WSSD Board Meeting 5/28/2026

001I now call the May 28th, 2026 meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore Board of School Directors to order. In opening, as you are willing and able, if you would please rise and join me for the pledge of allegiance, and the flag is right there in the back corner. 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. Ms. Mosley, would you please take attendance roll call? >> Dr. Crawford. Mr. Dibble. Mrs. Dolle. >> Here. >> Mrs. Olbert. >> Here. >> Mrs. Livingston. >> Here. >> Mr. Miller. >> Here. >> Mrs. Witzig. >> Here. >> Mrs. Williams. >> Here. >> Ms. Kathy Smith. >> Here. >> Eight voting members present. >> Thank you. Next, we move to

002our student representatives report. It will be the last of this year, so we turn to Daksha Nair and Joey Yang. Thank you, ladies. >> Thank you. Good evening, everyone. >> Before we begin the last student board report of this school year, we want to give a huge thank you to all the teachers and staff across the district. May 4th marked the start of National Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, and while the week has long ended, we are all still and always grateful for all the amazing things our teachers have done to support us students at WSSD. With that, let's see what our teachers' support has helped students achieve. Over at Speech and Debate, the middle schoolers are proving that the team is going to have a bright future ahead of them. At the CC IU

003tournament, Shaksham Chawla secured another first place win in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Shrashta Padakanti placed first in Dramatic Performance. Nishka Poria and Hope Hensley placed first in Duo Interpretation. And Vashita Padakanti, Sena Debasharma, and Shrashta Podakanti placed first, second, and third respectively in prose. >> SHHS Speech and Debate also held the first ever Strath Haven Instructional Tournament. In the morning, novice and veteran members got chance to work on different skills and conduct practice performances and debate. And in the afternoon, the team celebrated their seniors with games, food, and awards. >> Finally, the Speech and Debate team spent last weekend in Washington, D.C. competing at Nationals and sightseeing. Congratulations to Ervin Ye and Vincent Zhu for making it to double octofinals in policy debate, and congrats to Casper Stockman for making it to quarterfinals in original oratory. >>

004At sports, congratulations to boys track and field who are the this year's Delaware County and Central League champion. In addition to these impressive accomplishments, the team, along with the girls track and field team, also celebrated their seniors on senior night. >> Next, congratulations to Shug X for getting their last bid and successfully qualifying for Nationals this June. >> Finally, SHMS eighth graders participated in the annual Art of Math Challenge that challenges students to turn a famous 2D painting into a 3D reconstruction. Congratulations to team Oranges 2.0 for winning top honors at the competition. >> Moving on to what the district's been up to these last few months. Despite having only a few days to rehearse, SHHS students were still able to put on a fantastic performance for International Day. Students representing cultures from around the

005world gave the high school a world tour through dances, art showcases, instrumental performances, and the fashion show. >> International Day wasn't the only performance, either. Soon after it, Dance Haven, a club from the high school, put on an amazing performance showcasing many different dances. The members of the club really brought the energy and showed off what they can do. >> Along with Bird Song, May was also full of amazing musical performances at the high school. Symphonic band, wind ensemble, symphony orchestra, and chorus amazed the crowd with their talent and hard work this spring in two different concerts. This year's concert was especially special as symphony orchestra and chorus held a combined concert where the two worked together to perform the exciting three movement choral piece Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein. >> The high school held

006the last wellness Wednesday of the year which featured fun de-stressing activities for students like paper mache bowls or plant potting. And while the high schoolers were busy with crafts and plants, the elementary schoolers hit the field enthusiastically at their annual field day. Students had to accomplish a variety of physical tasks that encouraged both physical activity and cooperation making for a fun day in the sun that of course ended with snacks and fun memories. >> As the end of the school year approaches, we wanted to offer a bit of insight into what the next two weeks hold for SHHS students. Especially for seniors who finished up their last full school day today. Their senior prom tomorrow and graduation next Friday. For middle schoolers, the eighth grade dance and graduation is approaching and fifth graders are looking

007forward to their graduation and first ever school dance. >> That concludes the last student board report of this year. And since this is my final board report as a graduating senior, I just want to thank everyone in the WSSD community for all the support, opportunities, and memories over the years. It's been an honor to represent the student body this year. >> And I'm looking forward to continuing to report for the school district next year. >> Thank you and have an amazing summer and night. >> Um Daksha and Joy, on behalf of the board we'd like to thank you for your updates. You really have kept us connected with the student experience and achievements of our district. So we really appreciate it and we've loved having you. Uh Daksha, good luck next year at the University

008of Virginia, and Joy, we are looking forward to seeing you again next year. So, thank you both so much. All right, next we move to the Superintendent's Report, and I will turn it over to Dr. Johnston. >> Thank you, Ms. Williams. We are really pleased to begin my report tonight with our honorary our uh celebration of our retirees. Uh we have some amazing people leaving us we're going to miss dearly, and so we do want to honor you this evening. Uh I'll go over and join Dr. Snenie. Dr. Snenie uh will read most of the uh the the um the remembrances of our amazing staff members, and uh we just look forward to just joining in this celebration together. >> Thank you. Congratulations to those of you joining us tonight to celebrate your retirement, and

009thank you to those of you who have accompanied them and graciously and lovingly shared them with us over the course of their careers. This year's class of 18 has contributed 335 and 1/2 collective years to Wallingford-Swarthmore School District. On behalf of the Board of School Directors, the Superintendent, and the District, we thank you. Lisa Ferriola is a woman of many talents. In addition to working as a bus aide for 6 years, she has worked for us as a substitute nurse as well. In both instances, she has been a helper. Mr. Rogers always told us, "Look for the helpers." If Lisa is the helper you find, you will be in good hands. This past winter, Lisa had a fight with the ice, and unfortunately, the ice won. This modified her assignment, and she moved to the

010middle school uh to help as a lunch aide in the cafeteria. Again, a role where her ability to care for and help our students was paramount. Lisa will be entering retirement with her husband, Tony, who retired as a bus driver several years ago. Lisa, we wish you all the best in retirement, and hope that in retirement you find the helpers in the world to help you enjoy yourself thoroughly. Ben Lehman was a bus driver at Wallingford-Swarthmore School District for 9 and 1/2 years. Ben intended to retire this year, but unfortunately passed away suddenly on December 27th. Ben's loss was more than the loss of a driver. It was the loss of a solid presence of warmth, kindness, and humility in the transportation department. Ben had a true passion for the Indy 500 and made sure

011to attend the race when he could. Ben's love for sports didn't start or end with NASCAR. He played multiple sports in high school as well as being a musician, making driving our impressive marching band to games a good way to spend a Friday night. Ben's greatest love was was his family, whether spending time with his three children or prioritizing his eight grandchildren, some of whom he cared for several days a week. The loss of Ben Lehman was a loss to the students he cared for every day, as well as the adults fortunate enough to work with him. Before Ben's wife Janice receives this plaque, may we please have a moment of silence. Thank you. Pat Haggerty has started and ended our students' days for the last 12 years. His kind eyes and easy smile were

012wonderful ways for our students to start their day. Families were comfortable and confident having Pat drive their children, knowing they would be well cared for. We've also trusted Pat with staff preparedness in the department. He sat on the committee to select our new transportation supervisor and served as a trainer for those drivers who were not yet certified to drive a school bus. For 30 years, I've been lucky enough to know Pat's family, each of whom are wonderful reflections of Pat. Not only did I have the honor of teaching his sons, but I was also lucky enough to work with his lovely wife, Margie. Pat actually retired in December, but now that the warm weather is here, I know he will enjoy unlimited time to take advantage of some of his favorite pastimes like camping, fishing,

013cooking, and finding joy in the outdoors. But most especially spending time at the Jersey Shore with his wife. Pat, thank you for 12 years of bringing a smile to the faces of everyone fortunate enough to interact with you. Helen Madonna has been driving our students around for 18 years. Although tonight she told me it was 28 cuz it was 10, then she left, then she came back. Her most recent stint was 18. My first interactions interaction with Helen had me a little concerned for our little ones. I thought, this tough lady would have scared me as a little kid getting on the bus. What I quickly realized was that you can't judge a book by its cover. Helen's tough exterior protects her soft interior. No matter the reason for our interactions, Helen has never been

014anything but direct, honest, and straightforward, attributes most appreciated by an HR director. I always knew that when I needed to know what was going on in transportation or I needed an honest, unfiltered opinion, Helen was my go-to girl. Every conversation I've had with Helen ends in a laugh, and I'm glad hers is the face that starts and ends so many of our children's days. Upon retirement, Helen will be able to spend more time at Wawa, travel with her husband, and visit her grandkids in Ohio. Helen, thank you for the laughs. I have never seen Lynn Love without a smile on her face. That smile has gotten significantly wider since she turned in her retirement letter. In her 25 years in Wallingford-Swarthmore, Lynn has been a work mom to many of her colleagues, whether showing them

015the ropes and how to stay out of trouble or giving them the tough love they need. She did it with kindness in her heart. Lynn has worked as a custodian both in the middle in the both the middle school and high school in the district during her 25 years. Each of those buildings were a little bit sunnier with Lynn in them. Our students have also had the opportunity to experience the kindness of Lynn Love, some of them even helping her count down her days. Lynn, we aren't counting down your days. We are happy to cherish the time that we have her meeting with you. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Leslie Wagner has been a teacher in Wallingford-Swarthmore School District for 21 years, specifically at NPE. During that time, she has fulfilled many roles: mentor, department chair,

016participant in curriculum initiatives for reading, writing, and math. Leslie has been the epitome of a professional educator, dedicated and student-centered. She moved from a learning support teacher role into fourth grade seamlessly. Over the years, supervisors have shared the following comments. She is skillful in her development of IEPs, communicates clearly with students, staff, and parents, and adapts her practice to meet the individual needs of her students. She participates in professional development opportunities and advocates for all of her students in meetings, informal conversations, and conferences. Mrs. Wagner is well regarded by students and faculty for her professional demeanor and her commitment to student learning. She adapts curriculum to meet the needs of her students while maintaining high standards for student performance. She effectively manages instruction to meet the wide variety of student needs and abilities. She collaborates

017with regular education teachers to individualize and modify instruction and promote student access to curriculum. Her firm and gentle manner creates a positive, yet structured, environment. She effectively uses positive reinforcements, praise, and encouragement to motivate students and create a positive learning environment. She routinely demonstrates flexibility and responsiveness to student needs. Leslie's passion does not stop at her classroom door. She has participated in and planned school-wide community activities, most notably the creation of homegrown poems, which assisted in uniting students across the grade level in an academic endeavor. Tonight, we thank Leslie Wagner for being one of the people who has made NPE the place to be. >> So, we're trading the mic here. Uh these actually are Dr. Celini's words, and I'm going to read them about Roberta Shapiro. For more than three decades, WSSD has been

018lucky to have the incredibly talented educator call this place home. Roberta Shapiro started her career as a social studies teacher at Strath Haven High School in 1993, where she became an integral member of the American Studies team. As a new teacher, she was sought out both by new and veteran staff to gain a fresh perspective on instruction and integration of technology in the classroom, including the creation of what may have been the first electronic gradebook at Strath Haven High School. For 18 years, Roberta served her her high school students incredibly well, adding psychology and AP US history to her schedule. Roberta brought the same innate ability to those courses, giving her students the preparation they needed to have a record-setting number of students sign up to take the AP test. Every high school administrator knew

019what that had in Roberta. Evaluations had phrases like meticulous planner, exceptional educator. In the section of the evaluation that indicates an area for professional growth or improvement, it was consistently noted as no notes. A former student and a a former student and current WSSD administrator said, "I'm really proud to have overlapped with Roberta Shapiro by 1 year in Wallingford-Swarthmore School District. She was my 10th grade social studies teacher at Strath Haven High School when she was known as Ms. Roach. I am lucky to have overlapped with her by a year. It gave me the opportunity to thank her and let her know that she was the reason I decided to become a teacher." Ms. Shapiro's relationship building, humor, and creative project-based learning environment, long before PBL was a thing, inspired my teaching throughout my career.

