Opinion: Pam Lutfy supports the needs of our students best

To the editor:

In response to Diane French’s letter (click here), I would remind her of the fight Pam Lutfy has waged for 12 years while sitting on the DV School board to implement new reading and math programs, especially at the middle school and high school. How convenient that Diane French does not remember this. Perhaps Ms. French’s pathetic attempt at power has caused a memory lapse.

⇒ KEEP READING

Pam Lutfy has worked to get DV to implement research based reading programs for far longer than it has been trendy under IDEA. Over the years she has attended learning disability conferences, reading conferences, special education conferences and model schools conferences bringing back her clear vision for change, mingled with her unique background in speech and language and early childhood education. She has met with legislators and education experts from all over PA and the country investigating and questioning.

Year after year administrators and other board members had turned a deaf ear to closing the reading gap at DV, so necessary for children to succeed in our modern society. Ms. French has probably just forgotten the long fought fight that Pam won to add special education teachers, reading specialists, smaller resource rooms, research based programs and a special education principal at the high school. Pam was responsible for DV’s implementation of Special Education Roundtables which allow parents to bring concerns and suggestions to administrators. Before this, parents were often shut out of the process with their special needs children.

Ms. French probably doesn’t even know of the hours Pam has spent with parents going over IEPs and counseling. She has not counted the more than 50 roundtables Pam attended or the hours and days she has spent fighting for our kids all at the expense of her own time, family, and business.

Just recently, Ms. French selected to forget that at the April 16 board meeting, Mrs. Lutfy was the ONLY board member to remind administrators of the fact that there still remains a “black hole” in the reading program at DV. She has forgotten that Pam Lutfy continues to fight for the programs that would have allowed the 142 seniors who didn’t pass the reading PSSA and the 182 who didn’t pass the math PSSA this year to graduate with a chance of succeeding in college and beyond.

I encourage all voters to cast their vote for Pam Lutfy on election day and eliminate Goldsack and Marasa who along with Diane French and the other Taxpayer United Candidates will continue to ignore the needs of our children.

Sincerely,

Mary G. Gordon
Milford, PA

Krise agrees to pay almost $10 thousand, DV to improve tracking of fuel

Krise Bus and the Delaware Valley School District have agreed on a payment for back years of fuel use and on procedures for the future to improve the tracking and accounting of fuel purchases, according to a document available at Thursday's school board meeting.

The agreement says Krise Bus will pay DVSD $9,927.75 for fuel use since 2005 in accordance with contract. It also agrees to implement new tracking techniques for the future, including computized pump tracking software and improved driver logging.

According to a member of the public at Thursday's school board meeting, transportation committee chairperson Diane French said there was nothing to report during her committee's report. The public was made aware of the agreement after board member Sue Casey brought it up, meeting attendees said in an email.

View the agreement (.PDF)

Courier roundup: Diane toots her horn and announces TU candidates

• NO NAME CALLING CONTEST
  
• Geographic tests best spellers
  
• Students get traffic safety training
  
• In regards to sports and education
  
• “It’s All About Character”
  

According to the "Character" letter by board member Diane French (stay tuned for more discussion), the three Taxpayers United candidates will be:

• Bob Goldsack
• Bernard Marasa
• Patricia Wright

Mystery surrounds transportation meeting

Some board members are unsure of the agenda and the scheduling of a transportation committee meeting planned for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the administrative offices.

According to an e-mail from a board member, board president Bob Goldsack had originally planned a private meeting with Tim Krise, Krise's attorneys and board solicitor Mike Weinstein for Tuesday afternoon to go over a detailed written report created by Krise Bus. Goldsack notified a few of the board members by e-mail of this non-public meeting, according to an e-mail from board member Sue Casey.

Weinstein and superintendent Candis Finan were unaware of Goldsack's originally planned meeting, according to Casey's e-mail. An e-mail was then sent to the entire board letting them know the meeting Tuesday afternoon would be public, according to Casey's e-mail.

