Agenda 2022-01-10
York Suburban Board Of School Directors
Planning Committee Meeting
January 10, 2022 – 7 p.m.
York Suburban High School – Cafeteria
A G E N D A
- General Business
- Call to Order – Mr. Posenau, Board President
- Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
- Roll Call
- A reminder to please silence your cell phone during the meeting.
- Public Comments
- All comments and questions will be addressed to the President. Board and staff members will not normally respond to comments or questions during the meeting unless recognized by the President for this purpose. Comments will be limited, at the discretion of the President, to five minutes or less.
- Discussion and Action on Board Minutes
- Approval of the minutes for the regular monthly meeting held on December 20, 2021. [Approval as submitted/corrected]
- Call to Order – Mr. Posenau, Board President
- Board President’s Report – Mr. Posenau
- Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Williams
- Pandemic Update – Mrs. Sherry Campbell
- Administrative Recommendation to the 2021-22 Health and Safety Plan
- The following item is presented for discussion today, January 10, 2022, and for voting on January 24, 2022.
- The Administration recommends Board approval of the overnight field trip requests from Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America and Model United Nations.
- The Administration recommends Board approval of the following representatives to serve on the York County School of Technology Joint Operating Committee. The three-year term will retroactively begin on January 1, 2022, and last through December 31, 2024. If these individuals forego reelection or do not secure reelection to the YSSD Board of School Directors in 2023, their term on the York County School of Technology Joint Operating Committee will conclude on December 4, 2023. [Motion; Discussion; Roll Call Vote]
- Lois Ann Schroeder, Representative
- John Posenau, Alternate
- The Administration recommends Board approval of the 2022 proposed committee meeting schedule. [Motion; Discussion; Roll Call Vote]
- Business Office Report – Mrs. Ciaciulli
- The following items are presented for discussion today, January 10, 2022, and for voting on January 24, 2022.
- The Administration recommends the Board approve the Educational Services Agreement with the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 to provide professional development training as required by the Title III grant. The services will not exceed $ 2,000 and will be funded through the Director of Elementary Services budget.
- The Administration recommends the Board deny the request to waive the tax penalty fee on parcel #48-000-26-0042.00-00000 in the amount of $431.25.
- The Administration recommends the Board approve the 2022 IRS mileage of 58.5 cents per mile effective January 1, 2022, as required by Board Policy 331- Job-Related Expenses.
- The following items are presented for discussion today, January 10, 2022, and for voting on January 24, 2022.
- Student Board Representative Report – Neave Casey
- Committee Reports – Mr. Posenau
- Personnel Committee Report – Mr. Robinson
- Consent Agenda: [You have before you the Personnel Report. Would any Board member like any of these items considered separately or are there any questions on any of these items? If not, the chair moves approval of the below-mentioned items [Roll Call Vote]
- Employment
- Recommend the Board approve the appointment of Sarah Watson as Part-Time Paraprofessional at East York Elementary School, effective January 3, 2022, with an hourly rate of $13.00 plus benefits in accordance with the 2021-22 YSESPA agreement.
- Retirements
- Recommend the Board accept the retirement of Nancy Karkoska, Teacher at York Suburban Middle School, effective at the close of the 2021-22 school year. Mrs. Karkoska is retiring after serving 33 years in education, 16 years with York Suburban School District.
- Recommend the Board accept the retirement of Leslie Goodhart, Guidance Counselor at York Suburban Middle School, effective at the close of the 2021-22 school year. Ms. Goodhart is retiring after serving 30 years in education, 23 years with York Suburban School District.
- Recommend the Board accept the retirement of Thomas Guerin, Teacher at York Suburban High School, effective October 3, 2022. Mr. Guerin is retiring after serving 32 years in education, 28 with York Suburban School District.
- Recommend the Board accept the retirement of Suzann Pranaitis, Guidance Counselor at York Suburban High School, effective June 30, 2022. Ms. Pranaitis is retiring after serving 33 years in education, with 24 years at York Suburban School District.
- Recommend the Board accept the retirement of Amy Loughran, Teacher at York Suburban High School, effective at the close of the 2021-22 school year. Ms. Loughran is retiring after serving 38 years in education, with 36 at York Suburban School District.
- Leaves of Absence
- Recommend the approval of the FMLA request for Ashley Jayne, Teacher at the High School, effective on or around March 13, 2022, for maternity leave.
- Recommend the approval of the FMLA request for Tammy Stehr, Teacher at the Middle School, effective December 15, 2021, through January 12, 2022.
- Recommend the approval of the FMLA request for Melinda Wise, Teacher at Valley View Elementary School, effective January 5, 2022.
- Substitutes
- Recommend approval of the following STS substitute teachers.
- Alan Goldkind
- Recommend approval of the following STS substitute teachers.
- Employment
- Consent Agenda: [You have before you the Personnel Report. Would any Board member like any of these items considered separately or are there any questions on any of these items? If not, the chair moves approval of the below-mentioned items [Roll Call Vote]
- Additional Committee Reports
- Personnel Committee Report – Mr. Robinson
- Legislative Update – Mr. Robinson
- Lincoln Intermediate Unit Report
- The highlights are presented from the meeting on January 4, 2022.
