Law enforcement advises drivers to slow down in school zones

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – School is back in session, which means drivers need to pay extra attention.

Officers are reminding folks, reduced speed limits are there for a reason.

The sign states, 20 miles per hour when children are present. It’s the driver’s responsibility to follow the law.

Vigo County Sheriff, Greg Ewing says, “At that speed, you’re able to stop that car, should a kid dart out.”

In addition to slowing down, there’s other warnings in place, like crossing guards, to grab drivers attention.

Ray Azar with the Vigo County School Corporation says, “We have stop lights, we would expect drivers to obey the stop signals and if there’s no turn on red, it’s probably there for a good reason.”

It’s not just the drivers who should be alert. Azar says, this is the perfect time to talk with children about using the bus, walking to school, as well as those teens driving to school.

“We ask our student drivers to be very careful, to use common sense when they’re driving and to not engage in distracted driving,” said Azar.

If drivers are in a hurry, it could end up costing you. Sheriff Ewing says one of the most serious violations a driver could do is run a stop sign on a school bus.

“Violating a school bus stop arm, is a mandatory court appearance. So, if you violate that stop arm, first of all remember this, that kid walking out in front of that bus, if you’re passing that school bus. I would sure hate to be that person that hits a kid,” said Ewing.

With school back in session, give yourself a little more time, because “Those few extra seconds may mean the difference between that child making it to school safely, or not making it to school at all,” said Ewing.

All schools have different arrival and dismissal guidelines.

Ray Azar advises parents to contact your children’s school to make sure you’re following the proper procedures.

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As school buses return to the road, safety officials remind drivers to pay attention

The Indiana State Police reminds drivers that all lanes of traffic must stop for an extended school bus stop arm unless there is a physical divider, like a median or curb.

One official in particular has taken ownership of improving school bus safety, leading the charge to educate drivers about how to safely share the road with school children.

Master Trooper Jim Zeser of the Indiana State Police has been patrolling the Elkhart County area since being assigned to the Bremen Post 17 years ago. He has watched business boom and congestion grow in the Dunlap area during the past 17 years.

“The schools and houses that are left in the area are caught in a sea of never-ending traffic,” he said.

Zeser patrols the county from his unmarked Mustang, which he said allows him to blend in with traffic and witness true driving behavior of the public.

At the start of the school year last fall, he noticed an increase in the number of school bus arm violations — most happening on the stretch of U.S. 33 near Dunlap.

Because U.S. 33 is divided by a turn lane near the major shopping complexes that line the road, Zeser found drivers thought they did not have to stop for school buses heading in the opposite direction.

That’s not true. Indiana law states all lanes in both directions must stop for a school bus arm, unless the highway is divided by a physical barrier such as a curb or a median.

Zeser started tackling the problem by writing tickets when he witnessed a violation, but he wanted to inform the public.

“Writing a single ticket for the violation educates one person, while setting the signs out can help educate the thousands of people who travel that road every day,” he said.

So he began a pursuit of informational signs, working with the Indiana Department of Transportation and Concord Community Schoolsofficials.

After a series of meetings, several exchanged emails and a site study, INDOT officials approved the placement of four educational signs on U.S. 33.

The signs, two northbound and two southbound between the U.S. 20 Bypass and C.R. 15, read: “All lanes stop when school bus stops.”

Lt. Chad Larsh, commander of the Bremen Post, commended Zeser for his professional but nontraditional approach to the issue.

“The state police always encourage their officers to think outside the box to solve problems and take ownership in the communities in which they live and patrol,” he said.

Concord Assistant Superintendent Tim Tahara said he has no doubt Zeser’s effort will help keep the district’s students safe on their way to and from school.

He said although Concord residents are generally mindful of the school buses and plan their commutes accordingly, the district does notice more problems after summer break. He said bus drivers have also reported an increase in distracted driving since cell phones became popular.

