MIFFLINBURG — The Mifflinburg Area School District school board discussed upcoming projects for the middle and high schools, as well as new budget items and policy amendments, during a work session held Tuesday.
A roofing project for three zones of the high school will be put out for bid. The total cost is expected to be $214,000, which will be funded through the capital project fund.
According to Business Manager Renee Jilinski, the board can expect to vote on bids during the board meeting in May.
A three-year locker replacement project for the middle school will be added to the agenda for the upcoming board meeting.
Three phases will take place over a course of three years. Phase one will include the purchase of sixth- and seventh-grade wing lockers for $153,000. Work is expected to be completed this summer.
Phase two moves the project to the eighth-grade wing, and is not to exceed the amount of $55,000. Phase two is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025.
“If we could get the entire project approved, then maybe we could work with (Keystone Purchasing Network) to see if we could somehow negotiate (the total cost),” Jilinski said.
The future two phases could be approved prematurely, according to Jilinski.
Phase three would focus on the purchase of lockers for the gym area for $84,000 or under, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.
According to Superintendent Dr. Ken Dady, phase three of the project will be rewritten before being presented to the board for voting, depending on whether phases one and two can be completed within the 2024 budget.
As for the budget, a reserve transfer for the school district’s updated information technology (IT) fiber, firewall and point-to-point wireless upgrades was added to the upcoming agenda, for a total of $120,000.
Elimination of the per capita tax was added as an agenda item for the April school board meeting.
The majority of the board members agreed that the tax is more tedious than helpful.
“It’s a minor amount that’s created for the district,” said school board President Thomas Eberhart. “I think it’s great we’re in a financial position to get rid of (the per capita tax.)”
Jilinski agreed, noting the approval must occur before the final budget reading.
Additionally, one-time cost items were discussed by the board.
The issuance of new uniforms for the high school band for an amount not exceeding $50,000 was added to the upcoming agenda for approval. The 100 uniforms are expected to last for at least 10 years, according to Jilinski.
Additionally, the purchase of three sousaphones was discussed, in the amount not exceeding $30,000. It was also added as an agenda item.
Two zero-turn mowers were approved to be added to the agenda for approval, at a cost of $32,000 or less. The current mowers would then be repurposed into plows.
The following curriculum items were approved to be added to the April agenda, with a one-time purchase using the the 2023-24 budget: Intervention for $50,000 or under, K-8 EnVision renewal for $125,000 or under, K-5 success maker renewal for $39,000 or under, grades six-eight success maker renewal for $22,000 or under, and amplify for $200,329 or under.
Two transportation vans were added to the agenda for approval. Expenses for both vans will not exceed $100,000 and will be funded by the 2023-24 budget.
Student transportation might also be receiving an update.
In the past, there were 25 normal bus routes to carry a capacity of 84 students per bus, three special needs buses, three out of district routes, one third of the drivers were employees and a schedule beginning at 8:15 a.m. and ending at 3:05 p.m.
According to the school administration, the tiers of transportation caused the need for more bus drivers, longer bus routes, near maxed capacity special needs buses, and a later end to the school day.
The updated tiers of transportation reduce regular buses to 15 for each tier, increases special needs buses to four, accommodation for the 250 alternative bus passes processed for families in 2024, and five van routes to different schools.
However, cons following the updated transportation includes later starts at the elementary and intermediate schools and a switch to familial schedules.
Pros to the change include an earlier dismissal, less drivers and buses, higher reimbursement for the district’s mileage, and a separation of older and younger students.
The board held a discussion on the amendment of policy 213, grading of student progress. The change concerns whether an AP student should have the choice to be exonerated from a final exam for their AP course after taking the AP exam.
According to high school Principal Jeremiah Allen, the practice has been a part of the AP courses for some time.
“That tells me then, why not have them better prepared,” said Eberhart, who noted that the success rate for students on their AP exams is 50% with the majority scoring a three out of five.
Eberhart also said AP courses are set up to prepare students for the AP exam to warrant the 1.08 premium grade rating.
For students who do not have the funds to pay for their AP exam, the high school has an AP club to raise money for those students to take their opportunity. So far, 12 students have been assisted by the club, according to Jilinski.
The policy has been tabled under first read for April’s school board meeting.
Policy 214, class rank, was also brought up. The use of both the Latin honor system and class rank system was debated during a reading of the policies.
Allen said the use of the Latin Honor System would offer more recognition to more students on a broader spectrum of accomplishments. Students currently trying to maintain top 10 in class rank are required to do dual enrollment, which comes with a cost to the student.
One concern centered around hard working students who can’t afford to commit to dual enrollment to maintain their honors or rank.
“If you want to make it equal for kids, then pay for all of them to go to (Bloomsburg University),” said Dady.
“My suggestion would be doing one or the other, I don’t think doing both would benefit any student,” Allen said.
Regardless of whether both or one of the systems will be used, only the top two students in the graduating class are recognized for their accomplishments
All policies, other than 213, will be going to first reading at the upcoming school board hearing.
The board also discussed the addition of two novels for seventh grade, “The Westing Game” by Ellen Raskin and “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. The replacement came from the concern of teachers regarding tragedies within the past year.
Though, according to Troy Zimmerman, “And Then There Were None” includes a Jewish slur. The book was tabled for further discussion.
SpyGlass was added to the upcoming board meeting to be the primary auditor service for the Mifflinburg Area Middle School. The company will analyze telecommunication devices to seek cost recovery, service elimination and cost reduction recommendations.
“It doesn’t cost the district anything for them to do the audit,” said Peter Geipel, director of IT.
The only cost would come if issues were found and administration approves the entity to move forward with assistance, according to Jilinski.
An upcoming visit from Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Education Khalid Mumin to the high school is scheduled for Thursday morning.
According to Allen, Mumin found out about the Wildcat Way program after news was spread to his office.
Mifflinburg Area Intermediate School Principal Philip Heggenstaller highlighted the program, calling it a “great program” for high school seniors to mentor.
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