CLEARFIELD – Dr. J. Hugh Dwyer, executive director of the Central Intermediate Unit #10, initiated dialog about a potential annual subsidy with the Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors at a regular meeting Monday night.
Dwyer said that the Pennsylvania School Code mandates intermediate units to receive an annual subsidy from their client districts, He, however, stated that in its 36 years, the CIU #10 has never asked Clearfield or its 11 other districts to do so.
Dwyer said he would like to invite Superintendent Dr. Richard C. Makin and the board to enter into discussions about a possible annual subsidy.
“I’m not here asking for money. I’m here asking for a dialogue with you,” he told the board.
He said he was committed to the board and told them that revenues raised from the 12 districts would be used for improving student achievement in the schools.
Dwyer said the CIU #10 is the educational agency that serves as the intermediary between the Clearfield Area School District and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He said that they are currently “reinventing” the CIU #10 to better serve their client districts in Clearfield, Clinton and Centre Counties.
“A new era of partnership between the CIU #10 and the Clearfield Area School District has arrived,” he said. He said the new era is the product of its change in leadership and attitude.
He said the CIU #10 currently provides 87 services to the Clearfield Area School District. He said that 64 of those come without cost to the district.
According to him, these services include liaison to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, consultation and professional development in special education and No Child Left Behind/AYP school improvement, federal stimulus consultation, fingerprinting services, information technology/Internet services and instructional programs. He said the district’s teachers and administrators have also been provided with personal care aides, educational interpreters, physical therapist services, life skills classes, both a hearing and vision teacher, reading apprenticeship training, school improvement consultation and data-decision making training.
“We take great pride in the specialized (staff and services) that we provide to the district,” Dwyer said. He said the CIU #10’s staff capacity has been a key component to its “reinventing process.”
Dwyer said that with a better trained staff and new positions, the intermediate unit has been able to provide new and better services to its client school districts. He said that they added a full-time curriculum director to the CIU #10 staff.
“It’s the best thing that we’ve done. It has added so much to the services that we provide,” he said.
He said that he was anxious to further build the CIU #10’s Curriculum and School Improvement Department. He said the department currently has one full-time employee. He said the addition of a school improvement specialist will enable them to continually expand its individualized services for the same to the Clearfield Area School District.
Dwyer said that he hoped the board would invite him back sometime for additional dialog about the potential for an annual subsidy. He said they should contact him with any questions.
Board member Larry Putt serves as the board president for the CIU #10, and said he has done so for a few years.
He told the board that he’s never had an executive director who has taken such an interest in all the districts.
“I think we lost that for a while. It’s refreshing to see his initiative,” Putt said.