Friday, May 3, 2013
Nazareth Area Schools Superintendent Dennis Riker says several windows have sprung leaks in classrooms at Nazareth Area Intermediate School.
Attention students: Cleanup in Classroom A. Nazareth Area Schools Superintendent Dennis Riker said Friday that there are reports of leaking windows at Nazareth Area Intermediate School. Riker stated that several windows have developed leaks at the Grades 4-6 Upper Nazareth Township school located on Tatamy Road, but there have been no injuries or classroom disruptions. The superintendent said he believes the leaks are caused by a construction issue. He said he expects a full report from the school board's Building and Grounds Committee later this month. School district engineers are also expected to review the leaks, Riker said. No estimates are known about how much it might cost to fix the damage.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Nazareth Area Schools Superintendent Dennis Riker detailed at Monday meeting how school costs were reduced.
The Nazareth Area 2013-2014 preliminary school budget has gone through some slashes, slices and dices since February. The spending plan once totaled $71.43 million and the property tax increase was 0.73 mills. It's now $71.35 million with a tax hike of 0.65 mills. And that reduction came without any school programs being cut. Asked how the total budget and the tax increase have been reduced since February, Superintendent Dennis Riker cited three factors: In a budget presentation during Monday’s school board meeting, he told the board and audience: “I’m very proud to stand in front of you tonight to say we don’t need to cut one single program.” He also emphasized that all budget considerations are weighed for their long-term effect and that…
Monday, February 25, 2013
The possible March 1 government spending cuts triggered by sequestration could affect residents in the Nazareth area.
If the "sequestration" -- which refers to a host of federal spending cuts -- were to happen, 90 fewer schools in Pennsylvania will receive funding. Will the Nazareth Area School District land among the 90? Superintendent Dennis Riker isn’t jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. Instead, he’s waiting for all of the facts to become available. “We [Riker and the Nazareth Area School Board] haven’t taken a stance because we don’t know how the district will be affected,” Riker said after Monday night’s school board meeting. Nazareth school officials have managed to reduce the projected property tax increase for the upcoming school year. And one new factor in the proposed spending plan is an unknown number of personnel cuts that equals $…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A five-year contract extension was approved Monday for Nazareth Area School District's business administrator Bernadine Rishcoff.
Nazareth Area School District is so pleased with the work of business administrator Bernadine Rishcoff that it has approved a five-year contract extension that doesn’t begin until the end of the upcoming school year. The contract extension, which the school board approved Monday night, runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019. Rishcoff's salary under the extension will be $140,000, according to superintendent Dennis Riker. "As superintendent, I am very pleased to have Ms. Rishcoff remain in the district as a part of my administrative team," Riker said in an e-mail to Patch. "She has done an excellent job in assisting our district in navigating through a very difficult economic period." Rishcoff, who grew up in Allentown, will celebrate…
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Newton Engineering provides Upper Nazareth and school district officials with an update on the effort to have a traffic light installed at Route 191 and Friedenstahl Avenue.
The Upper Nazareth Board of Supervisors is expected to give an update on the traffic improvement plan for East Lawn Road (Route 191) and Friedenstahl Avenue at its Dec. 19 meeting. Township solicitor Gary Asteak and several board members met with Bud Newton, of Newton Engineering, who provided a presentation and update on the effort to have a traffic light installed at the intersection near Nazareth Area Middle School. Asteak recommended the board table public discussions and subsequent motions until Chairman Mike Rinker and Supervisor Andy Donello, who did not attend the meeting with Newton, are brought up to speed. The Nazareth School Board on Nov. 19 approved raising the financial cap for Newton Engineering from $25,000 to $30,000. …
40.752155
-75.298185
Upper Nazareth Township Municipal Building
100 Newport Ave, Nazareth, PA
/articles/traffic-light-update-expected-at-dec-19-meeting-in-upper-nazareth
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/locations/8339239
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The Nazareth School Board agreed to raise the financial cap for Newton Engineering, the company working with the district to get PennDOT approval for the traffic light at Friedenstahl Avenue and Route 191.
