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The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors held a committee of the whole meeting combined with a regular board meeting on Monday, Aug. 9, at the administration office board room. The biggest topic of discussion was the district’s health and safety plan for the 2021-22 school year. During the public comments portion of the meeting, Jennifer Ripka, mother of three students in the Spring Cove School District expressed her deep concern about the district opening the school year without making all students wear masks. She said this would m...
The regular Board of Directors meeting for the Spring Cove School District was held Monday, July 19, at the administration office board room. This was the first live, in-person board meeting held in 16 months, bringing an end to all online Zoom meetings. The district’s Health and Safety Plan for the 2021-22 school year was the primary focus of the meeting. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker said that masking in the school will not be required at the start of the 2021-22 school year, but students may wear them optionally. As a rule of the Center f...
The Spring Cove School District monthly committee of the whole meeting was held Monday, May 10, at the administration office boardroom with all visitors participating virtually. A presentation on the 2021-22 budget for the district was given by Business Manager Kathy Hazenstab. Hazenstab stated that the recommendation at next week's board meeting would be no tax increase for the 2021-22 school year. The millage rate of 11.03 would not change and would remain at the same rate it was in 2020-21...
The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors regular meeting was held Monday, April 19, in the administrative office board room with all visitors participating virtually. Last week, the Spring Cove District was awarded the PAsmart Grant for $500,000 for the second consecutive time. Spring Cove was one of only 26 entities to be funded, with only six receiving the maximum $500,000. Of the 26 funded entities, only six were school districts. For Spring Cove, the new supplies will allow the district to implement the full Project Lead The Way...
The Monday, April 12, Spring Cove School District Board of Directors Committee of the Whole Meeting was held at the Administration Office Board Room with visitors participating virtually. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announced the COVID-19 case counts at the various Spring Cove schools. Martinsburg Elementary has one and all other schools in the district had none at the time of the meeting. Dr. Baker warned, “Case counts are rising in Blair County, and it is my understanding that the county is now categorized, once again, in the S...
The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Spring Cove School District was held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 15 in the Administration Office Board Room with visitors participating virtually. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker updated the board on the district’s COVID-19 protocols status. COVID-19 case counts are currently one at Central High School, one at Martinsburg Elementary, and none at Spring Cove Elementary and Middle School. Dr. Baker reported staff coronavirus vaccinations had begun, stating, “Many of our employees and con...
Editor's Note: The print edition of this story had an incorrect headline. The correct information is that Randy Lafferty was appointed to Spring Cove School Board. The error was the Herald's and the Herald apologizes for the error. The Monday, March 8, Spring Cove School District Board of Directors’ Special Meeting and Committee of the Whole meeting was primarily focused on filling the vacant board seat created by Jason Rhykerd’s resignation in February. The open board position attracted four potential candidates who fielded questions from boar... Full story
The Feb. 16 regular Board of Directors meeting for the Spring Cove School District was held virtually at 7 p.m. Under special recognitions, a Resolution of Respect was given for F. Larry Kulp, to honor his memory for faithful service as a Spring Cove school board member for a number of years and for being an "active, vital member" of the Spring Cove community. All school board members were recognized for their donation of many hours of time and work , with no compensation, to the Spring Cove School District at the meeting, as February is...
The Feb. 16 regular Board of Directors meeting for the Spring Cove School District was held virtually at 7 p.m. Under special recognitions, a Resolution of Respect was given for F. Larry Kulp, to honor his memory for faithful service as a Spring Cove school board member for a number of years and for being an "active, vital member" of the Spring Cove community. School board members were recognized for their donation of many hours of time and work , with no compensation, to the Spring Cove School District at the meeting, as February is School...
At the Feb. 8 Spring Cove School District Board of Directors Committee of the Whole Meeting, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker reviewed the state of COVID-19 cases in the various schools in the district. Dr. Baker told the board, "COVID cases continue, but we are managing to keep our schools open and quarantines limited. Excluding the 16-day closure in December, which impacted almost every school in Pennsylvania, our total number of days of school-wide remote learning due to COVID cases has been limited." Central High School has had 10 days of...
