District cracking down on kids’ shots

Starting in the fall, there will be just a five-day window at the start of the school year for students to provide the proper paperwork. On the sixth day, those who do not comply will not be allowed to attend classes.

Avon Grove School District warns there will be less lenience for meeting immunization requirements.

PENN » The Avon Grove School District is warning parents that there will be less lenience when it comes to meeting immunization requirements before the start of school in the fall.

Revisions to district policy 203 on communicable diseases and immunizations, to comply with new state requirements, will tighten up the time span allowed for families to provide all the paperwork to the district for either proof of immunization or an acceptable waiver.

Starting in the fall, there will be just a five-day window at the start of the school year for students to provide the proper paperwork. On the sixth day, those who do not comply will not be allowed to attend classes.

“It’s a big change in how we do business,” Superintendent Christopher Marchese said at Thursday’s school board meeting.

A full list of immunizations required upon entry to school, as well as entering seventh and 12th grades is available on the district website at www.avongrove.org.

Good new for taxpayers is the slightly lower tax increase recommended by the finance committee. With a new total budget figure of $93,809,999, and using $5.3 million from the district’s fund balance the proposed tax rate increase is now 2.514 percent.

Property owners who are eligible for the homestead/farmstead tax relief will see a tax abatement of $328. This money is provided by the state and is generated through taxes on gambling proceeds.

For students and parents, the finance committee is also proposing a 15-cent increase to breakfast and lunch prices to bring them closer to federal guidelines.

The district is also paying less than estimated to switch from oil heat to natural gas, The gas pipelines are now in place, but the boilers must be converted. The $120,000 quote received for that work is well under the $155,000 estimate the district had been prepared for.

An additional expense of $6,471 comes along with a change order for the installation of modular classrooms at the Penn London Elementary School. The new space is needed for the shift to full day kindergarten starting in September. The change, required by the township, adds installation and removal of construction entrance mats and 260 feet of silt fence for sediment control during the project.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Board Member Jeffrey Billig left the board to speak from the audience under the concluding public comment section. He voiced his objection to the disqualification of the Avon Grove Boys Track 4 X 100 team from the District Championship meet at Coatesville because of a uniform violation. The team of Even Ambrose, Tyler Boyd, Aaron Jones and Jeff Billig had set a new school record time this year, and finished third in the Ches-Mont Championships, with a time that was the eighth fastest in the state. According to Billig, the team was disqualified because of a logo on one of the runner’s shorts that was not in compliance with the rules.

“I believe is was a ridiculous decision by PIAA officials,” Billig said, noting that the team had been approved to compete in the previous competitions this spring. He spoke before the board to mark the team’s accomplishments even thought they did not get to the next level. “If they would have advanced to the states, there would have been some recognition for them.”