Land deal off

SHOHOLA — The Delaware Valley School Board is now 0 for 2 in land purchase efforts for a new elementary school. Meeting in Shohola on Nov. 15, board vice-chair and long range planning committee chair Sue Casey said the sellers, CBH Holdings, had presented a letter withdrawing their offer of sale due to unresolved questions and issues about the property. Casey lauded the sellers, saying they had gone above and beyond any others in her 12 years experience in their efforts to be helpful. The controversial $2.95 million purchase was a central issue in the recent school board elections, in which three candidates opposed to the purchase were elected. There was no further comment about the land during the session. Later, the board’s attorney Michael Weinstein said a combination of the seller’s desire to close in November and other real estate bureaucracy issues led to their decision. “It seemed like a good time for a cooling off period,” he added. Despite the announcement, the board unanimously approved the sale of an $8 million general obligation bond issue. The bond includes $3 million for the land purchase, but Superintendent Dr. Candis Finan earlier noted that any capital improvements on the main campus could be funded. Staff and administrators have unanimously recommended against new construction on the crowded Westfall campus, but the majority on the new board to be seated in December have sought more investigation of that alternative. In other business, the board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Dr. William Riker, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. As a teacher and administrator, Riker has spent 15 at Delaware Valley. Outgoing board finance committee chair, Jack Fisher reviewed the results of the district’s recent independent audit, which “in their unqualified opinion was clean. They had no findings or recommendations.” Maria Farrell, Supervisor of Special Education reported that a recent state compliance review of district programs had no findings, which the reviewer stated, was unprecedented in her six years’ experience.