The Blue Mountain School District will be forming a broad-based Task Force to analyze the possibility of intra-district consolidation. The Task Force will be a composition of board members, teachers, administrators, parents and community members.
The purpose of the Task Force will be to study the current use of facilities with the intent of maximizing utilization; specifically, the assignment of students to buildings. Initially, the Task Force will concentrate on the Cressona Elementary School. Concurrently, the District will contact other entities to ascertain possible interest in buying or leasing space, if and when any intra-district consolidation takes place.
The Blue Mountain School District is taking this step on a pro-active basis to mitigate future economic problems. Long-term projections show increasing deficits caused by numerous factors including rising costs for pensions, health insurance and normal operating costs. It is our hope that the optimization of facility use can be a source of both savings and revenues that can save both programs and personnel in the future.
The Task Force will begin meeting this summer and it is not expected that any recommendations by this group, if accepted by the Board of School Directors, will be implemented until the 2014-2015 school year. If you are interested in serving on the Task Force, please e-mail Dr. Urzillo at rlurzillo@bmsd.org or mail a letter of interest to Dr. Robert L. Urzillo, Blue Mountain School District, 685 Red Dale Road, Orwigsburg PA 17961.