The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 14

SECOND B4 THE MORNING CALL. TUESDAY. OCTOBER 24. 2000 COMMUNITY REPORT Web of 1 Bo to trial 1 if 0O Side by side on slide Third-graders Jacob Stauffer (left) and Corey Haupt ride a slide Monday during recess at East Penn Elementary School in Carbon County. New playground equipment was dedicated last week after a successful fund-raising campaign.

1 -7 Vt JOHN F. SIMITZ The Morning Call Former Bethlehem pupil disparaged his math teacher on the Internet. LAURI RICE-MAUE Of Tlie Morning Call "Kathleen Fulmer's lawyer said Monday that the Bethlehem Area Sc hool District math teacher left her job in fear after a pupil created defamatory Web sites, ing one that sought money to pay a hit man to kill her. "This severely impacted her ability to do anything," said Fulmer's attorney, Thomas Maloney of Bethlehem, in his opening argument to a Northampton County jury. "She has lost the enjoyment of life." kaloney said Fulmer feared for her safety and that of her husband and pupils because of the Web site, which also contained derogatory statements about her.

3ut the attorney who represents Justin Swidler, who was in the A-track at Nitschmami Middle School, and his parents said the reason Fulmer had to leave her job was because of the stress of litigation she initiated, an allegation that he said will be supported by her counselor's testimony. He further said the Web site was nothing more than Swidler's way to poke fun at his teacher, no different from what pupils have done for years. 11 Dim umicii-ifaflsomg otrflve Lafayette recently renovated Kirby Hall of Civil Rights and spent more than $2 million to equip classrooms with the latest in instruction al technology. Scheduled to begin soon are conversion of Alumni Memorial Gymnasium to house psychology and neuroscience programs; a major renovation of engineering facilities, including Alumni Hall of Engineering, Dana Hall and Dana Engineering Laboratory; and construction of the Robert E. Pfenning (Class of 1932) and Hazel E.

Pfenning Alumni Center. Campaign contributions include a gift of $32.5 million from the F.M. Kirby Foundation Morristown, N.J., the largest gift ever received by a college, university or other nonprofit organization in the Lehigh Valley. her privacy. If the jury finds in Fulmer's favor, it must also decide what compensation she should receive, as well as how much her husband, Barry, should get for his loss of consortium.

The Fulmers live in Danielsville. The jury must also decide whether to award monetary damages to Swidler and his parents, Dr. Howard and Ilene Swidler of Hanover Township, Northampton County, who countersued Fulmer for assault and battery and inflicting emotional distress on Justin. Mauer told the jury that Fulmer hit Swidler, now a 16-year-old college student, with a pillow, flicked his ears and, when she ordered him to pick up paper he had ripped up and thrown on the floor, told him in front of his classmates that he was practicing for his future job as a garbage-man. "Rather than respond as the professional teacher she had been, she responded as a child," said Maurer.

"The situation got worse, and we ended up with the Web site." Maloney recounted the contents of the Web site, which, in addition to various obscenities, showed a yearbook picture of Fulmer that turned into Adolf Hitler with the caption "The similarities astound me." Other pages on the site listed reasons for hating her and reasons she should be killed. He said Fulmer was a respected and highly educated teacher who went above and beyond the call of duty for her pupils, some of whom will testify. She earned 10 sick days a year, accumulating 100 over 10 years, which she took after she saw the Web site in May 1998. The Web site eventually caused her to leave her profession. Maloney said stories about the case, which generated more than 125 newspaper articles, also took their toll on Fulmer.

"This had an unbelievable impact on Mrs. Fulmer and her health," Maloney said, noting that she loved her job before the Web site appeared. But Maurer told the jury that Fulmer had problems in her career long before she had Swidler in her class. A teacher for 28 years, Fulmer, at the boy's expulsion hearing, testified that her first 15 years of teaching were wonderful, but it had been "downhill ever since," Maurer said. He said she had problems at East Hills Middle School, where she taught before Nitschmami, because of a "disagreement" with a principal, and she acknowledged that in 1993-94, she took anti-anxiety medication nearly every day.

