Search for SDL Athletics Director Continues..

The search for a new SDL Athletics Director has been narrowed down to three candidates following a second round of interviews on November 6th, Superintendent Pedro Rivera said at Tuesday night's school board meeting.

He told NewsLanc that each candidate is well-qualified and that the district is in the process of determining which is the best personal fit for the job.

But Rivera also wouldn't rule out the possibility of a new search if it was found that none of the three is right for the job

He would not speculate on a time frame, saying "it depends" how the remaining interviews go.

Assistant Superintendent Drew Miles has been supervising the district's athletic programs since the resignation of Allen McCloud in August.

The poor performance of McCaskey's athletic teams has apparently even become a running joke. During his report to the school board, Student Representative Eric Freeman drew laughter from the audience when he said, "the band is excited that the football season is finally over. They have free Fridays and no disappointments."

On a positive note, Rivera also reported that McCaskey's field hockey team won the 2008 "All-Academic Team Award" for its members having the highest average GPA in the Lancaster-Lebanon league.

In other business on Tuesday, the board approved the addition of eleven high school course offerings, including Principles of the Biomedical Sciences, Honors Chinese II, Parenting Life Skills (course title to be changed), Effective Parenting, IB Physics HL Y2, IB Design Technology SL, Computer Applications 4: Senior Seminar/Web Design, IB Business and management, IB Math Studies, IB World Religions, and IB Economics.

A twelfth course, "Global Citizenship" was tabled at the education committee meeting because the course description was overbroad and needed clarification.

It was reported that Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses will now be available to high school students in all Small Learning Communities (SLCs).

It was also announced Tuesday that four district schools have earned Keystone Achievement Awards for meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for two consecutive years. The schools are: Carter & MacRae, Burrowes, Lafayette, and Martin.

During public comment, one gentleman suggested it was a conflict of interest for the school board to hold accounts with Commerce Bank given that School Board President Patrick Snyder is an employee.

Defending Snyder, Board member Michael Rowen noted that Snyder is always careful to recuse himself when issues involving Commerce Bank arise, and noted that the Commerce Bank accounts are serving the district well.

Another speaker during public comment expressed frustration that a vacant teaching position has not been filled all year, and that a substitute teacher has been used during that time. Rivera and Snyder said they could not fully comment because it is a personnel issue but offered to speak with her regarding her concerns.