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District taxpayers will be paying higher taxes. Non-instructional part-time employees will be working fewer hours, albeit, at an increased rate of pay. Returning teachers will find their number still dwindling as attrition continues. In another move to stay lean, a retiring maintenance employee will be replaced - by two part-time employees . . . without benefits. Principals Gerchman and Keyes, as well as Superintendent Stone will be stretched further each day by supervisory duties. Supervised teachers will find that they are not only supervised, but evaluated, through the “Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching.” Teachers - and students - will continue adapting to the essentially unfunded mandates of “Common Core” and the voluminous testing and data mining that accompanies them.

Such and much more, were the outcome of Susquehanna Community School District’s (SCSD) Director’s April 17, 2013 meeting. The board’s deliberation session on the previous evening provided rich background for the decisions agreed upon at the official meeting. Present for the April 17 meeting were Board President Steven Stanford, and members Jason Chamberlain, Amanda Cook, Evelyn Cottrell, Carol Jackson, Holly Kubus, Martha Stanford, and Clay Weaver. Board member Lori Canfield was absent.

The Hallstead Borough Council met on April 18th 2013 and jumped right in to the agenda items. After approving the meeting minutes from the March 21, 2013 meeting, the Council got right into the financial matters facing the Borough. The Treasurer's Report was submitted and approved and the bills for the month were presented for payment. With a review, the bills were approved for payment for a total of $8,479.86 for all expenses.

There were several items of Old Business that needed to be completed. Electric bids were acquired and work to the electric system at the ball field will commence as soon as it can be scheduled. Bids for the removal of several dead trees around the Borough were also presented. It was noted that several of the trees were in locations that would require temporary disruption of traffic and that permits would need to be acquired to block/redirect traffic in those locations. With that noted a contractor was selected, and further information will be available when the work is scheduled. With the weather being warmer, the Council discussed upcoming plans for some road work. There were concerns regarding several areas that ranged from the road being oiled to the surface needing to be regraded. Further information regarding specific roads is being sought, as well as information on products approved by PennDOT for the work.

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