001Being that it's 7 o'clock on March 27th, we will begin this board workshop meeting with a pledge of allegiance. So, we do not have a class, so it's up to me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. It's funny having a girl voice. Mr. Bishop, could I have a roll call, please? Director McCormack, here. Director Shmid, here. Director Chaffrani. Director Cunningham here. Director McCarrick here. Director Fluki here. Director Prago is absent. Director Bieber here. And director Penny Packer here. Thank you. We will move right into committee reports. And Liz for communications, please. We just met prior to this meeting at 6:00 and we discussed the website redesign. The project is on
002track. Um they're in the quality assurance and accessibility phase of the project and the project is targeted to launch in June. This June uh they're just refreshing some content on interior pages. Then for parent square uh we have 100% contactability with at least one parent for each student in all the schools. So that's great. Um there are more and more parents interacting with parent square. Another positive, they're going to u possibly survey families in the future about Parent Square just to see kind of what you think, how they feel, how parents feel um about the communication process, if it's too much, if it's not enough. They're going to offer additional training for coaches and others and faculty or whoever that needs help um navigating parent square. So, if you need any help, um I did
003want to give a shout out also to Alexis, uh who runs our communication committee. Um she has or well up I guess our school district has been awarded but because of her I would say the award um well this is all through Pennsylvania um school public relations association um their communication awards. We got the award of excellence that um highlighted videos on the national blue ribbon schools at Malber. There were merit awards for um marketing material category, the district profile, and for photography category, the kindergarten signing day, which was really cute. So that was awesome. Yeah, good job, Alexis. And then for branding um we the second week of April the planning on the second week of April launching the official UPSD stationary store for faculty and staff. That's it. Okay. Thank you. Anybody have
004any questions? Okay. All right. We're going to move on to um you're going to pretend that I'm Emily. I can find my notes. Emily wasn't at EPS so I stood in for her. Uh we met March 20th and uh we talked about second step just basically an overview of the materials and a high level of the SEAL secondstep program. We talked about the new K to5 math curriculum resource. Um we went through uh we had a teacher we had um some really good recommendations and what we're going to be using is I ready classroom mathematics we had examples uh we were the district went and got examples from other high achieving districts and uh there was a lot of talk about it. that they went through some other programs and picked I Ready. It's sort
005of like the Cadillac of programs for math and um the ED reports, which I won't pretend to know what that is, but it's okay. Um gave I ready a perfect score. We will also be um sunsetting some programs that uh won't work with that and that that the Ready will already encompass. And let's see. So we talked um uh Dr. Giblin talked to us about uh the compliance monitoring for continual improvement and the results. We had a summary. Uh it's done every six years. Uh November was some on-site monitoring. January was an exit interview and in February and March uh there there was corrective action. Um couple things were already cleared up. nothing crazy and um that will be ongoing. Last night there was understanding the IEP uh parent engagement session. So I I'm hoping
006that lots of people showed up for that. It was virtual. And April 29th will be the 1847 financial uh which will also be virtual and that's tenative yet. So stay tuned for that. And it'll be uh tomorrow today. Oh yeah. Today we're going to adopt the hopefully adopt the comprehensive plan and the next meeting is April 17th here at the Ed Center. And now I'm not Emily anymore. Anybody have any questions? Thank you very much for coming in. Yep. Yep. Not a problem. Okay. Now I have to find my agenda. Well, I'm up next on extracurricular. So Oh, well go ahead then in that case. Thank you. Um, so the extracurricular committee meeting met on March 17th. We had a presentation from coach Shane Thresh on the uh UPS unified botchi team and some of
007the members of the Botchi team came as well. So, it was really nice to hear their uh schedule and and how they made it to the regional championship. Um, we had some discussion around a new UPS club request that's going to um go back to Mr. Flanigan and he's going to get some more information. We talked about the winter season student survey and the parent feedback and we discussed in a little bit more detail the sports booster club and policy discussion. So there is a first draft of an AR um and Mr. Kurswig is working on that along with um some of the other administration and principles in in getting that moving forward. So the next meeting is going to be Monday, April 28th, 2025. And I'll also add that uh right now for the
008high school 9 through 12, they haven't opened it up to 8th grade yet, but they will depending on the interest. Now, um girls flag football is going to start as a club. Uh so that's kind of how we start these or we we kind of gauge interest and see how things are going. Uh there has been a lot of interest which is really exciting. And I heard the first meeting there were over 20 kids there which is super. So, um, these are posted all over the school and I would encourage, I think it's on the website as well. So, if you have any, uh, students who want to participate, please send them and, uh, hopefully we'll get this sport rolling. That's all for me. Thank you. Thank you. Now, I'm going to turn to JP.
