The Pottsville Area School District is planning to use YouTube videos for educational purposes in its classrooms, Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel said Wednesday at a school board workshop session.
The school board will hold the first reading of a new policy, Policy 815.1 - YouTube, at its regular public meeting, slated for 7:30 p.m. April 16 at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center, Pottsville.
"It's so teachers can utilize YouTube videos in the course of instruction, but we have to make sure we have a policy in place, because you know, at times," Zwiebel said.
"The content of YouTube," board member Patrick F. Moran said, interjecting.
"Like ads. The content might be questionable," Zwiebel said, finishing his statement.
The school board did not have a copy available Wednesday night.
"It's in draft form," Business Manager Stephen C. Curran said.
A version will be ready for the meeting next week, Curran said.
In other matters, school board President John F. Boran said he doubted the district would be raising taxes this year.
"At this point, I don't foresee it," Boran said, following a budget meeting with the school board's Finance Committee held Wednesday before the board's regular workshop.
At that session, the committee learned the proposed budgets for its three schools and the special education department.
The budgets for each school for 2013-14, followed by the tentative 2014-15 budgets for each are: elementary, $167,286.92, $177.936.10; middle school, $168,532.67, $191.964.67; high school, $290,749.61, $260,640.93; and special education, $124,883, $194.960.
In June 2013, the board approved its 2013-14 budget, a $40,404,588 spending plan that did not include a tax increase.
It was the eighth consecutive year that the district held the line on taxes. The millage rate is 34 mills, with 1 mill equivalent to $1 of tax on every $1,000 of taxable value. So a home with an assessed value of $100,000 pays $3,400 a year in property taxes to the district.
The Finance Committee will hold another budget workshop at 6 p.m. April 16.
In other matters, Curran, who is the school board's secretary, said he was appointed to serve on a volunteer committee which is part of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, based in Mechanicsburg, Dauphin County.
"I was recently notified that I appointed to the executive committee for the Department of Pennsylvania School Board Secretaries. I heard there was a vacancy. I asked Jeff for his endorsement and we sent the application in," Curran said.
"Congratulations," school board member Charles R. Wagner said.
Curran said he'll be driving to Mechanicsburg on Friday to meet with the committee. For more information on the organization, visit www.psba.org.