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West school news: Montour, Moon Area, South Fayette, Sto-Rox

Kennedy tax collector Mel Weinstein no longer will pursue unpaid school taxes under a new policy adopted by school directors. Unpaid tax accounts will be turned over to a delinquent tax collector, which is the policy in all of the other communities in the school district.

School directors have instructed Mr. Weinstein to bring to them either settlements for all unpaid taxes for prior years so they can be approved or unsettled accounts so they can be turned over to the delinquent tax collector.

Board members approved the request July 23 to account for the Kennedy records so that going forward all district municipalities will be treated equally.

Solicitor M. Janet Burkardt said an agreement with Kennedy had been reached in the 1990s, allowing the township to pursue delinquencies.

• School directors voted July 23 to open the head girls volleyball coaching position of Kirsten Burkes. The vote does not exclude her from reapplying for her job. Athletic Director Lou Cerro said a coach would need to be in place by Aug. 17 for the upcoming season.

Also, the directors did not appoint the coach’s sister, Jordan Burkes, to assistant volleyball coach.

In another sports-related item, the district is planning to adopt a policy addressing expectations, procedures and annual training for the coaching staff.

• Directors appointed independent contractor Jodi Porter to provide psychological services at a cost of $60,000 for 250 hours. Last year, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit was used at a cost of about $75,000 for 150 hours, said superintendent Michael Ghilani. Christopher Stone, director of curriculum, said it was the district’s intent to move away from using the AIU’s services when possible.

• Refinancing 2010 general obligation bonds has freed up about $900,000 for the district — $500,000 for the general fund and $400,000 for the capital fund.

• Special needs toys were purchased for $23,661 from TFH USA for the multi-sensory room in Burkett Elementary School. The toys will be able to be moved to the new elementary school.

• A $5,500 contract for landscaping services at the former Ingram Elementary School was awarded to Robinson-based Country Club Gardens Landscaping.

Director Thomas Barclay voiced his displeasure at paying an outside contractor to do something that should have been taken care of by the ground crew. Director Ken Barth abstained from voting.

Also at Ingram Elementary, a $9,450 contract was awarded to Thornburg-based American Restoration Services for the replacement of lintels, window sills and loose mortar on two exterior windows that were leaking.

Moon Area

Bids allowing for two separate firms to return the contents of J. A. Allard and J. H. Brooks in time for the start of the school year on Aug. 17 were approved after much discussion of alternative ideas as to how the move back into the buildings after summer construction projects could be completed for less money.

The winning bid for moving Brooks by George Moving & Storage, Inc. was set at a rate not to exceed $51,263. While the return of Allard items was awarded to Debo Moving & Storage, Inc., at a price not to exceed $18,090. District employees will also be helping with the move.

The difference in quotes was explained by district officials who stated while removing the contents of the buildings in May, Allard was able to stage the move so that it is packed room-by-room in an organized fashion, while Brooks did not have access to a staging area. Additionally, Brooks is a larger school building.

Director Jerry Testa failed in his attempt to hire district college and high school students to perform the task at $12 per hour. Officials stated there would not be enough time to properly vet and hire student helpers before the week of Aug. 10, when the move is expected to occur.

In a move toward district-wide standardization of security system protocols, Moon Area directors voted to purchase security access control systems for Allard and Brooks elementaries last Monday night.

The card activated systems from PSC Incorporated will cost about $39,000 each for the two elementary school buildings. Currently, the middle and high schools use the system and McCormick is equipped with similar programming. Bon Meade will be updated at a later date.

• Directors approved the purchase of a PowerEdge R730XD server with hardware and software support at a cost of $10,450 from Global Government Education Solutions in Fletcher, OH.

The district will also purchase an EMC-Celerra Storage Area Network from Pittsburgh-based AdvizeX Technologies at a cost of $46,510. Three years of hardware and software support are included in the price.