009Yay. And I'm going to read his report because I was not at facilities this this last time. facilities committee met on Monday, March 17th, right here at the Ed Center. In the topics of old business, the committee decided not to move forward with the proposal from Valley Soccer to run power to the middle school soccer fields due to feedback from the administration that the district would not have any use for it and it would not benefit the school. Things are still progressing with the asbestous abatement project as the pre-bid meeting was scheduled to take place yesterday, but I'm not sure if that was yesterday, yesterday or not. Uh, work on the 45 center HVAC vent roof repair is still about 4 weeks out or so from starting. The sore pump at the high school has
010been replaced and is working. So, we're now back to having two operational sore pumps available for use. And the coil rep replacement for the boys locker room at the high school is still a couple weeks out, but once the park comes in, our personnel will be doing the replacement. In terms of new business, the committee received a presentation from Dr. Roach on a draft of a 5-year athletic facilities plan. There were many items on the list, some with quite large price tags associated with them. The committee requested the list be updated to reflect what are the highest priority needs. And JP says he later also requested that justifications be attached to each item being requested. Everyone here on the board is is aware of how of how tight money is and what other repairs need
011to be done to the schools as they sit. So having solid reasoning and evidence behind the need for these athletic improvements will be imperative for getting these items on future budgets. One other note from the meeting is that the committee was showing shown a rendering of the new sign that will be built at Herford to replace the one that was taken out in the wintertime. The cost of the new sign will be roughly $8,000 with insurance covering $5,000 of the cost and the remaining balance being donated by Herford PTFS. So, thank you to them. Next meeting will be Monday, April 28th at 7 p.m. right here at the Ed Center. Any questions? because I'm not sure I can answer them, but I will try. Thank you to the PTFS for that donation. Yes, thank you
012PTFS, although he wrote PTSF, so I'll have to yell at him for that. All right, next is finance, and now I'm going to be myself. Okay, we met on March 24th. We reviewed the St. Luc St. Luke Luke's athletic trainer contract. And I know there was an article in the paper on it today. Thank you, Bradley. Uh, so the committee reviewed the initial proposal that would would require an additional $20,000 increase to the budget for our athletic trainers. The future annual increases ranged from 20,000 to $40,000 per year. Um, Mr. Bishop and Bobby Kerswig will meet with another company to discuss the interest level and get a better understanding of the marketplace for trainer services. A board member requested admin look into any potential savings if sports were moved from 45 to the high school
013or middle school campus. So, we'll discuss that a little bit more. We discussed a change in procedure. It's a very small change in procedure from Portnoff on our delinquent real estate tax collection. Uh the committee was fine with going along with um it basically skips the eighth step and a little saves a little bit of time for porting off if they get to that eighth step when somebody has delinquent taxes. Uh we also talked about a possible capital reserve funding plan and this was basically the roofing projects and it would be five years to finish all of our roofing projects. We would with uh would also include a $200,000 a year contribution out of our general fund into capital fund to continue to finish those. And Drew had a really, since Alan's not here, a
014really nice presentation of um how he added a little bit for each year and we kept adding the 200,000, but it's still going to be very expensive. Uh we had budget pres presentations. We went through curriculum with Dr. Fina, facilities with with Mike, our new facilities director. um salaries, benefits, revenue, and a preliminary budget summary, which is really, really ugly. Let's just go there because it is. Uh if anybody has any questions on that, you can ask me then. Um we we had a discussion about um changing the way we approve the uh bills and uh right now it's kind of a little bit backwards. So uh I think the the finance committee said that we thought this was a good idea. will present the bills at the finance committee meeting and then have them
015actually voted on at the workshop meeting and then they'll then they'll be paid. Uh let's see, we went over our adjustments in the budget since the last presentation. So, there was an increase in athletics for the addition of indoor track. Uh the increase uh that was $7,000. the increase to athletics because of the athletic trainer contract $20,000 and the Western Center $18,894 addition for an increase in the bond payment or bond payment share and let's see um our next meeting is April 22nd right here at the center. Okay, now if I can find my agenda. There we go. All right. Next, we'll have policy mount. For policy committee met on March 17th, policies presented for review or updating included 808 food services, 810.1 school bus drivers and school commercial motor vehicle drivers, 810.2 transportation video
016audio recording, 810.3 ve school vehicle drivers, and 806 child abuse. There are s some significant updates for these policies. I encourage board members to review the policies as they move to you for a first read. Policy 8:15.1, generative artificial intelligence and education, will continue to be in the conversation as the committee works with Mr. Summers and the administration and guidance from PSBA to develop this policy. Dr. Fina, committee members, anything else to add? Next policy committee meeting is scheduled for April 21st at 5:00 here at the Ed Center. This concludes the policy committee report. Thank you. We'll move on to Leo with the ad hoc committee. There uh have been no committee meetings since our last board workshop, but the student survey is being circulated among student groups and leaders. Our next meeting is April
01717th at 6:30 here in the ED center. Okay. Thank you. You did have a report. The next we'll move on to Keith with the Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center. As usual, not much to talk about them. Um, tonight is their dinner down there. The dinners that I always brag about. Unfortunately, as you can see, I'm missing it. Tonight is supposed to be Texas barbecue, which would probably be really good. Um, I was down there this morning for some meetings for some other stuff, and the place smelled really good. So, you can tell how disappointed I am. Um, we uh for all the parents that have seniors down there that may be listening, if you don't get information from your seniors, like many people complain about, student recognition night is May 21st at 700 p.m.
