Pottsgrove School Board Meeting December 2nd 2025

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[0:20] to order.
[0:22] Please rise for the pledge to the flag.
[0:47] Roll call. Let it be noted that all nine
[0:51] board members are here or eight and one
[0:54] board member to be assigned in. um turn
[0:59] it to agenda item 2.1 explanation of the
[1:02] organization meeting and our solicitor
[1:05] Brian will explain this. Sure. Uh while
[1:08] the first day of the school year is July
[1:10] 1st of each year, the Pennsylvania
[1:13] public school code requires uh all
[1:16] school districts to conduct a
[1:17] reorganization meeting during the first
[1:19] week of December. Uh at that meeting,
[1:23] the board uh will be uh able to seat its
[1:27] newly elected members and shall also
[1:30] elect a president and vice president for
[1:32] the upcoming year. Um this meeting will
[1:36] be conducted as prescribed by the code.
[1:38] And I turn it over back to you, Mr.
[1:41] Trump.
[1:45] Thank you, Brian. Uh, next on the
[1:48] agenda, agenda item three is any public
[1:51] comment limited to items on the agenda,
[1:54] which is the reorganization meeting. Is
[1:56] there anyone who would like to make a
[1:58] comment?
[2:04] If no comments, then I will move to
[2:08] number four, nomination of a temporary
[2:11] president. And I turn the meeting over
[2:14] to our board secretary, uh, Ashley.
[2:22] » All right. Um, [clears throat]
[2:24] any nominations for a temporary
[2:26] president?
[2:29] >> Nominate Jay.
[2:34] » Any second?
[2:36] >> No, there's no no seconds necessary for
[2:38] a nomination. Are there any additional
[2:40] nominations?
[2:43] There being no additional nominations,
[2:46] uh, I would ask for a motion to approve
[2:49] J. Shrunk as temporary president.
[2:52] >> So moved. Second.
[2:55] >> You take over, Madam Secretary.
[2:57] >> It's been moved and seconded to approve
[3:00] me, Jay. Strunk as the temporary
[3:02] president. Those in favor?
[3:04] >> I.
[3:04] >> Those opposed.
[3:07] The motion passes.
[3:09] Agenda item five, the seating of newly
[3:12] elected board members for giving the
[3:15] oath. Is this you, Dr. Finney?
[3:17] >> No. Uh Jay, you will uh under the school
[3:20] code, a temporary president is
[3:21] authorized to administer the oath to any
[3:24] uh new board members who haven't already
[3:26] taken the oath. So you would administer
[3:27] that oath,
[3:28] >> including myself.
[3:30] >> That's interesting. Yes, I guess. Uh
[3:32] >> well, he already so
[3:34] >> Oh, he took it. No, wait a minute. Did
[3:35] he?
[3:35] >> Well, I mean, I took it for now. You
[3:37] would have to take it for next term.
[3:38] >> Yes.
[3:39] >> Uh, so you know, you can't administer
[3:41] the oath to yourself.
[3:42] >> What about Miss Kleinfelter as a
[3:44] >> Are you a notary public?
[3:46] >> You She may.
[3:47] >> Okay.
[3:48] >> Yes. That's very fortunate. [laughter]
[3:52] >> So, we have the seating. Do you have you
[3:54] have the oath there?
[3:55] >> I do have the oath.
[3:56] >> Yes.
[3:57] >> And we need to get Steve. You're going
[3:59] to ask them to repeat it after you and
[4:01] then
[4:02] >> uh they could do it together.
[4:06] Steve, Tanya, me, and who am I missing?
[4:10] >> Uh, thank you, Lewis. Sorry.
[4:13] >> Do you want us to come to the front?
[4:16] >> Sure. Why? What?
[4:17] >> Yeah, we can do that.
[4:22] » Tanya, Jerry, Lewis, and Steve.
[4:30] » Sorry.
[4:36] Chissy. Where's Chrissy?
[4:41] >> Okay.
[4:43] >> Ready? Please repeat after me. I can
[4:46] state your name.
[4:49] >> Yes.
[4:50] >> Sure.
[4:54] » Okay. I repeat uh I state your name. I
[4:58] >> I
[5:00] >> do solemnly swear
[5:03] >> that I support, obey, and defend the
[5:05] Constitution of the United States
[5:07] >> that I support, obey, and defend the
[5:09] Constitution of the United States
[5:11] >> and Constitution of this Commonwealth
[5:15] >> and that I will discharge the duties of
[5:17] my office with fidelity.
[5:18] >> And that I will discharge the duties of
[5:20] my office with fidelity.
[5:25] » Congratulations.
[5:28] >> [applause]
[5:47] » That's all right.
[5:52] Congratulations to each of you. Um,
[5:56] agenda item 6, 6.1 is nomination for
[6:01] president. So, I call the nominations
[6:04] open for president for the next term.
[6:06] >> Yeah, I nominate J. Strong.
[6:08] >> I second.
[6:15] » Any other nominations?
[6:20] It's been moved and seconded to elect
[6:24] me, Jay Strunk.
[6:26] >> Well, it it's that there was a
[6:27] nomination. I um I'd ask for a motion to
[6:29] approve uh Mr. Shrunk as board
[6:32] president. Uh there being no other
[6:34] nominations.
[6:35] >> Thanks, Brian.
[6:36] >> So moved.
[6:38] >> Does the motion need a second?
[6:40] >> Yes, it does.
[6:41] >> Second. Motion in a second to approve
[6:44] me, Jay Strunk, as the board president
[6:46] to serve for a one-year term. Is this a
[6:49] vote?
[6:49] >> Yes.
[6:50] >> All those in favor?
[6:52] >> Those opposed?
[6:54] Thank you very much. Uh my commitment to
[6:57] you is to continue to work hard to make
[7:00] sure that each of you has an equal voice
[7:02] in the road ahead. Uh,
[7:07] I now want to move to 7.1
[7:12] uh nominations for vice president.
[7:16] >> I'd like to I'd like to nominate Bill
[7:19] Thompson for vice president.
[7:20] >> I second that.
[7:27] Any other nominations?
[7:31] » It's been moved and seconded for Bill
[7:33] Thompson. Uh,
[7:34] >> we need a motion again. Motion to
[7:36] approve.
[7:37] >> To appoint Mr. Thompson as board vice
[7:41] president.
[7:41] >> Motion to appoint Bill Thompson as the
[7:43] vice president for a one-year term.
[7:48] >> Need a motion.
[7:48] >> Oh, you can't make that motion. I'll
[7:51] make the motion.
[7:54] >> Motion and a second to appoint Bill
[7:56] Thompson as vice president for one term.
[8:00] All those in favor?
[8:02] >> Those opposed?
[8:04] The motion passes. Bill,
[8:05] congratulations.
[8:06] >> Thank you.
[8:07] >> Look forward to continue
[8:10] >> working with you.
[8:11] >> Yes.
[8:12] >> Uh agenda item 8 8.1 is the Western
[8:17] Career and Technology Center Joint
[8:18] Operating Committee member for
[8:20] three-year term. The term that is up is
[8:22] Bill Thompson who replaced uh Chuck
[8:25] Nippert. His term ends uh 12:25.
[8:29] Um
[8:31] I am here. I have the authority to
[8:34] propose uh someone for the seat. So, I'm
[8:36] proposing that Bill Thompson remain in
[8:38] that seat. Uh and I'm asking, are there
[8:41] any other nominations?
[8:47] Bill, I'm assuming you're willing to do
[8:49] that.
[8:49] >> I am.
[8:50] >> If no other nominations, I need a motion
[8:55] to approve Bill Thompson.
[8:58] I'll make I'll make the I'll make the
[9:00] motion to approve Bill Thompson for vice
[9:02] president and
[9:04] >> what's it now? He's already been
[9:05] approved but just to uh serve on the
[9:07] joint operation.
[9:08] >> Oh, okay. To serve on the JOC
[9:11] motion and a second for Bill Thompson to
[9:14] serve for this is a
[9:17] this is more than a one-year term. Is
[9:19] that correct?
[9:20] >> Yes.
[9:21] >> For a three-year term on the Western
[9:23] Montgomery Technical Center uh joint
[9:26] operating committee. All those in favor.
[9:29] >> Those opposed. The motion passes. Bill.
[9:33] Congratulations.
[9:34] >> Thank you.
[9:36] >> Next is appointing a Montgomery County
[9:38] Intermediate Unit Legislative Leaison
[9:40] for a term of one year. Tanya currently
[9:43] holds this seat. Tanya, I are you
[9:46] interested in continuing?
[9:47] >> Yes.
[9:48] >> So, I propose that Tanya continues in
[9:50] that position for the next year. Uh,
[9:53] nominate her. Are there any other
[9:54] nominations? Or we need a second for
[9:56] Tanya, I guess.
[9:57] >> Second.
[9:58] >> Any other nominations?