The meeting was announced Thursday, just three business days before it is scheduled to happen. The district e-mailed the press and posted details of the meeting on the administrative office door Thursday, and did not post the date on the district Web site until sometime in the past 20 hours.

E-mails asking for details about the meeting, sent to the district and to transportation committee chair Diane French, have not yet been returned.

Impromptu transportation meeting not listed on district's Web site

The transportation committee meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Administrative Offices is not posted on the district Web site. The meeting is not listed on the community bulletin page nor the meeting dates page.

The meeting was announced to the press by e-mail and posted on the Administrative Offices door on Thursday, just three business days before it will take place. The meeting will happen in the afternoon instead of the evening, when transportation meetings typically occur.

A Thursday night e-mail asking for an agenda of the meeting has yet to be returned by Diane French, the transportation committee chair.

Transportation meeting podcast is no circus

Listen exclusively here on RB for DV to Wednesday's transportation meeting regarding fuel misuse allegations against Krise Bus. Transportation committee ringleader Diane French starts the meeting, which lasted an hour and five minutes.

Read the RB for DV meeting summary here.



Have iTunes? Subscribe to the podcast and get the latest episodes downloaded to your iPod from the iTunes podcast directory

Or listen in on the RB for DV podcast feed

Sue Casey to Tim Krise: "I don't trust you"

PoconoNews.net has a story summarizing Wednesday's transportation meeting. Click here to read more.

Krise Bus unlawfully mixed DV dyed fuel with clear fuel, district to conduct audit

Krise Bus mixed regular fuel for chartered bus runs with untaxed Delaware Valley fuel, which has a red dye to identify it can only be used to transport students, according to owner Tim Krise (at right) and school officials at tonight's transportation meeting.

Krise was unaware of the red-dye fuel until Dec. 4, 2008, he said. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue contacted Krise Bus regarding an incident in which Krise-owned DV buses were seen at the Crossings Premium Shopping Outlets in Tannersville, Pa. on Black Friday.

Revenue enforcement agent Neil Hochreiter told Krise Bus that by law not even a trace of red dye could be in the tanks of buses being used for any purpose other than transporting students between home and school or on student activity trips, Krise and school officials said.

School board member Sue Casey said she no longer trusts Krise because he did not know about the red dye, which has been in use by the district for over a decade. Superintendent Candis Finan said she has known about the dye since 1997 or 1998, when the district's contract was first developed with Krise Bus.

Krise Bus stopped using DV buses for charter trips effective Dec. 4, after the notification.

Allegations at public DV meetings about improper fuel use were first made by DV Support Professionals president Fran Rosario at a transportation committee meeting in December. Krise conceded that while his company had used DV buses, containing the red dye fuel, for non-DV runs, they filled the tanks with non-DV fuel or reimbursed the district.

The board will discuss conducting an audit, on behalf of the school district, to ensure Krise Bus is in compliance with the law.

There is "no intent to take anything from this school district or the taxpayers," Krise said.

The Department of Revenue is conducting tests on fuel from Krise-owned DV buses to determine if red dye and clear fuel were mixed, according to transportation committee chair Diane French. Hochreiter met with Krise, his lawyer, French, Finan, Rosario and a few other DV support professionals at 10 a.m. today to inform them of the situation, French said.

Morning meeting "kept quiet"

The rest of the board didn't appear to be too happy about the meeting that occurred this morning.

The meeting was scheduled by board president Bob Goldsack, who is in the hospital and did not inform the rest of the board that the morning meeting was taking place, French said.

Board member Ed Silverstone asked French to fill the rest of the board in about what happened this morning. French reiterated what Hochreiter had told Krise Bus.

Board member Sue Schor said she wondered why it was "kept quiet."

