boggs, Cowanshannock, Dayton, Elderton, Kittanning Twp, Pine, Plumcreek, Rural Valley, South Bend, Valley and Wayne.  VOTE FOR:  Stan Berdell

Six Questions for Larry Robb

Larry Robb is running for one of three seats in Region I, which represents Bethel, Burrell, Cadogan, Ford City, Ford Cliff, Manor, Manorville, North Buffalo and West Kittanning.  This is part five.  We've heard from Dr. Lobby from Region I, Amy Lhote and Chris Choncek from Region II and Stan Berdell from Region III.  We look forward to reading the responses to the same six questions from the other candidates.

1- Since there seems to be quite a bit of negativity within the district, what do you feel is going right with ASD at this time?

The Armstrong School District has developed a very strong system of utilizing student achievement data to inform the instruction of teachers so they can adjust to the needs of individual students. Within this system is a process called Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTII). Using RTII, the district has implemented researched-based interventions or “safety nets” for students who may be struggling. In addition, the district has been involved in an initiative focused on Formative Assessment. This initiative has been featured in a national educational publication called Educational Leadership which has described the impact Formative Assessment has on student learning.


2- What are your ideas to improve student performance?

The district needs to continue to examine the needs of individual students to determine specific research-based programs that will provide students with the resources to grow academically. Also, since teachers have the biggest impact on student achievement, professional development is vital to ensure best practices such as Formative Assessment are utilized in the every classroom. Further, our students are facing many emerging environmental, economic, and social issues. These issues lead to a need for school districts to continually examine and develop curriculum to prepare students to meet these challenges of the 21st century on local, national and global levels.


3- What is your biggest concern with ASD?

The current and future budget crisis is my biggest concern with the district which will dramatically impact the quality of education offered to our students. The projected future expenditures will far surpass our future revenues. The current $80,000,000 bond used for renovations will only make the situation worse by locking the district into a more expensive model for the next 30 years. The projected savings from the closing of Kittanning Junior High and Kittanning Township Elementary will not be available when it is needed to make the debt payments due to the major staff cuts that are proposed for next year. The use of fund balance to make debt service payments over the next four years is not financially sound and will deplete the fund balance below recommended levels. As I outlined before, the district will need over $25,000,000 of new money to fund just the areas of salary increases, health care increases, and retirement contribution increases. The current board’s use of the $3,600,000 delinquent tax windfall and the use of $400,000 of fund balance to balance the 2011-2012 budget only pushes the problem to next year. What will be left to cut next year?


4- What is your perspective of the referendum question that has been placed on the ballot?

The current board majority has tried very hard to claim there are only two choices for the future of the district: an $80,000,000 renovation project or an over inflated $155,000,000 new comprehensive high school project. Since the majority of voters will vote no to the $155,000,000 project, the board majority will claim this means voters are in favor of the $80,000,000 renovation project. This is flawed logic! The referendum is being used as a political ploy and insults the intelligence of the voter. I am not in favor of a comprehensive high school. Lenape already provides the career and technical education for the district and duplicating these programs makes no sense at all.

5- What do you feel is the primary job of a school board?

The primary responsibility of a school board is to envision the educational future of its children and then formulate the goals, define the outcomes, and set the direction for its schools. Vision is not about what we are, but what we want to be. For school boards, it is defining what type of school system is needed for the future. The board is responsible to create the conditions under which excellent teaching and student performance will take place. Included in these conditions is the board’s ability to establish relationships and build consensus. We know that when individuals work together effectively, the product of their efforts will almost always be greater than the efforts of any single individual. Along with setting the educational direction of the district, the board needs to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer’s money by developing both short term and long term financial goals that balance the educational needs of the students with the financial impact to the community.


6- What attributes, talents and abilities will you bring to our district?

I bring to the board an extensive background in education. I have been a teacher, coach, principal, curriculum coordinator, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. I have worked within 4 different school districts which has given me a variety of perspectives on dealing with educational issues. Since I have worked for the Armstrong School District, I know the unique and challenging problems the district has faced and will continue to face in the future.