Stolz Questions Seidenberger's Authority on Bus Decision

Editor's Note: Paragraph four of this article has been modified to more accurately reflect a statement made by East Penn School Director Julian Stolz during Monday night's school board meeting. 

Willow Lane busing continues to drive conversations in although it wasn’t actually on the agenda at Monday night’s meeting of the East Penn Board of School Directors.

Board member Julian Stolz raised the issue following a report by East Penn Superintendent Thomas L. Seidenberger. Stolz asked School Board President Charles Ballard if, in approving Seidenberger’s report, the board was also approving his plan for busing

Ballard told Stolz that there was nothing for the board to approve – Seidenberger’s report is merely a sharing of information and is a done deal.

“By what authority did Dr. Seidenberger enact his plan for Willow Lane busing? [Charles Ballard, Alan Earnshaw, Ken Bacher, Francee Fuller, Rebecca Heid and Samuel Rhodes] all voted according to the budget to cut busing. Under what authority did Dr. Seidenberger unilaterally change that?” Stolz asked.

Ballard deferred to East Penn Solicitor Marc Fisher, who said that while the board approved a budget that includes a transportation line item, the board never specifically said, “you can bus here or you can’t bus here.”

The district terms the cost of bringing busing back to Willow Lane an “unanticipated expense,” similar to the need for a new boiler, and will manage that expense during the school year. The elimination of the bus service to the newest East Penn school building would have saved the district $60,000.

Board member Alan Earnshaw said that if transportation costs exceed the transportation line item in the budget at the end of the year, the board will approve a transfer of monies from one budgetary area to another “as long as [Seidenberger] doesn’t overspend the overall budget.”