When: Manheim Township school board work session, Jan. 11. Erin Hoffman and JoAnn Hentz were absent.
What happened: Superintendent Robin Felty outlined a nine-member Manheim Township Recreational Advisory Committee to coordinate the sharing of municipal and school district recreational facilities.
Why it matters: The group replaces a three-member voting committee that included school board member Michael Landis. The committee will recommend a master schedule for sharing of facilities, a maintenance schedule and proposals for community-wide events and projects, which are then subject to approval by the school board and the board of commissioners, Felty said. The board will vote on whether to approve the committee at its Jan. 18 meeting.
Career and technology budget: The board will also consider its contribution to the 2024-25 Lancaster County Career & Technology Center budget. Manheim Township School District’s share of the CTC budget is $1.18 million of the total $16.84 million budget funded by 16 school districts. The district’s payment represents an increase of $97,579 over its 2023-24 contribution.
Quote: “We have seen a rise in interest in technical education in the past several years,” CTC Business Manager Frank Ayata told the board.
Book banning: Mark Diener, who read graphic passages from “The Little Black Book for Guys” during the Dec. 14 meeting, returned Jan. 11, holding a copy of the book he says is available in the high school library. At the earlier meeting, he was told he could object to books by addressing a committee.
Quote: “Who’s who? Who is on this committee?” Diener asked. “Will I ever be told who is on this committee?” … “Will some on the school board stop promoting the idea that it’s about who you love when in reality, it’s about how you love?”
Counterpoint: Parent Courtney Morton, who ran for a board seat in 2019, said, “Manheim Township citizens don’t want national politics in our schools. The most recent race brought candidates aligned with national groups and didn’t pay attention to what our schools actually need,” she said, referring to candidates defeated in the 2023 election.
Moms for Liberty: Rachel Wilson-Snyder, chair of the Lancaster County chapter of the national organization, said, “There certainly has been a great deal of divisive and deceptive press, as well as internet content about our organization. I do know what it is to be a boogeyman. So I would encourage you to maybe just take some time to get to know myself to get to know our members to understand, listen and really hear what parents are trying to say.” … “Our mission is to ensure America’s survival and we do that by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government, one of which is yours.”
Bookstore hours: Kim Firestone, president of Reidenbaugh Elementary School’s PTO, helped run the Hopperville Bookstore, offering used books costing 25 cents to $1 largely for economically disadvantaged students, until the PTO was advised of the consequences of selling during school hours books that could potentially be banned. Since September 2022, the bookstore has been open rarely during PTO meetings. “Students who need free and affordable books are unlikely to be able to attend an evening PTO meeting,” Firestone told the board.
Next meeting: The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18.