[10:01] It's been moved and seconded for uh
[10:04] Tanya Taylor to hold the seat of
[10:07] Montgomery County Intermediate Unit uh
[10:09] legislative liaison with a term of uh
[10:12] one year. We need a motion to approve.
[10:15] >> So moved.
[10:16] >> Second.
[10:17] >> Motion in a second to approve Tanya for
[10:19] the one-year term on the Montgomery
[10:21] County Intermediate Legislative
[10:22] Committee. Those in favor.
[10:25] >> Those opposed.
[10:27] The uh motion passes.
[10:31] Number 8.3 is the uh Pennsylvania School
[10:36] Board Association uh representative or
[10:39] our liaison. Um Patty Grim has currently
[10:43] been holding this seat. Is this
[10:44] something you choose to continue? I then
[10:48] uh nominate Patty for the position for a
[10:51] term of one year.
[10:53] Second
[10:54] >> move and second. Is there any other
[10:56] nominations for the Pennsylvania School
[10:58] Board Associ Association liaison?
[11:03] » If no other nominations, I need a motion
[11:05] to approve Patty for this position.
[11:08] >> So move
[11:09] >> and a second.
[11:10] >> Second.
[11:10] >> I have a motion and a second to approve
[11:12] Patty Grim as the Pennsylvania School
[11:15] Board Association liaison for a term of
[11:17] one year. Those in favor? I. Those
[11:20] opposed.
[11:22] The motion passes.
[11:25] Uh number nine is committee assignments.
[11:40] Well, just give them to you. Don't take
[11:44] more than one.
[11:46] >> Don't cheat.
[11:48] Uh there's two pages here uh that just
[11:52] list the committees in in different
[11:53] ways. We do not have to change
[11:56] committees tonight and I am looking to
[12:00] make changes to the committees at our
[12:03] January 12th board meeting. What I'd
[12:06] like you to do as a bit of background
[12:08] committees are a way we are limited we
[12:11] typically limit it to four people
[12:12] although anyone can attend but
[12:14] committees become a way of increasing
[12:16] your knowledge and your education about
[12:17] what the board does. So I could make an
[12:20] argument that you should stay where you
[12:21] are because you have more learning to
[12:22] do. I could also make an argument that
[12:25] you could jump because you have an
[12:27] opportunity to learn other things. But I
[12:29] need your ideas to do that. I would
[12:31] rather not assign people and move them
[12:33] around because then you get into why did
[12:35] you put me here? So, I'd like you
[12:37] between now and January 1st to look at
[12:43] these committee assignments. Bill and I
[12:45] have met with Steve. Steve knows that
[12:48] Stacy held operations and finance and
[12:51] athletics co-curricular and community
[12:53] relations as assignments. He is strongly
[12:56] interested in athletics co-curricular
[12:58] and community relations, less so
[13:00] interested in operations and finance. So
[13:03] there's an opportunity there for someone
[13:05] to jump. But to make that jump, I need
[13:07] to get people to say, I'd like to go
[13:09] here. So, and the more choices you give
[13:11] me in sending back to me, the greater
[13:13] flexibility we have in finding something
[13:15] that works. Hear me. I'm not trying to
[13:17] take anything away from anyone, but I am
[13:20] trying to give everybody the opportunity
[13:21] to learn the different pieces in terms
[13:23] of that and keep the assignments to uh
[13:25] no more than four board members on a
[13:28] committee. Is that clear what I'm asking
[13:30] you to do? So, between now and January
[13:32] 1, just shoot me an email
[13:34] [clears throat] and just say, "Hey,
[13:36] here's the committees I'm currently on.
[13:37] I'd like to stay." Or, "Here's the
[13:40] committees I'm currently on. I'm willing
[13:41] to give up this one or this two and take
[13:44] these other ones. Uh, I'll create a grid
[13:46] that looks at that and hopefully we can
[13:49] work out something that gives everybody
[13:50] an opportunity to learn new stuff. Uh,
[13:53] that gives everybody happy and we can
[13:55] move forward from there with committees.
[13:57] Questions on that on on uh the way I'm
[14:00] choosing to handle that or or the
[14:02] assignment here.
[14:04] Steve, you're okay with that?
[14:06] >> Yeah. Being new, I think Bill and I went
[14:08] over I don't know that I gave I may have
[14:11] given you the list.
[14:13] So that's committees. Uh it moves us to
[14:16] agenda item 10. Any comments from the
[14:19] board on the reorganization meeting?
[14:29] » If no comments, we go to agenda item 102
[14:32] of the reorg meeting, which is comments
[14:36] in reference to the organization meeting
[14:38] from our superintendent, Dr. David
[14:40] Finney.
[14:41] Welcome to our new member and
[14:43] congratulations on our officers being
[14:45] arrested and
[14:50] thank you Dr. Finity. That leads us to
[14:52] 10 three of the reorganization meeting
[14:55] which is public comments again about the
[14:57] reorganization meeting from anybody in
[14:59] the audience or anyone in line. Is there
[15:02] any comments regarding the organization
[15:03] meeting before we move to adjourn this
[15:06] meeting?
[15:08] Excuse
[15:12] me. Do we have anything online?
[15:17] Then congratulations to all of you who
[15:19] have been appointed or reappointed. Um,
[15:22] give it your best thought. Please, each
[15:24] of you for the committees and get back
[15:26] to me by January 1 so that we have I'd
[15:29] like to be able to at least talk to you
[15:31] by email or however before the 21st so
[15:34] that you don't come in here and get a
[15:35] surprise on the 21st, but you got a
[15:37] sense for how we're dealing that. You're
[15:39] welcome to call each other and swap if
[15:41] you want to do that. It can be a trading
[15:43] game. You know, I'll give you this if
[15:45] you take that. Uh I also wanted to say
[15:48] on on page eight of this agenda um the
[15:51] committee names are not entirely right.
[15:54] Curriculum instruction and technology it
[15:56] says integration like to get change the
[15:59] meeting's over. And then operations and
[16:01] finance it says operations and
[16:03] facilities. I don't want Steve looking
[16:05] at that and giving me a name of a
[16:07] committee that doesn't even exist.
[16:10] Any other comments before um
[16:13] adjourning?
[16:15] Move to adjurnn.
[16:17] >> A second.
[16:18] >> Second.
[16:19] >> Move in a second to adjourn the
[16:21] reorganization meeting. All those in
[16:22] favor?
[16:24] >> Those opposed. The reorganization
[16:26] meeting is adjourned.
[16:44] December 2nd, 2025
[16:46] school board meeting to order.
[16:49] Please rise for a pledge to the flag.
[17:13] Roll call. As before, all nine members
[17:16] are now present. And Steve, you're an
[17:19] official member, so you're now present.
[17:21] Uh change to this list on there. Please
[17:24] note that Bill Thompson is also a Joocc
[17:27] member, and I would add that if we could
[17:29] please after his name.
[17:32] Public comment is open for the first
[17:35] session to any agenda item that is on
[17:38] our agenda for the evening. Is there
[17:40] anyone in the room or online who has
[17:43] public comment concerning any of our
[17:45] agenda items?
[17:51] Anybody online?
[17:54] Thank you. Given that there is no
[17:56] comment, we'll move to agenda item 3.1,
[18:00] the December 2025 student board report.
[18:03] And we have Adam and Jordan with us.
[18:06] Hello, guys. Good Thanksgiving.
[18:08] >> Very good Thanksgiving. Thank you guys.
[18:10] >> Eat too much.
[18:11] >> Yeah.
[18:13] >> That's a problem. Take it away, guys.
[18:15] >> Thank you. Um, so from 3 to 6:30 today,
[18:18] students organized and delivered dinners
[18:20] at the Pottstown Religious Cluster. So,
[18:22] the meal served at or the meal that we
[18:24] served today was spaghetti with a side
[18:26] of I think let or salad and buttered
[18:29] rolls and we only did to go uh bags for
[18:33] people today because of the weather. So,
[18:35] unfortunately, not everyone was able to
[18:36] make it, but we still had about 92
[18:38] people uh get meals. So, it was very
[18:41] active. And um although Priest John is
[18:44] more than likely not going to see me
[18:46] saying this or anything, but um I would
[18:49] like to just thank him for uh hosting
[18:52] the event I guess and hosting it every
[18:53] Tuesday. It's very generous. It's good
[18:54] to give back to the community. So um I
[18:57] will spend time now going back there on
[19:00] Tuesdays. So yeah, I guess that's what
[19:04] happened today for me.
[19:06] >> Tomorrow on December 3rd, Mrs. Moyer is
[19:09] hosting a field trip through the club
[19:10] Spark the Wave um for students to go and
[19:14] help out at a retirement home such as
[19:16] decorating Christmas trees and spending
[19:17] time with residents just to help spread
[19:19] holiday cheer. This is also an
[19:21] opportunity for NHS club members. They
[19:24] are also going on December 18th to help
[19:27] deliver Christmas cheer to the residents
[19:28] and lend a helping hand with
[19:30] organization, anything of the such. We
[19:33] are thrilled to have this volunteer
[19:35] opportunity as students well they're
[19:37] able to possess the ability to spread
[19:39] holiday sorry holiday cheer throughout
[19:42] our community by representing Pods
[19:44] Grove. And just a little special shout
[19:46] out to Mrs. Syer for orchestrating this
[19:48] whole entire trip.