018at Springford. So, at least I can tell you if your kids aren't telling you. Go on their website and you can find the schedule down there. Also, um, last month they hosted the Skills Over Stereotypes competition or excuse me, open house. Uh that was well attended. That's for um students in grades six to eight to so they can come down and get an introduction to see what we offer down there. And it's great. I didn't make it this year, but I've done it previous years. It's great to see these kids that are going into welding. Young women going into welding. It's a great thing. They're going into all the non-traditional things, carpentry, welding, uh HVAC, you know, and then you have boys going into cosmetology, which is a good thing. Look at all our haircut
019places around here. Uh that is a possibility that they might try and open a program like that for barbering in the next few years if we can try and figure out a way to grow programs down there. Um next meeting will be the 7th and that will be a Zoom meeting at 5:00. Uh, also going on next month is NOCDI testing, which is where they test the students the skills that they've been learning for the past few years and evaluate them. And we have some students going out to competitions uh this ne next month coming up. We have 11 going out for Skills USA in Hershey. And we have three students going out to a welding fabrication competition at Penn. Uh, actually that was just last week, so I'll have to find out what the
020results were. That's it. All right. Thank you. Um, Leah, the Upper Peru Education Foundation, I have a little bit more to report on the foundation. Uh Jessigus has been busy as she settles into her role and all of the committees are working hard on on uh developing the database, the alumni outreach, fundraising and events and marketing. The goal for all committees is to provide community awareness and a case for potential support uh recent programs and this this really is you know what the purpose of the foundation is is to support some of these programs that have been ongoing and then to come up with new ones. Uh, one school, one book, A Boy Called Bat by Alana K. Harold. Assemblies at Marlboro and Herford last week and this week with sponsors QNB and SGS plus
021Quinnby, the Q&B squirrel mascot attended. Uh, we had an author visit at the Upper Perk Middle School from Gordon Corman whose newest book Faker was discussed. Uh the 45 center is coming up with their sponsored color walk soon and apparently that's some color that goes everywhere. Um congratulation graduation signs only this year without the um the student portrait. Uh the spirit score opens again on April 22nd. Please take a look at that and buy your your Upper Perk swag. Uh Jess is attending the National Association of Education Foundations conference where she'll come back with a lot of great ideas and uh the education foundation was also designated as the moral donation recipient in Dr. George Bonacamper's obituary. Um I just want to mention the EITC which is a program that the uh education foundation is
022um is supporting and uh we'll be working on getting more contributors to that is the educational improvement tax credit program of Pennsylvania where tax credits are awarded to businesses who contribute to qualifying organizations. The foundation being one of those. Uh board member Tiffany Pompei is the contact person for information and guidelines. And because of all these multiple initiatives in the works, I would like to propose that Jessica make a presentation of one of our spring board meetings to really give us an in-depth accounting of what she's doing. This concludes my report. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Training. All right. So, we met last night. Um, we talked about the legislative breakfast, which is April 25th at 8 a.m. and all board uh directors are invited to attend. Uh,
023if you want more information on that, you can email me. We um passed their comprehensive plan. Um I brought along this one pager that um they created to present the comprehensive plan all in one page. And I thought this was so clever and then I opened my folder and saw that Dr. Fina had also created a one pager. Uh well it's two pages front and back. Um, but one thing you are missing, which I also thought was really clever, is the QR code to get to the whole plan. So, darn, maybe next time. Um, let's see. So, they, um, there's a lot of good things going on in there. Um, we talked, uh, Dr. Landis presented the legislative update and it's interesting that Leah brought up EITC funding because um the solicitor at the MCIU
024is Sultanic and he was talking he just mentioned as far as um the the uh with President Trump announcing dismantling the Department of Education um we talked about all Sultanic commented was just that there was an emphasis on EITC funding. which he thought might be of interest um going forward. But he said overall anyone who tells you that they know what's going to happen does not know what's going to happen. Um but one thing that we did discuss was um a shift for funding of different programs like special ed. Um there is a plan to fund those programs that are important and it would just be shifted to a different federal department. So but overall still we don't know. Um, so we talked about that a little bit. We approved several different policies, um, uh,
