EXETER TWP., Pa. – The Exeter Township School Board opened its meeting Tuesday night with a review of the 2020 A and B general obligation bonds resolution.
The presentation was made by Jamie Schlesinger, PFM Financial Advisors, and Peter Edelman, bond counsel, Stevens & Lee.
Schlesinger told the board that if the resolution were approved, it would “keep the debt about level and ease the budgeting process through 2029.”
After the presentation, the board approved the resolution to issue one or more series of 2020 general obligation bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $30 million.
The funds will provide for the refunding of the school district’s outstanding general obligation bonds, series of 2012 A; capital improvements to district facilities; and paying the costs and expenses of issuance of the bonds.
The bonds will be issued and sold by private sale by negotiation.
The capital projects, which total about $3.6 million, include:
- Unit ventilator replacement and replacement of auditorium seats at the junior high.
- Replacement of the cooling tower and servicing of the chillers at the senior high.
- Sidewalk paving at the junior and senior high schools.
- Roof restoration at the Reiffton School.
- Replacing boilers and pumps at the Lorane Elementary School.
Other capital projects, including the controversial Owatin Creek transportation center, would require further review.
Later in the meeting, the board tabled by a 5-4 vote a motion for district administration to work with AEM Architects, Stackhouse Bensinger and the district solicitor to seek the necessary Exeter Township variances required for the transportation center project at the Owatin Creek site.
Superintendent’s report
Superintendent Kimberly Minor reported that the district’s pandemic planning team is preparing a plan to return to “bricks and mortar” education by the end of the first semester in October.
Virtual learning, however, will continue to be offered for the entire school year.
Minor also reported that about 25% of teachers were using their classrooms to conduct virtual classes, while about 25% to 40% of the teachers were using a combination of in-class and at-home teaching.
Calendar changes
The board approved changes to the 2020-21 district calendar.
Monday, Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was changed from a regular instruction day to a professional development day with no school for students; and Friday, Feb. 26, and Friday, May 28, were changed from early-dismissal days to full-length instructional days.
Teacher honored
The board and the district recognized Diana Bogust, Owatin Creek Elementary School health and physical education teacher and the K-6 health and physical education department chair.
Bogust received the 2020 Society of Health and Physical Educators of Pennsylvania Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award.
Read More: Exeter Township School Board approves bond resolution | Berks Regional News