[19:51] >> And then um I know that this is a senior
[19:54] specific event, but on December 12th we
[19:56] will be having our New York City trip.
[19:58] Um I'd like to thank you guys for
[20:00] signing off on that. So that's really
[20:02] pleasant. Um, I think we're leaving at
[20:04] 7:30 in the morning, making it back at
[20:07] 900 p. p.m. So, it's a long day trip,
[20:10] but we're all going to have a lot lot of
[20:11] fun, and I'd like to thank you guys for
[20:13] that.
[20:15] Before Thanksgiving break had started,
[20:17] there was a very special event held at
[20:19] the middle school called Falconfest. I'm
[20:21] sure some of you have heard of it. Many
[20:23] activities were presented at this event
[20:25] for the students to partake in, such as
[20:27] field games, a basketball tournament to
[20:29] watch, and a Kona ice truck to indulge
[20:31] in. This was a great way to give
[20:33] students an incentive before break for
[20:35] all their hard work and dedication
[20:37] towards school and I can assure you they
[20:39] all loved it.
[20:41] >> Um this upcoming Saturday uh we have the
[20:44] Pottscarf High School annual Winterfest.
[20:47] So there will be activities, games,
[20:49] movies, and snacks for children and
[20:50] their families to enjoy. As well Santa
[20:53] will be there uh accompanied by his uh
[20:56] elf friend. So, uh, illuminating the
[21:00] Christmas spirit, uh, there will be
[21:02] photo ops and things of the such. So,
[21:04] this event is hosted by a great number
[21:06] of our clubs. Um, and it's a good chance
[21:08] for anybody interested to show support
[21:10] for the high school. So, I know
[21:11] personally the diversity club, we've
[21:13] poured a lot of effort in our volunteers
[21:15] coming in. So, I'm proud of them.
[21:20] Do you have more? Oh, sorry. And shoot.
[21:23] Sorry, guys. Um, and then for our last
[21:25] one, uh, we've been trying to get in
[21:27] touch with some of the other schools so
[21:28] we can report on more. So, recently
[21:30] Jordan and I have graciously been given
[21:32] the opportunity to get in touch with
[21:34] other districts through Mr. Onsbach. So,
[21:36] shout out Mr. Onsbach. Um, we're very
[21:39] excited for this opportunity as it also
[21:41] showcases uh, the district and the
[21:44] meetings as well as highlights that may
[21:47] be occurring at the schools. So, we're
[21:49] very excited for this opportunity and we
[21:51] hope that we get responses soon. So,
[21:53] thank you.
[21:56] >> Thank you, Adam and Jordan. I know one
[21:58] of the pieces of feedback you were given
[21:59] in our last meeting was to begin to
[22:02] include other schools than than
[22:03] [clears throat] just the high school. I
[22:04] think it was something that Stacy
[22:06] encouraged. I see you're doing that. I I
[22:08] commend you for doing that with reaching
[22:10] out here with with lower and with the
[22:12] middle school. Uh the more we get that
[22:14] all encompassing kind of picture of
[22:16] activities, I think the the richer the
[22:18] report's going to be. And you did a nice
[22:20] job with that. and states, thank you for
[22:22] the recommendation uh to do that. Moves
[22:25] us to number five, approval of minutes.
[22:28] 51 is approval of the monthly
[22:31] >> um I'm skipped. I'm going to back. It
[22:34] doesn't move us to five. It moves us to
[22:36] number four, report of the
[22:37] superintendent, Dr. Finney.
[22:38] >> Okay. Uh I have two things tonight, but
[22:40] before I do, I just wanted to also
[22:42] report to the board uh that I had a
[22:45] wonderful opportunity to see one of our
[22:47] board reps uh leadership in action. uh
[22:50] was able to attend uh the talk which was
[22:54] an Avidum uh activity that was hosted
[22:56] down at the MCIU. Uh this was before
[22:59] Thanksgiving and there was uh I I want
[23:04] to say half half the team down there was Potts Grove folks. Uh and our kids
[23:09] were uh leading and engaging and a
[23:14] delight to uh to watch and interact
[23:17] with. So, um, very impressed with your
[23:20] leadership on that.
[23:23] Okay, I do have two things. Um, first,
[23:27] uh, I I noticed this on your report as
[23:29] well, the winter concerts. Uh, so please
[23:33] join me in supporting our student
[23:35] musicians and welcoming the winter
[23:37] holidays at our winter concerts. First,
[23:39] we we have five different events. First
[23:42] one is up Thursday, our high school
[23:44] winter concert, December 4th. Uh then on
[23:47] December 9th we have uh I'm sorry the
[23:50] December 4th one is a combined concert
[23:52] band chorus and orchestra. So you get
[23:55] three for the price of one. So please
[23:57] come out. December 9th we have lower
[23:59] potsgrove chorus. December 11th we have
[24:02] middle school band and orchestra. Uh
[24:05] December 15th lower potsgrove band and
[24:07] orchestra. And December 18th middle
[24:09] school chorus. Uh it's a great great
[24:14] opportunity to see our kids in action.
[24:16] Uh and personally nothing starts the
[24:18] holidays more than our winter concert.
[24:20] So I do hope you come out and support.
[24:22] Uh there'll also be K2 singalongs for
[24:25] parents of students in uh Rocks and
[24:28] West.
[24:29] And secondly,
[24:32] uh heroes helpers and heroes. The West
[24:35] Pottsgrove Police Department on
[24:37] Saturday, December 13th will be shopping
[24:39] with 60 selected students uh potsgrow
[24:43] students at the Target score at Target
[24:45] Store and Upland Square Shopping Center.
[24:47] Uh, I want to thank Transplant Alliance
[24:50] Foundation for the financial support of
[24:53] this. Uh, and West Pottsgrove Police
[24:55] Department helpers and heroes for
[24:58] offering this wonder, wonderful event,
[25:00] uh, to many of our Potts Elementary
[25:02] students so that their holiday season
[25:04] can be especially bright. And that's all
[25:06] I have.
[25:10] Thank you, Dr. Finity. uh moves us to
[25:12] agenda item 5.1, approval of the monthly
[25:15] board action minutes from the meeting of
[25:17] November 11, 2025.
[25:19] >> I'd like to make a motion we approve
[25:21] 5.1.
[25:23] >> Second.
[25:26] >> Motion in a second to approve 5.1 uh the
[25:28] monthly board action minutes of November
[25:30] 11:25. Those in favor? Any discussion? I
[25:34] should say. I'm sorry. Any discussion on
[25:36] those in favor? I
[25:39] >> Those opposed. The motion passes. 6.1
[25:43] Granting of orders paying the invoices
[25:45] for November 2025.
[25:48] And Patty loves to give the amount.
[25:51] [laughter] I'd like to make a motion we
[25:52] pay make the payment of invoices for
[25:55] November 2025 in the amount of
[25:58] 1,929,91849.
[26:05] Second
[26:06] >> motion and a second to approve the
[26:08] accounts for audit of the high school,
[26:10] middle school, and cafeteria accounts
[26:12] for October 2025. Any discussion?
[26:17] Those in favor?
[26:19] >> Those opposed?
[26:22] The motion P.
[26:26] Agenda item 8.1, the treasurer's report
[26:29] for October 2025. Motion to approve.
[26:33] I'd like to make a motion that we
[26:35] approve the high school student
[26:36] activities, the middle school student
[26:38] activities and the cafeteria counts for
[26:41] October 2025 as presented.
[26:44] >> Thank you. Thank you, Peggy or Patty.
[26:47] This was 7.1, not not 8.1. Uh it is a
[26:50] approval of the high school middle
[26:52] school cafeteria counts for October
[26:54] 2025. Any discussion?
[26:57] >> Those in favor? I.
[26:59] >> Those opposed?
[27:01] The motion passes.
[27:06] Agenda 8.1, approval of the October 25
[27:09] treasures report.
[27:11] >> I'd like to make a motion that we
[27:13] approve the October 2025 treasures
[27:16] report as presented and filer for audit.
[27:18] Second
[27:19] >> motion and a second to approve the
[27:21] October 25 treasurers report. Any
[27:24] discussion?
[27:26] Those in favor?
[27:28] >> Those opposed?
[27:30] The motion passes.
[27:32] 9.1 is approval of leave of absences for
[27:36] one administrator and two support staff.
[27:41] I'd like to make a motion we approve 9.1
[27:44] through 9.4.
[27:47] >> Second.