Brian Campbell, director of technology, said the district’s current storage network is seven years old and can no longer be expanded. The new unit will offer quadruple the capacity of the old, with space for expansion.

Moon-based Questeq, the district’s technology service provider, will setup the new equipment and migrate current data into the new technology at a cost of $1,800 for the server and $8,400 for the SAN unit.

• An updated utility right of way agreement was approved as part of the building project at Allard Elementary. The new agreement allows for the relocation of a transformer farther from the school building.

• Moon Area will enter into an agreement with Keystone Oaks School District for the Project Succeed program offered there for struggling students.

Moon Area has between 12 and 15 students enrolled in the program each year.

• The district approved the renewal of its Pennsylvania School Board Association membership for 2015-16 at a cost of $12,043.

• Directors approved the first reading of a policy regarding the use of commercial advertising on school property which will now includes the district website.

• Superintendent Curt Baker was given permission to negotiate a one-year agreement with Kennedy School of Driving, Inc., which allows the driving school to advertise its services to students through district channels.

Moon Area stopped offering in-house driver’s education courses about eight years ago, said Michael Hauser, director and former high school principal.

Since then, parents have had to pay out of pocket to enroll students in programming such as the Kennedy driving school. Completion of these types of programs allow for auto insurance policy discounts.

• Insurance policy packages for the 2015-16 school year were approved for purchase through Moon-based HHM Insurors.

A commercial package insurance policy including general liability, property, automobile, energy systems and inland marine insurance from Liberty Mutual was approved at $169,267.

This an increase of $12,509 from last year’s policy but now includes errors and omissions liability coverage.

Excess liability insurance from Liberty Mutual via the PSBA Insurance Trust at HHM was purchased at a cost of $18,259, an increase of $2,372 from last year’s rates.

Worker’s compensation insurance at a cost of $164,092 from UPMC Health Benefits, Inc., was approved. This is a decrease from last year of $25,477.

Volunteer accident insurance from the PSBA Insurance Trust was acquired at a cost of $1,275.

South Fayette

Associate high school principal Aaron Skrbin has been promoted to principal. He replaces Scott Milburn, who has become director of secondary education in the Montour School District.

Mr. Skrbin, who was promoted July 21 by school directors, was hired in 2005 as assistant high school principal. He became associate principal in 2012 and also has been director of school safety.

He had been a teacher and administrator in the Chartiers Valley and Woodland Hills school districts.

• Kristin Deichler, sixth grade mathematics functions and pre-algebra teacher, has been promoted to middle school assistant principal.

She has worked in the district since 2001.

Ms. Deichler was the South Fayette Education Association’s treasurer and a middle school grade level team leader responsible for establishing team goals and action plans.

She fills the position of Thomas Kaminski who is serving as interim principal in the intermediate school.

• Tyler Geist, the second grade lead teacher, has been promoted for a 10-month period to serve as assistant principal of the elementary and intermediate elementary schools.

Mr. Geist was hired in 2009 as an elementary teacher.

He also has been a lead teacher facilitator for the elementary school’s iPAD launch and on curriculum and building-level committees.

Sto-Rox

Lucille M. Young has been appointed to a Region 1 school board seat. She was sworn into office on July 8 by Mary Anne Cercone, magisterial district judge. Ms. Young received one of the two nominations in the May primary.

• Linda Hippert of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, who was formerly South Fayette superintendent, was appointed acting superintendent, effective July 7. She will serve at no cost to the district pending notification of acting superintendent Terry DeCarbo’s letter of eligibility from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

• Directors accepted a proposal from NovaCare Rehabilitation for one certified athletic trainer for 2015-16 at a cost of $34,000.

• The 2015 Sto-Rox football team will participate in the California University of Pennsylvania training camp and have speed training provided by Mars-based Get Fast Sport Specific Speed Training.

• An agreement was reached with the Kennedy School of Driving to offer driver’s education course to students. The end-of-course driver’s test will be administered to students enrolled in the school.

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