Sewickley Herald

              
iv printed on recycled paper
VoL 95, No. 25
Serving Aleppo, Bell Acres, Edgeworth, Clenfield, Haysville, Leet, Leetsdale, Osborne, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights, Sewickley Hills
Wednesday,. June 24, .1998
Summer camps are in session at Sewickley’s YMCA. It’s a time for active play, learning life lessons and making new friends. See Page 21.
INSIDE	TOGETHER AGAIN	7	: V,;V _I f -B^SEWICKLEir
■ Leetsdale welcomes all residents to its three-day 4fh of July celebration. Fireworks are set for the high school field on Independence Day.
Page 2
Lifestyles
■ This year’s Concert in the Park is a fundraiser for the library's expansion. For ticket information and related news, see
Pages 3 & 10
■ Sewickley will rock all summer long to the music of the Kornicki Brothers, an ambient jazz threesome. For their story, see
Page 17
local Nows		2
Opinion,..	
Lifestyle*,..		9
Church ,,.	
Obituaries .		13
'•porli	
	
REUNITED: Sewickley High's Classes of 1948 and 1949 celebrated those gold-en.years of high school and ail the ones that have come since graduation. Some members of the reunion committee are: (from left, front) Peggy Gilbert Blumer, Madelaine Gilbert Schwartz, Bill Schwartz, Peg Sickeler and Phil Schuette. Back row, Dave Hawbaker, Dorothy Dunn Schuette, Tom Knoch, James G. Park and Richard Barnes. For more on their festive gathering, see Page 9.
▼ QUAKER VALLEY
Audit bring
ly Buna S, Brtthnd ___________Editor________
Scores are in.
The long-awaited results of the Audit of Educational Effectiveness, conducted by SchoolMatch for Quaker Valley (and 10 other school districts) are in — with commendations and recommendations for improvement.
Overall, according to the 51-page report, QV met the mean effectiveness or expected levels of achievement in most categories as based on analysis of achievement, attendance and drop-out information.
Tb determine effectiveness levels, schools were reviewed on site by a three-member audit team in February.
; praise and
Into the mix of observation, test scores, interviews, studies of the curriculum, grading patterns and an analysis of school policies and improvement plans were added.
The level for QV was set at 2.0 by using a number of determinants including the range of student population from poor to affluent, average family income in the district, educational levels reached by faculty and parents, district expenditures per pupil, kindergarten student readiness and performance tests of third-graders.
With all factors considered, SchoolMatch recommended that the average grade point for senior class be 2.6; district attendance ratio be 96.5 per-
suggestiuns
cent; math and reading should be at or above 84th percentile; that 20 percent of juniors and seniors should be enrolled in Advanced Placement program; drop-out rate in high school should be 2,4 percent or lower; teacher absence should be at or below 4 days per year and SAT scores should be 1020 or higher.
It is by these standards that the district was judged and compared to other districts across the U.S. that share many of QV’s demographic characteristics.
The school system that most closely meets the demographic profile of QV is Wyomissing Area School District.
______ Continued on Page 1
Pittsburgh firm hired by borough
ly Sheldon Rodgers _________Staff writer_____
This is only a test.
Sewickley Borough Council approved a motion 6-3 last Monday in favor of contracting out the borough’s building inspection, zoning and code enforcement services.
Planned for a six-month trial run, Pittsburgh-based Code.sys will take over soon after borough officials meet with representatives today (Wednesday).
The company will charge $30 per hour and is expected to staff the office 16-20 hours each week.
By using Code.sys, the borough estimates an annual savings of around $2,000.
“They have excellent credentials. They will provide us with outstanding service...a level of service Sewickley will be proud of,’’ said Richard Brandt, councilman.
The dissenting votes came from Jonathan Showe, council president, and council members C.B. Hays and Bob Hague, who felt that the community would be better served by a full-time employee.
In the past, these services were handled by Ray Wolfgang, public works director, who resigned last September to direct the water department. When handling these Services, he worked 40 hours a week taking more than a dozen calls each day.
“It appeared to me that the total cost of contracting out services will be only slightly less- and possibly more than having a full-time borough worker. There’s a real value in having full-time service for the public,” said Showe.
“It (the trial run) will either confirm council’s judgment or we’ll have to try something else, It's too early to tell which way will work best for the borough, but I am completely open to taking the contractor for a test drive,"