020In 2011, Roberta moved to fifth grade at West. Principal Ellen Milgram noted, "Mrs. Shapiro is among the finest educators with whom I have worked in my career. She has consistently demonstrated a thoughtful and caring approach with her students and a strong sense of professional responsibility. It is evident that students are inspired and engaged in her classroom. Thorough lesson design, consistent communication with parents, and positive relationships with colleagues are features of Mrs. Shapiro's exemplary practice. Roberta, you were like a rock, unfazed by the unpredictability of one student, unflappable and thoughtful in working with the parents of others. Roberta's constant need to grow and learn kept her moving, eventually to SRS as the librarian with responsibilities for gifted students, then to fifth grade, and finally to kindergarten for the past 2 years. Of the 240-plus comments on

021her Facebook post announcing her retirement. One of the first comments I noticed was the one that stated exactly what I said to Roberta when I received her retirement letter. I am sad for all the students you won't that won't have the chance to learn from you. Congratulations and thanks from former students, colleagues, and parents of current and former students exploded across the page. Clear appreciation for ability to engage students and challenge them to do more than they thought that they could. Roberta thank you for 33 years of being not just an exceptional teacher but an exceptional colleague and friend. >> Thank you. I can move this back down for the shorty. Okay. All right. Cheryl Orcillo has been teaching science at the I didn't even read it and I'm teary. Sorry about that. Cheryl Orcillo

022has been teaching science at the Wallingford Swarthmore School District for 34 years. During that time, she has been much more than a science teacher. She's been a teacher in the gifted triad program, department coordinator, department chairperson, and coached Science Olympiad. She worked as a member of science vertical teams and was a positive psychology trainer. Cheryl came to us from industry. She was consulting with the district on an environmental issue. During one of those consults, she told then superintendent Dr. George Slick that he couldn't do what he wanted because of environmental concerns. Dr. Val Sandberg, who was the assistant superintendent at the time, said, "Do you know who you're talking to? No one tells him no." And Cheryl's response, "Maybe not in education, but I'm telling him no." As much it is as it is largely

023true that Dr. Slick did not like to hear no, he appreciated someone with the conviction to say so. That same conviction allowed Cheryl to take on a teaching role at at Strath Haven High School. In her role, she challenged her students to think critically about real-world problems. She prepared her students to be successful in her next science course, as well as in life, by reinforcing the need to think critically and to be collaborative as critical life skills. A parent's note summed it up saying, "I wanted to take a moment to let you know how much my daughter admires you. You've been more than just her teacher, but a mentor, and you mean a lot to her." Thank you for supporting her in so many ways this semester. I know you are one of her go-to

024people, and we are so very appreciative that she has you. I'm pleased that for 34 years, our students have been able to experience and appreciate the conviction Ms. Cheryl Orsillo brought to our high school from the field of streams and at from sorry, from the field and streams of industry. All right, I'm going to do my best with this one. No promises. Um Eileen Cespen, for 24 and 1/2 years, Wallingford Swarthmore has been able to answer many questions with a one-word response. That word is Eileen. Questions about tuition reimbursement? Eileen. Just had a baby? Eileen. Question about retirement? Eileen. Question about payroll? Payroll, but you should still call Eileen. Since she announced her retirement, Eileen Cespen's days have been booked with people seeking her advice about their own retirements, which may not happen for several

025more years, but they trust her to help them understand it all. Intellect, kindness, compassion, some of the best descriptors for her. From my first day here, Eileen made me feel so welcome. I've also Sorry. I've also understood what kind of gem I was lucky enough to have in my department. I regularly receive compliments and emails from staff across the district, whether it's when someone is first hired, having an issue with benefits, going on leave, or retiring. Eileen always gets the same rave reviews. Her kindness is at the heart of our department, and I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so. Just listen to a small sample of the comments made about Eileen during her time in the district. In 2011, Ferg Abbott, former HR director, wrote, "Eileen, there isn't much to say except that

026your performance is outstanding. The excellence award you received shows the appreciation the entire district has for the job that you do." A letter of recommendation when she was being hired stated, "Eileen is highly motivated and very caring and sensitive to the staff's confidentiality needs. I sincerely and highly recommend Eileen for the position she is seeking with a chance to prove her loyalty and commitment to your school district. You will not be sorry to add Eileen to your staff. She is a dream employee who received the highest rating of all employees at Newman." And in her 2024 review, I wrote, "Eileen is a critical component of the department in every aspect of what she does. Her demeanor is one of approachability, whether it has her co-workers, her customers, or community members. Eileen makes it a point

027to be knowledgeable, resourceful, and responsive. She does everything with intention and with a smile. She is among, if not the, most respected employee in this district. I am fortunate enough to sit next to her and have some of her sunshine drift in my direction and to drench our department as a whole. I'm so grateful that Eileen is my partner in crime each and every day. There's little There's literally nothing more I could ask from her, and nothing more she could do. Quite simply, she is a rockstar. Eileen, thank you for 24 and 1/2 years of you being you. We couldn't ask for anything more. >> [laughter] >> So, tonight we are honoring Dr. Dina Salini as well on her retirement. So I'd like to recognize Dr. Dina Salini on her retirement and thank her for

028her exceptional service to our district. Dr. Salini's career has truly come full circle. As a proud alum of Wallingford Swarthmore, she began her career here as a social studies teacher at Strath Haven High School. Many may not know that she spent more than a decade as our dance line choreographer and band front band front director contributing to the life of the school far beyond the classroom. She went on to serve as a counselor, assistant principal, and HR leader in other districts before returning home to Wallingford Swarthmore School District as our director of human resources where she has helped to guide and support our staff with professionalism and care. Throughout her time here, colleagues have consistently described described Dr. Salini as kind, thoughtful, thinking, and passionate. For example, one colleague expressed gratitude for Dr. Salini's calm,

029steady support during challenging life moments while another expressed gratitude for her thoughtful listening and compassionate explanations. Time and again, staff have shared appreciation for her clear communication and the the sense of trust and humanity she brought to her work. As she retires, Dr. Salini plans to continue supporting HR work in other districts, deepen her involvement in the community in community and civic efforts, and spend more time enjoying travel, concerts, and time with her husband Mark. Dr. Salini, beginning and ending your career in this district is a remarkable legacy. On behalf of the board and our entire community, thank you for your leadership and service. We wish you all the best in your retirement. And one quick funny aside that I didn't write here is I told Dina recently that I'm going to get a a

030tattoo that says, "Dena was right." >> [laughter] >> If I were a better singer, I would surely sing about the next retiree. Dr. Angela Tuck exudes a joy into the world that is unparalleled. She starts most staff meetings by singing, just one example of the spirit that comes with Dr. Tuck everywhere she goes. Back to her earliest evaluations, Dr. Tuck has been commended for being consistently positive and and for the pride that she shows in Swarthmore Rutledge School. Dr. Tuck started down the path of supporting young people as a college student at Millersville, where she served as the residence hall director. She then moved on to teach special education and and as well as general education classrooms. Since 2001, Dr. Tuck has been an elementary school principal, first in the Potts Town School District, then

031here at Wallingford Swarthmore. Dr. Tuck is the physical embodiment of calm and poise, from the fact that she never wears anything other than a dress, clasps her hands like this all the time, which I wish I could do, mine flail, clasps her hands when she is speaking, and speaks with a calm, quiet tone that makes you lean in and guarantees you are paying close attention. Dr. Tuck is proper. I don't know that I've ever heard her say an unkind word. She is the perfect example of if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything. She is that person who is a quiet observer of the world. She listens to what people say. The smallest details are not lost on her. I am the happy recipient of surprise candy deliveries to my office from Dr. Tuck.

