Morton pushes Springfield on name game
Borough wants name included in district moniker
SPRINGFIELD » The sole August board meeting had its traditional extremely light attendance. However, one speaker in the opening public comment period raised what is expected to be an ongoing issue.
Morton Borough Council member Robert McGrath, accompanied by council colleague Michelle Miller, said the municipality sent a letter to the school board in July and had not received a response. Morton is pushing the school district to include or incorporate the borough’s name in some capacity.
“We want you to take this seriously, and take it from the point of view of Morton residents,” said McGrath. He indicated borough residents feel less than fully represented as part of the school community with the exclusion of the name. “We want to make a (fuller) presentation to you in the future.”
School Board President Jennifer Lofland acknowledged receipt of the letter.
“The board is gathering information on the matter,” Lofland said.
Asked directly by McGrath if a presentation could be made, Lofland said the board will consider it, but offered no specific date.
The agenda included board approval for 12 special education agreements. The total for a variety of services to 32 students was just over $1 million. The contracts were not discussed in detail, and student identifications are confidential. Placements and services follow individual educations plans and are rarely if ever discretionary.
The school board moved on to contracts which advanced the high school master plan. Three separate proposals were approvals were given for additional architectural, engineering and traffic planning services which totaled $88,008. Schrader Group services are in preparation for zoning hearing and land development applications coming before township boards/commissions. Work includes landscape berm design, sports lighting analysis, Rolling Road entrance design and revisions to the overall plan. Traffic Planning and Design will provide additional studies and design, also to Plan B from which the district is working.
Director Doug Carney said the facilities committee is working through concerns raised at the township’s July Zoning Hearing Board meeting. The ZHB did not meet in August; the next session is scheduled for Sept. 28.
“I hope there are not new concerns that arise,” Carney said.
The district is expected to appear before the township’s planning commission scheduled for Oct. 5. The master plan was presented to planners in November 2016 and was denied for several dimensional and location issues. Plan B resulted from redesign and moving the high school building farther from the St. Francis property. In summer 2017, the district and St. Francis reached agreements on areas of concern, such as proximity and traffic circulation.
In other business, Human Resources Director Linda Bellace said all positions have been filled and ready for the start of school. There will be 33 new certified teachers on staff. One position has been added to the headcount overall from the previous year. Bellace said her office handled about 900 applications.