Elizabeth Forward School Board Advances CKLA Curriculum After Lengthy Debate

The Elizabeth Forward School Board covered a wide range of topics during its April regular voting meeting, including student achievements, upcoming testing schedules, curriculum decisions, and continued discussion surrounding construction costs and district transparency.

The meeting began with recognition of the district’s recent high school musical, performed April 9–12, which drew strong praise from both officials and community members. Superintendent Keith Konyk expressed admiration for the scale of the production, noting the extensive involvement of staff, students, parents, and volunteers. “There are just so many people involved in this production. The staff, the crew, the people who move the sets around, run the lighting, all the adults that participate in this thing, the parents who support it had a full concession stand, merch station, everything we needed in the gymnasium, and they were able to make some additional money to continue to support their program.” Konyk added that students and adults who participated deserved recognition for their dedication to producing award-winning performances.

Konyk also provided updates on upcoming academic milestones. PSSA testing is scheduled to begin April 20, starting with English Language Arts, followed by math and science. Keystone Exams for high school students and Advanced Placement testing will take place in May. The board also recognized student government officers for being inducted into the National Honor Society during the meeting.

A presentation from Nutrition Inc. highlighted new food offerings, cafeteria programming, and financial performance. “Financially we are still doing a great job,” said regional manager Patterson. Meanwhile, Central Elementary Principal Frank Berdar outlined numerous student programs and initiatives, including Brave Bunch, Hump Day Bunch, Kindergarten Buddies, Civil Lessons, a Read-a-Thon, Unified Robotics, and a Minecraft competition, among others.

Public Comment

Resident John Straub echoed Superintendent Konyk and highlighted the work ethic of students involved in the musical. “They might not be the cool kids in the school, but when it comes to practice, they put every bit of practice in for that musical as any athlete in this whole school district. So they deserve a lot of credit for what they do because, in a lot of ways, they don’t get recognized the way the other ones do, and they do just as much hard work.”

Straub also raised questions about change orders and contract compliance. “We should be seeing those change orders,” he said. “If you look at what we pay every month, there’s additions to Phase I. Now we are seeing additions to Phase II, and now we are seeing site improvements under our architect. Under his contract, there shouldn’t be anything in there for site work. It’s written in his contract.” He added, “If you look at his contract, we are basically $50 million over the budget that we signed.”

Resident Don Thorton also called for additional oversight, advocating for an independent construction manager. “[The Project] is now at least $50 million over budget. This is not a routine issue. It signals a serious failure in oversight and accountability,” he said. He further stated, “At the same time, the clerk of the works is also serving as the excavating contractor with a subcontract worth at least $10 million. This is a clear conflict of interest.” He added, “The Clerk of Works is supposed to represent the districts interests with independent oversight. That is not possible when the same person financially benefits from project decisions.”

“I don’t believe we are over budget at all,” Al Ragan, Finance Director, explained to Vice President Rick Cummings after being asked by him. “There is roughly a 3 million contingency, and I think change orders are a little bit over a million,” Ragan explained.

Vice President Rick Cummings also addressed concerns about a potential conflict of interest. “We have reviewed the clerk of works operating in the capacity of a subcontractor, and it is not a conflict of interest,” he said. “I do believe that Mr. Macioce and his organization have worked in the best interest of this school district.”

Board President Jamie Evans also commented on discussions with concerned residents. “I met with Mr. Straub and Mr. Thorton and gave them the opportunity to present with me last Friday.” He added, “I’m still trying to unpack all of the information that they got to do outside of the three minutes within this board room to see what’s appropriate in which time.” Evans continued, “If I believe that there’s something to go forward, we will discuss it.” He said he does not oppose the concept outright, stating, “I don’t personally mind the whole other contractor, general manager, whatever it may be, but that’s something that we would have to discuss in the future and possibly move forward on or not move forward on.”