032One of those small details I must have shared at some point, which she cataloged away. Kindness and compassion are trait traits Dr. Angela Tuck spreads to all with whom she interacts. Students, staff, colleagues, and families have all been recipients of her kindness. I'm so happy that Wallingford Swarthmore School District has been able to benefit from her quiet leadership for the last 15 years. And this concludes the honoring of our retirees. Again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all you do um and and what you have done for so long and for making our students first and foremost in the decision you made each day to come to work. It takes a village and you have each played an important role in that village to help raise decades worth of children. At this

033time, unless the board wishes to say anything more, I would like to ask that all retirees go to the hallway to have their pictures. And just one Thank you all so much. I am just in total awe of the 313.5 years of experience between all of you. It's just amazing and you will be missed and you are appreciated. So, thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you. Um you know what? I'm just going to come back to my table for a I don't need any napkins right now. But, I did need a >> Yeah. >> Thank you so much. >> You're so welcome. Comfortable. Yeah. >> All right. So, for the next part of the superintendent's report, we'll have a presentation from Al Hindley about Nether Providence Elementary School. And Al, welcome and thanks for

034taking the podium. Oh, yeah. The clicker. >> All right. Good evening, everyone. It's always a pleasure to be here. I first just want to be very brief, but very thankful for the retirees. And I know many of them, but it's always great to hear the story of some you may not work closely with. I could probably make comments about a few, but I just want to highlight Leslie Wagner has just been such a piece of NPE for so long. Utmost respect for what she has done for our community over the years. So, big loss for us, but today we celebrate her contributions over the last two decades. Also, Dr. Tuck has not just been a colleague of mine, but has become a dear friend. We've been together for 14 years, and we've been through a

035lot. And you know, she's always looking for the good. And she's just been a dear friend and it certainly had many contributions to WSSD. So I just want to make those comments to start. Um So tonight, my main topic is I'm going to give not a lot about Reveal Math. You board you you've learned a lot about Reveal in the last couple years, but I'm going to focus on student outcomes. And I'm always excited to be here. I get one time a year to come to the board and brag about NPE, Nether Providence. And I couldn't be prouder. We are in the beginning stages of some data work this year, but again, I'm going to say it five times. I could not be prouder of some of the work that we've been able to start

036and it's about student outcomes. So tonight, I'm going to give just a little bit of an overview, couple points of pride from the school, then I'm going to talk about some student outcomes from the state that we received about growth, student growth. Um and then we're also going to talk about our grade two data team that taken sources from Reveal and started to match resources to individual student need. So really excited. I do want to mention I have tonight with me Shelby Blake, who on behalf of all of the elementary teachers, I want to say thank you for what she has done to move math instruction forward in this district. Um I don't see her as much as I have in the past, but the conversations about student outcomes, PLCs, standards has just been amazing.

037So she's here with me. She's a driving force between some of this work, so I'm going to try to keep my comments brief so we can get to her to talk more about what they did. So I'm going to try to be brief, which can be hard for me, but pleasure to be here tonight. Um just real quick, school update. I have to give a couple of shout-outs to people. Uh one, our first part is tier three. We have our PBIS, which we there's been many presentations about PBIS. We're in year seven. and this year we're we started tier three. Basically a tier three is a very individualized approach partnering with parents. Dr. McCulla, my school psychologist, my PBIS team has done a lot of work. Again, first year but we're really starting to have

038these systems integrated. PBIS tier three is a very tailored intervention for students. So we're excited. Year one of tier three looking to build for year two. Arts and letters, I know you had a presentation on that. I have to give just an amazing amount of credit to my teachers, my staff who have implemented this program. The hours that they have spent putting together lessons, communicating with each other and also really raising the bar for our students. We have we have an articulated curriculum. I walk in the classrooms and and some of you have been with me. We see the student engagement has increased, the level of rigor has increased and while it is a program a resource really excited about year one but I I have to mention that the teachers have absolutely put a

039ton of work so they should be commended. Finally student activities, Mr. Jason support staff. He has this amazing garden club that has been taken off at NPE. Just to give a quick idea each grade level has a raised bed. He came to me and he said I want to start a garden club. We're going to start with fifth grade. He said every Monday for the entire school year. I said that's that's pretty lofty. Said I okay, we'll give it a shot. Here we are at the end of the year and they met almost every single Monday. Parents are jumping on board. We have students across the grade level coming out after school for garden club. So I really want to give Mr. Jason a shout out and our community and our students. And finally chess

040club. Congratulations to all three schools for their chess club. Paul Shirah organized chess club at all three. Um, however, I I would be remiss without mentioning that for the second consecutive year NPE's housing the trophy for the chess championship tournament, which NPE won. So, uh, want to make sure I highlight those. All right. So, NPE the place to be. Again, here's the overview uh, for tonight. I'm just going to do a quick kind of refresh about the the core tenants of Reveal Math. Uh, I'll briefly talk about the PD and what that looked like uh, in year uh, one and beginning year two. And then, um, I'm just very briefly going to talk about a growth measure that the state of Pennsylvania gives to all schools and school districts. Achievement is important, but growth of

041students tells a complete story. And when I look at my students, our staff at NPE, we talk about the whole student and we want achievement to increase, but sometimes that journey to see where students started, to see where they end, really tells a lot of the story. So, I'm going to share some of the results that we uh, had last year in grades four and five um, from what's called PVAAS, Pennsylvania Value Added um, Assessment System. Essentially, it's a big mathematical formula that much smarter people understand than me, but I've been working with PVAAS for about 15 years as a teacher and an administrator and it really gives you an idea of trends over time for subgroups and for overall performance. So, I'm going to share some of uh, the achievement of the growth achievement

042in grades four and five from last year, which was year one. Usually year one of a new curriculum, you know, teachers are still learning it and we've had good growth in math for a long time. So, I'm extremely proud of the results I'm going to share with the board tonight. And then finally, uh, grade two data team. At the elementaries, we started uh, instructional leadership teams, PLCs at NPE. We had some starts, some stops, some retooling, but I had a couple of people who are part of my instructional leadership team. Um one one of note is uh Shelby Blake, and uh took it back to their teams and said, "We know we're not a target of grade level this year, but we want to start doing this data work." So, Shelby's going to talk about

043that. Again, I couldn't be prouder of what you're going to see tonight. Nope. Oh, okay. All right. Um sorry. So, Reveal Math. What? Oh, I'm so sorry. So, what is Reveal Math? Just again, going back to the tenets. Um inquiry and sense-making approach. That is the notice and wonderings. What do you notice? What do you wonder at the start of a lesson? Uh second, sparking uh curiosity. Real-world scenarios. Um what does it look like for students? Uh third, multiple strategies to engage the learners. Hands-on, collaborative learning, digital platforms, a lot of uh differentiation. Um I'm sorry. And then differentiation, tiered tasks, intervention resources, and enrichment activities. And that's the part I just very briefly want to talk about. Year one, our teachers had a lot of PD on Reveal itself. But a lot of these

044programs, they have a lot, and it takes multiple years to really get to learn. So, year one, we started off with the tenets I just mentioned. Um Shelby and Jenny Conahan really spearheaded that. A lot of thanks to them in the toaster rolls. Um but um um last year, we in the spring, started the process of getting into these intervention resources. And that's really where we're going year two, and that's where our data work happened at NPE. So, year two PD started getting into these other ancillary materials, enrichment, remediation. All right. PIVAS, um just put a couple of questions up here and I'm going to show what it looks like in just a minute, but or a couple bullets. A helpful way to think about PIVAS, the growth, is achievement is one day. You take

045a summative test and you get the results. Um PIVAS tries to show how much progress students have made from where they started in grade three. And there's kind of a trajectory and the state says, "Where is X student on this trajectory? Are they meeting the standard? Are they exceeding it? Or are they not getting to that projection?" Um PIVAS as an administrator and a data team, we look at this and say, "Are students making a year's growth in a year's time? And which groups of students?" And this is the work that we do at the building level. The last few years we put a lot of effort into this. Which groups of students are making growth and where can we do better? And it's just one data set, but we are seeing patterns over five

046or six years. There's always growth room for growth, but really proud of what we're seeing. Um this is kind of uh I'm a very visual person. So, I want to make sure I put this key up here. I'm not going to read everything up here, but essentially the report that the administrators get, the school districts get is a color-coded system. And you'll have groups of students in Green is good. Blue is better. And I'll just kind of leave that there. Green is you're meeting the standard. You are hitting where the state says your group of students should be. Yellow is below, obviously red is well below. You really don't want to see red. Uh well above very high statistical sample. Above, you're doing really well. So, color-coded, I'm just going to leave that there. I'm

047not going to read everything, but the colors speak for themselves. Green is good. Blue is better. First group, all students. All students, math PSSA, year one of Reveal. Grade four well above the expected standard for growth. Again, not where we were that day, where we started in grade three and up. Grade five well above. Economically disadvantaged. Grade four, above. Grade five, meets the standard. Lowest performing 33% of students when they take that initial assessment in third grade, grade four well above the growth standard. Grade five, above. Students with IEPs. Grade four well above, grade five meets the standard. So, really was proud of this. Our teachers are proud of it, and we seen this over the years, but to see it in year one of Reveal really speaks to the wonderful teaching staff that I

048have. So, I thought tonight would be a great opportunity not to go into the depths of Reveal, but student outcomes. One year, we went online this year, so that adds another variable. But, I really just wanted to take this moment and say student outcomes. And we do have other subgroups. Unfortunately, the sample size if it's under a certain number, it's they don't report back. Uh there is one subgroup that I can mention. It was not on the state, but it's on our future ready index. Our uh uh multi-race population has risen up to 78% growth, which is eight points above the state goal. So, they would be blue or potentially dark blue. Uh the other populations on this assessment, we just don't have a large enough sample. Um but again, really excited to share this

049with you. One year, but just a credit to where we're going. All right. Um next part, the grade level data team. And this is where this is what Shelby's about to present to you is just phenomenal. I couldn't be prouder to be at NPE working with the individuals that we have. >> [clears throat] >> Um grade two took data and resources from Reveal and came up with plans. Uh Shelby's going to walk you guys through it. Um but I just wanted to um mention my second grade team, Katie Gray, Alyssa Isles, Donna Clark, and Ryan Baker um for the work that they did which you're about to see. Um and of course, Shelby. Shelby really was uh a driving force in this and is also helping us for the future build this across the school.

