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12.10.11
Calendar debate

The Northgate School Board's annual debate over when to start classes in the fall is expected to be settled at the Dec. 12 board meeting.

Board members continue to discuss whether school should start before or after Labor Day, with the calendar changing in that regard almost every year.

09.16.11
Higher scores

Northgate School Board members were told Monday that performance in the high school’s advanced placement (AP) classes is improving.

Board member Dr. Shannon Smithey said that students in AP classes must earn a “three” grade in order to receive college credit for the class. In 2011, she said, 63 percent of AP students did just that, compared to 48 percent the year before.

The scores put Northgate a little above the national average, but a little below the state average, according to Smithey and high school principal Bryan Kyle.

08.19.11
Asthma not caused by schools

By VICKI MORTIMER

Although a high number of children living in the Northgate School District may have asthma, there is no reason to believe the district’s schools have caused or contributed to the problem, according to school officials.

Citizens questioned Northgate officials at Monday’s school board meeting about a WTAE news report that stated that some 37 percent of the students in the Northgate School District have asthma, the highest percentage among school districts in Allegheny County. According to the WTAE report, the national and state average is 11 percent.

08.12.11
School improvement

Even as the Northgate School Board approved a plan required by the state to detail how the district will address low test scores for special needs students, the entire district is preparing to switch to more rigorous state educational standards.

Board member Dr. Shannon Smithey said that special needs students did not achieve "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) on the 2009-10 PSSA test, although test scores were acceptable the following year. Nonetheless, she said, the state required that Northgate submit a plan for improvement.

07.29.11
Northgate extends kindergarten

At least a portion of Northgate School District’s full-day kindergarten program could be restored, thanks to a state grant that will provide some funding.

Northgate eliminated full-day kindergarten in budget cuts last month. The program had been funded by a state accountability block grant of nearly $200,000, funds that were drastically cut in Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2011-12 budget for Pennsylvania.

05.20.11
Incumbents get Northgate vote

Despite a growing dissatisfaction with how financial and performance-related issues are being handled in the Northgate School District, every school board incumbent on the primary election ballot was renominated on both tickets.

Seven cross-filed candidates vied for five four-year board seats in Tuesday’s primary, and voters chose the same five on both tickets. Candidates Ron Coder and Yvonne Sentner were not chosen by either Democrats or Republicans.

05.20.11
Northgate keeps cuts in proposed final budget

By VICKI MORTIMER

After hearing from those opposed to some of the cuts made to balance the Northgate School District’s 2011-12 budget, the board voted Monday to propose a spending plan with no tax increase, and no funding for full-day kindergarten, a spring musical, or several teaching positions.

About 15 students concerned about the reduction of funding for the high school musical told the board that the musical taught them the value of hard work, was a lot of fun, brought the students closer, let students express themselves, and improved the students' singing and acting abilities.

05.14.11
Primary Election: Northgate School Board

There are five four-year seats and one two-year seat that will be filled in the Northgate School Board elections this year. Primary votes for cross-filed candidates could wrap this up next week, or the vrace could wait until November for a final decision.

The candidates are:

Tim Makatura Dr. Makatura, from Bellevue, was appointed to the board last August to fill a vacancy. A psychologist who works as a clinician and a college instructor, he holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology, a master's degree in guidance and counseling, and a Ph.D in psychology.

05.13.11
Northgate cuts full-day kindergarten

The proposed final budget that will be voted on by the Northgate School Board Monday night will not include an increase in property taxes. It also will not include full-day kindergarten, a spring musical or a number of classes that could be lost due to teacher furloughs.

Although the board will vote Monday to approve the final proposal for spending in 2011-12, that proposal will not become the final budget until the board votes on June 20.

04.22.11
Northgate cuts personnel

Still working to make up a 2011-12 budget deficit, the Northgate School Board voted Monday to furlough a high school social studies teacher.

The action represents the first teaching position that will be eliminated other than through attrition. The board also approved the early retirement of several professional employees, and voted to eliminate a number of support positions.

04.15.11
Northgate narrows 2011-12 budget gap

Northgate officials believe they are beginning to see the light at the end of the budget deficit tunnel, despite the fact that the state has denied part of the district’s request for property tax increases.

Under the Act 1 inflation index, Northgate is allowed to increase the millage rate by .5 mills in 2011-12. The district requested permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Educa-tion, however, to increase millage by 2.5 mills without having to comply with Act 1’s ballot referendum requirement.

11.21.10
Early start

The first day of school for Northgate students will be before Labor Day next year.

At its meeting on Monday the board approved a 2011-12 calendar that sets the first day of classes for students on Monday, Aug. 29.

11.13.10
Calendar debate

The annual school calendar debate will return to the agenda of the Northgate School Board, where members will choose between pre- and post-Labor Day start dates for classes.

Board member Dr. Shannon Smithey commented at the board’s work session Monday that parents were more annoyed by the fact that the start date varied by so much every year than whether it came before or after the holiday. She suggested setting the school opening date on the same day every year -- for instance, Sept. 1 -- adding or subtracting a day to ensure that the term does not start with a one-day week.

02.12.10
Northgate looks for budget cuts

Hoping that every little bit will help, the Northgate School Board came up with a handful of ideas at its Monday work session to cut costs and reduce a potentially sizeable millage increase in the coming fiscal year.

02.05.10
Northgate seeks millage max

With a philosophy of getting them all and sorting them out later, the Northgate School District will apply for exceptions that would allow the school board to increase property taxes more than three times the allowable index for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

12.11.09
Coin toss decides board officers

It took nine roll call votes, two recesses and a coin toss before the Northgate School Board was able to elect a new president during the reorganization meeting Monday evening.

Incumbent Charles Miklos was elected to two board seats -- one for a four-year term and one for a two-year term -- during the November general election, and chose to accept the four-year seat. That left a two-year vacancy and only eight board members available to elect new officers during the Dec. 7 meeting.

08.21.09
News Briefs

Avalon Elementary parking Borough officials and Avalon PTO members have come up with a plan to help ease parking problems created when parents drop-off and pick-up their child-ren at school.

A resolution approved by Avalon Council at its Aug. 18 meeting will allow parents to purchase a parking permit that will let them park in front of the school, between North School Street and North Chestnut Street, from 7:30 until 8:30 a.m. and from 2:30 until 4 p.m. on weekdays.