At the regular Spring Cove School District Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker updated the board on cases of coronavirus and closings within the district. “The COVID-19 response remains a huge focus of our time,” Dr. Baker said. “This morning, the district was notified of one additional individual at Spring Cove Middle School who recently tested positive for COVID-19 and also one who is considered probable, bringing the total number of cases within a rolling 14-day window to three. “Based on the new...
At the regular Spring Cove School District Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker updated the board on cases of coronavirus and closings within the district. “The COVID-19 response remains a huge focus of our time,” Dr. Baker said. “This morning, the district was notified of one additional individual at Spring Cove Middle School who recently tested positive for COVID-19 and also one who is considered probable, bringing the total number of cases within a rolling 14-day window to three. “Based on the new...
The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors Committee of the Whole working meeting was held remotely on Monday, Jan. 11, with new board president Jim Butler presiding. A closed-door executive session was held prior to the meeting for “personnel purposes.” Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker reported that with the reopening of live classroom learning on Monday, Jan. 4, that all has “gone well.” She thanked all of the district staff, students, and families for their cooperative efforts during the 16 days of remote learning while schools...
The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors held its Reorganization and Regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Administration Board Room with visitors participating virtually. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announced the district would transition to a fully remote virtual learning model for Pre-K to 12 from Dec. 1 until Jan. 4. The state of the district will be reexamined at this time and the board will move forward from there. The district now has 16 staff members out of school due to quarantine or COVID-19 . Blair County has now...
The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors met Monday, Nov. 9, for a combined committee of the whole and regular meeting at the administration office board room in Roaring Spring with the public participating virtually. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker emphasized that the district has no plans to move to a hybrid model of learning and is hoping there never is that need. She said the district just wants to make sure that the plan on file with the Pennsylvania Department of Education is the best plan to use in the event that the situation d...
The Spring Cove School District Board of Directors met Monday, Nov. 9, for a combined committee of the whole and regular meeting at the administration office board room in Roaring Spring with the public participating virtually. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker emphasized that the district has no plans to move to a hybrid model of learning and is hoping there never is that need. She said the district just wants to make sure that the plan on file with the Pennsylvania Department of Education is the best plan to use in the event that the situation d...
The Board of Directors of the Spring Cove School District met for its regular monthly school board meeting Oct. 19, in the Administration Building boardroom with visitors participating remotely. District Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker addressed concerns about rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the area in her superintendent’s report. “Unfortunately,” Dr. Baker reported, “COVID cases are on the rise in our community with the level of community transmission reaching the classification of ‘substantial’ for the first time since the start of sch...
The Board of Directors of the Spring Cove School District met as a Committee of the Whole at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, in the Administration Board Room with visitors participating virtually. Information about grants highlighted the meeting. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker said that the district had received approval to begin processing purchase orders relative to their Pa. Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) School Safety and Security Grant. Additional staff radios arrived recently and are already in use. Installation of bus radios will...
The Monday, Sept. 21, regular school board meeting for the Spring Cove School District was held at 7 p.m. at the Administrative Office Board Room. The biggest topic of discussion proved to be the revision of the Spring Cove School District Athletic Health and Safety Policy. The motion to approve the Revised Spring Cove School District Athletic Health and Safety Plan and to authorize the superintendent to make adjustments as needed with ratification at the next regular meeting was passed unanimously after lengthy discussion by board members. Cur...
The Spring Cove School District School Board held its monthly Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, in the district Administrative Board Room. A visitor to the meeting, Sherry Dilling, an alumna of the Spring Cove School District, addressed the board on several issues. Initially she congratulated the board for its dedication and effort that the job required. She said she was surprised that since the school administrators are the educational experts, that they would send a survey out to parents regarding what they would like to...
