~The Dallas Post Friday, September 26, 2003 Kapral guest at Lion’s meeting Michael Kapral, grand- son of Lion Frank and Polly Michael, was a guest of the Dallas Lions Club at a recent meeting. Michael was presented with a Certificate of Ap- preciation for his partci- pation in the ringing of the bells for the Salva- tion Army last Christ- mas. Shown presenting the certificate to Kapral is Immediate Past Presi- dent Paul McCue. Construction issues dominate board session By KALEN CHURCHER a For The. Dallas Post .-. LEHMAN TWP. — At Tues- day night’s School Board meet- ing, several members criticized how and when they receive per- tinent School District news, ranging from budgetary issues to construction woes. By not re- ceiving information in a timely manner, they can not address Qc or problems appropri- ely, they said. Armed with pictures of a puddle-ridden roof, board mem- ber James Mahon asked Doug Trumbower, district architect, why the board was not made aware of the water problem ear- lier. Mahon said he only learned of the issue when he was shown the photos. He then went on the roof to investigate. “The problem with the gym roof had to be known before 1 went up there Friday,” Mahon said. . The roof is new and part of the School District’s multi-mil- lion dollar junior/senior high ® construction project. Trumbower admitted ' he knew of the puddles — 6 feet long and 3 inches deep accord- ing to Mahon — for four or five months. He maintains that if the puddles were “never touched” they would not be a detriment to the roof. However, the roof will be fixed, he said. Board members received an- other construction blow when ° they learned that an old roof on part of the junior/senior high school is also facing troubles. Mark J. Sobeck, of Mark J. Sobeck Roof Consulting, said small holes in the rubberized roof might stretch in the future. In time, the rubber also will be- gin to shrink and distort. Fixing the problem now would likely - cost the cash- strapped school district $20,000 to $30,000, he said. Though the School District does not have the extra money to fund the work, Sobeck cautioned that waiting will likely mean a dras- tic increase in the cost of re- pairs. Also Tuesday night, board member Angelo DeCesaris took issue with recent state- ments made by Kathleen Williams, the School District’s business manager. Williams, who is frequently criticized for not providing board members with complete budget reports, said a lack of clear communica- tion by board members often causes the problem. “To say you were not given direction, I take that personal- ly,” DeCesaris said, adding he has asked for specific budget forecasts for years. In other business: e The School Board will have a special meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 to discuss several items, including the future of science and industrial arts labs and con- struction problems. The meet- ing will be held in the music room of the Lehman-Jackson Elementary School. ¢ The following people were appointed to coaching positions for the 2003-04 school year: He- Want to know who's playing what for whom? The Dallas Post tells you this and more. We don't just give you the plays. We deliver analysis, stats, and more. And you can depend on our delivery staff for timely, courteous service. For home delivery, A By 7 Dallas Post Wyoming Seminary Lower School invites youto a Pre-K (age 3) Open House! Tuesday, October 7 330to 600 pm Visit the “Little White House” and see why 3-year-olds think aur program is “mudlucious*” and “puddlewonderful.” For more information, please call (570) 718-6610. | We are now accepting applications 1 for the 2004-05 school year. : WYOMING SEMINARY founded 1844 lLlowER SCHOOL 1560 WYOMING AVENUE Forty Fort lene Strutko, junior high cross country, $519; Michael Hardi- man, varsity assistant boys bas- ketball, $3,878; Kari Maskalis and William Boyle, junior high assistant girls basketball, $2,598 each; Brian Gorski, head baseball, $3,585; Frank Carey, varsity assistant baseball, $2,234; Scott Carter and Charles Kopetchne, junior high assistant baseball, $1,975; Jan Elston, girls head soccer, $3,166; Larry Rittenhouse, girls varsity assistant soccer, $2,010; John Baranowski, boys volley- ball, $3,585; Robert Mitkus, as- sistant track, $2,234; Mary Ann Maxfield, assistant track coach, $1,872; and Kari Maskalis and Timothy Sutliff, assistant track coach, $1,975 each.- tL This article appeared in. orig. inal form in the Times Leader. Lehman schools stay ahead of requirements By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff LEHMAN TWP. — Atten- dance and graduation rates may be down this year in Lake- Lehman schools, but PSSA test scores show the district is mak- ing the grade in academics. While some test scores rose and others fell, none changed enough to attract scrutiny, said Dave McLaughlin-Smith, Lake- Lehman’s curriculum director. The district’s scores in read- ing and math varied dramatical- ly from school to school this year, but while some schools in other areas fell onto the Penn- sylvania Accountability System warning list for failing to meet minimum requirements in read- ing and math, Lehman stayed steady. “I think Lehman-Jackson did outstanding. Lake-Noxen is steadily increasing. My concern is to evaluate what we did at Ross Elementary.” At 37 percent proficient or advanced in math, Ross barely cleared the 35 percent cutoff mandated by the Federal No Child Left Behind law. In read- ing, Ross scored a higher 60 percent proficient or advanced, 15 points above the 45 percent requirement in the subject. McLaughlin-Smith speculat- ed about possible causes of the low math score. “What is it that caused that, the curriculum? It could be an emotional thing,” he said. Last year the tests were giv- en to children in grades 5, 8, and 11. Last year was also the first year Ross had a fifth grade. Students from the district’s oth- er two elementaries were moved to form new fifth and sixth grades there. McLaughlin- Smith suggested that may have had an impact on the children. How the schools fared: (All numbers are proficient and advanced categories com- bined together) Lehman-Jackson and the mid- dle school were the only two schools to have both their read- ing and math scores rise. Lehman-Jackson scored a 90.3 percent in math, up 30 points over last year. They scored 85.5 percent in reading, up 20 points over last year. Lake-Noxen went up three percentage points in math from 51.7 to 54.9, but down by 13 points in reading from 60.7 to 47 percent. The middle school scored 58.4 percent in math, up by 8 percent and 76 percent in read- ing, up by 12 percent. The high school scored 45 percent in math, down by 4 per- cent and 54.4 in reading, down by 12.6. To start identifying whether lags in scores are due to cur- riculum, specific teachers, or individual students, McLaugh- lin-Smith said he is continuous- ly updating a longitudinal study of student’s test scores. “Can we use it (NCLB/PSSA) to make real im- provement or change in the sys- tem?” he asked rhetorically. “If we can, then maybe it was worth the amount of money they spent to develop the tests.” meeting dates. day of the month. town. p.m. before each meeting. 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