[27:48] >> Motion to approve 9.1 through 94. This
[27:51] is the leave of absence for one
[27:53] administrator, one support staff, a
[27:56] resignation of one support staff, the
[27:58] appointment of two new support staff,
[28:01] and supplemental
[28:03] um appointments for seven people, three
[28:06] from Ringing Rocks, which is a
[28:07] correction to salary, three new ones
[28:09] from the high school, one from the
[28:10] middle school for a total of seven
[28:12] people. Uh any discussion on any of
[28:15] those items?
[28:18] So, I believe we have a motion and a
[28:20] second to approve.
[28:23] Help me pay. 9.2 through 9.4.
[28:26] >> 1 through
[28:27] >> 9.1 through 9.4. Any discussion?
[28:31] Those in favor?
[28:33] >> Those opposed?
[28:35] The motion passes.
[28:38] 10.1 is a resolution not to exceed the
[28:41] act one index. There was a copy here.
[28:44] Information for the public. This is a
[28:47] resolution that we can choose to agree
[28:49] with or not. If we agree, it says when
[28:52] we find the tax increase for the
[28:54] district, we cannot exceed 4.6%.
[28:58] It does not mean we will go to 4.6%.
[29:01] It places a cap on that. Ron, am I
[29:04] explaining that correctly?
[29:05] >> Yes, you are. That's correct.
[29:07] >> Anything more you want to say about it?
[29:08] >> No, sir.
[29:10] >> Uh, may I have a motion to approve? I'd
[29:14] like to make a motion we approve 10.1
[29:17] >> second
[29:17] >> motion and a second to approve the
[29:19] resolution not to exceed the tax one
[29:22] index which is 4.6%.
[29:26] As we look at the budget, remember that
[29:28] this limits us to what we're doing, but
[29:30] it also limits the uh increases we can
[29:33] give to the community in terms of that
[29:35] means we will not go that high, but it
[29:37] also places limits and restriction into
[29:40] hiring and and other actions we take as a board that involve money. Um,
[29:48] a motion and a second to approve 10.1,
[29:53] the resolution not to exceed 4.6%. 6%
[29:55] which is the act act one index. Any
[29:58] discussion?
[30:01] Those in favor?
[30:03] >> Those opposed. The motion passes.
[30:07] 10.2
[30:09] is a approval of a contract contract
[30:12] with Sunb Belt Staffing for the 2526
[30:14] school years for a full-time board
[30:17] certified behavior analyst uh also known
[30:20] as BCBA.
[30:23] uh this position is to cover a long-term
[30:25] subposition and when the person on long
[30:29] on FMLA comes back this position will be
[30:32] eliminated so it becomes a it's not an
[30:33] add-on position it's a temporary
[30:35] position because of FMLA
[30:37] any discussion here
[30:40] those in favor
[30:42] >> those opposed
[30:43] >> we don't have a motion
[30:44] >> let's do I have a motion to pass this
[30:46] >> I'm going to I'm going to I'd like to
[30:48] make a motion 10.2 2 to and 10.3 second.
[30:53] >> Motion in a second to approve 10.2
[30:56] full-time board certified behavior
[30:58] analyst and 10.3 which is the repair of
[31:01] the heat exchangers at the high school
[31:04] part of the heating the HVAC system at a
[31:07] cost of approximately $131,000.
[31:12] Um
[31:14] >> that was about $56,000. 56. Where did I
[31:17] get 131?
[31:19] >> There was an option and we discussed
[31:21] about that would do more repairs to the
[31:24] HBAC, but we didn't go that route.
[31:26] >> Thank you, Ron. My my fault there. 56
[31:28] you're saying?
[31:29] >> Uh off the top of my head was like 56
[31:31] and change.
[31:34] >> Let's let me
[31:35] >> 75 less than I quoted.
[31:38] >> Uh we have a motion in a second on this
[31:40] or we need a motion and second. We have
[31:43] >> we have a motion in a second to approve
[31:45] uh 10.1 the repair of the heat
[31:47] exchangers at the high school.
[31:50] >> Any discussion?
[31:51] >> 10.2 and 10.3.
[31:54] >> Thank you. I'm uh I apologize. I'm
[31:56] fighting a cold and I'm I'm foggy. Uh
[32:00] I'm foggy even when I'm not fighting a
[32:01] cold. 10.2 Motion in a second to approve
[32:04] 10.2 two, which is the full-time board
[32:06] certified behavior analyst, and 10.3,
[32:09] the repair of the heat exchangers at the
[32:10] high school HBAC system for a total of
[32:13] $56,000. Any discussion?
[32:16] Those in favor?
[32:18] >> Those opposed?
[32:21] The motion passes. 10.4 Four is approval
[32:24] of a resolution to issue general
[32:27] obligation bonds in the total of about
[32:30] $12 million for the purpose of financing
[32:33] the design, construction, furnishing,
[32:35] and equipping of reservations,
[32:36] additions, and other improvements to the
[32:38] district's stadium and athletic
[32:39] facilities, and for the planning,
[32:41] design, constructing, equipping,
[32:43] furnishing, and financing of various
[32:45] other capital improvement projects to
[32:47] the school facilities.
[32:49] >> I'd like to make a motion we approve
[32:50] 10.4.
[32:52] >> [clears throat]
[32:53] >> Motion in a second to approve 10.4. Is
[32:56] there any discussion?
[33:01] » Mr. Strong, there will be a roll call
[33:02] vote needed for this one.
[33:03] >> Thank you. I had marked that. And uh and
[33:05] Ashley, you okay taking that roll call?
[33:12] » I just want to get to this
[33:14] spot where it's
[33:17] already written out. Okay. So, I'm doing
[33:19] it in order. All right. Um,
[33:25] » there is on here.
[33:27] >> Uh, Jay.
[33:29] >> Yes.
[33:32] >> Bill.
[33:32] >> Yes.
[33:38] » Me?
[33:40] I'm a Yes.
[33:43] Patty.
[33:44] >> Yes.
[33:48] » Jim.
[33:49] >> Yes.
[33:52] Tanya,
[33:53] >> yes.
[33:57] » Anique,
[33:58] >> yes.
[34:01] » Lewis,
[34:03] >> yes.
[34:07] » And Stephen,
[34:08] >> yes.
[34:10] >> All right. Yeses have it.
[34:15] » So Ashley, that's 90. Yep.
[34:18] >> Thank you, Ashley.
[34:20] moves us to agenda 10.5.
[34:23] Awarding the bid for the tennis court
[34:25] reconstruction at the high school to our
[34:27] lo lowest responsible bidder. We had
[34:30] three bids that came in. The lowest bid
[34:32] was received from Sachs and Suns for a
[34:34] total of 579,454
[34:37] and 4 cents.
[34:40] >> I'd like to make a motion we approve
[34:41] 10.5.
[34:44] >> Second.
[34:45] Motion in a second to approve 10.5
[34:48] awarding the bid to the lowest uh
[34:51] reasonable bidder for the construction
[34:53] of the tennis courts. Any discussion?
[35:00] Those in favor?
[35:02] >> Those opposed?
[35:04] The motion passes.
[35:06] 10.6 is the Apple lease of staff laptops
[35:09] and lab computers. uh administration is
[35:12] recommending that we approve the
[35:14] proposed lease for app Apple laptops to
[35:17] replace the current laptops which have
[35:20] ended their lease period uh as well as
[35:22] our lab computers. The annual payment is
[35:25] not going to exceed $137,000.
[35:28] Worth noting that this price is
[35:30] significantly lower than the expired
[35:33] lease of the laptops we currently have
[35:36] and are returning uh from the district.
[35:40] I would ask that um this matter be
[35:42] tabled. Um it was uh in conjunction I
[35:46] discussed this matter with Mr. Linky and
[35:49] um we need to coordinate the terms of
[35:53] this lease with the uh bond issue that
[35:56] you just approved because um that bond
[35:58] issue is obviously um tax-free. So we
[36:02] need to do some further uh coordination
[36:05] with respect to this lease and uh the um
[36:09] district administration has advised the
[36:11] business office has advised that
[36:12] approving this on J in January will be
[36:14] fine. So at this point I'd ask that the
[36:17] matter be tabled
[36:20] » table.
[36:21] >> We have a motion to table.
[36:23] >> Second
[36:24] >> motion and a second to table the item
[36:27] for the 10.6 for lease of the laptop
[36:30] computers. Any discussion?
[36:33] [cough]
[36:34] Those in favor?
[36:37] >> Those opposed? 10.6 is tabled.
[36:42] Action item 11.1, approving one student
[36:46] for early graduation that has met all
[36:48] requirements for early college
[36:51] admission.
[36:53] >> I'd like to make a motion we combine
[36:55] 11.1 through 11.7.
[36:59] >> Second.
[37:01] Motion and a second to combine 11.1
[37:03] through 11.7. This is approval of early
[37:07] graduation and early college admission
[37:09] for one student. Approving the 25
[37:12] through 2028 K to2 guidance plan.
[37:16] Approving the middle school program of
[37:18] studies for 2026 2027. Approving the
[37:21] high school program of studies for 2026
[37:25] 2027.
