The school district facilities and curriculum committee meetings Oct. 5 focused on the district’s 10-year capital plan and upcoming changes to the program of studies for students at Freedom HS and Liberty HS.

Chief Facilities Officer Mark Stein presented the capital plan. Three projects were completed during 2020, all on time and under budget: HVAC replacements at Asa Packer ES and Spring Garden ES, and masonry repairs at Northeast MS. Other improvements at the two elementary schools included lighting changes incorporating a “daylight harvesting system,” automatically lowering in-room lighting when sunlight comes through large windows.

However, the next three large projects on the horizon pose significant logistical and funding challenges: the repair, renovation, or replacement of Fountain Hill ES, Thomas Jefferson ES, and William Penn ES. The least expensive project – repairing Thomas Jefferson or William Penn – would cost roughly $10 million in 2020, with inflation adding to the price tag with every year of delay.

The most costly undertaking – replacing Fountain Hill ES entirely – would cost roughly $36 million today. Because of site issues, a phased approach to repair, renovation, or replacement would be difficult at all three buildings; it is likely that students would be displaced during construction. The need to improve these three buildings has been on the district’s radar since 1990; an approach has yet to be selected, and a target date yet to be chosen.

These projects will require a funding strategy, as Stein explained to the board. Chief Financial Officer Stacy Gober described five different components of funding strategies, including savings through bond refinancing. Discussing the possibility of incurring new debt, Gober said borrowing needs to be initiated with a substantial lead time before a project starts, and that the district’s revenue stream for the future remains negatively affected by coronavirus-related shutdowns.

HVAC replacement at Farmersville ES, which has had periodic air quality issues, is already authorized for summer 2021 at a cost of $5 million; Stein asked the board to consider adding roughly half a million dollars’ worth of additional work to the Farmersville project to upgrade fire and security systems at the same time. In addition, Stein notified the board of three projects that have recently become more urgent: garage repairs at Broughal MS, exterior restoration and window replacement at the SPARK building at 3144 Linden St., and replacement of bus lifts at the district’s transportation facility at 1901 Chester Road.

These three projects will cost approximately $1 million, and Stein recommends that they be performed next summer, with the hydraulic bus lift replacement being done sooner, by a state-approved contractor. (The SPARK building previously housed BASD pre-K programs for at-risk children, but is currently leased out to Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 for its early learning programs for $414,000 per year.)

Two less expensive, but still substantial, capital projects in the district’s medium-term plans are HVAC replacements at Freedom HS and East Hills MS. An HVAC replacement and alarm upgrade at Freemansburg ES, contemplated for the near future, would cost roughly $5 million.

Full details of the capital plan, including projects under consideration at several price points, are available on the district’s BoardDocs page (https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/beth/Board.nsf/Public).

Under the direction of Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jack Silva, BASD is updating its program of studies for high school students. Strategic aims include reduction of tracking and fully incorporating online tools (Acadience and StudySync) into core curriculum areas, particularly ninth grade English Language Arts (ELA). The incorporation of StudySync into freshman ELA classes will enable the district to benchmark students’ skills and deliver appropriate instruction. “Only through core instruction that is open and available to everybody can the district make students successful,” Silva told the board.

District administrators also hope to revamp the American history and criminal justice curricula to provide an anti-racist view of both subjects. Revisions to testing and grading practices are also planned. Work is ongoing with a team that includes department chairs from both high schools; proposed changes will be presented to the board at the Nov. 9 curriculum committee meeting.

Members of the public posed questions to the administrators present. David Dougherty asked about eClassroom students missing instruction on Monday holidays. Silva explained that the schedule for the academic year was designed to maximize instructional time for the greatest number of students. Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy added that for eClassroom students, Monday is a “check-in” day, rather than a day of direct instruction.

David Amidon asked for more details on the anti-racism curriculum changes planned for inclusion in the new high school program of studies. Describing himself as a passionate civil rights advocate, he noted that there is considerable diversity among anti-racist approaches, and voiced an interest in the choices the district is making. Silva responded that an action team is meeting with two leaders this week to discuss the current courses and changes. “We’re not looking specifically at the ‘1619 Project’ – we’re just looking at everything, and using the program of studies process to deliberate and revise the courses.”

Silva also said the district is working on an anti-racism elective, which he believes will be of particular interest to students in the law and business career pathways.

Silva reported enrollment data as of Oct. 1: 73 percent of BASD students are in the hybrid model; 26.5 percent are in eClassroom; 1.3 percent are in the IU-delivered BASD Cyber Academy. “Our goal is to bring as many students into the hybrid as possible,” Silva said, “because we believe that is the most effective academic delivery system, and I also believe it has a stronger benefit for the social and emotional needs of students.” In response to a question from board member Winston Alozie, Silva said the schools with higher-need populations have a higher percentage of eClassroom students.

Responding to board member Shannon Patrick, Silva acknowledged that some students in the hybrid model are unable to start their schoolwork, due to family circumstances, until late in the afternoon. Roy expressed the view that the eClassroom model is a choice, and that students in that model who do not keep up with the work, despite interventions from teachers and principals, will be asked to return to school in the hybrid model. “It’s important not to fall behind, and not to have gaps,” Silva explained.