| The Oil City School Board will to convene at 7 p.m. today at the administration building to conduct the business of the district. This includes voting on approving the district’s $15,038 share of the $1,488,687 Intermediate Unit 6 budget, an increase of $221 from last year, several personnel items, as well as almost $700,000 in districtwide building repairs and upgrades. Business as usual. Also on the agenda is what to do with a recent hullabaloo over the We Care Elementary and Sexual Abuse Free Environment for Teens(SAFE-T) resources or curriculum that has been a topic of several recent board meetings and local press coverage. After a few parents raised objection to the teaching of gender and sexuality terms within the course materials, the school board looked into the matter. On the agenda in February was a retroactive approval of the “curriculum.” A curriculum needs board approval. Superintendent Lynda Weller was accused of pushing the curriculum and circumventing the process by some parents. Since then a look at the courses and terms have been clarified by the administration and presented to the school board’s curriculum committee. The curriculum committee is expected to recommend a course of action for the programs currently in place and set in motion a search for other possible resources and materials that could be used in the future. This is expected at Monday's meeting. The concerned parents have held steadfast to their objections to the lessons and what they view as a lack of transparency by the administrators, saying the materials are not appropriate for the age of the children being taught and that parents were not provided enough information or notice to opt out of the program. The administration has admitted some confusion, a mistake in handling one parent’s wishes and efforts to improve the notification process. As of last week, parents of four students of the 866 in grades 3 to 8 have opted out. Last year there were 10 students.  “This is exactly what the opt process is for,” said school board president Joseph McFadden. “If parents (or) students have issues with this program because of their beliefs, then they absolutely have the parental right to opt their child out of the program.” He went on to say the board and administration are reviewing the opt-out policy to clear up confusion and add additional steps to ensure students whose parents choose that option are removed from the class. McFadden also indicated that the school board has noted the majority of parents or guardians have not voiced concerns over the lessons being questioned. “It is not fair that a greater majority of our students (and) parents are receptive to this information but because of policy or procedural errors at this time it has come under fire,” McFadden said. “I am confident that the (curriculum) committee has looked at all aspects of the current controversy and will recommend a direction going forward that will address or be acceptable for all parties (district and parents),” McFadden wrote in an email. McFadden also said the board has been in the process since last year of evaluating and updating district policies in coordination with the Pennsylvania School Board Association which reviews policies for specific applications, current code and law requirements. Follow up questions given to one of the parents who object to the lessons, include the goal of their continued objections and what appears to be their aim to cancel the lessons on sexuality and gender for all students, were not answered as of this publication. To see the board’s full agenda online - https://www.ocasd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AGENDA-Voting-Meeting-3-27-23.pdf. |       |
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