050So, Shelby. >> Thank you so much. And thank you for allowing me to be here tonight. I'm excited to talk about math. Um so, at the beginning of the year, a lot of times this has been a conversation a lot for a long time. Teachers are all teaching the same skill groups, but the same five skill groups in all four classrooms every single day during intervention block. And if you know anything about being a teacher, that's a lot of intervention groups to run every single day. That's a lot of planning. That's a lot of time and preparation. That's a lot of students to get to in 30 minutes. So, the solution we decided we really wanted to make a goal. How can we maximize the number of students we're seeing, but also maximize the growth

051we're also seeing as well. Um and so, we decided to look at data and really do some skill analysis and question analysis so that each teacher focus on teaching one skill group and rotating our students among teachers rather than just rotating among their classrooms. So, taking that idea of my students and turning it into our students. And I think the growth speaks for itself. So, how we did this was we met weekly. We would meet on Thursdays at 2:35. Um and we plan our data groups. We look at data and we talk about skill skill gaps. We talk about um skill progression. And we really um we reviewed assessment data. So, we went all the way back to the first assessment which talks about place value and those foundational skills. And we used question analysis

052to identify our skill gaps and target interventions. We talked about which skills do we need to accomplish by the end of second grade and what progression of those skills do we need in order to maximize that growth. So, we we grouped students by those skill gaps and then teachers just chose their one skill that they wanted to perfect and then we rotated students around in between groups. Um during our curriculum extension time which is about an hour. >> [clears throat] >> Um and then we tracked progress over those small groups. We used exit tickets. We used different formative assessments. Um with Reveal, super positive part of this is that they have two forms of their assessments. They have a form A and a form B. Um form A is what we universally give to all

053of our students and then form B is there if we need to reassess or just like test on a certain question or standard. So, it allows us to have another form of a summative assessment or a final assessment before the close like an exit checkout. So, this is just an example of our Reveal target intervention. Um Reveal has a separate lesson that is hands-on, teacher-driven, and um student-centric lesson for every single skill and standard taught in their program, which is amazing. Um a lot of programs do not have that. Um so, Jenny Conahan and I have spent the first part of this year compiling it into a teacher-friendly database where everything has clickable links. You have question analysis built right into the forms. It also tells you which accompanying lessons. So, we use these documents

054to help us do our skills analysis and skills progression work. Um we are we looked at this year looking at students that performed 70% or below on the unit test. We wanted to start off small. So, while we aren't rotating every single kid in second grade, we are rotating a vast majority of them. Um and year two, I think the goal is to start moving other students as well as in start in start embedding some enrichment groups in this as well. But, um I just wanted to highlight this. This is our one-stop shop. This is where we posted all our resources, all the activity directions. Um, but this is available every single grade level has this for every single unit. Um, K to 5. Skills grouping coordination, um, there are about 80 to 100 students

055in a set grade level. Um, if we're pulling multiple kids from multiple classrooms, the E time or curriculum extension time is a time where they also receive related services. Um, so it's like speech, OT, PT, other IEP services. Um, that is a scheduling nightmare if, um, with all these children. Um, however, when you're only rotating between one teacher is taking one skill group, it makes a little bit easier and we just we did the work. We have So, we have our rotations. We only rotated about two times a week, um, which allowed our teachers to also spend the other three days doing enrichment activities, doing other like, um, just additional practice activities with their kiddos. Um, and then we just organized on a spreadsheet. So, we all know their home room, we know where they're

056going, and we know what the E blocks are going to. Are they going to their first E block or their second E block? Um, and then the teacher just knows that for that first week she's they're only teaching that one strategy. They might be teaching it to two or three different groups, but they're just teaching that one strategy to really perfect that skill. The idea of quality over quantity, um, was a really big conversation we had. Um, this is also just a house where everything is linked. The activity and guided principles for the activity based explorations. Um, I created separate formative assessments that pulled from different resources, Reveal and non-Reveal resources to really assess the skill. Um, and we gave two forms of those so that if they needed to take more than one day

057to pull a group, they have more than one assessment to formatively track their data. Um, and then we use the form B quizzes to kind of have as like a final exit ticket checkout of that small group before rotating on to the next group. Um, some students only needed one group. Other kids, you would have seen them in all three of those rotations. So, once they progress from one skill, it's a skills progression. So, you have to rotate for the first skill to progress to the second skill, to progress to the third skill, building those foundational skills, and building up rather than just backtracking, and just filling in as we go. We went back to the beginning and got place value down really well, and then we went to addition, subtraction, and so forth. So,

058I wanted to highlight um our addition strategy. Second grade is a huge year for addition and subtraction. They go from addition and subtraction within 50 to addition and subtraction within 100, and then they have to leave second grade being able to do it fluently to 1,000. That is a huge, huge um learning leap. Um so, four unit four, the averages were about 65% or below. That's like the class averages on the unit test. Um then we started pulling foundational groups with place value groups and base 10 groups, and filling in those back backfilling those gaps in before moving on to addition strategies. You can see as we keep going um through the cyclical version of what Reveal does, Reveal keeps cycling back through taught skills to keep building on them. Um the percentages keep growing,

059and by unit nine, which is their last addition um unit, every class was averaging about 83 80% and above was their class average. So, the growth is amazing. 20% or more growth across a couple of units, um which shows, I think, the power of building on those foundational skills. Math is built on base 10 and powers of 10 and place value, and you cannot be successful in math if you don't have that strong number sense. So, our team really focused on number sense, and then that leading and progressing into the skills needed to add and subtract within 1,000. But, I think um our teachers have I think have really found the power of and not all having to pull the same five groups, but really focusing on one or two groups, and the um the

060kids loved rotating to different classrooms. Um, recently we rotated every kid got to choose the their addition strategy that they felt most confident with. And then each teacher was a focus room for that strategy. So all all second grade students got to rotate to their said strategy room and do in a fun escape room as a way to, you know, really make sure we have a firm grasp we're leaving second grade with firm understandings and firm strategies for addition subtraction, which was really really exciting. So I think it gives a lot of growth um for next year as we continue with that work um that Mr. Heinly's going to lead and I'm excited to go back to the classroom to continue this work in my grade level, but um I really really um thank you

061for allowing the TOSAs to continue again another year. Um we've done a lot a lot of work and I think we've moved the needle forward quite a bit with math instruction. So appreciate all your support. >> So uh on behalf of Shelby and um all the teachers, I do just want to thank the board for your ongoing support. Uh your walk-throughs for the school has been great to see you. Uh Dr. Johnson, Dr. Badik have also visited our classrooms. So you see the work when you walk through. Um it takes a village from support staff to custodians to TOSAs to classroom teachers and um while this is just a foundation and it's going to be hard to replicate what you just saw, um just the focus on student outcomes and growth. And uh we have

062an incredible community that really supports us. And uh the board has supported us and Dr. Johnson. So thank all of you and our community for um the support that we see every day um from the NBE community. So thank you. >> Mr. Heinly and Ms. Blake, thank you so much for being here tonight. Um, I've actually had the pleasure of having a few walk-throughs of MPE this year, and it's always uh fun. And I One of the themes of of your comments tonight, Mr. Heinley, was the amazing staff that you have there, and um I wholeheartedly support that. Um, you know, in our walk-throughs, you were able to show us the arts and letters curriculum. We saw, you know, kind of as a board what we had voted on and spent the money on. And

063so, tonight's presentation was especially helpful to see the results of the reveal even after a year and, you know, a lot of heavy lifting from the teaching staff as well. Um, so really thankful for both of you. I have to laugh that before the meeting, these two were kind of like, "Well, I'm excited to talk about MPE, and I'm excited to talk about math. And how long is yours going to be?" Cuz I'm going to take longer. So, it was Your enthusiastic is Your enthusiasm is is catching. So, thank you both so much. And I'll turn it over to my fellow board members. I'll start left to right if anyone has any comments to add. >> Yeah, I just wanted to thank you so much. I mean, it is so meaningful for us as a

064board to hear how you moved the needle with these groups that we've identified as target groups. And so, really, thank you very much for your work. >> And I'll just echo what other board members have said. What really comes through is the pride that you have for MPE and the progress that you've made. It's really impressive, and it's wonderful for the board to see it in action. >> I Yeah, MPE, it is the place to be. So, it really I'm I'm so glad you chose those things to share with us. And I think that understanding growth of kids is really, you know, it's it's really where kids are at. So, I appreciate it. I appreciate your sharing that with us. And Ms. Blake, that's what you're doing and what you have built with second grade

065data. And yes, let's keep replicating that because you're showing the growth with that process is really impressive. So, you know, yep. There's a lot to do coming up. Okay, so thank you. Thanks for sharing. >> Just right when you know that I've taken two kids through N P A, one of whom is about to graduate fifth grade in a few weeks. Less than a few weeks. And I love seeing the data and the growth and but on the human side, they had amazing experiences there. So, thank you very much. >> I had the opportunity to walk through um your school with Dr. Johnson and Michelle and Rachel. And we saw first hand the kids engaged in the arts and letters and and their their willingness to learn, their eagerness. They're like it's like learning to

066learn. And um we saw Reveal Math and it was the same thing like certain students were trying It's like different methods to get to the same answer. And the rapport that the teacher had with the students and your enthusiasm about the school and about Garden Club was what just showed us as board members that NPE is the place to be and you have made it so with your team of teachers and staff and aides and custodians and all the whole village there has um been impressive. So, I thank you for your work. >> Thank you both so much for being here tonight. Good luck as you end the year. >> [laughter] >> And we will now turn it back to Dr. Johnson. >> Thank you all. >> [clears throat] >> Well, now you're lucky because

067we actually get to the superintendent's report. That's not as exciting I have quite a lot to share with you tonight, so settle in. Uh I'll get some popcorn. Uh so, actually, you know, I always like to begin with images. Usually, I have images of our students, but tonight I really want to begin with um our staff uh who did great work. There we go. Uh thank you, Paul. With kindergarten screening. So, we have not screened our incoming kindergarten students since before the pandemic since the pandemic. And last year, I think this really illustrates the power of listening. Uh when I went around to the schools and had office hours, I was really amazed to hear from our kindergarten teachers who told me they really wanted to bring this back and they really missed the data

068that it provided them. I think about the ability to screen students to for vision and hearing, uh for their readiness for learning, and really being able to work with families early on to make sure that we are providing the right supports and getting the right services in place to get our students off on the best foot forward as they come into our schools. So, this is the team at West uh that conducted [clears throat] kindergarten screening. Paul's in the picture. Um they're in the back. Uh this was a really cross-district effort. You might not know all those folks in the picture. They are not all from West. This was bringing people together from across the district in support of our youngest learners. I can't think of anything more powerful and I'm so pleased that our

069team was able to pull this off this year. A special shout out to Dr. Pratt for her organization of this work. It really came together just just completely smoothly. So, um Paul, I don't know why I can't get the to advance. Let's see. There we go. Got it. Got it. Got it. Thanks, Paul. So, uh some topics for tonight. Administration updates, instructional technology update, our budget, and afterschool programs. So, just starting with some administration updates, I'm really pleased to introduce everyone here tonight to our incoming HR director, Dr. Ashley Plus, uh who had a chance to meet with the board before tonight's meeting as well, and went through our rigorous interview process and really came out as just undeniably our number one candidate for the position. Uh Dr. Plus has been in HR in HR

070for her entire career. What's really important though is Dr. Plus has been an HR leader for more than a decade. And she is currently the director of human resources for Chester Upland School District and brings just a wealth of HR knowledge and expertise and really the the both sides, the human and the resources part of HR that she'll bring to our district. We can't wait to have her start on June July 1st. So, welcome, Dr. Plus. We also have the search for a new principal at SRS. Big shoes to fill from Dr. Tuck. Uh we have narrowed to two finalists and we are excited to bring those finalists in for their final interviews on June 1st on Monday night. First, we'll start with a faculty presentation after school and then a community town hall meeting.