- LIU Joint Operating Authority Report – Mrs. Freireich
- York Adams Academy Report – Mrs. Freireich
- The highlights are presented from the meeting on December 14, 2021.
- York Adams Tax Bureau Report – Mrs. Ciaciulli
- York County School of Technology Report – Mrs. Schroeder
- Recognition of Visitors
- Upcoming Events
- Board Meeting & Committee Meeting Schedules
- Public Comments
- All comments and questions will be addressed to the President. Board and staff members will not normally respond to comments or questions during the meeting unless recognized by the President for this purpose. Comments will be limited, at the discretion of the President, to five minutes or less.
- Adjournment
Submit a Public Comment
Public comments for this meeting may be made in person or submitted electronically using the form at the bottom of this page. Electronic correspondence submitted using a method other than the form on this page will not be considered public comment.
Form submissions will be shown below and automatically shared with the Board of School Directors for its members to read and consider. Submissions will also be included in the meeting’s minutes, but they will not be read aloud at the meeting or shown on screen unless it is necessary to do so in order to accommodate a disability.
Comments submitted after 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the day of a Board meeting might not be seen by all Board members prior to action being taken on agenda-related items. However, they will still be reviewed and considered after the fact. We encourage all comments to be submitted as early as possible to avoid this scenario.
York Suburban School District does not moderate electronically submitted public comments prior to them appearing on this page. However, the District reserves the right to remove any comments that are egregiously offensive.
660 Cortleigh Drive 17402
I am the parent of a YSHS student. I support Dr. Williams’ request for universal masking in all YSSD buildings until the seven-day rolling average of new cases in York County drops below 400 for seven consecutive days, as per data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Universal masking will help preserve in-person learning. A return to virtual learning will be detrimental to students as well as the families in our district who cannot afford to stay home with their children. We must do everything we can to keep children in school, while slowing the spread of COVID-19.
We cannot measure the risk of COVID-19 solely by the number of deaths in our communities. We need to use as our guideline its risk to the functionality of our community, the emotional well-being of our students, and the economic well-being of their families.
I work in public health, and I cannot think of one valid reason to deny Dr. Williams’ request.
Thank you.
531 Phillips Drive, Magnolia, DE
Dr. Williams and Board Members,
The proposed change to the Health and Safety Plan is an example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy: the exponential rise of cases in York County followed a switch to optional mask wearing at YSSD, and staffing issues occurred following a rise in cases above a 7 day rolling average of 400/day, ergo those factors must be why we are here. Association and coincidence do not equal causation, yet that is the flawed conclusion that forms the basis for the proposed changes. For almost two years now, we have seen arbitrary categorizations of COVID case levels rendered meaningless again and again. The latest example is the CDC’s current “low, medium, high, substantial” categories. As of last week, every county in the country is in the “substantial” category, many of which by one or two orders of magnitude. The recent surge in COVID cases among students and staff are not simply because masks have been optional for the last month. It is a function of disease prevalence and the increased amount of testing that has gone alone with it, the increased contagiousness of the omicron variant, and all the personal interactions that occurred over the holidays.
I continue to maintain that parents and students making their own decisions regarding what measures to use for mitigating their own personal risk of COVID is the best policy. It’s the most flexible and adaptable policy as facts on the ground change. Policies based on random metrics and logical fallacies are rigid, inflexible, unresponsive to individual circumstances, and stoke the very controversies several members of the Board and Administration have voiced they are tired of dealing with the past two years. So, since the sentiment is that we have to wade into this again, here are some questions that I would like to see addressed by the Board and Administration during the discussion before a final decision is made:
1. What is your plan if cases and staffing issues worsen despite required mask use?
2. If you continue to have staffing issues once cases fall below the 400 per day threshold for 7 days, will you still allow for a return to optional masking?
3. If your staffing and student absentee levels no longer pose a problem, but cases remain above the 400 per day threshold, will you continue to require masking?
1255 Wyndham Dr
I am concerned that we are allowing another discussion regarding masks with so many more important issues within the district. Masking is already optional which is totally sufficient. The mask crowd needs to understand that they cannot overreach into others private lives and decisions. Those who want to wear masks are allowed and those who do not are also allowed. This is the only true and correct decision to implement. I’m sure the maskers would keel over if you were being asked to make masking unacceptable in our schools! Why should they think I’m ok with them making it mandatory for my family? We have to stop the overreach and realize that we are capable of making our own decisions. The school board does not need to make it for us. The human body is an awesome machine and needs to be able to function as God intended. Masking our children daily for hours, masking them for exercise does not enable their body to fight off germs. You are only hurting them mentally, but physically. Stick with the current plan and do not fall victim to the ongoing war on the return to normal! No mandatory masking now, or ever. It is time to move on and do the true job of educating tomorrows leaders!!
Dr. Williams, my family and I were pleased to hear the recommendation to reconsider masking in the schools during the outbreak of the pandemic.
