Co-curriclar additions: Goldsack's "45" contested

A letter written by incumbent school board candidate Bob Goldsack claims that Taxpayers United board members have "added 45 co-curricular activities" since the last election.

According to a list from the co-curricular chair Sue Schor, another incumbent board candidate, this number is exaggerated. Schor provided a list of middle and high school co-curriculars and indicated which activities were added in the past two years. The new activities add up to 25.

The number of new activities is not the only thing in question. Goldsack's letter gives sole credit to the TU board members only in the creation of co-curriculars. Schor said in an e-mail that there many activities added to the elementary schools but that the majority of those activities are executed and funded by the PTAs.

Superintendent Candis Finan said in an e-mail that Goldsack may be basing the number off of an estimate she provided.

Goldsack and other Taxpayers United board representatives have not returned an e-mail sent Tuesday.


Schor's e-mail:
⇒ VIEW THE LIST

04/01/09

* The activities in red are new Co-Curricular or Clubs that have developed within the past two years. Keep in mind some clubs have taken place of others that are no longer in place.
I do not have the elementary attached to this list. I had it as a handout at a board meeting but my scanner is not working. Whatever has been added as clubs in the elementary schools is through the dedicated PTA’S where parents and teachers, support staff and administrators that donate their time. (It is funded through the PTA not the board budget.)


Co-Curricular Activities at the High School Level

Athletics
Baseball
Basketball (Boys/Girls)
Cheerleading
Cross Country (Boys/Girls)
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Lacrosse (**Boys/Girls)
Special Education Olympic Ski Group (Middle Schools and High School)
Soccer (Boys/Girls)
Softball
Special Education Track and Field (Boys/Girls) School District
Swimming (Boys/Girls)
Tennis (Boys/Girls)
Track
Volleyball (Boys/Girls)
Wrestling

Clubs and Activities
**Rachel’s Challenge Club is in the process of beginning. We have an awesome team of teachers that are willing to get this club off the ground. There are over 150 students interested in participating. This club will help students that are new to the school. It will also help students that feel they don’t fit in with groups get associated with the social life at DV.
**Computer Programming Club
Computer Graphics Club
**Russian Culture Club
Foreign Language Club
Creative Writing Club
**Digital Photography Club
Mu Alpha Theta
Dance Club
Drama Club
Literary Magazine (ECHO)
National Honor Society
Newspaper (DelAware)
Odyssey of the Mind
Model United Nations
PYEA
History Day
Art Club
Skills USA/VICA
FCCLA
HOSA
Foreign Film Club
Pep Band
Political Issues Club
Martial Arts
Mock Trial
SASA
Philosophy Club
Scholastic Bowl
Ski Club
**Special Education Bowling
**Special Education Weight Lifting Training
Student Council
Yearbook
Junior Historians
Science Olympiad
DV World (Web-Site)
Junior Academy of Science
Mountain Bike Club
FBLA
Ham Radio Club
Environmental Club
TATU
Broadcast Del Val
**Fencing
**Water Polo
Weight Lifting Training
Election Club
**Scrap booking Club


Middle School Dingman-Delaware Middle School and Delaware Valley Middle School
Baseball
Basketball (Boys/Girls)
Cheerleading
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Football
Soccer (Boys/Girls)
Softball
Special Education Track and Field (School District)
Special Education Olympic Ski Group (Open to Middle School and High School Students
Tennis (Boys/Girls)
Track and Field (Boys/Girls)
Volleyball (Boys/Girls)
Wrestling


Dingman-Delaware Middle School Clubs and Activities
Age Group Swimming (DV-ACE)
DDTV
Drama
Hall Monitors
Jr. SASA
Library Helpers
Pep Band
Student Ambassadors
Student Council
**Book Reading Club
Odyssey of the Mind
**Looms of Love
Magazine
Math Counts
**Movie Club
Newspaper
Science Olympiad
**Ski and Snowboard Club
Theatre Club
Yearbook
Art Club
DDWeb
**Lights and Sound


Delaware Valley Middle School Clubs and Activities
Age Group Swimming (DV-ACE)
Drama
**Art Club
Jr. SASA
Library Helpers
**Pep Band
Student Ambassadors
Student Council
**Book Reading Club
Odyssey of the Mind
National History Day
Looms of Love
**Computer Club
Math Counts
Newspaper
**Stamp & Scrap Booking Club
Science Olympiad
Ski and Snowboard Club
Literary Magazine
Principal’s Mini-Marathoners
Yearbook
Hall Monitors

TU letter from Goldsack makes broad, debatable claims

The following letter from Taxpayers United is circulating among residents of the Delaware Valley School District.

