By Alixandria Wells-Good
Contributing writer
MECHANICSBURG – The Mechanicsburg School Board of Education met on Monday, Oct. 14 at Mechanicsburg Schools.
Board member Paul McMahill shared that Mechanicsburg currently is sending 21 students as juniors and 11 students as seniors to Ohio Hi-Point.
Board member Brian Forrest reported for the building and grounds committee. He stated that they’re looking to update a few things for the track and field area to better accommodate large meets.
Todd Boeck shared that he attended a recent small-school committee meeting where they were able to spend time at Richmond Heights, a small school that has an aviation program due to its close proximity to an airport. He shared other things of interest about the school they toured.
Superintendent Dr. Danielle Prohaska shared new procedures that the school will have to abide by due to Senate Bill 29 which regards education records and student data privacy.
Prohaska went on to say that specifics in this bill will soon require the school to notify parents “every time the district monitors a device for noncommercial education, such as instruction, technical support, or for necessary precaution or prevention in responding to threats of life or safety, the district is required to provide the parent with 72-hour written notice that they have accessed the device and which features and under which conditions.”
She went on to say that this could result in parents receiving something like five notices a day. The worry is that the onslaught of emails will prevent parents from seeing important updates being emailed from the school regarding other things. It is still unclear if this part of the bill can and will be modified to be more parent-friendly.
The principals from elementary, middle school, and high school presented information about their annual report cards. As a district, it was stated that Mechanicsburg Schools ranked 179th out of 607 districts. The overall rating for the district was 4 stars, which is out of 5 stars. Four stars is considered “exceeds state standards.” Different categories are considered for this rating including gap closing, achievement, graduation, early literacy, progress, and college/career/workforce/and military readiness. The middle school received a 5-star rating on its report card, and the high school received a 4-star rating.
Recommendations from the treasurer Scott Maruniak were approved by the board. This included approval of the nutritional standards annual report.
The board then approved various supplemental contracts, volunteers and non-teaching contracts.
The board then went into executive session to discuss the evaluation of the superintendent and treasurer.
The next board of education meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.
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