School Board Notes
The Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit Board of Directors held their regularly scheduled meeting on
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 7:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Henderson, Mr. Bovalino, Ms. Cook, Mr. Ross, Mr. Antonini, Mr. Carver, Ms.
Robbins and Mr. McGeehan
MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Angus, Ms. Aquino, Mr. Gilarno, Mr. Bufalini, Ms. Pennington and Mr. Long
OTHERS PRESENT: Dr. Rosendale, Ms. Weldon, Attorney Al Steff, Mrs. Wagner-Deitch, Mrs. Harmotto,
Mrs. Murtha, Mrs. Niedbala, Ms. Hicks, Mr. Huchko and Mrs. Ference
ACTION TAKEN:
1. The Board employed Miss Natalee Bufalini as the Swim/Health instructor at New Horizon
School. Miss Bufalini was the long-term substitute during the 2014-2015 school year.
2. The Board employed the following CPE course instructors for the Fall 2015 term:
Instructor's
Instructor
Address
Course
Fee
ST
Rick Roth
Glenshaw
21 Century Educator Essentials
$1950.00
“Apps” & iPads in the K-12 Classroom
1950.00
“Any Device” Technology Tools in K-12
1950.00
Rhonda & Michael Bradford Woods
Bielawski
Maggie Broderick
Pittsburgh
Maryann
Schneider
Colleen Anzio
Pittsburgh
Beaver
Addressing Learning Disabilities in
Education: Inclusive Practices
ADHD in Education: Inclusive Practices
A New Look at Working With Students With
Autism
Autism in Education: Inclusive Practices
“21st Century Education: Full STEAM
Ahead!”
Effective Strategies for Supported
Employment and Job Coaching
A-Z Guide on Positive Discipline-Solutions
for the Classroom Behavior Problems
ABC’s on Teaching Strategies for Pre-K-3
Active and Engaging Strategies for the
Inclusive Classroom
Achieving Excellence-14 Things That
Matter Most
$1950.00
1950.00
1950.00
1950.00
$1950.00
$650.00
$1950.00
$1950.00
$1950.00
$1950.00
3. The Board accepted the resignation of Mrs. Marianne LeDonne, Reading Specialist in the NonPublic School Program, effective July 31, 2015.
4. The Board approved a contract with the Beaver Area School District for shared counseling
services for the 2015-2016 school year.
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5. The Board took action and approved the lists for daily substitute teachers, teacher aides and
custodians for the 2015-2016 school year.
6. The Board moved to approve the request to submit the necessary budget forms to PDE to utilize
$333,700 as determined by the Office of Child Development and Learning for use in providing
Early Intervention services to students in Beaver County.
7. The following part-time position hourly and daily rates were approved for the 2015-2016 school
year:
Position
Substitute Teacher
Substitute Teacher Aide
Substitute Custodian
2014-2015
$85.00/day
$51.00/day
$11.25/hour
2015-2016
$85.00/day
$51.00/day
$11.25/hour
Increase
$0
$0
$0
8. The Board approved an unpaid leave for an employee through the first nine weeks of the 20152016 school year.
9. The Board employed Miss Hannah Oliver as the long-term substitute at New Horizon School through
the first nine weeks of the 2015-2016 school year and a permanent day-to-day substitute through the
second nine weeks of the 2015-2016 school year.
10. The Board approved the request to join the Executive Leadership Team for the March for
Babies to support their mission.
11. The Board renewed the contract with Catapult Learning, LLC to provide counseling services to
Quigley High School under Act 89 for the 2015-2016 school year.
12. The Board renewed the contract with Discovery Education to provide Beaver County School
Districts’ teachers access to the streaming video resource library.
13. The transportation contracts with Rhodes Transit, Inc. and Hopewell Area School District were
approved.
14. Due to the increase in instructional materials and fuel expenses, the districts will be invoiced $38 an
hour for ESL services, representing a $2.00 an hour increase in the hourly rate.
15. The Board authorized an increase in pay for the part time English as a Second Language
Teachers. They have not had a salary adjustment since 2013-2014 school year.
16. The Board accepted the resignation of Mr. Erik Kester, ESL Teacher, effective immediately.
17. The Board adopted Policies 700, 800 and 900 of the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit’s Policy
Manual. After review of Policy 810.1 by our Solicitor, the Board adopted the said Policy with the
recommended changes.
