At the Gateway School Board meeting Jan. 26, the board unanimously voted, 9-0, to approve real estate assessment appeals involving high-priced commercial properties within Gateway’s taxing jurisdiction.
The board held an executive session before the meeting to consult with its real estate appeals counsel, Weiss Burkardt Kramer LLC, regarding legal strategy.
The board previously noted it was looking specifically at four properties currently assessed at $1 million — Walnut Ivanhoe Partners LP, Monroeville 2550 MP WRK7 LLC, Target Stores and Two Trees Global LLC.
The board also unanimously approved the district to apply for a Public School Facility Improvement grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for Dr. Cleveland Steward Elementary’s roof project in the amount of $1,287,750.
Supplementals
During the meeting, the board unanimously approved to revise items from the Sept. 23 meeting so Brooke Ruby and Olivia Garbett can serve as co-head coaches for the high school bocce team. The supplemental rate is $1,767.50 per coach.
The board also approved — 8-1, with Rick McIntyre voting no — 18 supplementals for sports coaches at the middle school and high school, totaling $63,310, as well as discretionary stipends of $1,200 for the winter play’s director and $800 for the set designer. The latter two are reimbursable from the musical budget.
Also, the board approved — again 8-1, with McIntyre voting no — school psychologist Jessica Dirsmith attending the National Association of School Psychologists conference in February at a rate of $912.
Policies
The board voted unanimously to approve 26 policies — such as discipline, bullying and extracurricular activities — to be put on display for 30 days. Board President Leslie McBride reiterated that the board was not approving the policies themselves, but just for their display.
Director Cheryl Boise noted that two other approved policies in a separate item — Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education and Social Media — should be revisited quarterly.
“We discussed that this is moving so fast,” Boise said, in regard to the rapid changes and advancements in AI technology.
Director John Ritter agreed with Boise, adding the board needs to “stay nimble and react to new developments” quickly.
In other news
Because of weather conditions, the Curriculum and Equity meeting, which was slated for Jan. 29, has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 5. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the administrative building.
In the wake of the Jan. 25 snowstorm that dropped nearly a foot of snow and brought extremely low wind-chill temperatures to the region, the district set Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 as Flexible Instruction Days. The move enabled snow removal efforts to continue at all of the schools.
Athletic Director Don Holl noted there are various reasons students have a Flexible Instruction Day, such as road conditions and temperature. He said just because the district is operating on an FID doesn’t necessarily mean there will not be a game or practice later in the day — for example, if temperatures rise and conditions improve.
Kindergarten registration opens online on Feb. 2. Children must be 5 on or before Aug. 31 to register for kindergarten.