Maurer also said that when Fulmer's colleagues and school administrators viewed the Web site, they said it had no impact on their personal and professional estimations of her. "Lafayette has entered the 21st century in a position of unprecedented strength. The present and the future have never been brighter for our college. Arthur J. Rothkopf Lafayette College president ron's Profiles of American Colleges and Guide the Most Competitive Colleges.

Campaign-funded projects under way include construction of the Hugel Science Center for chemistry, biochemistry and physics, and the Williams Visual Arts Building, a hightech art studio and gallery complex on N. Third Street at the base of College Hill. The arts complex will open this fall, and the science center is due for completion next spring. Also because of the campaign, Lafayette is adding $30 million to its endowment for student aid and earmarking significant additional money for new faculty chairs and other support for faculty and curriculum development; more opportunities for student-faculty research; community outreach; career services, and equipment for science and engineering. During the final months of the campaign, the focus will be on completing three initiatives: the expansion and modernization of Skillman Library, adding to financial aid, and increasing support for intercollegiate athletics.

To enhance student life outside the classroom, Lafayette has built the Allan P. Kirby Sports Center, which opened in the -spring, and Keefe Hall, a residence hall that opened last year. It also has completed renovations of P.T. Farinon House and Conway House, two residence halls for first-year students, and is renovating its largest residence hall, South College. College wanted $1 65 million by next June.

It has $1 83 million. Cash is for buildings and other projects. Lafayette College not only exceeded its campaign fund-raising goal by million but it did so nine months early. College President Arthur J. Rothkopf told the board of trustees Saturday that the school has raised $183 million in three years.

That was the second time since the campaign was announced in October 1997 that the college surpassed the goal. The original goal of $143 million was exceeded in October 1999, prompting the trustees to increase it to $165 million. The campaign will continue until its scheduled conclusion June 30, 2001. The campaign has enabled Lafayette to build and renovate several major buildings and start several other projects. "Lafayette has entered the 21st century in a position of unprecedented strength," Rothkopf said.

"The present and the future have never been brighter for our college. Lafayette is on the move, and the trajectory is emphatically upward." This comes in a year the school is classified as one of the 58 most academically competitive U.S. colleges and universities in Bar Maloney said Fulmer feared for her safety and that of her husband and pupils because of the Web site, which also contained derogatory statements about her. Other major gifts include: $12 million from Walter Oechsle (Class of 1957) and Christa Oechsle; $10 million from Charles E. Hugel (Class of 1951) and Cornelia F.

Hugel; a bequest in excess of $4 million from the estate of Robert E. Pfenning and Hazel E. Pfenning; a challenge gift of $3 million from Edward A. Jesser Jr. (Class of 1939), and a major gift of an undisclosed amount from Harry V.

Keefe Jr. "Kids, even our best and our brightest, are our kids," said Philadelphia attorney Richard Maurer. "They can be rude, crude, disrespectful and even ungrateful." He likened what Swidler did to writing crass things about a teacher -on a bathroom wall or making rude comments from the back of a classroom. After two years of legal maneuvering and a failed attempt last month to bring the case to a settlement through a mini-trial, both sides presented their opening arguments to a Northampton County jury. Senior Judge Isaac CStrb from Bucks County is presiding over the trial, which is expected to continue at least through the end of the week.

The jury must decide whether two Web sites created in 1998 by Swidler, who was expelled as a result of the Internet attack on Fulmer, his math teacher in 1997-98, defamed her and invaded cBocHiup likely to lost till Jfciniici Contact Lauri Rice-Maue 610-253-5751 lauri.mauc, mcaU.com how much the cleanup and restoration will cost, Kostem said. The school board met in Freemansburg South's cafeteria after the reception. Board members voted 8-0 to continue for two years a 12-year-program to encourage business development in deteriorated parts of the city. Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance allows businesses in two zones in the city to pay their real estate tax. in steps on new construction or building renovations.