The Nazareth School Board on Monday held a brief discussion on the stalled effort to have a traffic light installed at East Lawn Road (Route 191) and Friedenstahl Avenue in Upper Nazareth Township near the middle school. The board approved raising the financial cap for Newton Engineering from $25,000 to $30,000. Newton is working with the school district and neighboring municipalities to get PennDOT approval for the traffic light, Superintendent Dennis Riker explained. He told the board that Newton’s fees currently total $23,000. He said he didn’t want a situation where the engineering firm exceeded the $25,000 cap, so he recommended raising it. He also told the board that attorneys on all sides are still hashing out legal issues. After …
40.75019
-75.29454
Freidensthal Ave & E Lawn Rd, Nazareth, PA
/articles/nazareth-school-board-offers-small-update-on-headache-intersection
/locations/8180628
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
If needed, Nazareth's superintendent proposed using two possible holidays as snow makeup days: Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 21 and Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 18.
Five makeup days already built into Nazareth schools’ January through June calendar will be used for the five days that Hurricane Sandy closed schools, superintendent Dennis Riker announced Monday night. But the school board still has to decide what makeup days to pick if treacherous winter weather forces schools to close. Riker proposed using two possible holidays as snow makeup days: Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 21 and Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 18. The board took no action on Riker’s proposal. In fact, Riker asked the board for its input and said he and the board will discuss the snow days proposal at a December board meeting. The five makeup days built into the calendar are Monday and Tuesday, March 25 and 26; Friday, May…
40.742242
-75.300649
Nazareth Area High School
501 E Center St, Nazareth, PA
/articles/sandy-impending-winter-forces-nazareth-to-shuffle-makeup-days
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/locations/8171836
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Although power is restored to the Nazareth Area School District, it will be closed to students Friday, Nov. 2 due to concerns over road closures and widespread disruptions to U.S. and local telecom networks.
Power has been restored to all six of Nazareth Area School District schools, Superintendent Dennis Riker said in a statement Thursday. But the district will remain closed to students Friday, Nov. 2. While Met-Ed and PPL Electric Utilities were able to restore power, "the news is not as positive from the communication and transportation perspective," Riker continued. According to Riker, several major roadways will remain closed through the remainder of the week and U.S. and local telecom networks continue to experience outages. "The safety of all of our students and staff needs to be a priority," Riker explained. "Placing over 70 buses on the road, knowing there are closures and detours with no communication is not a safe situation." All …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Only two schools in the Nazareth Area School District have power Wednesday, according to district Superintendent Dennis Riker. The district is also concerned about road closures and the safety of students who walk to school.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31, power has been restored to Lower Nazareth Elementary School and the Nazareth Area Intermediate School, according to an announcement posted on Nazareth Area School District's website. "The remainder of our buildings do not have power at this time," district Superintendent Dennis Riker writes. "I would like for everyone to know that the District facilities sustained minimal damage, none of which has been the cause for the District or a building to be closed." All six of the district's schools have been closed since Hurricane Sandy swirled through the Lehigh Valley on Monday. The district is also working with its transportation contractor, because there is "a high level of concern that a significant number…
40.742242
-75.300649
Nazareth Area High School
501 E Center St, Nazareth, PA
/articles/nazareth-area-school-district-updates-community-after-superstorm
1682988
/locations/8085754
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The amount of fruit and vegetables being wasted daily in the Nazareth Area School District is “a tragedy, sinful," according to superintendent Dennis Riker.
Lots of Nazareth Area School District students aren’t eating their fruit and veggies at lunchtime. In fact, they’re throwing them in the trash. And district officials say there’s not much they can do about it right now. Starting with the current school year, federal guidelines require that students take servings of fruit and vegetables with the standard lunch offering. The problem, as explained by superintendent Dennis Riker, is that many students are simply throwing away the uneaten food. Riker, speaking during and after Monday night’s school board meeting, called the situation “a tragedy, sinful.” And he said the amount of fruit and vegetables being wasted comes to 30 to 40 percent. He said he asked the district’s food director to find …
40.742242
-75.300649
Nazareth Area High School
501 E Center St, Nazareth, PA
/articles/nazareth-superintendent-school-lunches-going-to-waste-is-sinful
1682988
/locations/8050698
sherry
11:37 am on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Another thing not to forget that the sequestration is just a cut in the increase afforded in the budget. Nobody is getting less money than last year. Only the amount of increase is being cut a little bit. Families all over the country have had their budgets cut in the last few years, it is time for the Federal government to join the party. While I wish the cuts were larger and better placed, … more ›