Monday’s meeting of the Indiana Area School District’s board of directors took on a wide range of issues, from committee meetings to vacancies on the Indiana Free Library board of directors.
School Director Quintina Thomas, the district’s liaison with the downtown Indiana library, told her colleagues that the library is looking for four candidates to fill vacancies on the library board.
She said terms of those chosen would begin in January.
A new year for the school district begins a month before that, with a reorganization meeting on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. A regular meeting of the board would follow.
School Director Dr. Sally McCombie said she did not think the school directors gathering each week for one meeting or another is not an efficient format. She’d prefer meeting twice a month, once for committees and once for voting purposes, saying that’s similar to other area districts.
“Every single Monday is a lot,” School Director Dr. Sue Rieg said.
McCombie suggested meeting as a committee of the whole with various school directors retaining their roles as chairs for the various existing committees, Academic/Extracurricular, Policy & Personnel, Buildings/Grounds & Transportation, and Audit & Finance.
However, School Director Tom Harley said, “it leaves four weeks between decision-making sessions.”
And, school director Dr. Jim Shaffer said, “I don’t care where the other districts do because we’re better.”
Board President Walter Schroth said he is concerned about interaction with the public — though, he also noted, no one showed up for a meeting where the board decided to close an elementary school in Indiana Borough, Horace Mann.
Josie Cunningham, a retired teacher who is a member of the library board of trustees, as well as the academic committee, said she has watched the committee system evolve and finds there has been less contention.
She added, “the transparency is essential.”
At the end of the discussion, Superintendent Robert J. Heinrich Jr. said he would work out ways to maintain transparency while lessening the number of meetings required.
McCombie, an IASD liaison to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, also presented a report on the Nov. 2 PSBA Delegate Assembly.
Included was a PSBA legislative platform for 2025-26, which states that the association believes the state of Pennsylvania:
• Must provide a significant and continued financial investment for school districts that is distributed using a fair and equitable funding system that provides districts with the greatest flexibility to use their resources.
• Must enact comprehensive and meaningful charter school reforms that reduce the financial burden on school districts and require he same high standards of academic performance and accountability.
• Must prioritize the mental health needs of students by providing schools with a permanent funding stream and assistance for such purposes, as well as flexible options that best meet the needs of their students and committees.
• Must continue to invest in school safety improvements by providing schools with flexible, locally controlled and permanent funding streams to assist schools meeting the needs of their students and communities.
One item was pulled from Monday’s agenda, for later consideration. The Buildings/Grounds & Transportation Committee chose not to recommend a contractor for architectural services for the proposed classroom renovation project at the senior high school.
In addition to the reorganization and meeting on Dec. 3, the board also has two upcoming committee meetings, on Nov. 25 for Audit & Finance and Dec. 3 for Academic/Extracurricular, both scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
