At the Whitehall-Coplay School Board committee meetings, held Jan. 9, Jim Hanna, of D’Huy Engineering, discussed the need for a new roof on the current Gockley Elementary School.

The roof is past its warranty, and the building will be turned into a new district office once the new elementary school is complete. Hanna said they are going through a state contract with Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance and their construction management firm WTI.

The same type of roof on Whitehall-Coplay Middle School will be used. According to Hanna, doing this work through a state contract will allow contractors to bid without having to advertise. Hanna said a walk-through with contractors will be Jan. 31, and bids will come in Feb. 10. The final results will arrive Feb. 27, at which time Hanna will give the recommendation to execute the contract.

Hanna also shared information about a change order for phase one of the efforts to address campus traffic issues. The problems will be addressed with the addition of speed bumps, radar and a gate near Whitehall High School’s parking lot. Stormwater piping repairs are also included in this budget, with a total of $113,325 for all items.

Also at the meeting, Whitehall-Coplay School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Steckel discussed a quote from Keystone Fire and Security to install a fire alarm system for the transportation building and said it is currently under review with WCSD’s solicitor. Administration will execute the proposal following solicitor approval.

Steckel is also proposing the addition of a new traffic monitor position to “monitor, direct and react to real-time traffic flow and pedestrian foot traffic during arrival and dismissal times on campus to ensure the safe transit of students and staff.”

There would be one position for the morning and one for the afternoon, and they would ensure vehicles aren’t interfering with buses and help get the cars lined up properly. The monitor would start at WCMS, then move to WHS and end at the elementary schools.

Steckel and Director of Teaching and Learning Renee Sallit updated the board on the comprehensive plan and Profile of a Graduate. The comprehensive plan involves revising assessments, grading and reporting to make sure students and families understand their progress and can identify their own learning.

It includes designing modern, future-ready classrooms in all K-12 schools, implementing a K-5 comprehensive MTSS structure that remediates student needs and enriches student growth, as well as implementing a 6-12 continuum of educational opportunities that remediate student needs and enrich student growth to produce college- and career-ready graduates.

Steckel also included the implementation of pre-K for all WCSD 4-year-old students. These are the goals Steckel and Sallit hope to reach by 2030.

The Profile of a Graduate year-one goals include developing a unified vision of the outcome of WCSD, forming a committee that represents all of WCSD, creating and sending out correspondence seeking feedback based on the project’s objective and rationale, gathering information, creating the profile, finalizing the artwork and developing professionally printed copies.

The year-one plan for staff includes training to access and monitor their professional development hours using Frontline and by providing a catalog of additional professional development to identify areas of growth. Professional development will be available in both asynchronous and synchronous formats and will cover topics identified from the needs assessment. Administration will ask for regular feedback from staff and adjust offerings based on responses.

Time will be given for grade level/content area collaboration on selected items during professional development days and at faculty meetings.

Campus consistency is also a goal of the plan, including the formation of a communication matrix that achieves consistent communication through various avenues. The plan also includes a communications audit with focus groups, surveys and training for staff.

During the education/student activities segment, WHS Principal Dr. Peter Mayes and WHS Assistant Principal Heather Hampton presented the replacement for the WHS course catalog. Mayes said they wanted a comprehensive guide that is more than a list of courses.

The course catalog is being replaced with the program of studies, which will be available online and can be translated into all languages.

Some changes to graduation requirements, starting with the Class of 2027, include reducing math and science from four years each to three, but an additional math or science class would still be needed. For example, a student may opt to take three math courses, but they would then need to take four science courses.

Career and financial literacy would replace career exploration and technology and would be a half-credit course, along with career and technology literacy, both graduation requirements.

Twelve hours of community service would be a requirement and would also earn half of a credit. Students will need five credits to be promoted to 10th grade, 11 credits for 11th grade and 17 credits to move to 12th grade.

Hampton said they will be eliminating summer reading and assignments for all honors, dual enrollment and AP courses.

“That request came both through student interviews and staff interviews,” Mayes said. “Students often said, ‘I work in the summertime. We travel in the summertime.’ And when we really looked at the summer assignments, most students were doing them in the few days just before school began.”

Mayes said he would rather encourage the students to do the things that interest them and that they enjoy doing during the summer.

For social studies, Contemporary Issues and Basic Legal 2 will be eliminated, and AP Microeconomics will be reinstituted in place of AP Micro/macroeconomics. Full-credit Foundations of Studio Art will be cut, and half-credit courses including Studio Art, Studio Art Around the World, Drawing 1 and Graphic Design will be offered to freshmen.

Honors Spanish 1 and 2 are being added, and Digital Literacy is being eliminated, as it’s no longer needed as a stand-alone class.

Vocal course offerings will be streamlined, allowing students to enroll in either concert choir or Zephyr choir. Treble choir and tenor/bass choir will be eliminated.

The program of studies site will feature information on career clusters, taking the place of the current career pathways, and information on the most in-demand careers in the Lehigh Valley will be featured. The website will not be live until board approval at the end of the month.

During the finance committee meeting, Steckel and WCSD Business Manager Michael Malay discussed the 2023-24 school year budget overview and resolution to stay below the Act 1 index. Steckel and Malay have been working with principals and department leads to review the budget process and Act 1 information. The adjusted Act 1 is the maximum amount a school board can approve without getting voter approval.

WCSD can get exceptions if increases are necessary to cover certain costs, such as special education, school construction and retirement contributions. The base index is calculated by averaging the percent increases in the Pennsylvania statewide average weekly wage and federal employment cost index for elementary and secondary schools.

For districts with a market value or personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4000, the value of their index is adjusted upward by multiplying the base index by the sum of 0.75 and their MV/PI AR.

For the 2023-24 school year budget, the base index is 4.1, the aid ratio is 0.5824, and the aid ratio plus 0.75 equals 1.3324. The adjusted Act 1 index is 5.5%. Steckel and Malay recommended the board to not seek exceptions to go above the adjusted Act 1 index of 5.5% and that the board approve the accelerated budget opt-out resolution, certifying the real estate tax will not increase by more than 5.5%, at the Jan. 23 meeting.

The proposed final budget presentation will be presented at the committee meeting April 11. The board will vote to approve the adoption of the proposed final budget at the April 24 meeting, and the final budget presentation will occur at the May 22 meeting. The adoption of the final budget will occur at a special board meeting June 12.

The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. Jan. 23.