ADDENDUM ITEMS
18. The Board accepted the resignation of Miss Kinsey Gilbreath, receptionist, effective September
11, 2015.
19. The Board adopted the job description of the receptionist, which was revised to more
specifically reflect the duties and responsibilities of the role.
20. The part-time salary for a substitute receptionist was approved.
21. The Board approved the hiring of recent retirees as substitute receptionists, as needed during
the 2015-2016 school year.
CORRESPONDENCE
a. A letter from Mr. Alan Friedman, PA Cyber recognizing Mr. Dave Rodgers, BVIU TaC Staff
member.
b. An email from Ms. Karen Owens of Life Steps, recognizing Mrs. Lori Murtha and Mrs. Karen
Mathianas.
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AUGUST 26, 2015
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A.
Year in Review
The 2014-2015 school year was an extraordinary year of change. Our new TaC staff has done
a remarkable job of building positive relationships with our schools establishing a culture of
open-mindedness, expertise and trust. Other programs such as PIIC, Data Quality Network
(DQN) and ESL continue to thrive providing needed services across the county. We are
continually looking for ways to improve the level of service for our member districts and to
support this effort we designed the District Individualized Support Plan (DISP). The DISP is a
structured format that provides the district and the IU a mechanism to have a deep dialogue
around the services that are important to them, offer suggestions for improving programs and
initiate the development of new programs. 2015 marks the completion of a four-year long
process to upgrade the HVAC system at the New Horizon School and the completion of a twoyear long process of updating the BVIU Policy Manual. Additionally, the county-wide highspeed fiber optic network has been upgraded to support up to 10 gigs of throughput to our sister
intermediate units allowing our schools to increase our internet speeds from 250 megs to 2 gigs
at a substantially reduced cost. We, as an organization, realize, if we are going to be able to
compete in this contemporary setting we must be flexible, open to new ideas, and innovative.
To support this change and growth effort we call upon the expertise of our remarkable staff and
outside experts to provide professional development to all central office employees through our
Professional Development Days Series. With teamwork, dedication and hard work the BVIU
team is prepared to continue to serve the schools of Beaver County and we wish to thank you
for your support and direction as we move into the 2015-2016 school year.
B.
2015-2016 School Opening
The Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit school year began with two days of in-service for staff on
August 21 and 24, 2015. The first day for students was August 25, 2015. There are one
hundred fifteen (115) students enrolled at New Horizon School in fourteen (14) classrooms,
identified as such:
Life Skills Support – 7 classrooms
Multiple Disabilities Support – 6 classrooms
Emotional Support – 1 classroom
The BVIU also continues to operate an Autistic Support class located at Rochester Area School
District.
In addition to the classroom teachers, the classes are supported by twenty-nine (29) teacher
aides. Other professional staff includes a school nurse, a physical therapist, three (3) speech
therapists, a swimming teacher, a physical education teacher, a music teacher, a vocational
preparation teacher as well as a family and consumer science teacher. The BVIU contracts with
other agencies for the following services: occupational therapy, vision support services, and
counseling.
The Early Intervention program continues to grow. Currently four hundred seventy-two (472)
students are signed up for services. We have three (3) Early Intervention classrooms, all of
which are now located at New Horizon School. Each classroom employs a teacher and two
aides.
Other student services provided by itinerant staff are as follows:

1 Early Intervention Service Coordinator
BVIU BOARD NOTES #474
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AUGUST 26, 2015
1.5 Early Intervention Itinerant Teachers
9.5 Early Intervention Speech Therapists
2 Hearing Support Teachers
1 Audiologist
1 Non-Public School Learning Support/Reading Specialist
1 Non-Public School Speech Therapist
Furthermore, the programs are supported by a five-member Training and Consultation team.
C.
New Horizon Facility Update
The summer maintenance program at New Horizon School included the following items:
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Replaced 2 double doors in Gym 134 and Gym 172 – includes new school safety locks
Replaced 3 double insulated tempered classroom windows in rooms 163, 166, 167
Replaced 3 HVAC units in the office
Replaced 12 HVAC units in classrooms, music room, and gym 134
Replaced 1 tile floor in the men’s restroom
Installed wall padding in room 157
Seal coated newer pavement
D.
Insight Workforce Solutions
Insight is an educational staffing organization that has contacted the IU to see if they could
provide a better, more cost effective solution to our educational staffing needs. I have a
meeting with them to investigate what they have to offer. I will be discussing this with the
superintendents at this month’s SAC meeting.
