Full-Day K, School Closures Discussed At Council Rock Candidates Forum

Five candidates running for Council Rock School Board attended a community forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Tuesday night.

Issues discussed included taxes, full-day kindergarten, school security, curriculum and school closures. About 30 people were in attendance.

Candidates Richard Wilkinson, Leslie Rothberg and Michelle Held did not attend the forum.

Here is an overview of questions asked during the debate, as well as the candidates’ answers:

Question: Is the responsibility of the school board to focus on spending and taxes or a first-rate education?

Bill Foster – We need to be focused on the children. There are 11,000 children and grandchildren in this community; their wellbeing is why district was created in the first place. It’s really about the children and doing the best we can that we as a community can put forward. Don’t have a crystal ball but we are constantly trying to think of what the future holds.

Michael Thorwart – Kids first. But I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. We can continue to deliver an excellent education at a fair price.

Edward Tate – This school district is in terrific shape in terms of academic programs and finances. We need to be classroom focused.

Jerold Grupp – The responsibility of the school board is to provide an appropriate education. Our ability to tax and wise spending to make sure we accomplish our first objective appropriately. It’s the children first, but we can’t be all things to all people. We’ve chosen a new superintendent who puts education first.

Wendi Thomas – I don’t think they are mutually exclusive. I’ve advocated over and over again about decreasing our fund balance. There has to be a financial view in everything we do. It is our job to provide first-rate education but we have to do that responsibly.

Question: Should school board members play any role in the school district curriculum?

Thorwart – We pay educators a great deal of money to manage the curriculum

Tate –We are not educators but most of us are parents of children in the school district. I think there is a fine line and I don’t think school board members need to cross that line into delving deeply into curriculum.

Grupp – No. The school board does not determine curriculum. That’s not the role of the school board.

Thomas- That is why we hire professionals. We hired Mr. Fraser due to his background in curriculum.

Foster – We don’t outsource completely to professionals. We do have a voice. It’s not black and white.

Question: Are you in favor of full-day kindergarten:

Tate – The kids who really need an extra hand in education don’t really benefit from a longer school day. There is a lot of complexity. There is not a lot of data about full day kindergarten.

Grupp – One of our most experienced teachers told me it wasn’t necessary. It’s $3.2 million dollars. We don’t have that right now. Would advocate for children with disabilities and English learners to attend full-day.

Thomas – I think it comes down to setting priorities. I’ve asked the superintendent, if you had $3.2 million to spend on education what would be your priorities? It’s not a simple yes or no. Full day kindergarten may be important for some students.

Foster – We need to determine our priorities and evaluate if full-day kindergarten is the best use of district resources.

Thorwart – This conversation has just started. It came up within the last several months in earnest. I’m looking for community discussions. Full-day kindergarten is expensive.

Question: Will you close Wrightstown Elementary?

Foster – We will find out soon. It’s likely. We have schools, like Holland, that have empty rooms. Sol Finstone has extra space. We can’t have these extra spaces. If we use those spaces, we don’t need all the schools open.

Thorwart – I’m not sure we can close a school and have a conversation about full-day kindergarten at the same time. Closing it because we can is not a goal. We need to decide, where do we want to be in the future?

Tate – I think the presentation that Dr. fraser made a recent board meeting was amazing in terms of the depth of the data. The sophistication of the information laid out a compelling case for closing two elementary schools. There are a lot of impacts. The other issue is redistricting.

Grupp- I’m open to it but it has to be for the right reasons.

Thomas – The key is not to be dead set on an idea either way while we are in the process of evaluating our capital plan. Dr. Fraser is asking for some direction. There was a presentation of possibly closing Wrightstown and Rolling Hills. I can’t definitively say yes or no. There is still time, there will be processes.