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Proclamation presented to VFW Post 6325

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AmVets donate candy baskets to special needs students

Several members of the Save Our Schools group working to keep Wilkes-Barre Area School District&#8217;s three high school system met with a state official late last month, giving the members a chance to voice their concerns regarding the district&#8217;s high school consolidation plan.Pennsylvania Department of Education Executive Deputy Secretary David Volkman &#8220;hosted a meeting on March 29 between department staff, Senator John Yudichak&#8217;s office and Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Save Our Schools group,&#8221; PDE spokeswoman Nicole Reigelman confirmed via email.Reigelman offered no details of the meeting, nor any possible state actions resulting from it, providing only general support for the district and its residents.&#8220;PDE aims to be a resource for every school district, and the Department has worked closely with the leaders of Wilkes-Barre Area SD over the past several months to help them explore the district&#8217;s options for meeting its revenue and other challenges,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Most recently, PDE provided the services of the PFM Group to review the district&#8217;s finances.The state contracts PFM to assist districts with financial matters. PFM conducted a review of data for Wilkes-Barre area and concluded prospects are grimmer than the district&#8217;s own numbers showed.An internal review by the district, which did not include increases in salaries or health insurance costs, projected the current surplus would drop to $29.4 million in red ink by 2020-21 without substantial changes. PFM projected it would be more than $70 million.SOS President Richard Holodick provided an email he sent Volkman prior to the meeting that included a recap of the group&#8217;s oft-cited concerns:&#8226; The district neglected &#8220;to address poor academic achievement&#8221; and the construction project &#8220;makes no effort to develop or implement a master plan based on students&#8217; needs.&#8221; District officials have repeatedly countered that substantial changes are being made to improve academic success.&#8226; The school board ignored &#8220;almost all public input.&#8221; Board members have said they have listened extensively to the public but are hamstrung by time and financial constraints.&#8226; The consolidation plan &#8220;is predicated on many incorrect assumptions,&#8221; particularly the belief that enrollment will grow and that consolidation will save money. State figures show district enrollment increased modestly for three years beginning 2008-09 and then leveled off.&#8226; The district &#8220;employed a flawed cost-benefit analysis that underestimates the cost and capacity of the new school.&#8221; Last year, the board voted to consolidate grades 9-12 in Meyers and Coughlin High Schools into a new school on the Coughlin site, while expanding Kistler Elementary to house grades 7 and 8 from Meyers, at a total cost ranging from $75 million to $100 million.&#8226; The district plan &#8220;calls for the demolition of buildings that are historic and architecturally signi&#64257;cant to the city, Commonwealth and, possibly, the nation.&#8221; Plans do call for demolition of Coughlin, but board members have promised to retain any significant aspects that can be preserved. No plans have been made for Meyers, arguably the more architecturally-compelling building with 48 state seals included in the auditorium&#8217;s stained-glass ceiling.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Save Our Schools group meets with state official regarding concerns with Wilkes-Barre Area project