What you're seeing is a water dispersal system. When too much water accumulates in the detention basin, a pump moves the water onto the fields to prevent an overflow. It works kind of like a sump pump in a home's basement, removing water before it becomes a problem. But it sure does look strange watching it operate during a serious rain storm!

Did you install a heated track at the high school?

No. We installed an all-weather track. It has a rubberized surface, allowing it to be used immediately after (or even during) rain. The cushioned surface reduces the chance of injuries. Annual maintenance costs will be significantly lower than the former cinder track. The surface will need to be reconditioned after 8-10 years and replaced in 16-20 years. A generous grant from the Rodale Family Foundation ($400,000, payable in $100,000 annual increments) is paying approximately half the cost; the balance of the cost will be paid from the district's Capital Reserve Fund. There will be no direct taxpayer cost for the new track. The track will be made available to the public, and it was completed in time to use for the Borough of Emmaus' 250th anniversary celebration.

Do you support the proposal to consolidate school districts across the state, perhaps to one district per county?

For some small school districts, consolidation makes sense. The Monaca and Center Area school districts in Western Pennsylvania have just merged, and the results should be positive for both districts. The rationale for consolidation is normally reducing costs, especially administrative costs. These costs are only about 5% of East Penn's budget, and more than half of that is spent on building principals and assistant principals, which would not go away. After having looked at the data, we think we could, at best, remove 1% of our administration costs and 1-2% of other costs through consolidation. (We already participate in a consortium with seven other school districts for purchasing health insurance, and we take advantage of many other cooperative purchasing opportunities for a wide variety of supplies.)

Many of our other costs would likely go up. When it comes time to negotiate a consolidated teachers contract, do you think the union would start negotiating at the lowest or highest salaries from the former districts? Parkland owns their own bus fleet, East Penn outsources to First Student, Salisbury outsources to Paragon Transit, and Allentown only buses their special education students. Consolidating bus practices and potentially expanding bus service in Allentown could add significant costs. Also, districts are required to transport students to private schools within 10 miles of the district's border. If a county-wide school district were formed (or even just a suburban district), non-public school transportation costs would increase dramatically because of the expanded borders.

East Penn has just completed a major building program that started 20 years ago. Allentown is in the early stages of a building program that is estimated to cost $250 million. In a consolidated school district, the funds for that program would almost certainly come from the suburbs, leading to substantial and sustained tax increases for decades to come.

There are nine Lehigh County school districts, and they all have different tax rates. East Penn's are the fourth lowest. In a consolidated district one tax rate would apply to the entire district, making it near certain that high tax rate districts like Northern Lehigh would have significantly lower tax bills, and lower tax rate districts like East Penn and Parkland would experience rate increases.

Bottom line: Minimal cost efficiencies, potential increases in other costs, potentially high integration costs, and shift of tax burden from other districts to East Penn residents. Since our district is already one of the highest performing in the county, it is unlikely education would improve. In short, any forced school consolidation would probably have no benefit and lead to higher taxes for our residents, so I do not support the concept, at least for East Penn.

Is the district planning to build a new high school?

At some point, we will need to build a second high school to serve the needs of the students. The high school student population has been decreasing for the last three years and middle school enrollments have been flat, which has somewhat reduced the urgency to build a new high school. Our last feasibility study predicted much higher student levels than we have actually experienced, so we will be updating that study within the next year. An updated study will help us develop a better timeline for a new high school.

As part of the last feasibility study, the board has already decided to engage the public to get input on the new school. Some as-yet unanswered questions: Should it be a traditional 9-12 high school, a 9th grade center for all freshmen in the district (leaving the current Emmaus High a 10-12 grade school), or a "magnet" school with a special theme? For how many students will the school be designed? (Early suggestions were 1500 students.) How will we pay for the school? Cost estimates range from $50-80 million and could be significantly higher. Since the district can only borrow about $40 million right now due to statutory debt ceilings, and we increase our debt capacity by about $11 million per year (through a combination of debt repayment and growth in the tax base), how soon can we start? Since we can issue bonds through the course of the project, we do not have to have all the money or borrowing capacity up front, but how much do we need to have before we start? We expect to answer all of these questions in the 18-24 month time frame, and we look forward to hearing your creative ideas!

In order to prepare for that future school, two years ago the board purchased a 93 acre property West of Route 100 and South of Quarry Rd. in Lower Macungie Township. We plan to eventually build both a second high school and a third middle school on this property. The land is currently used for agriculture.

Do you support charter schools, specifically the new Seven Generations Charter School in Emmaus?

Charter schools are the right environment for some students and the right choice for some parents, and I support the right of families to make those decisions. The Seven Generations Charter School, now open in Emmaus, has some innovative ideas, and I applaud the organizers' vision and drive in starting their chartering effort. However, their initial charter application clearly did not meet the standards of the charter school law, so I voted to deny the application. Their revised application met the standards of the law, so I felt it was necessary to approve the application. Nevertheless, I have serious concerns about their financial situation. Having dealt with budgets for schools, businesses, and my own household, their revenue projections seem significantly overstated, and their expense projections seem significantly understated. I believe their financial condition will make it very difficult for them to provide their students with the education they deserve.