071I've reached out to all of our SRS families and asked them to submit questions. The questions that we'll ask the candidates will solely come from our SRS families and they put together some really great questions. I really can't wait to be there and to see how our candidates shine and to pick the very best best new principal for our amazing SRS community. Um then I want to turn to instructional technology. So uh as you recall at our last meeting I announced that I was having a uh community conversation my last of the year in April and the that was I think the day after the board meeting. We had a really robust conversation. Really appreciated what we heard from our community members about the use of technology in our schools. I was joined by AJ

072AJ Citroni, our director of technology, and Anthony Gabriel, our director of teaching learning and innovation. And I want to talk about sort of some of where we're what we took from that conversation, what we're hearing from the national dialogue on this uh topic, and what we saw from the petition that our families and community members uh supplied to us, uh and where we are now and where we intend to go with this important topic. So first, just guided by some core principles about our purposeful authentic standards-aligned use of technology. Those each word really matters in that first bullet. Want to make sure we continue to provide equity of access to technology and continue to work in close partnership with our families. So there's some key steps we've taken this year, right? Um earlier this year,

073even before the community conversation and other dialogue that's commenced this spring. Uh first, uh we've been able to restrict AI mode and Google Lens from within our uh Chrome platform. So we were hearing concerns about students just being able to take the you know the Google feature and point it their uh camera at a math problem and answer the math problem using AI. We can't have that. Uh and so we have restricted AI mode in Google Lens. Uh we also I'm really pleased that our uh policy committee was able to take on our AIAR um administrative regulation. Um that has really served as the point of staff training and that doesn't mean we are uh kind of you know launching into AI. It's more than it's provided us with kind of the guardrails that we

074need um around what's our focus with AI, how are we moving ahead with um educating our staff about it and slowly opening um um, evidence-based tools for our staff and students to use in the future. Uh, improving filtering and oversight has been an important part of our work this year, as well as reducing the overall number of applications. Uh, you've heard about that previously in our uh, education affairs committee meeting. And then, um, we've ended the use of technology this spring during elementary indoor recess. What lies ahead? Um, we really appreciated the feedback that we got from the survey from the community and so we want to turn that feedback, those ideas into a survey for our staff and ask them to complete that survey before the end of the school year. Uh, we really

075want some feedback on the changes that were proposed by the community. We would like to have teachers weigh in on the impact of some of those changes, um, how ready they are, what supports they would need to be ready uh, for those types of changes. And then it's also a really good way for us to gather more input from our from our educators about their current practices. One thing that I didn't mention is that, you know, particularly after we had the community conversation and uh, saw the results of the survey, we wanted to get to our teachers right away and have uh, sort of in sort of immediate qualitative feedback from our educators. So, Anthony Gabriel and Kate Paquette, our supervisor of instructional technology, were able to meet with all of our grade level chairs

076or department level chairs, uh, to get that teacher voice, to hear from their their initial thoughts. Um, and that serves as sort of a um, you know, the the foundation for a lot of what I'm going to share next and we believe there's even more that we need to tap into uh, from our highly respected teachers about their views on technology in the classroom to really continue to chart a way forward. So, there's work we need to do this summer. Um, this is May summer. Um, it is a busy time of year. Uh, so to really think about, you know, substantial changes or substantive changes right now, it's is challenging. So, we need to pause on some things, not really pause, but just sort of lock them away for the summer. So, some things that

077I will work on this summer with our principals and our other administrators in the district is uh really focusing on K the use of technology in our primary grades, kindergarten through second grade. Um continue to work on considering options for device use and particularly, you know, the concern from the community is at the middle school and so thinking about that with our our leadership team. Um defining um enrichment and intervention use, what happens particularly not as the core part of our curriculum, but when we have intervention time in the classroom, particularly the elementary level, how is technology used then? And it's a place where I think we could support our teachers better by providing better um direction on what is meant to happen during CE time. Um and then finally continuing to refine our monitoring

078systems, which you'll hear is a theme all throughout this. For next year, um as we start the new school year, we will eliminate the use of technology during middle school indoor recess. I put Okay, the word indoor needs to be inserted there. I do apologize. Uh our students are outside playing during regular recess. It's indoor recess uh when just like the elementary schools that we will uh reduce I'm sorry, eliminate the use of technology. There are some students at the middle school who do ask to be able to work on a project during recess. And I know that there'd be, you know, some conflicting feedback about that, but we do think I just want to have that one exception available there um in the event that a student really wants to spend some time during

079recess to work on something that they need to get done. That could be we can have further discussion about that, but I just wanted to put a little uh placeholder there. And then um you know, one thing that was really important that we heard from the community was about the use of technology as a reinforce for completing work early and we do want to change that mindset because we are concerned that sometimes students rush through their work to get to that activity that they can complete on one of the devices and that's not the type of incentive we want to create for our for our students. In addition, uh we will continue to streamline the number of applications and really work on applications that are highly vetted. So I appreciate the work that KP Cat

080done this year to make sure that we vet the applications that we're putting in front of students and to know if they carry that Remember how I talked about purposeful, authentic, standards-aligned? That is work we will continue to to delve into. Um continue to expand oversight. So, that includes things like um you know, the use of GoGuardian in the classroom. I appreciate that AJ Citroni recently looked at a program called LightSpeed, which could provide us with even further oversight of the tools that our students are accessing and could provide more information for families as well. And then um a a challenging thing is actually to remove the AI overview search feature. So, when you do a a search feature in Google and you get that AI overview, that's actually hard to take away. So, it

081was easier for us to get rid of the Google Lens, for example, than it is for us to eliminate the AI overview. Um Mr. Citroni is working on that and uh if we're if we come to a solution, we will certainly share that as well. And then we just have to continue on with clear communication with our staff and families. One of the things that really struck me when we had the community conversation was we shared with our families that we have purchased both the digital and print editions of all of the new curriculum that that we've recently taken on and and purchased, which is great. And the families were asking us, "Well, how much will my child experience? Is this really Can one teacher decide to use all digital curriculum materials and another all

082print?" And we felt like that's there isn't that level of variability. That that is not a choice that our teachers have, but we didn't In that meeting, we didn't sort of have the fast facts available for our families and I felt like they were really clamoring for this. So, uh we've put together already sort of a rough outline um that we can begin to turn into a communication for families to know what to expect about when does, you know, technology show up within Arts and Letters, within Reveal. What should you as a family as a parent as a family member need to know about that? I I have this planned for the beginning of next school year, but I was talking to a parent earlier this week who said, "Russell, I want to have that

083now. Um that would go a long way right now." So, I don't want to over-commit because, again, it is May summer. I need to make sure I have my graduation speech ready for next Friday night. Uh so, uh there's a lot that needs to be done before the end of this school year, but I did appreciate the push that I received from a parent just recently to get this out sooner rather than later. We will have it, let me just say, no later than August, no later than the beginning of next school year so that families do come into the start of next school year with that information, particularly at the elementary level. And then we just will continue to reinforce all of this through professional development as we start the new school year. We

084um at our most recent uh education affairs meeting, Anthony Gabriel talked about our development of a digital literacy curriculum uh because we really want to make sure we're developing those appropriate skills within our students, purposeful, authentic, standards-aligned. And um this is really the work that uh he and others will take on to uh further develop for next year. And then uh there's a I appreciated that in the petition that we received from the community, there was a call for an advisory council. We're really really ready and uh wanting to meet that call and respond to that with an advisory council that will be led by Kate Paquette um to involve teachers, administrators, and families looking at the available research and data on the use of instructional technology. And this is where I think we need

085to delve into some of the harder things, right? Um the amount of screen time our students are experiencing, the use of YouTube, things that I I didn't put on those other slides already uh that do require us to have more dialogue about and delve into further um and figure out what will be those recommended future changes. So, I'm excited about that launching at the beginning of next school year. And you know, there might be some aha moments that don't require a council to work on these things, but I do want to make sure we have a place to take on some of these uh challenging issues related to instructional technology. So, we'll continue to provide updates. I know that my final newsletter of the year, I will uh certainly uh provide a community update on

086where we are, where we're going, continue to engage our staff, students, and families. I have my final student advisory council meeting next week. This will be my topic for our students. I already talked to them about AI. I want to come back to them with some of these same issues that we've been talking about as a community recently. Um so, really hearing the voice of our students, and then using all of this feedback to continue to guide decisions. So, that's uh kind of where we are on instructional technology. I want to move next to uh the fiscal year 2027 budget, and this is an item for you all to vote on tonight. So, I'm going to just quickly recap some of what we discussed. Maybe not so quick. Uh but, recap. Uh mostly recap. Mostly

087quickly recap uh what we heard at the finance committee meeting from Ms. Mosley, from myself, uh just before, you know, the finance committee meeting that we had earlier this month as we look ahead to uh to next year. And I think it's important to remember that as we delve into this work, as we keep moving ahead, the same type of challenges that we're facing are being faced by districts all across the Commonwealth, frankly all across the nation. And what's important about the work that we're doing, these are just headlines that I grabbed. Took off the name of the districts because this is not, you know, this is not a competition. Uh this is about all of us sort of facing challenges in a similar way. The difference about where we are Wallingford-Swarthmore is that we

088are not in deficit right now. If we do this work together now, we have the chance to not be in a place where we have eaten through all of our fund balance, where we have no rainy day funds. That we cannot go there. We will not go there. Um we do have this these challenges. We see what's coming, and we have a chance to head it off now uh by doing this hard work. So, a few things that Ms. Mosley particularly pointed out at our uh previous finance committee meeting coming into this as we look at this new budget um for you to vote on tonight, there were some changes since the preliminary budget, and I appreciate Mr. Miller um sort of asking to make sure that we uh share this again with the community.

