New Central Bucks School Board Votes On Masks, Contact Tracing In 4-Hour Meeting

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A line stretched out the door and speakers filled two hours of public comment at The Central Bucks Board of School Directors meeting Monday night.

While a board with six new members began its tenure Monday, the tensions that have characterized board meetings in the district for more than a year remained.

Many community members were galvanized to fill the boardroom seats after disparaging comments about transgender and Jewish communities at the last meeting. Their ranks included student Lily Freeman, who said Monday that the board enabling the comments made her and other students feel "under attack" in the district, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Central Bucks' board politics also made national news recently, which others wanted to discuss, too. The podcast The Daily spotlighted the district in their 'School Board Wars' series and the New York Times released an article observing how a space to make decisions about school management dissolved into a political forum.

“It is ridiculous what Central Bucks has become,” student Cheyenne Torres told the board. She said the district has gone from “one of the top school districts in Pennsylvania to practically being the laughingstock of the nation."

One of the key issues that has fallen by the wayside due to public comment dominated by political debate is union contracts for support staff in the schools. Deneen Dry, president of the union and a nurse, spoke up about disappointment with conditions for education support professionals at the meeting.

“We are told we are the front line," she said, as reported by the Bucks County Courier Times. "We are told we are essential, and we don’t hesitate for a minute when it comes to protecting our students. And yet, for some reason, the previous board felt hesitation in awarding us — the front-line, essential employees — a fair and not-greedy contract."

Central Bucks Director of Human Resources Andrea DiDio-Hauber said she expects the proposed contract within a few days. The union hopes to be able to ratify that new contract before the next meeting, meaning it could be up for a vote when the school board next convenes.

The school board also voted, along party lines of 6-3, Republicans to Democrats, on several new business items. Earlier in the meeting, Republicans Dana Hunter and Leigh Vlasblom were elected to the board president and vice president roles, respectively.

Board directors then voted to outsource contact tracing to the Bucks County Department of Health, rather than tracing within the district. The board also voted for mask-optional elementary schools, should the state order be dropped.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m., lasting for four hours.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 11.

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