Amidst shouting and name-calling, board passes motion for new admin building
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Upset during public comment, Board Member Rick Fox turns his back to the speaker.
CALN – The Coatesville Area School District Board of Education voted to purchase the Citadel Building at a special meeting held at the 9/10 Center Tuesday night.
Costing $2,825,000, the building, located at 3030 Zinn Road in Thorndale, will serve as the administration building for the district as well as providing a location for the district’s healthcare program, which will be provided by Integrity Healthcare.
During two hours of public comment before the decision, taxpayers questioned the need for the building, many of them saying that the money could be better used to make repairs to existing buildings.
“I truly believe this money should be spent on fixing the buildings we send our children to every day,” said one resident.
In response, board members said that the rest of the $22 million of bond money will go toward other district facilities.
Board Member Joe Dunn said that the board should purchase the building immediately, as the district could save over $60,000 a month in healthcare costs once the building is in use, and savings could go up to $800,000 per year.
“It’s a great investment,” he said.
Dunn also said that the purchase was necessary, as none of the other district buildings will be able to accommodate a healthcare facility.
Much of the public comment was marred with shouting, accusations, and namecalling.
“It’s about time you realized you’re talking to adults,” yelled one audience member in response to Dunn’s tone.
Many in attendance were upset by the board’s unanimous decision after two hours of public comment opposing the purchase.
“You are just so out of tune with your constituency that it is astounding,” said one commenter. “I’m sure there’s something in it for you [Dunn].”
Dunn, who believed the commenter was suggesting that he would get money from the building purchase, responded with yelling.
“Say it! Say it, coward! Make the accusation! Say it, coward! Say it! You’re a coward!” he yelled. “Tell me what’s in it for me! Coward! You’re a punk!”
After the meeting, Dunn defended his reaction, saying that he thought his response was appropriate for a school board meeting.
The evening’s other major decision was to pass a resolution against Common Core.
Common Core is a set of regulations set forth by the federal government that establish standards and assessments to monitor student progress.
Like many districts across the country, Coatesville opposes Common Core. Tuesday night’s resolution called the standards “unproven” and “still in development”. The resolution also said that the standards “ignor[e] academic freedom, teacher autonomy, stifle creativity and innovation.”
Though the federal government has set Common Core as the national standard, the regulations have yet to go into practice, and many education professionals and advocates hope garner enough opposition that the standards will not go into practice.
The creation of the Parent/Administration Liaison Committee for the Coatesville Area School District was also announced on Tuesday. The committee will work to open lines of communication between the district and parents.
In news from within the classroom, Director of Elementary Education and Curriculum Instruction Jonette Marcus, along with Friendship Elementary Teacher Kimberly Stracinski updated the board and attendees on the progress of the Being a Writer program used in the elementary schools.
The program helps students develop writing skills while giving them the freedom to write what they want. Stracinski said that the program has been a huge success. One of her students would only write three sentences on the first day. A month later, she was happy to write a page and a half.
“They express their ideas. They’re not afraid to write. It creates a community of learners,” she said.
