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EAST PALESTINE -- East Palestine Superintendent Chris Neifer gave a detailed account of all monies received from Norfolk Southern after a request during the public participation portion of last week's school board meeting held in the elementary school's media center on Nov. 6.
Shirley Glavan asked for an exact amount of the donations received from the railroad in the wake of February's train derailment, asked if any other donations are expected and requested that the administration consider the input from the community regarding how to best use the funds. Glavan suggested a series of community-wide meetings to obtain public feedback as well as a public relations campaign to attract families with children into the community under open enrollment.
Neifer said the district is planning to ask for community input regarding what remains of the open donation of $300,000 made by Norfolk Southern in early March by developing a steering committee and eventually opening talks open to the public. He added that making sure the money is spent wisely is the district's top priority.
"As far as open donations, we only received one of those and that was for $300,000 at the very beginning of the event. Norfolk Southern heard we were not holding any events here because of what happened," Neifer said. "Of that $300,000 dollars, $40,000 was earmarked for athletics. That is how the original meeting started because Norfolk heard people afraid to come. So $40,000 of that went to the athletic department."
Neifer went on to explain that $38,337.82 of the earmarked $40,000 has been spent on equipment and uniforms, while $10,650 from the open donation "was spent in different buildings for a number of different events and the materials that were used." That leaves a balance of $251,012.19.
"That money is still sitting there and we will utilize that to support and enhance the learning for the kids," Neifer said. "We've all heard the stories about the guy who wins the lottery and is broke two years from now. So we wanted to make sure we used this money to support sustainable activities for our kids."
As far as other donations from Norfolk Southern, Neifer said funds went "to very specific things" and said that and said that attracting new students is a top priority for all stakeholders, reporting that Norfolk Southern has committed $75,000 a year for the next 10 years to establish a Communications and Marketing Supervisor position in the district. Allison Oltmann was hired to fill that position later in the meeting.
"We do need to do a better job communicating the idea of PR and attracting people to the district. Norfolk Southern agrees especially with all the things that have gone on over the course of the last eight or nine months, they are supporting a communication and PR position," Neifer said.
Other Norfolk Southern donations included $100,000 for track cleaning and repairing, $75,000 to repair the elementary school parking lot that was damaged during the derailment response, $100,000 for costs accrued during online learning necessary following the disaster, and $52,000 in gift cards distributed as to the district staff as part of an appreciation event. Neifer also said several teams and clubs have approached the railroad directly for donations and since those donations did not come through the district office, he has no record of the exact number but estimated to be another $20,000. He also reported a personal donation of $400,000 from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to establish an endowment scholarship at the high school.
As far as future monies from the railroad, Neifer said he can't predict what other donations the district will receive from Norfolk Southern but said he does believe the railroad will continue to do what is asked and needed.
" I will tell you that I met with Alan Shaw last week and he is committed to continue to support the school district and the community until he feels they have made everything right," Neifer said. "There have been many conversations about a lot of different projects but none of those things are set in stone."
In other matters, Neifer and the board also heard from the elementary school teachers who voiced opposition to a new state law related to reading instruction and screening students with dyslexia.. The changes significantly alter districts' obligations to students in the area of reading instruction.
Carrie Cope addressed the board as a representative of the district's elementary students, voicing concern that the new dyslexia mandates, under the district's current staffing, will impede on other areas of instruction.
"As we navigate through the dyslexia process we want to be sure that we are not sacrificing quality instructional time in grades 2 through 4 to meet the mandated requirements for kindergarten through first grade," Cope said. "While we strive to do everything we can to provide intervention and enrichment to all of our learners at every grade level, this requirement is asking more than is feasible, reasonable or acceptable with our current staffing levels."
Cope explained that by following the mandate for all grade levels, intervention specialists and classroom teachers are required to find an extra 30 minutes three times a week per grade level for Tier II students and an additional 45 minutes per day per grade level for Tier III students. Ohio dyslexia screening system defines Tier II students as those at risk for dyslexia and Tier III students as those needing intensive intervention.
Cope pointed out that the district does not have the appropriate staffing "to meet the needs of most struggling learners" and said if the intervention specialist spends the mandated time with Tier III students, students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504's will suffer.
"It is our concern that we will be losing time with our intervention specialist that we need in order to meet the needs of our students on IEPs, 504's and additional struggling students," Cope said, before requesting an additional intervention specialist or a trained reading or dyslexia specialist to be added to the elementary school to meet the needs of this mandate while assuring other students still receive the support needed. Cope also requested a research-based intervention program to be purchased for our Tier II and Tier III students.
Cope also suggested that the focus of the dyslexia mandate be placed at the kindergarten and first grade levels.
"It is our firm belief that if we truly want to make a difference with our learners we should devote all of our resources to the mandated grade levels of kindergarten and first grade. Moving forward we can add grade levels each year according to the mandate and availability of resources," she said. "It is our sincere hope to provide interventions at the earliest possible opportunities so we can close these gaps and no longer have non-readers in third, fourth grades and above."
The board said it will take the teachers' concerns under advisement and present a response at the next board member.
In other personnel matters, the board approved several supplemental contracts -- Susan Wagner ( Destination Imagination Gifted Club Advisor), Calum Watt (Football), John Simon (Football), Tristen Reynolds (Football), Stephen Bycroft (Golf ), Laura Spanos (Social Studies Department Chair), and Ryan McCullough (Social Studies Department Chair).
The board also approved maternity leave and unpaid leaves of absences for employees and accepted three open enrollment students.
In other business, the board accepted and approved several treasurer items including the financial report, the donation from the railroad for the track and a resolution to approve a five-year fiscal forecast.