At 20 minutes in length, the Aug. 9 Octorara Area School Board meeting was hardly a marathon, but residents interested in improving their fitness and trying public use of the district Fitness Center have until Sept. 27 to weigh in on the experiment.
The Fitness Center in the high school opened July 27 and is available under the direction of Athletic Director Jim Weagley from 5:30 to 6:45 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. For membership information call Weagley at 610-593-8261. The school board is considering the financial feasibility of ongoing public use of the center.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Weagley said, noting 12 residents had joined. “It’s a good start.”
In other facilities matters, board member Nelson Stoltzfus said the middle school roof is nearly complete, the high school parking lot should be paved in the next two weeks, and construction crews are working on additional asbestos abatement discovered during the high school renovation.
School board president Lisa Bowman said she would consider a resident’s suggestion that they allow senior citizens to opt in to the district’s phone system, letting them know about free upcoming music concerts and other events.
Finally, board member Bob Hume said he has had difficulty getting concrete figures regarding high school retention and drop-out rates, and would like that information presented at a board meeting.
The school board next meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 16 in the middle school multipurpose room. The agenda will likely include a vote on updating the district’s policy which allows the search of student lockers, desks, persons, property and vehicles.
The major change to be voted on would require an administrator, not any staff, to perform the search when there is reasonable suspicion of stolen goods, weapons, illegal drugs, alcohol or dangerous materials.
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