Funder Under the Bridge plans, district updates highlight July community meeting

  • Posted July 13, 2023
Participants at the July community meeting discuss district updates

Mark your calendars - Funder Under the Bridge 2023 has a date.

The sixth edition of the annual Steel Valley School District fundraiser and community event is penciled in for Sunday, October 15. As usual, the event will run from 12 to 4 p.m. underneath the Homestead Grays Bridge at the Waterfront.

Planning for Funder Under the Bridge was a primary topic at the district's July community meeting, which was held on July 12 at the high school library. Funder Under the Bridge began in 2017 and has raised over $28,000 for Steel Valley School District activities, extracurricular programs and clubs over the last five events.

The event will once again feature booths for the clubs and extracurricular programs, student performances, the Steel Valley marching band and cheerleaders, concessions, raffle baskets, and the always highly anticipated pie in the face.

Discussion at Wednesday's community meeting centered on potential improvements and additions to the event. Multiple ideas were floated, ranging from tweaks to the layout to potential expansion, as well as ways to enhance coordination and communication with all stakeholders. More details on any changes will be shared as the event draws closer.

Planning will continue over the ensuing weeks and months. Anyone interested in volunteering their time, making a donation, or helping in any capacity should reach out to William McLaughlin at wmclaughlin@steelvalleysd.org.

The meeting also included several district updates from Superintendent Edward Wehrer. Mr. Wehrer detailed some of the ideas that the district is exploring to enhance security, including when students first enter the building for the day. The ideas are still being discussed and any new procedures will be communicated once they are finalized.

The district is also exploring partnering with Satchel Pulse to provide resources to aid in helping students with social and emotional learning. Those resources would be made possible thanks to the Project SEEKS grant presented to the district from the Allegheny County Health Department.

The next community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 9 at 7 p.m.