089So, some expenditure changes. Again, I would encourage you to go back and watch the video from our finance committee meeting. I won't go over all of this tonight, but you see at the bottom there that in the time between when we presented our initial budget to our proposed budget to the May finance committee meeting, we were able to find a total reduction in of expenses of 1.368 million dollars, which is again just dedicated work work that's going on. This is the the type of effort that has resulted I do want to point out, and I'll try to I'll try to use the clicker uh my thick thumbs. Uh the this line right here is important because when we talk about a reduction in expenses, a big part of this this $878,500, that is money that

090we are not planning to spend on the capital plan for next year. So, this is not truly a once-and-for-all reduction because we do need to spend this money. This is money we would spend for our debt service. And we are putting this off. We what Ms. Mosley and I have approached to the board with our our proposal for you all to vote on tonight is to say we can't be borrowing this money for next year if we are still using fund balance. And I'll show you in a minute how much fund balance we continue to use for next year. We need to be firmly in the black. We can't be in the red really at all if we are going to take on the expenditures related to our capital plan. And this is a challenge

091for us. The board has heard recently from families about concerns about the high high school building itself and things that you know aren't working from within the building. We need to address those challenges. And so, this is simply putting off something that we ultimately do need dollars for. So, I do want you to remember that number when I show you what that looks like in an upcoming slide. So, the our proposed tax increase Act 1 tax increase for next year 3.21% and you see the millage rates for our communities they're on that slide. But here's the slide that I wanted you to remember um and it's in red right here. This is the amount of fund balance that we will continue to use for next year. So, keep in mind we took on a lot

092of really diligent work this year to reduce our spending and I'll show you more about that in a second. But even with all of the work that we've done, we still know that we are um using this amount of fund balance. And that those are our rainy day funds. Those should not be used for operational purposes. And that's where we have to devote those dollars. And keep in mind if we had started the full capital plan, the full high school renovation next year, this would be more like $1.4 million. We do ultimately need that money. And so, that's work we will have to continue to do to get there. So, I want to kind of just take a minute. This is what I talked about and I I promised to be uh some in a

093summary mode, but this is what I talked about at our uh finance committee meeting is why did we get here? Why is this a challenge for us? Why were we Why have we been using fund balance last year, this year, next year? Um and what are we going to do about it ultimately? And so, uh I just want to remind you that um we've had this chance. So, I've already kind of talked about the first bullet there. Ms. Mosley and I have had a chance to look at an independent five-year projection for our district. And it shows us continuing to use fund balance. In fact, not $500,000, $550,000 would be a dream compared to what we see coming. We know that these dollars compound. Uh these these expenses compound. And so, at in June at

094the finance committee meeting, which is just right around the corner, uh we will share with you our projection for 2027-28 um because that brings us up through the end of some of our uh current collective bargaining agreements, particularly with our educators. And so, it's sort of most logical for us just to show you what we know about, you know, beyond next fiscal year. So, the year beyond next year, uh what will our financial situation be? And we We know that that that dollar amount that if we don't change uh our use of of how we're spending our dollars, we'll grow beyond much beyond the $500,000, $550,000 that I showed you for this year. So, we do have to reduce through particularly through salaries and benefits. And I take no joy in saying that, right? That

095is our people and I value our people. I love being in our schools. I was in Mrs. Shipley's classroom today, right? I got to watch her teach today. I love what she does. I love what our staff does. I don't look around our schools and say, "Well, you know, there are a lot of people that are you know, aren't doing much and you know, we could make reductions." Our staff are working hard. That makes this very difficult to do. Right, I'm going to show you why I have to say those hard words. Why it has to be salaries and benefits that we turn to because ultimately we have to have our expenses be lower than our Act 1 index in order to live within our means. So, when we think about how did we get

096here? Why are we in this situation? And I showed this slide in December. It's really about sort of a we've had a rapid growth in our staff, right? Our number of staff that we have. And that's primarily and I'll show you in a second. That's that's really the basis of our budget. That's most of what we spend our revenues on is our staff. And we sort of created a structural challenge for ourselves. And that structural challenge is really at the core of what we have to address. And so, you can see that you know, we added 70 staff over a 5-year period. You can see kind of where they are and from on the administrative line, the professional staff line, support and confidential staff. And you know, I don't a lot of those positions are

097very much needed, right? I don't again, I walk around our schools. I know how hard our staff are working. That's a I don't look at this from, you know, what are our staff mean amazing things for our students. I look at this more from can we afford this? Is this something that we can continue to fund into the future? And if not, then what are we going to do about it? Unfortunately, we are at a point where we we cannot continue to support the number of staff that we have added. And so, we have this structural problem that ultimately we have to deal with. And so, what's good news is we've really gone after this, and we've particularly gone after the things that are outside of staffing and things that relate to staffing. So, you

098can see how much our budget has grown, kind of a year-over-year comparison, and it sort of explains why we saw that, you know, addition of 70 additional staff members. We're going to see this increase in our budget over this, you know, these two-year periods. Uh two-year comparisons, but then you see it begin to come down, right? And I'll show you in a second, you know, where we see those changes being made. And then this fiscal year in particular, from this year to next year, you see because of the diligence that we've really, you know, applied this year, the reorganization plan, we're only growing our budget at 1% for next year, less than 1%. And so, this has been an ongoing process. This isn't just a this year process. This has been going on trying to

099kind of let the air out of the balloon, if you will. But, there's still work to do. And so, when we look at that change, right, that four-year period from 2022 to 23 to 26-27, in yellow are where we've increased our budget, and in orange is where we decreased. The non the clear cells, if you will, are a lot of mandated services, right? So, you don't see a reduction. It's really things that we basically had to do in a lot of ways. Special education costs, for example, which we don't begrudge whatsoever. We rise to that responsibility. But, these are places where I think I'm I'm proud of the work that our team has done to bring down sort of non-personnel expenses over this four-year period. And you can just see that the largest part of

100our budget is very much salaries and benefits. And it's also where we've grown the most. So, this next slide really just tries to put it you know, I love you get an reaction to this, right? You can just see how much of our budget is in salaries and benefits versus everything else combined. And when I think about the work that we've done this year, when I look at the sort of left side of the pie there, there's work that we've done to reduce our spending in really all of those areas or wherever we possibly could. So, professional development, the budget that the board will vote on tonight, it's about half the amount, right? So, we had about $400,000 for professional development in the staff, it's about $200,000 in the budget now. We've really reduced our

101use of supplies solely for instructional purposes. So, you know, making sure that we are being careful about our use of supplies for food, where we're spending our money on supplies. So, a lot of places where we would need to make further reductions, frankly, we already have. Even the cut foods that are for our retirees tonight were not paid for by the district. I mean, that's the level of change that we have gone after and where you can't really squeeze that much further, right? And so then, you know, we do see the the salaries and benefits being the largest part of our budget. We have also made reductions there, right? So, we had our reorganization plan and we reassigned a lot of duties. And so, Dr. Badikhu is here, he is taking on the role of

102two positions, right? Ms. Mosley is taking on federal programs. I'm now posting all of our social media because I've taken over media. And so, it is a real learning curve for me, but I got my post up today about the multilingual the the world language ceremony that happened at the high school today and I'm darn proud of it, but this is all of us stretching ourselves, right? So, when I look at that 72% like we have already stretched, right? Administratively, and we have reduced other, you know, teaching positions. But there's still more that we have to do. When I see that number, $550,000, and I know it's going to grow because the other thing about that 72% is that that's that structural piece that we have to change because we continue to, you know, as

103compensation rises, as the money that we need to spend on benefits, prescription drug benefits, on medical benefits, as those grow, as long as that pie is so large, every change in those in compensation, every change in benefits, is just magnified, right, by the amount of staff that we have. And I again, I adore our staff. I don't take any joy in saying this, but it's just from a financial perspective, that's set that is just unfortunately where we have to look. And so, um when I look at that uh that's that number, that 72.4% unfortunately, that is where we have to continue to draw from. And you know, when I talk about those those sort of tremors that can come up when you have this kind of structural challenge of the number of staff that that

104we have, that we've added, um then we get some tremors along the way. Like, you know, this past March, we had the change that uh I you know, we all talked about here at this board about the change in prescription insurance uh benefit costs, medical benefit costs. That's like a tremor, right? And when we hit that tremor, when we have that, you know, that's not the problem, right? It's it's it's like it's related to the problem that we have. And yet, we can't really stomach it, right? We can't just sort of absorb a tremor. It becomes a real challenge for us when, you know, we have an additional million dollars that uh we need to find. Until we change this this structure, this overall uh you know, the the structural challenge that we have, uh

105we are going to really face challenges as additional costs come our way. And so, that led me in March to talk about the fact that we do need to look at every vacancy, right? And that we cannot just simply backfill every vacancy. I'd mentioned that we were working to save through attrition way back in November and December when we first started talking about this. And you know, just because of the uh the way that this that our structural challenges are built, uh we have to continue to take every effort we can to reduce where we have uh salaries and benefits as best as we possibly can. And so, back in March I shared that these will be our guiding principles avoiding to eliminate specific programs and services, maintaining class sizes at or below the limits

106established in collective bargaining agreement, and looking for alternative ways to deliver services. So, I'm I'm not going to repeat the positions that we have already reduced through attrition. But tonight I just want to continue to keep this conversation going by kind of updating you on where we've confirmed additional changes. So, we had a high school science teacher, so Mrs. Mrs. Arsello who is retiring. We ran the numbers at the high school. We are able to replace her with a part-time high school science teacher. So, we are moving ahead with that. We are interviewing right now. We actually have very solid candidates for that part-time position. We have eliminated part of the half of an elementary MTSS teacher at SRS. And the just confirming that the executive assistant to me we actually aren't replacing. But I

107really appreciate on tonight's agenda you will vote to have Heather Feely move into a role where she would be assigned to both Dr. Baddock and me. And so, we're making it work, right? And this is the type of work that we have to do under consideration is a recent resignation, I'm sorry, retirement I'm sorry of an instructional assistant position. So, this is the challenge that we have. We will rise to it. We'll keep the community informed and you know, we'll respond to questions about it. So, we have made good progress, but there is still this challenge of continual reliance on fund balance and increasing costs. And so, in June I'll come back with an update on what will be potential solutions for this for next year that we'll continue to delve into. Promise I'm almost

108done. I think it's like two more slides. Bear with me. After school options. This is one of the two. So, here's the last one. Uh, one of the concerns that we heard from the community, particularly with the change in the transportation policy, is what will happen with afterschool options? Are there opportunities to expand afterschool options? And I made a commitment to meeting with all of our local afterschool enrichment and state licensed programs. And so, I've met with most, not all. I've one tomorrow, actually. Um, with one of our, uh, enrichment programs uh, to ask about, you know, particularly with the enrichment programs, can we expand services in our schools? Um, and then with the state licensed programs, can they expand their, um, their offerings? And one of the state licensed programs I'm pleased to present,

109uh, is considering, right? I don't I don't know that that they'll pull this off for sure, but they are really actively working to look to expand what they can offer for families for next year. And so, I am pleased and, uh, they had some good questions for me, ways that I could work with them, uh, to make that more possible. And so, given the, you know, staying within our our board approved policies, so I'm really pleased to see that that could come together for for our families. So, we'll keep that conversation going with all of our programs. So, with that, that is my update for tonight. And I'll need to take another drink of water. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Johnson. And I know we'll have some comments as we get to some of the

