P-O school board makes decision on fifth graders while parents urge focus on COVID-19 impact
Philipsburg-Osceola fifth graders will relocate to elementary buildings next year, but parents who attended a virtual board meeting Tuesday argued that the district should focus instead on the current school year and uncertainty amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District board of directors met virtually to vote on moving fifth graders from the middle school to Osceola Mills and Philipsburg elementary schools. With more than 200 people in attendance via Zoom, parents asked why the change was proposed and expressed concerns.
P-O parent Melissa Wood asked the board, “If it’s not broken, then why are we fixing it?”
But in a 6-3 vote, with some confusion, the board approved the move, despite parents’ pleas to table the item until the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. Classes at Pennsylvania schools are suspended through at least April 6, and P-O has not announced plans for virtual learning.
During the March 10 board meeting, administrators said the district was able to free up classrooms and modify space in the elementary schools to accommodate the fifth grade. Still, parents said they do not see a valid reason to relocate the students and teachers.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Superintendent Gregg Paladina declined to answer why the move was proposed. Instead, he referenced the initial presentation that said fifth grade placement has been a topic of discussion since the middle school’s inception and that the move would have no affect on the quality of education.
In addition to concerns about transportation, classroom sizes, scheduling and discipline, more than 10 parents and some board members said P-O should focus on organizing a plan to educate students during the current school year.
Jessica Levonick, a district parent and teacher at West Branch Area School District, said the board has not justified the move, explained how it will affect the district or provided sufficient opportunity for public comment. She requested that the item be tabled until the 2020-21 school year, allowing the board more time to research, plan and engage with the community.
“This should be put on the back burner because in reality, if school does go back in session between now and the end of the school year, you’re going to have enough decisions to make in regard to how kids get caught up on education, what they’ve missed and anything else that comes up in the meantime,” Dawn Harper, a parent, said. “You don’t have time to discuss a fifth grade move. I think we need to move on to more important things.”
Sally DeHart, a parent of two P-O seniors, requested that the district refrain from voting on the fifth grade move, and instead, focus on helping implement a learning program to ensure the 2019-20 school year is completed, especially for graduating seniors.
“Right now, we are in a global pandemic,” she said. “We need to discuss what we’re going to do for our students today, not yesterday, today.”
Addressing the coronavirus and school shutdown once during the meeting, Paladina said P-O is working to implement a learning program that will provide education for all students. He added that P-O is exploring ways to use packets as a means of instruction for younger students and those without internet access. For grades 6-12, Paladina said administrators plan to teach English, language arts and math “as much as we can” but did not provide details on how students will be taught.
“It’s going to have to be flexible as far as how much we can grade or not grade, simply because of internet access,” he said. “People can come into our middle school. They can sign onto Wi-Fi, those types of things, but some people work. I understand these times are challenging.”
Before taking a vote, school board member Rob Massung suggested the district consider tabling the decision and look into housing grades K-2 at Osceola Mills, 3-5 at Philipsburg-Osceola, 6-8 at the middle school and 9-12 at the high school.
“We have discussed that,” Paladina said. “I’m not opposed to that ... I’m open to discussions on that. That’s one thing that I think we could have more conversations about in the future.”
Although several members agreed that tabling the move was a better option, the board voted to approve the relocation and adjourned the meeting. Board members Rob Miller and Linda Bush asked for clarification on whether or not the vote was to table or approve the change.
“The vote was to approve it to my understanding,” said board member Estelle Bowman, who motioned to approve the change.