025including the policy 815.1, which is the use of generative AI in education. We had a little bit of discussion about that. Um, one thing that was clear is that it would be difficult to make a policy against using AI at all whatsoever because so many students, it's so ingrained in everything that they do. So, um, it just, uh, is clear that these are tricky waters to navigate and I'm in the conversation. Um, it's definitely something to, um, keep your eye on. um es teachers, parents, parents, um I suggest if you get a chance, go ahead and use AI and see what it's capable of and then pretend you're a teacher trying to give an assignment when a student has uh that ability. So, it's definitely a conversation that will continue. Um let's see. Uh there
026are some ongoing projects that are taking place for the MCIU that we approved. Um, one is to make us a there's a large room that they're using for some special needs students and they're dividing that into two rooms just saying that the students um there's just too much space for all of them to um interact in that room at times. So, there are some different building projects going on there. Another thing that um we were excited about was um let's see. Oh. Uh, we approved a new director of business services. Um, and his name is Zack Trump. Also, um, also we were excited because they are hosting their third steels expo and they have 200 registrants and this is funded by grant money. They are very excited about that. And um also covered by grants.
027Um oh wait, the Steels Expo not covered by grants. Sorry, I got that confused. But we are hosting it. Um and so we um approved that agreement, that contract agreement. Um this one's covered by grants uh for Project Aare, which is covering several days, six days of staff training. on mental health awareness with a special att with special attention to grief counseling. Um and the next MCIU meeting will be on April 23rd. And that concludes my report. No relation. I know you were going to ask that. It was. It was. Uh okay. Move on to legislative liaison. Peg. Montgomery County School Director's Legislative Committee met on March 5th at 6 PM via Zoom. Lisa Walter, chief of staff for Senator Penny Cook, joined the group for the first half for the meeting. She shared that
028the state budget hearings are just finishing up and that the senator is still addressing or assessing uh where revenue will come from for the budget requests. She did share that the senator will be supporting education in two specific areas, raising reading and math scores and cyber charter reform. Additionally, committee members advocated for additional support for CTE, which the senator has been previously supportive of, and support for facilities management, HVAC, and roofs. Uh the topic of how the school safety grants and the period products are budgeted was also discussed with the group expressing concerns regarding competitiveness of some funds and the lack of the ability to plan when funds are not assured until later in the year. With the legislative breakfast coming up in April, Senator Maria Colette and Representative Donna Sharon have been invited to
029take part in panel discussion at the breakfast. Additionally, superintendents from Abington, Norristown, and Springfield will be sharing remarks. The group discussed the PSBA Day on the Hill and shared expectations for those that have not attended previously. As a reminder, the date this year for the Day on the Hill is Tuesday, May 13th. Anyone interested in participating should register on the PSBA website. The next meeting for the committee is April 2nd. It'll be in person at the IU and board members can access the legislative report from Dr. Roach's weekly board update as well as other legislative and legal information. This concludes the legislative liaison report. Do you have any PIAA? Okay, thank you. Oh, Gazun type. All right, last but not least, we'll move on to regional planning. And I got I went past this show,
030Sarah. You did? I did yesterday. It's very lovely, isn't it? Is it? I haven't seen it. It's big. It's big. Go ahead. Let Um, so our meeting was last night. it was actually cancelled, but they're still working on the comprehensive plan and they just released uh an update to the 2012 characteristics of housing report. It's called who are our neighbors and in particular the document identifies the number of school age children that can be found in the various uh unit types housing new and existing. Um, so the next meeting, Morville Township Building, April 23rd at 7:00. That concludes my report. Thank you. Okay, that concludes our committee reports. We're going to move on to presentations and discussion, starting with the revised 2425 school year calendar. Great. Thank you so much. Um, so we are presenting
031uh to the board for approval this evening the finalized school calendar for this school year. Uh what you will see is that thankfully due to no snow days uh well right April can get tricky right so um as of now um so the last student day is slated in this calendar for June 5th the last staff day teacher day is June 6th which is classically our 190th day. So, if we have a freak April snowstorm, we will not be having a traditional snow day. We will be having a fid day. So, we wanted to articulate that well in advance in case the weather gets dicey. All right. So, this is an action item this evening. You good with me? Yeah. Go ahead. Um, we also as part of act 55 of 2022, school districts uh
