BY TOM FONTANA
Correspondent

Mountain View schools have shown minimal growth in academics based on state testing on the elementary and high school levels.

These results, comparing the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, were presented to the district directors by acting superintendent Karen Voigt at the board meeting Monday night, March 9.

Academic ratings in the current Pennsylvania Dept. of Education School Performance Profile (SPP) are color coded, with the highest rating (100%) represented as a dark blue box, 90-100% as a dark blue triangle, 80-89.9 a light blue triangle, 70-79.9% a green box, 60-69.9% as a yellow triangle, and below 60% a red triangle.

For the 2012-13 school year, Mt. View Jr. Sr. High School rated at 71.1 (green box); for 2013-14, it increased to 71.8, still a green box. The elementary school earned a 70.3 (green box) for the 2012-13 period, showing growth at 72.8 for the 2013-14 school year.

Voigt pointed out that math and science showed academic growth for the elementary school between the two school years.

“This is encouraging,” Voigt said. “Even though we only went up a few percentage points, we must be doing something right.”

However, the district showed severe weakness in writing and reading skills at both the elementary and secondary levels, earning a red triangle in the writing category.

It was suggested that part of the problem is the intensity of the writing portion of the Keystone tests, and that students have not taken that section of the test seriously enough. But it was pointed out that passing the Keystones is now a requirement for graduation, and that may cause sophomore students to be more diligent during the testing.

Voigt indicated that the one area where the district is meeting state standards is in attendance.

“Our attendance score is about 93 percent for both schools,” she said. “The state wants 90 percent. So our kids do come to school. We just have to do a better job of working with them while they’re here.”

Results of the SPP can be found online at: paschoolperformance.org.

Budget proposals for the 2015-16 school year were presented to the board by James Soya, district director of information technology, and Robert Taylor, director of maintenance.

Soya suggested a major increase in funds for outdated computer-related technology, from a budgeted $10,000 for 2014-15 to over $90,000 for 2015-16.

“It’s time to upgrade,” he said. “Most of our equipment is at least eight years old, and software we use is outdated. What our students use at home looks like nothing we have in our schools.”

One specific equipment request was the purchase of 30 laptop computers. “This year the high school ran out of laptops for students to use,” Soya stated.

In his proposed site budget, Taylor suggested the need for general increases in funds for snow plowing service and wood fuel. “I’m anticipating that the fees for those will go up next year,” he told the board.

Taylor also presented a ‘wish list’ of items he considers long overdue, and ones he has included in past proposed budgets.

One was a complete repaving of the elementary school parking lot, which would include removing, or milling, past layers of paving.

“There are so many layers on it,” Taylor explained, “that the lot isn’t pitched right for proper drainage, causing puddles and flooding. This winter has taken such a toll that I’ve never seen such heaving of the pavement.”

He estimated the cost for milling and repaving at $100,000.

“I think it will cost at least twice that much,” board director Michael Barhite stated.

Among other budget wishes, Taylor listed repositioning the light poles in the elementary lot ($50,000), renovating the high school ball fields with artificial turf ($250,000), and fixing the rising-and-falling hump in the elementary school lobby floor ($45,000).

Taylor’s urging the replacement of the district’s eight-seat passenger van was strongly supported by district music teacher Kevin Haugland, who has used the van to transport students to music events.

“There is definitely a safety issue with the van,” Haugland told the board. “We’ve had a couple of close calls with it. I wouldn’t want our student to get stranded on a trip. The van is very scary to use.”

Although Taylor said the high school is in desperate need of storage space for sports equipment as the current storage trailers at the athletic field are in poor condition, he wants to hold off using any of the $125,000 currently in the maintenance budget.

“I could get an excellent storage container right now for about $4,000,” he said. “But you never know what might happen before the end of the school year, and we might need that money for something else.”

The board accepted the resignations at the end of the 2014-15 school year of elementary school teachers Anne Bode, Scott Fisher, Marilyn Jackson, and Janet Karhnak.