NASD - Bus Assignments, Start Date, and Pool Rumors

Tony Nauroth of the Express-Times reported on the recent Nazareth School Board Meeting (read it here).

“during Monday night's board meeting Superintendent Victor Lesky said, "We were hoping to improve our students' scores" by shortening the pool.”

This statement was in response to a question about the rumor that the pool did not meet PIAA regulations.

And then, another quote on a question/concern/rumor raised about the pool:

As for another rumor that the pool leaks, board member Maurice Heller told his colleagues Monday he was tempted to answer that misinformation with, "It can't leak. We're not going to fill it."

I find responses like this to be belittling to the people who ask and disrespectful to the populace in general.  They didn’t have to address the rumor at all, only to state in the report that the pool met all certifications and passed all inspections.  Why go beyond that?

I haven’t been going to these meetings lately, because in the past I’ve found they are extremely frustrating and aggravating to sit through and over time you feel as though you are wasting your time.  Thankfully some people go and occasionally we get a full report to post and share what is happening on this site.

In Nauroth’s report, the most important piece of information is that the new MS building is apparently ready for the start of school.

Along those lines, we received our daughter’s bus assignment for the Intermediate School (Tatamy Road building – grades 4-6).

Obviously I follow what is happening in the NASD.  Last year, students attending the MS who live in the borough of Nazareth had a centralized bus stop at Shafer Elementary, but were still called walkers by NASD.  These walkers are shuttled to the building on Tatamy Road in Upper Nazareth Township.  This is apparently done to differentiate them from a buser, who has a stop conveniently located as near the student’s home as possible.  The shuttle pick up and drop off was previously located in front of the Administration offices when the MS building first opened, but later moved to Shafer.

Now there is a new building opened and I am provided with the following:

Driver:  AVAILABLE

Pickup:  NAIS AM SHUTTLE BUS 21 – M – Q at 8:19 AM on Bus 033.

Driver: AVAILABLE

Pickup: NAIS PM SHUTTLE BUS 22 – M – Q at 3:42 PM on Bus 022.

So where do we look for shuttle bus 21 on bus 33 at 8:19 AM?  And where do we find our daughter at 3:42?

The letter also states bus service begins on 8/25/09, but the school calendar indicates school starts for all children on 9/1/09.

Pulling this post together, when official communications like this bus notice are provided to residents and contain incomplete and conflicting information, it is easy to understand why people can become confused, why they talk to others, how this spread of information can occasionally lead to rumors or inaccurate information being distributed, and why in the end people need to ask questions at a public meeting.

Given the recent administration pay raises it seems a good time to demonstrate the money was well spent by providing a higher level of professionalism than what these instances depict.

Posted via email from Ross Nunamaker