[37:27] an affiliation agreement with pediatic
[37:29] pediatric therapeutic services uh for
[37:34] allows the district to partner with the
[37:36] organization to provide pre-related
[37:39] [clears throat]
[37:39] service providers with observation and
[37:42] internship hours. It's very similar to
[37:44] student teacher uh agreements and that
[37:47] and and here it's with uh with this uh
[37:49] organization called pediatric
[37:51] therapeutic services 11.6 six,
[37:56] [cough]
[37:57] excuse me, uh says it is a conference.
[38:00] It is not. It's a continuation of a
[38:02] certification program for one staff
[38:05] member. And this certification is
[38:07] required for this person to work in prek
[38:09] counts at a cost of $525.
[38:13] And 117 is conference attendance for one
[38:16] person at the Pennsylvania Association
[38:18] of School Personnel Administrators or
[38:20] PASPA.
[38:25] We have a motion and a second to approve
[38:27] all of these items. Is there any
[38:29] discussion?
[38:32] Those approved
[38:37] » those
[38:38] not approving.
[38:42] Uh the motion is passed.
[38:46] 12 12.1 Approval of policies. There are
[38:50] six policies here that have been
[38:52] submitted for approval. Diabetes
[38:54] management, graduation requirements,
[38:56] early admission to college, federal
[38:58] physical compliance, travel
[38:59] reimbursement for federal programs, and
[39:02] conflict of interest.
[39:07] » I'd like to make a motion we approve
[39:09] 12.1.
[39:10] >> Second.
[39:11] >> Motion in a second to approve 12.1,
[39:13] these six policies. Those in favor?
[39:17] >> Those opposed?
[39:19] The eyes have it.
[39:22] Agenda item 13.1 is the Montgomery
[39:25] County Intermediate Unit board update
[39:27] for the board meeting of November 19,
[39:29] 2025 from board member Anique Ruiz
[39:32] Brown. Anique,
[39:35] >> thank you Jay.
[39:38] >> Um just some brief um overviews.
[39:41] Everyone received the main um outline.
[39:45] Uh I wanted to share how MCIU is working
[39:48] directly with pots students through our
[39:51] title one inter agency agreement.
[39:54] They're providing additional reading and
[39:56] math support to eligible pots students
[39:59] giving teachers more support so they
[40:01] don't have to work through all of that
[40:03] on their own. Um, we also have a
[40:06] contract with the NCIU for psych valves
[40:09] and FBAs, which is a huge help with the
[40:12] complex cases that some of our staff and
[40:15] teams have right now freeing up teachers
[40:17] to spend more time supporting all
[40:19] students. Um, if anyone has any
[40:21] questions about what an FBA is or um,
[40:24] any of the other information because I'm
[40:26] going to have a lot of uh, acronyms
[40:28] here. Um, just let me know.
[40:32] So, we got the MCIU leading hard into
[40:35] mental health and school climate with
[40:37] its project aware work. They're
[40:39] partnering with PA, Office of Mental
[40:40] Health and Substance Abuse Services, the
[40:43] CHOP Policy Lab, and other organizations
[40:45] to bring in consultation, data tools,
[40:48] and training around trauma threat
[40:50] assessment and school climate. Um, we
[40:54] also, sorry, just clicked on the wrong
[40:57] thing.
[40:58] Uh, one of the more exciting things is
[41:00] that uh, the MCIU is integrating art
[41:03] therapy into the learning academy and
[41:07] they've contracted with the child and
[41:09] family art therapy center to provide
[41:11] weekly sessions focused on emotional
[41:14] regulation and mental health. Um, the
[41:17] Learning Academy is a county run school
[41:19] where preschoolers and some school age
[41:21] students with higher needs get
[41:23] specialized programs, therapies, and
[41:26] supports all in one place. It houses um
[41:29] Head Start, preK counts, early
[41:30] intervention, and other elementary
[41:32] programs.
[41:35] And I keep apologies.
[41:39] Uh, let's see. We have for pots grows
[41:43] families whose children are in
[41:45] countywide programs. MCIU's Head Start
[41:48] um work provides extra nutrition
[41:52] support, strong family voice through the
[41:54] policy council. They've also partnered
[41:57] with the right at with right at school
[42:00] to offer before and after school summer
[42:02] care for the head start and pre-K counts
[42:04] family using IU space at no extra
[42:08] program cost to families so that they
[42:11] can have a safe consistent care that
[42:13] keeps the students connected to learning
[42:18] for family leadership and engagement. Um
[42:21] through patent MCIU connects pots
[42:24] families with statewide family
[42:25] engagement work with Hune Peele through
[42:29] families to the max and spell projects.
[42:33] Um those are all again a lot of
[42:35] acronyms. So if anyone had any questions
[42:38] of what they are just ask. Um, this
[42:40] funding supports a statewide network
[42:43] that backs parent leadership, Spanish-sp
[42:45] speakaking family outreach, our local
[42:47] task force 23 pottos village style
[42:50] groups and family training around IEP
[42:53] and inclusive practices.
[42:56] Uh something interesting, I don't know
[42:58] if you had already touched on this for
[43:00] um legislative changes, but um for um
[43:04] MCIU flagged uh some key legislative
[43:07] change in truency cases. Judges now have
[43:10] clear authority to move students back to
[43:12] in-person school when cyber isn't um
[43:16] helping them to show up, meaning um
[43:19] attendance. Um, so for POTSCOR that
[43:22] means more support for choosing the
[43:24] setting where students can attend
[43:26] regularly to stay on track and if anyone
[43:29] has any more questions about that. Um, I
[43:33] know you have know some of that and I
[43:35] could also help you with that. And that
[43:37] was pretty much it.
[43:40] >> Anique, thank you. Any questions of
[43:41] Anique?
[43:44] >> And thank you for sending this stuff in
[43:45] advance. I I appreciate that. It's
[43:48] helpful to get that in advance. Thank
[43:49] you.
[43:50] moves us to agenda item 14.2,
[43:54] the report of the November 18, 2025
[43:57] athletics co-curricular and community
[43:59] relations committee. Patty Grim andor
[44:01] Steve
[44:06] » I'm really doing I'm really jumping
[44:08] them. Moves us to 14.1 the meeting
[44:11] report from November 11, 2025 of the
[44:14] operations finance committee. Lewis
[44:16] Cormunz and Ron Linky.
[44:22] » Thank you, Mr. Cromus. Uh, good evening
[44:24] everyone. Uh, at the last finance
[44:26] committee meeting, we discussed the
[44:27] resolution not to exceed the act one
[44:29] index which you just approved tonight.
[44:31] Uh, this is at least the fifth year in a
[44:33] row the district has passed this
[44:34] resolution. Um, at the last meeting we
[44:38] discussed the request by the Western
[44:40] Center to pay their tuition payments on
[44:42] a quarterly basis. Thankfully, we will
[44:44] not need to be doing that. The state
[44:46] [snorts] finally passed its budget.
[44:50] Uh then we had the construction team
[44:53] from CMTA to provide an update on the
[44:56] facilities and athletic uh renovation
[44:58] project. Um and then we also discussed
[45:02] the high skill, excuse [clears throat]
[45:03] me, the high school chiller repair
[45:05] upgrades which was just voted on earlier
[45:07] tonight as well. And that was our
[45:09] meeting.
[45:12] Louis, anything else?
[45:14] >> That is it. Thank you, Mr. Linky.
[45:17] >> Thank you, Louis. Thank you, Ron. Moves
[45:19] us to 142, the community relations
[45:23] committee, uh, athletics co-curricular
[45:25] and community relations committee report
[45:26] of November 18 of 25. Patty and Steve,
[45:39] » good evening everybody. Uh so we met on
[45:41] November 18th at 5:35. Uh I provided a
[45:45] quick summary of our fall intercolastic
[45:49] sports season. I reviewed our
[45:50] participation numbers, uh season records
[45:53] and team and individual highlights
[45:55] throughout the season. Um I also
[45:57] highlighted the individuals that
[45:58] received all division, all conference
[46:00] and all academic um and citizen athlete
[46:03] awards. I also provided a quick summary
[46:05] of how we honor those students. uh the
[46:08] certificates that are given, the pins,
[46:09] the letters that are sent home um and
[46:11] how we highlight those students on our
[46:13] various social media outlets. Also
[46:16] discuss some of our facility upgrades.