032were obligated to identify uh to the PA commission of crime and delinquency uh school safety and security officer. Uh with the departure of our former director of facilities and operations, uh Mr. Rodney Blake was appointed that role. Um now that Mr. Roarbach is present. Uh it is the intention of the superintendent to name him as the district safety and security officer coordinator. Are there any questions related to that? Okay, that is all. Just thanks Rodney for filling in. Appreciate it. All right, we'll move on to our solicitors report and Sunshine Act announcements with Bethany. Good evening everyone. I have two announcements tonight. The first is that the board met in executive session immediately prior to tonight's meeting for the purpose of discussing a confidential personnel matter. Uh the second is in regard to uh public
033comment tonight. There are two opportunities for public comment. The first is limited to items that are up for vote on tonight's agenda and the second is for any items that are or may come before the board. Uh per board policy, everyone is limited to three minutes. And I will sort of hold up my cards here and let everyone know what your time is. Um, and there are uh signup sheets in the back that need to be turned in up front in order to comment. So, please fill those out if you'd like to speak tonight. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, I'm looking and we have no public comments on action items. So, we'll move on to the approval of the February 27th board workshop. Motion. Second. Good job. We have one. Any discussion? All
034in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. Thank you. Go ahead. Madam President, can I make a motion to approve the personnel report in its entirety, the retirements, the resignations, the appointments, and leaves of absence? You can if we have a second. There you go. Thank you. Is not here. GP is not here. Okay. Any discussion? Uh, thank you, Miss Thank you to all those that are retiring. Um, and thank you to Miss Roth. We'll miss you. Any other comments? If not, all in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. Uh, move on to action items. Number one, uh, A. Madam President, yes. Can I make a motion to do the entire list of action items? A Oh, sorry. No. One. Did you want to take them separately? Yes. Okay. Okay. To approve the square calendar. Second. Any discussion?
035I hearing none. All in favor? I I. Any opposed? Okay. And no snow. Uh, go ahead. Motion to approve the UPSD comprehensive plan. Second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? No. Would you want to make a decision? I just want to um say that I feel like I haven't thoroughly looked through all the stuff because I haven't gotten all the videos and the um information for the comprehensive plan that incorporates that is included in the comprehensive plan at CL stuff. Um so I feel like I haven't vetted that material yet to look through that. I've looked online to see what I could see about it, if I could look up anything on videos and um what some people were saying that it um seal changes the attitudes, values, beliefs, worldview, spirituality and behavior of
036children which can be good and maybe it can be not so good. U may encourage children to question their parents' beliefs and their cultural religious values regarding sex, sexual orientation, gender identity. Kids are required to affirm a certain way of thinking in classroom lessons after watching SecondStep videos. It's group counseling. There is a difference between sharing intimate conversations with a friend you trust versus a teacher in a classroom full of students you barely know. Kids should have these conversations with their parents. These uh intimate private conversations. Uh the prefrontal cortex is not developed yet in elementary school. Those children do not have the language to describe what their problems are. And in late adolescence, there are a lot of hormones kicking in. So their thought process may be unreasonable about overcoming problems because they have
037a lot biologically going on. Um the other thing installing spirituality into the classroom through mindfulness which is a meditation from a Buddhist religion. Shifting society from individualism to collectivism. It's a traumainformed care for everyone. Not everyone has trauma. Don't introduce therapy to kids that don't need it. When therapy is not necessary, it can focus on bad feelings and stewing in these negative feelings which can then cause depression. It overrides the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit as affordable by constitutional law. Their beliefs and values are being replaced and leaving the children confused and the children don't know who to follow, the school or their parents. So, those are just a little some things I found online. And so, I was like, I need to see these videos then and maybe
038look at these lessons a little bit more in depth. If people are saying that kind of stuff, I think it's concerning. Um, I know there's some good stuff that I saw when I looked at the K through third grade stuff, too, talking about emotions and how deep breathing and how to calm down and everything. But there are some I still have questions. Um, I was I was excited to approve the comprehensive plan. Um, I I didn't see a problem with the SEAL curriculum. Uh, the comprehensive plan does mention second step by name. So, back I think it was in February, correct me if I'm wrong, but I asked I said I I don't think there's probably anything to see, but can I see the curriculum for Second Step? Um, and Dr. Fina said, "Absolutely, we'll