Everyone in the community wants our children (and families) to be safe. And parents have previously stated the desire/benefit of in-person education, myself included. Masking and distancing are the most effective deterrents to minimizing outbreaks of Covid within our schools while maintaining in-person instruction. This is particularly true given the relatively low levels of vaccination in York County and the ability of the omnicron variant to produce breakthrough infections. As your December letter outlined, we should be taking as many steps as possible to maintain in-person instruction. Masking was notably absent from this letter. So we were pleased to receive notification that you would be recommending re-instituting the mask mandate so long as case counts remain elevated.
I would urge the Board to accept the re-institution of the mask mandate. Given the rapidly rising case counts in schools, masking is necessary to provide a safe learning environment for our children AND to maintain in-person instruction. Many of those who argue against the mask mandate are the same as those who argued for in-person instruction at the beginning of the pandemic. To me, we cannot have both. Do you want no masks? Or, do you want in-person instruction?
316 Pinehurst Rd
Good evening, board members. Thank you to Dr. Williams for taking the step to allow the board to modify the health and safety plan to provide the best chance for staff and students to remain healthy enough to keep schools open. There is a growing body of research about the impacts of school closures and this ensuing chaos on the mental health of all of us, but especially our children. If mandatory mask wearing may help to mitigate disease transmission, why not include it again as part of the plan until the number of families with illness becomes lower? I think any mitigation strategy that can be implemented should be put into place in order to keep children and staff safe, in school, and having the most structured and continuous learning environment. Thanks again for your time and consideration.
316 Pinehurst Rd
Honestly I would like people to wear masks always because it provides safety from the virus.
In my classes I am always paranoid about all the germs just flying around.😰😰
Also with the cases going up it would be in everyone’s best interest to make masks needed again.
No one wants an outbreak.😷 🙂
Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please make us wear masks again.
1028 Hill St
I am pleased to see that we are moving towards a recommendation to wear masks when our local covid numbers are high. Hooray!
We are rather late on moving on this, but I am happy to see us moving in the right direction. I agree with the letter stating that some will not agree will this and some will not think it’s enough. I know we will never make everyone happy, but I do hope that we can keep everyone as safe as possible.
We should do a little more with distancing to further improve the plan. Can we address things like indoor gym class, crowded hallways, classroom and lunch seating, and can we please put a hold on assemblies for now?
It is unrealistic to have everyone wearing true N95s. They aren’t easy to wear for an entire day and they have to be fit tested. I think we should include verbiage in the recommendation that includes requiring masks be well fitting and worn properly, with actions to be taken for those who repetitively fail to do so or who blatantly refuse. I also want to be sure we consider how medical quality surgical masks are much more effective than fabric masks. The even weave of fabric masks leaves a grid of holes that are easier for tiny virus carrying droplets to pass through where a surgical mask has a chaotic pattern in multiple layers creating a better barrier. Surgical masks have a static/magnetic like ability to attract and trap those same tiny droplets. Requiring properly worn surgical masks could be very helpful in keeping our covid absences down. Surgical masks would not be unreasonable for the district to help supply to those who may need assistance getting them. You may find that some parents would be willing to donate a box or perhaps smaller packages to the classrooms the way we normally donate tissues and hand sanitizer. I know I would.
I hope we can create a safe environment for our students and staff and that I can feel comfortable sending my son back to school for in person learning.
Thank you for listening, and thank you for all you do.
850 Upland Road
Good evening Dr. Williams and board members. Thank you again for all that you continue to do for our children and for your time and consideration this evening.
As a doctor in the Emergency Room at York hospital and Suburban parent, I am happy to see the board reconsidering the health and safety plan.
Like Dr. Williams said in his email on Friday, some will think the proposed masking policy is too harsh and some will think it’s too lenient. I am of the latter belief.
Last month I left public comment explaining why masks should not be optional until the CDC guidelines for schools say it is safe to do so. The current school district quarantine policy is unsafe as it was based on both the infected and exposed being masked and no one knows which children in the school are masked and which are not. Secondly basing this on vaccine availability is unreliable and unsafe. How many children are vaccinated in Suburban? No one knows.
At York hospital we recently hit our “record” for most number of covid positive hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic. What should be even more concerning is the number of pediatric hospitalizations that are occurring during this most recent surge. That could easily be any of our children.
Tracking number of new cases each day and basing masking off of this while better than the current health and safety plan is not practical or the safest. The incubation period for covid is 2-14 days so even if new cases are under 400/day for 7 days, if masks are optional at that point, it allows potential infected students to come to school maskless and continue to spread the virus.
It is mandatory for anyone entering a health care facility (lab, doctors office, hospital) to wear a mask because it’s a public safety risk not to. Our PUBLIC school should be no different. No patient or visitor complains about this policy because they are seeking a service. We as parents are seeking a service at YSSD of safe education. Until the cdc modifies their school recommendations across the country and deems it safe to have masks optional, regardless of vaccine availability or number of new cases daily in York county, they should be mandatory.
Thank you for your time and consideration regarding this matter.