Neidig work on time & potential baseball solution

Neidig construction on time, plus a potential baseball field solution
Posted on 01/05/2020
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the Holidays and found some time to rest and recharge for 2020. There are several things that happened in December and last week that I would like to catch you up on.

The Board of School Directors reorganized at its December 5th meeting and selected Kaylyn Mitchell as President and Ron Jackson as Vice President. Subsequently, Mrs. Mitchell identified Board Committee Chairs and assignments for the next 12 months. They include Keith Miccuci as Finance Committee Chair, Jennifer Weed as Policy Committee Chair, Chris Spears as Facilities Committee Chair, and Mitch Anderson as Education Committee Chair. Board members were also assigned to each of these committees. David Ochmanowicz Jr. is the President of the Joint Operating Committee at Upper Bucks County Technical School, with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Spears as JOC members.

At the December 5th meeting, the Board received a powerful presentation from Dr. Gillian Beaucamp of the Lehigh Valley Health Network titled The Opioid Crisis. (Here is the video of the presentation at the 21:54 minute mark.) Vaping continues to be in the news with the editorial board of the Harrisburg Patriot News giving its views on vaping, and mentioning the Quakertown Board of Directors stand on the unhealthy habit.

Last week at the Facilities Committee meeting, Committee members in attendance received a presentation from D’Huy Engineering, our construction management team for the Neidig Elementary School Construction Project.  Construction is on time, the new two-story classroom wing is under roof, drywall is going up, and steel is being set in place for the gymnasium. There were no change orders requested at the meeting. Also, an update was provided on the cash flow for the Neidig Project. We are expecting occupancy of Neidig ES no later than mid-August. In other facilities news, the Committee gave work authorization to both our civil engineering firm Boucher & James, and D’Huy to make an assessment of the feasibility of assuming Memorial Park Baseball Field from Quakertown Borough. The only concern about assuming the responsibility of the stadium is the flood plain. They will report back to the Facilities Committee on February 6th. At that time, the Committee will consider next steps in completing an agreement with the Borough and construction of a home field for Panther Baseball. The Committee received a thumbs-up - all is well, report on the drinking water at Pfaff and Trumbauersville elementary schools. As you recall, the state mandates school districts to test drinking water and report out to their communities.

Finally, this week is the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Beginning yesterday and throughout the week, several Quakertown Community High School students who attend Upper Bucks County Technical School will be competing in myriad shows and competitions. Tomorrow, a busload of 8th graders from Strayer Middle School will be travelling to Harrisburg to visit the Farm Show to learn more about how and why Agriculture is the #1 industry in Pennsylvania. Parents who want to take their children to the Farm Show, please know that it is an excused absence by PA School Code. If you go, please don’t forget to try their famous milkshakes!

Have a great week.

Bill Harner
Superintendent
[email protected]
@BillHarner

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