INDIANA AREA BOARD TO CONSIDER CALENDAR, ACADEMICS AT MEETING TONIGHT By Todd Marino
Feb 8, 2021 4:17 AM
The Indiana Area School Board tonight will work on the school calendar for the next academic year, and will also consider changes to graduation requirements.
The board will vote on motions establishing next year’s district holidays and act 80 days. They will also vote on motions to seek grant money to fund an outdoor classroom at Ben Franklin Elementary, and to further define the cost estimate for an outdoor classroom should grants not be available.
In other action, the school board will consider accepting two personal finance courses to count toward the math requirement for graduation; reducing the health & physical education graduation requirement from 2 to 1.5 credits, with grade 12 health & phys. ed. becoming an elective; and accepting the science of engineering and computer aided drafting & design courses as alternative technical science course for the scienc
PURCHASE LINE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES NEW TEACHERS CONTRACT By Josh Widdowson
Jan 18, 2021 8:37 PM
On Monday Night, the Purchase Line School Board approved a new contract with the Purchase Line Education Association.
The agreement is for four years, starting in July of 2021, and there is an average annual salary raise of 2.78 percent. District Superintendent Shawn Ford called the agreement a fair one for all involved parties, including the students.
In other business, it was announced that tomorrow, Purchase Line High School Students are headed back to full in-school instruction for four days a week, marking the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that the district will have their students fully in school for all grade levels. Ford said he is excited to have students return.
On Monday night, the Purchase Line School Board approved a resolution concerning the 2021-2022 budget.
The resolution guarantees that the district will not go above the state-mandated tax index, which for Purchase Line is 4.3 percent. Board President Scott Gearhart said it would be an extra $14 for the average tax payer, but the board’s goal is to not have a tax increase in the budget. The budget is still in the early phases and it’s too soon to tell if a tax increase is needed.
Last June, the Purchase Line School Board passed a budget that actually decreased taxes for residents in Indiana County.