New Camp Hill schools superintendent expects to be involved in political activism

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Posted June 19th, 2011 by Caleb Macdougall No Comments »

David Reeder, Camp Hills new schools superintendent, expects his new job will involve political activism in a state that runs its school districts much differently than Maryland, where he has spent his 32 years in education.

Maryland has 24 schools districts, compared to Pennsylvanias 500. In Maryland, the counties run the school districts, which means angry taxpayers complain to county commissioners about tax increases, not school boards. School administrators have to plead their cases to the counties, which also fund libraries, roads, senior centers, community colleges and many other government functions.

That doesnt mean the Washington County Public Schools, where Reeder most recently served as director of secondary education, is immune from the budget pressures Pennsylvania schools are facing, he said. The teachers and administrators in his district took a pay freeze last year that helped avoid layoffs and build up budget reserves.

Its happening everywhere, he said.

Teachers in Camp Hill recently rejected a pay-freeze request from the school board, choosing instead to keep their 4.4 percent raise and drawing criticism from some in the community. The union negotiator said one reason for the decision was that the district was between superintendents. The union will start negotiating its next contract this summer.

Reeder said he will talk to teachers, taxpayers and other stakeholders going into the negotiating season.

I need to look at the budget in more detail, he said. I want to make sure Im listening to the staff, what kind of pressures there are, just to understand the various motivations. A lot is a collaborative process. … We have to weigh the salaries with the risk of losing staff.

He starts Monday and will spend the week with Superintendent Connie Kindler before she retires June 30.

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