[46:18] As many of you know, we had a water leak
[46:21] at the middle school which did damage to
[46:23] our middle school gymnasium floor. Um
[46:26] through insurance and and some budgetary
[46:29] dollars that Mr. Linky was able to
[46:32] provide for us, we were able to to
[46:34] basically resurface our middle school
[46:36] floor. um add the Falcon logo, repaint
[46:39] the the black area within the gym. It's
[46:42] beautiful. It brightened up our entire
[46:43] middle school gymnasium. Actually on
[46:45] Falcon Fest a few weeks ago, they kind
[46:48] of highlighted the floor with our middle
[46:49] school students with the students versus
[46:51] staff basketball game where Mrs. Eaton
[46:53] and I got to officiate. So, uh
[46:56] definitely definitely a huge plus for our gymnasium um that our students
[47:00] can use um at the middle school. I also
[47:02] discussed uh we did receive a grant last
[47:04] year from Dick Sporting Goods. So, we're
[47:06] in the process uh with Mr. Blankenville
[47:09] and his team put Mr. Blankenville and
[47:11] his team putting up batting cages at
[47:13] Lower Elementary for our softball team
[47:16] um at the middle school for our baseball
[47:17] program and a new cage for our softball
[47:19] program at the high school. Um switches
[47:22] us through co-curriculars. Uh I provided
[47:24] anformational summary on our sore
[47:26] programs. Uh POTS supports
[47:28] opportunities, achievement, and
[47:29] relationship with students. Um we do
[47:31] have a budgeted dollars of $25,000 every
[47:34] year to support um clubs outside of the
[47:36] supplemental contract. Due to a variety
[47:39] of reasons, we are $1,300 from reaching
[47:43] or exhausting that budget. Um it's a
[47:46] credit to our staff and our advisors and
[47:48] our students, you know, wanting to be
[47:49] involved in after school clubs. Um but I
[47:52] did want to inform the the board uh that
[47:54] we are close to exhausting that budget.
[47:56] A few questions come up regarding how
[47:58] can we find additional dollars. Um, one
[48:00] thing we're doing right now is seeing
[48:01] any clubs that may not be running in our
[48:03] supplemental contract to see if we can
[48:05] potentially um, come to an agreement and
[48:07] use those dollars for our sore programs.
[48:11] And that is all on the athletic and
[48:14] co-curricular end.
[48:16] >> Okay. For community relations, I um
[48:21] highlighted the Posgrove Education
[48:23] Foundation second annual Powder
[48:25] Powderpuff football game. Um this was a
[48:27] great event that um we had six student
[48:30] teams and one staff team. We had four
[48:33] student referees and about 115
[48:35] spectators and the marching band also
[48:37] came to perform in the stands. Um it was
[48:40] event that had uh a lot of different
[48:41] groups come together and we raised
[48:44] approximately $1,600 and we look forward
[48:46] to making that a bigger event next year.
[48:50] Um next I highlighted upcoming events um
[48:53] including the winter concerts that Dr.
[48:55] Finery mentioned in the superintendent
[48:57] report earlier this evening. Um also
[49:00] senior nights, donation drives, and any
[49:02] other community events that are coming
[49:03] up in December in January. Um especially
[49:06] with the holiday season upon us.
[49:10] Next, we discussed the student climate
[49:14] survey results that um the surveys were
[49:18] distributed back in the end of September
[49:21] and um we had high participation at
[49:23] lower and the middle school, a little
[49:26] bit lower at the high school. Um
[49:30] we explained the feedback received
[49:32] primarily focused on how students treat
[49:34] one another and discussed what programs
[49:36] are in place to help with peer-to-peer
[49:38] interactions. um and what could possibly
[49:40] be added in the future.
[49:43] Um next we talked about uh social media
[49:47] recap and went over um our followers,
[49:51] our views for Instagram and Facebook and
[49:53] how we can continue to grow. Um
[49:57] and we are excited to continue to grow
[49:59] our our new athletic Instagram now that
[50:02] winter sports is
[50:04] um up and running. And lastly, Dr. Lucas
[50:08] discussed the possibility of a new
[50:10] opportunity
[50:12] uh called the communities that care
[50:14] program. It is a pro uh the program
[50:17] reached out to the school district to
[50:18] see if we'd be interested in part
[50:20] partnering with them and it would be
[50:22] grantf funded and it would provide the
[50:24] district with a community mobilizer that
[50:27] would engage with families and students
[50:29] for more pro-social activities. Um this
[50:33] is something that Dr. Lucas is
[50:34] continuing to look into. And that is
[50:37] all.
[50:40] » Any questions?
[50:41] >> Perfect. I have just one quick. Steve,
[50:43] could you cover the band and their
[50:45] jackets?
[50:47] >> Yes, I can. So, the the marching band
[50:49] won their the championship this year as uh we're all aware of. and due to
[50:54] winning the championship um within our
[50:57] uh policy they are awarded um some type
[51:00] of whether it's a jacket, sweatshirt or
[51:02] whatever for winning the championship.
[51:04] So we are in the process I know Mrs.
[51:05] Zerafos has already designed a a jacket
[51:08] that is going to given to her and her
[51:10] staff. Um so we're in the process of
[51:12] getting that information through Mr.
[51:14] linky. So, we can do a requisition so it
[51:16] can be sent out so they can be made and
[51:20] given to our students and our band
[51:22] director and the staff that help support
[51:24] the program achieve their wonderful goal
[51:26] this year.
[51:28] >> Thank you. I would just like to thank
[51:29] you for all you guys do for all of us.
[51:32] Thank you.
[51:33] >> Thank you,
[51:34] >> Shane. Steve, I have a question.
[51:36] >> Question.
[51:37] >> Um, so Steve, the the Soore program, I
[51:40] know you've been sending us emails and
[51:41] kind of giving us updates. Is there
[51:43] anything the board can do to keep those
[51:46] programs running? Like I'm not really
[51:49] sure about the grants and stuff like
[51:50] that that you guys are using, but it
[51:52] sounds like it's it's very wellreceived.
[51:55] The students really like it, and I would
[51:57] hate to see us not continue it if at all
[52:01] possible.
[52:02] >> It's really comes down to dollars. So, I
[52:04] mean, I did send an email out to our
[52:06] building principal to see if there's any
[52:08] clubs that um are not going to be run.
[52:10] And I'm going to follow up with them
[52:11] again to see if, you know, we can then
[52:12] work with union leadership to see if we
[52:14] can pull those dollars over to the sword
[52:16] pro program so we can send out
[52:19] additional communication to our staff
[52:20] regarding what what that we do have
[52:22] additional funds that staff members can
[52:25] send um applications in that we would
[52:27] review to to run them. Um
[52:31] if that's all grand and good, we'll have
[52:34] additional dollars to run. If not, if we
[52:37] could potentially find dollars maybe
[52:39] somewhere in the budget to support
[52:41] additional programs in the spring. Um, I
[52:44] would say, you know, looking looking at
[52:46] what we did, a lot of programs do run in
[52:49] the like there's basically the first
[52:50] half of the school year and the second
[52:53] half of the school year. So, I know
[52:54] there's some programs um out there that
[52:58] are not approved to run in the second
[53:00] half right now. So, that would kind of
[53:01] be um our goal. I know there's some
[53:04] programs that are running right now
[53:05] where applications weren't even put in,
[53:07] but our staff members are running them
[53:09] um because they want to support our
[53:11] students. So, if you I want to work
[53:13] through that process first and if I
[53:15] think that we would need additional
[53:16] funds, I would bring that maybe to our I
[53:18] would bring that to our next ACC meeting
[53:20] and and ask for additional funds um to
[53:24] finish out the school year.
[53:26] >> Sounds good. Thank you.
[53:31] guys. Patty, Steve, Shadine.
[53:34] Thank you.
[53:38] Moves us to agenda item 143, report of
[53:42] the policy committee from November 18,
[53:44] 2025. Dr. Lucas is not with us tonight,
[53:48] I believe. So, it goes to Bill. You
[53:50] >> stuck with me. [clears throat] Okay. We
[53:52] only had one policy for non-school
[53:55] sponsored groups. Federal fiscal
[53:57] compliance.
[53:59] This is a policy that was recommended by
[54:01] the PBSA
[54:03] PSBA and we have sent it back to council
[54:07] for review and we will revisit it at our
[54:11] next policy meeting and that's it.
[54:16] Any questions,
[54:18] Bill? Thank you.
[54:20] 14.4
[54:22] report of the curriculum instruction and
[54:25] technology committee. Daniel Voyes and
[54:28] Jim Lapik.
[54:39] » Good evening. Uh the curriculum
[54:42] instruction and technology committee met
[54:44] on November 18th. It was a a marathon of
[54:47] committee meetings that evening. um
[54:49] you've made my job quite easy this
[54:51] evening because many of the items that
[54:53] we talked about at that meeting were
[54:54] also discussed um at tonight's board
[54:56] meeting. That included the guidance plan
[54:58] that Dr. Lucas talked about that you
[55:00] approved this evening. Uh it also
[55:02] include included the program uh program
[55:05] of studies for both the middle school as
[55:07] well as the high school and thank you
[55:08] for getting that approved. Now it allows
[55:10] us to work toward course selection
[55:12] process that will begin right after the
[55:14] new year. Uh a fourth item also
[55:16] discussed this evening but was tabled
[55:18] that was in regard to the Apple lease um
[55:21] for staff laptops and lab computers as
[55:23] well.