When French said it was not kept quiet, Casey said she had to disagree. Casey said at a recent executive session the board had agreed to be more open about meetings. French offered a sarcastic "I'm sorry," saying, despite her position as transportation committee chair, she was not responsible for contacting the rest of the board.

Superintendent Finan said she also was unaware of this morning's meeting until shortly before it happened today.

Passing notes

Leading the meeting, French also refused to take questions from members of the public. She told the public that any questions needed to be submitted to her in writing and they would be addressed as seen fit. She said she didn't want the meeting to "turn into a circus."

As members of the public wrote questions in to French during the meeting, she snipped at a student in attendance who was passing the slips of paper to her.

Silverstone raised issue over how French was conducting the meeting, saying the board should field questions from the public to ensure compliance with open meeting laws. Solicitor Mike Weinstein agreed with him.


Diane French, Mike Weinstein and Ed Silverstone discuss French's announcement that she would not accept questions from the public.

When's the meeting?

Schor also said she was unaware of tonight's meeting still taking place. Meetings typically are cancelled when school is closed, Finan said, but because Krise and others had traveled to the area, the meeting still took place.

Schor said she received news of the meeting less than an hour before it began, and had to drive at least a half hour back to Milford to make it.

Board members John Wroblewski and Casey were also unsure if the meeting was going to take place tonight, according to e-mails earlier today.

The only place confirming tonight's meeting was here on RB for DV, after a DV employee who attended this morning's meeting e-mailed in a tip. Confirmation that the meeting would still take place was not posted on the district's Web site nor announced on the school closing phone hotline.

Absent from the meeting were hospitalized board president Goldsack, vice president Deb DuCharme and board member John Kupillas.

Tomorrow's committee meetings at Shohola Elementary School starting at 6 p.m., will most likely be cancelled if school is closed, Finan said.

Bueller? | Two months of trying to contact our public elected officials - and being ignored

For the past two months, I have been trying to contact board members Diane French and John Kupillas, asking only that they call me back.

After they wrote letters to the newspapers that were degrading to the young people in our community, I wanted to speak with them to discuss their comments. I hoped to come to an understanding of their comments and work out the personal problems with me.

Rather than continuing the public spectacle, I did what I think was respectful and policy compliant. I obtained their publicly available information from the administrative offices. I left courteous messages by e-mail and district voicemail. I stand behind the level of respect in my messages, so I have posted them here.

• E-mails to John Kupillas (.PDF file)
  
• E-mails to Diane French (.PDF File)
  

Diane and John seemed to have a lot to say about my peers and me in the newspapers, so I figured they would have no problem getting in touch with me.

I followed up as my messages were not returned over the past two months. Diane e-mailed me twice, asking me to submit my requests through the board secretary. I complied. (See e-mails to and from Bill Hessling, .PDF file.) Diane, an elected public official and a community leader, also wrote - and I directly quote:

"I neither have the time nor the patience to put up with your antics ..." - Diane French, DV School Board member (Oct. 28, 2008)

She had the time to condemn the young people in the community, but not the time in two months to return a phone call from a member of the community – and electorate – she serves.

Because I had not heard back from them – nor from president Bob Goldsack, whom I contacted for help (See e-mails to Bob Goldsack, .PDF file) – I brought up my problem at yesterday's school board meeting. I asked Diane and John when they intend to return my messages, and I provided each of them a packet containing printouts of the hundreds of unreturned e-mails I have sent to them and the board secretary. 

Diane told me I had been disrespectful. But by trying to contact Diane and John to discuss their problems civilly, I believe I was acting out of respect to contact them.

John told me I had been harassing. But not once – in a span of two months – did John, Diane or Bob contact me to return my inquiries nor request that I stop contacting them. 

John said, his letter, unlike my action, was "respectful." Because, after all, he did write "with all due respect." Never mind the small detail that his letter included a disgusting and disproved rant about how the teenage brain is too undeveloped to make rational decisions.