The letter is similar to Bob Goldsack's letter to the editor that recently appeared in local newspapers. It gives sole credit to the Taxpayers United board members for various accomplishments of the school district since the last election.

One particular eye raiser is the claim that Taxpayers United has "added 45 co-curricular activities." According to an email from co-curricular chair Sue Schor, this number is not true.

"I have a recent list of all the co-curricular and clubs that we now have at the elementary, middle schools and high school," Schor said in the e-mail. "This list is from February 09. We do not have 45 new ones."

Schor said Goldsack may have mixed the numbers up.

"I am pretty sure Mr. Goldsack is referring to clubs that are held through the PTA, which I do not think the board should take credit for," Schor said. "This is hard working parents that volunteer their time for the students."

Taxpayers United
"Higher Education, Lower Taxes"
3237 Sunrise Lake
Milford, PA 18337

Dear friends of TUA,

Another election cycle is upon us for the DV School Board. We would like to thank you for your past support, but before we can ask you for your continued support, we need to review whether or not we kept our promise of "Higher Education, Lower Taxes".

1. We kept our promise of a 0% tax increase, and combined with the Homestead Act, resulted in a reduction in taxes of $379.00.

2. We promised you that we would resolve the issue of the contaminated drinking water at our Dingman's campus. By March 2009, our children will be drinking clean and safe water. We were able to do this without raising your taxes.

3. We added 4 AP courses (Advanced Placement Courses, for college prep). Without raising your taxes.

4. We added 45 co-curricular activities (after school programs). Without raising your taxes.

5. We are re-vamping our curriculum from K-12, to help our students think critically, which in turn will increase their SAT scores, that will result in higher $ in scholarships and entrance into better colleges. Without raising your taxes.

6. In today's unpredictable world, we hired armed school police for the safety of our children. Without raising your taxes.

7. We enforced a strong drug and gang prevention policy, which has proven to be effective. How do we know this? While many of our youth have protested this strong policy, the fact remains that there have been fewer drug related expulsions this year than the last school year Without raising your taxes.

We would not have been able to accomplish this without your support. We respectfully ask for your continued support in the upcoming Primary election. Our candidates this year are: Robert Goldsack, Benny Marasa and Patti Wright. Your donation is greatly appreciated and your check can be made payable to: The Committee to Elect Goldsack, Marasa, Wright. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Robert Goldsack
President, Taxpayers United
"Higher Education, Lower Taxes"

View an image of the original letter

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From WNEP-TV's School Closing Alerts...

At 1:35pm, Delaware Valley is listed as NO AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES NO LATE BUSSES

- Click for Stormtracker 16 weather updates
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Board announces meetings for January and February

The Delaware Valley School Board announced tonight its meetings for January and February. Meeting dates are also available on the board's Web page and the community bulletin page.

The transportation meeting will be particularly important to attend, as undoubtedly ongoing discussion will continue about allegations against the district's private bus company, Krise Bus. Bus drivers for Krise and DV report that Krise Bus has been stealing fuel from the district.

Also of note: The committee chairpersons and co-chairpersons are now listed on the board's Web page.

• 1/7 - Transportation meeting - 6 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 1/8 - Budget, Finance and Audit meeting - 6 p.m. - Shohola ES cafeteria
• 1/8 - Safety meeting - 7 p.m. - Shohola ES cafeteria
• 1/15 - Regular school board meeting - 7 p.m. - Shohola ES Cafeteria
• 2/12 - Special Education meeting - 7 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 2/12 - Co-Curricular meeting - 7:30 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 2/19 - Regular school board meeting - 7 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
  

DVHS Odyssey of the Mind team matches school record at World Finals

The DVHS structure team placed fourth of 52 teams at Odyssey of the Mind World Finals last month, matching the best any DVHS team has ever placed. The team is pictured with OMER, the Odyssey of the Mind mascot, here.

The theatrical team from DDMS also competed at world finals, and they received 14th place in an extremely competitive 61-team division.

Two DV '08 graduates, Kelsey Charity and Lauren Dean of the classics team, also received internationally contested scholarship awards from Creative Opportunities Unlimited, a nonprofit booster club for OotM. 

The TriState Observer has a rundown of how all the northeastern Pennsylvania teams did at World Finals.

Congratulations to the district's OMERs, and thank you to the board and administration for continuing to support the program. Odyssey of the Mind is an international kindergarten-through-college creative problem-solving competition that emphasizes teamwork and quick thinking.