039put it out." So, she did put it out. Um, she said, "Very few parents came to look at it." I came to look at it. Um, I'm pretty sure that Liz came to look. Yeah, we were. We looked and Sarah, too. Um, and only K through three was out like in its entirety. And Dr. Fina said that six, seven, and eight, I think, and just jump in if I'm getting this wrong, um, was available digitally. So, I went online digitally and I looked and at the time it was only just the outline of the units and then I asked, "Can I see the lessons?" And then she did post the lessons. Um, and at EPS I asked about the videos. I said, "Are there are there videos?" And they said, "Yes, there were, but they
040may be optional. There's a lot of material in there and teachers can choose." So, I said, "Okay." And when I looked at the material, um, the lessons, most of the lessons are like, "Play this short video and ask the students three questions." And the qu questions are pretty vague. So anyway, there's a video, at least one floating around that supposedly is from Second Step. I don't think it would be prudent to share what's on the video. I do not wish to like if it's not if it's not right, then I'm not going to share that. But um what I saw in the video made me wonder um what else is there? I teach myself, so I'm not going to freak out about one video like oh my goodness, one video, there's one thing. It's maybe
041out of context. It may not be the right video, but it was enough to me to say I don't think I'm comfortable um approving the comprehensive plan tonight. I asked for this a long time ago. There was time to present the materials in their entirety to us. So, I would have hoped that by today I would have been able to see that. Um so, I I'm just not comfortable. I I I loved the plan. I was excited. I it's just in the last couple days, maybe a week or so, I'm like, uh, I really do think that the board should be able to see that curriculum in its entirety. So, that's where I'm at tonight. And I do thank you for posting what you did. I just feel like as I as things were put
042out, I just kept asking like, can I can I see the rest? And so, and so here we are tonight. So, um, that's that's where I am right now. I I hope I hope you understand. So, um, I'd like to weigh in and then I I I think Dr. Fina wants to weigh in as well. Um, I I think this is a little bit late in the game since we've been talking about the comprehensive plan for since what, November last year. Um, seeing a video isn't going to change the rest of the comprehensive plan. Um, I'm I'm sad that the two of you aren't trusting that there and and I don't know if there are any other board members that feel that way. Um, trusting that our administration isn't doing anything nefarious because they're not.
043And if you know, we we created an ad hoc bullying committee and this whole social emotional learning has everything to do with that. And I really don't think a couple of videos that may or may not ever be seen by anyone um would matter. So I'd like to let Dr. Fina weigh in on this since this is your baby. Sure. Um so I just need to clearly articulate I'm not asking you to vote on SecondStep. The board a previous board back in 2017 voted to approve that curriculum um and its implementation. And so while I respect I mean and and if you believe it's gerine to your vote um on this comprehensive plan second step actually isn't named in there the seal competencies are so self-awareness conflict management self-regulation um those are skills that second
044step is trying to teach children and and I as I said in EPS on Thursday night um we would never deny a parent their ability to leverage the policies this board represents and and has put forth, which is the right to inspect curriculum and request exemption based on a strong religious or philosophical position. I stand by that wholeheartedly any parent to which so far in my 10 years has been none um asking to not participate in second step. However, if you believe that that is a critical issue, I I respect your position. I am happy and and I say anybody who emails me and says, "Hey, come on in. I'll show you the video." I there is nothing nefarious. There is nothing to hide. Um we do not per we do not have middle school,
045sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teaching the bullying unit. So what is on the website is I know the there have been videos that have been called into question specifically gender harassment um is a video in the bullying unit that previously um was questioned. We do not and have not I believe in two years uh delivered th those units or those lessons. Um so ultimately the recommendation uh of the stakeholder group was to put forth the comprehensive plan. So the board is clear our deadline to to the department of education is March 31st. Um we let it out for 30 days for inspection. We let it out for feedback. We did not get any except for the stakeholder group and two additional parents. So, I I do I just want to say I appreciate your position.
