Schools

Remaining Notes from Sept. 14 B-W School Board Meeting

Cameras on buses, new phone system, fitness equipment at Harrison, entry fees for sports events, and public relations director.

Educational Administrative Personnel Agreement Voted Down

Read .

Major Purchases

Find out what's happening in Baldwin-Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board authorized three major purchases for the on Wednesday night: surveillance cameras for school buses, a new district-wide phone system and fitness equipment for .

- Cameras on Buses

Find out what's happening in Baldwin-Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The board voted, 9-0, to approve the purchase of 74 cameras and a digital video recording (DVR) system from 247 Security, Inc., in Alpharetta, GA, for $175,762. The purchase includes installation, training and support. The cameras will be used on the district’s transportation vehicles, i.e. school buses.

The DVR system includes a wireless component that allows for recordings to be sent to digital storage as soon as a bus arrives at its garage. The recordings will then be instantly viewable by district administrators, as they will reside on the district’s network.

Video being recorded while a bus is away from its garage will not be available as a “live feed.”

- New Phone System

The board voted, 7-2, to approve the purchase of a new district-wide phone system from Dagostino Electronic Services, Inc., in Pittsburgh for $209,200.

B-W’s Director of Technology Tim Winner said that, with this new system, employees’ voicemail will be accessible three different ways: by phone, by email and by logging into a website.

“I use this at work, and I think it’s awesome,” board member Nancy Lee Crowder said, referring especially to the email option.

Board members Sam DiNardo Jr. and Martin Michael Schmotzer cast the “no” votes.

“I think this is an absolute waste of money,” Martin Schmotzer said. “I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with the current phone system.

“I don’t think a lot of people are trained correctly on this. I know a lot of people around here, to this day, cannot transfer a call to someone else ... The easy thing, in technology, is always to buy new because people say it doesn’t work ... The fact of the matter is they’re not trained correctly. They don’t care enough to get trained correctly. I think spending this kind of money on a phone system is a total waste of money.”

In addition to the aforementioned voicemail plan, the new phone system will allow for district-wide four-digit dialing, remote-user friendliness that permits a caller from a home or a hotel to use the system as if he or she was in his or her office, on-demand recording for threatening or important calls, audio and interactive Web conferencing, and the ability to move a call to a cellphone in the middle of a conversation, among other features.

- Fitness Equipment

The board voted, 8-1, to approve the purchase of $15,000 worth of fitness equipment from the Alexander’s Athletic Club in Canonsburg Borough. The equipment will reside at Harrison Middle School for use by students and employees.

DiNardo cast the lone “no” vote, but did not specify why.

“We took what was an old archery room, full of storage, and we turned it into a fitness center,” Harrison Principal Michael R. Wetmiller said during a previous school board meeting, “so that we can make fitness part of the physical education curriculum (at Harrison) ...

“Most of what we have is all to develop strength in kids. We don’t have the cardio aspect yet. The equipment that we’re getting—we’re looking at ellipticals and treadmills—add a cardio aspect to it.

“Come this winter, when you can’t get outside and run on the track, we’re going to be inside, running ... Physical education at Harrison isn’t about playing games; it’s about physical fitness.”

Martin Schmotzer Wants No Entry Fees for B-W Students to Sports Events

Martin Schmotzer used board-member comments time during Wednesday’s meeting to motion that all entry, or admission, fees to Baldwin-Whitehall School District sports events should be waived for all B-W students.

His motion drew some applause from the meeting’s audience, and his fellow board members agreed with the spirit of the motion. However, multiple board members asked that the motion be tabled until the board can gauge the approximate revenue that the district will lose as a result of waiving those entry fees. Also, multiple board members wanted to consider waiving entry fees for arts events, as well.

Board President George L. Pry asked for a show of hands in favor of tabling, and the majority ruled in favor of doing that.

“I think the idea to motion is noble ... ,” board member John Schmotzer said, “but I cannot vote on this tonight. I would ask the board to table this motion until we have more information.

“You can’t rush into a vote without having all of the facts ... the proper data.”

Board member Kevin A. Stiffey wants the board to start charging school board members to attend sports events.

Martin Schmotzer wants all district employees to pay entry fees, too.

Public Relations Director?

Martin Schmotzer, John Schmotzer and Pry each expressed a desire for the district to hire a new alumni and community relations director. Jim O’Brien after working for Baldwin-Whitehall from August 2009 to November 2010.

No motion was made on Wednesday night related to that desire, but the consensus among board members was that replacing O’Brien will be considered.

“This position absolutely needs to be filled ... ,” Martin Schmotzer said. “We are being remiss in not promoting this school district.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here