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The North Allegheny School Board unanimously approved an agreement Wednesday night to release Raymond D. Gualtieri from his duties as district superintendent and grant him medical leave and a severance package before he retires.
To read more, click here.
North Allegheny’s school superintendent, Raymond Gualtieri, is taking medical leave, then retiring with more than a year left on his contract.
To read more, click here.
Richard Cook, North Allegheny Patch
“The Pine-Richland School board voted unanimously Monday night to appoint Dr. Brian R. Miller to a four-year contract as superintendent of schools.
Miller, who currently is assistant superintendent of K-12 education at neighboring North Allegheny School District, begins at Pine-Richland July 1. He will be paid a salary of $153,500.”
Click here to link to the complete article.
With the North Allegheny School Board poised to take public comment on whether to close Peebles Elementary School, opponents are galvanizing to prevent it. A group of parents and taxpayers calling themselves “Save NA Schools” are flooding the district‘s website, sending emails to the media, residents and school board members, and turning up at board meetings to protest any attempt to close Peebles.
They say a consultant‘s report recommending the closure ignores the fact that Bradford Woods Elementary needs $14 million of repairs, while Peebles does not.
Many group members are opposed to closing any schools.
“At the end of the day, what the board says does just not add up. Their actions with the school closings make no sense,” said Daneen Leya of McCandless, a mother of students in the district and a member of Save NA Schools.
Raymond Gualtieri, North Allegheny‘s superintendent, recommended closing Peebles to save $850,000. The district faces a $10 million deficit for the 2013-14 school year, he warned in November.
Yet a consultant‘s report says it would be more economical to close Bradford Woods. School board president Maureen Grosheider questions estimates in the report of the cost to repair Bradford Woods. The study is one of two commissioned by district. The second recommends closing Peebles.
“After the first study, the numbers for renovations just seemed excessive. The question became, ‘Are those numbers really real?‘ ” Grosheider said.
The board will hold the public hearing on Peebles on Jan. 30. A time and location have not been set. A board vote could come within 90 days of the hearing.
Ralph Pagone, one of two board members who voted last month against having a hearing, said the district is rushing the process.
“We are moving too fast. There are conflicting studies. The board did not like the first study and got a study that told them what they wanted to hear. They do not seem to be paying much attention to the public,” Pagone said.
The initial report from Architectural Innovation of Ross recommended closing Bradford Woods and keeping Peebles open. The board‘s majority favors a study by Jon Thomas of Thomas & Williamson construction consulting firm, also of Ross, which recommends closing Peebles.
James Construction Co. sued Thomas & Williamson and the school district over renovation work at North Allegheny in the late 1990s. James won damages of $524,087 from the district in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
“The fact that the district had a recommendation from 12 experts to close a school with $14 million in repairs and commissioned a ‘second opinion‘ from Jon Thomas is very suspect. Especially when you consider Mr. Thomas recommended closing a school with no repair costs and Judge (Timothy P.) O‘Reilly concluded he acted in ‘bad faith‘ the last time he served as a consultant for North Allegheny. This all begs the question: What was the real motivation in hiring Mr. Thomas?” said Tara Fisher, a parent of a Peebles student.
Jon Thomas could not be reached on Wednesday.
Pagone questioned the decision as well. “I am concerned with the outcome of that lawsuit. The findings were not good.”
Grosheider said Thomas has a record of success with the district.
“Mr. Thomas has done work for the district for many years, in many capacities. We have always had good results.”
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Tara Fisher, 36, of McCandless, part of the “Save NA Schools” group, passed out a 32-page report contesting the conclusions made by the administration. Fisher contends the school closure would push up class sizes and bring the district dangerously close to capacity in the remaining buildings.
“It’s less than one percent of the district’s budget,” Fisher said. “I’m saying it’s not worth it. You’re disrupting the entire elementary education model.”
Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yournorthhills/yournorthhillsmore/3040037-87/district-schools-board-closure-elementary-gualtieri-peebles-allegheny-close-closing#ixzz2Dp21Icfd
As presented to North Allegheny School District Board of School Directors on November 28, 2012.
[click here] Community Report 1
Based on current enrollment, closing a building would require the remaining buildings to operate at capacities that limit the district’s ability to manage class size and make the system dependent on spare classrooms. Under the new model, spare classrooms would be used as regular classrooms and “other spares,” such as faculty lounges and open group instructional spaces, would become potential classrooms. The rooms identified as “other spares” under the new model are not as conducive to learning as a regular classroom setting and displace programs integral to the elementary curriculum. This compromises the district’s ability to deliver excellence in education and equity across all schools.
The decision to close a school is contingent on a decline in student enrollment and relies on projections made in the Phase 2 Demographics and Feasibility Study (Phase 2 report) and projections made by the administration. The administration has a 13-year history of forecasting enrollment several hundred students below actual enrollment. The enrollment projections in the Phase 2 report are below the forecasts provided by the administration, the data used for population projections does not tie to governmental records, and there is a mathematical error in the demographic study that has a significant impact on conclusions related to future growth. Thus, both sources the district is relying on with respect to a decline in enrollment raise concern with respect to the accuracy of such projections. If current enrollment goes up, the district cannot reasonably accommodate additional students and faces spending more money than it saved from closing a building.
This report summarizes our concerns, observations, and evaluations in regards to the district’s ability to reasonably accommodate all elementary students in the remaining buildings without compromising the district’s successful elementary education model and curriculum.
At the last NA School board meeting, community members were urged to post questions to the NA Community blog to have their answers regarding school closing recommendations, the Phase 2 Feasibility report, capacity studies, cost savings, redistricting, etc answered in a public forum by the administration.
You’ll notice the last comments were from the end of September. Please let the administration know that you have questions, that you are concerned, and that you want answers!
There is a North Allegheny school board meeting on Wednesday, October 24th at 7pm at the Central Admin Offices that will cover information relevant to all elementary school parents. At this meeting, the district’s administration will provide an update on the Phase II Demographics and Feasibility Study and document their work
1) Building capacities,
2) Enrollment trends, and the
3) Current educational program.
The administration will also share their “modeling” criteria for different scenarios (e.g. closing an elementary school), communication, and next steps.
Elementary school parents are encouraged to attend so that they can hear first-hand the details of all proposals being considered by the administration and the school board.
You are invited to attend the Superintendent’s Coffee.
Attendance is not limited to NA parents– but is open to the entire community.
• Meet District Administrators.
• Hear an overview of key information for parents.
• Q & A will close the session.
Bradford Woods Elementary School • 41 Forest Road • Bradford Woods, PA 15015 • 724-935-5081
Please attend the September school board meeting. We need your support at Wednesday night’s (tomorrow) school board meeting.
The meeting will be held at the Central Admin Office, located inside of Carson Middle School, at 7pm. The address is 200 Hillvue Lane.
The representation we have there tomorrow night is critical! Please tell 3 people– and have them tell 3 people. We need to be accurately represented.
Many parents have signed up to speak regarding the recommendation to close Peebles Elementary, elementary class size, and our on-going request for the school board to appoint a committee of local residents including parents, financial professionals, teachers, and local leaders to find more appropriate solutions to district’s challenges.
Your attendance will speak volumes.
We cannot urge you enough to attend this meeting.
It is important that we demonstrate by our sheer numbers that we stand together as a community and that the Superintendent and the School Board are put on notice that the recommendation to close Peebles Elementary directly affects our children and our neighborhoods. The plan to close Peebles is in no way “a done deal”– and we can make a difference by our presence.(Parking will be tight that morning. You may want to plan to park at Memorial Park Church, and walk over to the school.)
save NA schools 