John's "respectful" letter also ironically criticized my undeveloped brain for its inability to "connect to the residents served by the board." After John failed to return a single one of my 50 or so e-mails and 50 phone calls, this correlation hardly seems to be the case.

While I'm deciding to take back the two minutes of my day that I usually would be calling and e-mailing Diane and John, my request to speak with them still stands. Operators are standing by.

Read the e-mails mentioned in this post (.PDF files)

• E-mails to (and two from) board member Diane French
  
• Unreturned e-mails to board member John Kupillas
  
• E-mails to and from board secretary Bill Hessling
  
• Unreturned e-mails to board president Bob Goldsack
  

Board goes back on word, now says there will be no new elementary school

According to an article on PoconoNews.net about Thursday night's school board meeting, the majority of the board has decided to pull plans for a new Delaware Valley Elementary School off the agenda, with no plans for "long range" planning for the next three to six months.

This contradicts a commitment by board president Bob Goldsack in January, at which time he publicly stated there would be a new elementary school built.

The decision is based on the poor state of the economy.

Courier roundup: New DVES, top students, thank you

• Elementary school debate continues
  
• Dingman Delaware Middle School (honor roll)
  
• October’s best at Delaware Valley Middle School
  
• On the recent seniors’ dinner at DVMS (letter to the editor about the DDMS senior citizens dinner; the title is misleading)
  

Record runs long-awaited article on vacancy

The Times Herald-Record ran today an article on the vacancy on the Delaware Valley School Board.

Kupillas didn't return phone calls. Bob Goldsack, school board president, said Kupillas was "busting Ryan's chops."

Yes, because going to the local press in the capacity of an elected public official to alienate the very young people you serve is appropriate chop-busting.

Kupillas hasn't returned my phone calls, either. Nor has Diane French.

What with the election coverage, this story got a little buried, but hopefully running this information in the regional daily newspaper will give the whole issue more attention.

How to contact your board members

After a question came up at Thursday's board meeting about contacting board members, the board indicated a list of their addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses is available at the DV Administrative Offices.

RB for DV has obtained a copy of this list and scanned it in for your reference.

⇒ VIEW THE LIST

Download a printable .PDF

SUSAN CASEY (07-11)
P.O. BOX 665
MILFORD. PA 18337-0665
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-1239
WORK TELEPHONE: 845-556-5311.439
FAX: 845-856-7710
CELL 845-820-5155
EMAIL: scasey54@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7076

BOB GOLDSACK, PRESIDENT (05-09)
3237 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-4177
WORK TELEPHONE: 800-987-4177
FAX: 570-688-3240
CELL PHONE: 973-903-1888
EMAIL: goldsack@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7120

ED SILVERSTONE (05-09)
P.O. BOX 116
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-8130
ALTERNATE TELEPHONE: 212-724-2619
CELL PHONE: 917-208-0596
EMAIL: slverstne@yahoo.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7114


SUPERINTENDENT
CANDIS M, FINAN, ED.D
235 ROUTE 6 & 209
MILFORD, PA 18337
TELEPHONE: 570-296-1804
FAX: 570-296-3172
EMAIL: cfinan@dvsd.org

DEB DUCHARME, VICE PRESIDENT (05-09)
157 INDIAN TRAILS
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-2822
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-409-9999 Ext. 112
HOME FAX: 5700-409-8888
WORK FAX: 570-686-2822
EMAIL: dducharm@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7061

JOHN KUPILLAS (07-11)
3573 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-9211
EMAIL: janandellen@yahoo.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7285

SUSAN SCHOR (08-09)
156 CHOKEBERRY DRIVE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-4295
CELL PHONE: 570-228-1466
EMAIL: sdschor@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7240

SCHOOL BOARD SOLICITOR
MICHAEL WEINSTEIN, ATTORNEY
104 WEST HIGH STREET
MILFORD, PA 18337
OFFICE: 570-296-6471
FAX: 570-296-2653
EMAIL: weinstein@wskllawfirm.com
GENERAL EMAIL: wskl@ptd.net

