BASD voted at its Jan. 25 meeting not to exceed the Act 1 tax increase index of 3.7 percent for next year’s budget. This vote gives the board more time to work on the early phases of its budget, although the final budget vote is planned for its typical June timeframe.

The board also approved payments for leaves of absence with mandated coverage by the Families First Coronavirus Cares Act (FFCRA), approved agreements with St. John’s University and Temple University that will bring sought-after speech-language pathology and mental health counseling students into the district (similar to a student teaching program), and approved the purchase of Talking Points chat software – featuring automated and human translation – to communicate with parents of Freedom and Liberty HS students. All nine board members were present. All measures passed 9-0, with one abstention with respect to one monthly bill.

As explained by Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Russell Giordano, the 37 individuals paid in accordance with FFCRA fall into two categories: “has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19” or “is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.”

“When employees are required to be out of work for one of the above reasons, we grant work from home when it is feasible and the employee is up to doing so. Some of our employees are in positions where that is not possible, so in light of the FFCRA having expired, we will grant those particular employees up to 10 additional sick days between Jan. 4 and June 30,” Giordano explained.

During the meeting, Supt. Dr. Joseph Roy honored the members of the school board, as well as the student members, Katherine Marakovits (Freedom HS) and Joshua Lee (Liberty HS), in recognition of National School Board Month. Nitschmann MS principal Dr. Peter Mayes addressed the board and thanked the members for their service during a “challenging time to serve the public.” Mayes told the board, “You’re helping to make this community a great place, because of the opportunities you provide.” Bethlehem Education Association (BEA) Treasurer Courtney Weikert read a message of thanks from BEA President Laura Keding to the board.

Board President Mike Faccinetto reported that the Pa. School Board Assoc. (PSBA) has put together a task force to reform charter school funding and oversight through legislative advocacy (PAcharterchange.org). Faccinetto also informed the board that Lehigh University recently donated headphones and earbuds to the four schools on the South Side to help with remote learning.

Emily Schenkel noted that the Network for Public Education (NPE) is advocating for state departments of education to waive accountability testing (PSSA tests) in the spring. Faccinetto asked her to share the letter with other board members so that they can consider signing on to endorse the recommendation.

Angela Sinkler took the opportunity to scold BASD athletes and participants in other extracurricular activities for not wearing masks, or not wearing them properly, citing pictures she saw on social media over the weekend. “This COVID will never end if we don’t have everybody following the rules,” Sinkler said. Faccinetto echoed Sinkler’s comments and added, “It’s not a joke. It’s the rules. We would not accept it in the classroom, kids with masks around their chins, and we should not accept it on the court or the mat.” Shannon Patrick suggested that there be “consequences for that [non-compliant] athlete and their ability to play this season.”

Dr. Karen Beck Pooley highlighted the emotional and psychological needs of students across the country struggling during the current challenging national situation. She asked that the board add an item to its agenda for an upcoming meeting to discuss ways in which the district’s existing “Safe2Say” hotline could be augmented to support students experiencing depression or other social and emotional issues.

A few members of the public asked questions about the remote learning day scheduled for Jan. 26, which will involve asynchronous work posted on Schoology, in order to avoid hazardous icy conditions at dismissal time that may result from a storm predicted to move through the Lehigh Valley. One member of the community raised a concern about whether the circulation of different variants of the novel coronavirus would prompt the district to spread out seating in the cafeteria; Roy responded that the local public health experts currently do not believe there is enough information to inform a change, but that they are monitoring data.