At the February meeting of the Tabernacle Township School District Board of Education, more than 100 parents attended, with many speaking to voice their concerns regarding a host of issues in the district.
At the March 16 meeting, board president Michael Lee took some time to respond to residents, and said the board believed it was not only fair, but right that the board answer to the community.
“Even though we have not set up our public comment as a question and answer period, the message from the community as the board understands it is that you’ve got questions and you want answers from us,” Lee said.
One major issue Lee commented on was what he called a rumor of the district looking into privatizing its bus services.
“The Tabernacle Township Board of Education is not, is not pursuing the privatization of our transportation department,” Lee said. “This is a rumor only, and is not the plan of your board.”
Lee said that while the district is looking into the possibility of changing the start and end times of Tabernacle Elementary School and Olson Middle School, it was strictly due to loss of educational time and not the request of an outside transportation company.
Another issue Lee responded to was concerns from parents that the district’s curriculum was outdated.
Lee said that while certain textbooks, workbooks, equipment resources and even technology might be old or outdated, the district’s curriculum is not.
Lee also responded to parents’ concerns regarding the district’s wellness policy concerning what foods can and cannot be eaten in the classroom, and said it was under debate in the district wellness committee.
Another major issue Lee took time to discuss was issues regarding Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC testing, the new computerized state assessment for grades three through 11.
“Our board respects any parent or guardian’s decision to refuse PARCC testing,” Lee said. “Importantly, we encourage all parents or guardians to join in the process and then assess or judge the value or impact the testing down the road.”
However, several parents spoke about their children, who said they were not allowed to do their educational-based activities their parents had sent them to school with, which had been listed as an activity for students not taking the test.
“How many hours until these kids are going to be punished again?” parent Donald Shearer asked.
OMS Principal Susan Grosser said the students who did not take the test were under the care of substitutes that might have let them talk too loudly or do things they shouldn’t, and when Grosser told the substitutes to have the children behave, some might have misinterpreted that.
Grosser said this was the first time administering the PARCC test and there was a learning curve.
“If I don’t learn something new every day, I’m not doing my job,” Grosser said.
Several parents criticized the district for not having consistent, board-approved plans for those students not taking PARCC planned sooner.
Other issues discussed included parents feeling ignored by the district, and the job status of district director of special services John Tirico, whose position was listed as open for the next school year.
At one point, Lee referenced the questioning of personnel matters, which he said the board could not comment upon.
