Safety trumped DV Enough! School Walkout

DAVID HULSE
Posted 3/21/18

SHOHOLA, PA — Meeting on the day after the March 14, Enough! National School Walkout to protest gun violence, Delaware Valley (DV) officials said safety issues led administrators to oppose a …

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Safety trumped DV Enough! School Walkout

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SHOHOLA, PA — Meeting on the day after the March 14, Enough! National School Walkout to protest gun violence, Delaware Valley (DV) officials said safety issues led administrators to oppose a demonstration at DV. Students instead were encouraged to put their grievances in writing to state and federal legislators.

Superintendent Dr. John Bell said there were conflicting concerns about the Walkout, which also would have meant more classroom time lost, in addition to lost days during recent storms. Board policy was the final arbiter. “Board of education policy prohibits demonstrations and walkouts. Standing out by the flagpole is not meaningful,” he said.

“We had concerns that at 10 a.m. on the 14th, people would empty out and there would be organized chaos,” Bell said, adding that concerns were heightened by a recent incident when an unidentified person was reported on campus taking photographs of students.

Bell said he did not know if any students did walk out and “if I did, I couldn’t reveal it.”

Board of education president Jack O’Leary said Donald Trump’s advocacy for arming qualified teachers was a “moot point,” since state law prohibits weapons on school campuses to anyone other than resource officers and police.

Board member Brian Carso said DV’s alternative determination was more meaningful than a walkout, demonstrating “appropriate activism and concern… There are no First Amendment rights here.”

Board vice-president Dawn Bukaj asked if the Walkout were approved, “how easy would it be to walk out on other issues?”

Then the district would be open to discrimination charges, Bell added.

“We’re not trying to suppress anyone’s rights,” O’Leary said. “We’re just trying to keep them safe.”

In other news, having run five days over the district’s allotted snow-days, the board amended the district calendar, adding March 29, April 2, June 14 and 15 as school days, and June 18 as a half-day for grades K-11. June 19 and 20 will become school days if more closures arise. Unless more than two additional days are needed, graduation will still take place on Friday, June 15.

The board heard architect Don Flynn report that a new independent estimate put construction costs for the new Career and Training Education (CTE) center at $400,000 over budget. He recommended replacing designed exterior walls with cement blocks and delaying some parking-lot improvements to save $310,000. Flynn said he would present final drawings for the project in April, when the board is expected to approve advertising for bids. Following a successful bid opening, a final vote on the CTE project is expected in May.

The board accepted Flynn’s recommendation to reject all bids for the district’s upcoming summer CAPEX maintenance projects. Flynn said the bids averaged 40% above estimates.

Bell had earlier suggested that CAPEX work could be postponed if CTE costs increased, but Flynn said his firm’s estimates were valid, if incorrect. “They were really bad; got out of hand. We just blew it,” he admitted regarding the CAPEX bid estimates.

shohola, school, guns

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