[55:24] So that only leaves me to talk about two
[55:27] additional items that we discussed at
[55:29] the CIT committee. One was a student achievement and multi-tered
[55:33] system of supports goal update. As we've
[55:36] been doing goal updates um pretty
[55:38] frequently in our committee meetings. Uh
[55:42] we shared some additional data that we
[55:43] recently received that's from the
[55:45] Pennsylvania value added assessment
[55:46] system. In short, it's a a way to look
[55:49] at cohorts of students and look at the
[55:51] amount of growth that they're making
[55:52] between standardized state assessments.
[55:55] Uh so we looked at some of that
[55:56] additional information. Uh we also are
[55:59] likely going to have uh a similar agenda
[56:01] item in January because the district
[56:03] just received prior to Thanksgiving,
[56:05] like just last week, some additional
[56:07] information regarding student
[56:08] achievement. So, we'll revisit that at
[56:10] our January meeting as well. Uh, in
[56:13] addition to that, Dr. Lucas provided
[56:15] some updates on district-wide as well as
[56:17] building specific behavior data as well
[56:20] as uh social and emotional learning um
[56:22] that's currently in place. You may
[56:24] recall that uh the district in K8 is
[56:27] currently using a a resource called
[56:29] SecondStep um and that was through a
[56:31] grant. That grant expires at the end of
[56:34] this year. So, we're looking into
[56:35] whether or not we continue with that
[56:36] resource. Um, in the either way, it's
[56:39] going to be very similar to a curriculum
[56:41] renewal process that we would follow
[56:42] with any other resource. Um, so we're
[56:45] getting ready to begin that process as
[56:47] well.
[56:48] Uh, the final uh agenda item that we
[56:51] talked about um is something that we're
[56:53] pretty excited about. Um, and it gets
[56:54] our families involved in much of the
[56:57] work that we do. So, you may recall that
[56:58] in grades 1 through eight, we use a
[57:00] resource called Exact Path. uh students
[57:03] take a diagnostic three times a year
[57:05] within an exact path and then they're
[57:06] provided a learning path that supports
[57:09] um any teaching that the teacher is
[57:11] doing but also fills in any gaps in
[57:13] learning that may have occurred for
[57:14] students. Uh so we're working uh to
[57:17] provide parents access into that system
[57:19] for their own specific students and um
[57:22] so that would allow any family member uh
[57:25] to really look at um some specific
[57:27] information about how students are
[57:29] working within that system. We expect to
[57:31] have that um communication occur before
[57:33] the winter holiday. That will start with
[57:35] a communication likely um coming from me
[57:38] uh to let parents and families know that that information is going to be
[57:42] coming. Uh it will also generate an
[57:44] email that will allow uh families to
[57:46] create their own account within the
[57:48] system uh and that will provide them
[57:50] access. And again, we expect that um
[57:53] prior to the winter break. Mr. Lapic,
[57:56] did I miss anything?
[57:58] >> Any questions?
[58:03] Thank you, Daniel. Thank you very much.
[58:14] That moves us to agenda item 15.1, new
[58:17] business. I will start to my left, stage
[58:19] right, Lewis.
[58:22] >> Okay. Two things very quickly. Uh just
[58:24] wanted to thank uh Mr. Rossbach and the
[58:26] other uh folks involved with put on the
[58:28] turkey trot on Thanksgiving or not
[58:29] turkey trot toss your turkey 5k excuse
[58:32] me. Um it was a great event, a great
[58:35] turnout and uh fun to see also some of
[58:38] the school district representatives turn
[58:40] out as well. So thanks to everyone
[58:43] involved with that. And then uh we just
[58:46] heard about the you know committee items
[58:48] all the different committee meeting
[58:49] updates and a recurring theme you saw
[58:52] was that many of the items that were
[58:54] discussed in those committee meetings
[58:56] were on the agenda for tonight's
[58:58] meeting. So um if people are interested
[59:02] in you know the thought process that
[59:04] goes into certain decisions that are
[59:06] made or certain agenda items that are uh
[59:08] on board meetings I would encourage them
[59:10] to participate in those meetings, attend
[59:12] those meetings. Um, it's a great way to
[59:14] get familiar with what's going on in the
[59:16] district. So,
[59:18] that's all I've got.
[59:21] >> Lewis, thank you, Jim.
[59:25] » Thank you for our shared
[59:27] >> forgot we're sharing.
[59:28] >> Yes. Um, not really new since Dr. F
[59:32] already mentioned it, but just a
[59:33] reminder about the Christmas concert or
[59:34] winter concert tomorrow evening. Um,
[59:37] that's always a very enjoyable time. So,
[59:39] Thursday. I thought you said tomorrow.
[59:41] >> Thursday. Oh,
[59:43] >> well, I just set an alarm on my phone
[59:44] for tomorrow. So, I [laughter] will
[59:46] correct that. Thank you.
[59:50] » So, yes, just ignore me, but other than
[59:53] the fact that you should all attend
[59:54] because it's a wonderful event.
[59:58] » Thank you, Jim. Ashley,
[1:00:01] >> yeah, just something really quick. Um
[1:00:04] there's um there was some discussion of
[1:00:07] a an agenda item that was removed and I
[1:00:11] just want um everybody staff community
[1:00:15] members to know that the board doesn't
[1:00:18] set the agenda and neither do we remove
[1:00:22] items. So that that's not so I know a
[1:00:26] lot of people were saying the board did
[1:00:27] this, the board did that, the board
[1:00:28] didn't do it. So just wanted to set that
[1:00:31] straight.
[1:00:35] Thank you, Ashley. Ryan, anything?
[1:00:37] >> I do not.
[1:00:40] >> Um, two things. I am calling an
[1:00:43] executive session at the end of this
[1:00:45] meeting. We'll meet over in the office
[1:00:47] where we usually meet. Uh, we will limit
[1:00:50] it to one hour and try and keep it as
[1:00:52] focused as we can and and get out of
[1:00:54] here in in an hour. Uh, yes.
[1:00:58] >> Uh, the purpose of the executive session
[1:01:00] is personnel I want to be clear to the
[1:01:02] people in the audience and people
[1:01:03] listening, this board does not, has not,
[1:01:06] and will not make decisions in executive
[1:01:09] session. We don't do it. It is against
[1:01:12] our values. It is against the law of
[1:01:14] something called the Sunshine Act. Uh
[1:01:17] that has never happened and will not
[1:01:19] happen as long as this board is nine is
[1:01:22] sitting.
[1:01:23] Uh so we'll have an executive session
[1:01:25] when this is over. Second, about
[1:01:29] [snorts] a year ago, Jim Lapic called me
[1:01:32] and uh he was looking at something
[1:01:35] online called the uh Pennsylvania
[1:01:37] Schoolboard Association International
[1:01:39] Education Study Group that went to
[1:01:41] Germany and for whatever reason he said,
[1:01:43] "Jay, this sounded like you. I think you
[1:01:45] should apply." The purpose, it's with
[1:01:48] PSBA in collaboration with the
[1:01:49] Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
[1:01:52] Uh and the the program is designed to
[1:01:55] develop actional recommendations for
[1:01:57] Pennsylvania school districts focused on
[1:02:00] transformative changes in academics,
[1:02:02] operations, facilities, and school
[1:02:05] cultures. 12 people are selected from
[1:02:08] across Pennsylvania uh to attend this
[1:02:10] program in the Northrine West Phillia
[1:02:13] section of Germany, which is considered
[1:02:15] the sister state of Pennsylvania. Um
[1:02:18] because Jim actually told me about this.
