Parents push for Gillingham charter renewal, district cites deficiencies

Jun. 22—POTTSVILLE — For the second month in a row, supporters came to the defense of Gillingham Charter School at Wednesday’s Pottsville Area school board meeting.

“Come to a common ground, and work together,” said Gillingham teacher’s aide Edie Cromis, one of more than 30 supporters to attend the meeting.

As required by law, the school district is reviewing Gillingham’s operation as part of a charter renewal process conducted every five years.

After an exhaustive months-long investigation, the board was expected to vote to approve or deny the charter at Wednesday’s meeting. It was not, however, on the agenda.

Instead, as he has for several months, board President Michael Cardamone read a statement into the record on allegations regarding Gillingham’s operation.

Among other things, Cardamone said:

—Correspondence was sent to the district and its board on Jan. 25 based on the City of Pottsville’s inspection (of 315 Howard Ave.) in order for GCS to resume the use of the building for gym classes. To our knowledge, a response has not been provided.

—Gillingham terminated a teacher at its last board meeting and other teachers are seeking employment elsewhere. The district is consulting with the state Department of Education regarding staffing concerns and submission of inaccurate data on teacher certification.

—The board appreciates the partial acknowledgement in writing that legal fees communicated to the public via GCS’s website, on its Facebook page and within Facebook groups were not accurate. GCS attributed certain legal fees to the district incorrectly.

—Notified Gillingham in January that their board has not been following its bylaws and only had five board members instead of the required seven or nine. The board had been out of compliance since March 2022.

Nicolle Hutchinson, Gillingham’s executive director, issued a written reply Thursday to some of Cardamone’s comments.

On the issue of 315 Howard Ave., the former St. Joseph’s Parish Hall, Hutchinson said for the 11 years that Gillingham used it, it was classified as a “recreational gym.” When the city inspected it on Jan. 10, she was told the classification had changed to “educational” and changes would have to be made in the building.

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Meantime, Gillingham has received permission from the city to use two local parks for physical education classes, which are held inside during inclement weather.

On teacher staff turnover, Hutchinson said only two teaching positions are open — art educator and middle school English. Other posted positions are to generate a pool of applicants in the event of retirements or resignations.

A third-party consultant confirmed that it has exceeded the state’s certification threshold of 75%, Hutchinson said. Their first calculation contained a clerical error that has been corrected, and its current state certification is 84%.

On legal costs, Hutchinson said all of the figures that have been shared are a matter of public record. She cited a 2020 Republican Herald story that said Gillingham and Pottsville spent around $550,000 in legal fees during the last charter renewal process.

Hutchinson said the Gillingham board currently has a full component of seven members.

During the public comment period, a half-dozen or so parents said Gillingham is the right place for their children.

In general, they favored the school’s smaller classes, innovative teaching methods and individualized attention given to their children. Their children, they said, flourished academically and socially at Gillingham.

Tara Smith, who has two special needs children attending Gillingham, raised the thorny issue of school choice.

“You’re making a choice for me on what’s best for my children,” she said. “Let parents make the choice, not somebody that doesn’t know my kids.”

The D.H.H. Lengel Middle School auditorium erupted in applause.

In his statement, Cardamone noted that the school board has been supportive of school choice and has assisted students in non-public school, cyber school and homeschooling.

He said the district will continue its good faith efforts to negotiate with Gillingham as the renewal process continues.

For its part, Gillingham expressed “sincere intent” to provide the district with all the facts necessary to reach for the board to confidently vote to renew its charter.

In other business:

—The board awarded Lehigh Asphalt, Tamaqua, a contract to pave parking lots at a cost of $723,790. The project is funded by RACP grants and budgetary reserves.

—The board approved the shared athletics agreement between the Pottsville Area and Saint Clair Area school districts, effective Aug. 7.

—Madison Eroh and Hunter Chescavage, incoming seniors at Pottsville Area High School, were named junior board members for the 2023-24 school year.

—The board approved the participation of the high school band, band front and cheerleaders in the “Destiny Festival of Fantasy” parade at Walt Disney World Resort on Feb. 22, 2024. The trip will be paid for by fundraisers.

Contact the writer: [email protected]; 570-628-6007