The purpose of LERTA is to encourage renovation and construction by giving owners a break on the amount of tax they pay over five to 10 years. The school board's consent to participate in the program would have expired Dec. 31. could probably stay through January if we had to." Doluisio and school directors held a reception Monday at the Steel building for the hundreds of people who helped turn it into an elementary school. Among the honorees were employees of Bethlehem Steel EDS Corp.

and the district, as well as individuals and other companies that donated time, money or supplies, furnishing the temporary school with everything from textbooks and paper to refrigerators and overhead projectors. "These people caused a minor miracle to happen within the span of a week," Doluisio said. "We can't thank them enough for getting an elementary school up and running as quick as they did." Officials announced several days before the first day of school Sept. 6 that a mold problem would delay the opening for Freemansburg pupils by at least a week. The problem began this summer when water seeped into the building during a roof replacement and saturated the insulation.

Several types of mold grew, including Stachybotrys char-tarum, a fungus that can cause rashes and respiratory problems in people. Affected classrooms must be cleared of all furniture and materials, cleaned and tested for mold levels, a process that takes a couple of weeks, Assistant Superintendent Michele Kostem said. Once it is determined that a room no longer has dangerous levels of mold, the school's maintenance staff returns the sanitized furniture or replaces it with new furniture, Kostem said. All paper materials and books must be replaced, she said. The district has started to place orders for textbooks and books for the school's library, which had 7,000 hard-bound books in its core collection.

So far there is no estimate on Classes at Freemansburg Elementary are being held at old Steel headquarters. By GENEVIEVE MARSHALL Of The Morning Call With the mold cleanup at Freemansburg Elementary School "moving along slowly," Bethlehem Area School District officials anticipate the earliest classes might resume at the Monroe Street building will be after the New Year. Superintendent Thomas J. Doluisio said Monday the district is still clearing the mold problem discovered Aug. 31 that caused pupils and teachers to relocate to "Freemansburg South" the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters at 701 E.

Third St. in Bethlehem. "We hope to be back at Freemansburg sometime after Christmas," Doluisio said. "But the steel company has been very flexible and has indicated we 4 -A Contact Genevieve Marshall 610-861-3637 genevieve.marshalha mcall. com ti' 1.

-J" if 1 Say con not set to ratify teachers pact "This is brand new territory," Tarola said of the incentive since it's negotiated, not imposed." The bonus is 1 percent of salary this year, 1.5 percent next year and 1.75 percent from the 2001-02 school year until the end of the agreement in 2004. Tarola said he hopes to complete the Officials say resolution is still a week away. Talks will resume to settle performance incentive bonus. By JEFF CHRISTMAN Sixcial to Tlie Morning Call A ratified teachers contract in Saucon Valley is still more than a week away, though officials had expected the union and school board to ratify it by Monday. Superintendent Ralph Tarola said he has a meeting with the union's chief negotiator today to iron out language in the contract's new performance incen.

tive bonus program. Tarola and two administrators worked with nine teacher representatives earlier this month to work out details of the performance incentive plan. District and union negotiators had agreed on the amount of the bonuses but hadn't decided how the teachers would be evaluated. requirements and review will be for thf incentive program until the contract is ratified. The tentative contract calls for a mean increase of 5.4 percent during the length of the contract, or more than $2 million, and requires a property tax increase of a maximum 4.53 mills.

That means a homeowner with a property assessed at $50,000 would pay $226 more per year in tax for the fifth year of the contract in the worst-case scenario. Officials expect an expanding tax base to reduce the millage increases. The 154 teachers will receive average pay raises of 6.8 percent in 2000-01, 7.37 percent in 2001-02, 6.05 percent in 2002-03, 3.74 percent in 2003-04 and 3.oi; percent in 2004-05. Under the contract, a teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience will receive $32,183 a year, up from $30,000 last year. Teachers will receive compensation for specific activities.uch as home-schooling, at $30 an hour.

Tarola said he hopes to complete the contract this week so the board can vote on it during an Oct. 30 meeting. He said he expects the teachers union to vote on it this week. ft lit I 4iKf iiiiiini ED KOSKEY JR. The Morning Call Cleanliness is next to godliness Trinity Episcopal Church on Spring Garden Street in Easton is wrapped in scaffolding Monday for cleaning by pressure-washing.

The1 project, which will include restoration of joists, should be completed by Christmas. contract this week so the board can vote on it during an Oct. 30 meeting. He said he expects the teachers union to vote on ittthis week. He wouldn't comment on what the.