[1:02:22] I didn't make it last year. I applied
[1:02:24] again and before coming to this meeting,
[1:02:27] I got an email saying I and the email is
[1:02:31] from the chief executive officer of the
[1:02:33] Pennsylvania School Boards Association
[1:02:35] saying I am pleased to let you know
[1:02:37] you've been selected as part of a
[1:02:39] 12person cohort to travel to the state
[1:02:41] of North R North North Rine Rin West
[1:02:44] Philly during the week of March 15 to
[1:02:46] 2026. So with 11 other people across the
[1:02:50] state and this is superintendent,
[1:02:52] administrators, teachers of that
[1:02:54] selection, uh I told my wife probably
[1:02:56] only 12 people applied, but that's the
[1:02:58] way I think about things. She told me
[1:03:00] that's the way I think about things. I
[1:03:02] was one pleased. I say, Jim, thank you
[1:03:05] for even telling me about this. I went
[1:03:07] online this year and said, I wonder if
[1:03:08] they're doing it again. I sent in an
[1:03:10] application not knowing what would
[1:03:12] happen. And and tonight I I was
[1:03:14] approved. uh they uh they uh PSBA and
[1:03:18] the Pennsylvania School Boards
[1:03:19] Association pays for all expenses except
[1:03:22] $500 uh which is to give some kind of
[1:03:25] commitment uh for the people. So I have
[1:03:27] not written back and accepted it, but
[1:03:29] I'm going to I'm proud of that. It it's
[1:03:32] nice that someone looked at my uh resume
[1:03:35] or curriculum and said this guy kind of
[1:03:38] has experience in the areas we want to
[1:03:40] explore. uh when they talk about uh
[1:03:44] recommendations for improving
[1:03:46] Pennsylvania school districts,
[1:03:47] transformative changes in academics,
[1:03:49] operations, facility, and school
[1:03:51] culture. So, I share that with all of
[1:03:53] you. I'm excited to do that. I I have a
[1:03:56] letter to give to Dr. Finney. I've not
[1:03:57] told him. The only I I called Bill uh
[1:04:00] who who I talked with frequently and
[1:04:01] told Bill about it, but I I did not tell
[1:04:03] anybody else and I just got the letter
[1:04:05] tonight. So, thanks for listening to me
[1:04:07] brag about that. but to be selected as
[1:04:09] one of 12. Uh, and I'm kind of
[1:04:12] wondering, Jim, what I did right, uh, in
[1:04:15] terms of that and thank you for even
[1:04:16] letting me know about it,
[1:04:20] >> Dr. Fininny,
[1:04:24] one one quick update. Uh, we have sent
[1:04:27] out the trans uh, the stopfinder invites
[1:04:32] to our two primary schools. Uh so the
[1:04:36] primary contact for each student
[1:04:38] enrolled in Ringing Rocks and West Poss
[1:04:41] Grove should have an invite that is now
[1:04:43] sharable and that should that that'll be
[1:04:46] working tomorrow. Uh so that should give
[1:04:49] you an opportunity to uh see how that
[1:04:53] works and there is also very importantly
[1:04:56] there is a feedback feature in that uh
[1:05:00] because you guys are the guinea pigs. We
[1:05:02] want to make sure that it works and we
[1:05:04] want to be able to make sure that it
[1:05:05] works well so we can roll it out to
[1:05:06] every other school. So, we're excited
[1:05:09] about that. Uh, it's going to give
[1:05:11] parents more more of a uh visualization
[1:05:15] of where the buses are and uh improve
[1:05:17] our communications with transportation
[1:05:18] issues. So, thank you.
[1:05:21] >> Thank you, Dr. Fininny. Bill,
[1:05:24] >> nothing really new, but congratulations
[1:05:26] to Stephen and all the other board
[1:05:29] members who were sworn in tonight.
[1:05:32] And uh that's it.
[1:05:36] >> Thank you, Bill Patty.
[1:05:39] >> Well, I just want to piggyback on Lou's
[1:05:42] um comment about the turkey trot. There
[1:05:45] was over 700 runners there. It was such
[1:05:48] a beautiful morning. And as I was
[1:05:50] watching him run because my son came up
[1:05:52] from Maryland run with a lot of alumni.
[1:05:55] Dr. Finity ran. He didn't come in last.
[1:05:58] [laughter]
[1:06:01] Dr. Gonzalez not only finished, but she
[1:06:04] won the tosser turkey. She she got a
[1:06:08] prize for throwing it the furthest. I
[1:06:10] didn't realize she was a thrower in
[1:06:12] college. So, so it was it was just so
[1:06:15] much fun to see all the kids coming
[1:06:17] back, all the laughter. It was just a
[1:06:20] great great day. And I cannot thank
[1:06:21] Steve enough. I know you hurt your ankle
[1:06:24] and you were gimping around, but you did
[1:06:26] it. You did it.
[1:06:29] But all the funds help not only local
[1:06:31] pantries but it's also part of the
[1:06:33] Potsgrow Foundation. So very proud to be
[1:06:36] there and good job.
[1:06:41] » Thank you Patty Anique.
[1:06:44] Thank you Tanya.
[1:06:47] Um also official welcome to the board to
[1:06:50] uh Stephen but also congrats to you.
[1:06:53] That's a great opportunity and I really look forward to hearing how that
[1:06:56] goes uh come this spring.
[1:06:59] >> Maybe I'll learn some German.
[1:07:02] >> Uh but that is all for
[1:07:04] >> Thank you. Steve, welcome aboard.
[1:07:07] >> I don't have any real business. Uh but
[1:07:10] uh it's an honor and a privilege to be
[1:07:12] here. I look forward to uh supporting
[1:07:14] the school district and this community
[1:07:16] in general.
[1:07:17] >> Can you tell us a little bit about
[1:07:18] yourself?
[1:07:19] >> Uh sure. Yeah. Um I'm 33. I just moved
[1:07:23] to the district two, three years ago. I
[1:07:26] have a three-year-old daughter that's
[1:07:27] going to be coming into this into the
[1:07:29] district very soon. Um, and I'm in the
[1:07:33] business of water quality.
[1:07:36] >> Yeah.
[1:07:38] >> Thanks.
[1:07:38] >> Thank you, Steve. Ron,
[1:07:41] >> thank you. Uh, with the state passing
[1:07:43] its budget, I want to give you a couple
[1:07:45] highlights that affect Potts Grove. Uh
[1:07:48] the basic ed uh the governor got a
[1:07:51] little bit more money than he requested.
[1:07:53] So for Potts Grove that equates to about
[1:07:55] $75,000.
[1:07:57] Uh the special ed funding, we lose about
[1:08:00] $50,000.
[1:08:02] And the ready tolearn block grant, which
[1:08:04] is the one that's kind of up in the air.
[1:08:06] It's kind of confusing how the state's
[1:08:07] trying to do that. It appears that we
[1:08:09] may have $482,000 more than than what we
[1:08:12] anticipated depending how the state uh
[1:08:15] delivers that grant. It's all about that
[1:08:18] what they call the tax equity supplement
[1:08:20] and adding it to the foundation base to
[1:08:22] the subsequent fiscal year. It's not
[1:08:25] very clear. So, we'll get some more
[1:08:27] information hopefully soon. As well as
[1:08:30] there is a request from Mr. Cormus about
[1:08:33] how this new state budget now affects
[1:08:35] the charter school tuition rate. Uh, I
[1:08:37] know it does go back to July one at the
[1:08:40] beginning of this fiscal year, but we're
[1:08:41] waiting for guidance from PTE because we
[1:08:44] will have to recalculate our tuition
[1:08:45] rates for the current school year.
[1:08:48] That's all I got for the update for the
[1:08:50] state budget.
[1:08:53] » Thank you, Ron. Adam and Jordan, how is
[1:08:56] life in general and specific in school?
[1:09:00] >> Um, so life in general is going very uh
[1:09:04] great. I just came back from Dublin
[1:09:06] seeing my sister for Thanksgiving at
[1:09:08] Trinity College. So, uh, that was fun.
[1:09:11] And now all of a sudden, these chairs
[1:09:13] are a lot comfier. So, the flight was a
[1:09:15] little obnoxious.
[1:09:18] Um, Jordan,
[1:09:20] >> uh, life in general's pretty good
[1:09:22] lately. Doing good and not any really
[1:09:26] new updates.
[1:09:28] >> Oh, um, real quick, I would want to
[1:09:29] congratulate you
[1:09:31] >> on, uh, being selected for that
[1:09:33] committee. It was, right? Well, thank
[1:09:35] you, Adam. You speak German, don't you?
[1:09:37] >> No.
[1:09:37] >> Oh, I thought you did. For some reason,
[1:09:39] [laughter]
[1:09:41] >> you do, Jordan,
[1:09:42] >> huh?
[1:09:43] >> You speak German?
[1:09:44] >> Uh, no. I'm in Spanish.
[1:09:46] >> I'm looking looking for a tutor.
[1:09:48] >> Hopefully, they speak English. I totally
[1:09:50] do.
[1:09:51] >> Any other comments here at the table
[1:09:55] leads us to 16.1 public comment. Is
[1:09:58] there anyone in the room who would like
[1:10:00] to make a comment? This is not limited
[1:10:02] to agenda items but can be about
[1:10:04] anything.
[1:10:09] Is there anyone online for a comment?
[1:10:14] Thank you.
[1:10:16] We don't meet again until after
[1:10:17] Christmas. So, I wish each of you here
[1:10:19] in the room and those of you online the
[1:10:22] merriest and happiest of Christmases and
[1:10:25] a wonderful new year.
[1:10:28] hope that everything is good for you and
[1:10:30] you enjoy your time with family,
[1:10:32] friends, and those that you love. Uh
[1:10:35] when we come back from Christmas and New
[1:10:37] Year's, we have an operations finance
[1:10:40] committee on Tuesday, January 13th here
[1:10:43] at 6:00, followed by a board meeting at
[1:10:46] 7:00. I thank you for coming here and
[1:10:50] for those I can't see those on lines,
[1:10:51] but those who are, thank you for being
[1:10:53] there. Uh those in the room, we
[1:10:56] appreciate your your presence. Uh thank
[1:10:59] you.
[1:11:01] I'm looking for a motion to adjurnn.
[1:11:05] >> Second.
[1:11:05] >> Motion and a second to adjurnn. Any
[1:11:07] questions?
[1:11:09] This meeting then is adjourned.