The Monday, Aug. 10, Spring Cove School District School Board combined Committee of the Whole and Regular School Board meeting was heavily focused on getting the 2020-21 school year ready to start and adapt to changes which may have to be made as a result of rising numbers of COVID-19 cases throughout the county and state. This was reflected in Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker’s report. Many of the maintenance projects faced delays this summer due to materials being delayed by COVID-19. The projects are getting done, only slower than expected. T...
The regular meeting of the Spring Cove School District School Board on Aug. 17, began with Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker reemphasizing that the district is moving forward with their plans to fully reopen for the school year,with in-person instruction, five days per week. “We are really excited to see our teachers and students back on campus and feel that we have a solid Health and Safety Plan in place, which will enable us to remain open if we all work together as a team and follow the established plan,” Baker said. Supt. Baker also ann...
The Spring Cove School District School Board met in person on July 20, but to stay within the current restrictions put on numbers at gatherings due to COVID-19, staff and visitors had to attend virtually. The district’s reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year, after being explained by Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker in detail, was approved unanimously by the board. There will be a total reopening for all students and staff with option of the Spring Cove School District Cyber School for families which want distance learning. The reopening p...
Spring Cove School District Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker spoke of the district’s 2020 graduating class with pride at the Monday, June 22, virtual school board meeting. Baker said, “I am extremely pleased that all 142 seniors completed their graduation requirements, and wish them the very best as they move forward with their future plans. We are also extremely appreciative of the support we received from our school community in planning and implementing the Promenade including staff, local police, fire companies, bus contractors, Dragon Pri...
Spring Cove School District Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker spoke of the district’s 2020 graduating class with pride at the Monday, June 22, virtual school board meeting. Baker said, “I am extremely pleased that all 142 seniors completed their graduation requirements, and wish them the very best as they move forward with their future plans. We are also extremely appreciative of the support we received from our school community in planning and implementing the Promenade including staff, local police, fire companies, bus contractors, Dragon Pri...
The coronavirus has played havoc with graduation plans everywhere, and Central High School is no exception. Spring Cove School District, however, has developed some very creative plans to honor its seniors. On Tuesday, June 2, Central High School will post a Virtual Senior Awards Program on the Central High School Twitter Page announcing the scholarship and award recipients. Scholarship and award letters will be inserted into graduation folders to be distributed on Wednesday, June 3, at commencement. A Graduation Promenade will begin at 5 p.m....
The May 18 Spring Cove School District School Board combined Committee of the Whole and regular meeting was focused on the 2020-21 annual proposed budget. The board unanimously voted to accept the proposed General Fund Budget for the school year ending June 30, 2021, in the amount of $28,848,090. The budget will be made available for public inspection prior to the final adoption at the regular scheduled board meeting scheduled June 22. Business Manager Kathy Hazenstab, who reviewed the entire budget with the board, said the 2020-21 budget...
The Spring Cove School District School Board held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 20, by video conference. Although the schools in the district remain physically closed through the end of the school year, education within the district continues. Spring Cove is beginning its fourth week of its Continuity of Education School Plan. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker said during her report, 99.5 percent of the district students are engaged in online learning. The district continues to distribute Chromebooks to families who request them,...
Discussion was intense and lengthy before the Spring Cove School District School Board took a vote on exactly how much they wanted to spend on repaving the entire Central High School/Bean Hill parking lots during the Tuesday, Feb. 18, regular meeting. The entire bid for the Central High School Paving Project from New Enterprise Stone and Lime came in at $768,294. Business Manager Kathy Hazenstab said this figure would leave the board with $560,000 additional funding to find for the paving job from what was initially budgeted for, which was...
The biggest topic of discussion at the Monday, Feb. 10, Spring Cove School District Committee of the Whole meeting ended up being one which was not even on the agenda. The Buildings and Grounds Committee, which was not scheduled to give a report, ended up with the board having a lengthy discussion on the paving costs for Central High School parking lot. A question from board members about bids on pavement work for the Central High School lot was answered by Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker stating that the district did not have results yet, but e...
