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The Blue Ridge School Board welcomed a trio of new Elementary School teachers with a round of applause to at its meeting on May 6th. Their salaries and benefits will be part of a $23.8 million budget accepted by (a majority of) the Board for next year paid for in part by a 3.7% tax increase. All that and more nourished by one of Linda Cole-Koloski's famous chicken-and-rice soups.

As is their custom, Board members first recognized several student stand-outs nominated by their principals. Elementary School Principal Danelle Decker introduced her choices for 5th-grade Students of the Month, Hayley Gordon and Chase Jones. Ms. Gordon, a cheerleader, likes English and wants to become a physical therapist. Mr. Jones likes basketball and '80's movies.

High School Principal Casey Webster selected Ella Woosman as Senior of the Month for April. Ms. Woosman expects to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania to study nursing. Ms. Webster nominated Kendall Farthing and Carson Gallagher for Athletes of the Month for April. Each has a long list of activities at Blue Ridge including National Honor Society. Mr. Farthing will attend SUNY Broome, to later transfer to a 4-year college to study sports management. Ms. Gallagher will study financial economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus. Ms. Webster also selected chorister Jocelyn Frantz as Senior Artist of the Month for April. Ms. Frantz wants to pursue a degree in music education.

Administrators proceeded to outline updates to the several handbooks covering students, staff, athletics, "outside agencies," etc. Most of the changes are minor clarifications of language; a more significant change will prohibit the use of cell phones by middle-school students during the school day. Another change will bar disruptive spectators at athletic events from future attendance. The Facilities Committee received only one bid for upgrading the door systems; it was 3 times what was estimated, so the district will solicit more bids or try to negotiate a lower price.

The Board discussed the girls' soccer program at some length, with a cooperative arrangement with the Susquehanna Community School District the most likely outcome, since so far too few students have shown interest to field a team.

Matthew Nebzydoski, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Federal Programs, Safety and Security (and maybe a few other things), reported that a grant will pay for upgrades to the district's surveillance camera system. He said that another grant will pay for a licensed social worker for a "couple years." And he described a spiffy new system from a company called Critical Response Group that has mapped the entire school infrastructure to be made available to first responders for aid in case of emergencies; the $30,000 system will be paid for by a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Mr. Nebz also mentioned that a new district website will be coming soon.

Once they got around to it, the business agenda of 38 items was mostly passed with a single roll-call vote. A major exception was a "preliminary" budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The Board will formally adopt it in June, after the tax-paying public has a chance to review it.

The new budget projects total expenditures of $23,758,119. To help pay for it, property taxes will increase by 3.75 percent, to 53.494 mills (a mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed valuation). Details will become available on the district website soon. Three Board members voted against the new budget: Mindi Carr and Jessica Wright thought the tax increase was too severe; Heather Barbour opposed it on general principles.

Other items approved included:

• A request from Child Evangelism Fellowship of Susquehanna County, Inc. for release time for religious instruction;
  
  
• A contract with Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit for software services for the next school year;  CSIU provides accounting, human resources and payroll computer services; another agreement was approved with Government Software Services of Honesdale for printing tax bills;
  
  
• An extended school year (ESY) program for this July for special education students;
  
  
• Three funds depositories: Peoples Security Bank & Trust, PNC Institutional Investments and First National Bank;
  
  
• Christina Cosmello will continue as Board treasurer with a stipend of $1,500; she and the Board secretary will each be bonded at $15,000; she will also continue, with Jessica Wright, as the Board's voting delegates at the annual conference in November of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA);
  
  
• The popular summer food service program subsidized by the US Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Department of Education will return this year;
  
  
• Brian Stout of the Empire Insurance Agency will continue as "Agent of Record" for district insurance for the new fiscal year;
  
  
• Funding from the capital reserve will be applied to renovations of the computer server room, flooring in the guidance suite, some HVAC "contingencies" (fixing leaks), and some athletic equipment;
  
  
• Accepted a bid from Deer Park Lumber for wood chips (for heating) at $58 per ton;
  
  
• Approved Mountain Fruit Market to supply milk products for the new school year;
  
  
• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA (ACE NEPA) to oversee Head Start programs at Blue Ridge;
  
  
• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19 (NEIU #19) for Title III support, which covers instruction for English as a second language;
  
  
• Approved an agreement with Barnes-Kasson Hospital for flu shots, physical examinations and reviews of individual education programs (IEPs);
  
  
• Approved a lease proposal through First American for the acquisition 85-90 units of a new generation of interactive white boards; the lease covers 5 years, after which the district can opt to own the equipment;
  
  
• Approved DiRienzo Brothers Bakery, Inc. and Bimbo Bakeries to supply bread products for the next school year;
  
  
• Approved 4 bidders to provide custodial supplies for the next school year: Pennsylvania Paper & Supply, Sanico, Keystone Packaging and LJC Distributors.
  

The Board also authorized Superintendent Matthew Button to apply for a Public School Facility Improvement Grant in the amount of $5 million from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to be used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) projects.

Not least, of course, the Board hired Tonya Molenko, Amanda Williams and Danelle Hinkley as Elementary teachers beginning with the next school year.

The Blue Ridge School Board is expected to meet only once in June, on Monday the 10th, at which time they will formally adopt the new budget. All meetings begin at 7:00pm in the cafeteria in the Elementary School. Don't expect soup over the summer.

After spending the last few months in their winter home, the Clapper Train has returned to its summer display area at the Ira Reynolds Park. The wooden train cars are scale models of real train cars that passed through the Erie train yard during the time that their builder, Russell Clapper, worked there.

Mr. Clapper built the train cars, along with over a hundred others, throughout the span of his adult life using scrap materials from the shop. They were discovered at a yard sale a few years ago, were refurbished, and were placed at the Park in the summer of 2023 by the Susquehanna Community Development Association's Train Committee. The committee has future plans to build a roof over the model train to further protect from the weather.

During the summer and early Fall months, the train replica can be found chugging down its display tracks and standing as a testament to the rich history of Susquehanna Depot and surrounding municipalities. Visitors are welcome to view the train display from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.