The Sto-Rox School Board met twice in March, and both times recognized students who achieved honors and high honors at their respective schools and grade levels. That was just one of many highlights of the Agenda Review and Legislative Voting meetings held on March 21 and March 28, respectively. Read on for highlights of both meetings. Meeting agendas are here (3/21) and here (3/28).
March 28 Meeting Highlights
Honoring Honor Students
”There is truly nothing that makes us happier than seeing our children being successful,” said Primary Center Assistant Principal Colleen Frankel. “While we know success comes in many forms, tonight we are here to celebrate academic success.” Frankel and Upper Elementary Assistant Principal Tim Liparulo handed out honors certificates for the first quarter to dozens of students, who attended the meeting with their families in tow. “We are here to celebrate achievement - academic achievement,” said Liparulo, who thanked families for making the effort to attend the meeting. “We are very excited that you have come here to honor them. We couldn’t do this without you and they couldn’t have achieved the level they achieved without you.”
Primary Center Honor Students (PDF)
Upper Elementary Honor Students (PDF)
New Hires
• Richelle Tropeck will be the new Library teacher for grades K-6. Most recently teaching in the Butler Area School District, Tropeck is a Duquesne graduate and is looking forward to the job ahead in Sto-Rox. “It’s a small district that feels like a family, and so I’m really, really excited to be here.”
• Raymond Ager, Brendan Blair, and John Robinson will join the Sto-Rox Football Program as assistant coaches with Head Coach Chris Taylor. Ager, from Homewood, works at University Prep in Pittsburgh Public Schools. As for Sto-Rox, “you’re K-12, basically, so you get to watch these kids grow from Kindergarten to 12th grade and make a difference. That’s what I want to do, is to make a difference, on and off the field.” Ager played for Perry in high school (with two city championships) and Central State in college, followed by a stint with the semi-pro Steel City Bobcats.
Blair is well known in Sto-Rox, as a district graduate, returning assistant coach, and his involvement with groups such as Steel City Impact. “Coach Chris (Taylor) is a great man for the (head coach) job, I’ve worked with him before,” said Blair. “So the relationship is real tight…we’re on the same page with a lot of things, and I’m excited.”
Robinson, from Swissvale, coached at Woodland Hills last season. “I feel like this is a place where someone like me is needed. I work at Life Male Student Academy, a charter school with 99% black males, mostly underserved. kids, and this is the type of thing that I like to do.”
”We’ve got some good people coming in here,” said Taylor following the coaches’ introductions. “I’m really blessed and thankful for the people I have and with everybody’s support here, I’m really happy about what we’re doing moving forward. Phase one is down, now it’s on to phase two." Taylor also highlighted recent trips team members made to Youngstown State, Akron, and Duquesne that give student-athletes a chance to experience what colleges have to offer.
Audit Presentation
Mark Turnley presented the latest audit of Sto-Rox’s finances. As the district closes out the second year of its five-year state recovery plan, Turnley put a spotlight in the district’s marked progress.
“There’s a $7 million increase from this year to last year, in terms of excess revenues,” said Turnley. “That was in the form of an increase in taxes, increases in state subsidies, and in various decreases in expenses.”
As of June 30, 2023 the district had a total general fund balance of just over $8 million. Half of that is assigned to capital projects, or improvements, to the district. The rest of that is unassigned, meaning it can be used for any other purpose.
“That $4 million represents 12.3% of the current year budget, that you are in,” said Turnley, “PDE (Pennsylvania Department of Education) says in order for a school district to raise its millage above and beyond the annual increase - if you ever had to do that - you have to pass a budget where this unassigned amount is below 8%.”
“Fortunately, you have that much, if not more, going forward into the next fiscal year, so in layman’s terms that’s a good thing,” he added.
Turnley also spoke about the change over the last five years in terms of district revenues. Some of that is due to temporary ESSER funding due to COVID-19 pandemic, an increase of state subsidies and an increase in tax collection and interest earnings. With ESSER funds running out, it’s a concern not just for Sto-Rox, but for all school districts that Turnley serves.
“The challenge will be to see if this increase [in revenues] is just a blip on the screen and then we’re going to fall backwards,” said Turnley. “That’s going to have a big impact going forward.”
Turnley referenced other elements, including Level Up funding, as sources of money that may not be there in future years. He lauded the district for over-budgeting revenues and under-budgeting expenditures. Those are key steps as the district waits on Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. to make decisions on the future of education funding.