The Monday, Jan. 13, Committee of the Whole Meeting for the Spring Cove School District School Board was highlighted by Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announcing the awarding of several grants to the Spring Cove School District. The district was awarded the $25,000 Teacher in the Workplace Grant. The goal of the grant is to connect educators with businesses in order to increase career exploration and work-based learning experiences for students and to better prepare the students for careers in the local work force. Spring Cove Elementary...
The Tuesday, December 3 reorganization and regular meeting of the board of directors of the Spring Cove School District was highlighted by welcoming in the new school board. Magisterial Justice Andrew Blattenberger administered the oath of office to newly elected board members James Butler, Floyd Deterline, Brian Gahagan, Jason Rhykard, and Troy Wright. Brian Gahagan was nominated and unanimously elected as board president and Amy Acker-Knisely was nominated and unanimously elected to serve as...
By THOMAS SCHMITT For the Herald The Tuesday, Nov. 12, Spring Cove School District School Board and Committee of the Whole Meeting was highlighted by a lengthy discussion on the district entering into a three-year contract with Comcast for internet services in the district. The district solicitor cautioned the board about the dangers of entering into a three-year contract with Comcast since the termination fee to the district if they opted to do so would be “unbelievably high,” amounting to approximately $77,000. The solicitor stated that the...
The mother of two children in the high school told the Spring Cove School District board on Oct. 21 that she does not think she or her children are being treated fairly by the district. A closed-door executive session was held prior to the Spring Cove School District School Board meeting on Oct. 21 to discuss confidential matters regarding a student. Upon the normal recognition of visitors at the start of the meeting, April Wilson, mother of two children at Central High School, stood to ask the school board where parental complaints should be...
The Oct. 14 Spring Cove School District School Board Committee of the Whole Meeting was highlighted by the district winning a $25,000 grant recipient in the America's Farmers Grow Rural Education program, sponsored by the Bayer Fund. A ceremony was held at the meeting with Bayer representatives presenting the check to Spring Cove School Board President Brian Gahagan (See related story on this site). This grant is a part of America's Farmers Grow Rural Education and the award to Spring Cove School District will advance STEM education. Teachers...
Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker had some bad news for the Spring Cove School Board at its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 16. Dr. Baker informed the board that although the Safe Schools Grant awards will be announced in three to four weeks, they will not be funding as many public schools this year as last. Although the state budget included an additional $1 million for Safe Schools, $3 million was earmarked for non-public schools. As a result, there will actually be $2 million less funding for public schools. Dr. Baker also announced that in prepa...
The Spring Cove School Board’s Monday, Sept. 9, Committee of the Whole Meeting was focused primarily on school grants and safety measures for the district. The administration received the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Part A&B Grant applications on Sept. 9 and will begin working on the applications due Nov. 4. The district must complete a First Energy Grant to potentially secure funds for Spheros for the Spring Cove Middle School in order to enhance computer science/robotics programming. Recently, Spheros was p...
The regular meeting of the board of directors of the Spring Cove School District was held on Monday, Aug. 19. Final preparations for the start of the 2019-20 school year were reported to the board. Painting projects, new carpet and tile, the installation of the Lobby Guard Visitor Identification System , and the creation of an Innovation Lab at Central High School were reported as ready to go for the new year. The new Innovation Lab will include flexible, active learning furnishings, two new 3D printers and a CNC machine. Numerical control...
Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker gave special recognition to several groups which had significantly contributed to the Spring Cove School District at the Monday, July 15, school board meeting. The Quarterback Club has made a special effort to work with the athletic director on areas where they can support the team in the best manner. They have completed the painting of the Bean Hill locker room in school colors and a recent coating of the Roaring Spring Athletic Field locker room floor along with purchasing new helmets for the football team. The...
