School Board Recognition

1. Spring-Ford
B OA R D N O T E S
Spring-Ford Area School District
857 South Lewis Road, Royersford, PA 19468-2711
September 2010
610-705-6000
www.spring-ford.net
Renovation/Addition Project at 10-12 Center Coming to a Close;
Work to Begin on 9th Grade Center Parking Lot
The renovation
and addition
project at SpringFord’s 10-12
Center is nearly
finished, and both
School Board
members and
Superintendent
Dr. Marsha Hurda
expressed their
thanks at the Sept. 20th meeting to the employees who worked
hard to get the building ready for the first day of school.
The project began last year to add on a new classroom wing,
two art classrooms, three computer labs, six science rooms,
a new faculty dining room and a large group instruction
room. Renovations were also made to the lobby, existing
media center, administrative offices, family and consumer
science classrooms, and the cafeteria so they can better
accommodate students. Dr. Hurda, who helped direct student
traffic in the cafeteria during the first days of school, said the
changes have helped tremendously with student flow.
various aspects of the project, and it is anticipated that
construction will be complete by mid-November.
As part of the same project, work is continuing at the 9th
Grade Center parking lot to address safety concerns during
arrival and dismissal times. On Sept. 27th, the School Board
awarded a contract to Drum Construction to carry out the
parking lot modification and bus lane improvement project
at a cost not to exceed $170,303.70.
This project will change the configuration of the front parking
lot at the 9th Grade Center so that there are separate areas
for car traffic and bus traffic. Currently, parents dropping
students off are intermingling with buses dropping students
off – a situation which creates back-ups and safety hazards as
students walk between buses to get into the building.
“This all generated out of concern for student safety,” said
Dr. Hurda. “There’s not enough room. It’s a hazardous situation.”
The project should take about a month to complete once
construction begins.
“We can serve over 600 students in under 12 minutes in the
new cafeteria,” she said.
The $22.1 million project will help address the high school’s
growing enrollment, which is projected to hit 1,700 students
this year. Work will continue throughout the fall to wrap up
Board Committees to Refine District Goals
Spring-Ford Area School Board’s committees will spend the
next month fine-tuning plans for student achievement, facility
improvement, community engagement and financial management so that a final list of district goals can be approved in
October.
School Board President Joseph Ciresi asked Board members
to contribute suggestions or additions to the draft list of goals
that had been established in February. At the Sept. 27th meeting, Board members reviewed the compiled list and compared
the goals with those set forth by the superintendent and the
district’s strategic plan.
“We never went back and defined these. They are at a lofty
level and now we need to take each one of these and say,
‘What do they really mean?’” said Vice President Thomas
DiBello.
The goals include:
v Increasing recognition of the high school on an academic
level by expanding curriculum offerings
v Expanding the number of seats and access to Virtual High
School
v Improving academic achievement by measuring PSSA,
SAT and other test scores
v Expanding extra-curricular offerings starting in fifth grade
v Expanded community engagement through partnerships
with the business community and seeking community input
on various issues
v Enhanced communication with local taxpayers regarding
unfunded mandates
(continued on back)
Not able to get to the Board meeting in person? Tune into RCTV-Comcast Channel 969 or Verizon Fios Channel 44,
where work sessions and meetings are broadcast monthly. For a channel schedule, visit www.spring-ford.net.

2. Board Committees to Refine District Goals (continued from front)
v Improving indoor air quality
v Establishing in-service/workshop opportunities for Board
members
Superintendent Dr. Marsha Hurda said she would like to see
enrollment growth added to the list of goals. The recent high
school renovation and addition has helped address large
student populations at the secondary level, she pointed out
that some large classes are coming through the district’s
elementary schools and will need to be accommodated at
the middle school level.
Mr. DiBello said he would like to see technology goals added
to the list, while Board member Edward Dressler suggested
improving communication between the School Board and
the district’s various parent groups, as well as with teachers.
