The Conewago Valley school board hired a new principal and special education supervisor during the board’s meeting on Monday evening.
Christina McLaughlin was approved as the new principal of Conewago Valley Intermediate School (CVIS). McLaughlin will begin on July 1.
Lorrie Hrycek was hired as the supervisor of special education and student services. Hrycek will begin in that position on July 10.
During the time for public comment, the CVIS PTO president thanked the current CVIS principal, Larry Sanders, for his service. Sanders is preparing to retire after 27 years.
The board agreed to move forward with a millage rate of 15.6691 mills for its 2023-24 budget, pending approval at the next regular meeting.
The board unanimously voted to have Michael Buckley and Lori Duncan continue in their roles as board treasurer and secretary, respectively, during the 2023-24 school year.
Cafeteria prices for the upcoming school year will remain the same following a unanimous vote. Lunch prices will continue to be $2.50 for elementary and intermediate students, $2.75 for secondary schools, and $0.50 for milk. Breakfasts will also continue to be offered at $1.50 for the entire student body.
Other business
Superintendent Sharon Perry said the district will be able to celebrate National School Communicator’s Day for the first time on Friday. Matthew Muller recently moved into the role of district safety and communications supervisor, marking the first time that position has been filled at Conewago Valley.
Perry said that although the change was recent, she believes it was a critical one for the district.
“As we all know, as a school community, communication was our number one comprehensive planning goal,” Perry said. “So no matter what stakeholder group, we’ve received feedback from our community. They said that our communications have improved. I believe that with Matt’s leadership we have all been able to see that the story of Conewago Valley School District has significantly improved.”
As the school year comes to a close, Perry also praised the entire district for helping create a successful and “normal-feeling” school year.
“The best efforts have been shown this year,” Perry said. “We’ve really shown the power of working together as part of our comprehensive planning goals and just because we are the Conewago Valley School District community. I’d like to thank everybody for a really strong normal-feeling year than the ones we’ve had in the past few years.”
Joshua Schaffer, principal of New Oxford Middle School, told the board his school recently received donations from an unexpected source.
Rather than requesting more traditional birthday presents, one “young man” asked friends to give him items to donate to the middle school, according to Schaffer. He brought markers, cleaning supplies, and other donations to the school.
“I just thought it was really cool that he saw something he wanted to do to give back and he chose the middle school as a place to do that,” Schaffer said. “That’s something that touched me a little bit.”
Assistant superintendent Brad Sterner thanked school principals for their work in helping students complete end-of-the-year testing.
“One of the things I wanted to also say for our assessments is, you may or may not know there’s a lot of accountability that is placed on school districts when we do our standardized tests, and quite honestly a lot of responsibility on our principals,” Sterner said. “I wanted to thank them again for making sure everything got boxed up okay and sent back the way they’re supposed to.”
Sterner said he will provide a curriculum cycle update for the board in June.
English Language Arts (ELA) will transition into the implementation portion of its cycle while math and library science will switch from the research period to the writing year, according to Sterner.
Recognition
Curtis Smith was recognized for being named April’s New Oxford High School Rotary Student of the Month, according to the board agenda.
The board also reviewed a long list of students who have received college acceptance letters and, in many cases, scholarships. A total of $3,178,960 in scholarships have been offered to Conewago Valley students so far, according to the agenda.
Upcoming events and meetings
The board will hold a special feasibility study at 6 p.m. Monday, May 22. The meeting will be held in the district board room.
Conewago Valley will celebrate its graduation ceremony at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 25.
The board will hold a study session at 7 p.m. Monday, June 5. A regular board meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 12.
Both meetings will be held in the district board room.
Imari Scarbrough is a freelance journalist. She was a staff newspaper reporter for five years before becoming a freelancer in 2017. She has written on crime, environmental issues, severe weather events, local and regional government and more.
You can visit her website at ImariJournal.com.