There was no discussion by the Spring Cove School Board at the June 24 meeting prior to it passing the 2019-20 general fund budget in the amount of $27.988 million by a 6-0 margin. This is a three-percent tax increase over last year’s budget. The three percent increase was the amount agreed upon by the board at the Committee of the Whole meeting on June 17 after a lengthy discussion. The school district still faces a substantial budget deficit. This represents a final real estate tax of 11.03 mills on the assessed value of all real property t...
The Spring Cove School Board’s Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday, June 17, ended up being quite lengthy when the topic of discussion came to the proposed final millage rates and proposed final tax hike for the 2019-20 school year. Originally proposed was a 3.2 percent hike in the tax rate, or a .3426 mill increase to taxpayers. When discussion of the tax hike began, however, different sentiments were expressed. “We have kept a stable budget,” Boardmember Jim Butler said. “We have also made a great deal of improvements in the distric...
The Monday, May 20, Spring Cove School Board meeting was moving along rapidly until the motion to adopt the proposed General Fund Budget for the school year ending 2020 in the amount of $27,988,089 came up on the agenda. A long discussion and differing view points from the school board members occurred at this point. The proposed budget represented an increase in the budget of approximately .3426 mills, according to Spring Cove Business Manager Kathy Hazenstab. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker pointed out although this represented the second...
The May 13 Spring Cove School Board Committee of the Whole meeting was highlighted by the school district receiving notice that they had been awarded the Part B Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency School Safety and Security Grant Award for $360,801. Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker made this announcement during her monthly report. She said funds will be used this summer to replace five entrances (doors and windows) at Spring Cove Middle School and to outfit the new doors with electronic access systems. The remaining funding will be...
Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announced to the Spring Cove School Board at the April 8 Committee of the Whole meeting that she will be adding a resolution supporting Pennsylvania Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 526 to next week’s school board meeting agenda. Last year, she said, “Spring Cove was required to pay a total of $454,884 for 58 students to attend cyber charter schools – an average of $7,842 per student. In comparison, the actual cost per-student for Spring Cove School District's cyber education program was only $2,210 per stude...
Solicitor Jennifer Dambeck at Monday’s night’s Spring Cove School board meeting announced a motion on the agenda to terminate a non-professional employee of the district would be tabled, as that employee has requested a school board hearing. The non-professional employee is thought to be Central varsity boys’ basketball coach Reggie Nevins, whose remarks to a local newspaper following the team’s loss to Huntingdon on Feb. 23 upset the District 6 committee and the Spring Cove School Board. Following the loss to Huntingdon in the Distric...
At the Monday, March 11, Spring Cove School Board Committee of the Whole meeting, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announced that Spring Cove Middle School has been recognized nationally as a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Distinguished School for providing all students in grades 6 to 8 with engaging, transformative learning experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through the Project Lead The Way Gateway program. Spring Cove Middle School was one of five in Pennsylvania to receive this award. PLTW is a non-profit...
At a brief Spring Cove School Board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker extended her thanks for everyone's diligence during the 2018-19 school year in seeking out and pursuing various grants from a wide variety of sources throughout the course of the year. She gave a shout-out to Business Manager Kathy Hazenstab and Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds Lucas Runk for their efforts in securing a Food Service Equipment Grant for Spring Cove Elementary in the amount of $5,992...
At the Tuesday, Jan. 22, Spring Cove School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Betsy Baker announced that the grant money secured this year by the school district is the highest recorded competitive grant revenue in recent years. So far this school year, the district has been awarded $73,737 in competitive grants. There are applications for $1,634,544 outstanding. The district has been notified it is qualified to apply for a PAsmart Advancing Grant. The Advancing grants are more competitive, but have the potential for an award of up to...
The Spring Cove School Board's initial 2019 meeting of the Committee of the Whole on Monday, Jan. 14, was highlighted by the announcement that the long-running process of installing a new gymnasium at Central High School was finally completed. The CHS gymnasium project was completed on Thursday, Jan. 10, and the gym floor was cleaned the next day. The first home game on the new floor was played Friday Jan. 11. All physical education classes resumed in the new gym on Monday. "This project has tru...