046I'm happy to to send anything. I it's a it's a um platform and it's proprietary. So, you actually have to come in and and look at the videos. Um so, I do know our middle school staff is working on getting you the information that was requested, what specific videos are being shown, you know, because they do have the option as teachers. So, okay. Thank you. Anyone else? I just have a comment. So then will the teachers I guess um send the information out to the parents or not necessarily for probably not every lesson. So the policy um the schoolboard policy is that um we post the the units the lesson plans the actual teacher lesson plans are in there. if they perceive something objectionable, they can contact the building principal who can sit down with
047that person um that family member to say what is and show you. So that is available and if there is a request for an exemption, we are obligated as employees of the school district to allow that exemption to happen and find an alternate activity. So, and there are other things in other content areas that families have leveraged those policies for. I was just going to say that any parent guardian can opt out. It's under policy 105.1 and point.2. Yeah. And based on those requests and some of that feedback that I was hearing along the way, um I even had that language added to the second step uh parent resource hub. Um so parents were aware. Um, and so as we talked in EPS, I don't want any parent to think we would force you to
048do something you didn't believe was in the best interest of your son or daughter. So, anyone else? Okay. I was just going to ask a procedural perspective, um, are we still able to vote tonight then? And yeah. Okay. Um, I would like to say thank you, Dr. Fina, for your explanation. I really do appreciate that. Um, and I don't I'm not asking to obviously we're voting on the comprehensive plan. I'm not asking to remove second step. Um, I I I'm happy that you understand my position where I'm coming from. It's something that I asked for a while ago and it just felt like I I I'm not super satis I think this is going to fly through. Um, and that that's probably what will happen. Um, I personally I'm I'm just not comfortable. So I
049so that you know. Yeah. So that's it. Okay. Anyone else? All right. All in favor? I. Any opposed? No. Okay. So, what was that? Two. Anybody else vote? No. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. We'll move on to letter C. Motion to approve the following Christ staff for 2425. James Luddy. Second. Okay. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. All right. We'll move on to public comment. We have Genevie Loose. Can Can you just hit the button on the microphone for me, please? I'm Genevie Lu from Upper Hanover Township. I just wanted to um respond to the town of country letter to the editor by a former board member um regarding indoctrination and education. Um I want to say first off that all my years here with my students in Upper Perk
050um I have not felt that they were being indoctrinated in any kind of way. Uh while differing viewpoints may exist, it is important for me and for my family that educators continue to talk about and educate about cultures, differing viewpoints, social differences, and understanding of emotions. Uh there's a fine line in removing conversations of sensitive topics and to that can set us back towards ignorance. And the last thing I want is for my child to be ignorant. Um, another thing about um, trauma-informed care, there's a lot of resilience teaching that kind of empowers children. Um, so it's not that we're introducing trauma-informed uh, trauma to a child, but it's teaching them tools and um, uh, ju just to get by through different things that could be traumatic in the future. That's it. Thank you for
051your time. Thank you. And then we have Sharon Baston. Hello, Sharon Bastone from Upper Handover. Um, again, I read a letter to the editor from a disgraced former board um member, someone who has repeatedly embarrassed our district with her divisive rhetoric. It seems she has nothing better to do than stir the pot, and sadly, she holds influence over members of this board. For those who have followed the circus that has unfolded over the past year, the pattern is painfully clear. A planted person in public raises an issue and suddenly Miss Harshman and her allies claim to be voices of the community. However, she is only the voice of a small extreme fraction of it. I'm fairly certain that there was a plan last week with her shield of truth buddy until she realized she didn't
052have a friendly audience. This child game childish game needs to stop. Unfortunately, it may actually be working because too many people don't have the time to dig into the details of this board. What people need to know is this. The former board member openly threatens to use a national snitch website to report anything in our schools that doesn't align with her narrow views. And the real question is, are the Moms for Liberty board members willing to burn down Upper Perk to help her? The answer is a resounding yes. They've attempted it before. We haven't forgotten how these three Moms for Liberty board members dragged our district into a national lawsuit against the Title N regulations, wasting taxpayer money on unnecessary legal fees. And in the end, they got their way without the lawsuit even being
053necessary. I have no doubt they will comb through our schools like they did today, looking through anything they can to twist and undermine Upper Perk. Their reckless behavior could very well be put us in a risk of losing $2.3 million in federal funding. Our district is already facing a $7.4 million deficit in next year's budget before any tax increase. So, not only are they diverting focus and energy into energy into personal agendas, but they could also be devastating our taxpayers. Terms like diversity, equity, inclusion, along with social emotional learning, pride flags, and pronouns are being twisted and weaponized to justify the dismantling of public education. We cannot allow this to happen. If the letter to the editor were just an isolated rant, I wouldn't be standing here. Most people probably don't think about it. However,