110voting pieces in your update, so we appreciate that. Um, all right. So, next we'll move to audience recognition for response to items for action on the agenda. This is the time for public comment on items on the agenda. There will be a time later for topics not on the agenda. Public comment is the time for district residents and taxpayers to share their perspectives and experiences with the board, um, on an issue that is before us. It is the time for us to listen. While we are not able to respond to your questions during the meeting, there's always an opportunity to follow up afterwards. Each speaker has a 3-minute time limit. We will give you a a reminder when 1 minute remains so that you can begin to wrap up. And at 3 minutes, we will

111ask you to finish your final thoughts so that we can move on to the next speaker. Please remember that this is not the appropriate venue for discussing matters that relate to any individual student, whether your child or not, or any concerns about an individual staff member. When speaking, we ask that you go to the podium and state your name and the street in the district in which you live before beginning. Is there anyone who would like to speak tonight about a topic on the agenda? Sure, if you could go to the podium and then state your name and the street on which you live in the district. >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Danny. Um this is my partner, Shay. I am from Macy Lago Universe. Um I do not live in the district

112and I did have just one question. My partner and I were trying to figure out um >> You do not live in the district? >> No. >> Okay. And I presume it's residents exclusively. Okay. >> So we can't ask the question? Oh, okay. Thank you. All right. >> Good evening. My name's Rima Bishara. I live on Todt Hill Road and Drive uh in the district. Uh thank you all for your time tonight. I just wanted to share, well, introduce myself and also um share about how passionate I am about reducing screens K through 12. Um I have two preschoolers at home and a third on the way. And when I learned about all of the EdTech that now exists in schools since the pandemic, I was shocked as someone who graduated from the high school

113here 22 years ago and um had multiple of the teachers that retired tonight. Um so, I'm highly encouraged by the steps that we're taking. Thanks to everyone who cares so much about the students and the education and the community members. And I'm looking forward to continued momentum and movement. And as someone who this is my first meeting here tonight to just encourage us to move forward and make decisions based on how we want the future to look seeing using data that we now have rather than based on decisions that we've very hard decisions that we've made since the pandemic started. Um and to start afresh. And I know personally I am extremely um willing and excited to participate in discussions and I my husband and I both graduated from the high school here. Um we

114believe in public education and I know that every child will learn better face-to-face instruction with less screens. And And so, I really want to advocate for that for some kids who don't necessarily have someone to advocate for them. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Is Is anyone else here who would like to speak about an item on the agenda? Okay. >> Everyone, um my name is Erin Flynn. Um I live on Cedar Hollow Drive in Roseville. Um and I also want to speak um in support of some of the EdTech related changes um that are being considered, especially next year, but also kind of in an ongoing way. Um I'm also a pediatrician and I see with my patients um how impactful the school environment really is for their mental health, their social emotional

115development, um and how critical it is that kids have face-to-face interactions, and really trust their teachers, um and build that trust with one-on-one um teacher interactions, and then also um teachers teaching kids together rather than learning via uh screens. Um and so I've seen some really amazing cases of kids um having adults in their life and teachers that they've formed these really meaningful relationships with, um and I see how hindered it can be um by devices that kind of go between the um educator and the student. Um and I'm also really worried about fractured attention, um and all the distractions that come along with that, and I see that a lot in my patients. Um I'm also a mom of two toddlers here in um I'm so grateful to be in this district because I

116really do see it as such a high-quality educational environment. I also grew up in Roseville, um and so um I just really salute all of you for for taking this very seriously, and I look forward to to working with you all as well. >> Thank you so much. Is there anyone else? >> Hello. My name is Rose Valley resident Alex Becker from Todd Morgan Drive. I'm on Todd Morgan. I wanted to speak tonight about the power of print. Does technology have a place in education? Yes, absolutely. I will unequivocally say that. Some digital tools can help students achieve transformative results. But somewhere along the way it feels like we stopped asking an important question or we're not asking it as much. Just because we can go digital, should we? More and more students are being

117asked to read, write, annotate, learn, even socialize through screens. And yet the research on reading and writing continues to point in a different direction. When students read printed text instead of digital ones, studies consistently show they tend to comprehend and retain more information, engage in deeper reading, and perform better academically. Print reading is also associated with greater reading enjoyment, which matters because students who enjoy reading are more likely to become stronger readers. Beyond academics, there are broader concerns with the screen-based learning environment. It creates constant opportunities for distraction, normalizes device dependence at younger and younger ages, and adds even more screen exposure to children already growing up in a world saturated with devices. We have growing research linking excessive screen time to disrupted sleep, eye strain, decreased physical activity, attention challenges, and negative impacts on

118mental health and social development. I worry about something harder to measure. What it means for children to spend so much of their education, especially in the higher grades, through screens instead of through writing and reading on paper. Print is not outdated or anti-tech. In many cases, it is simply a better learning tool. I would love to see our district move more toward a balanced a move toward a more balanced and intentional approach to tech use in schools. That could include prioritizing printed text whenever possible, reducing unnecessary device use in classrooms, supporting classroom libraries, helping students learn not just how to use technology but to use it thoughtfully and intentionally. I am so encouraged by some of the steps Dr. Johnston proposed earlier tonight. And I hope that this is just the beginning of that transition.

119Our students really do deserve an education designed around how children learn best and I know that we all are working toward that goal. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening. Yes, please. >> Hi, my name is Rachel Cox. I live on Moylan Avenue. Um, I want to say first off thank you so much. I know I got heated in that community meeting um and I've gotten heated up here um but I also understand that this all kind of got started in the past like 3 months and um that you've listened and asked for feedback and did the community meetings and put this together in like that amount of time. I do from bottom of my heart appreciate it. And I just want to add just an every I agree with everything Alex said and

120everyone said obviously but like an anecdote of why this is an issue for me and specifically for I think a lot of the the the problems are coming from parents of middle school boys, I think generally anecdotally, the bigger problems. But so my son this morning had to cram for a Spanish test that he had ignored you know, had ignored for like weeks, right? Here's an example. I can speak Spanish basic Spanish but I can't I can't study with him cuz there's no book. And there's there's nothing to study with and there's nothing to like sit with him with so it's like it's it's in it's like I don't know like I can't study with him and help him with Spanish looking at his Chromebook like this at a little Edpuzzle. Like, I don't know.

121I can't do it. Like, I'm here. I want to help him. He wants the help, but I can't give it to him and a lot of it is because of just the way it's being delivered and it's like that's I just want a book. Like, if there was a book, we could sit down on the couch, we could go over it, we could go over it endlessly, but because it's in the screen and it doesn't exist in a comprehensive unit, I can't get to it. I don't know. Like, that's just what I was like I was like that's something that happened this morning and it's just an example of like the kind of things that are happening all the time where I feel like I can't get him there. Anyway, and Alex explained all the

122data and stuff, but also check out Randi Weingarten's what was it? Blog post? I don't know. Randi Weingarten, you know, the head of the ATF um released a statement today about um screens that are You know what I'm saying? Okay, thank you. >> Thank you so much. Is there anyone else who would like to speak about an item on the agenda tonight? All right, seeing none, um the next item on the agenda tonight is the approval of the minutes from the April 27th, 2026 regular board meeting. Do I have a motion for approval? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Mr. Miller. And a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mrs. Dolle. And any discussion? I'll go left to right. Discussion? All right, seeing none, Ms. Mosley, will you please take a roll call vote? >>

123Dr. Proffer? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Dolle? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Holbert? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Livingstone? >> Aye. >> Mr. Miller? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Whitsett? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Williams? >> Aye. >> Ms. Wolkowsky-Smith? >> Aye. >> Motion passes 8 to 0. >> Thank you. Uh next we'll hear updates from our board committees. As a reminder, our Ed Affairs, Facilities and Finance and Policy Committee meetings are available to view on our YouTube channel. As such, uh we will begin Wellness advisory. Do we have an update? No. All right, so we will skip right to the Pennsylvania School Board Association and that is Mrs. Gaskey Smith. >> Okay. So, on May 4th >> Thank you. >> On May 4th, uh PSBA sponsored a school district advocacy day in Harrisburg, which I was fortunate to attend

124on behalf of the school district. So, discussions with our representatives and senators included the importance of passing an adequate and timely budget. Adequate and timely, please. If you have a chance to contact your state representatives, please do. And ask for adequate and timely uh budget. Um also, the elimination of unfunded mandates. One of the things that wasn't uh listed as an item in our budget because it always fits into different categories is the unfunded mandates. And it's always something that our representatives do to appease some of our our voters. And one of them that's coming up is every school uh that has a flag, a United States flag, which is all public schools, uh now needs to put a POW flag on the on the post. Um that sounds lovely or not. And but the

125point is that that's just one small thing that a school district now has to man if it passes, the school district has to man it, buying a flag, making sure every building has one, that someone is available to put it up and pull it down. That it is an unfunded mandate. And there are many many many unfunded mandates. Some very important, some just like that. Um I think PSBA is uh promoting that school districts make their own decisions on some of those issues. That it should not just everything coming from the state. So, as you talk to your representatives, talk about unfunded mandates and what a burden some of those place on school districts. Um the other were discussions of phone tech policy for schools and the state is considering many options right now. So,

126both the House and the Senate are recessed at now. They're all back home and uh they will return to Harrisburg on Monday when the state budget will become the General Assembly's primary focus. That is all I have for PSBA. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um next, Mr. Miller, is there >> Yeah, the the update from DCC is attached. >> It's attached. Okay. So, the update from the Delaware County Community College is attached to the agenda. I could see that. Um and then we'll go to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit with Ms. Holbert. >> Just real quick, I want to thank the members who did come to the um breakfast a few weeks ago where we also discussed unfunded mandates. Um and I just wanted to um give a shout-out to all of the um students

127who are graduating from the um uh the technical school uh from Wallingford Swarthmore this year and anybody else who has um kind of, you know, been touched by uh DCIU's programs through the years. That's it. >> Thank you. And finally, we'll hear from our Delaware County School Board Legislative Council Rep, Ms. Stull. >> There is also a um a report attached to the agenda, but just a couple of quick highlights. So, House Bill 2176 passed the House 115 to 85. And this bill would require the State Board of Education to incorporate social media literacy into academic standards. Um and then Senate Bill 1014 was reported as amended by the House Education by House Education and received first consideration. This bill requires school entities to adopt a bell-to-bell policy prohibiting student use of personal mobile devices

128during the school day while on school property, but allows local discretion in establishing the manner in which a student's possession of a mobile device is to be restricted. And this is something that PSBA has been advocating for. Um I'll keep it short. The The report is attached. Just a couple of highlights. >> Thank you. All right. Next, we move to personnel and buckle up, board. We have 42 items for action in personnel tonight. All items in the section are attached or as described in the agenda. Are there any items on the list that anyone on the board would like to separate from the rest? All right. Seeing none, the items for action are resignations and retirements, appointments, leave of absence, change of position, 25-26 activities advisors appointments, 25-26 activities supplementals post season pay, 25-26 winter

129athletic supplementals, 26-27 fall athletic supplementals, 26 kindergarten screening, 26 extended school year, 26-27 conference requests, summer curriculum work for Little Panthers curriculum alignment, summer curriculum work K through 12 scope and sequence work on digital literacy, summer curriculum work for K through 5 arts and letters and social studies standards alignment, summer curriculum work K through 5 arts and letters and Schoology assessment build, summer curriculum work 9 through 12 wellness Wednesday planning, summer curriculum work senior service planning. Summer curriculum work, MTSS academic toolkit development. Summer curriculum work, cultural relevancy planning. Summer curriculum work, 9-12 advisory period freshman academy development. Summer curriculum work, 9-12 ELA and IXL unit planning. Summer curriculum work, 9-12 WL club program enhancements and AP revisions. Summer curriculum work, 6-8 literacy specialist data analysis and unit upgrades. Summer curriculum work, grade 6 ELA curriculum.

