2018-3-12-Board FAQ

Question: What kind of security do they provide at their facility for our records project at the high school?
Answer: The records are bar coded and tracked from pick up to return.  They are stored in a secure warehouse with limited access to employees of the company.

 

Question: Where did 30 Apple TV’s go?
Answer: The January 22 FAQ that stated 30 Apple TVs were purchased for Avis Elementary is incorrect.  The account that was used to purchase the Apple TVs was actually Jersey Shore Elementary, not Avis.  For clarification sake, the Apple TV purchases in 14-15 and 15-16 are as follows:
14-15 – There were no Apple TVs purchased for Avis or Salladasburg Elementary for 14-15
15-16 – Avis –  19 Apple TVs were purchased  – One for each classroom, library and computer lab
Salladasburg – 17 Apple TVs were purchased – One for each classroom, library and computer lab

Apple TVs are not televisions.  They are a small box that can connect to a display such as a TV, monitor or projector.  In JSASD, the most widely used function is for a teacher to display his/her iPad screen to the Apple TV which then displays through the projector.  This allows students to follow any steps, directions or other content the teacher wishes to display.  Here is a link for the full description of what an Apple TV is:https://www.apple.com/tv/

The Apple TVs that were purchased in 15-16 were $69/each

 

Question: When will the school board and administration bring in a commercial realtor such as Fish or Giro to look at the administration building and give an opinion as to what the building would be worth on the real estate market for this locality? In what way could it be successfully marketed?
Answer:  Three quotations for an appraisal of the administration building have been received and provided to the board.  A summary of these quotes were provided to the board at the February 28, 2018 work session.  They decided not to move forward with an appraisal at this time.

 

Question: Is a committee going to be set up to look into the plans for relocation of the contents of the administration building?
Answer:  The administration building is a part of the feasibility study.  Crabtree, Rohrbach and Assoicates has been asked to look at the viability of moving the administration building into a different location.

 

Question: What would be the total anticipated cost to put the administration building up for sale 9 (real estate appraisal and sales commission) and the cost for moving everything and setting it up at another location or several different locations?
Answer:  At this time, the only cost that has been researched is the cost of an appraisal.  Those quotes were between $3,000 – $3,500.

 

Question: Which districts of IU 17 are or are not 1:1 with Ipads?
Answer:

District Response
Southern Tioga  No.  However, we are currently in the process of a 1:1 chrome books initiative.
Towanda not 1-1ipad but we do have grade level carts in grades K-1-2 as well as an ipad lab in the primary K-2 building.
Montoursville No
Muncy No. We are currently working toward a goal of having 1 device per every 2 students in our district.
Northeast Bradford We are not a 1:1 iPad School at the moment
Troy Troy does have 1:1 Ipads in grades three through twelve.  Classroom carts exist in grades kindergarten through two.
Wyalusing No
South Williamsport No.  Not sure we can financially sustain it and we have decided to focus on engagement first and technology second.
East Lycoming We do have a 1 to 1
Canton No
Athens Area No response, left messages
Loyalsock Township Secondary grades 1:1 iPads
Montgomery Area 1:1 iPad for K-6, 1:1 Chromebook 7-12
Northern Tioga No
Sayre Area Secondary Grades 1:1 iPads
Sullivan County 1:1 iPads for Grades 3-12
Williamsport Area No

 

Question: What is the total amount spent per year for Ipad apps?
Answer:  There is not a recurring cost.  When apps are purchased there are no recurring costs unless additional licenses are needed.

 

Question: Does the district only pay for the apps each child uses, or does the district have to pay a license fee for each app the student has access to in the self service area regardless if the student or teacher every chooses to download or use the app?
Answer: There are two different types of licenses:  Free and Paid.  If the app is free, we will “purchase” the free app for the number of licenses that are needed.  The app is then put into our iPad Management system that tracks the licensing.  If there is a request for a paid app, there is a vetting process, usually by department, to justify it’s use, whether it has educational merit and how many licenses may be needed.  Cindy Welsh also has a part in the vetting and approval process.  Once all of vetting process is completed, the licensed count is determined there will be a budget request for the app purchase.  Once the app is purchased, it is placed in our iPad management system and distributed to students/staff as needed.

