Arts supporter is new NH-S superintendent

Raymond J. Boccuti replaced Dr. Barbara Burke-Stevenson in August.

By: Linda Seida
   NEW HOPE — The New Hope-Solebury School District will begin the school year with a new superintendent, a man who is a longtime Bucks County educator and a strong supporter of the arts.
   The Board of Directors hired Raymond J. Boccuti in June. He started Aug. 8. He has a five-year contract, with a starting annual salary of $155,000.
   Dr. Boccuti replaces Barbara Burke-Stevenson, who retired. He comes to New Hope-Solebury from the Jenkintown School District in Montgomery County, where he became superintendent in 2004.
   Jenkintown has a student population of about 600. New Hope-Solebury’s enrollment is 1,497, an increase of 41 students from last year’s total.
   "It was difficult to say goodbye," Dr. Boccuti said.
   One of the big draws of Bucks County for him is the strength of the arts community.
   "I’ve always loved the arts community here," he said. "It was one of the attractions of this position, quite honestly."
   Dr. Boccuti is a former president of Bucks County Music Educators. He started as a student teacher in Philadelphia before joining the Neshaminy School District. He worked for Neshaminy for 23 years, first as a music teacher and later as a principal, supervisor of fine arts, acting elementary supervisor of curriculum and assistant principal.
   Students begin classes with a half day Sept. 4.
   By now, families should have received a letter from the district outlining the new parent portal. It’s an online initiative designed to make communication between parents and teachers easier and keep parents informed of their children’s progress. Parents will have access 24 hours a day.
   At the lower and upper elementary levels, parents will be able to see their child’s attendance record, report cards and schedule.
   At the middle school and high school levels, parents will have access to all of the above information plus grades. The district’s goal is to make grades available on the portal within 10 days of an assignment’s due date.
   However, "major term papers may take longer," Dr. Boccuti said.
   Dr. Boccuti acknowledged there may be "challenges" or glitches at first with the new system, as with any new technology. He asked parents to provide feedback.
   Because of rising enrollment and the space needs of educational programs, the district is constructing a new two-story addition at the high school that will provide seven more classrooms.
   The target date for partial use of the classrooms is March with final completion of the entire addition anticipated for the 2008-09 school year, Dr. Boccuti said.
   In addition, repairs are under way this summer on the middle school’s air conditioning system. A chiller motor was "fried, completely gone," by what the district says was a power surge, according to Dr. Boccuti.
   The district is trying to recoup the more than $100,000 replacement cost from PECO through its insurer. In the meantime, the board made a successful emergency appeal to the Pennsylvania Department of Education to waive the formal bid process, allowing the repair to proceed before students return, Dr. Boccuti said.
   Repairs are on schedule, and students will not have to sweat out a heat wave.
   "Everything’s going like clockwork," Dr. Boccuti said.
   The cost of a new chiller was about $107,000.
   The district could have opted to rent one for $12,000 a month with a three-month commitment, but that still would have required the purchase of a new chiller to fix the system.
   "We didn’t want to spend $36,000 and then $100,000," Dr. Boccuti said.