On Monday, October 23rd, the Lower Merion School District School Board held a business meeting open to the public at the Lower Merion High School auditorium. Notable discussion included a plan for the Islamic Center, approval of field trips and expenditures, and overwhelming crowd support for the LMEA contract negotiations.

The meeting opened at 8:00pm with recognition of the LMSD students awarded commendation or semi-finalist status for the National Merit Scholarship competition. After a brief ceremony, Director of Community Relations, Doug Young brought the group outside for a photo. Mr. Young happened to be honored shortly thereafter for his more than 14 years with the district, and was wished good luck in his endeavors moving into a new position.

At numerous points, the school board voted unanimously to accept a proposal. Very few votes received opposition, and none on the agenda was voted down. There was a brief discussion on field trips, notably both high schools’ educational choir trips to Orlando. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Eveslage explained to the board the purpose of these trips shortly before the they were approved.  

For a lengthy period of time, the board discussed action on the Center for Islamic Education in Villanova as a possible site for a new elementary or middle school. This comes as a possible mechanism to combat enrollment growth in LMSD. Considering a bid of approximately $56,000 from Gilbert Construction to make a feasibility study on the Center, the board wanted to have a special meeting just to discuss this bid. Ultimately, the motion to table was voted down, and the bid was granted. Gilbert will thus continue with the study of the Islamic Center.

The most prominent feature of the meeting, however, came from discussion on a new Lower Merion Education Association, or LMEA (teachers’ union), contract. Since the teachers’ contract has not been negotiated yet, many members of the community have attended meetings specifically to urge the board to grant a more generous contract. Five speakers alone addressed the board at the end of the meeting, not including Harriton senior Max Beck, who also spoke in favor of a better contract for the teachers.

The next regular business meeting will take place on Monday, November 20th.