 

Question: What is the total expenditure for all other instructional software (itemized by program)?
Answer: IXL – 42,990; Ren Learn – 25,640; MobyMax – 6,600; Reading Eggs – 2,950; Math Seeds – 2,950; LMS – 16,950; Enchanted Learning – 450; Atomic Learning – 15,500; Knowledge Matters – 2,000; Discovery Streaming – 3,750; Plagiarism Checker – 4,500; Choices Career Planner – 1,285; NearPod – 6,300

 

Question: Without Ipads do you foresee the need for all current technology positions?
Answer: Yes.  Even prior to the 1:1 iPad initiative, we were understaffed.  Supporting a district of 2450 students, more than 250 staff, parents and general public is a daunting task even with current staff.

State and Federal reporting needs alone have consumed almost an entire technology position.  These reporting needs are NOT and option.  Without proper data submissions, the district stands to face audits and subsequent penalties for incorrect data.

Network operations including server and network plant operations will always be required.  These operations provide the framework for ALL district operations of file storage, printing, cloud storage, cloud based apps, phone system, HVAC, Security, CCTV Cameras, business operations etc.

The technology department must provide support to increasing population.  We routinely get support requests from parents that have questions about grades, attendance, mass communication issues.

 

Question: Which district in IU 17 do, or do not have, their administration buildings within or attached to a school building for efficiency and streamlining of administrative and assistant positions?
Answer:

District Response
Towanda district admin in the Towanda Area Elementary School
Montoursville Yes, high school.
Muncy Yes. District Office is attached to the high school. We do not share support positions.
Northeast Bradford

The District Office at Northeast Bradford is part of the High School Building.

We currently do not share staff or responsibilities with other offices.

Wyalusing Yes, Elementary School. We do not share positions.
South Williamsport

Yes.  The administration offices are on the first floor of the RRR elementary school (grades 5-6)

Yes wherever possible.  Plus it’s great to work in a building where there are teachers and kids!

Easy Lycoming East Lycoming Admin Office is located in the Jr./Sr. High School. We do not share staff. Confidentiality would be of concern with shared members.
Canton Yes, attached to the high school. We do not share staff
Montgomery Area Yes, K12 in one building with Admin offices in basement.  Do not share staff.
Northern Tioga Yes, located in old Elkland High School which was closed, connected to an Elementary Building.  Do not share support staff
Sayre Area Yes, located in same building as High School, do not share staff
Sullivan County Yes, all one complex, do not share support staff.
Williamsport Yes, attached to Middle School, do not share staff
Southern Tioga We are located in the old high school, directly across from the new high school.
Troy Troy has a stand alone administration building less than a block from the high school.  No staff is shared from the administration office.
Wellsboro We are located in the old high school, directly across from the new high school.
Athens Separate Building (per website)
Loyalsock Township Separate Building close to Elementary, MS and High School buildings
 

Question: Has JSASD reviewed pros and cons of this type of configuration with those districts who utilize this configuration? (see question above for reference)
Answer: No

 

Question: If there are 10 empty rooms in the high school and 6 departments in the District Service Center, which portions of the DSC could be housed in 10 rooms?
Answer: This question should be answered during the District-wide Facility Study Update presentation on April 9, 2018 @ 7:00 p.m.

 

Question: With the Lower Level of the E wing being an obvious administration area with separate building and entrance adjacent to parking that can easily be isolated from classrooms with a simple gate, what other accommodations would you need to have in place to utilize these 10 empty rooms in the high school to house central administration and assistants?
Answer: This question should be answered during the District-wide Facility Study Update presentation on April 9, 2018 @ 7:00 p.m.

 

Question: What was the total state reimbursement for bussing Sugar Valley Charter School students 2012-13 to current?
Answer:

Sugar Valley Rural Charter School Transportation Cost/Reimbursement
School Year Bus # Annual Cost Total Reimbursement Total cost to the district
From the State
2012/2013 300 & 384 $37,623.53
2012/2013 388 $72,161.47
Total $109,785.00 $63,103.32 $46,681.68
2013/2014 300 $60,315.79
2013/2014 388 $71,127.23
Total $131,443.02 $138,665.71 -$7,222.69
2014/2015 388 $79,822.82
2014/2015 391 $60,036.74
Total $139,859.56 $143,818.88 -$3,959.32
2015/2016 388 $71,816.10
2015/2016 391 $64,951.79
Total $136,767.89 $133,024.12 $3,743.77
2016/2017 309 $50,991.72
2016/2017 310 $51,362.68
2016/2017 391 $70,303.14
Total $172,657.54 $158,975.29 $13,682.25

 

