Superintendent outlines continued CESA 11 services, legislative changes and a parent leadership cohort

At the March 2 meeting Somerset’s superintendent reviewed shared-service contracts with CESA 11, summarized several recent state laws that affect schools, and described a newly active parent leadership cohort intended to inform district goals and curriculum work.

On CESA 11 contracts, the superintendent said the district will continue most existing services and drop one individual-contract day. He described CESA’s role in providing consulting, regional networks (nurses, school-resource officers, principals), professional learning (for teachers and administrators) and federal-grant support: "They help us navigate all that stuff that's happening at the state level," he said. The superintendent highlighted specific offerings such as a "healthy, safe and respectful schools" service that carries a roughly $3,000 charge and Simatech programming for science, math and technology teachers.

The superintendent walked trustees through recently enacted state measures. He said the district has satisfied Act 80 procedures related to the academic-excellence scholarship and welcomed Act 79, which allows designated youth organizations scheduled access to school facilities without creating an open-forum obligation. On Act 42 (the new cell-phone statute), he said Somerset is already compliant and that administrators will bring a formal recommendation for local policy procedures in the spring: "We're already compliant with this law," he said, and the board will work through administrative procedures (for example, whether the first offense warrants a warning or detention) when finalizing local rules.

He also flagged safety and conduct items, including Act 57 reporting expectations and a new criminal provision addressing fake images and their misuse; he noted a partnership with the Department of Health Services on portable safety plans for minors in crisis. The superintendent said he would provide recurring legislative updates after legal conferences and conventions across the year.

On community engagement, the superintendent described a leadership cohort of parents who met recently to review district goals using carousel-walk feedback. He said the cohort is currently composed entirely of parents (no community members without a parent connection) and will meet monthly through May to provide input on curriculum-improvement proposals before recommendations come to the board.

Board members thanked the superintendent and asked clarifying questions about CESA membership and whether anything in the shared-service menu was new; the superintendent said almost all services were renewals and that CESA’s regional scope and consortium model make many offerings cost-effective.