DIANE FRENCH (07-11)
3728 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-2914
EMAIL: gogiants@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7091

PAM LUTFY (05-09)
476 ROUTE 6 & 209 ATTN: P. LUTFY
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-6329
SUNSHINE STATION: 570-296-7241
DINGMANS: 570-828-6168
FAX: 570-296-4169
EMAIL: longdog51@hotmail.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7356

JOHN WROBLEWSKI (07-11)
199 HAWTHORNE DRIVE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-6298
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-296-7956
FAX: 570-296-5498
EMAIL: johnwrob@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7107

SECRETARY, NON-MEMBER
WILLIAM HESSLING, SECRETARY
236 ROUTE 6 & 209
MILFORD, PA 18337-9454
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-296-1806
FAX: 570-296-3172
EMAIL: bhessling@dvsd.org

Stunning negativity in "Stunning Negativity"

I want to assure board member Diane French and the community that I do not believe Nick Troiano or I or anyone else has second guessed the amount of work she and the other board members undertake. I think we all can agree we see the outcome of the work by her - and of course by many others, too - and we appreciate their efforts.

⇒ READ MORE

Mrs. French lays out a list of the board's accomplishments since last November, and I am unsure why she took this defensive approach. I do not think Troiano's letter at all attacked her or the other board members for what they have contributed over the past year. I sure have not. What I think Troiano and I and many many others have raised are concerns about how the vacancy was handled (one of which Judge Chelak agreed with yesterday) and concerns about the letter her fellow board member John Kupillas wrote in last week's newspapers and the "stunning negativity" it casts upon the very people that attend and have graduated from Delaware Valley.

I believe Mrs. French knows I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have the phone interview on Oct. 2. While I believe it was within my rights to request it, I could not say enough that evening to express my gratitude to the board for accommodating me.

Unfortunately, I think Mrs. French may misunderstand my intentions. I fully agree with her that the position is "not a summer joke or a way to make headlines." I expressed complete sincerity to the board about this position, and I still am completely sincere in my intentions to offer Mrs. French and her fellow board members a helping hand and to give back to the community and school that raised me. I never once requested that the board adapt to fit into my schedule. In fact, I offered to take on extra work if I ever missed a meeting. I never once mentioned a "social agenda" nor did I say it would ever supersede board duties if I was selected.

I was indeed upfront and admitted I may not be able to make all of the meetings in the fall if selected. Ironically, the candidate Mrs. French backed instead, Bernard Marasa, is in Florida and will not be at this week's meeting, at which she planned to vote for his appointment.

If I do not exemplify the seriousness, the time commitment and the passion that Mrs. French writes are necessary to make our school district the best, I don't know who does.

I hope she realizes my intentions are sincere and in the best interest of her, the rest of the board, the taxpayers, students and their parents, and everyone in the community – and that my interest in the vacancy only demonstrates how thankful I am to the school district and how serious I am about giving back to it.


Quick fact checks:

• “... we kept our word and did not raise taxes or cut programs.”
  

True, taxes were not raised, though the zero tax increase was caused largely by increased state funding from the gambling money that Mrs. French mentions, which is more luck than action by the board. Whole programs have not been cut, though many budgets, both academic and co-curricular, have been under scrutiny and have been tightened, according to teachers and club advisers I’ve spoken to.

• “... we are working diligently to provide a better quality education for all students from special education to the advanced programs.”
  

A broad statement that is lacking justification. How have they worked diligently to provide better quality special education? The special education chair, John Wladar, has resigned. He did not attend a meeting nor hold a special education committee meeting for the past six months. When he was first appointed chair, Wladar did not know what an IEP was and wanted to discuss confidential special education student matters in public.
In the past year, the special education subgroup at DV High School failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the state PSSA tests. On the other end of the spectrum, Mrs. French has publicly spoken out against increasing the number and enrollments of Advanced Placement classes.

