Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Susquehanna, PA.
Saturday, September 19, 2015 was a day to celebrate for the Mormon faithful as the long awaited dedication of the Priesthood Restoration Site came to fruition. The dedication ceremony was held at the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oakland.
Mark Lusvardi spoke for a few moments at the beginning of the ceremony informing all in attendance that the chapel will be starting services on October 11th. The ceremony was very important to the Mormon congregation, and will be broadcast worldwide. Mr. Lusvardi stated the visitor’s center would be open every day of the week for information and tours. He expressed his thanks for the help of the government leaders, how grateful they are to all the local government and especially to PA State Representative Sandra Major who was in attendance. Mr. Lusvardi said he applauds all who were involved since they did an amazing job. He said the historic objects are vital to the preservation of their roots, and the new State Route 171 adds to the infrastructure of the sit, and is only one example of them successfully working together.
Elder Steven Snow, church historian and recorder was the next speaker, and he spoke for a few moments informing everyone how important this site is to the Latter Day Saint Movement. He spoke of the history, of how it was to live in Harmony in the 19th century and how Joseph Smith faced persecution. Elder Snow said anyone could come to find peace, tranquility and feel the Holy Spirit at this site. He is grateful that the members of the 12 leaders were able to be here from Salt Lake City to dedicate this historic site.
President Russell Nelson, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, told the story of Joseph and Emma Smith, how they met and fell in love. President Nelson weaved the story of Joseph and Emm, and the importance of the site to the faithful. Formally known as Harmony, Oakland is near the site where the Angel of John the Baptist visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It is where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptized each other in the Susquehanna River. The site is also where Joseph Smith received the priesthood, which is the power of God delegated to man on earth. It’s the location where Joseph and Emma lived for a time, and where Joseph translated most of the Book of Mormon. President Nelson said the restoration of the Lord’s Gospel unfolded here in this remote, peaceful location, and he is thankful for the tithing and donations that made this possible.
After the service in the church, Richard Turley and Reid Neilson, assistant church historians, spoke further on the importance of the site. There are two bronze statues that are smaller replications of the ones in Salt Lake City. One statute shows John the Baptist with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The other statute is the Apostles, Peter, James, and John with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Mr. Turley said there are only one half dozen sites that have significance to their church. He has been studying the history of this area for 45 years and it gives him the sense of presence being there.
Ken Cooper, the local church leader, and a member of the Scranton Stake Presidency who lives in Montrose, said the site has a personal significance to him. He said all 6 of their children were baptized in that river. Mr. Cooper feels that the dedication ceremony, and the site would help people learn more about their church’s history and clear up misconceptions that date back to the 1800’s.
Ken Cooper, local church leader
Sister Martinez and Sister Brown lead the guided tour down the trail, which led to several sites. The first site was a bridge, which goes into a grove of trees where people can find peace and tranquility. People can walk and meditate at this location. Further down the trail is a beautiful tunnel that takes you under Rt. 171 and to the reconstructed house of Joseph and Emma Smith. A little way further is Isaac Hale’s reconstructed home. Isaac Hale was Emma’s father and it is where she lived when she met Joseph Smith. Brother Mark, who joined us on this tour eloquently added many historical facts.
If you would like to see the Dedication of the Priesthood Restoration Site, it is available on-line at www.mormonnewsroom.org.
Susquehanna Community School Directors approved the District Substitute Personnel List for the 2015/2016 school year upon the recommendation of Superintendent Bronson Stone. That recommendation for approval came with notice that the District faces a potentially serious shortage, and an All Points Bulletin for new substitutes to serve. Qualifications for substitute teacher status are simple. If you have a four-year Bachelor’s degree and can pass the background checks, you’re eligible for “sub service.” Sub Hunters (SCSD Admin) can provide job candidates with more information and applications at the District’s Administrative Office during regular business hours.
Present for the Wednesday, September 16, meeting were President Steven Stanford and School Board Members Lori Canfield, Jason Chamberlain, Amanda Cook, Carol Jackson, Holly Kubus, Martha Stanford, and Clay Weaver. District Personnel present for the 40 minute meeting included Superintendent Stone, HS Principal Carmella Bullick, Business Manager Gary Kiernan, Special Education Director Joni Miller, Facilities Manager Kevin Price, and Union Representative Kathleen Hinkley.
Two statewide issues loom over every one of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts and neither of them could be ignored at this meeting. The Commonwealth remains without a 2016 Fiscal Year Budget. The General Assembly passed its budget on time, but Gov. Wolf vetoed it in its entirety. The Governor took this bold action despite the fact that the General Assembly gave him appropriations in the amount he requested (or slightly larger) for 65% of the line items in the budget. Notably, the Governor has line-item veto authority and could have vetoed only those items in dispute. The last time a Pennsylvania Governor vetoed a state budget in its entirety was 1976. In that case Milton Schapp vetoed another Republican General Assembly budget, but his veto was overridden.
Trivia aside, the current Republican General Assembly and Governor remain far apart on issues of taxes, pension reform, liquor privatization, and education funding. That last one is the issue of prime interest to school directors. Business Manager Kiernan noted that receipts from District taxpayers are coming in better than expected, which is important since the District receives no funding from the state while the budget impasse grinds on.
Moody’s Investor Services announced on September 10th that it was downgrading ratings for 181 of Pennsylvania’s school districts because of the deepening crisis. Many districts are taking on bank loans, drawing on lines of credit, or putting vendors off for as long as possible. SCSD is in the enviable position of being both debt free and having capital reserves to hold on (hopefully) until a state budget settlement is reached. Nevertheless, it is drawing down on Susky’s reserves. The state is already is in arrears to the District to the tune of $700,000 for transportation costs.