“The last two years you’ve seen successive growth,” said Turnley, “and that’s a kudos to your board, a kudos to your business team for managing the budget properly, it’s a job well done.”
Student Representative’s Report
Reign Boxley provided her student representative’s report to the board. She touched on celebrations including a high school celebration of Pi Day (March 14 - 3/14), the nine new National Honor Society inductees, and an appreciation week at the end of March for Dean of Students Michael Duca. One of the highlights of the Pi Day celebration was Omar Greene winning an apple pie for reciting the most digits of Pi at 71. Boxley also touched on other happenings, including students who volunteered with The Education Partnership and the start of the spring sports season.
March 21 Meeting Highlights
Recognizing Sto-Rox Custodians
”When I walk through a freshly cleaned area in one of our school buildings, I see so much more than shiny floors, clean desks and tables, or sparking fixtures in a restroom,” said Brad Langerman of Steratore Sanitary Supply. “I see pride in a job well done by a Sto-Rox custodian. I see a Sto-Rox custodian who is personally invested in the health of our students and staff by doing the job well.”
Langerman was at the Agenda Review meeting on March 21 to salute Sto-Rox custodians as part of International Cleaning Week, which runs from March 24-30. Steratore Sanitary Supply, a district vendor, is co-owned by former NFL referees Gene and Tony Steratore. In fact, while the meeting was going on, Gene Steratore was delivering analysis on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for CBS in New York.
However, said Langerman, “I’m in an even better place, because I’m here with you!” Langerman explained that International Cleaning Week started as a national effort to recognize frontline cleaning personnel during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and his since become an international effort.
“Unfortunately, and all too often, cleaning people such as custodians are working in the shadows, and sometimes even taken for granted,” said Langerman. “If there is anything I have learned, in my 40-plus years in the cleaning inudstry, it is that these people deserve our thanks and respect for what they do.”
Langerman and the district presented Sto-Rox custodians with t-shirts in addition to their recognition at the board meeting.
Honoring Honor Students
"We want to give a big congratulations to these students,” said Jr./Sr. High School Principal Raelyn Day. “They have worked so hard this past quarter for their honor roll and we are very proud of them. It shows their dedication to their academics and their success here at Sto-Rox.” Day was joined by Assistant Principals Asia Davis (Grades 10-12) and Hope Schreiber (Grades 7-9) to present honors certificates to students for their work during the third quarter. “Congrats for all the hard work you’re putting in throughout the year,” said School Board President Cameron Culliver. “What you are doing is a huge, huge testament to yourselves.”
Odds and Ends
The district continued to accept the work done by teachers on the DonorsChoose platform. The latest project award came from Heather O’Hara, for class projects, titled “Math Here, Math There, Math Everywhere.”
The district read through several donations on March 21 that were subsequently accepted at the March 28 meeting.
• $3,000 from Donna Waigand in honor of her cousin and former Sto-Rox Teacher Glenn Bednar to be used for Sto-Rox Athletics.
• $300 from Rebound 4 Ryan Inc. and $100 from WoodbyDesign for Sto-Rox Athletics.
• $100 from Carla Small to Sto-Rox School District for banners.
• $250 donation from Carol Kyler and Charles Ogle to contribute to the costs of the Saving Our Selves Program (SOS).
• $1,500 from the West End Pulaski Society Lodge 1052 to teacher Presley Carpenter for Jr./Sr. High School Life Skills Activities.
Board members also approved a quote to continue the Xello online career readiness online program. Student Representative Reign Boxley testified to the software’s effectiveness, as she has used every year since Kindergarten as part of the district’s career readiness program.
The district accepted the BSCA Stronger Connections Grant for $1.1 million dollars. As Superintendent Megan Van Fossan explained to KDKA-TV, this money will help the district continue providing mental health resources and other elements for students facing community violence and other issues.
Board members also approved a contract with Nutrition Inc. to continue providing Food Service Management services for the 2024-2025 school year. District approval is subject to final approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Education Division of Food and Nutrition and pending legal review.
Looking Ahead
The district will hold two school board meetings in April. An Agenda Review meeting will take place on Thursday, April 18, while a Legislative Voting meeting will take place on Thursday, April 25. Both meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Jr./Sr. High School Cafeteria, unless otherwise noted.