054anyone paying attention can see the coordination effort between her and the certain board members. I am calling on the six reasonable members of the board. We need you to stand up for our children, our teachers, and our schools. You have to walk a fine line with the federal government while working around three colleagues who will sabotage your efforts. You need to fight because you are the last defense for public education that serves all of our children. We know what the Monster Liberty 3 will do. What I don't know is what the rest of the board will do. Will you have the backbone to stand up when things really start to get tough? Thank you. Um, we move on to board comments. Do we have any board comments tonight? I just want to say I was
055uh Dr. Mr. Doctor. My gosh, I almost called you a doctor. Mr. Carrick and I volunteered uh what a state that is uh volunteered earlier this month at the financial reality fair and it was um for the seniors at the high school uh dayong event where we uh acted as uh people who were advising them on the money that they could spend. It was almost like the game of life in real life. Um and it was a really good experience I think for the kids. I really enjoyed it and I hope that next year we do the same thing. It was put on the by the police and fire credit union. Um, and I'm hoping hopeful that next year we do it and we open it up to the junior class as well because I
056think it was really valuable. So, just wanted to give a shout out for that. Well, since Emily spilled the beans, I have reasonable office hours and rates to follow up on her comments. Um, it was a really good day. It was a pleasure seeing the students come through there. how some were wellprepared, some were not well prepared, and some were middle of the road. Um they gave us they gave them real life um examples of what they had to do. They had to think about what they're going to do for housing, what they're going to do for a job, what they can spend on food, a car payment, cell phones, you know, and Dr. Rosh and I were working on the um Wheel of Reality. That was the best one in there. I have to
057say that it was. I was jealous. Yeah, you had a good good tape. So, um, we spun a wheel and you'd see what would come up, what what could happen to you any day of the week. Your dog gets sick. Do you have pet insurance? Yes or no? And every every segment on the wheel had two choices. Did you have pet insurance? Yes or no. Did you have cell phone insurance? Yes or no. Did you have car insurance? Yes or no. Well, here's what can happen when you make the wrong choice. Um, it was very educational. It was very inspiring at the same time. Um, I would recommend that if they do it again next year, more board members volunteer. And we also made the suggestion that maybe we do it for our s or
058uh juniors. Sorry, it's been a while. My kids are out. Had to think about the grade levels there. Um, but uh it was well worth the day spending there. That was really sad. I couldn't go. I was away. I wanted to do that badly. Uh, do we have any other comments? Yeah, go ahead. I just want to remind the board or maybe you don't even know and let the audience know that on April 3rd we will be dedicating the four five gymnasium floor uh for longtime teacher coach Steve Ruby uh who uh in 1965 uh his basketball team won I think one of the first Bucksmont League championships. So, we'll be honoring Steve with uh naming that gym floor for him. And his family's very excited. Been working with his daughter Alyssa, who I actually
059coached in junior high field hockey. Um but, uh we're looking forward to it. A lot of the former team members are coming back and uh will visit with us. So, it'll be really fun. So, it's uh April 3rd at four o'clock at the four five gym. I hope to see you there. Thanks. All right. Anyone else? Okay. So, actually, I have a board comment today. Uh, usually like to end up with a with something fun or something happy. Uh but today uh specifically Trina, earlier today I was made aware that you reached out to union members outside of negotiations as a teacher in a neighboring district to schedule uh what I deem to be a clandestine meeting. Um and exactly what were you trying to do? So I'd really appreciate an answer. Sure. I as
060a board director I am allowed to meet with teachers and talk about the climate of the school. Um that's that I was just intending to talk about um well the teacher climate how how teachers are feeling. Okay. Well, I figured that would be your answer. Uh but we're in the middle of teacher negotiations and the um the email string that I got um mentions that you're no matter that we're in board negotiate or teacher negotiations um anything that a particular board member does especially during this period of time when we've all said that board has to be confidential. Uh there's no there there's obviously two sides, but there there has to be confidentiality on both sides. Uh I was glad to see that the union turned down the meeting, uh which they should have done,
061and you really you shouldn't have asked to begin with. There's no reason to have asked. Um, the last bullet point of our code of ethics listed on every single agenda is strive to maximize schoolboard service in a spirit of teamwork and devotion to public education. And teamwork being um I think you threw that out the window. I'm deeply concerned because I've talked to you multiple times in the last week and you didn't tell me you you you told me every other thing whether it had to do with the gender identity in the videos, but you didn't happen to mention that you asked the the uh union to talk to you and specifically union members on their negotiating team. So that's my board comment. Thank you. is here to speak into that. Is there a problem
062with a single? So, there's definitely there's a procedure, right, that should be followed and in general, a single board director cannot take action on their own. However, I am neither your regular solicitor nor your negotiation council. So, I'm not going to weigh in on that. No, I did check into a it ahead of time. Um, and it's it is it's okay. I'm I'm sorry you did. Well, actually, our board negotiation attorney is the one who brought it to my attention and and No, don't do it again. Okay. Okay. I'd ask for a motion to adjourn. Motion. All in favor? I. Any oppose? Thank you.