130Summer curriculum work, 6-8 math specialist data analysis and unit upgrades. Summer curriculum work, grade 8 ELA curriculum. Summer curriculum work, grade 6 math curriculum. Summer curriculum work, grade 7 math curriculum. Summer curriculum work, grade 8 algebra curriculum. Summer curriculum work, grade 7 social studies literacy specialist collaboration. Summer curriculum work, K-5 MTSS framework build. Behavioral health counselors, school counselors, school psychologists, career and college counselor for curriculum writing. Guidance instructor curriculum writing, home and school visitor. PBIS planning and training, school nurses. IEP development staff, GIEP development staff, and last but absolutely not least, approval of our director of human resources. Um, do I have a motion for approval? >> I was not on the floor. >> [laughter] >> So moved. >> Thank you, Dr. Crawford. A second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Miller. Any discussion? I'll

131go left to right. >> Just want to hear you say curriculum again. >> [laughter] >> No, I don't think It is fascinating. And I would just like to reiterate that as a board we got to meet with Dr. Fluff beforehand and we're very impressed and we are very much looking forward to working with you assuming this vote >> [laughter] >> is positive. All right, Ms. Mowgli, can you take a roll call vote? >> Dr. Crawford >> I >> Mrs. Dolak >> I >> Mrs. Olbert >> I >> Mrs. Stone >> I >> Mr. Miller I Mrs. Witzig Mrs. Williams >> I >> Mrs. Witkowski Smith >> I >> Motion passes 7 to 1. >> Thank you. All right, next we have policy. We have two items for action and policy tonight. All items in the

132section are as attached or as described in the agenda. As a reminder, the administrative regulations are attached for informational purposes only. Are there any items on the list that anyone from the board would like to separate from the rest? Seeing none, the items for approval are policies for first reading which includes policy 606 tax collection and policies for second reading which includes policies 204 student attendance, policy 246 student wellness, and policy 605.1 tax assessment appeals. Do I have a motion for approval? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Ms. Witzig, and a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Dr. Crawford. Any discussion? Yeah, >> When you get to me. >> When Okay. All right, a rule follower. Ms. Dolak, no? Okay. Then all yours, Dr. Johnson. >> Actually, I just wanted to mention something that's not

133on the agenda, which is the first read that we did at the club sports policy back at our policy committee meeting earlier this month and we have pulled that. That is not on the agenda here. There were some really good questions that board members raised particularly about how we are financing club sports. It did lead to a follow-up conversation with our policy attorney at D'Azzio and it just led that to lingering questions that still need to be answered further answered before we can bring this policy back. I have reached out and informed the leaders of our current clubs about this development that, you know, I it would have loved to have seen this policy get through this school year, but we do need to make sure we're doing this right and and appropriately so and

134I know that nobody would want anything different than that. So, we are just going to need to take a little bit more time and you know, that I do feel a sense of disappointment. I would have loved to have seen that get through this year, but we'll we'll keep at it and we will come back to this starting at the beginning of next school year. >> Any more discussion? All right, Ms. Mosley, will you please take a roll call vote? >> Dr. Crawford? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Delay? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Olbert? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Livingstone? >> Aye. >> Mr. Miller? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Witzig? >> Aye. >> Mrs. Williams? >> Aye. >> Ms. Mikowsky-Smith? >> Aye. >> Motion passes 8 to 0. >> Thank you. Next, we have 10 items for approval

135in curriculum. The items in the section are as attached or described in the agenda. Are there any items on the list that anyone from the board would like to separate them? Seeing none, we have approval of Edulink Edulink agreement, the approval of Frontline Education proposal, approval of Bedford Freeman and Worth quote, approval of CPM Educational Program quote, approval of Goodheart-Willcox quote, approval of McGraw Hill quote, approval of Panorama Education agreement, approval of Amplify agreement, exchange and international trips, and out-of-state and overnight trips. Do I have a motion for approval? I'll make the motion. Thank you, Ms. Halbert. A second? Second. Thank you, Mrs. Dolle. And any discussion? Um just real quick regarding the Panorama contract. Um the contract does mention an AI chat application, and I wanted to clarify. Am I correct this is for

136staff and not student use? Absolutely. Definitely only for staff, and it's uh an AI tool similar to how other AI tools are built into some of the new the resources we have for educators. Solara that's built into Panorama is uh equivalent to others. Thank you. Any other discussion? Oh, Dr. Duff Uh I just wanted to um uh thank our team for doing some outreach with Panorama on this agreement. There was a question that came up. I believe it was at policy uh about this uh agreement and their use of non-personally identifiable information about students. There had been a statement in the contract, and this doesn't relate to this new agreement. It actually predates. It uh it's sort of carryover language because we already have an agreement with Panorama. But it talked about a broader use

137of non-personally identifiable information, and thankfully our team under Dr. Battiste's leadership was able to follow up with Panorama and um get you know get to an agreement where the the use of non-personally identifiable information is limited just to research and development purposes, and is much more narrow in scope than it was previously. So, I just want to make sure that it's we're clear about this was pulled, and now it's brought back, and why it's brought back now, and it's again with um uh support from our attorneys as well to make sure that this is very solid use of uh of how non-personally identifiable information will be used as part of this contract. And thank you. And thank you for your work in this work on that team. Um any other comments? All right, Ms. Mosley,

138if you would take a roll call vote. >> Dr. Crawford. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Duley. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Colbert. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Livingstone. >> Aye. >> Mr. Miller. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Wissett. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Williams. >> Aye. >> Ms. Witkowski-Smith. >> Aye. >> Motion passes 8 to 0. >> All right, we move to student services. We have three items for approval. The items in the section are as attached or as described in the agenda. Uh, is there would anyone on the board like to separate any of the Seeing none, we have the educational service agreements, the approval of Elizabeth Furman agreement, and the approval of Kelly Sullivan agreement. Do I have a motion for approval? So moved. Thank you, Mrs. Witkowski-Smith, and a second? You, Dr. Crawford, any discussion? Seeing none,

139Ms. Mosley, will you take a roll call vote? >> Dr. Crawford. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Duley. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Colbert. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Livingstone. >> Aye. >> Mr. Miller. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Wissett. >> Aye. >> Mrs. Williams. >> Aye. >> Ms. Witkowski-Smith. >> Aye. >> Motion passes 8 to 0. >> Thank you. We have nine items for approval under finance and facilities. All items in the section are as attached or described in the agenda. Are there any items on the list that anyone on the board would like to separate from the rest? Seeing none, the items for approval are bills paid to vendor April 1st through 30th of 2026, financial statements April 1st through 30th 2026, treasurer's report April 1st through 30th 2026, budget transfers, uh, homestead and farmstead exclusion resolution, approval

140of our final budget 2026-2027, approval of Tom Josiah Consulting LLC agreement, approval of School Operations and Group Services Inc. agreement, and environmental control systems operations. Do I have a motion for approval? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Mr. Miller. A second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mrs. Holbert. Uh any discussion? Mr. Miller, you're sure? >> Yep. I just want to thank uh especially Ms. Mosley and certainly Dr. Johnson for the process throughout the year, the transparent process throughout the year and the hard decisions that have had to be made. Uh I think those slides I really want to pull two of the slides together from uh Dr. Johnson's presentation that uh overall budget increased by less than 1% and that includes the personnel costs that we could not control. Uh and the tax increase being

141just 3.21% uh still requiring us to use fund balance. So, the hard work that has been done this year has been great. There's a lot more hard work to go because Dr. Johnson's point the board did not feel comfortable borrowing money when we are still using fund balance to budget to balance our budget. And we need to pull all levers and the finance committee will continue to do that work. I would encourage you to come to or watch the June meeting as the you get the forecast in the future and to really think about the hard decisions that have to be made over a period of time. Um but this budget here is a very good step in the correct direction, I think. >> And I would like to follow up on what Mr. Miller

142said and just thank Ms. Mosley for her hard work on this budget. You have given us a very clear picture of where we are and what we're looking at ahead. We know we have some hard decisions to make for sure. Um and as a board, that's going to be something we have to look at and take very seriously. Um but we we know that and we will continue to work on it and work collaboratively and uh I really appreciate your slides showing the staffing and all that it eats, you know, takes up so much of our budget and we kind of trimmed down in every area that we can. So, we have some hard decisions to make, but we will we'll get there and and we're going to work towards a sustainable budget. So, thank

143you so much for that. All right. Uh, will you take a roll call this time? >> Dr. Crawford. >> Hi. >> Ms. Delay. >> Hi. >> Ms. Volbert. >> Hi. >> Ms. Livingston. >> Hi. >> Mr. Miller. >> Hi. >> Ms. Woodside. >> Hi. >> Ms. Williams. >> Hi. >> Ms. McCauley-Smith. >> Hi. >> Motion passes 8 to 0. >> Thank you. And finally, we move to audience recognition for items not on the agenda. The same rules apply here as did for comments on the agenda. We have a 3-minute time limit and we will remind you with 1 minute remaining. You're also reminded this is not the appropriate venue for discussing matters that directly relate to an individual student, whether your child or not, or any concerns about an individual staff member. Is there anyone

144here tonight that would like to speak about a topic not on the agenda this evening? All right. Uh, so, seeing none, we will move. Are there any old business? Any new business? And if not, thank you. This meeting is adjourned.