Board members agreed to take the draft goals back to the
committee level, where they will be further defined. In addition, the committees will identify measurements that can be
used to gauge the district’s progress toward the stated goal.
Spring-Ford’s Golden Rams to March in Philly’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Spring-Ford Area High School’s Golden Ram Marching
Band has been selected to perform in the Channel 6 ABC/IKEA
Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia again this year.
and will be paid for by participants. The Music Association
will provide fundraisers to help students earn money toward
the trip.
The School Board approved John Eckstine, Director, to take
the group of students and stay overnight in Philadelphia from
Nov. 24th to Nov. 25th. An overnight stay in Philadelphia
prior to the parade is required of all performers. The cost of the
trip shall not exceed $200 per student or $210 per chaperone
This is the second year in a row that the Golden Rams will be
performing in Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The
Spring-Ford Middle School Band will perform at the annual
Thanksgiving Day football game held in the district, said
Superintendent Dr. Marsha Hurda.
School Board Votes Down Second Attempt to Approve Easement
A majority of Spring-Ford Area School Board members
rejected a motion to approve an easement that would enable
the district to build an additional entrance to the 10-12 Center
in September.
This is the second time that the easement agreement has
been turned down by a majority of members. The Board first
voted on the issue in August to secure the easement, which is
needed if the district is to construct an entrance from Walnut
Street leading to the 10-12 Center. The secondary entrance was
proposed initially as a way to alleviate traffic on Lewis Road
when students arrive and are dismissed from high school.
Board members, however, decided not to pursue the easement
agreement after residents voiced concerns that the proposed
entrance would negatively affect Fernwood Cemetery.
In meetings following the August vote, School Board members
Donna Williams and Mark Dehnert pointed out that a significant amount of time and money has already been put into
securing the paperwork and approvals for the easement. They
questioned whether it wouldn’t be prudent to approve the
School Board Initiates Process
to Refund Bonds
Spring-Ford Area School Board members are hoping to
save over $430,000 by refunding bonds and authorized the
district’s financial consultant, Boenning and Scattergood,
at the Sept. 20th work session to oversee the effort.
The Board passed a resolution that gives the consultant
and administration the authority needed to begin the process
of issuing bonds that would be used to refinance or refund
various outstanding obligations of the school district.
Solicitor Marc Davis noted that the resolution does not
bind the Board to any actions and that the district’s financial
consultant would make a presentation to the members prior
to any bond sale. That presentation may take place at the
end of October, according to Mr. Davis.
easement agreement so the district would have it in the event
that the developer owning the property eventually decides to
build a road.
“Approving the easement doesn’t commit us to anything,”
said Mr. Dehnert at the Sept. 27th meeting. “Are we just going
to spend the money for nothing?”
Board Vice President Thomas DiBello said confusion exists
around whether or not a road has actually been planned for
that area, and called for consultation with Limerick Township.
“We need to have a meeting with the township because
there seems to be a lot of different information out there.
Somewhere in the middle is what we should do, and we need
to find that,” he said.
Mr. Dehnert made a motion to accept the easement agreement
as proposed, but it did not pass. As an alternative, the Board
agreed to have Solicitor Marc Davis talk with both the developer who is granting the easement and Limerick Township to
clarify various details before making any further decisions.
In Other Business
In other business at the Sept. 27th meeting, the Spring-Ford
Area School Board:
v Authorized the administration to seek bids to replace the
Royersford Elementary School chiller. Costs are not to exceed
$200,000, with a majority of the installation to be completed
in-house.
v Approved the construction of a field irrigation system by
the Spring-Ford Rams Youth Football (SFRYF) organization.
All costs will be paid by the SFRYF.
The next Spring-Ford Area School Board work session will be held
Monday, Oct. 18th. The next regular Board meeting will be held on
Monday, Oct. 25th. Both meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the
cafeteria of the 10-12 Center.