• “These changes will have an impact on the improvement of SAT and PSSA scores ...”
  

This improvement has not yet been measured. The only indication available now is that since Taxpayers United claimed a board majority, DVHS has fallen onto the state’s warning list for low PSSA scores among special education students. No improvement so far.

• “A sex education program was developed because of the lack of a sufficient program for years.”
  

Only after a major public controversy arose over it. This action was not initiated by the Taxpayers United members and was unanimously agreed upon.

• “Finally, the water tower will be completed and plans have been started for the elementary school in Milford.”
  

The water on the Dingman Delaware campus has already been meeting all standards and the primary school well has been producing pristine water. On an opinionated note: The costly water tower has nothing to do with the quality of education. This may be nothing more than a huge, expensive water storage facility that the taxpayers are footing the bill for - with money that could have been used directly on education.

The previous board had already initiated the new elementary school plans on the Westfall campus in *Westfall. The current board has stalled on getting anything done and is backing a plan that requires the demolition of the administrative offices, the current elementary school, the playground and a practice athletic field. The construction will disrupt the educational process and consume field space and limited parking spaces on the campus. The final proposed building will not solve any of the serious safety and traffic problems caused by overcrowdedness on the main DV campus. The project will cost as much as or more than the previous board’s original plan, which included new land to build a safe, separate elementary school campus.

• "Sue Casey, the previous board president, suggested we take a poll as to whether we would have a consensus as to the candidate."
  

Is this an attempt to pass the buck? Bob Goldsack is the president now: Where was his leadership? Mrs. French went along with it, too, and now is publicly denouncing it.

Diane French: "This position is not a summer joke."

These two letters appeared in this week's Pike County Dispatch.

I appreciated reading Kim Pabon's letter (below), which discusses the cronyism that was taking place on the school board until today, when the board lost its power to fill John Wladar's Sept. 18 vacancy because the board had not acted within the 30 days required by policy.

Sadly, the Dispatch selectively chose to disregard a letter I wrote in response to Kupillas, in addition to at least one other response letter written by a member of the Pike County Youth Coalition.

After hearing last night about board member Diane French's letter (below), I contacted her to request a personal conversation with her privately. She has not yet responded to my request, nor has fellow board member John Kupillas, who wrote a similarly "stunningly negative" letter last week and whom I have tried to contact multiple times. I would be grateful if the elected public officials who represent me and our community would respond and take care of their personal problems with me in a "mature" manner.

Judge to appoint new board member by noon tomorrow

Judge Greg Chelak announced the court will appoint a new school board member by noon Thursday (tomorrow), after listening to candidates at today's 1 p.m. court hearing, according to multiple candidates and sources who attended the hearing. The hearing was ordered after the board failed to fill the Sept. 18 vacancy of John Wladar within 30 days and a petition was submitted by former board member and vacancy candidate Jack Fisher.

Board solicitor Mike Weinstein had earlier advised the board not to worry about appointing within 30 days.

Candidates present at the meeting were Denise Fey, Jack Fisher, Mary Gordon, Bill Greenlaw and Sue Schor. Not present were Taxpayers United favorite Bernard Marasa, who is in Florida, and I, who could not make travel accommodations on such short notice.

In Marasa's absence, current board members Deb DuCharme, Bob Goldsack and John Kupillas spoke on his behalf and presented his resume. Current board members Sue Casey and John Wroblewski endorsed Schor, and Pam Lutfy endorsed Gordon. In my absence, a letter and my resume, which I faxed to the court administrator's office early this morning, were examined at the hearing.

Current board members absent from the hearing were Diane French, who wrote a scathing letter to the editor in this week's Pike County Dispatch to be posted on the blog later this evening, and Ed Silverstone, who arrived at the end of the hearing.

Stay tuned to RB for DV - your only source for late-breaking news.