Besides the State’s budgetary/fiscal crisis, statewide testing standards have now been exposed as nothing short of scandalous. Superintendent Stone provided an example of how PSSA’s scores have been made essentially meaningless by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. His example was that of an 8th grade student who capably passed Keystone Exams (required of seniors for graduation), but received failing grades on his 8th grade PSSA Exams. What’s going on here? Standards and scoring of PSSAs were changed before that of the matching curriculum. The net result is that students who were previously superior performers are now labeled as failing under new PSSA testing criteria. PDE really does have the onus to provide a suitable explanation to parents. And quite surprisingly in a late-breaking development, when individual student PSSA scores arrived at the District’s Office on Thursday, September 17, PDE did include its own letter explaining the drop in scores.
The whole PSSA debacle has broad implications for individual school districts also. From information provided by the State, Superintendent Stone summarized, “Due to poor performance on the PSSA by students across the Commonwealth, PDE has decided not to give SPP [School Performance Profile] scores to schools that only administer the PSSA and not the Keystone Exams. Therefore, SPP scores will not be utilized in finalizing elementary teacher evaluations, but will be utilized in finalizing the evaluations of high school teachers.” At the local District level this means Elementary teachers DO have their completed evaluations, but high school teachers do not. Also, the High School will receive its SPP based upon Keystone Scores, not PSSA scores.
In news of interest to District taxpayers, state auditors have completed their review of District accounts and given them a clean bill of health. The District’s own independent auditing firm, Kelly & Associates, will be on campus in October to begin auditing of the 2014-2015 fiscal year. It also appears that District taxpayers will benefit from continuing low pricing in the only portion of electric billing that can be negotiated: energy generation & transmission. The District’s energy contract will be expiring on December 31, 2015, but KeyTex Energy has secured pricing that is lower that the District’s current price and the District can lock in for two years. The Board will vote on the District’s new electric contract at the October Board meeting.
In matters of facility management, the Board approved Hudak Waterproofing as the low bidder for the Retaining Wall Repairs to the High School, at a cost of $84,000. Meanwhile, work on the bell-tower was all but completed at the time of the Board’s meeting. A cap was pre-scheduled for placement on September 17, and there are plans to relocate the school bell under the football scoreboard. Mr. Price also announced that fence installation around the Pre-K playground has been completed.
Union Representative Kathleen Hinkley reported that she will also be stepping down as Union President at the end of her current term, ending 14 years in that leadership role. Union Treasurer Matt Misiura will also be stepping at the end of his term. Both felt it was time to give others an opportunity to serve in those leadership roles. Mrs. Hinkley also announced that the Union will be awarding a $3,000 scholarship to a graduating senior this school year.
The Board took action to approve the District’s long-awaited District Strategic Plan (DSP) for the 2016-2019 school years. The District has been formulating the Plan since January 2015. Superintendent Stone noted that after submission of the District’s previous DSP the State Department of Education took six months to provide feedback, so it may be awhile before the District hears anything this time.
Other actions taken by the Board included approval of the following:
- Seven policy revisions to the District’s Policy Manual (policies pre-screened and approved by PSBA).
- Student Assistance Program Agreement between TREHAB and SCSD for the 2015-2016 school year. (Note: these services are currently impacted due to no agreement on the State’s FY 2016 budget.)
- Assorted field trips, fundraisers, permissions for use of campus facilities during non-school hours, and permissions for conference/seminar/program participation by staff.
At 7:46 p.m. the Board adjourned until its October meeting on the third Wednesday of the month.
Susquehanna Community School District Board Directors took the following personnel actions during their regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept 16, 2015.
Approved the following teachers for tenure per “Public School Code of 1949:” Gina Gliniecki, Bridgette McKennas, and Lindsay Van Gorden.
Approved medical leave for Andrea Sanders, beginning November 16, 2015, and ending February 10, 2016.
Approved hiring, pending all appropriate clearances, of the following personnel: Will Szili - Archery Advisor; Jeannye Glidden & Katherine Edwards - Elementary After-school Program Teacher; Robin Glidden & Debra Stone - Elementary After-school Tutoring; Elizabeth Updyke & Matt Misiura - H.S. After-school Tutoring; Jennifer Rockwell - Substitute HS After-school Tutoring; Susan Crawford - Emergency Game Manager; Brent Soden - Scholastic Bowl Advisor; Wendy Roe - Part-time Food Service Worker; Charles Towner - Jr. High Boys Basketball Scorer; Gina Baker - Jr. High Girls Softball Coach; Kathleen Hinkley - Jr. High Girls Basketball Assistant Coach; Jack Beamer - Boys 5&6 Grade Basketball Coach; Sean Mangan - Varsity Football Clock; Travis Pregnar - Jr. High Football Clock; Will Szili & Robin Burdick - Track Helper; and Gary Day - Cross Country & Track Helper.
Approved, pending all appropriate clearances, the following Volunteers: Brandon Saddlemire - Jr. High Football Volunteer, and Paul Rooney - Varsity Football Volunteer.
Approved, pending all appropriate clearances, Beth Smith - Speech & Language Substitute, at a rate of $130/day for approximately 62 days.
NOTE TO READERS: The phrase “pending all appropriate clearances” is directly linked to state law, effective January 1, 2015, requiring a heightened level of investigative background checks for all volunteers, district employees, and contractors. “Appropriate clearances” are required upon commencement of volunteer/contractual association with the school district. It is not only government related background checks which are required, but also a check conducted by the school district with past employers of all candidates.
Act 15 of 2015 changed the requirements for clearances for employees and volunteers. Volunteers are considered volunteers if they have both supervision of students and routine interaction. Given that definition, single event field trip chaperones are no longer considered volunteers. Also Act 15 of 2015 requires employees and volunteers to have new clearances every five years instead of every three years.