Additional public comments focused on transparency and communication related to committee meetings. Resident Missy Haney stated, “We as a public do not have an agenda for them.” Haney said she emailed the board about agendas but did not receive a response and requested that agendas be published moving forward. She also raised questions about district spending. “I respectfully ask the board to consider wether the 44,000 dollar purchase of one new interactive board is the best way to achieve those goals.”

Curriculum Discussion

Curriculum changes also generated significant discussion. Concerns were raised about the CKLA program, particularly regarding content and implementation. “There was a lot of controversy over the program. There’s a lot of concern over the content in general and content that is deemed inappropriate for age groups,” resident Margaret Morgan said. She added, “Several staff members of the district have spoken to me that are friends of mine, and I know in the district, and they were hoping that this would be tabled tonight and that a true pilot program be done and possibly look at comparing it to another program.”

Resident Brittany Abbey described the typical pilot process used in curriculum selection. “In my experience, it includes meeting with multiple program reps, sitting through five presentations, then rubricating and narrowing it down to two to three choices, sitting down again with those two to three programs, diving deeper into the programs, rubricating them again, and then choosing two to three options to pilot.” She added, “I think that this is a great option, and it really allows for the teachers, the community, and the school board to be involved in the decision from the beginning to the end.”

Agenda Voting

Despite these concerns, motions to table the curriculum purchase failed. Director Honick explained his reasoning for wanting to table, calling it “the most expedient process to not challenge our administrations who worked so hard.” He added, “From a fiduciary standpoint, I think we should be careful to agree to a six year project that’s going to cost almost a half million dollars as we begin to engage with the most important people that engage with our students everyday, our teachers, for their contract.”

Director Megan Ferrero questioned Honick’s decision to motion to table the vote, noting that the measure had been approved at the committee meeting he attended. Honick said he supported the program during that meeting but, after hearing concerns raised at the regular voting meeting and noting low attendance at the committee session, believed it was more appropriate to table the item.

The board ultimately approved the purchase of CKLA materials for grades K–5, along with Boost Reading and Amplify ELA for grades 6–8, totaling $413,566.20 over a six-year term.

Superintendent Keith Konyk clarified the scope of the approval. “We are approving the knowledge portion of CKLA only. We will continue to use the 95 percent group and the other resources we have to monitor that.” He added, “That would include skills in the next program.”

Director Scott Henry acknowledged the debate surrounding the decision. “I understand that this is a contentious issue. As a board member who sits on the education committee for two years now and again, all the discussion that we had tonight on wether its hard to find the information, we need to fix our committee structure, I get it.” He added, “As a point of opinion, Ive been on two other committees. I was on the facilities and transportation committee. I am on the athletic and student activities committee. Parents find that and they come. They will make their opinions known. It offends me that nobody comes to the education committee because we are a board of education.”

“I have sat numerous hours listening to Dr. Perry and Mr. Konyk,” Henry said, explaining he trusts district leadership. “I have seen first hand the benefits first hand of our teachers and how wonderful they have educated my daughters. I believe that this program once it is in is going to be fine.” He added, “I think that schools are more than just curriculum. They are teachers who care about what they do and work with students individually.”

“She shared with me results from the people who did their survey,” Director Keith Balint explained. “Im seeing over 90% positive or very positive, and I just dont understand why somebody would be afraid to be honest in that,” he said.

In other business, the board approved all agenda sections, including the February 2026 treasurer’s report, which showed a beginning balance of $285,804.34, total receipts of $4,795,743.01, and total disbursements of $4,831,223.44, resulting in an ending balance of $250,323.91.

A motion by President Evans to amend the agenda and add Item 10.7 to approve the development and advertisement of an RFP for construction management services for phase II failed to pass, with Directors Balint, Cummings, Henry, Honick, Sharkey, and Stoffer voting against and Ferrero, Novacek, and Evans voting in favor.

The meeting concluded with approvals across remaining agenda sections.