~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.
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lene Strutko, junior high cross
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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
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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.
Back Mountain Seniors meet Thursdays
The Back Mountain Seniors wish to announce change in
Meetings will now be held once monthly, on the first Thurs-
Meetings wills start at 1 p.m. and will be held in St.
Therese’s Hall on Pioneer Ave. and Davis Street in Shaver-
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