Question: What would be the projected increase in transportation cost to Sugar Valley Elementary School, both before and after state reimbursement, if Salladasburg and Avis were to close and one student from each elementary age bus route, as well as, one student from each high school age bus route were to enroll at Sugar Valley Charter School?
Answer: This completely depends on where they live.  Bus routes can cover some large areas, so the impact of this question could vary greatly – in some instances it may not change much at all due to rerouting, etc., but in other circumstances it could change more.  I think the best way I could answer this is by referring you back to the state formula to show that the impact of the cost on transportation is dependent on the number of students on the bus, age of the bus, capacity of the bus, miles with students and miles without, etc.  This year the SVRCS buses cost approx. $2.45 and $3.04 per mile based on the current state formula.  Depending on where students live that would be added to these runs,  how many more miles these buses would travel would impact this number.  The SVRCS buses currently have pick ups in Avis and on areas of 287.  Whatever the total would be, the District currently receives 69% of the reimbursable cost back from the state, plus we receive an additional $385 per student for all students we transport that attend non-public schools and charter schools (again, that is part of the state formula sheet).

 

Question: What is the total number of bus routes currently serving Avis and Salladasburg schools?
Answer: Avis: 4 bus routes; Sall: 9 bus routes

 

Question: What was the total number of students from the previous Nippenose Valley Elementary attendance zone and their grade levels that attend Sugar Valley Rural Charter School? (You could elect to answer this by updating and separating Nippenose students from the JSE attendance zone that were reported together on last weeks FAQ)
What was the enrollment at Sugar Valley Charter School by grade level for each attendance zone (utilizing 2012 zones to show previous Nippenose area) for the years 2012-13, 2013-14?
Answer:

SVRCS Enrollees by Zone/Grade
2012-2013 2013-2014 2017-2018
JSE K 1 3 0
1 0 1 0
2 0 3 3
3 1 5 3
4 0 1 3
5 1 0 0
6 3 1 3
7 2 0 3
8 0 5 1
9 1 4 0
10 1 0 0
11 4 3 1
12 1 0 1
Avis K 1 1 1
1 0 1 1
2 0 0 1
3 2 1 1
4 1 3 0
5 0 1 3
6 1 0 0
7 3 0 1
8 1 2 2
9 3 1 0
10 2 0 3
11 1 3 1
12 1 2 1
Nipp K 1 2 2
1 2 3 2
2 2 4 3
3 2 1 3
4 0 3 1
5 2 3 3
6 2 0 6
7 5 3 2
8 0 2 1
9 1 4 1
10 5 3 1
11 0 3 1
12 2 5 2
Sall K 1 1 2
1 1 1 0
2 3 0 0
3 2 1 0
4 2 2 0
5 1 1 1
6 1 0 0
7 1 0 1
8 3 1 2
9 0 0 1
10 1 1 0
11 0 0 1
12 3 1 1

 

Question: What is the enrollment of cyber school students by grade level from each attendance zone (utilizing 2012 zones to show Nippenose area) for the years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2017-18.
Answer:

Cyberschool Enrollees by Zone/Grade
2012-2013 2013-2014 2017-2018
JSE K 0 0 0
1 0 0 1
2 1 0 0
3 0 2 0
4 2 0 0
5 1 1 3
6 0 0 1
7 3 0 2
8 5 1 4
9 3 3 1
10 7 3 6
11 2 6 5
12 4 2 4
Avis K 1 0 0
1 1 0 0
2 2 1 0
3 1 0 0
4 0 0 0
5 0 0 0
6 1 0 0
7 0 0 3
8 1 0 3
9 2 1 5
10 4 1 0
11 3 1 1
12 1 6 2
Nipp K 0 1 0
1 1 3 0
2 2 1 0
3 0 0 0
4 1 1 0
5 0 1 1
6 1 1 1
7 0 3 0
8 0 1 1
9 0 1 1
10 0 0 0
11 0 1 4
12 1 0 2
Sall K 0 0 1
1 1 3 0
2 1 0 0
3 1 4 0
4 0 1 1
5 0 1 2
6 0 0 1
7 1 1 2
8 0 0 5
9 2 0 4
10 2 1 4
11 0 1 3
12 1 2 1

 

Question: In 2013-14 how many of the 92 kindergartners were from the previous Nippenose attendance area?
Answer: 38

 

Question: On March 27, 2017 FAQ you stated the following for public clarity: “When a position is eliminated and then brought back, it is a reinstatement of the position. The definition of the word reinstatement is to put back or establish again, as in a former position.”  If a position was eliminated in 2011-2012, didn’t exist in 2012-13, and was never reinstated in 2013-14 or thereafter, by definition what year was the position eliminated?
Answer: Every year the staffing of classrooms is based on enrollment.  Looking at previous years may not have a direct impact on future years as enrollment fluctuates.  The number of classrooms in a building is based on the student enrollment in that building.