E.
Source for Teachers/Mission One
Source for Teachers/Mission One is another educational staffing organization that has
contacted the IU to see if they could provide a better, more cost effective solution to our
educational staffing needs. I have a meeting with them to investigate what they have to offer. I
will be discussing this with the superintendents at this month’s SAC meeting.
F.
District Individualized Support Plan (DISP)
We are continually looking for ways to improve the level of service for our member districts. The
DISP is a structured format that provides the district a mechanism to have a deep dialogue
regarding the services that are important to them, offer suggestions for improving programs and
initiate the development of new programs. All districts are invited to participate in this process.
To schedule a DISP session have your superintendent contact Carla Ference (cbf@bviu.org).
G.
WAN Update
The PAIUnet 2.0 WAN move has been going well with little downtime. All districts have been cut
over to the new system as of 8/21/15. Billings for the two additional months of Expedient will be
going out to all the districts shortly. The Expedient connection is scheduled for termination on
September 1, 2015.
H.
FBI Pittsburgh Heroin Awareness and Prevention Initiative
I participated in the first meeting for the FBI Pittsburgh Heroin Awareness and Prevention
Initiative. The cross section of participants on the committee is impressive coming from the
offices of school of pharmacy, local law enforcement, medical examiner, media (TV and Radio),
and education. Their plan is to follow a three-pronged approach, a summary of its current form
is below:
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AUGUST 26, 2015
1-Engage Youth via PSA Video and Graphic Design contest (Grades 9-12; Teams of 3-5
Students; Fall Pilot)
2-Evolving Working Group (Continuous Youth Outreach throughout SWPA via offering
additional resources and materials for use in education and community groups)
3-Documentary and Educational Material Packaging (Sponsored by FBI Pittsburgh Citizens
Academy Alumni Association (501c3) currently submitting proposals to local Foundations,
Corporation, etc.) (For those interested, here is the link to the Human Trafficking: Pittsburgh
Fights Back documentary filmed a few years ago, during a similar joint venture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3PE77uEQ0U)
They have asked us to continue to look for other key stakeholders who would be a good fit for
the working group. If you have any names you would like to submit please send them to me
and I will pass them along. Additionally, if you or anyone on your staff has feedback or are
available to help support the initiative in anyway please let me know.
I.
Credit Recover Courses
The Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit held online credit recovery courses for 47 students in 4
local districts this summer.
J.
Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Committee
The committee decided to hold the Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Day in the fall every
two years for grades 10-12. In the off years they plan to connect with the Junior High grades by
hosting a STEM event in the spring and are looking to partner with Junior Achievement. The
committee would also like to sponsor student focus groups within local school districts to gain
feedback and ideas for improvements for the events. The Chamber will be sending letters of
commitment to the districts for the purpose of reinforcing their participation with Energy and
Advanced Manufacturing Day events. There also might be an offering on County-wide InService Day for teachers to tour local STEM businesses.
K.
PSBA Voting Delegate
The governing body boards of all member school entities are entitled to appoint voting
delegates to participate in the PSBA Delegate Assembly to be held on Tuesday, Oct. 13,
2015. It is important that school boards act soon to appoint its delegate or delegates, and to
notify PSBA of the appointment.
Voting members of the Delegate Assembly will:
Consider and act upon proposed changes to the PSBA Bylaws.
Receive reports from the PSBA president, executive director and treasurer.
Receive the results of the election for officers and at-large representatives. (Voting upon
candidates by school boards and electronic submission of each board’s votes will occur during
the month of September 2015.)
Consider proposals recommended by the PSBA Platform Committee and adopt the legislative
platform for the coming year.
Conduct other Association business as required or permitted in the Bylaws, policies or a duly
adopted order of business.
1.
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3.
4.
5.
L.
Dates to Remember
August
27 – Beaver County CTC Joint Committee Meeting – 7:30 PM – Conference Room
BVIU BOARD NOTES #474
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AUGUST 26, 2015
September
7 – Labor Day – BVIU Administrative Offices closed
23 – BVIU Board of Directors’ Meeting – 7:30 PM, Conference Room 211
24 – Beaver County CTC Joint Committee Meeting – 7:30 PM – Conference Room
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS – Administrative Reports were provided for Board review.
SOLICITOR’S REPORT – Nothing to report.
OTHER BUSINESS - NONE
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Eric G. Rosendale
Executive Director
EGR/cbf