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The School District of Lancaster on Wednesday became the only district in the county to mandate masks indoors for all students and teachers as the surge in delta variant COVID-19
Solia Matute and her husband, Jeff Eshleman, notice more than a two-year age difference between sons Freddy and Sammy Eshleman. Freddy, 8, speaks, reads and writes his motherâs native Spanish. Sammy, 6, sometimes stumbles through the language, even though his parents speak it at home.
The difference can be attributed to School District of Lancasterâs Dual Language Immersion program, the Lancaster couple says. As part of the program, Freddy has learned lessons at Wharton Elementary in Spanish and English since kindergarten. He starts third grade in the fall. Sammy, who starts first grade in the fall, was not accepted into the program.
When: School District of Lancaster board meeting, May 19.
What happened: Lancaster resident Deborah Siegrist broke into sobs as she begged board members to fund and expand the Dual Language Immersion program after a consultantâs report concluded the program, which began in 2009, should change or be phased out because itâs not meeting objectives.
Quotable: âAs you can see, Iâm emotional,â Siegrist said. âThe program has impacted my family dramatically.â
At issue: Several parents, community members and students spoke in favor of the program after The Center for Applied Linguistics recommended the district spend more than the budgeted $1.2 million to expand the program or shut it down. The report calls for hiring a dual language specialist to oversee operations and to increase student participation from 162 to 225. The board, however, has voiced no plans to end the curriculum and has extended its current funding in next yearâs budget.
When: School District of Lancaster board meeting, May 4.
What happened: Board members appeared reluctant to raise real estate taxes despite the administrationâs recommendation of a 2.12% increase to help offset a $15.8 million budget deficit for 2021-22. Instead, they asked Matt Przywara, the districtâs chief financial officer, to analyze and present data on how a 1%-2.5% tax increase would affect the district and the community.
Discussion: âIt doesnât look like anyone here is looking at 3%,â Salina Almanzar said. The district can raise taxes as much as 4.3% using an adjusted index, which would generate $3.3 million. Board members could also approve the regular 3% index, which would raise $2.2 million. âI feel going above 2% is a little bit uncomfortable,â Kareena Rios said.